Hen na Ryu to Moto Yuusha Party Zatsuyougakari, Shintairiku de Nonbiri Slow Life.

Chapter 78 – Second Person on the New Continent

If I sensed the presence of someone, that meant that Shiro and Hippolius did as well.
However, Fio and Pii didn’t seem to notice it yet.
And so I decided to pretend that I didn’t notice as well.

“…Well, since these large leaves can be used for various things, I think I’ll gather a little more of them.”
“Fio too!”
“Wou.”

Fio replied cheerfully, but I could tell that Shiro was a little nervous.
However, Shiro knew that I was pretending, and so she went along with it.
Hippolius even yawned on purpose.
However, in spite of this acting, Hippolius’s tail was extended upwards in an unnatural way, which was clearly strange.

“Thank you, Fio and Shiro. That will help.”
“Wuffu!”
“…”

We gathered leaves and waited for the mushrooms to cook.
And then, the approaching presence stopped in the shadow of the tree that was behind us.
Apparently, it was looking at us from there.

“It looks like the mushrooms will take a little longer to cook.”
“Wuffu!”
“…”
“Wou?”

As Shiro was so quiet, Fio suddenly wondered if something had happened.

“Hmm, hmm.”
“…”
“Wuff!”

And then Shiro explained that there was someone nearby, and so Fio started to look around.
But Fio’s movements were much too obvious.
Like this, the person would know that they were discovered.
And so I activated my taming skill and decided to try and talk to it.

“…You, over there. What do you want?”
“…!”
“Don’t worry. We mean you no harm. And so, please show yourself.”
“Re-really?”

The taming skill wasn’t working. And yet, I could hear the words clearly.
Even though the pronunciation and intonation were a little different, we spoke the same words.

And if we spoke the same words, it means we were under the protection of the god of language.
In other words, they were human.

“Aye. Really. If there is some problem, we can talk about it. And we will treat you fairly.”
“…I understand. You really won’t be violent?”
“Of course. I promise.”

I said, and then the person stepped out from the shadows.

“…Hmm.”

I had never seen someone like this before.
Their clothes were filthy, but proper. It appeared to be one large cloth with a hole in the middle.

The stranger was about as tall as a human. 1.2 meters, and had beast ears and a tail.
In fact, the head itself was that of a dog, and the arms and legs were furry.
At a glance, the person looked like a dog that walked on its hindlegs.

However, a thick tail was pressed between the dog’s legs.
It was clearly afraid.

“Hiiii, hiiinn.”
“Wuff-wuff.”
“Fui…”

As the stranger came closer, the wolf cubs started to get noisy.
They weren’t scared or cautious. They were happy.

“All of you… Are you okay?”
“Fuiii…!”
“…That’s good.”

Upon seeing that Kuro and the others were well, the stranger seemed relieved.

“You know Kuro and the others?”
“Kuro?”
“These cubs. I named them Kuro, Roro, and Ruru.”
“I see. Yes. I know them.”
‘Gave us food!’
‘Yummy!’
“Kuuun!”
“Hmm?”
‘Uh, umm.’

Kuro and the others explained it to me through the taming skill.
Apparently, this person had been taking care of them before they were caught by the false demon bear.

“I was caught too.”
“By the false demon bear?”
“Demon bear?”
“The monster that was hurting the cubs.”
“I did not know it was called that.”
“…Ah, well, it looked a little like a bear. So I just called it that.”
“Really?”
“What is it actually then?”
“I don’t know. But, I called it a devil.”
“…Indeed, it was a devil.”
“Yes.”

When talking, it was inconvenient if you didn’t know the other person’s name.
And so I decided to introduce myself.

“Would you tell me your name? I am called Theodore. But you can call me Theo.”
“Theo. Nice to meet you. I’m Ije.”

And then I introduced the others to Ije.”
Fio, Shiro, Hippolius, and of course, Pii.
Apparently, Pii was sleepy. And so as soon as the introduction was finished, I let Pii rest inside of my clothes.

“Were you the demon bear’s underling?”
“No.”

Ije said with a shake of the head.
And then Ije explained the situation to me.

“That was… When the snow started to melt… I was caught by the devil.”
“Oh.”

Apparently, Ije and the others used to live in these areas peacefully.
They coexisted with the demon wolves, and did not fight each other.

“So there were no territorial disputes.”
“We eat grass. And meat.”
“I see. While the demon wolves eat grass as well, they mainly eat meat.”

Both were omnivores, but one side preferred grass, while the other preferred meat.
And because they had different preferences, they did not need to fight.

“Also, because both are wolves.”
“…So you are wolves, Ije.”

I had thought they were dogs.

“Yes.”
“And what happened to your friends?”

I asked, and then Ije’s expression became sad.