Chapter 33

The next day

When I showed my face at the tailor's shop, the otaku-like girl greeted me with a smile.

"Here you go! Your clothes are ready. I stayed up all night for the first time in a while."

Despite that, the tailor seemed unusually energetic. She brought out Filo's clothes from the back of the store.

It was a white dress. A blue ribbon was placed in the center, and blue accents were used to create contrast, making it simple yet beautifully crafted.

How should I put it? It felt like a simple-is-best design that would be picky about who wore it.

"Master, are you going to wear this?"

"Yeah."

"Yay!"

Filo, who had been wearing a cloak until now, tried to strip naked on the spot.

"No, you can't."

"Aww."

Lufutarie stopped her and led her to the back of the store.

I waited for her to change inside the store.

"Then, change into your monster form too."

I heard the shop assistant's voice from the back of the store.

"Why?"

"Otherwise, the ribbon will dig into your flesh."

"Ah!"

She says some pretty scary things.

"Got it."

There was a puff sound as she transformed, and then—

"Yeah, it really suits you..."

I heard a sigh of admiration.

"Let's go then."

"Okay!"

The women came out from the back of the store.

They turned their eyes towards Filo.

...Yeah. Probably because of her good looks, she looked like a real angel.

A white dress, pure white wings... a blue ribbon on her chest as an accent. It was like a two-dimensional child angel heroine.

"Master."

"Huh?"

"How does it look? Does it suit me?"

"Well, it does suit you."

I didn't expect the otaku-like tailor to make a dress that would fully utilize Filo's appearance. She must be quite talented.

"Hehe."

Filo, blushing, laughed and made the dress flutter.

The cost of the dress had already been paid by the weapon shop owner.

It was quite an unexpected expense.

To get back to Reuto Village, I had Filo pull the cart.

That dress, when Filo transformed into her monster form, indeed disappeared, and the ribbon turned into a collar. It was a pretty impressive trick.

It was expensive, but it had convenient features.

"Ah, Shield Hero."

I ran into the magic shop lady as we were leaving the town.

"Are you going to Reuto Village?"

"Yeah."

"I have some errands to run there too. Can I hitch a ride with you?"

The magic shop lady suggested with a smile.

Well, since we were on the way anyway, and I had been a bother to her before, I didn't want to refuse.

"I can't guarantee the ride, but is it okay?"

"Sure."

Lufutarie was already looking far away to fight off motion sickness.

"Then, I'll get in."

The magic shop lady got into the cart.

"Okay, Filo. Don't go too fast."

"Okay."

Passersby were surprised to see Filo, a talking monster. The cart moved along the road with a clattering sound.

It had been a very busy few days.

Well, I'm usually busy, but it felt especially so.

All of it seemed to revolve around Filo.

"How's your magic study going?"

"Ugh..."

The magic shop lady hit a sore spot.

To be honest, it wasn't going well.

I couldn't just say, "Just give me the crystal ball," because she had made the thread for Filo's dress at a low price, so I couldn't complain.

"I'm from another world, so I can't read the language yet."

"Oh... I'm sorry."

The lady really looked apologetic. So, I also lamented my lack of study.

I repay what I receive.

In a good way and a bad way.

So, if I receive kindness, I want to repay it.

I have to remember that.

I don't have the knowledge of that damn hero. That's why I have to keep learning.

And to survive the waves, I need to get the best equipment possible.

I'll put aside the idea of text translation and recipe unlocking for now.

It will take a while, but I decided to learn it.

"Phew... It's light."

While pulling the cart, Filo yawned and muttered.

The cart with three people on it was light.

It was a good sign. I already had an idea. Something only Filo could do.

When we arrived at Reuto Village, the magic shop lady gave me 25 copper coins.

"What's this?"

"It's a fee for the ride."

"Oh, I see."

I'll add this to my plan.

Reuto Village was still in the process of reconstruction. When I went to the inn, the owner welcomed us warmly.

I apologized for the chimera meat, and he compromised, saying it couldn't be helped if there was none.

"Alright, now we're going to train Lufutarie's motion sickness and transport lumber."

I promised to help with the reconstruction as compensation for the meat. There would be a small reward, he said.

"Eh!?"

Lufutarie made a sour face. Well, if it's about overcoming a weakness, there's no choice.

"From now on, our mode of transportation will be the cart pulled by Filo. Get used to it."

"Y-Yes."

"Okay!"

"Filo, you're the one pulling it."

"Okay!"

Filo really loves pulling the cart. Her eyes were shining.

"Um... Do you have a plan?"

"Yeah, I think we'll start peddling."

"Peddling?"

"Not much variety, but mainly medicine, and we'll also do transportation. I want to diversify."

Lufutarie didn't seem to understand. Well, I'm not sure if it will succeed either. But it's about time we started moving around.

We have the cart, so we might as well use it.

"So, if we're doing transportation, we'll have to pull the cart at Filo's top speed. It would be a problem if Lufutarie kept getting motion sickness."

"I understand the reason, but..."

"Do you know a place where it's less likely to get motion sickness? It's best to start there."

"Is there such a place?"

"Yeah."

Before starting today's work, I put Lufutarie on Filo's back, a place less likely to cause motion sickness.

"Why do I have to ride on her back when Master could do it..."

Filo grumbled as she carried Lufutarie on her back.

"I feel the same. This is quite embarrassing."

Filo, with her owl-like body, carrying Lufutarie on her back felt a bit strange.

"Is it too tight?"

"No, it's comfortable."

Maybe because it was close to her original form, Filo didn't seem to have a problem.

"Let's go then."

"Okay!"

Filo, carrying Lufutarie, started pulling the cart.

Despite the considerable weight, she said it wasn't that heavy.

I started deciphering the intermediate recipe book while translating.

...Clatter.

...Clatter.

As I focused on the difficult foreign language with the pleasant sound of the wheels as background music—

"Um..."

...Clatter.

"Um..."

Huh?

I noticed and looked at Filo. For some reason, she was in human form, carrying Lufutarie on her back. Lufutarie had been trying to talk to me with a troubled look.

Passing adventurers were whispering and pointing at us.

"Don't do anything that will start rumors!"

If I make a girl carry another girl and then make her pull a cart, it would spread a strange rumor and ruin my reputation, which had just started to improve.

"Um..."

"Don't transform into human form while pulling the cart."

"Okay."

Filo nodded unhappily and transformed back into her monster form.

She was probably bored. Lufutarie didn't seem to have motion sickness yet.

So, it should be okay to push a bit harder.

"Alright, let's speed up."

"Yay!"

Filo nodded with high spirits and started running at my command.

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

The cart's wheels made a loud noise.

"Whoa!"

Lufutarie let out a surprised cry and clung to Filo.

Well, we'll reach our destination faster this way.