Chapter 81

Hailoot is a personable, bright, and carefree individual.

He doesn’t seem to be a bad person, but he has been growled at by Goo-sama and is receiving wary glances from Fon.

“Mr. Hailoot, you are a painter, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Some people say I don’t look like one, but I’m a man dedicated to painting.”

“Guaa?”

Goo-sama growls lowly at Hailoot, as if to say, “Don’t lie.”

Both Goo-sama and Fon seem to be treating Hailoot rather harshly.

“Since you are a painter, do you perhaps carry something with a strong smell, like pigments?”

“Does it smell?”

“No, not really, but the wolf is reacting strangely. I thought maybe there’s some lingering scent that humans can’t detect.”

“Ahh, I see.”

Hailoot smiled weakly and scratched his head.

“I’ve always been like this. I seem to be disliked by animals, like dogs, cats, and birds.”

“That’s an inconvenient constitution….”

There are people like that sometimes.

They don’t do anything, but for some reason, animals avoid them.

In Japan, it was said to be due to pheromones or the frequency of their voice, but the exact cause was unknown.

“Well, usually, it’s just that animals run away when I try to touch them, so it’s not a problem. This wolf might be particularly sensitive.”

“I see. ……Could it be that for this wolf, Mr. Hailoot is like the opposite of catnip?”

“If I’m the opposite of catnip….”

Hailoot had an ambiguous expression, not quite a smile.

Does he have some thoughts about catnip?

In this world, like on Earth, there are differences in the plants that grow. However, catnip does exist, and it has the same effect of attracting cats and other felines.

……And this effect on felines is a problem in this country.

The lynx people, who have cat ears and tails, are affected by catnip.

While the effects vary from person to person, in severe cases, they can become intoxicated and lose their sense of self.

Catnip and its processed forms, which can drive lynx people to madness, are banned from possession and sale in this country.

They are called illegal banned plants, and there is a black market for high-priced catnip.

When I learned about this, I couldn’t help but laugh, thinking it wasn’t so bad.

While it is a serious issue for the lynx people, the difference in treatment compared to Japan is significant.

……Well, let’s put aside the catnip situation for now.

I compared Hailoot and the scaled horse and opened my mouth.

“Is the reason you brought a scaled horse instead of a regular horse related to your constitution?”

“Yes, that’s right. The horse I brought from my country didn’t work out, and when I was looking for a new one, I met this scaled horse. I seem to be less disliked by creatures with scales, so it’s a good fit for me.”

“……You said you brought it from your country, so you are from a different country?”

“Liorbern. I came to this country about two years ago.”

“Oh, from Liorbern!”

Liorbern, the country with delicious food.

When my brain thinks about food, that’s the first thing that comes to mind.

It was one of the countries I hoped to visit when I was exiled from my homeland.

“Mr. Hailoot, you’ve come from quite far. Why did you come from Liorbern to this country?”

“It’s like an apprenticeship for painting. This country has many beast people, and a unique culture, so I wanted to see it with my own eyes.”

“You’re passionate. What kind of paintings do you create?”

“Mostly portraits for work. Here’s an example.”

Hailoot took a small locket from his pocket.

When he opened it, there was a small, intricately detailed portrait inside.

“You’re very talented! Did you come here today to promote your work as a painter?”

“That’s part of it, but I also have a personal matter.”

“Personal?”

“Guaa?”

My voice and Goo-sama’s growl, which seemed to say, “What is it? Spit it out,” overlapped.

“I wanted to meet Lady Letizia once. I was a drinking buddy with Lord Claude.”

“Lord Claude….”

He is the youngest of my three older brothers.

I believe he came to this country for work about a year and a half ago.

It seems he formed a friendship with Hailoot during that time.

Now that I think about it, the laid-back and carefree Hailoot and my brother Claude do have some similarities, so it’s natural that they got along.

“I heard about Lady Letizia from Lord Claude when we went out for drinks.”

“Thank you. ……My brother was in your care.”

Claude, who loves books and laziness, is a gentle person, but from my perspective as his sister, he’s a bit of a slacker in his personal life.

He does his job well and doesn’t cause trouble, but in some ways, he’s even more laid-back and follows his own path than I do.

“Ahaha, well, we’re all in the same boat.”

Hailoot laughed lightly.

We chatted a bit more, and he agreed to visit again another day.