Isekai Yururi Kikou ~Raising Children While Being an Adventurer~

Chapter 531:

Outing with Al-sama (3)

“Going out with Takumi and the others sure is exhausting…”

Al-sama let out a looooong sigh.

“Al-sama, we’ve only just left the city, we haven’t even reached that forest over there yet.”

“No, isn’t it fine if we just go back already? If we sold off what we’ve gotten so far, it would already bring in quite a profit. —Hey, Najack! Help me call them out at least a little! Don’t just try to fade into the background!”

It looked like Al-sama already wanted to go home.

And Najack-san was quietly trying to erase his presence behind him, so the already tired Al-sama was complaining.

“No, no, as the guard, I can’t be so forward as to speak up before my master.”

“Don’t hide behind excuses!”

Najack-san seemed determined to avoid getting involved at all costs.

“Sigh… Takumi-san, it seems Alfried-sama is being rather noisy, is that all right?”

“What!? Najack! Why me!?”

“This time we’re the ones accompanying Takumi-san and his group, so I don’t think it’s our place to criticize their actions.”

“… Well, that’s true, but still…”

So in an unexpected twist, Najack-san indirectly reproached Al-sama instead, who had been shouting this whole time.

Well… we’re just gathering materials like usual, so there’s no reason we should be stopped, huh.

““Al-sama, hang in there!””

“Ghhhhh…!”

Allen and Elena teased him just a little, and Al-sama looked rather frustrated.

“Takumi, Takumi! I found more Blanc mushrooms and Noir mushrooms, so I grew them!”

“What!?”

Kaiser hadn’t wasted even a little bit of time, diligently gathering more mushrooms.

“… Al-sama, would you like them?”

“Seriously! … You people—no, never mind.”

“So, you don’t want them?”

“No, I’ll definitely buy them.”

“Uh, okay…”

Al-sama… is he really that worn out? His words and actions don’t seem consistent.

““Ah!””

“What is it this time?”

““We found Pastel Rabbits!””

Before there was even a moment’s rest, Allen and Elena dashed off toward some Pastel Rabbits.

“You found more!?”

“Going along with Takumi-san’s group really does lead to unusual experiences.”

Both Al-sama and Najack-san seemed exasperated.

““There were four of them~””

That makes ten Pastel Rabbits in total now.

““Ah!””

“Again!? That was fast! What now?”

““Something’s there~””

No sooner had they brought the Pastel Rabbits back and set them down at our feet than they spotted something else.

Al-sama cried out at how quickly it happened.

“Those are… Gluttony Rabbits, aren’t they?”

““Ohh~ First time seeing these~””

“Yeah.”

What Allen and Elena had found this time was a new kind of monster. There seemed to be… two of them.

Gluttony Rabbits are small monsters about the size of something you can hold in both hands, with a cute rabbit-like appearance. They resemble Pastel Rabbits, but are a bit stronger, ranked E. Their bodies are pitch-black, their eyes a glowing red. Ah, and their ears are slightly shorter—that’s their distinguishing feature. Ȓ𝘢NỐВƐS̈

And most surprising of all—their staple diet is bones.

““Oniichan, do you have any bones?””

“They’ll eat any kind of bone, right? Then maybe Wolf bones will do?”

I pulled some Wolf bones out of Infinite Storage and handed them to Allen and Elena, who went over to the Gluttony Rabbits.

Well… their food isn’t normal, but like the Pastel Rabbits, they’re closer to being pets than combat monsters, so it should be fine.

“Another rare monster encounter, huh.”

“So they’re rare after all?”

“Yeah, Gluttony Rabbits usually live deep inside the forest.”

“You know a lot about them.”

“Alfried-sama has a fondness for small, animal-like creatures.”

“Najack! Don’t tell them that!”

“Eh, is that true!?”

I didn’t know Al-sama liked small animals.

Now that I thought about it, he had been holding on to the Pastel Rabbit the kids gave him the whole time.

… Which means, when he was made head of the petting zoo, maybe he was actually really happy about it? And maybe Grace-sama brought it up knowing he liked small animals?

““We made friends with them~””

Before long, Allen and Elena brought the two Gluttony Rabbits back with them.

“Uh… what do you want to do with these ones?”

“Same as the Pastel Rabbits!”

“We’ll take them home!”

“… I see.”

So the Gluttony Rabbits also wanted to be pets.

What’s with these monsters wanting to be pets!? …Though maybe it’s a survival tactic for monsters that can’t fight well.

“What do you think, Al-sama?”

“What do I think… you mean I should let the castle keep them, same as the Pastel Rabbits?”

“If you don’t mind, yes.”

“I don’t mind, but until the proper arrangements are in place, you’ll have to look after them, Takumi.”

“Of course, I’ll take care of them.”

“In that case, I’ll gladly take them in!”

Muttering that the arrangements had to be made quickly, Al-sama actually seemed a bit excited.

“Speaking of which… ‘buying’ is a bad word for it, but what should I do about payment for the Pastel Rabbits?”

“Oh, no, no. I don’t intend to sell them—just take them in normally. If you want, you can ask us to cover food expenses instead?”

If anything, we were the ones pushing them on him.

It wouldn’t be strange if he asked us to cover the feed costs.

“Vegetable scraps and bones from the kitchen would be more than enough, and those pile up in the castle anyway, so no problem.”

“Ah, true.”

So feeding them wouldn’t require any special purchases, just stuff that would otherwise be thrown away as garbage.

“Still… even though they’re different species, they don’t fight.”

Al-sama was referring to the Pastel Rabbits and Gluttony Rabbits at our feet, already playing together peacefully.

“When we brought them over—”

“We explained it properly.”

“Wait, you mean you told the Gluttony Rabbits to get along with the Pastel Rabbits?”

““That’s right~””

“… I see.”

So that’s why they were getting along.

Normally, they might’ve been more distant with each other.

… Or maybe I was just overthinking it, and they would’ve gotten along anyway.

“Al-sama, won’t you pet or hold the Gluttony Rabbits?”

“No, um… is it really all right?”

“As long as they don’t dislike it, sure. Look, they’re rubbing up against you, waiting.”

Since Al-sama seemed fidgety, wanting to touch them, I encouraged him. The Gluttony Rabbits were clearly nudging up against him, after all.

““Ah!””

“What, again?”

““This time it’s herbs! Wait right there~””

Allen and Elena dashed off once more, this time after finding some herbs.

“At this rate, we’ll never make it to the forest.”

Hearing my muttered words, both Al-sama and Najack-san laughed.