‘You were really tired!’

To the point of forcibly leaning on someone much smaller than yourself to sleep…..

Tears blurred my vision. If our favorite wanted, I could be a human pillow anytime.

But this seems too uncomfortable. Look, I’m much smaller than Aspeiran, so our lord’s precious waist is bent at an awkward angle. He might get a herniated disc like this.

To save his waist, I poked Aspeiran’s thigh repeatedly… gasp.

‘His thigh is like a rock.’

It’s so firm my finger won’t even sink in.

But he seemed to have felt my poking. Aspeiran’s thigh twitched and he straightened up, looking down at me.

“…Uncomfortable?”

“No! It’s not that, I thought you might be uncomfortable, my lord. Just a moment.”

I wriggled into the tent. Then I sat cross-legged and patted my thigh.

“Rest your head on my lap!”

Originally, the best pillow is a human pillow. Moreover, my thighs were especially comfortable. They were five-star pillows recognized by my entire family and all my friends.

But it’s strange. Aspeiran’s face sitting outside the tent somehow looks pale. Is it because of the sunlight reflected off the snow?

After being unable to speak for a while, he finally moved his lips.

“Are you… seriously…”

Aspeiran alternated looking at my face and legs before closing his mouth again. Hmm, maybe it’s a bit much to rest his head on a strange woman’s lap.

‘But if he thinks of it as getting help from someone like a younger sibling he usually carries around like a stuffed animal, wouldn’t it be okay….’

It seemed Aspeiran had the same thought. He entered the tent and carefully rested the side of his head on my thigh.

However, he was turned away from me. Though he lay down, he still seemed embarrassed. His neck and shoulders were tense.

I gently placed my hand on Aspeiran’s neck.

“Your muscles seem tense, shall I massage them?”

“…Don’t.”

Aspeiran warned in a low voice, harsher than usual. I became embarrassed and quickly removed my hand.

After that, no words passed between us, and the snow-covered forest was silent.

I found this quietness awkward and desperately tried to bring up a conversation topic.

“This expedition is more peaceful than I was worried about.”

“…That’s right. Normally, we would have been attacked by monsters several times by now.”

“I heard from Bonak. He said the monsters are too afraid of the moondogs to approach. Do you think it would be okay to take the pups to the Bonacow habitat?”

They might all run away before we even get close if they sense the Sammeomeo’s presence.

It seemed Aspeiran had the same thought. After pondering for a moment, he spoke.

“We’ll have to leave the moondogs somewhere else when we get close to the Bonacow habitat.”

“Hmm, I wonder if the pups will stay put…”

Imagining our pups crying “awoo~” looking for me made my heart ache as if it would tear.

But then, suddenly Aspeiran jolted upright as if burned.

“My lord?”

As I frowned wondering what was wrong with him, I realized the lingering sensation on my fingertips of having just stroked something soft.

“Uh…”

Da, dammit.

It seems that while thinking about the Sammeomeo, I unknowingly… stroked Aspeiran’s hair.

‘Are you crazy?! Do you want to be executed?’

My trembling eyes meet Aspeiran’s fiercely glowing ones. I immediately prostrate myself on the ground.

“I have committed a mortal sin! I didn’t mean to…”

“‘Didn’t mean to’? Do you do this to other men too?”

“Th-that’s…”

How should I answer? If I mention the Sammeomeo, it would mean I treated our lord like a dog.

Too flustered, I unconsciously glanced in the direction of the Sammeomeo. Aspeiran followed my gaze and noticed the Sammeomeo’s shadow.

Aspeiran narrowed his eyes examining the shadow for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.

“Fine. Get up.”

“A-are you forgiving me…?”

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

Thank goodness. It seems he’s willing to let it go as if nothing happened.

Seeing Aspeiran quietly sitting at the tent entrance, I cautiously sat down next to him. He didn’t say anything even when I moved closer.

He suddenly spoke up.

“You came on this expedition to observe monsters, but you must be disappointed not encountering any.”

It was his usual tone and a neutral conversation topic.

Grateful for our lord’s generosity, I quickly responded.

“Not at all. I’m glad no one got hurt thanks to the lack of monster attacks. Besides, we’ll see the Bonacow herd soon anyway.”

“At this rate, we’ll reach the Bonacow habitat by tomorrow.”

Aspeiran turned towards me. His usual expressionless face looked down at me.

“The expedition will likely finish earlier than planned, so would you like to observe monsters near the gate with the remaining time?”

It was an unexpected offer. My eyes widened.

“Is that really okay?”

“I’ll be with you so there’s no danger. There aren’t any strong monsters near the gate anyway.”

“Wow!”

Though I said otherwise, I was actually a bit disappointed. I clapped my hands together, filled with joy.

“I’d love to! Since I’ve come all the way to Beltraum, I wanted to experience as much as possible.”

“Good, then let’s do that.”

“You promised!”

“I know.”

Aspeiran chuckled and ruffled my hair. It was the moment our secret pact was sealed.

And we would indeed have many experiences afterwards, as promised.

In a form completely different from what I had imagined.

The next day, we walked and walked again.

After traveling for half a day like that and passing an ice cave, Akla stopped in her tracks.

“This is the place.”

The deep pink orb floating above Akla’s palm was emitting a strong light.

Since the light gets stronger the closer we are to the target, we must really be right in front of the Bonacow habitat now.

Aspeiran turned to look at me.

“Shuria, as we discussed yesterday.”

“Yes, sir.”

I gathered our Sammeomeo and took them to a cozy spot with soft snow piled up next to the cave exit. Then I began explaining the situation in detail.

The explanation was long, but there was only one thing I wanted to say.

“Mommy will be back soon, so wait here for just a bit. Okay?”

“Kkeung.”

Tiny whined sadly but soon they all understood and lay down. They really do understand what I’m saying. Our pups are definitely geniuses.

Leaving the Sammeomeo behind, we moved on again. Knowing there was a Bonacow herd nearby, our footsteps became much more cautious.

“I smell water.”

Aspeiran said quietly. The others nodded in agreement.

Monsters are living creatures too, so they drink water. Therefore, the probability of monsters being near water was high.

Exchanging glances, we crouched down and walked, hiding our bodies behind trees and bushes.

Akla, acting as the leader, went ahead to check behind a tree. Soon, a smile spread across her face.

“…Found them.”

At those words, I also bravely peeked over the bushes. A fairly large lake was located a short distance from the bushes.

And around it, a herd of white cows leisurely drinking water or grazing…

“!!”

Silent cheers spread among the expedition members. Judging by this reaction, those cows must indeed be Bonacows.

The expedition members’ eyes sparkled as they immediately took out transparent glass ball-shaped recording orbs and writing tools. I observed the Bonacow herd from a distance so as not to disturb the expedition team.

The Bonacows had the appearance of white cows with two long horns on their foreheads.

They were now digging through the snow to eat something, and each time they did, the horns on their foreheads sparkled brightly.

Expedition members who saw the same sight muttered.

“What are they eating? Is that the raw material that produces the sleep fragrance? I’d like to collect research samples.”

“They’ll probably leave their spot at some point. We’ll have to wait.”

As a monster caretaker, I had slightly different thoughts.

‘Creatures that emit sleep fragrance must be troublesome to raise… We wouldn’t be able to ride them or use them to pull loads either.’

It was at that moment, as I leaned forward to get a better look. A familiar arm blocked my way.

“My lord?”

“Something’s coming.”

Aspeiran’s eyes grew cold. The knights immediately drew their weapons and got into position.

Soon after, the expedition members seemed to sense something too and put away all their recording tools. Elkin did the same.

I clearly sensed the anomaly when the Bonacows stopped grazing and raised their heads to the sky.

KWAAANG―!!

The water in the lake, which hadn’t frozen despite the cold weather, suddenly surged upwards with a thunderous roar. The Bonacows screamed “KEEEK” as if trying to escape, running in all directions.

But it was useless. As the surging lake water covered the ground, all the Bonacows turned into ice statues and collapsed.

‘M-my skin is tingling.’

Having experienced magic a few times before, I could tell. This was a wave of magical power so intense that even someone as ignorant of magic as myself could feel it.

Some powerful being… is approaching while using magic.

Before I could collect myself from the shock, CHENG-GANG, CHENG-GANG, CHENG-GANG. The ice statues made of Bonacows shattered one by one. A thick purple smoke covered the lake.

Beyond the purple smoke, there was something… no, some ‘things’.

“Lions…?”

Canis muttered as if groaning, after confirming the monsters that emerged gracefully through the smoke.

It was just as he said. The monsters that burst through the lake, instantly slaughtered the Bonacows, and summoned the purple smoke had the appearance of blue lions.

But not just simple lions. Golden horns gleamed on their foreheads, and instead of lion tails, they had fish tails on their hindquarters. It was the strangest-looking monster I had ever seen.

Judging by the expressions of the others, these monsters seemed to be a type they had never encountered before.

Aspeiran placed his hand on his sword while keeping his eyes on the front. Since all we knew about the enemy was that they could use powerful magic, it would be best to avoid them if possible.

If they were satisfied with killing the Bonacows and left, none of us would try to stop them.

But when do things in this world ever go as we want?

Aspeiran suddenly turned around and thrust his sword.

“KEEEK!!”

A blue lion that had somehow circled behind us and attempted to attack was impaled on Aspeiran’s sword.

As a streak of the lion’s blood flowed, Aspeiran’s eyebrow twitched and he immediately set the lion’s corpse on fire.

Then he threw the burning lion at the lion pack in front. Leaping forward in the blink of an eye, Aspeiran shouted.

“These creatures can use magic and their blood itself is a deadly poison! Clean them up as quickly as possible without spilling blood if you can. Expedition members, support the royal guard!”

“Yes!”

“And you, protect Shuria!”

You? Who? As I turned my head wondering, three huge white masses flew towards me.

It was our Sammeomeo!

“Guys!”

“Awoo―!”

The Sammeomeo howled valiantly. That served as the signal for the battle to begin.

Not just the royal guard, but even the expedition members and Elkin skillfully faced the monsters. But those blue lions were no easy opponents either.

Moving cautiously to avoid the poison made the process of taking down each lion slow. Moreover, blue lions kept emerging endlessly from the lake.

Something was needed to turn the tide of battle.

And perhaps I could be the one to do it.