Chapter 11 – Hippolius, House and Hunting

It took about forty minutes to complete Hippolius’s house after activating the crafting skill.
And if I included the time taken to prepare, which included using the appraisal skill and gathering rocks, it took over an hour.

“Hippolius, it’s finished.”

I said while looking around. However, Hippolius was nowhere in sight.
As I was concentrating on using the crafting skill, it was difficult to notice changes that happened around me.

“Huh? Where did Hippolius go?”
“It ran off somewhere once you started using the crafting skill, Theo.”

Victor explained.

“I see. Maybe it needed to use the bathroom.

But it had been gone for too long for that to be the reason.
However, I was sure that Hippolius had a good reason for leaving.
Besides, the creature was very strong, so there was surely no need to worry.

“Theo, can I take a look inside?”
“Aye, of course.”

Victor and the other Adventurers went inside of Hippolius’s house.
The Adventurers had finished cutting down the trees that we needed, and they were tired and resting now.
Kelly and the other scholars also went inside.

“This is an impressive door.”
“Yes. It’s for Hippolius, after all.”

Hippolius’s house had double swinging doors.
And it was made so that Hippolius could open it with its mouth.

“And it’s very spacious and clean inside.”
“It’s like a town hall!”

The Adventurers looked around excitedly.
The wood-paneled floor. The thick beams. The large glass windows.

Outside of the four corners, there were pillars in different places in order to support the high roof.
That being said, too many pillars would make it hard for Hippolius to move around.
And so they were placed inside of the walls.

The walls were also much thicker than they were in the houses of the Adventurers.
“Kyu-Kyu-kyu!”
Hippolius’s voice suddenly came from outside.

‘Theoooodore. Where are you?’
Came the sad voice. And so I rushed outside.

“Hippolius, what is it? Did you have to go relieve yourself?”
“Kyu-kyu.”

Hippolius squeaked as it rubbed against me.
There was a large boar in Hippolius’s mouth.
It was huge at nearly three meters in length.

“Hippolius. So you went out to get some food.”
‘Yes. I thought Theodore would be hungry after making Hippolius’s house.’
“Thank you. That’s wonderful. I was just starting to feel hungry.”
“Kyu-kyu!”

Hippolius chirped happily.
However, the boar in Hippolius’s mouth was still alive.

“Brrrroooooooooaahh!!”
It roared and struggled. It sure was a lively boar.
However, Hippolius’s grip was tight, and it could not get away.
Yes, Hippolius’s jaw must have incredible power.

Victor and the Adventurers heard the boar’s cry and came running outside.
Kelly was the first to arrive.

“Oh! A boar! So this is what they are like here!”

I ignored her as she talked excitedly.
“In any case, I’ll prepare it for dinner.”
I said, but then the Adventurers protested.

“If it’s work like that, you can leave it to us!”
“Yes, yes. You have already done so much with the construction, Mister Theo!”
“But aren’t you all tired from gathering wood?”

I asked.
“No, no. Not as tired as you must be.”
“Aye, it would not be an exaggeration to say that you and your skill did the work of a hundred men.”
“I heard that you were amazing, but even I was surprised.”
“Well, it’s no wonder he was in the Hero’s party.”
They exclaimed.

It felt a little awkward to have so much praise heaped on you like this.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave the boar to all of you then.”
“Leave it to us.”

After seeing the Adventurers kill the boar, Hippolius placed it on the ground.
And then they quickly got to work.
They were all first-rate Adventurers. And so they were skilled at this kind of thing.
Their movements were in perfect sync as they removed the blood and skinned it.

And so I decided to show Hippolius the new house in the meantime.
“Hippolius. Let me show the interior.”
“Kyu-kyu!”
“See, you can open it with your mouth. Try it.”
‘Kyu. It opened!’

When the door opened, Hippolius looked at me happily and wagged its tail.
I patted Hippolius on the head.

“I’m glad you like it.”
“Kyu.”

Hippolius then went inside.

“Kyuuuu!”
“How is it? Too cramped?”
‘It’s not cramped!’

Hippolius walked corner to corner and sniffed.
Once that was done, it lay down and started to roll over the floor.

“Hippolius. I’ll be making some furniture later. So if you want a particular kind of bed, let me know.”
‘The floor is so comfortable.’
“That’s good to know. Do you think you can sleep on it?”
‘You should sleep here too, Theodore.’
“Hmm? You want me to sleep here too?”
‘Yes.’

Well, we had no beds, so it really didn’t matter where I slept.
In that case, I might as well just sleep here.

“Alright, then I will sleep here too.”
“Kyuru-kyuru.”

Hippolius said happily as it pressed into me.