I am a Saber Cat.
In the past, I led the pack as the sole head.
A sole head refers to the boss that puts order in a pack.
I am still the one that puts order in a way, but I am not the head anymore.
After coming to this land, I have obtained a master and a name.
Mine name is Kuro.
I had no right to refuse.
A vast land where there’s only mine pack.
Master is apparently the Lord that owns everything that can be seen here, so our freedom was allowed.
However, it is not like our safety has been assured.
Our freedom has been promised as long as we don’t infringe on the freedom of other races that live together with us like the demi-humans and the mamonos.
The so-called coexistence.
The settlements, the forests, the rivers, mountains, and the plains; in this land, Asora, you are not troubled by food.
Those were dream-like conditions and mine pack favored this highly.
Because we can give birth to children without starving or worrying about outside enemies.
It is okay to live lazily in the settlement, it is okay to do your best in hunting outside too.
As long as you can obtain Thought Transmission, you can communicate with other races as much as you wish.
I am currently the only one who has been able to learn Thought Transmission.
Therefore, whenever there’s any trouble happening, I am the one who has to come out.
This is more of a pain than I thought, to the point that I consider it was a mistake to do so.
But obtaining it was absolutely necessary.
If it had to be someone, it should have been me who is the biggest and strongest in our pack.
That’s because there’s a good amount of people who don’t find it amusing that the races that can think in this way and have interactions are being treated especially better.
In other words, this is for self-defense.
Even though I simply got brushed and had mine neck and cheeks stroked, I was directed bone-chilling killing intent and pressure, especially from Mio who is the boss of the kitchen that always has a good scent, the persimmon eater Komoe, her parent Tomoe, and the female Gorgons that have petrification eyes.
We finally got this dream-like situation and mine two tails, but it would all go to waste.
Even though they are so strong and intelligent, what is it that they dislike about Master caring for me?
It is clear at one glance that that’s not the type of love you direct to master and servant.
Tails?
Normally, you only have one and that’s the same for me, but another one grew after a while of coming to Asora.
Not only does it make things more convenient and it doesn’t trouble me, mine number of moves increased by double and I became the strongest immoveable boss.
…
Yeah, normally.
Saber Cats don’t accept a master.
But that…that is in a whole other realm.
A being that there’s no point in opposing.
It is a bit different from an absolute power.
It goes without saying for Tomoe and Mio, but in Asora, the closer that you are to Master, the stronger you tend to be.
But…mine Master is different in some way.
I have no choice but to do things like this.
The moment I first met Master, I laid down and showed mine stomach as if agreed upon beforehand.
Master approached me, patted mine head, and stroked mine whole body.
Then, he brushed me and said: ‘I will be counting on you, Kuro’.
It is now that I think that must have been a contract ceremony.
“Kuro, let’s go for a walk~!”
…
Aah, right.
After having come here, our roles have increased.
Mounts.
‘Walks’ are mount training, and it is mostly done with Gorgons, and with other races at set periods of time.
…As for me, I don’t want to allow others to ride on mine back aside from Master.
I don’t, but…
If I were asked whether I can let Master ride on mine back all of a sudden without being fazed at all and be capable of doing mine role perfectly, I would say no.
Walks are for fun but also training.
I have also convinced mine comrades to this stance and have ordered them to participate.
A lot of mine comrades have gotten used to being mounts, and there’s a number of them who would do races and compete with each other.
However, in this area alone, there’s the need to be in sync with your rider or you won’t be able to show any evolution.
The skills of this person today, I would say, she is at the top of the lower tier.
Fuuh, her whole body is gonna hurt later.
Good grief.
“Let’s go around the forest today.”
When I finished putting on the saddle and equipment, the young Gorgon girl, Sakui, designated the course.
Meaning that we will be running through the forest, and we will be running above partway.
Fumu, guess I should put some power into it every once in a while.
“…Uhm, no racing with the others, okay? When you get serious, Kuro, I am the one who won’t be able to take it.”
Tch.
She pointed it out.
Can’t be helped.
I have been told to not trouble the Gorgons too much.
If it is the order of Master, there’s no yes or no.
I have the other Saber Cats in mine periphery with their respective Gorgons riding on their back and heading to the forest we often go to, as I do mine job as the rearguard.
Let’s play around a whole ton outside tomorrow.
We enter the forest where the sun shines bright on, at the side of the forest where the wolves and bears rule and between the river filled with fishes. We evaded the trees and at times kicked them as we headed to the corner of the forest without losing speed.
The course of the wolf and bear forest is interesting with its rich swerves, but that place is mostly their turf.
Stepping into that place for our own convenience, running around and trampling down the place would be the peak of rudeness.
Therefore, as long as there’s nothing big that compels us to, we won’t be stepping into it.
We have left the decision of what happens to the people that enter to their own discretion. I won’t complain even if they are killed.
Knowing your territory is the basis of everything.
By the way, the fish here is tasty.
Contrary to mineself who is running carefreely, Sakui seems to be trying desperately to control her center of gravity.
Even though if this were Master, he would simply voice out his surprise, but would not lower his guard on his surroundings.
When we arrived at the corner of the forest, at the base of the mountain, mine brethren at the front ran up to the skies in order.
They created footstools in the air, and freely ran in the skies. It is our specialty.
There’s no inconvenience even without wings.
Even if we fall a certain distance, we can mitigate the impact to a certain degree. Not a single issue.
On the other hand, I can tell that Sakui is nervous here.
Those girls can fly with magic, but they apparently can’t deal with sudden falls. They have given us warnings about being especially careful and concentrating when running in the sky.
Right now we have to confirm the position and situation of us both, so there’s no room for anything else.
It is incredibly inconvenient.
“Kuro, do you not come often to this forest?” (Sakui)
…I rarely use Thought Transmission.
If it is with Master and the other strong ones, I would proactively use it though.
Sakui speaks to me in this manner while knowing.
Well, it is probably also to lower her own nervousness though.
By ‘this forest’ she means the forest that’s currently spread before our eyes.
Running inside this one is not recommended. That’s because this one is dangerous in a different meaning compared to the forest of before and the wolf forest.
If those forests are the ones ruled by water and animals, this one would be ruled by plants.
It is filled with giant grass and trees that have will.
Anyone who tried to step in there will have not only the forest, but everything that you can see become your enemy. The fate of being turned into their nutrients will be awaiting you in an instant.
At the time when I brought Master here, I managed to see every single nook and cranny of it, but if I hadn’t been with Master there, I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to enter it.
The outer layer of the forest, popularly known as: Orchard. The fearsome plants and trees there are apparently used for the TM Bootcamp of a race called Forest Onis to become capable.
That area was also opened for the sake of teamwork exams for the upcoming race units. This exam that is considered a survival too is famous for instilling fear even in the warriors of Asora.
Us?
There’s no exam for us.
I am a cat after all.
I am glad I am a cat.
“Gorgons get involved often with animals in Asora, so we have barely touched this place. But we have to come for the Orchard 7 Day Training and the Magic Kuzumochi Prison…” (Sakui)
Right right, the 7 Day Training and the Magic Kuzumochi.
Those were the names.
For the Magic Kuzu, after they finish, bouncy and tasty mochi is distributed.
I am glad I am a cat.
Well, in this Asora where strong ones roam, it is necessary to have a certain degree of trials.
In that sense, I can sympathize with them.
However, this place is a normal forest as long as it is together with Master.
Giant trees where vegetables grow, trees that are spread widely and always have varied types of fruits growing on them, flowerbeds that are filled with many different scents.
You can see many things that you can only see here.
The others aside from Master who can freely come and go from this forest where plants reign are the…Ale…Elame…mura?
I have completely forgotten their name, but we always call those fairies Al.
Because of their inability to read the atmosphere and their nasty tongue, they often clash with the residents of the settlements, but maybe they are compatible with the trees that have intelligence, they use a part of that forest as their dwelling.
This might be one of the cases where ‘the right job for the right people’ applies.
Just like how I am loved by Master because -even though I am big- I am a cat.
Recently, the children have been gathering around Master to have him caress them, so there was a small period of time when I was considering thinning them out cause I wouldn’t be able to take having mine position threatened, but Master brushes only me with a special tool, so I have spared them.
Hmph, you ain’t staying small for long, you runts.
Learn that that way of gaining favor only works in your infancy.
“Alright! Today’s walk is now over! Good work everyone!”
Today’s walk ended without any issues too.
When we find anything that bothers us, we would report it to Master or one of the strong ones, but it looks like there’s no need to tell them anything today.
That said, this isn’t enough exercise.
I just sweated a bit there, so this feels more like I finished a warmup. I would like to go all out from here on.
There’s those within mine comrades that are breathing roughly, and ones who began the walks not that long ago, barely managing to finish the walk.
Pathetic.
“Now then, it is bathing and shampoo time!”
We Saber Cats took off our equipment, and the Gorgons also took off their clothes and left their underwear on.
A blissful time of drinking a full belly of water and washing our bodies began.
I went to the waterway for exclusive use and quenched mine dry throat.
The Gorgons then got naked, and we washed both ourselves and each other.
The reason why they are still wearing their glasses is because of their racial trait.
If they take those off, we would have to try to endure powerful petrification continuously.
The reality is that only a few of us would be able to move properly in those conditions.
Well, it seems like the glasses being able to hold back their racial trait was also pretty revolutionary for the Gorgons. Even when they get hit by strong steam, they don’t get foggy. They are an exemplary item that has already become the natural equipment of Gorgons.
This thing called shampoo that we use to wash ourselves is also truly good.
There’s a variety of them, but what’s different is their smell.
I am using an exclusive one.
It gets in the way of hunting, but at all other times, I would normally find the fragrance coming from me relaxing.
The Gorgons have also told each other their likings, so they all share the shampoos by groups.
This is also a necessary daily use product for us and the Gorgons.
The next one is the mountain or the sea, huh.
We can take our time and decide that from now on.
We probably won’t be able to know everything about this place even if we took our whole lifetime, and there’s no need to.
For now, I head to the tavern where the dried food is scheduled to arrive tonight.
Let’s think after deciding on the catnip booze.