Chapter 89

"Hmm, that's right. Oh, by the way, I was thinking of changing the chain on my guild card. Pantas, are you doing any modifications too?"

When I asked, Pantas smoothly pulled out a tag from her chest. I see, it really does fit in the cleavage.

"I just changed it to a leather cord. ...Oh."

Huh? A ring was hanging with the tag. She hastily pushed it back to its original position.

"Huh? What does that mean!?"

Maidie leaned in. Pantas waved her hand to avoid the question and redirected, "What about yours?"

"Well, I'll tell you later. Mine is... a matching one with Mou!"

She lifted her face a little to show it. It was a black leather choker type. A small pink ribbon was attached above the tag.

"Oh, that reminds me of Mou. Hey, you should change where you put Mou's tag. If it's buried in the fur, it's pointless to wear it."

When I said that, Maidie made a displeased face.

"What if you get killed without noticing the tag?"

"It's fine. Mou is famous."

"I don't know where that confidence comes from, but I just met and heard about Mou for the first time yesterday. Sure, once you see it, it's memorable, but what if you get killed in that first encounter?"

Maidie tilted her head.

"You can't touch a familiar, you know?"

"That's why I'm saying it's hard to recognize it as a familiar at first. A medium-sized monster appears. Whether it shows hostility or not, some will attack first. In that state, 'I didn't realize it was a familiar' could be a valid defense."

After all, it's fluffy and seems valuable. Of course, hunting familiars is forbidden, but such an excuse could be made.

"Mou is strong though..."

"The individual strength doesn't matter in this case. Besides, if I were a noble yesterday, Mou could have been executed. I was making a campfire. If I had been kidnapped and it spread, who would take responsibility? Your actions protect Mou."

I realized it later and went to check. Fortunately, it didn't spread because it was burned in a hole. Kokushin didn't have the luxury to worry about that. If the roles were reversed, I might have just watched in shock. It was amazing that Kokushin dashed immediately.

"I have to protect Mou..."

"Just showing it's a familiar clearly will protect it. More important than cuteness and fluffiness is protecting its life."

To be honest, I'm not good with Maidie. But Mou is innocent. I think it understands what it's doing to some extent.

"Then, what should I do?"

Maidie asked.

"Change where you put the tag. Make it more visible, like wearing a scarf."

"That's not cute."

You brat. I said cuteness is secondary. Anyway, what about other familiars?

"How about the tail?"

Kokushin suggested.

"Hmm, if possible, I'd prefer the front. Something that can be seen at a glance. Ears, maybe a piercing?"

A bracelet might work, but if Mou lifts its leg to show the tag, it might be seen as an attack stance.

"I don't like pain."

Maidie shivered. Not you, but... oh, to match. By the way, you like the feeling of magic depletion, but you can't stand actual pain? I don't get it.

"Then, an ear cuff."

"An ear cuff?"

Hmm, maybe she doesn't know. Looking at Norland, he seemed to recall something.

"Yeah, it's a decorative item that clamps onto the ear. It was popular a while ago. It's not very common now."

"Eh, I don't like old things."

Maidie frowned, and I laughed, "You're silly."

"Fashion repeats itself. Next time, you'll be at the forefront of fashion."

"Me?"

She was flustered. There, there.

"Of course, we'll make the design modern. We can make cute ones too. I'm a designer. Cool, right!"

I took out paper and a pen and handed them to her. Since I'm doing this, please join in with Norland's conversation.

"What does an ear cuff look like?"

Come on, Norland!

"Um, like this, the ear, and then it clamps like this..."

My drawing is terrible! What is this nightmare-inducing, squiggly-lined human face...? The face is fine. Huh? Maidie's face? Yeah, it looks a lot like her. No, draw the design. Don't stop. Don't look at me.

"...like this, and here, embed the guild card. Hold it in place with prongs like a ring. It won't fall out. We could even make it hollow. It might jingle, but letting it dangle here would make it noticeable and pretty. If you want cute, like flowers or something. If you want cool, like a sword or dragon..."

I drew whatever came to mind. Honestly, I'm not an expert in jewelry design. I don't even know if they can make it. I don't care if it's ugly or not.

"Swords and dragons, you have to be careful because there are crests with those designs."

Kokushin pointed out. Right, there are such things. Even if it's a copy, it's probably not good to copy crests. I'll remove the keychains I bought on a school trip that are mysteriously available everywhere.

"Well, you guys check that out."

"Hmm, if this part is like this, Toyzas, can we do this?"

"This thin? ...We'll try. More importantly, will this curve break?"

"The strength isn't enough. We might need to rethink the metal. Do we have any in stock?"

"I'll order from my dad. And this part..."

...Listen to me.

The bald and mohawked men were discussing my scribbles. Maidie interrupted.

"It needs more color. Let's make it pink."

"There's no pink metal."

"Ugh, I want pink. Add ribbons, and sparkly things."

"No, this design..."

"Also, for Mou, the dangling part of the guild card. Mou's ears are quite thick, so be careful. And, the ears are sensitive, so make sure it doesn't fall off!"

With a barrage of requests, the two men leaned in and grunted, "Hmm." They didn't seem troubled, but were considering the options. Maidie kept suggesting more. Pantas, who was getting tipsy, chimed in, "This design would suit you," but what she drew was a deformed version of Mou.

"No way, it's so cute! Pantas, draw more! More! And me next to it... Why am I so small!?! More cute, please! You don't have that much chest! You're exaggerating!"

She got noisy again. Before the second round, let's go back.

"So, we're leaving now."

It was all a mess.

Gabal was still drinking happily, unaffected by the alcohol. He bowed deeply to us.

"Thank you very much."

"No, it's still not clear."

"No, no, you got me motivated. It's more than enough. Just having this time was a thank you. Is there anything you want?"

Hmm, I scratched my head.

"Well, I'll visit the shop tomorrow."

My head isn't working today.

On the way back from the dining hall to the inn, Kokushin kept glancing at me.

"What?"

"Well, I didn't expect you to go along with that. I thought there was some intention..."

I tilted my head.

"Oh, there's nothing. Just no good time to wrap it up."

"Is that so?"

"Maybe it's because I made unnecessary acquaintances. Let's get back to our journey soon. We got a lot of supplies from Gabal."

"I'm fine with that."

"What about Rada?"

No response. Rada wasn't there... We looked at each other. Did you call her? No, I thought you would... We quietly looked away. Ugh, do we have to go back there?

Rada was sound asleep in the chaotic dining hall.