Chapter 18

"Egad!" Was the first word spoken when one of the Hunters came up to our camp.

We had doubled back to a less dangerous area so we could eat lunch, and as expected, met up with one of the Scouts. He had stopped in his tracks the moment he saw our two new friends, Kunshu and Tetsu. I didn't blame him, but I was getting to the point with this world's mechanics, that I was just... accepting it and dealing with it.

I could almost see the two newborn monsters growing. It was like they were waiting until I looked away before growing a CM or two.

And they were both voracious. Tetsu had eaten itself into a food coma twice since we'd gotten to the little clearing we'd marked for cutting, eating most of an entire salamander (so something like 30 KG of meat?) almost not waiting for us to share with it (doing an impatient dance from foot to foot while we hacked it apart for cooking), before basically just inhaling what we cut from it.

By the time we'd finished cooking, Tetsu had woken up again, and gave us the 'hopeful dragon eyes'. Since we couldn't hope to finish all the meat we'd cooked (I expected this might happen, so we cooked a LOT of meat), we all shared food from our own plates first, then let it have what we couldn't hope to eat. And by the time the Hunter found us? Tetsu was in food coma number two.

Kunshu was... a bit different. It didn't eat meat like our dragon friend did. I mean, it ate meat, and fruit (mostly fruit), moss, vegetables (it was really taking a liking to Usa, much to his dismay), flowers, insects, fish... But only a little at a time. Much more of a dainty eater, but with how fast it was growing, it was constantly on the move unless we called it to us to share with it.

Seeing how much energy it was expending on getting food, and how much it could eat at once, I took a more active role in it's growth, turning the 'maturation adjustment' on and off just so it could sleep. Kunshu was now the size of a bobcat, and was even more of a 'plush toy with wings' when it finally paused and took a nap near our little fire (next to Usa on his 'weak' side).

However, they were both learning at an incredible pace as well. Tetsu, with our group emphasis on 'pack etiquette' had only had one incident with food aggression. Raphtalia corrected this by pushing Tetsu over onto its side, then 'skipping' its turn with the food, handing the meat (the chimera jerky) to me instead of giving it to Tetsu.

We all resisted its sad dragon eyes, but it was much less grumpy when we all pretended (except Clive) to take a nibble out of it, before letting Tetsu have it. Now, Tetsu waited to be served, though still gave us sad dragon eyes when hungry. (Currently, Tetsu was either sleeping, hungry, or cheering us on with 'Rawr! Rawr!' noises while we (surprise) killed more monsters for what might be food later).

Kunshu had no such problems with food (aside from zipping about like a hummingbird to get it). The giant bee seemed to see us all as hive members, part of a singular 'entity'. It hung around Usa the most when resting, maybe sensing his disability and providing protection. It ate the finger sized mosquitoes like they were going out of style because we all hated them (and it seemed to understand this). It even brought me part of a flower covered vine after it watched me take some for medicine making earlier in the day. It understood Clive needed both arms to fight (no longer resting on his shoulder when combat started). And Raphtalia was the 'go to' person when it wanted a headpat or to brush off a little dust from its abdomen.

So yes, the hunter being surprised as all hell at the two new monsters, was no surprise at all.

Nor was his reluctance to get closer, "Is it safe?" He asked when his voice drew the attention of the two. Though, Tetsu just opened an eye and didn't move.

So, I pointed at the Hunter, "Friend." And stood up to give the man a handshake and friendly pat on the shoulder, "Join us, try some food if you're hungry. It's not terrible."

"You're... eating salamander?" Kunshu slowly stood up, its big insect head following him as he walked beside me, "Um... hello?"

"Buzz." And Kunshu went back to looking like a fuzzy beach ball with wings.

"It's not bad if you char the outside a little." Raphtalia said, "Tastes a little like pikyu and fish."

"We don't usually eat things from this swamp... Then again, when everything is either poisonous, or wants to bite your leg off, we don't usually come here either." He admitted, taking a salamander kebab from near the fire, "But we need the wood."

"How are they doing sir?" Usa asked, nibbling at a fish and vegetable kebab of his own. He'd tried salamander meat, but it didn't feel right in his stomach. But that was fine, I'd made sure to store some 'Usa only' foods in the Shield.

"Last I saw they had one of the wagons loaded down. Should be half way back by now. The second one will likely fill up here and go back before dinner tonight, so long as nothing bothers the workers." He seemed to like the food, and took a bigger bite before continuing, "But you're all doing a great job. We've only needed to put down a single frog all day."

"Good." I said, the rest of the party nodding, "It's our job to make your job as boring as possible. We'll have lots of food to bring in as well, so long as you cook things properly, it will be fine."

He looked like someone had taken a great weight off his back, "I'll be sure to tell them the good news then. The Wave was pretty rough on our stored foods. I'll be sure to tell them this 'new' food is pretty good, so long as you cook it right." He motioned with his (cleaned off) kebab stick before handing it back to me.

"Send a signal so we can come back with the second wagon. I think we all deserve a bath after today." I replied, watching him stand up and leave.


EXP continued to accumulate, Tetsu and Kunshu ate as much as they could, stayed out of the way as best they could, and helped with 'cleanup' duty in their own ways. It was frightening how smart they were getting. By the time we'd gotten the signal that the second wagon was full and ready to return, the two of them 'knew' their names, 'knew' our names, and were following some of the super basic battle commands I was giving.

Was it the Maturation Adjustment? The slave mark? Something else? I didn't know. If we weren't in such a rush, I'd have maybe tried some actual experimenting...

Also, I think we figured out that there was more than one reason for Kunshu's apparent attraction to Usa. Sadly, the poor rabbit nearly had a heart attack when we figured it out.


"Ahh!" Usa cried out, his entire body going ramrod straight, nearly making him fall off the back of the wagon as we rode back to town.

Raphtalia was about to grab the back of his shirt on reflex, but had to go for his elbow at the last moment since Kunshu was clinging to his back. The sudden cry of alarm had also startled the giant bee, and it was moving its triangular head around rapidly to spot the danger, not seeming to understand that it was the danger.

I was walking beside the wagon with Clive and Tetsu, and when I rounded the corner of it and looked up at them, I couldn't quite suppress my laugh in time.

"Sir... It's not funny... It keeps surprising me..." Usa pouted, his good hand raising up and flopping his ears down over his face, "And the buzzing..."

I took a deep breath, calmed down, then held out my arm, the Shield out flat, "Kunshu, here please." Yes, we all asked them nicely when getting them to do something out of combat.

Kunshu's body was almost too big to use the Shield as a landing pad, but once it did, I reached back and 'stuck' the Shield to my back, big insect and all. I then played with the Bee's antenna gently, saying 'hello'.

Raphtalia said what I was thinking, "Oh! You both have long ears! That's why!"

Usa looked through his ears at Kunshu and I, "Oh... I didn't think of it like that... But... I can't do that with it, like you do." He added, motioning at me as my hand lightly swished at Kunshu's antenna.

"You can, just not when you're busy." I said, speeding up just a little so Usa could reach down, if he wanted, "Want to give it some food?"

"Rawr?" Oops... I said the F word near Tetsu. Now about as tall as my hip, my ears could literally hear it growing. Little stretching noises from its scales, creeks and groans from its bones. Even with a new crest of bone growing around its upper jaw and horns growing from the back of its head, it could still give us all the 'sad dragon eyes'.

"Suppose you'll have to now?" Raphtalia said.

"Gr, click." Clive suggested.

Suggested what... oh! "Let me see if I have any left..." I shuffled the Shield's inventory around in my status screen, and found 'dried dimensional chimera meat'. "But to get it..." I reached behind me, slipping my arm under the Shield and removing it from my back, bee and all. "Kunshu? Visit Raphtalia."

Raphtalia extended her arm, and Kunshu walked off the Shield. Little double hooked 'feet' gripped at her sleeve and Raphtalia moved her head to the side so the giant bee could get on her back. Even at that size, it was nimble as a cat.

A good thing! Though, it made me miss Sir Skitters. Maybe I could find a giant spider egg? Hmm...


It was nice to get a warm welcome from the people of Riyute. Yes, they were astonished at our two new party members, and some were even brave enough to try and make friends. The Old Hunter and Kunshu even had a staring contest, the old man leaning forward and squinting at the majestic silver and black bee (with eyes that reflected the red of the torchlight). Of course, since Kunshu didn't have eyelids, he lost. (Kunshu took this win with grace, and turned around on poor Usa's shoulder so the Old Hunter could pat its fuzzy abdomen).

Aside from a few minutes to get over the initial shock, the villagers and Hunters were quick to get things packed away. Meat (when I returned home, and I WILL return home... I was going to miss the dimensional storage of the Shield) was moved to the cutting tables with my instructions on how to make it safe to eat. Medicine (that was being auto-processed in the Shield) was sold (at a discount, since I had little pride in its making and would have donated it if my party and I didn't need money so badly), and finally, we made it to the Inn for what we hoped would be a bath and some quiet time.


Except the Innkeeper and his Wife were... less than impressed about our two new party members. I mean, they were surprised by how much they had grown (they'd both greeted the little guys after they'd hatched, making all the usual cute noises of parents enjoying someone else's infants), but not impressed.

"Even if you are the Hero, and they are well behaved, they can't stay in here." The Innkeeper said firmly.

Tetsu even gave him the sad dragon eyes! Heartless jerk.

But even heroes needed to follow rules. Especially when they were guests.

"Hmm, this might be a problem." I thought out loud. "I'm not complaining." I added quickly, "Just they haven't been out of our sight for literally their entire life."

We all looked at Tetsu, who was even adding in a hopeful tail wag.

"Well, I can't help you there, but we can give you a clean stable stall for them." The Innkeeper said, not relenting on the rules, but leaning down a little to give Tetsu a headpat. "Whoa..." This devolved into trying to push the not so Mini-dragon away as it leaned into his hip.

"Gr." Clive said, making Tetsu stop, then tromp over to him, where headpats resumed.

"Okay, we'll feed them really well before bed, hope they understand that's where they have to stay for the night, then get them at sunrise." I decided. "Oh... I'll pay extra if you can get us a couple buckets of fruit juice..."


I was a little afraid of what might happen when we left the two of them in the Inn's best stable stall. It wasn't enclosed, though the window could be shuttered, so there was a real chance Kunshu might just... fly away. Or fly up to our room after we'd left and break the rules. Or any number of things a bee the size of a ten year old boy might do when no one was watching. Especially after the last Wave, where we had swarms of them attacking us.

Tetsu as well. The Mini-dragon was big enough now for a ten year old boy to ride. And strong too! We'd stopped to play a few times during the day, mostly to keep Tetsu occupied while we cut 'non edible' things from the monsters we hunted, and its favourite game was 'push'. Tetsu would lean on you, and just... push. Not shove, not headbutt, just try and walk forward while resting its forehead on your leg or hip. Tetsu might have been strong enough by now to push through the simple wooden door of the stall.

But, despite all the doubts, we made sure to feed them both until they went into a food coma, all the while explaining they had to stay here to sleep. I even had everyone leave a bit of unwashed clothing behind, just so our 'scent' was in the stall with them.


The next morning, Raphtalia was the first one to go check on our two critters. I knew they'd both be hungry, so I was negotiating with the Innkeeper's wife for fruit juice. I already had food for Tetsu stored in the shield, with such a bottomless stomach we were essentially just wrapping up meat and tendons in fire-dried frog skin and putting it in the Inventory. It was kind of a shame, since my Kitchen Soul wanted to actually make something worth eating out of it.

Then I heard Raphtalia scream. The sound of abject terror all but forgotten from when she had those dreams about the first wave.

I left the two buckets of juice on the bar, and dashed out of the Inn. Had I been my old self, with my old strength, I probably wouldn't have paused to open the stable door, or the stall door where our two critters had spent the night.

I paused as I opened the stall door, skidding to a halt next to Raphtalia as she stood frozen, looking at the scene along the wall of the stall, where we'd laid the fresh straw for Tetsu to sleep.

Our dragon, all 1.5 meters of it, was giving Raphtalia and I a 'deer in the headlights' look at Raphtalia's scream and my sudden arrival. In its clawed hands, was most of a body. Black, silver and fuzzy, the dragon seemed to have eaten our other party monster. Further proof of this were shards of chitin around its maw and on the floor.

Others were gathering outside the stall, looking in at the scene in shock, horror, or fascination. But then something caught my attention, and I had to shake Raphtalia's shoulder, "Hey... Hey! Calm down." I looked to Tetsu, "And put that down."

Tetsu growled at me, not in anger, but confusion... I think. But I started a staring contest with the dragon, leaning forward just a little as if I were daring it to disobey. And to my surprise, Tetsu carefully put the remains on the ground and backed up a step.

"But! Look!" Still in half a panic, Raphtalia was speaking in single syllables.

"Yes." I put my palm under her chin and pulled gently so she looked at the 'body'. "It's hollow. No blood. That's a shed skin." I looked around, "Kunshu." I called out, my eyes flicking around, looking around but also at the 'between space' of the status window. "Huh. Well, makes sense I guess... As much as anything does around here..."

Up in the rafters I spotted Kunshu. She, at least, it certainly looked like a She now, was slowly uncurling from her usual 'fuzzy ball with wings' position. Except now... Almost everything had changed. Her colours were the same, a striking mix of silver on black. But the red 'twin Mohawk' above her eyes had changed to blond.

Her face had changed as well. The 'triangle mandible' had become a sharply pointed chin and 'mouth', almost like a human. It was hinged oddly, almost like a skull without flesh since her face and body were still chitin, and dull silver in colour. The upper half of her skull was still that of an insect, though the overall shape was slightly more 'humanoid' now, to go with her size.

Speaking of size... Her upper body had four 'arms' slender and fuzzy, mostly black, save at the joints where it was segmented silver plates. Her claws had changed, the ends of her upper arms growing an almost backwards facing claw, like the feet of a chameleon, while her feet still had the 'dual claw' she had only a few hours ago.

Hands, feet, limbs, thumbs, a face you might mistake for human in poor lighting and under a hood... Kunshu hadn't grown like Tetsu had, she'd evolved into something... more. Her abdomen was still there, the bulbous 'rear' slightly smaller in proportion to the rest of her, but still sporting the barbed stinger point (that was still only just visible).

I noted all of this, as she carefully climbed down the timbers of the stable, her wings catching the slivers of light from the shuttered window and reflecting it crazily. As she had done last night, and all day prior, she stopped just within reach of her antenna of Raphtalia and I, and waited for one of us to 'greet' her.

So I did, almost having to reach up to do it! At full height, she was just a tiny bit shorter than Raphtalia. Still, I was quite pleased to note the fuzz over the black parts of her carapace was just as soft as before.

"clickclickclick!" She made sharp 'bite' motions with her jaw as I lightly brushed at her waving antenna.

"Ah... That's right, it's breakfast time." I nudged Raphtalia, "Go get the buckets, and warn poor Usa..."


Monster User Shield III: conditions met

Monster User Shield III: ability locked: equip bonus: maturation adjustment (medium)

The Shield's status screen announced as I cleaned up some of the shed carapace. From what I knew of bees, they only shed their 'skin' as they went from larva to adult. But... well everything was weird in this world, and I suppose Kunshu's form yesterday might as well have been her 'larval' form.

Sadly, Tetsu had not discriminated on the shed skin, and there would be nothing I could use for equipment. Still, it would have been an interesting conversation piece to have on a shelf someplace.

Kunshu was also eating more like a 'human' too. When we got the buckets of fruit juice to her, she still just dunked her head into them and siphoned them away. But she held bits of meat (that Tetsu actually offered her from its own food!), whole fruits and vegetables too (yes, Usa was very surprised, but at least he didn't run away screaming).

Speaking of Tetsu... Our dragon no longer looked like the other Knight Dragons in the stable. Our no longer Mini-Rex still had the powerful hide legs and (happy to see you) tail. But the front arms were almost as long. But instead of a 'low to the ground' lizard body (like an alligator or iguana) it had the lines of a hunting cat. And its scales and colours had deepened as well, becoming almost glossy black, with the occasional silver or gold edge or highlight.


"Still got a mean appetite! Yes sir." The rancher said when he came to visit. "Don't look like no other dragon I've seen a'for though."

The five of us were watching the two eat, my party members and I nibbling on things and offering them to the two monsters when ever they looked at us with hopeful eyes.

"Tetsu looks more like a feline than a reptile." I said, "Clive, if I get a chance, I'll ask the Innkeeper's Wife to teach you to make bread."

"Gr." He nodded, his ridged mouth cutting through his own bit of bread.

"I can't believe she's even bigger now..." Usa fretted, but didn't shy away when Kunshu looked up at him, the giant bee/morph leaning forward to wave its antenna at a bit of fruit in his hand. "Yes you may."

"Got them trained real well!" The Rancher nodded, "Hmm... Thinkin' this one's a girl." He said, looking to Tetsu, "Tail is shaped just so. Now... Rest of 'er is odd shaped, so I might be wrong." He shrugged.

Tetsu downed the rest of a frog leg with a gulp, then 'stood' on her hind legs. Then with a neat 'chomp' bit the Ranger's straw hat and tugged it off his head.

Of course, after a meal, it was time to play. And we found that Tetsu's second favourite game was 'tag'.


I didn't have much experience with riding horses or other beasts. Back home, nearly all the time, I was the one being ridden. But, the nice Rancher fellow had suggested that we get Tetsu used to the idea of carrying things. At her current size, she certainly had the strength, but now she needed the education.

So, while the others went ahead with the two wagons, lumberjacks and hunter escorts, Tetsu and I had a little conversation.

"Okay... I have no idea if this will work." I admitted, "But you're big and strong, had a good meal, and even played nice with the poor Rancher's hat."

Tetsu was making pleased grumble noises while I rubbed my thumbs around her eye ridges.

"But before pulling a wagon for us, we'll see if you can let one of us ride on your back." I continued, ceasing my attentions and taking out a kind of leather vest and harness.

Riding a 'knight dragon' usually used a saddle, similar to a horse, but also reins. Optionally, instead of an 'around the mouth' bit and bridle, you could use a 'vest'. Dragons were very dangerous in combat, with or without the rider, and the Vest allowed a knight to hold on to the dragon's back without controlling the dragon's head.

Now, people who just rode them, used the headgear. But that would make it harder for Tetsu to bite things, either on command or in defence of the party.

That said, Tetsu was grumbling at the vest, sniffing at it, shaking a little as I adjusted it, then grunting as I finally tied it in place, tight, but not constricting. "There. Now... I'm going to get on your back..."

I was almost positive her reaction would be less than optimal. I expected shaking, rearing up, maybe even rolling, all in an effort to dislodge me.

Instead, after a little side to side shuffle, a bit of balancing using all four 'legs', a couple hops in place to try and settle me on her back a bit better...

She just looked back at me as I held the back of the Vest, a clear 'now what', in her eyes.

"You're such a good dragon." I said with a smile, "But we have to catch up to them. Raphtalia will give you a snack when we get there."


Raphtalia, in an effort to not get motion sick, had sat at the back of the second wagon, her eyes firmly locked on Kodori. As they got further away, and eventually out of sight, she hoped Tetsu wouldn't put up a fuss about being ridden. Kodori seemed quite set on getting a faster mode of travel, and even if she didn't like wagons, she understood the urgency.

Raphtalia was just starting to wonder if their party leader had failed, when she heard a faint noise. Of course, if she could hear it, Usa would certainly pick up on it, and a moment later the rabbit had called out.

"I hear something charging towards us!" Usa called out, alerting everyone. Seconds later, the wagons were halted and everyone had some kind of weapon in their hands, ready for trouble.

Seconds after that, Raphtalia spotted a small dust cloud with a black and silver dragon at the front of it. On top of that dragon, holding on with both hands, was Kodori. "The Shield Hero is coming!" She called out, "Kunshu? Some fruit?"


It was not a smooth ride.

Every bone, from my hips to the top of my skull, felt like it was rattling around in a bucket as Tetsu got up to speed. First, it was an accelerating 'stomp' of two strong back legs. But then, as we started to get up to speed, Tetsu leaned forward and started using her front legs, and that 'stomp' got twice as fast. I had to clench my mouth shut just so my teeth didn't crack, or sheer off my tongue.

An eternity later, though probably only a minute or so, my body slammed forward as Tetsu stopped suddenly. Her hind claws carved into the ground as she put on the breaks, and my body compressed into her suddenly upright posture. Air pressed out of me, I let go and rolled off Tetsu's back, spotting her as her front 'legs' (arms?) reached for a bit of fruit that Raphtalia was holding.

"Sir?" Usa asked, his concerned face coming into view as I lay on the road and waited for my spine to settle back into its proper order. "Are you hurt?"

Kunshu's face joined Usa's a moment later, and I felt a chitinous hand give me a close approximation of a 'there there' pat on my head.

"Tetsu is very food motivated." I said, putting a hand on Usa's shoulder, and letting him help me to sit up. "But we can work on it."


Everyone, even Usa and Kunshu, took turns riding on Tetsu. Thankfully, and many headpats and praises were given for this, Tetsu was very aware of Usa's lame arm, and didn't do anything like what happened with me. Kunshu, while she did ride on the dragon's back, seemed to just be copying us. I wasn't sure if she understood what was going on, but when Usa had let go, Kunshu took hold of the Vest, and gotten on.

But apparently that was boring, since Kunshu let go and flew off, landing on the railing of the second wagon near Raphtalia (getting some headpats for being such a good giant bee monarch).

Also of note, were the two filolials pulling the two wagons. Tetsu apparently hadn't gotten the memo about being rivals with the feathery carriage birds, and seemed oblivious to the glares they were giving her every time she came close. One of them even pecked at her! But Tetsu's only reply was a very Clive-like 'Gr-click?'

The driver got the grumpy bird under control, and Clive redirected the playful dragon away, but that was the best we could hope for from the two species interacting.


In the swamps again, we took a different path in. We could hunt new grounds, and the lumberjacks could find good trees closer to the swamp's edge. It was more of the same for us, with the only 'new' aspect in our formation that of the two monsters in the party.

They were still just over half my level, but with the maturation adjustment, the huge growth spurt over night, and an intelligence that was getting closer and closer to 'average human', the two of them were starting to get... ideas.

Like overeager children wanting to help the adults, Kunshu almost got caught by a Big Frog when she suddenly got it into her head to help. Tetsu got bitten by a salamander a little later after getting in the way of Clive's shot. No serious harm was done, but as the party leader, that just wouldn't do.

So a little before lunch, after we'd rubbed some healing salve into Tetsu's leg, I told everyone 'the plan' for the rest of our fights today. Much like I would, and had done, with any rookie members back in Orario, we (the experienced fighters), would kill all but one, and then let the rookies handle it. We'd keep watch, but let them figure it out on their own otherwise.

And for the most part, it worked. Tetsu was by far the better of the two at it, but she had lots of claws, teeth, and less... fear. No, not fear. Less hesitation. Kunshu had fewer, or rather, lighter, natural weapons, and while deadly her stinger needed something that wasn't moving around so much.

Her poison, because yes that stinger of hers was VERY toxic, it still seemed to be exactly the same as her tiny cousins. Normally, bee and wasp venom is just 'painful'. All it does to a human, so long as they aren't allergic to it, is cause pain and swelling, a literal 'sting'. No numbness, no blood clotting or thinning. Of course, a normal sting might make you itch for a little while. But the venom to weight ratio was extreme.

Kunshu on the other hand, well, she could inject enough venom, not to mention the stinger itself, to send a monster (a Big Frog and salamander) into shock. But even so, she had to sneak up on it, or rather, jump on its back while it focused on me.

Also of note... her 'human like' jaw only looked like that until she opened her mouth. It still had the internal 'knife and fork' mechanisms of a normal bee, just hidden by the mimicry of a human face. Brr.


At the end of the day, our monster friends were catching up. The rest of us were advancing too, but it still felt a little slow. Considering Motoyasu was double my level when we fought.

Kodori: LV 25

Raphtalia: LV 30

Clive: LV 29

Usa: LV 27

Tetsu: LV 17

Kunshu: LV 16

The level difference between the two monsters had flipped, with our dragon friend getting more 'killing blow' bonus EXP. Raphtalia was also getting more of that, since Clive's bow was getting less effective the thicker the monster's hides got. Usa, when not leaving long slashes on a monster's hide with his whip, was hanging the weapon over his shoulder, then using his mace to crush skulls or shatter ribs.

Then there was me... I knew I was at a disadvantage, needing to rely almost entirely on everyone else to do the killing. But I was gaining levels at a snail's pace. To be fair, with every Shield type I mastered, I was getting some kind of stat bonus or skill perk that kept my 'numbers' relevant to the others. But it was still a little depressing.

That said, the only injuries we'd suffered in the last two days were the bite on Tetsu's leg, and some minor cuts and scrapes for travelling in a swamp. In return, we were getting better, and our monsters were learning how to act, in and out of combat.


How to improve... I still had other abilities, past that of the Shield. But with all that had been going on, I hadn't really been able to test them. I'd found things that didn't work. Like my 'prayers', my original 'spell' that exchanged my magic power for physical ability. That was just... not there. My version of Haruhime's spell, to give someone ELSE my magic in exchange for physical ability was also 'not there'. But those were strongly attached to falna.

I still had Senjitsu... The power was low, and I honestly didn't have a lot of practise with it. I was just past the 'party trick' level with most things. Back home, at my full power, I could freeze part of a river, or throw bullets of air around, sink someone into the dirt... But here... not so much. It almost felt like I was doing something just a little bit incorrect. I would have to keep practising...

Mathmagic? I did know a few of the simpler 'calculations'. Some of the more dangerous ones went into Hagane's body as 'breath weapons'. If I remembered it properly, I could probably have remade the 'plasma fire' spell. It was a pale imitation of actual dragon breath, but Hagane had praised it as 'adequate'. I could alter the 'lightning trap' to 'lightning bolt' if I changed a couple lines around...

I felt something brush my ears, and a quiet 'buzz' just before a slender body settled over my back. A moment or two later, Kunshu's legs/arms had curled in and gripped my sides, while her head rested on my shoulder. She was far too large now to use my shield as a 'landing pad', but she was trying anyhow. She was still very light though, and much of the medicinal plant gathering we'd done today was her flitting about the branches of the trees, pulling flower covered vines from the branches.

"You're right. I'm thinking too hard on it." I said, letting my fingers tease her antenna in 'greeting', "Good work today."

"They've both been doing good work." Raphtalia said, "She looks so cute like that." She wasn't looking at us though, but off into the distance, still trying not to get motion sick. "What were you thinking about?"

"Bringing more of my old skills into this world. You've all been working hard, but I feel I can do more than just keep you all safe." I replied, my tail swishing at Raphtalia, making her jump a little as it swished at her tail.

"But... didn't you say it was your job to make sure we're all fighting to the best of our ability?" She rescued her tail from mine, hugging it for a moment before letting it go so it could flop over my tail again.

"Maybe I'm just a little jealous." I smiled, "But I think it's time to start testing the edges of this system, and get some real work done. One more day I think, then we'll move on and look for some place else."


That evening, I stayed in the stable with our two monster friends. Part of it was proper care for them. Sure, they were smart, and I had no doubt they could understand almost every word we said. But they still lacked a certain... civilization.

They'd also put in a lot of work today, both in and out of combat. Tetsu was actually happy to carry someone on her back, though I was going to have to get some kind of saddle since she had rough ridges on either side of her spine that made her 'on all fours' run almost unbearable. Kunshu, while less combative, was almost falling into a support roll. Picking off solo monsters, distracting monsters when I couldn't quite pull all the aggro, and later helping me and the others do minor tasks.

So now, I was grooming them. They deserved the extra attention. And after I set the brush down, I brought out food from the Shield for dinner. This was something they were learning well, accepting food from us, not just taking it (unless you told Tetsu to 'bite it's head off' in combat).

After they were both settled in for the night (with Tetsu in a large curled up ball in the hay, and Kunshu clinging to the rafter above her), I went to wash the day off me in the 'water closet' of the inn, then returned to our room.

The three of them looked almost like they were cramming for an exam or something, with Raphtalia helping Clive and Usa with reading. I was mostly okay with normal words now, even pronunciation! But I'd had a lot of practise picking up new languages by now... This would be... nine? Ten? Once they stopped for the evening, I'd maybe try a spell from the book...

But for now, while I half listened to the three of them, I started to draw out mathmagic calculations. If I could get them right, I would etch them into ko-steel cards later...

Wait... didn't I have a literal 'book shield'? I'd been too low level to use it after I'd met the conditions... I took the Shield off my back, did a quick eye twitch to 'manually' scroll through the Shield Almanac, then selected the Book Shield icon.


"Huh." I sad as the Hagane Red mini-kite shield transformed into a pristine wood and metal bound book with the usual green gem in the middle.

It had been the first sound I'd made in an hour past that of my quill on paper, trying to get the exact angles right for a magic calculation. "Sir Kodori?" Raphtalia asked, "Oh, a new Shield?" She noticed the Book Shield in my hands.

And to be fair, it was a very nice book. I hadn't seen anything this fancy so far in this world, and even the Tome I read with Haruhime to originally split my tails didn't look this nice. "And old form I didn't qualify to use until now." I replied, "It increases my magic power a little. And..." I looked along the edges, and found that yes, the book opened.

"Gr..."

"I agree. Sir has a scary smile." Usa said with a little shiver.

"It's a book though... why wouldn't it open?" Raphtalia asked.

I dipped my quill, turned to the very first page, and wrote a neat '1' in the top corner. Then, I closed the book, changed it to the nice Hagane Red basic shield, counted to ten, and switched it back to the Book Shield.

The '1' was still there.

"He's laughing now... that can't be good." Usa sighed.

"If I do it properly, I can just write my spells in here." I chuckled, "So long as I remember what page its on, I'll be able to use all the spells I want. The Shield itself is unbreakable! If something overpowers my defence, it just hurts me, not the Shield." To demonstrate, I tried to pull a sheet out of the Book Shield... And only managed to give myself a very shallow paper cut. "Ow... see?"

The other three were... less amazed than I was. But that was okay. They didn't need to be impressed now, but later, when I filled this book with spells and started casting fireballs at people.

"Well, you can do that later." Raphtalia said in her 'I will be the big sister of this party' voice. "The lesson is over for today, and we have an early start tomorrow."

I only allowed her to bully us into going to bed, because I was pretending to be a boy, and thus couldn't assume my role as big sister.


Thankfully, there was no 'horror show' start to our day, and our two monster friends were just happy to see us. Oh, and really hungry. But, armed with more fruit juice, leftovers from our hunting and breakfast made fresh from the Inn's kitchens we all had breakfast together. If nothing went wrong, we'd be back in the swamps in an hour or so, and killing monsters ten minutes after that.

We left the stables in good cheer, with Kunshu 'docked' on Usa's back (poor rabbit, but at least he wasn't shivering at the contact with his ears) and Tetsu walking beside Clive (who was giving our dragon's nearest eyebrow ridge a rub to tease out happy grumbles). Moments later, as we made our way to the muster point for the lumberjack teams, the balding Tanner and the Rancher we'd been consulting approached us.

"Hero!" The Tanner called out, a leather contraption over his shoulder. "Our master Rancher and I figured your dragon would like this."

"I wen'ta say hello to Miss Tetsu just a'fore you got there for dinner. Took sum measures. Tol' our leatherman." He grinned, touching the brim of his slightly chewed straw hat in respect. "Saw most 'ya walking saddle sore yesterday, figured it was a good idea."

"Gr." Clive said to Tetsu, who leaned over a little to look into his face, then swung her head around to look at the saddle. She was already wearing the 'vest' so it was clear she didn't care about 'clothing' so much.


So, after a moment or two of directing Tetsu to life up an arm or leg, stand still, give the hat back, and tighten down a strap or two, Tetsu now had a leather saddle resting just a little rearward of the middle of her back.

And to everyone's surprise, Tetsu stood up on her hind legs, and used her own front 'hands' to wiggle the strap under her belly to get comfortable.

This is of course, when all the luck we had gotten over the last couple of days went under the carriage.


"Sir?" Usa started, his ears alert as his head turned towards the Inn. Amusingly, Kunshu's head turned that way as well, her antenna wiggling to match Usa's ears. "I hear a crowd forming down the street. Oh no..."

"What do you hear?" I asked, seeing the colour drain from his face. "An attack?"

"No... It's the one with red hair... She's..."

I sighed, "Let's go see what's happening this time. Tetsu? Hold still."

"Gr." She had already figured out what I was about to do, and crouched down on all fours. With an easy hop and swing of my leg, I got my rear in the new saddle, "You're much more comfortable now." I said, patting the back of her head, "Let's go."


NOTES!

For those who know, you know what's about to happen next. But only that, because Kodori doesn't have an OP Filo, but a beast of a dragon instead.

Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!

aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!

And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.

And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!