Chapter 85

The next morning at breakfast, I tried adding some mint (or something like it) to boiling water to make something like mint tea. It has a slightly grassy taste, but the refreshing mouthfeel is nice. Maybe I could use this as a substitute for tea. I’ll think about it a bit.

“We’re going to the town to deliver goods today. What about you, Ridi? It’s fine if you come with us.”

Leaving Ridi here alone, there’s probably nothing for her to do. With one man and four women, and three of them being beastfolk, a dwarf, and an elf, we’re bound to stand out. But as long as that lord is working hard for us, I don’t think anything serious will happen. What’s worrying is the mithril sword. Is it safe to leave it here? If Ridi stays to guard it, that’s fine too. There’s nothing that would be particularly troublesome if stolen, like gold coins, which can always be earned again. The only thing I’d really mind is if they took the pots and pans, as that would make it hard to cook.

“I’ll go with you. The sword should be safe here.”

“Got it. Then, please get ready.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Ridi nodded and disappeared into the guest room. She agreed to come along surprisingly easily. There must be something about this place that I don’t know but Ridi does. Well, I’ll figure it out eventually. I went to my room to get ready to go.

Pulling the cart is my and Rike’s job. We can’t really ask Ridi to do it. Since she has good eyesight, I decided to ask Sermia and Diana to keep watch around us.

However, pulling the cart by hand all the time might not be the best idea. The load will likely increase, and it’s too noticeable. It would be better to have some mobility. So, we might need to consider getting horses at some point, even though it would mean dealing with the feed. But that’s a future concern.

We moved forward through the green light, with dark vertical lines—tree trunks—towering around us. The leaves rustled, and a pleasant breeze flowed. I wonder if Ridi can hear the voices of the trees. That might be a bit too much to hope for, given she’s an elf.

Diana was still looking around curiously. I completely understand how she feels. Then, Sermia suddenly stopped.

“Is it something dangerous?”

I stopped too and asked Sermia.

“No… hmm.”

Sermia’s ears twitched, and her nose twitched as she concentrated, trying to detect what was there.

“Oh, it’s that thing.”

She stopped moving her ears and nose, then rummaged in her pocket. She quickly took something out and tossed it toward a nearby bush. Squinting, I saw it was dried meat.

The bush rustled, and a small shadow jumped out. It was a brown, puppy-like creature—a wolf pup.

“—!”

Diana let out a muffled scream to avoid startling it. She’s quite skilled.

Indeed, it’s adorable. It’s almost like a puppy. It wagged its tail and eagerly ate the dried meat. It’s definitely very cute. I couldn’t help but smile. Diana, who had come up beside me, started pounding my shoulder. It actually hurt. I get what she’s excited about, but calm down.

After finishing its meal, the wolf pup, not a puppy, wagged its tail and barked, “Woof!”

Diana pounded my shoulder again. Calm down.

The wolf pup seemed to be about to come closer, but a large wolf suddenly appeared. It must be the mother. The wolf pup ran to her and started playing. It was a heartwarming scene.

The mother wolf playfully nudged the pup with her nose, and they left together into the bushes.

“I see, as Sermia said before, it is indeed cute.”

“Right?!!!!”

Diana shouted almost like a roar. My ears physically hurt.

“It’s so cute that I can understand the urge to find one.”

“Right, right!”

“But it would be cruel to take it away from its mother.”

“Ah, that’s true…”

Diana’s shoulders drooped a bit.

“Sometimes, you find pups that have been abandoned or lost by their parents. In those cases, it would be okay to help them.”

Sermia casually mentioned this, and Diana immediately perked up.

“That’s right! If we find one, we should help it right away!”

She was breathing heavily and made a determined fist.

Rike, Ridi, and I exchanged glances and couldn’t help but sigh.