Grulf’s Walk

  After finishing his breakfast, a team of young beastkin men came to take Danton home.

  He thanked me repeatedly and asked me to take care of his daughters.

  Once Danton was gone, I went out into the garden to play with Lord Gerberga and Grulf.

  “Wouldn’t you want to take a walk outside as well, Lord Gerberga?”


  “Cluck?”


  Lord Gerberga stopped eating grubs for a moment and ran towards me.

  “Cluck-cluck.”


  “.……I see.”


  Actually, I had no idea what he was saying.

  But it didn’t seem like he was eager to go on a walk.

  On the other hand, Grulf started to wag his tail vigorously in front of me as soon as he heard the word ‘walk.’


  His eyes were full of expectation.

  “Grulf looks like he wants to go.”


  “Groof!”


  And so I told Milka and Luchila that I was going out on a walk.

  I had a metal breastplate that could carry Lord Gerberga when I was on the move, and so I put it on now.

  “I will go too!”


  Nia said.

  “Did you tell Shia that you are leaving the house?”


  “Of course.”


  Then there was no problem. And so all four of us decided to go.

  As we walked down the streets, Nia said,

  “I could take Grulf on walks for you……”


  “I like the exercise too. Besides, I have to show up at the Adventurers Guild every now and then.”


  “Are you going to take on quests?”


  “Not really. But I would like to see how my friends are doing.”


  “Cluck-cluck.”


  Lord Gerberga was walking right next to me.

  “Let me know when you get tired, Lord Gerberga.”


  “Cluck.”


  We met Ario and Josh at the Adventurers Guild.

  Ario, the F-Rank Sorcerer, smiled as he talked to us.

  “Ah, Locke. It’s been a while.”


  “A while? It’s only been a few days. Do you need any help today?”


  “No, we’re fine. Today, it’s just herb gathering.”


  “That’s good.”


  Then Josh, the F-Rank Archer and Scout, said,

  “Mister Locke. I see you have someone with you today.”


  “This is Shia’s younger sister.”


  And so I introduced them to each other.

  “So you’re the same rank as us. Maybe we can team up some time.”


  “That’s so impressive considering your age.”


  “It’s our tribe’s custom.”


  “What a great tribe. It’s no wonder Shia is so strong.”


  Josh was genuinely impressed.

  We talked for a while after that.

  Ario was trying to acquire another spell after Fireball.

  “I might be able to get Magic Arrow. But I also want to learn other magic. Do you have any suggestions?”


  “Let me see…… I think it would be wise to stick to those two for now.”


  “Really?”


  “It’s better than being a jack of all trades and master of none. Fireballs are difficult to use by themselves. And Magic Arrows are not great against multiple enemies. But……”


  “I can manage if I use both of them?”


  “In most cases, yes.”


  “I see. That is good advice. Thank you!”


  “Don’t mention it.”


  And with that, Ario and Josh went out to gather herbs.

  And so I decided to check the quest board, just in case.

  Nia also looked at it carefully.

  “There are a lot of them.”


  “Yes. But there aren’t many that an F-Ranker can accept. Nia. Can you read?”


  “Yes.”


  The beastkin took education very seriously, it seemed.

  She apparently spent a lot of time in combat training, but that wasn’t all she did.

  “That’s wonderful.”


  And so I taught her how to look at the requests.

  It was easy if you could read.

  There were also different markings used on them for Adventurers who couldn’t read.

  “There are no goblin quests today.”


  “You killed goblins just yesterday. Are you still thinking about them?”


  Nia said with a puzzled look. And so I told her about the importance of killing goblins.

  After that, we left the guild and headed for the area outside of the city.

  It was so Grulf could get some exercise.

  When we were outside of the city, I put Lord Gerberga into my breastplate.

  Nia watched me do this and said,

  “Does Grulf’s walk always take him outside of the city?”


  “We could just have him run around in the city as well……”


  But Grulf was very large. He would not be able to run very fast.

  “Groof!”


  Grulf wagged his tail happily.

  “But I want him to get lots of exercise. He should be allowed to run outside of the city when I have time to take him.”


  “That’s true.”


  “Nia. Try running as fast as you can. Grulf and I will follow you.”


  “Understood!”


  Nia began to run. She was very fast. Grulf chased after her.

  Nia was fast, but she was still eight years old. And so she was slower than Grulf.

  Grulf quickly passed her before slowing down, then increasing his speed again.

  They enjoyed running like that for a while.

  “Lord Gerbera. I’m going to run too.”


  “Cluck!”


  Lord Gerberga jumped out of my breastplate and landed on my shoulder.

  “Cluck.”


  He gave me permission to run.

  And so I started to run lightly. Gerberga’s claws were clamped tightly around my shoulder.

  However, the breastplate was strapped onto me with thick leather, so it did not hurt.

  I quickly caught up with Nia and then ran at the same pace as her.

  We ran on the road leading to the city for quite some time.

  Once Nia and Grulf were out of breath, we stopped to rest.

  I took out some water from my magic bag and gave it to Nia and Grulf.

  “Th-thank you.”


  “Groof.”


  “It feels good to run every once in a while.”


  “It really does!”


  I gently petted Grulf as he eagerly drank his water.

  He had been able to run a lot today. That was great.

  And so we had a leisurely, relaxing time just resting there.

  The weather was nice and the wind felt good.

  Even Lord Gerberga seemed pleased as he rested on my shoulder.

  “Well, we should head back soon.”


  “Yes-”


  “GYAAAAAAAAAAAAA……”


  We heard a loud roar in the distance.

  “Is that……could it be Kathe?”


  “It might be.”


  Kathe had probably roared as a way of calling me. That was annoying.

  In any case, I would have to head in the direction of the roar.

  “LLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCKKKE—-AARRRE YOOUU THEEEREE???”


  “Damn it…… Am I here? ……And what if I wasn’t?”


  Of all the things Kathe could have done, screaming my name should have been last on the list.