Chapter 201
“Time is of the essence . ”
Kathe stood up and ran out of the room . Her tail was moving happily up and down .
She was going to head for the water dragon settlement in spite of it being night time .
“Kathe! Wait a minute . ”
“Hmm? What is it?”
I called to her . Kathe turned around with a puzzled expression .
“It’s already late . You can go tomorrow . ”
“But it would be better to hurry . ”
“That’s true, but if you went out now, everyone will be surprised and wonder what’s going on . ”
Kathe thought about it and then nodded .
“You are not wrong . ”
“Right?”
“Very well . I will head there tomorrow then . ”
“That’s better . ”
“And so I shall play tonight instead . ”
Kathe said as she ran off . She was probably going to return to the children .
“Groof-groof!”
Grulf immediately reacted to the word ‘play . ’ He followed after her .
“Hmm? You want to play too, Grulf?”
“Groof!’
“You should go then . ”
We had things to talk about here .
A pup like Grulf would find it boring .
“Cluck-cluck . ”
On the other hand, Lord Gerberga sat on my lap with a cool expression .
It was as if he were making a show of not being a child .
I stroked his feathers and then turned to Danton .
“Perhaps I should inspect the mansion and make sure no magic tools have been brought in?”
“Would you really do that for us?”
“Of course . I do not mind at all . ”
Danton thought about it .
“…But, it will be a lot of work . It is a large mansion . ”
“I’ll manage it . ”
“No, Locke . Considering the reason, you will have to search through the other houses as well . Not just the mansion . Surely that is too much work for you . ”
Danton was right .
It was true that most information came from the mansion of the chief .
However, it was also possible to gather information by planting magic devices in the other houses as well .
“I always meant to check the other houses as well . Of course, I realize that it may not be the most welcome thing for the residents…”
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“I don’t mind that… But it does not feel right to have you do so much, Locke…”
“It’s why I came all the way here . If I’m going to do it, I should do it right . ”
“So you really don’t mind?”
“If I’m only going to search for magic devices, then Magic Search should be enough . ”
I could use Magic Exploration to find out what a device does once it had actually been discovered .
So it shouldn’t be that much trouble .
“In that case, may we rely on you?”
“Yeah, I have plenty of time . I could even reinforce your walls with magic while I’m at it . ”
“…You would do that for us?”
“Sure . You know, Miss Shia and Nia have helped me a lot . ”
“Thank you . ”
The mansion of the beastkin chief was an anti-vampire fortress .
It would be good to strengthen it .
After that, Danton, the old chief, and I discussed the order that things would be done .
“Well then, it is settled . ”
“Yes, thank you . ”
“Sorry for troubling you, Locke . ”
“Don’t mention it . ”
I put Lord Gerberga on my shoulder and left the room .
Then, Kathe’s cheerful voice entered my ears .
“Gahahaha!”
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“Groof-groof!”
“Ahahaha!”
Kathe was using her tail to play with Grulf and the children .
The children hung on her tail . Grulf ran in a circle around them .
I was glad that they were having fun .
Serulis was with the younger children and read to them .
Then Danton approached me .
“Locke . The men are all going to the baths . ”
“Ah, that sounds great . ”
Danton and the other male chiefs were headed for the baths .
“Grrr? Groof?”
Grulf ran up to me when he heard this . His tail was wagging .
He preferred to play over long meetings, but he liked bathing more than anything .
That was how much he liked to bathe .
However, I didn’t think it was right to bring a beast into someone else’s bathing room .
“Grulf, not today . ”
“…Groof?”
I don’t know what you are saying . That’s what his expression seemed to say as he tilted his head .
“Groof!”
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Then he put his paws on my shoulders and licked my face .
I want to take a bath!
“Grulf . I’m sorry, but you can’t take a bath today . It’s someone else’s house . ”
“…Grrr…”
Gruld looked dejected . I felt bad for him now .
Danton watched us and said,
“Hmm? Locke . I don’t mind if Grulf comes . ”
“Really? You don’t have to worry about us . He doesn’t actually have to bathe every day . ”
“Groof!”
Grulf protested .
Danton patted him on the head .
“Oh, it really is alright . I’m not just saying it to be polite . Of course, you may also bring Lord Gerberga . ”
“That’s very kind of you… But won’t the other chiefs mind?”
“Perhaps not a dog, but Grulf is a great wolf . And a spirit beast . No one in our tribe will mind . ”
“Exactly . Spirit beasts are like close relatives for us . ”
Another chief chimed in .
So spirit beasts really were special to them .
“And Lord Gerberga is a god . No one will be angry . ”
“I see . Thank you very much . ’
And so it was decided that Grulf and Lord Gerberga would go with me to the baths .