Chapter 203
I got out of the bath in order to dry off Lord Gerberga and Grulf before drying myself .
“Lord Gerberga can’t shake the water off, so wait for a second, Grulf . ”
“Groof . ”
I put a towel over Grulf and then started to dry off Lord Gerberga .
“Cluck-cluck .
I didn’t want him to catch a cold, so I was always thorough .
“Groof-groof . ”
On the other hand, Grulf shook the towel off and began to roll on it on the floor .
He was rubbing his body on it as if to wipe himself .
“That’s very clever, Grulf . ”
“Groof!”
Grulf wagged his tail happily .
Then Danton got out of the bath .
“I can wipe Grulp for you . ”
“Thank you . ”
“Groof!”
“Don’t mention it . ”
Danton dried Grulf for me . He seemed like he was used to doing it .
“Have you done this before?”
“Well, I had to dry Shia and Nia when they were younger . ”
“I see . I suppose it’s the same thing . ”
To the beastkin, a spirit beast like Grulf was considered a close relative .
Perhaps they treated their children similar to spirit beasts .
“Do you plan on having children, Locke?”
“Well, if I meet someone . ”
“I could introduce you to someone? I’m sure many would want to have your kids . ”
That was just the kind of thing a beastkin would say, since they didn’t have actual marriages .
However, in human society, there were many things you were expected to do before having children .
But to the beastkin wolves, it was a very simple matter .
They didn’t really care who would become the official parent .
“Thank you, but… It’s too early for me . ”
I didn’t feel like having children yet . The battle against the dark ones was only getting worse .
I said as much .
The oldest chief who was drying himself nearby said,
“It is because the fight is getting worse that you should have children . ”
“Do you think so?”
“I know so . You have to have children so you can die at any time . ”
The beastkin raised children as a tribe .
So children were raised even if their parents died . They could trust their tribe to do this .
And the beastkin hunted vampires as their occupation .
It was a brutal job, and they knew that death could come at any time .
That was probably why they stuck to their system of raising children .
Sponsored Content
It was very educational to interact with races with different customs .
The rest of the men came out of the baths and we all went to the dining hall . Drinks were already being served .
The women chiefs had bathed while I was talking with Danton .
“Mister Locke . We started early today . ”
“Come over here and drink with us, Locke!”
Kathe was drinking happily .
“Kathe, you shouldn’t drink too much . ”
“I know . I know . ”
Kathe was really a giant dragon . I wasn’t sure she could actually get drunk .
“Mister Locke, did you enjoy your bath?”
Shia said as she stood up and came towards me . She was here as one of the chiefs as well .
Her tail was wagging happily .
It wasn’t just Shia . Serulis, Luchila, and Nia were here too .
They were eating the food I had brought, along with the children .
“Is Serulis drinking too?”
“No, no . Serulis and I are just drinking some juice . ”
“I see . That’s good . ”
It wasn’t good to drink when they were still growing .
Some of the children noticed me and came running .
“Mister Locke . Thanks for the treats!”
“Was it any good?”
“Yes!”
Sponsored Content
I was happy about that .
“Groof-groof!”
Grulf sniffed at the children and licked their hands .
He wanted to play with them .
“Do you want treats too, Grulfy?”
“Groof!”
They gave some to him, which he ate happily .
Lord Gerberga was perched on my should as I sat down next to Kathe .
“Well, Locke . You should drink some of this . ”
“Thank you . ”
Kathe poured me a cup .
On closer inspection, Kathe’s statue had been installed in the back of the dining hall .
“That thing draws a lot of attention . ”
“I am very proud of it . ”
“…I see . ”
Danton said,
“It will later be moved to the Chief’s Hall with all of our other treasures . ”
“…Indeed . ”
It was embarrassing, but there was nothing I could do .
The fact that it was made by the wind dragon ruler made it historically important .
Sponsored Content
It didn’t matter who the model was .
And so it was no surprise that Danton would treasure it .
After that, I drank and talked with the chiefs .
It was mostly about unimportant things .
After a while, Shia went to the children and said,
“It’s almost bedtime for you all . ”
“What! I’m not tired!”
“Groof-groof!”
“You won’t become strong like Mister Locke if you complain like that . ”
“…Okay . ”
“…Groof . ”
Shia led the children out of the dining hall .
“Goodnight!”
“Ah, goodnight . ”
The children said goodnight before leaving .
“Groof . ”
Grulf stayed and put his jaw on my knee .
“Don’t you need to sleep, Grulf?”
“Groof . ”
Apparently, not .
And then from the hallway,
“Let’s brush our teeth together and go to sleep . ”
Serulis’s happy voice echoed .