Chapter 59: Ways to make a trip comfortable

n

n

n

nRushing towards the Army Ants that surrounded the Dragon Horse from behind, I mowed them down with Ice Bringer.

nThe Army Ants tried intimidating the sudden intruder by snapping their jaws. There, Sophia rushed in, lunging with the Wind Spear 【Tempest】. Gales blew violently from the spearhead, swallowing up the surrounding Army Ants and launching them into the air.

nFlames were brought forth the moment Maria stabbed an Army Ant with the Flame Spear 【Explode】, burning the insides of the Army Ant.

nThe Army Ants that Sophia had launched into the air started falling. I struck one of ants on the head with the adamantite alloy butt end off my spear, easily smashing its exoskeleton, which could withstand an iron sword and can only be chipped by a magic steel sword.

nI sidestepped instinctively, then suddenly, formic acid scattered and fell onto the spot I stepped away from.

n「Be careful of the formic acid!」

nI called out to the girls, and hit the head of the ant that tried spit formic acid using butt end of my spear. The blow I did to stop it from spitting was stronger than I expected and the head of the ant twisted off and flew somewhere.

nThe swarm of ants that took pride in their tough exoskeleton and weapons were cut up and killed without resistance. The extermination took 5 minutes.

nI hit the head of the ant that wouldn’t stop biting the Dragon Horse with the palm of my hand, invoking 『Decomposition』 on its brainstem. The Army Ant let go of the Dragon Horse and fell like a puppet that had its strings cut.

nDosa! (Thud!)

nThe moment all of the Army Ants were exterminated, the Dragon Horse collapsed.

nThe Dragon Horse’s body had bite wounds from the Army Ants’ powerful jaws and festering scales covered in formic acid that were painful to look at.

nIt raised its head and snarled at me when I tried to approach.

n「It’s okay, we won’t harm you. Hey you, why not become my familiar?」

nSophia, Maria, and Kaede went to my side.

nDid the Dragon Horse understand something when it saw Kaede? It stopped snarling.

n「You’re a clever one. I’ll even heal your wounds. Will you come with me?」

nThe Dragon Horse that had its head raised, nodded.

n「High Heal!」

nMy recovery magic enveloped the Dragon Horse, and in a flash, the bite wounds and festering scales recovered to how they were before.

nThe Dragon Horse slowly stood up and faced me.

nI activated the Taming skill.

n〈Tame the Drake Horse? Y

/N 〉

nIt had transmitted that the Dragon Horse accepted.

nNaturally, I chose YES.

n〈The Drake Horse has been tamed〉

nI felt that a path of magic power connected the Dragon Horse and myself.

n「I have to give you a name. Hmm, what should it be?」

n「This one is a girl. Wouldn’t a cute name be nice?」

nWould a cute name fit a Dragon Horse? Maria said that a cute name is fine.

n「Master, how did Kaede get Kaede’s name?」

n「Kaede’s body has a leaf pattern, right? It is exactly like the leaf of a tree called Kaede1, so that’s where I got it from.」

n「Then name this one from a leaf too, Master.」

nBeing told that by Kaede, I looked at the Dragon Horse and gave it some thought.

nI examined the Dragon Horse properly again.

nIt has a large, strong body covered in deep green scales, and a white mane that sways with the wind. It’s crimson eyes were watching me intently.

n「Alright, this one here is Tsubaki.」

n「What is Tsubaki, Master?」

n「Ah, it is an evergreen shrub, one whose leaves do not fall all year round, and it has red and white flowers. This Dragon Horse has deep green scales and deep crimson eyes that’s why I associate it with the tsubaki2. Your name is “Tsubaki”.」

n「Burururu」

nTsubaki shook her head as if to say that she was pleased with the name.

n「Tsubaki, it has a nice ring to it.」

n「It’s quite the splendid horse.」

nSophia and Maria approached Tsubaki and pet her too. Kaede is already on Tsubaki’s back.

nName: Tsubaki(Takumi Iruma’s Familiar)

nRace: Drake Horse

nAge: 3

nLevel: 12

nCondition: Healthy

nVitality: 210

nMagic Power: 80

nStrength: 160

nAgility: 180

nStamina: 240

nDexterity: 30

nIntelligence: 50

nUnique Skills

nDragon Scales Lv2

nPassive Skills

nHigh Speed Travel Lv4

nLong Distance Travel Lv2

nActive Skills

nCharge Lv2

nPresence Detection Lv2

nMagic Perception Lv1

nConfirming her status, I could see that she has outstanding stamina.

n「Hey Kaede, can’t Tsubaki use telepathy?」

n「Tsubaki can’t yet. Tsubaki can’t use telepathy unless she evolves one more time.」

nConsidering that, Kaede being able to use telepathy right after being tamed is amazing.

nAfter that, everyone rode on Tsubaki’s back, heading back to the place we left our carriage at. Tsubaki was galloping easily even with all of us on her.

nTsubaki ran like the wind, not at all affected by carrying the four of us.

nHer back surprisingly didn’t shake so we weren’t burdened.

nReturning to the carriage, I manipulated it and we returned to Volton. Tsubaki ran alongside the carriage. Kaede was merrily riding on her back. She seems really pleased.

nI later heard that she was happy she was able to get a sister.

n***

nFootnotes:

n