The next day, before noon. Raphtalia had overslept because of last night's late study session. She was groaning over her magic book in one hand.
As for me? I was brewing medicinal herbs into medicine.
I was getting ready to head out to make up for the time lost from sleeping in, when—
"Oh, it looks like it's about to hatch."
The egg we'd bought yesterday had been sitting by the window of our inn room. Raphtalia noticed cracks forming in it.
Something soft—like fur, like feathers—was peeking through the gaps.
It seemed like it was close to being born for real.
"I see."
I was curious what would come out.
I went over to the cracked egg.
Crack, crack—the cracks in the egg spread wider, and with a sharp snap, a monster baby poked its face out.
"Peep!"
A fluffy, pink chick-like monster with a piece of eggshell sitting on its head locked eyes with me.
"Peep!"
It leaped energetically and slammed right into my face.
It didn't hurt at all, but for something that had just been born, it was remarkably lively.
I didn't know its species, but it seemed to be in good health, so if I took proper care of it, it should grow up strong.
"What kind of monster is this? If it's a bird type, is it a Pikyu Pikyu?"
Pikyu Pikyu were deformed condor-like monsters that couldn't fly very high. If this was its larval form, that appearance made sense.
Once it grew up, compared to something like a Balloon, it would be agile and have a beak for attacking, so there was potential.
"Hmm... I'm not exactly an expert on monsters either," Raphtalia answered with a troubled expression.
"Can't be helped. Let's ask around the village."
Since it was a monster sold by a monster merchant, it probably wasn't all that dangerous. Maybe someone would know if I asked.
When I reached my hand toward the chick, it climbed onto my hand, scampered up to my shoulder, leaped, and planted itself on top of my head.
"Peep!"
It nuzzled against my cheek.
Somehow... it was kind of adorable.
"Fufu, it sees Master Naofumi as its parent."
"I guess it imprinted."
I'd registered it beforehand, and since I was the first moving creature it saw, it probably thought of me as its family.
When I went to clean up the eggshell fragments, my shield reacted.
Come to think of it, if I let the shield absorb the eggshell pieces, maybe I could figure out what monster it was.
So I had the shield absorb the eggshell fragments.
The conditions for the Monster Tamer's Shield have been unlocked.
The conditions for the Monster Egg Shield have been unlocked.
Monster Tamer's Shield
Ability not yet unlocked... Equipment Bonus, Monster Growth Correction (Small)
Monster Egg Shield
Ability not yet unlocked... Equipment Bonus, Cooking Skill 2
...Not quite the shield I expected. But it seemed useful, so I converted the Slave Trader's Shield II, which had been in the process of unlocking, into the Monster Tamer's Shield.
"Did you figure something out?"
"No, a different shield came up and I'm still not sure."
In the end, what kind of monster was this chick? I'd be grateful if the villagers knew.
While walking through the village, which was still being rebuilt, I thought about where to level up today.
The most reasonable spot would probably be the marshlands to the west of the village? Last time I'd explored the mountains to the northwest, so I wanted to find a place with enemies of an appropriate level.
That was when I ran into a villager.
"Oh, it's the Shield Hero."
"Morning."
"Good morning."
I'd been here for a little over a week now, and between that and having protected them during the Wave, I'd gotten to be a pretty familiar face.
"Good morning!"
The villager bowed deeply to me. I started to feel a little embarrassed.
"Peep!"
The chick on my head chirped brightly.
"Oh?"
The villager noticed the chick perched on top of my head.
"What's that?" they asked, pointing at the chick.
"I bought an egg from the monster merchant."
"Ah, I see."
"It was a blind-pull kind of deal where I didn't know what was inside. Do you have any idea what this monster is?"
The villager stared intently at the chick.
"Let me see... I'm pretty sure that's a Filolial chick?"
"Huh? That bird that pulls the carriages?"
If so, then I'd gotten a bit of a bargain since the adult form was worth more than what I'd paid... well, assuming the villager was right.
"Yes, if you'd like, there's a ranch on the outskirts of the village where you could have someone take a look."
"All right, let's go check it out."
Raphtalia and I headed to the house of the person running the ranch.
The ranch had taken quite a bit of damage from the Wave, and apparently about half of the monsters being raised there had died.
"So, is this monster a Filolial or not?"
I asked the ranch owner, who nodded.
"That's right. From the looks of it, it's a female Filolial."
Holding the chick and examining it intently, the ranch owner spoke.
"It's a common variety—Filolaria breed. They have a peculiar nature where they won't settle down unless they're pulling a cart."
"...What kind of life is that, really?"
"Is something wrong with it?"
Right—in this world, it probably wouldn't strike anyone as odd if that was just how things had always been from the moment they were born.
Hmm... There was probably some kind of evolutionary behavior where they protected things that needed guarding—eggs, nests, and so on—by using something convenient like a cart to move them around.
"Well, not a miss, but more of a solid hit, I'd say."
Considering that the adult form was a 200 Silver Coin monster that I'd gotten for 100, it wasn't a bad deal.
I had no idea how much money and time it would take to raise it to maturity, but it wasn't impossible.
"Peep!"
The Filolial chick chirped from atop my head.
"What does this thing eat?"
"At first, things like boiled beans—anything soft. Once it's bigger, it's omnivorous, so it'll eat anything."
"Got it, thanks."
I was surprised by how naturally the words of thanks came out.
Apparently, the boiled beans sold in the village would work fine for now.
"So, what are you going to name it?" Raphtalia asked while petting the chick.
"Am I really going to name a pet I might sell?"
I'd heard that once you named something, you'd get attached to it and wouldn't be able to let it go.
"Are you going to keep calling it 'Little Chick' or 'Filolial' forever?"
"Hmm..."
That would indeed be a pain.
"All right then... I know—how about Filo?"
"...That's awfully lazy."
"Shut up."
"Peep!"
Whether it understood that it had just been given a name or not, the chick chirped happily.
After thanking the ranch owner, we bought some feed for Filo, grabbed breakfast, and headed out to hunt.
"Where are we going today?"
"Peep?"
"Let's see... I still don't know where the good hunting grounds are, so I'll just have to earn it with my own feet. We'll go as usual."
"Okay."
Raphtalia had gotten a lot more reliable. It should be easier to fight now than before.
Filo peeped away on top of my head.
It was noisy, but in a kind of pleasant way.
When evening started rolling around, even I finally noticed something was off.
Today, I'd encountered far more monsters than expected, and I'd been able to take them down efficiently.
It must've been thanks to the new weapons and armor. I was defeating enemies much more smoothly than last time.
Here were the day's results:
Me: Lv 23
Raphtalia: Lv 27
Filo: Lv 12
Filo had barely fought at all, yet its experience was pouring in and its level was skyrocketing.
That was a good thing. I'd heard that when young Demi-humans leveled up, their bodies grew rapidly, and apparently monsters followed the same principle, growing faster the more they leveled.
However... there was something.
Filo's appearance was visibly changing.
The tiny chick that Filo had been was now so big it was heavy to hold with both hands.
How to describe it... it had become round, like a steamed bun in body shape. Its feathers were sprouting and changing, and their color had shifted from pink to peach.
I tried sucking in some feathers.
The conditions for the Monster Tamer's Shield II have been unlocked.
Monster Tamer's Shield II
Ability not yet unlocked... Equipment Bonus, Monster Status Correction (Small)
This was a change so dramatic even I, who hadn't exactly been attentive to Raphtalia's growth, could notice it.
"Peep."
Even its cry had changed. When I set it down because of its weight, it started toddling along on its own.
Grrrr...
A bad feeling prickled at me from the constant rumbling sound Filo had been making for a while now.
I'd bought extra feed, but it had run out ages ago, and since it was omnivorous, I'd already been feeding it wild grass and what looked like pasture grass from the roadside.
No matter how much I fed it, its appetite was bottomless... That was probably the sign of rapid growth.
"Um... Master Naofumi..."
"I know. Monsters are incredible."
To grow this much in a single day... At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before it could serve as a mount.
Well, it was fine to have expectations, but it was a little scary to think it might end up as a monster with a huge body and an immature mind.
So I'd imposed fairly strict limitations on it.
When we got back to the inn, I showed Filo to the owner and asked where I should let it sleep. He led us to the inn's stable, where we made a nest out of straw and let it sleep there.
"Hm? There's chimera meat and bones stored in here."
Judging from the fact that they hadn't started rotting yet, did they keep well, or was it because these otherworldly monsters didn't decay?
"Well, for now, we're hanging the meat up to let it soften so it's easier to process."
"Huh..."
It wasn't edible, and yet they were still processing it for convenience.
"Then we're drying it into jerky and planning to put out a call for buyers. We're already selling to those who want it. A few people involved in magic have come by."
"Sounds good."
Since it had been a fairly large chimera, they still seemed to have a good amount of stock left. About enough for two cows, probably.
It was too tough to eat, and too much to bring along as research material.
This would have to do.
"Peep."
Grrrr...
Was it still hungry?
I'd gotten additional feed from the village and fed it, but it devoured everything in no time.
Where on earth was it putting all that food...?
Creak... creak, creak...
The sound of bones and flesh straining? Was it still growing?
"To raise something this much in a single day... you must have pushed it rather hard."
The owner looked at my face with concern.
"It's only at level 12, though."
"Huh? Twelve?"
At my answer, the owner looked at Filo in surprise.
"To grow this much in just a few days after hatching, I'd think it would need to be around level twenty. As expected of the Hero's power."
Hmm... Well, it did have Growth Correction (Small), so I couldn't rule out that it had an effect.
When I checked its stats, they fluctuated every time I looked. It must still be growing.
It still couldn't be sent into battle yet.
"Peep!"
I hoped Filo, who was chirping energetically, would keep growing strong and fast.
After stroking its head and confirming it had fallen into a gentle sleep, I went back to the room with Raphtalia. Then I studied to learn this world's writing system.
There was always so much to do—it was almost overwhelming.