Chapter 2: Danger to the Village? No! This Is a Fluff Opportunity!

“Lady Kanata, I must ask. Do you have any idea where we are?” Fenrir asked.

“Kanata was running too fast,” Zag’giel answered. “We must confess that we, too, do not know the way back.”

Fenrir had fallen into a river and been captured by goblins in his escape from the Holy City to the west. He had no idea where they were. Zag’giel, who had been clinging to Kanata’s shoulder for dear life, had no more of an idea.

“I don’t have any more of a clue than you two do,” Kanata said. “I just smelled the fluff and came running.”

In other words, they were lost.

“The sun has almost set,” said Zag’giel. “It may well be that we must spend the night in the woods.”

“I’d be fine with that,” said Fenrir, “but I would never dream of subjecting Lady Kanata to such a thing!”

“I’d be perfectly fine too!” Kanata said. “But I was really hoping you two would get to sleep in a warm bed tonight.”

Melissa, the guild receptionist who helped them out from time to time, had insisted that Kanata bring a tent and sleeping bags in her inventory. The three had the option of camping if they needed to.

“Furball,” said Zag’giel. “You call yourself a wolf, do you not? Then your nose must be sharp. Can you smell a human settlement anywhere?”

“Silence, furball!” Fenrir retorted. “My nose isn’t at its best in this body. But you’re the Demon King, aren’t you? Can’t you do something with your magic?!”

The two glared daggers at each other, Kanata sandwiched between them.

“Ahh,” she sighed. “Quarreling fluffballs! So cute!”

Kanata hadn’t changed a bit.

At this rate, night was going to fall, and the road would only get harder to find. The three were beginning to think that there may be no alternative to camping after all. But then, something unexpected happened. They heard the sound of hoofbeats somewhere far away. Whatever the hooves belonged to must have been moving fast, because as distant as they sounded, they were still completely audible.

“That sounds like people talking!” Kanata said. Her ears were sharper even than the two beasts’. “And I hear wheels! I wonder if it’s a wagon.” She turned to face the direction of the sounds.

“Lady Kanata!” Fenrir said. “If they’re merchants, they might let us ride in their wagon!”

“Even if they do not,” Zag’giel added, “they will be able to tell us the way to a human village. At the very least, following the sound of hoofbeats should take us to some manner of road.”

“Yeah, exactly! Let’s go!” Kanata held her two pets tight and ran off into the darkening forest.

† † †

“Ha ha!” the bandit shouted. “Leave the wagon to us, old man!”

“This cargo must reach the village!” the old man steering the covered wagon pleaded. “It is our only hope for tomorrow!”

Chasing him were some dozen or so men, filthy with mud, holding a torch in one hand and some nasty implement in the other.

“Shut up! The hell do we care?! Stop your horse, and we’ll spare your life!”

“We aren’t carrying anything of value! Please, let us go!”

“We’ll decide what is and isn’t of value! Stop the wagon, old man!”

“N-Never!” The old man spurred the horse on. “Baiko, run! They’re gaining!”

But their cargo was heavy, and the road was narrow and uneven. The bandits were closing the distance. The axles of the wheels were loosening and making a nasty straining sound. It was only a matter of time before the man and his wagon were caught.

The bluish-black horse stomped and whinnied, defying the bandits.

“Wow, that horse has some fight in it!” one of them said.

“Hey,” said another, “is it just me, or does that horse have horns?”

“Huh? I can’t tell for sure in this light...”

The wagon was slowing down. It looked like this was the limit to the horse’s stamina. The bandits, heartened, sped up to surround the wagon.

“We’ve been doing this for years!” the bandit at their head declared. “You’re not getting away!”

“Ha ha!” the others laughed.

The head bandit was so close he could almost touch the wagon with his fingertips, when—

“Good afternoon!” A girl greeted him from the side, completely calm.

“Eh?!” The bandit turned his head. A black-haired girl was running along next to him, as silent as a breeze. “Wh-Who the hell are you?!”

The girl smiled. “I’m just a passing Beast Tamer!”

“A Beast Tamer?” The bandit shook his head. Why was there a teenage girl running along next to them on this narrow road in the forest? And how was she keeping pace with these strong-legged bandits and greeting them like nothing in particular was happening? “No, not that! I’m asking where you came from!”

“From over there,” the girl said. “What are you people doing here, exactly?”

“Wh-What?! Isn’t it obvious?! We’re bandits! This is a holdup! But what about you? Are you planning on getting in our way?”

“Oh, no,” the girl said. “I was just hoping you would give me some directions.”

“As if!” the bandit said. “Get that girl too! We’ll sell her later!”

“Ha ha!” the others shouted, brandishing their weapons.

“Oh!” the girl said. “I see! You’re evil bandits!”

“I mean, that’s what I’ve been telling you...”

There was the sound of something moving very fast, and suddenly the girl vanished from sight. The bandits didn’t have time to process what was happening before the ones who had been near the girl suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed.

“Huh?!” The last thing the head bandit saw was his companions collapsing and tumbling off the road, when the girl struck him hard on the neck, knocking him out cold in a second.

“Wh-What?! What’s going on?!” A bandit waved his torch around, but he couldn’t find the girl. All he saw was bandits dropping, one after another.

It was utterly one-sided. A humiliating rout. The whole thing had taken less than ten seconds.

After they had been arrested and handed over to the Adventurers’ Guild, the bandits recalled the incident thus:

“It was like a shadow...a black shadow flying around the dark forest, silently picking us off...”

“It struck us on the back of our necks with just enough force to knock us out. You know, before I was a bandit, I used to be a pretty famous martial artist. I can tell how much skill something like that takes. There’s no human alive that could do that. It must have been some kind of forest spirit!”

“I was like, ‘no, please, I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, I swear, just don’t kill me,’ y’know?”

Melissa, who had been taking the bandits’ testimonies, sighed deeply as she finished writing.

† † †

The wagon came to a stop, the horse utterly exhausted.

“This is as far as we go,” the old man said. “I’m sorry, everyone! I couldn’t make it!” He let go of the reins and sighed in resignation, stepping down from the driver’s seat to find the crude, leering bandits who had been waiting for him—gone. “Wh-What?” He looked closely and saw the bandits collapsed here and there along the road. “What happened?!”

A girl stepped out from behind the wagon, startling the old man even further.

“Wah!” he cried, falling over in shock.

“Don’t worry, sir, everything’s okay!” Kanata said. She offered the old man her hand.

“Did you do this...?” he marveled.

“Yes, sir. It looked like they were attacking you.”

“Thank you so much,” the old man said. “You’ve saved me! You’re a very strong young lady, to take on so many bandits like that. What on earth is your Profession?”

“I’m a Beast Tamer!”

“A-A Beast Tamer?!” The old man reeled in surprise like so many before him, but the thing he said next came as even more of a surprise. “I’m a Beast Tamer too!”

† † †

Back on the main road, the wagon rolled along at a leisurely pace. The bandits, strung together by a length of rope the old man had with him, marched along in a disorderly crowd behind the wagon. They were being very obedient—their spirits were completely broken.

The old man had invited Kanata to his village as thanks for the rescue. Kanata’s party, which had been looking for a place to stay the night anyway, was more than happy to take him up on his offer.

“You’re the first Beast Tamer I’ve seen besides myself in a long while!” the old man said. “And so strong too... You’re an unusual young lady in a lot of ways, aren’t you?!”

“My name is Kanata Aldezia,” Kanata said politely. She was sitting in the front seat next to the driver. “It’s very nice to meet you!” The two shook hands.

“Oho ho!” The old man laughed. “Such a sweet girl too! I can scarcely believe you’re the one who finished off those bandits!”

“We are Zaggy,” said Zag’giel. “Servant of Kanata.”

“And I am Fen-fen!” Fenrir said. “Also a servant of Lady Kanata!”

“Hoh! I’ve never seen magic beasts like you two!” the old man exclaimed. “Not many can use telepathy like that. You must be pretty high-level!” A Beast Tamer himself, the man looked at the two furballs with professional interest.

“You are wise to make that observation, elder,” Zag’giel said.

“Hah,” Fenrir said. “I suppose there’s no hiding my power after all. You must be an excellent Beast Tamer, sir!”

The two of them preened proudly on Kanata’s shoulders, over the moon at being called high-level.

“Oh!” the old man said. “I almost forgot to introduce myself! My name is Albert Molmo. People call me Grandpa Monster! And this is my bicorn Baiko!”

“Neigh!” the bicorn whinnied.

“Well, it seems someone has manners!” Zag’giel said in response. “Well met, Baiko.”

“As fellow servants of a Beast Tamer, I hope we can be good friends!” said Fenrir.

“Whinny! Neigh!” It seemed like Zag’giel and Fenrir could understand what Baiko was saying. The three magic beasts carried on their conversation.

Kanata, meanwhile, was on a different tack entirely. “The Albert Molmo?!” Flustered, she hurriedly retrieved a worn-out book from her Inventory Screen. “I-I-I-I read your book!”

“Well, goodness me! That’s the bestiary I published back in the day, isn’t it? I was a youngster with a big head back then, and I only wrote the one, but I’m very glad to see that it found its way into your hands. I might just blush!”

“I-I-I’m a b-big fan!” Kanata stammered. “Can I have your autograph?!”

“O-Oh? Well, if you want me to sign my name, I suppose...”

“Yay!”

It was a rare sight to see Kanata this delighted by something that wasn’t at all fluffy. Kanata’s parents had bought The Bestiary of Albert Molmo, Tamer of Legends (Complete Edition) for her when she was very young, and it had been her favorite book ever since. She was delighted beyond her wildest dreams to have actually met the author. Kanata, enraptured, held the signed book tight in her arms.

“I was right,” she said. “You really are supposed to give nicknames to your magic beasts.”

“Quite right!” Albert said. “I’m glad you understand!”

The two seemed to have hit it off right away and were deep in conversation before they knew it.

“It isn’t actually necessary to fight a magic beast for it to follow you,” Albert said. “All that is needed is for you to show the beast that you are worthy of being its master.”

“I see!” Kanata said. “There was something like that on page 260, right?”

“I found this one injured in the forest,” he said, indicating Baiko. “I saved her life and she joined me out of the goodness of her heart! Gratitude, friendship—anything works, as long as you’ve touched the magic beast’s heart. After all, with our lowered abilities as Beast Tamers, the strongest beast we could defeat would be a slime!”

“I guess that is a pretty big disadvantage,” Kanata said. “I can see why not a lot of people wanna be Beast Tamers.”

“I didn’t mention it in my book, but during my travels, I learned that that was not always the case,” Albert told her. “I read in an ancient document that some god or other put a curse on the Beast Tamer Profession! Perhaps this god had some reason to be afraid of humans and magic beasts being on good terms...” He shook his head. “These days, people think of Beast Tamer as a failure Profession because of the ability penalty. I never expected to meet another person weird enough to want to become one anyway!”

“Eheh heh,” Kanata laughed. “I’ll do anything for the fluff.”

“Humans and magic beasts can understand each other, with Beast Tamers serving as the bridge between our worlds. I hope you make friends with a great number of magic beasts, little Kanata.”

“I will! I promise!” Kanata said, thumping her fist against her chest. “I’ll hunt down the fluff all over the world!”

“Oho ho! Well, that’s good to hear.” The old man smiled fondly at Kanata, although he didn’t have much of an idea what she meant by fluff, exactly. The two Beast Tamers carried on talking cheerfully, big smiles on their faces. Kanata’s two magic beasts perched on top of the wagon cover, busying themselves with menacing the captives.

“You! Thieves! Pick up the pace! March!”

“Be grateful for Lady Kanata’s mercy!”

“Y-Yes sirs...” the bandits responded listlessly as they trailed behind the wagon. Zag’giel and Fenrir hadn’t been especially useful in driving off the bandits, but they nonetheless looked extremely pleased with themselves.

† † †

The sun had set beyond the horizon by the time they saw the village.

“There it is,” Albert said. “My hometown, Chestnut Village. It’s been an age and a half since I’ve come back to visit!”

A great throng of people had gathered around the entrance, next to a sign stating the village’s name.

“Mister Molmo!” a villager cried. “It’s so late! We were worried something had happened!” Holding lanterns, the villagers crowded around the wagon.

“I see you got my letter,” Albert said. “I’m sorry I’m so late. I ran into a little trouble on the road.” He looked behind himself, and the villagers followed his gaze.

“Wh-Who are those men?!” someone gasped. There was general upset among the crowd at the sight of the bandits bound behind Albert’s wagon.

“These men are the trouble I mentioned,” Albert said. “They attacked me on the road. But not to worry. This young lady here showed them what for and saved the cargo I brought!”

“Good evening!” Kanata chimed in cheerfully. “Is there any good fluff in this village?”

“Th-This girl?” one of the villagers marveled. “She took on all those bandits alone?!”

“City girls are something else...”

“Is she some kind of famous adventurer?”

The villagers peppered Kanata with words of thanks mixed in with curious questions.

“Now, now,” Albert said. “First, let’s get this wagon inside the village. We don’t want to lose any provisions, and we need to put the bandits somewhere.”

“But Mister Molmo,” someone said, “we don’t have anything extra to feed the bandits until the guards can get here...”

It seemed like this village was dealing with a food shortage. Albert’s wagon was stuffed full of rations.

“Oh,” said Kanata. “In that case, I guess I’ll send them on ahead real fast.”

“Send them on ahead?” What on earth did that mean? As the villagers were puzzling it out, Kanata held her hand out toward the bandits and spoke a word of power.

“Annnd...warp!” she said. The next instant, Kanata and the bandits were gone.

“They vanished?! Wh-Where did they go?!”

† † †

“Boss, it’s time to scram and hit the hay.” One of Melissa’s junior staff members at the guild addressed her from behind as Melissa busied herself with paperwork.

“Bella,” Melissa said, “I’ll let it slide this time, but try not to use slang while we’re at work, would you?”

“Okaaay.” Bella sighed. It was unclear if she was actually going to follow those instructions.

Bella was a charming girl. She made a lot of mistakes, but the adventurers loved her—partially for her enormous chest. She wasn’t intimidated by the rough-and-tumble crowd of men that made up the guild’s adventurers, and she had the makings of a good receptionist. Melissa had been training this girl up as her successor. When Bella was ready, the job of receptionist would be hers, and Melissa could return to her life as an adventurer.

It wasn’t that Melissa hated working for the guild, but they had simply been keeping her far too busy. She was working overtime again today, finishing up the last of the paperwork, and yearning for her old freewheeling adventurer days. She really could use a stiff drink and a good night’s sleep. How she missed her old schedule of three days’ work and four days’ rest.

“I’m going home after I finish this last bit of paperwork,” Melissa said.

“Oh! I’ll wait for you, then,” said Bella. “I wanna get dinner with you.”

“You’re paying your own tab this time,” Melissa told her.

“Really? Fiiine.”

Melissa shook her head. “Incorrigible, aren’t you,” she said, smirking to herself as she looked over the last of the reports.

In the past few days, they had been struggling with a mountain of paperwork pertaining to a certain promising—or rather, completely absurd—new adventurer who had crashed into their lives like a comet, and her meritorious deeds. She struck down the Roc Brothers, who were wanted monsters in the area. She defeated a dragon when he suddenly appeared from nowhere and put him to work protecting the city. She not only cleansed the entire sewers of the whole Royal Capital, but expelled the spirit at the root of the corruption. And when a demon army from the Dark Continent showed up at their gates, she fought them off single-handedly. It was completely unaccountable. And all this disorder had shown up on Melissa’s desk in the form of paperwork.

“Where do you wanna go to eat?” Bella asked.

“There’s a new shop that opened up in Midtown. I’ve heard their mushroom quiche is good.”

“Ooh! I can’t wait!”

“I know, I know.” Melissa hammered out the last few sheets of paperwork and was about to call it a day when suddenly, without any warning, a girl appeared.

“Oh, Miss Melissa! Excellent.”

“Eh?! M-Miss Kanata?!”

Bella jumped behind Melissa. “Wow, who are those guys? How come they’re all tied up?”

Behind Kanata there were a number of men tied together along a rope like a string of beads. The men glanced around. It seemed that they didn’t have any more idea than Melissa and Bella of what was happening.

“Miss Kanata,” Melissa pressed, “what are you doing here? Didn’t you leave on your journey?”

“I did! The journey’s going great.”

“Well, I’m happy to hear that, but...who are these men?”

“These?” Kanata said. “These are bandits!”

“Bandits...” Melissa had a bad feeling about this. Specifically, she had a feeling that she might have to give up on that mushroom quiche tonight.

“Um, they were attacking people near Chestnut Village,” Kanata said.

“Oh! Ah! Boss, I know about them!” Bella said. “We have eyewitness accounts and damage reports. There’s even an outstanding request to do something about them!”

“I see,” Melissa said. She turned back to Kanata. “And you captured them and brought them to us?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“I suppose I should congratulate you,” Melissa said. Nothing would have surprised her about Kanata at this point, but taking down a dozen bandits on her own was no small feat. And now it was on Melissa to give the bandits an earful, see them to a jail cell, compile the accounts of the incident, and arrange for Kanata to be paid the quest reward.

“I just hope we get home before tomorrow morning...” Melissa lamented.

“Right! Well then,” said Bella, grabbing her bag and making for the door, “peace, y’all! I’m out!”

Melissa grabbed her by the shoulder. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

“Eeee...” Bella whined with a high-pitched wail that might as well have come up from hell itself.

“Good luck with everything!” Kanata chirped.

“Oh,” Melissa added, “Miss Kanata, I’ll need to give you your reward.”

“That’s okay,” Kanata said. “You can put it on my tab.” She began casting a spell.

“Also,” Melissa went on, “it’s fine if it’s just brief, but could you give me your account of what happened? It would be a big help for—”

“She’s gone...”

The two stared for a moment, dumbfounded, at the space where Kanata had been.

† † †

“Where did the girl go?!”

“Where are the bandits?!”

Kanata reappeared to find the villagers in a state of confusion. “I’m baaack!” she sang.

“Oh! There you are, Kanata!” Albert Molmo said, approaching her. “What in the world was that?!”

“I just took a quick jump to the Adventurers’ Guild to drop the bandits off!”

“Wh-Whaaaaaaat?!” The villagers within earshot couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Teleportation was an ancient, very advanced art. These rural villagers wouldn’t even have heard of it.

“We went through many long labors to revitalize the practice of teleportation in the modern age,” Zag’giel said. “We suppose Kanata must have analyzed and mastered it from watching us cast it just the one time when we sent the demon army back to the Dark Continent. There is no word for it but genius.”

“That’s our Lady Kanata!” Fenrir chimed in.

Kanata squeezed her two adoring furballs tight. “It looks like I can’t warp anywhere I haven’t been, though,” she observed.

“You must be able to visualize your destination. If you lack a clear image of the place, you will be unable to make the leap. In fact, we are awed that you could accomplish it after seeing this place only once.”

“Miss Melissa gave me her congratulations too,” Kanata said. It was true, although the corners of Melissa’s mouth had been twitching quite a bit the whole time. She hadn’t exactly been thrilled to suddenly be responsible for the crowd of bandits. “It feels good to do good deeds!”

Meanwhile, back in the guild where the two sat next to each other, Bella turned to Melissa and said, “This is good though! Being the ones in charge of her has to be good for our careers. I just wish it didn’t involve so much overtime...”

Melissa heaved a heavy sigh.

† † †

“Of course!” the village elder said. “You saved our village! Of course you may stay in my house! I’ll draw you up a bath too. You must be tired from your journey.”

“A bath!” Kanata cried. “Yay!”

“A bath...” Zag’giel mused, deflating slightly.

“Lady Kanata, I’ll wash your back!” said Fenrir. He was raring to go.

“Come in, come in!” The elder waved them inside the biggest house in town. The village looked like a highway town, albeit a particularly poor one. It didn’t look like things should be bad enough to need Albert Molmo to deliver an emergency shipment of food supplies, but it was clear that there was some kind of trouble going on.

“Well, first things first,” Kanata said, “the bath! I’m gonna get Fen-fen nice and clean!”

“Lady Kanata!” Fenrir objected. “There is truly no need for you to stoop to that level!”

“It’s fine! Don’t worry about it!”

“You had best do that then,” Zag’giel said. “We have taken a bath every single day for some time now. Today, we think we would like to abstain.”

“Eheh heh,” Kanata giggled. “No way, Zaggy! We gotta get you nice and shiny too!”

“Nh...!” Zag’giel protested. “At least let us bathe alone! Please! At the very least!”

But Kanata took the white and black furballs under her arms and charged straight into the bath.

† † †

Just as Kanata promised, she scrubbed Zag’giel and Fenrir until they were sparkling clean, and in return, the two habitual residents of her shoulders washed her back. There was a brief dispute about who would get to scrub Kanata’s upper back and who would scrub her lower back, but this story has gotten sidetracked enough already.

“Ah!” Kanata said. “That was a nice bath. I’ll have to thank the village elder!” She had gotten out of her bath and was now in her pajamas. She dried her hair with wind magic and set to brushing her magic beasts’ fur.

“Whoa!” Fenrir exclaimed. “This feels so good, I don’t know what to say!”

“Kanata had that brush made for us,” Zag’giel said. “You are only borrowing it. Bear that in mind.”

They had gotten everything ready to go to bed when suddenly, they heard angry shouting outside the window. “Are you saying we’re gonna keep letting them take our stuff?!”

“I didn’t say that. But we don’t have the strength to fight back! What do you want us to do?!”

It was the village elder and his son, engaged in urgent conversation. Next to them was the old man, Albert Molmo.

“We can hold out for some time, thanks to the provisions Mister Molmo brought us,” the elder said.

“But what happens after that?! There’s only so much food we can buy from outside the village. And if they notice what we’re doing, they’ll take all our food, every last scrap!”

“We’ll distribute it to everyone and hide it piecemeal. The guild has to send an adventurer eventually...”

“You say that, but it’s been months!” The elder’s son brought his fist down on the table with a thud.

Kanata and her companions hid behind the corner in the hallway and listened in on their conversation.

“Quite the commotion...”

“If we butt in now, we’ll just get in the way. We should keep watching for a bit...”

“I agree.”

In short, the debate went as follows: Albert Molmo, who had brought them the big wagon full of food, had been traveling the world in that selfsame wagon and researching the ecology of magic beasts. However, upon hearing news that a crisis had struck his hometown, he’d spent every last one of his coins buying food to bring back to the village.

The crisis, in this case, took the form of goblin thieves. They still hadn’t gone so far as to injure anyone, but they had been robbing the village’s food supplies time and time again. It was getting worse, to the point that the village was now facing a famine.

Thanks to Albert’s provisions, they could hold on for a while longer, but it was only a matter of time until the goblins stole that food as well. They had sent a request to the Adventurers’ Guild, but there was still no sign of any adventurers showing up. The reward they could offer was low, and the risk was not inconsiderable.

Goblins were weak and cowardly creatures, and on principle the villagers should be enough to drive them off. However, in this case that was not possible. The one giving orders to the goblins was something else—an ogre.

Ogres were big enough to reach the roof of a house, and strong enough to uproot great trees with their bare hands. With a monster like that at the head of the goblins, the villagers were afraid to do anything except hide in their houses and wait for the magic beasts to leave.

At the end of the day, the Adventurers’ Guild was really just a middleman for adventurers. Sometimes the staff would ask an adventurer to take on a request, but even then, if the reward was low, there wasn’t really anything the guild could do about that. The village had seen some hard times, and they lacked the funds to offer a large reward. And besides, there was only a scant handful of adventurers who were even willing to take on an ogre.

An adventurer who took the village’s request would be risking their life. If the villagers imagined that someone would be willing to take that risk for such a small reward, it would amount to placing their hopes in a fairy-tale hero like the First Saint coming along.

Right now, there was no one injured in the village, and no young girls at risk of being abducted. However, when their food ran out, the situation would change. The magic beasts would smash their houses until they got what they wanted.

The elder and his son sighed darkly and hung their heads, when Albert Molmo spoke up with a proposition. “I will travel to the goblins’ nest and speak with them!”

“What?!”

“D-Don’t be ridiculous!”

The two interposed themselves to stop Albert from up and leaving the house on the spot. The old man seemed quite worked up.

“We’re not letting you go somewhere as dangerous as a goblins’ nest!”

“You brought us food! You don’t need to do any more for us!”

“This village is where I was born!” Albert declared. “What’s wrong with an old man risking his dwindling life to protect his home?!”

“But even so, sir,” said the elder’s son, “you shouldn’t go alone! Do you think you can tame an ogre?!”

“I—” Albert withered and fell silent.

Suddenly, Kanata erupted onto the scene, one hand on her hip and the other thrust up in a dramatic pose.

“I have heard your pleas!” she announced.

Zag’giel and Fenrir did their best poses as well at her feet.

“O-Oh! Miss! Were you listening?” the elder bowed his head. “I’m terribly sorry you had to hear such a thing! I’ll go prepare dinner for—”

The elder’s son, however, seemed to realize something. His eyes lit up. “That’s right! You defeated those bandits on your own, didn’t you? If you’re so strong—”

“Don’t be ridiculous, boy!” the elder interrupted. “Mister Molmo owes that girl his life! How could we be so brazen as to demand she save our village on top of that?!”

“But nobody’s taking our request. She’s our only hope...”

“No matter how strong she is, she’s still a young girl! There’s no way I’m sending her into a goblins’ nest! All we can do is pray that the food Mister Molmo brought us holds out until some brave adventurer takes our request.”

“I’ll do it!” Kanata said.

“Whaaaaa—?!”

Kanata teleported immediately to the guild where Melissa and Bella were working bleary-eyed through the night, snatched up the villagers’ request, and left. She was in and out too fast to hear Melissa asking her for an explanation. After she left, Melissa crumpled down on her desk and started to cry.

“I’ll head out first thing tomorrow!” Kanata said.

“Really? This is really all right?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it! You reap what you sow, and I intend to sow seeds of fluff!”

There was almost no possibility that Kanata would find anything fluffy in the goblins’ nest. However, she held Albert Molmo in high esteem. If he was in trouble, as a fellow Beast Tamer, she felt bound to help out.

“I can’t believe it... You’ll accept our worthless request?!”

“Y-You’re a Saint!”

“No, I’m a Beast Tamer!”

† † †

The following morning, Kanata made her preparations and set out. The whole village gathered to see her off. According to what she had heard, the goblins made their den in the forest to the north, so Kanata made her way there on her first order of business—finding the place.

“Come out, come out, I know you’re in there!” Kanata sang, knocking on a big tree.

“I thought I had hidden myself pretty well, but it seems you can see right through me,” the old man Albert Molmo said, stepping out from behind the tree. He was carrying a bag, hefted over his shoulder, and holding a walking stick.

“H-Hmph!” Zag’giel said. “We, too, knew he was there, of course.”

“You did?!” Fenrir was shocked. “I can’t believe that damned Demon King noticed and I didn’t! I have been caught unawares! Lady Kanata, forgive me!”

“Eheh heh heh heh!” Kanata laughed, looking down at the pair. “Don’t worry about it! You two are perfect as you are.”

Her two magic beasts had been shaking—Zag’giel was worrying that someone might see through his bluff, and Fenrir was shaking in fear.

“Lady Kanata! Thank you for your mercy!” Fenrir cried in relief.

“Of course, Kanata saw through us,” said Zag’giel, regretting his deception. “Our mastery is far beneath hers...”

The two of them rubbed affectionately against Kanata.

“Kanata,” Albert Molmo said, “might I accompany you to the nest?” His long experience was telling him that something was funny about this whole business. “Goblins have made their home in these mountains since ancient times, but I have never heard of them attacking a human village. They’re the sort of magic beasts who keep to themselves. They don’t usually cause trouble in the wider world.”

Albert had spent many years researching magic beasts, and he was well aware that goblins were cowardly creatures who disliked fighting. It didn’t make sense for them to attack a human settlement for no reason. The news that they were led by an ogre was also peculiar. In all his years, he had never heard of goblins and ogres joining forces.

“There’s something strange going on here,” he said. “I would like to help look into the matter. Don’t worry. I can take care of myself.”

“The danger will be great, elder,” said Zag’giel.

“Are you certain you’re able to accompany us at your age?” Fenrir asked. “You shouldn’t overexert yourself! Wait in the village. We’ll tell you what happened when we get back.”

Zag’giel and Fenrir seemed to be of the same mind as the villagers. The mountain roads were dangerous, and their destination was a den of monsters. All sorts of things could go wrong. Surely Kanata would have to agree.

“I don’t see why not!” she said. “Glad to have you!”

Zag’giel and Fenrir balked. “What?!”

“Are you certain?” Albert asked. He was no less surprised by Kanata’s decision. In fact, he had expected to be refused. His plan had been to sneak after them out of sight. He hadn’t been ready for Kanata to simply accept his offer.

“But I have terms,” she said.

“A-And those are?” He expected her to demand some kind of payment. No matter. Whatever it was, he would pay.

“I would love it if you wrote a second bestiary!” she said. “I’ll be the first to read it!”

“O-Oh! Of course! This incident will no doubt find its way into the book too...” Albert could just about cry for joy.

“Then let’s go! To the goblin den!” Cheerfully, Kanata led the way deeper into the forest.

† † †

“Elder,” Zag’giel asked Albert Molmo, “is Baiko not with you?”

“Baiko’s getting up there in years,” Albert said. “She’s resting in the village. She ran a long way to get here, you know.”

“I see!” said Fenrir. “But you seem quite healthy for your age. You haven’t been slowing us down at all!”

“The Beast Tamer Profession lowers all of your abilities, you know!” the old man said. “I’ve had to train hard to make up the difference. Why, when I was young, I— Ouch!” Just as he was saying that, Albert doubled over, his back suddenly hurting him.

“Elder, you may lean on our shoulder if you have need,” Zag’giel offered.

“No!” said Fenrir. “You should ride on my back!”

The pair had great respect for Albert and would both gladly carry him, but in their current powerless bodies there was no way for them to support the weight of a grown man. They’d be flattened like pancakes if he tried to ride on them.

Kanata cheered them on and cast a powerful enchantment, raising their physical abilities far above their limits. “Zaggy! Fen-fen! You can do it!”

The two furballs were burning with an aura of power.

“Haaaaaah!” Zag’giel shouted. “The power! We feel the power!”

“With this much power, we can do it!” said Fenrir.

With their newfound strength, the two of them tried to lift Albert on their backs. Legs shaking, they took to their feet and took a few faltering steps. But it wasn’t enough. Their smaller forms were too weak. In no time at all, their strength had been exhausted.

“N-Nh...”

“How vexing...”

“This is just a thought,” said Albert, “but perhaps you should cast that spell on me, instead?”

“Oh,” the other three said. The thought hadn’t occurred to them.

“Hm, okay,” said Kanata. “Power...up!” She cast her spell on Albert, lending him strength.

“A-Aaaah! This... This pooooower!” It was like his old, worn-out body was being given new life. His withered twigs of legs became mighty branches, while his pectoral muscles bulged out and hardened like stones. He looked like some kind of hypermuscular monster.

“Perhaps that is...too much power?” Zag’giel wondered.

“He looks like he could kill a bear,” Fenrir marveled. “With this much strength, he could handle the ogre on his own, I expect.”

“Indeed...”

“A-Amazing!” Albert said. “My arthritis doesn’t hurt at all!”

“I’m so glad!” Kanata said, applauding.

“I look just like I did in my younger days...”

“Wh-What?! Elder! Do you mean to say that in your youth you were a muscle fiend?!”

“How much training did you do?!”

Alas, however splendid his muscles were, as a Beast Tamer, he could not use their full power. Such was the life he had chosen.

“I feel like I could run forever!” Albert said. “Let’s go, everyone! Follow me!”

“Yeah!”

Albert set a fast pace as the four continued on in search of the goblin den.

† † †

“That was much easier to find than I expected.”

“It was. Although we would not have found this place had not Kanata seen the goblin footprints.”

Hiding in the trees and making sure to stay quiet, Zag’giel and Fenrir scouted out the cave entrance before them—a wide entrance in a steep cliff. A gate made of goblin bones barred the way. There was no doubt about it: this was a goblin den.

“If only your nose were any good,” Zag’giel said scornfully, “it would have spared our master the effort. And after you made such a great show of being eager to help. A dog whose nose won’t work is less than useless.”

“Wh-Who are you calling a dog?! I am a Spirit Wolf! And if I had my original form, finding a goblin den would be no trouble at all! It’s just that I’ve lost too much power...”

“Then return to your original form! What is stopping you?”

“I have my reasons,” Fenrir said, suddenly taciturn. “Why should I tell the likes of you?”

“Hah. We see. You’ve been calling yourself the ‘Spirit Wolf Fenrir’ for some time, but what proof do you have? You’re nothing more than a joke.”

“S-Silence! You’re no more useful than I am!”

“We are not the same! We cursed ourself with this body for the lofty goal of—”

“Be quiet, you two!” Albert Molmo interrupted. “You’re going to get us caught! We don’t know how many goblins are in there. We should be careful.”

“Hmph,” Zag’giel said. “Even so, we will need to come out of hiding eventually. Kanata, what say you?”

“Lady Kanata, please!” Fenrir begged. “Give me a chance to redeem myself! I will act as the decoy, and lead the goblins on watch away!”

All three turned to Kanata for instructions, only to find her missing.

“Th-There she is!” Albert pointed toward the goblin cave. It looked like Kanata, in her characteristic approach, had walked straight up to the entrance.

“Hello!” she said, greeting the goblins.

The other three practically fell over in shock.

“K-Kanata!” shouted Zag’giel.

“Sh-Shouldn’t we investigate first?!” asked Fenrir.

“She’s greeting them without a care in the world!” Albert Molmo was stunned.

The goblins seemed no less surprised. They brandished their spears, menacing Kanata. But when they got a good look at her, their faces went pale.

“G-Gob gob!” said one.

“Gob gob gob!” said the other.

They threw down their spears and fell to their knees, begging for their lives.

“Could those goblins be—?” Fenrir was the first to notice. He had seen those two goblins before. Back then, they had been carrying him between a pair of poles, getting ready to eat him for dinner. “This is their den?!” Thinking back, the goblins had at the time said something about an ogre.

“S-Spare us!” one of the goblins was saying.

“Aren’t you the ones who gave us that delicious food?!” said the other. They were too weak to use telepathy, though, and were unable to convey their meaning to Kanata. She cocked her head and regarded the goblins curiously.

“Kanata,” said Albert, “a Beast Tamer can communicate with the hearts of magic beasts. Watch.”

“O-Oh! You can do that? Incredible!” Kanata said.

Albert Molmo listened deeply to the goblins.

“I see, I see...” he said. “What was that? This is your cave and you’ll stab us with your sticks if we don’t leave?”

The goblins frantically shook their heads, doing their absolute best to communicate that that was not what they had said.

“Gob!”

“Gob gob!”

“What was that?” said Albert. “You’ll gobble me up? How dreadful!”

“Gob! Gob!”

“Gooooob!”

He was just making things up! The goblins, terrified that a misunderstanding would lead to their deaths, wept tears of frustration.

“Kidding!” Albert said, sticking out his tongue. The goblins, realizing that they were being made fools of, stamped their feet in anger. “You attacked my village, after all. Consider it a bit of payback.”

“Gob...” The old man’s words seemed to remind the goblins of something. They hung their heads and exchanged nervous glances.

“If you’re sorry, why don’t you tell me what’s happening here?”

It seemed he had gotten through to the goblins. They opened the way, leading Kanata’s party deeper into the cave. It was dark inside, but the walls were lined with some kind of bioluminescent moss. The group could see well enough to not plummet to their doom. They never saw any goblins other than the ones they were following.

“This cave goes rather far back, doesn’t it?” Kanata observed.

“Perhaps this was a natural cave that the goblins excavated farther...” Zag’giel mused.

“What in the world would they need such a big den for?” Fenrir asked. “Well?” he asked their guides.

“This used to just be a gathering place for a few goblin families,” one goblin said, finally explaining their situation.

“Yeah,” said the other. “It was a lot smaller back in those days.”

Goblins were particularly weak among magic beasts. Even common animals hunted them as prey. But one day these goblins, used to living out their lives in fear, had happened upon a wounded ogre, who had been grievously injured in some faraway battle. The goblins discussed among themselves what they should do with this stranger, and eventually they decided to help him.

The ogre was a good-natured fellow, and offered to become the goblins’ protector in thanks for saving his life. For the first time, the goblins were able to live in peace, without need to fear bears or wolves or other magic beasts. Rumors spread among goblinkind, and before long, this small cave was expanded to a grand underground neighborhood.

“And then one day, he started acting weird...” the goblin said.

“The population’s increased, but the forest still gives us more than enough food. Even so, Lord Ogre ordered us to go find as much food as we can!” The food wasn’t eaten, but just piled up in the storeroom.

The once-reliable guardian who protected them from beasts and humans had become a high and mighty tyrant seemingly overnight, even going so far as to order them to attack the neighboring village. So far, the humans had been too afraid of the ogre to fight back, and they’d been able to pillage without resistance. But the goblins were terrified that before long the humans would launch a counteroffensive.

“I wonder what could have happened...” Kanata mused.

“Us too. It would be one thing if he’d just gotten gradually more ambitious, but he just changed overnight...” the goblin said.

“Do you remember anything strange?” Fenrir asked.

“Well, now that you mention it...”

“The day Lord Ogre lost his marbles, there was some weirdo who came to the den.”

They’d thought it was an adventurer come to attack them, but the hooded human simply muttered some incantation, as if casting a spell on the ogre, and left. The ogre was physically unaffected, and the goblins had reassured themselves that whatever that strange visit had been about, it at least hadn’t done any harm.

“What kind of person were they?” Fenrir asked.

The goblins looked troubled at the question. “Hmm... Humans all look the same to me, but I’m pretty sure it was a female.”

“Pretty sure,” the other goblin agreed. “She had a huge chest and everything.”

“And I saw that her clothing was white underneath her cloak...”

“A woman wearing white clothing...” Fenrir seemed lost in thought.

“Thinking back, that was about when Lord Ogre started to talk about building an underground empire and all that nonsense.”

“An empire!” Albert marveled. “He thinks big, this Lord Ogre, that’s for sure!”

“He never used to be this way!” one of the goblins protested.

“He really didn’t. I’m sure that human female did something to him.” The goblins nodded in agreement.

Deep in the cave, the silence was broken by the sounds of voices and activity. They came to a point where the tunnel split into a number of passages, and at last caught sight of other goblins. Some of them fled in fear or ran up to attack when they saw Kanata’s party, but the goblins who had been showing the party the way spoke to the other goblins and convinced them to back down. They shuffled away into the tunnels.

As they walked, they saw the pathway widening under their feet. It grew into a grand plaza with a high ceiling. They could see that it was still being excavated. The goblins were working with shovels and pickaxes to expand it farther. They looked anxious. It did not look like they were here by choice.

“Is that the ogre?” Kanata asked, but nobody felt the need to answer the question. That giant figure could be no one else. He had a sturdy body like an old gnarled tree. He made Albert Molmo, who was no slouch pumped up on Kanata’s magic, look downright scrawny. He was sitting on a throne hewn from stone, but if he were standing, he would be taller than three grown adults stacked up on one another’s shoulders.

His leering eyes settled upon the humans. “Who are you?”

“I’m Kanata!”

“We are Zaggy.”

“Fen-fen!”

“You can call me old man Molmo.”

They could see a vein popping out on the ogre’s forehead.

“Humans. Servants of humans. Why you come here? You bring tribute? If you bring tribute, me kill you last.”

“Oh, no,” Kanata said, smiling brightly. “Quite the opposite. Would you please give the villagers back their food?”

The goblins chimed in to agree. “Please, Lord Ogre, can’t we stop doing this?”

“We don’t wanna be an empire!”

“We just wanna go back to our quiet lives...”

“Bring back the old, nice Lord Ogre!”

The ogre clenched the throne’s armrest in rage, still more veins popping out on his forehead. His grip was strong—strong enough that the stone armrest cracked under the pressure.

“You owe me for protect you!” he declared. “You betray me?!” He took to his feet. There was a black miasma hanging around him. “You get in way of my empire! Idiots! Me crush you!”

“Kanata!” Zag’giel said. “Stand back!”

“We’ll take care of this!” said Fenrir.

“Don’t leave me out of it!” Albert Molmo added.

The three stepped forward to protect their lady Kanata. Sneering in mockery, the ogre hefted his own throne above his head and brandished it at them.

“Wh-What terrible power!” Albert was stunned.

“Me cruuuuush yoooooou!” the Ogre bellowed, and he hurled the throne straight at Kanata’s party.

A horrible crashing sound echoed through the cave. A plume of dust welled up where the throne had struck. And when it cleared, standing there, unhurt, was Kanata.

“What?!” the Ogre said. “But me threw as hard as me can!”

“An attack of that power is nothing!” boasted Zag’giel.

“Your strength is lukewarm!” Fenrir declared.

The two of them seemed quite proud of themselves, despite not having done anything.

“Grrr!” The ogre ground his teeth in frustration.

“What’s this?” Kanata muttered to herself, getting a closer look at the ogre. “I recognize this magic from somewhere...”

Kanata had seen it before, in the sewers beneath the Royal Capital. The curse binding the horrific amalgam of ghosts—the heart of the pollution—had somehow felt very similar.

“Anyway,” she said, “let’s try dispelling it!”

“Graaaaaah!” The ogre, seized by a deep instinctual terror at Kanata’s smile, began hurling anything he could grab at her, but the rocks and other objects glanced harmlessly off of her magic barrier.

“What aaaaare yoooooou?!”

She was right in front of him. The ogre swung his fist with all his might.

“I’m a Beast Tamer who loves fluff, and who will even help out the non-fluffy in a pinch!”

She released her barrier, meeting the ogre’s fist with a closed fist of her own.

“Hiya!”

The difference in sheer mass between the two should have been insurmountable, but somehow, in blatant disregard of the laws of physics, Kanata’s fist proved stronger. The ogre’s massive strike glanced off harmlessly.

“Hwuh?!” The ogre reeled back, but Kanata dashed in with extraordinary speed.

“Exorcism...punch!” she shouted, striking him with a jumping uppercut and dispelling the curse in a single blow.

“Gwaah!” The ogre was knocked into the air by Kanata’s strike, and he hit the cave ceiling with a dull thud before yielding to the demands of gravity and falling back down to the ground.

“Are you all better?” Kanata asked. “Here, I’ll heal you up.” The ogre had a tough body, and with a bit of Kanata’s magic, he was back on his feet in no time.

“Wh-What was I—?” The ogre glanced around, confused.

“Look!” the goblins cried, gathering around. “Lord Ogre’s back to normal!”

“What’s going on, everyone?” the ogre asked. “When did the den get so big? Did you do this for me? I told you I can sleep just fine in a goblin-sized room.” It seemed that he had no memory of what had happened up to this point.

When asked, the ogre said he couldn’t remember what the hooded woman had done to him. He had no clearer idea than the rest of them who she could have been. In the end, they weren’t able to learn anything definite.

“We’re so sorry!” The goblins fell to their knees and groveled as they apologized.

“How can I ever make it up to you...?” the ogre said. “I’ll accept full responsibility. Just please, don’t hurt the goblins!”

“I’m an outsider here,” Kanata said. “Mister Molmo, sir, what do you think?”

“Y-You don’t have to call me sir!” Embarrassed, Albert Molmo cleared his throat. “Well, it does look like they’re genuinely sorry,” he said. “How about you bring back the food you stole and help repair the damage you did to the village?”

“Th-That’s all?!”

“Yes, yes,” Albert said. “I’ll have to register you as my own magic beasts, but as long as you behave yourselves, I see no reason why you should be punished.”

“Thank you! Thank you!” The goblins switched courses from miserable groveling to grateful adulation.

“Kanata’s the one you should be thanking!” Albert said. “Without her, we might all have been in a spot of trouble! You might have been manipulated into destroying the village. Then your numbers would have increased, and before long the army would have come after you!”

“Thank you, Lady Kanata!”

“Oh, it’s perfectly all right!” she said. “But there is something I would like to ask.” She drew close to the ogre to whisper furtively in his ear.

“What is it?” the ogre asked. “If it’s in my power, I’ll do any—”

“Do you know any cute fluff-fluffs?” Kanata asked. “Will you introduce me?”

† † †

“I can’t believe none of them were fluffy...” lamented Kanata.

“Kanata,” Zag’giel said. “Be not disheartened.”

“You have us, Lady Kanata!” said Fenrir. The two pawed tenderly at her, doing their best to cheer up their despondent master.

They brought the ogre along to apologize to the villagers, but the sight of him sent the villagers—who didn’t know what was going on—into a moment of panic. Fortunately, Albert was able to explain before things got too out of hand.

The ogre apologized, and Albert agreed to watch over them to make sure the magic beasts took responsibility. In the end, the goblins were able to earn forgiveness. And that was the end of that.

“Thank you, Kanata!” Albert said. “This wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

“Not at all!” said Kanata. “If you hadn’t come along, Mister Molmo, sir, we wouldn’t have been able to resolve things so well.”

“Oho ho,” the old man laughed. “I’m just glad I got to do one last good deed before I retire.”

“You’re retiring?”

“I’m getting up there in years, you know. This was my plan. I sold off my belongings here years ago, but I always meant to settle down in this village.” As he spoke, he watched the ogre and goblins, who were hard at work repairing the destroyed buildings in the village. “Now, Kanata, there is something I would like to pass on to you. Or rather, someone.”

“To me?”

“Baiko!” Albert called. “Here, Baiko!” At his words, the bicorn came trotting up, pulling the wagon along. “I’d like you to have Baiko, and my old wagon. It may be a little old, but it’s made of high-quality wood. It’s a good little wagon. If you’re on the road, you may find yourself wanting a wagon, you know!”

“How wonderful!” Kanata cheered. “I’ve always wanted to travel in a wagon!”

One of her favorite video games in her previous life had been like this—traveling the land in a wagon, together with strange creatures. To Kanata, it was a very romantic image.

“Oh, may I, Mister Molmo, sir?” she asked.

“Of course! You can have it!”

At Albert’s urging, Kanata jumped up into the driver’s seat. “Oh, wow!” she said, taking the reins in her hands. It felt very different from when she had been riding as a passenger.

“What do you think?” Albert asked.

“I love it!” Kanata said, a big grin on her face. But then she put the reins down. “But...I can’t.”

“Why not?! Is something wrong?”

“I’m fine,” she said. “But Baiko...”

Baiko whinnied sadly, gazing at Albert with forlorn eyes. It was clear that she didn’t want to leave.

“Oh, Baiko...” Albert said, wrapping his arms gently around the bicorn’s neck. “You want to stay with me?”

“I would be too sad to take her from you,” Kanata said. “So I can’t accept—”

“Lady Kanata!” Fenrir interrupted. “Leave it to me! I can pull this wagon with or without Baiko’s help!”

“Fen-fen?! You can?!”

“He can’t,” said Zag’giel.

Zag’giel was right, of course. No matter how hard Fenrir pulled, his body was just too much smaller than the bicorn’s. He could hardly even fit in the harness, let alone pull the thing. The wagon refused to budge.

“Lady Kanataaaaa!” Fenrir cried. “Forgive me!”

“Now, now. Everything’s okay.” Kanata stroked the Spirit Wolf’s fur, seeming quite content.

“I would still like you to have my old wagon,” Albert said. “But without a magic beast to pull it...”

“Oh!” said Kanata. “Then, how about this?”

“Hm?” Albert asked.

Kanata opened her Inventory Screen and sent the wagon to storage. It took about a second.

“Well, goodness gracious me!” Albert looked stupefied. “Kanata, you are just full of surprises, aren’t you! But I suppose with this, I can retire with no regrets.”

“You can’t!” said Kanata, knitting up her eyebrows. “You promised me a second book!”

“Ho ho!” Albert laughed. “So I did, didn’t I! I’ll write it, don’t you worry. And come visit some time!”

“I will!”

The villagers and goblins both saw Kanata off in high spirits as she left the village to carry on her quest.