Reunion and a New Family Member
I left the conference room and met up with Alicia, who was waiting outside. We headed towards the outskirts of the Capital. Mr. Coote has returned. As his owner, I have to go and greet him myself and apologize for forgetting things.
“Being mistaken for a horde of magic beasts and sending a subjugation squad after… pfft!”
“That’s how amazing they are!! They’re all my pets.”
I love animals. However, I am not so much of an altruist as to reach out to beasts baring their fangs. Also, my Mother dislikes animals, so I can’t keep cats or birds. But I am a magician. It wouldn’t be strange to have over a hundred familiars. Even magic beasts without fluffy fur have their charm, and I like Mr. Coote because he is intelligent. I feel self-loathing for forgetting why.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Coote.”
I hugged Mr. Coote, who dashed over to me. Amazing, his fur is no less impressive than Alicia’s just now. They say people notice a guy’s worth after three days, and it’s true. His magic power has also increased significantly. He must have been causing quite a ruckus. The magic beasts behind him have become much more battle-hardened compared to when I last saw them.
“Next time, don’t forget me. I am my Lord’s familiar.”
He didn’t say much. We are always connected, and I have already heard his story before he returned. Mr. Coote and his followers, who returned triumphantly after defeating many creatures, have become an incredible horde of magic beasts.
I have no authority to give orders to Mr. Coote’s followers, and there is no soul connection between us. But it seems they respect my will. They don’t attack people. They don’t rampage without my permission. That seems to be the absolute rule in Mr. Coote’s pack.
“If my underlings cause trouble for you, feel free to tell me. We don’t need someone like that in my pack.”
It’s terrifying, but a horde of magic beasts can become expendable depending on the leader’s will. Their mindset is different from humans. If the pack’s leader says black is white, it’s absolute. That’s why these magic beasts should be fine.
They were not at all disturbed by the Knight who came alongside. Normally, they would attack upon seeing a human. Mr. Coote must have that much dominance. As expected of my pet.
“I am a familiar.”
I won’t entertain any arguments. Mr. Coote is a member of my ‘family.’ I acknowledge his followers as family, too.
However, bringing this many magic beasts into the Capital… The confused citizens might end up killing the creatures. Arland’s citizens are not ordinary. If goblins appear, they don’t just run; they’ll readily defeat them with sticks and stones. The citizens of our country are not ordinary.
“Can they turn smaller?”
“Of course, I’ve taught them that.”
As expected of Mr. Coote. Although I’ve been busy for the past two months, conversations with Mr. Coote revealed the meaning behind this change. It’s a form of mimicry. Powerful magic beasts find hunting challenging because prey senses their intimidating presence and flee as soon as they enter a certain range. Strong magic beasts must hide their strength. So, they learn this magic to disguise themselves.
It’s not that they mimic because they are weak; they mimic because they are too strong. Naturally, the magic beasts in Mr. Coote’s pack possess considerable strength. So, I thought it could be possible, and it seems they have succeeded in learning the skill.
However, there were a few magic beasts that couldn’t learn it, and I don’t know their fate. Probably, they have become one of many magic stones carried by the pack in bag-like bundles they held in their mouths. It’s not my pack, so I can’t say anything about it. Unless it directly affects the survival of the pack, I’ll generally observe without interfering if I can’t compromise.
For now, except for Mr. Coote, the other magic beasts changed into their cub forms, and I rode on top of him. Yes, this is indeed my designated position.
“Mr. Coote, let’s go home~”
“Woof.”
Returning to the castle in high spirits. Along the way, I encountered some surprised faces of the citizens, but since it wasn’t a secret that I owned magic beasts, there was no confusion, just a sense of relief that I finally came back.
“The grand march of the cu-cu-cubbies♪”
The horde of magic beasts was careful not to intimidate the citizens, and even when children suddenly hugged them, they didn’t retaliate. It’s nice to see that they understand. However, some people seem to have figured out that all of them were magic beasts. What kind of people are the citizens of this country, really? Well, they were looking at me with mischievous smiles, as if saying, “Oh, you are playing another prank, aren’t you?”
Mr. Coote has indeed brought back useful and rare magic beasts. Currently, 84 creatures were walking around me. Although there were a total of 106, the remaining ones were either waiting in the shadows or had special abilities. For example, there was a tiger-like new species of magic beast that could temporarily convert its body into electricity. Some magic beasts can be hidden in the shadows. There was even one using illusion magic to walk in the sky, making it difficult for even me to see. I wonder if they’re all really B-rank? Except for Mr. Coote, they must be hiding their true strength from me, so they can’t all be B-rank. I’m starting to feel like the pack is only B-rank on average, but I’ll overlook it by letting them be petted later. It’s not a problem if they’re strong.
“Princess!! Where have you been? It’s troublesome for you to wander off on your own.”
Upon reaching the front gate of the castle, Knights with tearful eyes appeared. Why? There’s Alicia as my guard, and in this situation surrounded by magic beasts, it would be a tough challenge even for an otherworlder to kidnap me. I could escape on Mr. Coote while others stalled them for me. The defense force is a bit excessive, though.
“Please hurry up to Her Majesty’s chamber. The Queen is expecting. You are going to have a sibling, Princess.”
“What!! Mr. Coote, let’s go. Magic beast squad, standby at the training grounds. Alicia, please arrange everyone’s meals.”
“Understood… You, mutts, crawl after me with your tails wagging.”
[Groooowl.]The magic beasts all bared their fangs simultaneously, but with a single roar from Mr. Coote, they lowered their tails and crawled after Alicia.
Quite surreal.
“I forgot to mention that those are my pseudo-familiars.”
“Alicia is my Knight. In a way, she’s Mr. Coote’s colleague.”
“I can’t endure being on the same level as that creature with diluted beastly traits.”
“Oh, you’re not getting along? I will hurt you~?” I knocked on Mr. Coote’s head with a clapping sound, but he wouldn’t yield. We continued walking inside the castle. Mr. Coote has undergone some slight form changes, but everyone in the castle knew him, so it was not a problem, especially since I was riding on top of him.
Ideally, I’d want to dash inside like my Father, but Mother is pregnant, so I can’t startle her. If something were to happen, I would despair. Suppressing my eager feelings, Mr. Coote moved at a walking speed. Eh? Why don’t I walk myself? Well, if I walk, I tend to charge in places like my Father. In the meanwhile, I was counting prime numbers on Mr. Coote back. I’ve reached 2 to the power of 57,885,161-1. I tried to continue my thoughts like this, but we arrived at the room. Outside the room, Knights in heavy armor were on guard. This is top-level security. Their weapons and armor are both magically enhanced.
I descend from Mr. Coote in front of the room and knocked. Mr. Coote will stay outside on guard. While I ordered him that if someone dangerous comes, he has my permission to eat them, the response came from the other side that it’s okay to enter, but I opened the door myself before the maid from inside could do it.