Volume 2
Short Stories
Translator : PolterGlast
The Beginning
of Irisdina's Love of Dogs
As the next head of
the Francilt family, it is absolutely necessary for me to broaden my horizons.
Today I was invited to
visit the plateau on one of the Francylt family's territories. The altitude is
relatively high, and the land is rocky and unsuitable for farming.
"What do you
think, milady?"
"Well, there
aren't any fields or anything of the sort here, but I can see that the people
here don't seem to be minding it at all......"
"Yes, it is true
that they cannot grow crops here, but they can get abundant wool from their
livestock breeding. Wool is the backbone of the wool industry. Therefore, they
earn a modest but reasonable income."
As an attendant and
educator, my maid told me, the sheep were gathered all over the meadow, forming
a white colony everywhere.
"It looks like
it's time to put them back in their pen."
At that moment, a
number of black dots, smaller than the sheep, appeared from the shadows of the hills.
"They are
livestock ranchers and their sheepdogs. Their lives have always revolved around
their dogs."
The dogs jumped into
the herd of sheep that were relaxing in the meadow.
A large sheepdog
circles around the entire herd of sheep, keeping an eye out for foreign
enemies, while a medium-sized dog leads the sheep as they whirl about.
"Amazing ......
it is as if they are moving the clouds."
A painting on a green
canvas. The sight of the sheep, the dogs, and the people, who are supposed to
be of different species, fascinatingly surprised and excited me.
"I wish I could
have brought Somia along to show her ......"
"Well, that's
true. So please remember it properly. Then we can tell Somiriana-ojōsama
later......"
*Waun!*
"Eh?"
Before I knew it,
there was an angel in the shape of a puppy at my feet. No, since I already have
an angel named Somia, I should call this child a fairy. Round eyes, fluffy
body, and an adorable gaze.
When I gently picked
her up, I could feel the warmth that is unique to puppies.
At this moment, my
decision was made in an instant.
"...... I'll take
this child home with me."
"Leave her
here."
The puppy was
immediately taken away and sent back to its parents.
Ah, wait! At least let
me hold her a little longer~~!
◆
The Victim and
the Root of All Evil
"Okay, I guess
this is enough."
After finishing
cleaning Shishō's hut, I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
It had been about a
month since Shishō had passed away.
I had been visiting
her hut regularly to clean it.
Even though I knew
that no one lived there anymore, it was a place that held a certain amount of
fond memories for me.
And despite the fact
that I know it is inevitable that the place will eventually be swallowed up by
the forest and fade into oblivion, I still want to take care of it while I can.
"Then again,
there have been more and more demonic beasts approaching this hut lately.
Before, they hardly ever came near it because there was Shishō here......"
Three Wild Dogs lie at
my feet with their heads cut off.
They had attacked me
while I was cleaning up and were probably outcasts that had been driven out of
their pack and wandered into here.
It's a common
occurrence in this forest, and they probably decided to make this area their
territory now that Shishō is gone.
"Demonic beasts,
huh? Come to think of it, I've had a lot of bad experiences as part of my
training......"
Thinking back to the
past, I reminisced about the demonic beasts that had pounced on me during my
training.
That time, too, I was
suddenly attacked by a demonic beast,...... No, it wasn't actually a demonic
beast that attacked me.
As I was thinking
about such things, my thoughts went back to the past.
◆
"Uwaaaa!"
I run through the
Spasim Forest while screaming shamelessly.
*Gichigichi……!*
*Guooou, guoo~oo~o~ou!*
"Why are you
coming this way!? Get away from me! Don't chase after me!"
*Gugya, gugyau!, Gu~,
gu~*
*Thump-thump*,
*thud-thud*, *rumble-rumble*.
The spine-tingling
roars and footsteps that could easily turn a human into minced meat. I moved my
cramping legs frantically, screaming at the goblins running right behind me,
its face contorted in a frenzy.
Behind the goblins,
there were many other powerful beasts such as Direwolves and Einherjar Horse
Spiders, which are among the strongest in this forest, following in a line.
It was clearly an odd
sight considering it was a hunt for demonic beasts. The culprit of this
situation was .......
"Come on, Nozomu,
how long are you going to keep running away!?"
It was a mountain old
hag who was chasing behind them at the end of the line, pulling out her katana
and swinging it around. That old hag, saying she was doing it for my training,
had gathered up all the demonic beasts in the vicinity of the hut and made them
rush toward me!
"Haa, haa, haa!
Don't be ridiculous! There's no way I can slip through such a crowd of demonic
beasts with [Flash Step]!"
My lungs hurt! I can't
move my legs! I'm at my limit!
Shishō said that it
was for my training to acquire a technique that would allow me to freely
maneuver the trajectory of [Flash Step], but even if that were the case, it
would be too reckless! Someone, please knock some common sense into that
person!
"That's why, if
you do as I teach you, you can do it! Just hurry up! If you can't do it, you'll
be trampled by the march of the demonic beasts!"
Here goes nothing! I
turned around and activated my [Flash Step]. Heading toward the goblin, I
ducked and .......
"Buh!"
The wolf that jumped
in front of me collided head-on with me and sent me flying into the air. As it
was, I got swallowed by the march of the demonic beasts.
Ah, I am dead. I
stopped thinking while shedding tears at the world's cruelty, but my body was
desperately avoiding the trampling of the oncoming demonic beasts.
Alas, my body had
already been trained better than my spirit.
"Failure, huh...
one more time!"
Such a merciless
sentence befell me, who somehow managed to survive.
I shouted every kind
of abusive word I could think of while Shishō went in search of her next prey.
As a result, the
number of demonic beasts pursuing me increased. Damn it!
◆
That's what happened.
Yes, the scariest
thing was not the demonic beasts. It was the demon hag, who was worse than the
demonic beasts.
After that, I managed
to survive several group assaults by demonic beasts, and I managed to use
[Flash Step・Curved Movement].
"I remembered
something unpleasant......"
I wiped the cold sweat
from my face as I disposed of the dead Wild Dogs.
I still have to clean Shishō's
grave, but I feel strangely tired.
My legs are heavy
....... Can I go home now?
[Oi, you foolish
disciple, get on with it!]
I wonder why, I think
I just heard some strange voices.......
I feel like it's going
to haunt me, but the next thing I know, the sun is about to set. I had to
dispose of the demonic beast that had attacked me, and it seems that a lot of
time had passed more than I thought it would.
Well, I guess I'll
have to clean up Shishō's grave tomorrow. I should also sell the materials I
had dismantled from the demonic beasts, so let's go back to town for today.
As I made my way home,
I was chased by a swarm of demonic beasts that reminded me of that time.
That old hag has
really come back to haunt me!
While running around,
I had to deal with each and every one of the demonic beasts that came charging
out.
Fortunately, the
monsters that were chasing me naturally all scattered by the time I reached
Arcazam. Probably, they thought it was safer to eat the demonic beasts I had
defeated than to target me.
For a while after
that, there were fewer demonic beasts approaching the hut, which made me even
more anxious.
This hut is not
cursed, is it?
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