Chapter 4 begins.
The opening is the usual familiar scene of a missed encounter with Merlin.
"What did you say?! Tenma went to the Royal Capital?!"
Merlin's loud voice echoed through the streets of Seigen in the middle of the day.
Merlin and his party had arrived in Seigen at noon, one week after Tenma and the others had departed for the Royal Capital.
Having shown the king's letter to the gate guards and entered through the special entrance reserved for nobles, Merlin's party immediately headed to the Guild to gather information—and upon learning what a girl there who had tamed two Rock Birds had to say, Merlin couldn't help but cry out.
"Eek! S-sorry!"
Seeing the girl apologize reflexively, I realized she hadn't noticed anyone around her.
"S-sorry about that, I couldn't help but raise my voice..."
"What happened?! Amy!"
"Did that old man do something to you?!"
Hearing the girl's voice, men came tumbling down from the second floor and positioned themselves in front of her as if to protect her.
"Hey, old man! What do you want with Amy?!"
"More like—what did you do to Amy?!"
The four men raised their voices threateningly, but honestly, they were hardly a challenge for me to face.
However, since I was the one who had frightened the girl, all I could do was sincerely apologize.
"This girl said she knew my grandson, so I asked her where he was—but he'd already departed by then, and I couldn't help but raise my voice... I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. And I'm truly sorry to you too, young lady."
As I was apologizing, a man around my own age came down from the second floor.
"It seems there was a misunderstanding on both sides—shall we settle this here? My name is Agri Monacart. I serve as something of a leader among this group. It's an honor to meet you, Sage Merlin. I look forward to working with you."
As he spoke, the man who had introduced himself as Agri offered a courteous greeting.
"No, no—I'm the one who should apologize for all the commotion. You can drop the 'Sage' title, Agri. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."
I shook hands with Agri, but when I looked around, the Guild hall had gone completely silent.
The four men from earlier in particular had frozen in place, motionless as dolls.
Wondering what had gotten into them, Agri chuckled and said,
"It seems these fellows had no idea who they were picking a fight with... Well then, perhaps it's time you moved."
With that, Agri lightly tapped each of the four on the head with the staff he was holding.
"M-M-M-M-My apologies, sir!"
"I had absolutely no idea you were the great Sage Merlin himself!"
"Please forgive us!"
"We are so, so, so, so deeply sorry!"
The men, who had sprung back to life all at once, dropped to the ground and began prostrating themselves at a truly impressive speed.
"No, no—this was partly my fault to begin with, and you were only trying to protect this girl, which is the natural thing to do. Please, get up, won't you?"
Having people grovel on the ground over something like this was more awkward for me than anything. Seeing our discomfort, Agri stepped in.
"What's wrong with you lot? You're only making the situation worse! Stand up, already."
At his words, the men got back on their feet, though their embarrassed expressions hadn't changed one bit.
At Agri's suggestion, we headed up to a table on the second floor, and I decided to ask about what Tenma had been up to in this city.
"What?! Tenma really tamed a dragon as a Familiar?!"
Agri and the others told me all sorts of things. There were stories about Tenma's dungeon-clearing speed, how he had punched the son of a nobleman, and how he had scared an Ogre witless—but the news about the dragon overshadowed all of that by a wide margin.
"Yes! Master's dragon is a adorable little one named Solomon!"
Amy told me all about it, but—
"A teacher, you say?"
Those unexpected words left me staring dumbfounded at Amy's face.
"That's right. He taught me the basics of taming, and I was able to make these two into my Familiars."
So saying, she summoned two Rock Bird chicks from her bag, set them on the table, and began to stroke them gently.
"Well now, that Tenma of yours... hmm? These little ones seem to have unusually high Magic Power."
The Magic Power I sensed from the chicks was remarkably high for hatchlings, so I asked Agri about it. But Agri just shook his head.
"That's a mystery to us as well. One of our members even said their own Thunder Bird chick had less Magic Power back when it was this size... Perhaps the fact that it was Tenma who hatched them is related somehow."
Hearing that, I murmured,
"Then again, with Tenma involved, something this strange wouldn't be out of the ordinary..."
The others around me nodded in agreement. That alone was enough to understand that Tenma had done yet another thing far beyond common sense.
"Still, I came here looking for my grandchild, but I never imagined I'd end up with a grand-student as well."
As I said that and looked at Amy—
"Ha ha ha! When you put it that way, if Tenma is your student, then Amy here would indeed be your grand-student, Merlin!"
Agri laughed heartily, while the mages nearby who had been eavesdropping cast envious glances toward Amy.
"Lord Merlin, wouldn't it be best to set off early if you're going after Tenma?"
Edgar, who had been standing deferentially behind me this whole time, spoke up with a tentative suggestion.
"Quite right. If I leave now, I may catch up to him by the time I reach the Royal Capital."
With that thought in mind, I bowed to the members of the Tamer's Guild present and headed outside to pursue Tenma.
The moment I stepped out of the Guild, an Ogre I recognized was standing right before my eyes. If I recalled correctly, this was Garibar from Marquis Samons' estate...
Garibar noticed my gaze and turned his body toward me.
And to my astonishment, he bowed his head in greeting!
Honestly, I never expected an Ogre to possess such intelligence and courtesy.
Because of that, I was late to notice Marquis Samons standing in Garibar's shadow. Behind the Marquis stood his son as well.
"Oh! Lord Merlin, what brings you here?"
Marquis Samons approached me at a brisk pace. At that moment, his escort knights tensed, but upon realizing the person was me, they relaxed their guard and redirected their attention to the surroundings.
"Marquis Samons, is it... Well, to tell the truth, I went to Gunjou City to see my grandson, but we unfortunately missed each other. I then heard he was staying in this town, but once again I'm one step too late... I'm just about to head to the Royal Capital now."
"I hardly know what to say... Could it be that your grandson is an adventurer?"
After the series of missed encounters, perhaps the Marquis couldn't find the right words on the spot, because he forcibly changed the subject.
"Ah, his name is Tenma. It seems he's been making quite a name for himself."
"Tenma, you say?!"
The moment Marquis Samons heard Tenma's name, he was visibly shaken. And behind him, his son—who had been standing quietly—was also shocked... no, frightened... For some reason, Garibar appeared equally terrified...
"Has my grandson caused you some trouble?"
Growing a little anxious that Tenma might have done something, I asked him that question.
"No, no, quite the opposite. In fact, we are the ones who caused trouble for Lord Tenma..."
The Marquis began to explain, looking deeply apologetic, telling me about the incident between his son—Geiri—and Tenma, as well as the events that followed.
"So, not only did we cause Lord Tenma trouble, but he also saved our lives."
Having finished speaking, Marquis Samons stole a glance at Geiri, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
"That boy shows no mercy to anyone, no matter who they are..."
"Indeed, what my son did was something that would be beyond reproach even if he had been sentenced to death. On top of having that forgiven, his life was saved yet again... That is why my son is currently undergoing a complete change of heart."
No wonder Geiri looked so run-down...
"In moderation, now... Anyway, we're departing soon, so I'll take my leave."
"I apologize for keeping you. Please travel safely."
And so we finally set off for the Royal Capital... Along the way, I caught snippets from a group of four adventurers — something about Tenma doing this, or Tenma doing that — but I ignored them and hurried out of the city.
"This time, I will definitely, absolutely, reunite with Tenma!"
"Merlin! That's dangerous, please don't lean out of the carriage!"
I got so worked up that I was practically howling out the side of the carriage, when Chris — face set with grim determination — shoved me back inside... Reflection. Reflection.
"Achoo!"
"Tenma, are you okay?"
On the road to the Royal Capital, my nose suddenly started tingling and I let out an almighty sneeze.
It must have reached her ears, because Jeanne, sitting right behind me, leaned forward in concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My nose just suddenly felt ticklish."
The weather was nice today, so instead of the usual magic-enhanced carriage, we were using a regular freight wagon. That meant Jeanne was leaning forward from directly behind me, peering over with a worried look.
"Oh my, if you keep that up, you two look just like lovers."
Aura was teasing, as always, but—
"I'm already used to Aura's remarks!"
Jeanne was starting to build up an immunity. Seeing this, Aura pulled a bored expression, but then seemed to come up with something, and her face suddenly turned lewd—
"Tenma~, when you sleep tonight, please make use of the magic carriage, just the two of you~. Of course, I'll be sleeping outside~... Oh, rest assured. No matter what happens, I won't peek inside or eavesdrop—hck!"
Before she could finish, I flicked a pebble at her forehead with my finger, and it hit dead center.
She had pulled back her strike at the last moment, but having been caught off guard, she took an unexpected hit and was sent reeling backward.
"Aura! Knock it off! Stop saying weird things!"
Against Aura like that, Jeanne's face turned beet red as she pressed the attack further... Although, calling it a "follow-up attack" was a stretch—she was really just hurling pieces of firewood that had been loaded onto the carriage...
However, Jeanne's throwing had grown considerably stronger thanks to recent training, and it was more than enough to knock Aura down.
Firewood scattered everywhere, and with Aura dizzy, we decided to take a meal break here. By the way, gathering the firewood didn't take long—Shiromaru and Solomon collected it while playing around.
"Well then, let's grill some meat today!"
I assembled a base from nearby stones, lit the firewood, and placed an iron plate on top.
While waiting for the iron plate to heat up, I was cutting the meat into portions, and my gluttonous companions—who only ever behaved this well at mealtimes—sat beside me, drooling as they waited.
With no choice, I wrapped some raw meat in lettuce and fed it to them, but they skillfully spat out only the lettuce and immediately started begging for the next piece of meat.
"Woof!"
"Piku!"
Both of them were doing the same thing, so
I gave them a whack of love
and they reluctantly started nibbling on the lettuce.
"Tenma, Aura's waking up!"
"Then let's make it lunch!"
The meat was just about done, and a mouth-watering aroma was drifting through the air.
I had salt and sauce ready for the meat, and in addition, I'd prepared salad, bread, and milk.
Aura, now awake, took in her surroundings and sat down next to Jeanne.
"Well then, let's eat."
"Thanks for the food!"
"Woof!"
"Scree!"
In this world, putting your hands together before a meal wasn't really common practice. Only church officials and devout followers did it when saying grace; everyone else either led a toast like the nobles did or just murmured a quick prayer on their own.
The way I did it—putting my hands together and saying "Thanks for the food"—was unusual, but it wasn't as though there was no similar custom at all. So when Jeanne and Aura saw me doing it, they naturally picked up the habit too.
"Come to think of it, Tenma, are you sure we're heading the right way to the Royal Capital? I'm pretty sure the sign back there said the Royal Capital was to the right."
"Did you have somewhere specific in mind?"
As the meal was winding down, Jeanne and Aura asked me that.
"Yeah, it's a bit of a detour, but I hear there are wild cattle living in the grasslands up ahead. I was thinking we could hunt two or three while we're at it and stock up on some beef."
At the mention of beef, Shiromaru and Solomon suddenly grew restless. They looked like they couldn't wait another second to get their paws on some meat.
"...Shiromaru, Solomon—just so you know, these aren't dangerous beasts, so no going overboard with the hunting!"
The two nodded with dead-serious expressions, but the drool dangling from their mouths told a different story. I quietly resolved to stuff them into the bag if push came to shove.
"Beef really is the best, isn't it, Shiromaru?"
"Lately..."
"...it's been all pork..."
"...so I'd really love to have beef for a change."
Jeanne, who had no idea what I was planning, answered while stroking Shiromaru, and Aura answered while mulling over cooking methods.
Once they both agreed, we cleaned up and headed off to hunt some cattle.
After about an hour of travel, we came upon a flowing river, and the grasslands we were headed for lay roughly an hour further upstream along its banks.
"Tenma, are there any cattle around?"
"It doesn't seem like there are any nearby, but is this really the right area?"
When we entered the target grassland, Jeanne and the others strained their eyes searching for cattle, but none were visible within sight.
"Solomon, try searching for cattle from above. Shiromaru, let me know the moment you catch the scent of cattle."
"Woof!"
"Kyuui!"
After giving the two of them their orders, we advanced across the grassland in the direction of the Royal Capital for a while, when suddenly Solomon descended right next to me and started moving his body, trying to communicate something.
"Tenma, did he find the cattle?"
Jeanne asked me, but Solomon seemed to want to convey something else — he shook his head, then stared intently at me.
"What is it, Solomon? ...I see, I see... What?! Got it, let's head there right now!"
"Huh? You understood that from just now?"
"Somehow, yeah!"
I turned Tanikaze in the direction Solomon had indicated and broke into a run.
"What did Solomon say?"
"Apparently, up ahead at the riverbank, a group of children is being attacked by a herd of cattle!"
However, pulling the wagon meant we couldn't pick up speed the way I wanted, so —
"Sorry, but I'm going ahead! I'll bring out the Golems for the wagon — have them pull it! Shiromaru, you're Jeanne's escort! Solomon, I need you to guide the way!"
With that, I pulled four Golem cores from my bag and tossed them to the ground.
"I've transferred command authority to you two — the rest is up to you!"
I unhooked the clasp on Tanikaze, leaped aboard, and once I confirmed the Golems had appeared, I took off after Solomon.
Sure enough, once the wagon was detached, the speed more than doubled, and the vibrations grew stronger — so naturally, my riding posture ended up looking like that of a horse racing jockey.
It had been a while since I'd pushed at full speed, so the vibrations were rough, but I didn't have time to complain.
Within ten minutes, I could see the children who were supposedly under attack.
There were two children, a boy and a girl who looked about the same age.
They appeared to be nobles, dressed in ornate clothing, and there were several men who seemed to be their guards.
The men were fighting hard, but they were completely outmatched by the force of the bulls, and they were being pushed back due to the difference in numbers.
"Sei-yah!"
I let out a battle cry loud enough for both the guards and the bulls to hear, scattered the bulls as I charged through, and forcibly forced some distance between the two sides.
The sudden intruder caught both the guards and the bulls off guard for an instant, freezing their movements.
"Stone Wall!"
In that opening, I successfully summoned a wall between the two groups, cutting them off.
However, once the bulls came back to their senses, they began body-slamming the wall in an attempt to destroy it.
I didn't know what was driving them to this, but some of the bulls had broken horns and were staggering from concussions — yet even so, they wouldn't stop charging. All thirty-odd bulls outside were equally frenzied with rage.
"What on earth is going on...?"
I was shocked by the sheer abnormality of the scene and turned to look at the children who had been under attack.
And then I found the cause of the bulls' fury.
"I don't know who you are, but please! Lend us your strength!"
The children noticed my gaze and approached with their heads bowed, but —
Smack. Smack.
I slapped both children across their cheeks.
The children, stunned by the sudden act and sent tumbling to the ground, were replaced by the guards around them, who erupted in an uproar.
"You! What do you think you're doing?! Do you even know who these people are?!"
"That barbaric act cannot be forgiven!"
The two guards drew their swords and lunged at me, but my magic struck them before they could swing, sending them flying backward into unconsciousness.
The other guards, though battered by injuries and exhaustion, rose to their feet and drew their swords upon seeing my actions.
"Do you have any idea why you were slapped?"
I ignored the guards and addressed the two who were sitting on the ground, stunned.
"..."
The two silently shook their heads. Seeing no other way, I forcibly turned the boy's head in a certain direction—
"Any living creature would be furious if its beloved child was brutally killed."
In the direction I had turned him, over a dozen calves lay dead—their bodies pierced through by magic—
skewered—
or slashed apart by swords.
Given the size of the herd outside, every single calf in the herd had likely been killed.
"And now that it's come to this, the cattle out there will keep attacking humans from now on... It's a terrible shame, but the cattle outside will have to be put down as well."
I paused there and looked at the children once more.
"I'm not against hunting... I'm an adventurer, after all. But I will not tolerate killing from a safe position for sport without putting yourself in any danger. If someone like that ever became the leader of a country, that nation would surely perish."
Around the calves' corpses, there were remnants of magic barriers that had been erected. They had likely used some method to separate the parents—especially the males—and then trapped and slaughtered the calves in the gap.
If this had been done for the sake of food, I might have understood this level of fury, but the corpses bore signs of magic spells fired wildly and sword marks from repeated slashes.
Looking at the calves' remains, it was clear the barrier had eventually crumbled under the cattle's charge.
Many of the cattle that had appeared before us had broken horns and were staggering with blood streaming from their heads, looking as though they could collapse at any moment. Yet their eyes were bloodshot, and they were radiating tremendous killing intent and hatred toward us.
"I'm sorry..."
After muttering that, I unleashed light magic toward the cattle. The spell detonated in front of the herd, flooding the area with light and blotting out my vision.
In the instant before the light exploded, I closed my eyes, drew my blade from the bag, and charged into the midst of the herd, relying on the killing intent radiating from the cattle to guide my swings.
One stroke per beast, and with each stroke I severed their heads to spare them as much suffering as possible.
When the light subsided and the surroundings gradually came back into view, thirty-one headless cattle carcasses lay scattered across the ground.
I summoned the Golem and had it collect every torso while leaving the heads behind, then stuffed them all into my bag.
The children and the guards were startled and on edge when they saw me summon the Golem, but I ignored them and used magic to dig a hole in the ground, then ordered the Golem to deposit the calves' remains and the cattle heads into it.
After that, I fired fire magic into the hole and kept burning until the corpses were reduced to nothing but ash and bone.
By the time more than thirty minutes had passed since my arrival here, Jeanne and the others finally showed up.
"Tenma, what are you burning? And who are these people?"
Jeanne and the others arrived with Golems pulling their carriage, and once again the guards tensed up. But Jeanne ignored the guards and approached me.
"Yeah, these are the idiots who caused the whole commotion."
Jeanne and the others glanced at the children and the guards at my words, but they didn't seem to understand what I meant.
The guards in question, however, appeared to be angry at what I'd said and looked like they were about to spit out some complaint, but a single glare from Shiromaru made them flinch and fall silent.
"The burial's done—shall we head to the Royal Capital?"
After covering the cattle, now reduced to ash and bone, I told Jeanne and the others that, then retrieved the Golems' cores, stowed them in my bag, and re-hitched Tanikaze to the carriage.
Meanwhile, Shiromaru and Solomon were searching desperately near where the wall had been.
"Find something?"
In response to my question, Shiromaru looked up, and clamped in its mouth were the cattle horns from earlier.
It wasn't just Shiromaru—Solomon had horns in its mouth as well. But while Shiromaru was struggling to hold just two horns, Solomon had managed to collect one in its mouth, two in its hands, and one between its feet, for a grand total of four.
When I saw how frustrated Shiromaru looked, I took the two horns from them and had the scattered horns around the area collected and stored in the bag.
The two of them seemed to understand they could take all the horns home, and they scurried around gathering them with delighted expressions on their faces.
"Um… well…"
While I was watching Shiromaru and the others, a boy called out to me from behind.
"…Can I help you?"
My blunt response made the boy flinch for an instant, but he quickly recovered.
"I'm sorry about earlier! And thank you so much!"
With that, he bowed deeply with great enthusiasm.
The girl standing beside him was startled by the boy's actions, but she quickly bowed just as he had.
It was the guards who were shocked by the two children's behavior. They immediately moved to intervene, but Shiromaru cut them off as if it had read their intentions, blocking their path with a threatening stance.
"Grrrrrrrrrr!"
The guards had instinctively reached for the swords at their waists when Shiromaru stood in their way, but at the sound of its growl, they immediately let go of their blades and raised both hands in surrender.
The boy and girl flinched for a moment at Shiromaru's growl, but they quickly looked back at me.
Honestly, they were steadier than the guards. Was it the power of the blood that flowed through their veins?
"If that's all you need, then I'll be taking my leave.
Your Highness.
"
At my words, the two children and the guards froze with stunned expressions on their faces.