Chapter 21:  Prince Kurobuta Tames the monsters

Enemy monsters appear in many RPGs.

Compared to the characters on the protagonist side, the number of enemy characters is huge, and there are a large variety of them, ranging from powerful ones to cute mascot-like ones.

Wouldn't it make the game even more interesting if you could turn those enemies into allies?

With this in mind, the creators of "Final Quest" implemented a "Taming System" that allows you to make monsters your allies and fight alongside them.

If you had obtained a rare item called the "Monster Tamer's Ring" and used a specific item to increase your affinity during battle to a certain level, there was a high chance that the monster would join you after the battle. It’s a system that allows you to tame monsters.　

Once a monster has become your ally, it can be added to your party and fight in the same way as your usual allies. This system was so popular that players often valued monsters more than the original companions, as they could be strengthened through leveling.

There were also monsters that evolved according to their level, and the fun of leveling them surpassed that of the original characters.

After regaining his memory, Brad used his power and wealth to obtain the "Monster tamer's Ring" and waited for the right moment to tame a monster.

Finally, today...

"......"

Unexpectedly, he succeeded in taming one.

It was in a forest on the outskirts of the cat people village.

Before Brad, there was a large number of monsters.

There must have been close to a hundred of them. There were goblins, kobolds, ogres, trolls, lizardmen, and many other races.

But even with that many monsters in front of him, Brad was unfazed.

It's no surprise.

No hostility was shown towards him, but rather looks of affection and respect were on their faces, and they were all kneeling on the ground as if to show loyalty to their lord.

This pack of monsters was the one Brad had succeeded in taming today.

One undead lord stepped out of the pack and spoke on behalf of the monsters.

"Thanks to you, Lord Brad. We have been freed from the Cyclops' control. We will repay this debt one day."

The 100 monsters in the crowd then bowed deeply to me.

In fact, they were the same monsters that had been dispatched to the village by the Cyclops. I told the Cyclops that I had taken care of them, but in fact, I only destroyed their communication tools and persuaded them to stay in the forest.

This is because many of them were native monsters that lived in Sky Mountain before the Cyclops appeared and were only forced to follow him.

As the undead lord said, when Brad defeated him, they were set free. And then, using the increased favor that he gained as a result of freeing them from the Cyclops, he tamed them all with the power of the monster tamer's Ring.

It is said that they were originally living in seclusion, separated from humans, but this is an insurance policy to ensure they wouldn’t cause trouble.

As a result, they began to treat me as if I were their king, which honestly bothered me, but I had no problem with them swearing allegiance to me, so I decided to leave it alone.

Brad looked down at the monsters bowing before him and scratched his head as though the whole thing was a drag.

"You don't have to return the favor. The only thing I want from you is to keep the promise you made to me."

"Yes, you can count on me. With the knowledge and power that you have given me, I will definitely lead the monsters and ensure that they do not harm humans, but rather protect them."

Yes, that was the order that Brad had given them - the promise that he had them make.

And I have no doubt that they will do exactly what they promised.　

Thanks to the power of the "monster Tamer's Ring" in Brad's hand, there was now a "heart connection" between Brad and them. He could understand the feelings of the monsters. They are so loyal to him that they would never go back on their word.

(They're all around level 20 at the moment, but I've taught them at least how to level up, and they'll soon be strong enough to drive back the monster Lord's men if they come back. I hope this will bring peace to this area.)

As Brad was thinking deeply about this, the monsters all stood up at once.

"Then, we will be returning to Sky Mountain at once. If the humans see us here, it could lead to unnecessary disputes."

"Yes, please do, Lord."

When I called out the name I had given him during the taming, the undead lord seemed to be very moved and bowed his head in a grand gesture.

Soon after, he disappeared into the depths of the forest with the monsters in tow.

(......I've wasted a lot of time.)

Several days had already passed since the defeat of the giant.

Immediately after the defeat, Brad generously distributed expensive herbs and potions to heal all the injured members of the cat people. Being a cautious person, Brad had prepared an ample supply of items for consumption, as this was his first boss battle in this life. (I'm glad they came in handy.)　

It was a trivial expense for Brad, who had earned enough money from hunting orichalcum snakes to build a castle, but it was such a touching sight that the cat people thanked him with tears in their eyes.　

Well, from their point of view, the items Brad used were so valuable that they might use them only once in their lifetimes, and since he used them in large quantities, it was only natural for them to be grateful.

And it was probably because of their gratitude that after Brad escorted the cat people out of the dungeon, stayed for a few days to give treatment, and wanted to return to the kingdom of Pistel, Mina forcefully dragged him to a drinking party in their village, saying that sending him away like this would ruin the name of the cat people.

It reminded me of my previous life as an indecisive businessman, when I wanted to go home and play games, but couldn't ignore my colleagues' invitations and attended their drinking parties.

Anyway, he joined the drinking party, but since he wasn’t someone who drinks by nature and was used to the high-quality liquor at the royal palace, he got wasted by drinking a lot of cheap liquor and ended up staying in the village for the night.

My memory of the last part of the night is completely blurry, so I'm worried that I might have done something wrong. Mina and the other girls in the cat tribe were aggressively trying to seduce me, but I don't think anything wrong happened.

This is why I woke up this morning feeling embarrassed and not wanting to be seen off by many people and left the village while everyone else was asleep, talked to the tamed monsters, and now I'm here.

(I have to get back to Pistel as soon as possible.)

I spent a lot more time than I initially planned to.

I'm confident I'll be able to make it in time for the Sword Dance Festival, but I'm also pretty sure you had to register in advance to participate. I had to hurry.

My exclusive maid, Rosie has been nagging me, " You have to go to class soon desu!" It’s necessary for me to attend the academy. Even if you’re a member of the royal family, if you’re absent from school for a long time while faking illness and use force to graduate, people around will have a bad impression of you.

 I'll also need to attend the academy when I get back.

(Can we get along? ......)

During his voluntary absence, Brad has changed a lot from before. He was worried about whether he could get along with the noblemen's children who attended the academy.

(I guess it's nothing to worry about.)

They hadn't been getting along well to begin with.

It couldn't get any worse than before.

I blew my dragon whistle, and after a few moments, my beloved dragon, Gilgard, came flying.

It landed in front of Brad, shaking the trees and plants of the forest violently.

But when he was about to get on its back.

"...... are you leaving?"

He heard a girl's voice behind me.

When I turned, I saw Mina standing there. She was out of breath, I guess she must have run all the way here.

"I've wasted a lot of time already. I didn't plan to stay in the village this long. So I have to be go now."

 "Sou ka" (I see) Mina said sadly.

There was silence between the two of them for a while.

He had always been uncomfortable with this kind of goodbye, and Brad felt strangely awkward.

"...... See you later."

He said a few words and turned his back on Mina.

He was already far behind schedule, and was in a hurry. 

It was at the moment when I put my legs over Gilgard's body as if to escape the awkward situation, she pulled my arm forcibly from behind.

"......!"

The next thing he knew, Mina's face was right in front of his and she was kissing his cheek.

Brad is surprised but manages to remain calm without panicking.

In his previous life, kissing was something he was not familiar with, but in this life, it was an everyday act of greeting. Even though the other party was a cute girl with cat ears, this was probably just a farewell greeting, and not worthy of being upset about.

"Daisuki (I like you) ......."

I was supposed to act calm, but when Mina said that to me at close range with her face all red, I couldn't help but get flustered.

As Brad was taken aback by this sudden confession, Mina turned away in a hurry, perhaps embarrassed.

"I'm sorry for saying this out of the blue nya. I know as a prince of a country, you already have a fiancee. I don't want to be like this either, but for cat people, lying about our feelings is the same thing as betraying ourselves, so I just wanted you to know how I feel."

Mina said this in one breath and bit her lip.

You can tell from the expression on her face that her words were not a joke, but her true feelings spoken with a desperate desire.

"......"

Brad opened his mouth but fumbled for what to say.

As he digested Mina's words, he was reminded that she was not just a character in a game, but a living person.

When I think about it calmly, I remember that I said some pretty frivolous things to Mina, even though the reason was to cover up inconvenient things. Feeling guilty about it, I hesitated to reply.

But after a while...

"Thank you, I’m thrilled."

That's all Brad said with as big a smile as he could muster.

Since Mina's confession had been made with full understanding of her position, he felt what he should tell her was purely how he felt about it.

She smiled with a satisfied "hehehe♡" and pushed Brad back to hide her melting expression.

"Be careful. By now the Demon King's subordinates must have realized that you defeated the cyclops Nya.  And they might start moving against you."

"Ah, ......Yeah !"

"The cat people are so much indebted to you. Our lives belong to you and only you. If you ever need help, please rely on me nya. Even if you make the world your enemy, I will always be your ally.”

With a smile on his face, Brad gets on his dragon.

On the way, I felt that Mina mumbled something to me but at that moment, Gilgard flapped its wings, so I couldn't make out the words.

In a very emotional parting,

Brad said goodbye to the cat girl and flew off to the kingdom of Pistel.

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