Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Slow Life in the Doldia Village 

We were welcomed into the Doldia village as heroes for saving the children and protecting the village against Gallus’ attack. They wanted us to spend the rainy season living with them. 

Gyes also officially apologized to me for ignoring orders, stripping me naked, and throwing me into a cell. And also for the freezing cold water that was thrown on me. It turned out that the beastfolk’s unique way of kowtowing was lying face up with your stomach exposed. At first I thought he was making fun of me, but everyone present was dead serious about it. The only thing in my mind was jealousy as I stared at his hairy, muscular six-pack, so I just hurriedly accepted the apology. 

Eris, however, did not. She was pissed when she learned what I had gone through and delivered a Boreas Punch to Gyes’ exposed belly before pouring water over his head. Once he looked like a drowned rat, she glared down at him and said, “Now we’re even.” 

Eris never failed to impress me. 

*** 

At the moment, we were in Gustav’s house. It was the largest in the village, sitting well above the ground amongst the trees. Three stories tall and constructed of wood, it looked like it would collapse instantly in an earthquake, yet it was sturdy enough that an adult running around inside would cause not a single tremor. 

There were eight of us here: Eris, Ruijerd and myself, as well as the Doldia tribal leader Gustav and his son Gyes, the leader of the warriors. One of the girls I’d rescued from the smugglers, Gyes’ middle daughter, Minitona, was also present. His oldest daughter, Linianna, was apparently off studying in a different country. And then there was another girl we had rescued who was of the Adoldia tribe: the Adoldia tribal leader’s middle daughter, Tersena. She was a dog-eared girl who was quite well-developed for her age. She had been planning to return home, but that was disrupted when the rainy season began, and she would be spending the next three months here. 

The girls were talking animatedly, with woofs and mews, about how they had almost been kidnapped. “I’m so glad I didn’t get abducted. I heard there’s a sick, twisted noble family in Asura that’s only sexually interested in beastfolk. Who knows what would have happened to me.” 

Gallus also talked about how a certain noble family paid especially well for beastfolk with Doldia blood. Those who were easy to train, it seemed, sold for the highest prices. 

“There’s no place among Asuran nobles for that kind of scum!” And there was Eris, talking as if this conversation had nothing to do with her or her family, even though it was really likely that said noble family had a certain rodent-ish name. One that started with the letter G. 

I never asked where the maids in Eris’ household came from, but perhaps some of them had been kidnapped. Eris’ grandfather, Sauros, was a good man, but his worldview had odd aspects to it. Well, I would keep my mouth shut. Some things were better left unsaid. 

Eris seemed to remember something because she suddenly showed them the ring on her finger. “By the way, do you know Ghislaine? This ring here belongs to her.” Eris didn’t know the Beast God tongue, so she spoke to them in them in the human tongue. Of those present, the only ones who could understand the language other than Ruijerd and myself were Gustav and Gyes. 

“Ghislaine…?” Gyes’ face puckered. “She’s…still alive?” 

“Huh?” 

His voice filled with disgust. He spat out the words as if they left a bitter taste on his tongue. “She’s a stain on our tribe.” 

That was only the beginning of Gyes bashing on Ghislaine. He spoke in the tongue of men so Eris could understand. His voice was full of emotion unfit for an older brother speaking of his younger sister, as he went on and on about what a mistake Ghislaine was as a person. 

It was difficult for me to listen to it all, given that Ghislaine had once saved my life. It seemed she had done some truly despicable things in the village, but still, this all happened when she was a child. The Ghislaine I knew was clumsy, but hardworking. She’d changed, readjusted herself as a person. She didn’t deserve to be spoken of like this. She was a highly respectable sword instructor as well as an accomplished apprentice of magic. 

So, I thought, how should I put this nicely…? Knock it off. 

“That ring too, that was something our mother gave her so she’d stop going berserk without reason. Not that it ever did any good. She was just a destructive good-for-nothing.” 

“You—” I started to say. 

“Oh, shut up! What do you even know about Ghislaine?!” Eris cut me off, bellowing in a voice loud enough to split the house in two. The others were left dumbfounded by her outburst. After all, only Gyes and Gustav could understand the language. 

I was afraid Eris might turn violent. But instead she looked frustrated, tears welling in her eyes. She balled her hands into trembling fists, but she didn’t swing them. 

“Ghislaine is amazing! Amazingly amazing! If you call for help, she’ll come immediately! She’s super fast! And super strong!” Words that Eris probably wasn’t even thinking about spilled from her mouth. Even though the others didn’t understand what she was saying, the sorrow in her voice conveyed the meaning well enough. And she was also expressing my emotions. 

“Ghislaine is…hic…guh…not someone you can just…hic…” Eris tried her best to not punch anyone, even through her tears. 

That’s right, she couldn’t punch Gyes here. Ghislaine had been violent during her time in this village. If Eris swung a fist here, Gyes could just say, “See? They’re two peas in a pod.” 

When I looked over at Gyes, he seemed confused. “No, I can’t… This is unbelievable. Ghislaine…is respected? This can’t…” 

Seeing that, I tamped my anger down. “Let’s stop this conversation here,” I suggested, putting my arms around Eris’ shoulders. 

Eris looked at me in disbelief. “Why… Rudeus, do you…hate Ghislaine?” 

“No, I like Ghislaine too. The person we know and the person they know may share the same name, but she’s a different person.” I looked at Gyes. Even he would reconsider his stance if he met Ghislaine now. Time changed people. I knew that first-hand. 

“…Fine.” Eris didn’t seem satisfied, but at least she seemed relieved by what I said. 

“Wait, is she—is Ghislaine really such an incredible person now?” 

“I respect her, at the very least.” 

My words drove Gyes into deep contemplation. Considering what we’d heard him say, there must have been a lot that happened between him and Ghislaine. He boiled with anger at the mere mention of her. Being related by blood made it worse. 

“So, could you apologize to us?” 

“…My apologies.” 

The atmosphere became a bit uneasy after that. Perhaps because it was the second time we’d forced Gyes to apologize to us that day. 

As for Ghislaine, I’d completely forgotten about her this past year, but she’d probably been displaced during the incident as well. I wondered where she was and what she was doing. Knowing her, I figured she was probably searching for Eris and me. It was frustrating that we were unable to gather any information during our time in Zant Port. 

*** 

One week passed. Rain continued falling the entire time. We were given an empty house in the village and spent our time there. We were given food regardless of whether or not we contributed anything since we were considered heroes of the Great Forest, even though the village was in dire straits after the damage from the fire. 

The land was flooded, and chaos erupted when a child fell into the water. People were quite shocked but grateful when I used my magic to save them. I thought perhaps I should use my magic to blow away the rainclouds, but I gave up on that thought quickly. Roxy said it herself: Manipulating the weather wasn’t a good idea. If I forced the rain to stop, something awful might happen to the woods. 

To be honest, I just wanted it to hurry up and stop so we could move on. But then again, it was supposed to stop after three months. I just had to bear with it until then. 

It was raining when I decided to take a stroll through the village. Given that it was just a village, there was no weaponsmith, armorer or inn of any type. For the most part it was private housing and storehouses, or guardhouses for their warriors. All of this was built above the trees. 

This village was the real thing, in 3-D! Truly fascinating. My heart thrummed in excitement just walking around. There was one spot where you weren’t allowed to proceed any further. Apparently there was a special place beyond that point. I had no intentions of intruding upon it. 

During my walk, I came upon a pathway that intersected on two levels. I waited on the lower one hoping that a girl might pass by above me, but it was Geese who crossed it. 

“Yo, newbie! So you got out too, eh?” 

He looked happy and waved at me. He’d also received amnesty for his contributions when the village was in trouble. “Yup. ‘Never do it again,’ they said. Morons, all of them. Of course I’m going to do it again.” 

“Hey everyone! Did you hear that? This guy hasn’t learned his lesson!” 

“Hey now! Come on, knock it off. I can’t run off right now, not until the rainy season is over.” 

In other words, he was planning to repeat his mistake. Honestly, what a hopeless case. “Also, allow me to return your vest.” 

“I told you to knock off that polite crap. Just take the vest,” he said. 

“Are you sure?” 

“It’s still cold out during this season.” 

Still, he didn’t seem like a totally bad guy at least. The way he was kind and yet noncommittal reminded me of Paul. Paul… I wondered if he was doing well. 

*** 

Two weeks passed, and the rain wasn’t stopping. 

I learned that the Doldia had their own secret magic. It allowed them to find enemies by using a far-reaching howl, and with their special voices, they could make opponents lose their sense of balance. The way Gyes paralyzed me with his voice was one of those types of magic. From what I heard, it seemed to be a magic that manipulated sound. 

When I told Gustav “I’d love for you to teach me,” he heartily agreed. Unfortunately, no matter how many times he demonstrated it for me, I couldn’t imitate it perfectly. It seemed the magic depended on the unique vocal cords of the Doldia. 

Of course it does, I thought bitterly to myself. In all likelihood I couldn’t use most of the unique magic that individual tribes possessed. It seemed unfair that beastfolk and other races could use human magic so easily. I knew the key element was to channel mana into my voice, but no matter how I did it, the result was always subpar. The best I could do was make my opponent flinch for a moment. It seemed I would be no Wagan, after all. 

On that note, Gustav was quite shocked at how I used magic without chanting. “Do the magic schools these days teach that, too?” 

“It’s because my master taught me so well,” I explained, praising Roxy for no apparent reason. 

“Oh? And where’s your master from?” 

“The Migurd tribe, from the Demon Continent’s Biegoya Region. Her magic… I think she learned from the Academy of Magic?” 

When I told Gustav that I also planned to go to the Academy of Magic, he seemed impressed and said, “Wow, you’re already at that level and yet you’re still motivated to improve?” That made me feel good. 

*** 

Three weeks passed. 

Monsters appeared in this village as well. One was a water strider, surfing swiftly across the water below only to leap up suddenly and attack. Another was like a water snake which slid its way up along the trees. The village was guarded by its band of warrior beastfolk, but their impressive noses and sonar-like voices were no use in the rain, so often monsters would slip by their watchful gaze and infest the village. 

As Eris and I were walking around, one of the beastfolk children nearly got snatched up by a chameleon-like reptile right before us. I promptly shot it down with my stone cannon, and the child adorably wagged their tail and thanked me. 

I was strangely popular among the children in this village, no doubt because I was the hero who saved them in their time of need. Occasionally they would come up to me and lick me on the cheek or show me the collection of acorns they’d gathered before the rainy season hit. I was practically a celebrity. 

Eris, in a true display of her family’s infamy, couldn’t contain her excitement when she saw such a huge gathering of so many adorable children with ears and tails. She annoyed the children by breathing erratically as she patted their heads and touched their tails. 

We couldn’t just stand by while such adorable creatures were attacked by monsters. That was why I proposed that Ruijerd help with the village’s defenses, but he opposed the idea. 

“The warriors here take pride in their role in the village,” he said. Protecting this village was their duty. As long as they didn’t request the aid of an outsider, it wasn’t our business to intrude. That was Ruijerd’s belief, anyway. I didn’t understand it at all. 

“But isn’t the children’s safety more important than that?” 

Ruijerd paused and thought for a few seconds before turning to Gyes for his input. 

Gyes welcomed the idea. “Oh, Master Ruijerd, you’re going to lend us your assistance? That would be a big help!” The kidnapping incident had dramatically decreased the number of their warriors. So Gyes offered to compensate Ruijerd for his assistance on behalf of the warrior band. 

That was how all the monsters in the village were exterminated. Ruijerd would find them and I would use my magic to defeat them. We would retrieve their bodies, strip them of useful materials and sell them to Gyes. It was a beneficial cycle. 

Ruijerd was right about one thing. The village’s warriors disapproved of us at first. It wasn’t until we mercilessly annihilated any monster that entered the village and they realized the rainy season would pass without any casualties that they finally broke into smiles. 

“I thought their tribe had more pride than this. It’s disgraceful, entrusting the protection of their village to another race.” Ruijerd was the only one bothered by this. It seemed the beastfolk of several hundred years ago were quite different from their modern counterparts. 

*** 

One month passed. 

The strength of the downpour seemed to be waning, but that was probably just my imagination. Eris, Minitona, and Tersena were becoming fast friends. They seemed to enjoy traveling around together despite the rain. I wondered what they were doing. 

It turns out Eris was teaching them the Human tongue. Yes, you heard me. Eris was teaching other people a language! This wasn’t the time or place for me to barge in and try to help her; I’d only destroy her image. I was a man who could read the room, after all. 

This was the first time Eris had friends her own age. It made me proud seeing her getting along so well with the girls. The red hair, the cat ears, and the dog ears… Seeing them all happily romping around was more than enough for me. 

Although Eris should be careful about thoughtlessly wrapping her arms around them like that. They might misunderstand her intentions, just like they did with me. In fact, Mister Gyes was watching. How would he feel as a parent, seeing Eris with her nostrils flared, throwing her arms around his daughter? 

“Ah, Lady Eris, I appreciate you getting along so well with my daughter.” 

What the—? This was a totally different reaction from the one he gave me! He should’ve been able to smell the excitement radiating off of Eris right now, so why didn’t he? That was just the difference between men and women, I guessed. Yeah, that had to be it. Of course it was. 

“By the way, I am very sorry about the matter with Ghislaine. We haven’t seen one another in a very long time, so perhaps I’ve misunderstood her. It seems my younger sister has grown a bit during her time in the world.” He bowed his head. It seemed he’d come to terms with that in the past month. That was good. 

“Of course she has. She’s Sword King Ghislaine! And you know what else? Ghislaine can use magic now, too,” Eris boasted. 

“Hahaha, Ghislaine using magic? Lady Eris, your jokes are very clever.” 

“Seriously,” Eris insisted. “Rudeus taught her reading, arithmetic, and magic.” 

“Lord Rudeus did…?” 

After that, Eris began fiercely boasting about Ghislaine and me. She talked about my lessons back in the Fittoa Region. She started with how poorly she and Ghislaine had been at learning, and how much she respected me for sticking with both of them and teaching them all the way till the end. I felt embarrassed listening to it. 

Gyes said how impressed he was again and again, and when the three finally parted, he came over to the wooden box I had hidden in to eavesdrop. “So tell me, what’s a respectable teacher doing in a place like this?” 

“O-observing people is a hobby of mine,” I stammered. 

“Ah, yes, that seems like a very noble hobby to have. By the way, how did you teach Ghislaine how to read?” 

“Nothing special, really. I just did it the normal way.” 

“The normal way…? I can’t picture it,” Gyes said. 

“When she was an adventurer, she went through a lot of hardship because she wasn’t educated. It makes sense that you wouldn’t be able to picture it.” 

“So that’s the story. When she was little, my sister was never happy unless she could hit someone when something happened that she didn’t like.” 

Judging from what he was saying, Ghislaine sounded like she was just like Eris when she was a young girl. Specifically, the parts where she would pick fights with people and that, because she was strong, few could stop her. Gyes must have gotten himself burned by that fire numerous times. He wasn’t a very good older brother if he was that much weaker than his little sister. 

Speaking of older brothers, I was one too. I wondered if Norn and Aisha were doing well. I’d been wanting to write a letter to them, but I kept forgetting. Once the rain stopped, we would head for the capital of the Holy Country of Millis, and there I would send a letter to Buena Village. If I had sent one from the Demon Continent it probably wouldn’t have made it, but surely it would have no trouble if I sent it from Millis. 

“By the way, Master Rudeus.” 

“Yes?” 

“Just how long do you plan to stay inside that wooden box?” 

Until they came in here to get changed, of course. It was almost nighttime, after all. Right now they were going to go play in the water, but then they would have to change into their nightclothes afterward. 

“Sniff, sniff… I can smell the sexual excitement on you.” 

“Whaat?! No way; that’s absurd. Perhaps somewhere there’s a certain beastfolk-loving girl looking ecstatic now that she’s relieved herself?” 

As I tried to play dumb, Gyes’ eyebrow twitched. “Master Rudeus. I am grateful for what you did before. I am also apologetic, even now, for having misunderstood you.” His tone took a sudden shift. “But if you put your hand on my daughter, it’ll be a completely different story. If you don’t get out of that box right now, I’m going to throw it into the floodwaters.” 

He was serious. I didn’t hesitate. I leaped out of that box in a flash, at the same speed of one of those Tomy Pop-up Pirates. 

“I’m a protector of this village. I don’t want to have to say this to you but…restrain yourself a little.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Yeah, well, I did get a little too carried away. That I would admit. 

*** 

A month and a half passed. 

Ruijerd and Gustav got along like a house on fire. Ruijerd paid frequent visits to the Dedoldia house, and the two drank together and swapped tales of their pasts. The stories were packed with gore, but they were actually pretty interesting to listen to. Almost like listening to an ex-biker gang member exaggerate about what a badass he was in his younger days. Except the things Ruijerd and Gustav said probably did actually happen. 

Thanks to those conversations, I got a better understanding of the beastfolk. “Beastfolk” was a generic term for the tribes that lived in the Great Forest. There were many that originated here but crossed over to the Demon Continent and came to be referred to as demons. An outward characteristic of these tribes was that one part of their body retained an animal-like appearance. Each tribe also had one of five senses enhanced. In a broad sense, Nokopara and Blaze were also once a part of the beastfolk. 

The Doldia were particularly special among the tribes of beastfolk. Only one tribe maintained the peace of the forest while also protecting the Sacred Beast. That was the Doldia. 

Then there were the cat-like Dedoldia and the dog-like Adoldia. Those were the two primary families that were divided into a dozen branch families. In other words, the royalty of the Great Forest. Although they weren’t doing much to deserve the title, they were the ones who would lead when the necessity arose. 

There were also elves and hobbits living in the Great Forest. They were concentrated in the northern part of the forest, so they didn’t have much contact with the beastfolk. However, all the tribes would gather for a meeting once a year, and they would participate in a festival near the Great Sacred Tree. According to Gustav, while their tribes had differences, they all lived as friends in the Great Forest. 

As for the dwarves, they lived not in the Great Forest but farther south, at the foot of the Blue Wyrm Mountains. The blue dragons flew across the world and only returned to the mountain range to nest when they were laying eggs or raising their young, like migratory birds. Unlike migratory birds, however, they only returned once every ten years. 

Since time immemorial, men and beastfolk had cycled through war and friendship with one another. One war, which was really more of a small competition, took place just fifty years ago. Gustav regaled us with stories of his involvement, and how the beastfolk’s strongest band of warriors mowed down a group of human soldiers that had wandered into the forest. It was quite overdramatized, but hearing the way things played out from the beastfolk’s point of view was quite fresh and entertaining. 

To counter this, Ruijerd whipped out his trump card, the story about the Superd Clan during Laplace’s War. The two traded banter as if they were competing, but given that they were both old men, it more or less turned into a sermon about the good old days. 

“Warriors these days are a complete disgrace.” 

“I understand what you mean completely, Master Ruijerd. Many of them are feeble and weak.” 

“Exactly,” Ruijerd said. “Men in my youth were tough and strong.” 

Literally kindred spirits. This might have been a different world from my first, but the camaraderie of old men sure was the same. 

“You’re precisely right. Gyes may lead the warriors now, but he lacks judgment. He’s good at leading people, but if he could assess situations better, then Master Rudeus wouldn’t have gone through all of that,” Gustav said. 

Ruijerd disagreed. “No, Rudeus is a warrior. He should have understood that if he let his guard down in enemy territory, he ran the risk of being caught and held as a captive. Yet he still let his guard down. If he’d taken things seriously, he would have been able to best someone like Gyes. That was his own failure.” 

Ouch. As true as it was, that hurt. Ruijerd had faith in me, which was why he allowed me to go alone. Yet I was caught so easily. In a way, I’d betrayed his trust. 

“But Master Ruijerd, isn’t that a bit heartless? Your comrade had something terrible happen to him.” 

“As a warrior, you must take responsibility for your own battles. Besides, Rudeus could have escaped on his own at any point. I appreciate that he trusts me as his companion, but he’s not a child. A warrior doesn’t force their comrades into a difficult position by allowing themselves to get caught!” 

Boy, Ruijerd, you sure are hammered, I thought. Maybe you could escape on your own if you got caught, but try not to expect too much out of me. My powers aren’t limitless, okay? 

*** 

Two months passed. 

Whenever I was in my room, the Sacred Beast would come plodding in. The beast lived deeper in the village alongside the flowers and the butterflies, but once a day during its walk time it would roam about the village freely. Its favorite (and current) route was wherever I was. 

“Well, if it isn’t the Sacred Beast. What business do you have here with a sex fiend like me?” 

“Ruff!” 

“Life’s ruff, huh?” 

“Ruff!” 

That wasn’t much of an answer. 

I wasn’t sure whether the Sacred Beast was male or female, but either way it settled down beside me. At the moment I was holding the beginnings of a figurine in my hands. It looked like it would be some time before the rain stopped, so I decided to try making one. 

It was modeled after Ruijerd. You might be wondering why I picked him, but just think about it. The Superd were faceless boogeymen. People trembled with fear when they saw green hair, but there was no color on the figure I made. It was just a completely ash-gray stone figure. Perhaps if it was impressive enough, people might become more accepting of him. 

First was the silhouette. The hair would come last. 

“Woof.” The Sacred Beast pressed its body against my thigh and rested its head atop my knee. I was puzzled, given that I’d never had an animal come up to me like this before. 

“Arf?” It looked at my hands as if to ask what I was doing. The pup was quite calm despite its young age. 

I finally settled on stroking its neck. “I don’t have anything else to do, so I’m creating something.” 

“Woof.” The beast licked my hand and wagged its tail. Clearly it didn’t hate me. It was still raining outside, so it probably didn’t have anything else to do, either. It was probably yearning for some excitement. 

“Want to play?” 

“Woof!” 

So the two of us grappled and roughhoused. I got to enjoy its soft fluffy fur, and the Sacred Beast received a moderate amount of exercise. Truly a win-win situation. 

Knock, knock. Someone was rapping on the door as we were in the midst of playing. 

“Hm? Come on in.” 

“Pardon me.” A woman in warrior’s dress came in. It was Laklana. She was one of those in charge of the Sacred Beast, and she would come retrieve it when its walk time was near an end. 

“Nice to see you again.” 

“You as well, Master Rudeus. Also, about that time before…” Every time she saw me, Laklana would apologize for the time when she threw freezing cold water on me. The first apology had been more than enough. “That aside, could you please stop being so attached to the Sacred Beast?” 

“What are you talking about? I’m just having fun playing with it.” 

What, was this another false accusation? She really didn’t feel sorry about anything, did she? If she wasn’t careful with her words, next time she would be the one naked in a jail cell and I would be the one pouring the water. 

“But I can smell your arousal.” 

“…It’s not for the reason you’re thinking.” 

The real reason was because every time she came and bowed her head, my inner pervert began to whisper, “Hey lady, if you could solve this with a simple sorry, we wouldn’t need to call the cops, now would we? If you really want to solve this, you know what you gotta do, right? Let’s take it to the bedroom together.” 

“The Sacred Beast is extremely precious to the Doldia. I’m aware that you saved it from harm, but developing feelings for it is—” 

“Except I don’t have any feelings for it.” 

The Sacred Beast was a type of magical beast born once every few hundred years. It didn’t have a proper name. Since ages long past, it only appeared when the world faced a crisis, and when it became an adult it would set out alongside a hero, using its great power to save the world. 

That was how the legend went, anyway. That was why the Sacred Beast was raised with such immense care, deep within the Doldia Village, in a restricted area where there stood a great tree they called the Sacred Tree. So of course it had lived a sheltered life. They were careful not to expose the pup to the outside world, which it knew little about. It was still a dog, though, so they allowed it time for a walk once daily. 

It would apparently take another hundred years before the Sacred Beast reached adulthood. If the stories were true, the world would meet with calamity then. In the meantime, Laklana was overseeing the protection of the Sacred Beast. As for the Sacred Tree, it was located beyond that blocked-off path I had visited earlier. 

“Could it be that…Lord Rudeus is the hero?” 

“Woof!” The pup gave a bark. 

Laklana’s expression turned to shock. “What?! What are you saying?” 

Hm? What was she talking about? 

“Arf!” 

“I see then, but—” 

“Woof!” 

“…I understand.” 

Why the heck are you talking to this dog as if you’re having a normal conversation? I thought. I could hear it barking. That was definitely not the Beast God tongue. Just how was she understanding it? Was she using a Bow-Lingual translator? 

“The Sacred Beast said that you’re not the one.” 

“I figured as much.” Although I wished she’d elaborate. 

“But the Sacred Beast is very grateful to you, it seems.” 

“Oh? I was left in that cell the whole time, so I figured it forgot about me.” 

“Woof!” 

“Regrettable, the Sacred Beast said, but it did ask us to feed you delicious food. Master Rudeus, you did enjoy the meals we provided you, yes?” 

Indeed. The food at least was very good. I also received seconds when I asked for them. I did think that was strange for a jail. So the Sacred Beast had arranged that for me? Using food as a form of gratitude sounded exactly like something a dog would do. 

“Although if you were going to do that, I would have preferred you release me from my cell, at least.” 

“Woof!” (Or apparently, “What’s a cell?”) 

“A place where you lock up bad people,” I explained. 

“Arf! (‘But I’m also locked up.’)” 

We continued for a bit after that, having a conversation with Laklana as our interpreter. It seemed the Sacred Beast didn’t know all the details about what happened. That included not being aware of the smell of arousal that Gyes claimed was coming off me, or why Gyes had then taken me into custody. It didn’t seem to know much about the meaning of its kidnapping either, beyond that it was a terrifying experience. In other words, it was still just a child. It wasn’t right to demand reparations from a child, so I gave up on that. 

“I did get to live more comfortably because of you, so thank you.” At my gratitude, it wagged its tail and licked my face. 

Heh heh, you sure are a cute one, I thought as I stroked its neck, only to be pushed to the ground. Aah, you can’t! Not where people can see us…! 

“Master Rudeus, this is the Sacred Beast’s way of showing respect. Could you please try to restrain your affections?” 

“You’re misunderstanding, what you’re smelling is my arousal because of you.” 

“Huh?!” 

“That was rude of me; disregard that.” Crap, crap. I let my true feelings slip out. 

“Ahem…Sacred Beast, it’s time we returned to the Sacred Tree.” 

“Woof!” 

The beast obediently turned to leave, just as it was told, and went without a single complaint. 

This became a daily occurrence. But let’s just keep it a secret between us that a few days later, Laklana got incredibly pissed at me when I tried to teach the Sacred Beast how to shake. 

Just like that, with nothing terribly eventful occurring, three months passed and the rain stopped.