Chapter 110 (1/2)

Volume 2

Chapter 111

Ch 111 — Registration of Dora-chan as a Contracted Monster

We ran into a problem when we tried to enter the city . Dora-chan was small sure enough but he still looked like a Dragon and that attracted attention, not surprisingly .

I explained to Gatekeeper-san that Dora-chan was a new contracted monster and he wouldn’t cause any problems but the guard wasn’t ready to accept my unsupported word .

“Looky here, sonny,” Gatekeeper-san pointed to the part of my Guild card which had Fer and Sui listed as my contracted monsters . “No Dragon . ” He handed my card back to me . “No entry . ” He crossed his arms firmly . Until Dora-chan was listed on my Guild card as a contracted monster he wouldn’t be able to accompany us into the city . Realising it would be useless to argue my way past them I gave up and asked one of the gatekeepers to go and fetch Rodolpho-san, the Guild Master of the city’s Adventurers Guild to vouch for me .

“Right then,” Rodopho-san said as he strode up to the gate a few minutes later, “What’s happening here?” The gatekeepers stepped back to let him through to talk to me .

“Well,” I explained again, “I’ve got a new contracted monster with me and that’s causing us problems getting into the city . . . ”

“Oh, ah, that’s a P- Pixie Dragon?” Rodolpho-san burst out as he caught sight of Dora-chan .

“Oh, I’m surprised you recognise it . I was told it’s a very rare kind of monster . ”

“Well you see, long time ago an old friend of mine was a Dragon Slayer . ” Rodolpho-san explained, studying the hovering figure of the Pixie Dragon . “He spent a lot of time researching Dragons and he wouldn’t stop talking about them to me . . . Anyways he mentioned Pixie Dragons, said they were a sub-species of Dragon . I got interested in Dragons myself, we went looking for any information on them and eventually we found an illustrated book about different kinds of Dragons in the National Library at the Royal Capital . ” Rodolpho-san and his Dragon Slayer colleague sounded quite dedicated types .

“Were the Pixie Dragons listed in that book?” I asked . “Fer told me this was the first one he’d come across in 500 years so they must be pretty rare . ”

“Yup . ” Rodolpho-san said . “I need to check, is everything OK between you two?”

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“Well . . . I’ve made a proper contract with the Pixie Dragon if that’s what you’re asking . ”

Rodolpho-san turned his gaze to Fer . “Well, you made a contract with a Fenrir earlier, so . . . ” He thought for a moment . “And I figure the Fenrir wouldn’t stay quiet if he saw there was a problem with you making a contract with the Dragon . ”

“Of course . ” Fer agreed . “I’d never forgive myself if I let him mess up and get killed . That’s because the food he cooks is the best . ” Hey Fer, stop boasting .

“Oh, the food you cook? . . . ” Rodolpho-san said inquiringly .

“Rodolpho-san, please don’t ask any more questions . ” I begged .

“Oh, gotcha . ” However Rodolpho-san’s face showed he was thinking hard about what Fer had blurted out . Bad idea, Fer . I was meeting too many gluttonous characters in my travels, that was my big problem .

Rodolpho-san turned to the gatekeepers . “I’ll guarantee these guys, please let them into the city . ”

“If the Guild Master says it’s safe we’ll let you in . Just don’t cause any trouble, please . ” The gatekeepers stepped aside and we entered the town .

“So what about the subjugation request for Venom Tarantula?” Rodolpho-san asked as we walked towards the Adventurers Guild .

“Of course we got them but we only brought back the bodies of the monsters . Shouldn’t we have gathered the webs?” I had wondered about that just after we had left the forest but it was too late to go back again .

“The webs the Venom Tarantulas weave are sticky threads,” Rodolpho-san explained . “The web-thread material stored in sacs in a Venom Tarantula’s belly isn’t sticky and that’s what’s wanted . Just how that material is made into thread for weaving is a closely guarded secret and there are only a few craftsmen who can do so . Bruno Company is the only local business with such workers . ”

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Oh, so that’s how it is? Thinking about it the spider web stretched over the trees was sticky because it was there to capture prey . Just thinking how it must feel to get tangled up in something like that made me shiver .

“Oh, that’s right, you asked us to get two specimens but we actually got eight . Will you buy them all from us?”

“Oh, eight Venom Tarantulas, really?” Rodolpho-san thought for a moment . “I can’t be certain but I believe Bruno Company will be happy to buy in all the ones you have . ” He laughed . “It would have been a simple task for a Fenrir to catch so many, and what’s more do it all in a single day . ” Well Fer is a legendary monster, I thought to myself but Sui is a super strong Slime too, remembering how she had one-hitted the Giant Centipede . I wondered what Rodolpho-san would think if I told him about the Giant Centipede I had in my Item Box . We reached the Adventurers Guild while I was still pondering whether to tell him about it or not .

“First of all, let’s register that Pixie Dragon as your contracted monster . ” Rodolpho-san declared as he pushed the door open . As we entered after him we were the centre of attraction of the people inside, well Dora-chan was .

“Oh, that, is that Dragon?” “Is it a baby Dragon?” “Even if it’s a baby Dragon, is it safe?” I heard various voices whispering as we walked through the crowd . Dora-chan sensed the watching eyes and cried “Kyui Kyui” softly as if he was pleased to be noticed . Show-off, I thought silently .

Rodolpho-san banged on a table, attracting everyone’s attention . “Right everyone, listen up . That Dragon there is a contracted monster of this guy here . ” He hooked his thumb at me . “Don’t mess with the Dragon or its master and everything will be fine . Mess with them and you’ll have HIM to deal with . ” He pointed to Fer who had snuck in behind us silently while everyone’s eyes were fixed on Dora-chan . More than one Adventurer’s face turned white as they realised they were looking at a Fenrir . Fer was actually quite good at sneaking and if he didn’t want to be noticed it was surprising just how well a large monster like him could blend in to the scenery . I wondered if there was a magic Camouflage spell he used sometimes .

“As you can see, this guy’s got another contracted monster like that Dragon but a lot stronger . You don’t want to make him angry . ” There was a murmur of assent from the crowd, some of whom were edging towards the door as Fer slowly swept them with a cold stare . He didn’t bare his fangs, quite but he didn’t really need to . Rodolpho-san looked the crowd over and then nodded, satisfied he had got his message across . It seemed that the Guild Master ran a tight ship in this city .

“Okay, now that’s sorted let’s get your contracted monster registered . ” Rodolpho-san held out his hand . “Come on, hurry up, I need your Guild card . ” It didn’t take long and once Dora-chan’s name and type, Pixie Dragon had been added to my Guild card and officially recorded by the receptionist then it was time to sort out selling the monsters in my Item Box so we went back to the warehouse area behind the purchasing window . It looked very similar to Johan-ojisan’s warehouse back in Carerina . I supposed most Adventurers Guilds buildings were constructed similarly, they’d all need a warehouse like this .

“If it isn’t the Guild Master? Is anything wrong?” The speaker was a muscular young man in his mid-20s . I looked closely and noticed he was dragging his right foot . I guessed he was a retired Adventurer, perhaps sidelined due to an injury . He seemed to be the dismantler for this city’s Guild, like Johan-ojisan in Carerina . After Rodolpho-san explained why we were there the man pointed at a big bench .

“Okay, put the Venom Tarantulas there . ” I took them out of my Item Box .