Chapter 22 – Greetings of Fio and the Beasts

The next day, I woke up to find someone licking my face.
Well, I actually knew who it was before I even opened my eyes.

“Kyu kyu.”

When I opened my eyes, I saw Hippolius’s enormous face.
Its large mouth was opened just a little, and its tongue stuck out and continued to lick me.
Perhaps it thought that it was washing my face.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I prefer to wash my face with water. You really do not need to do that.”

Now my face was all sticky.
However, in spite of saying that it was not necessary, Hippolius continued to lick my face.

“Theodore. There is someone. Someone!”

Not only that, but Hippolius seems frantic. No, scared even.

“Someone? Ah. You mean Fio and Shiro?”

I looked over to where Fio and Shiro were sleeping. They had not woken up yet.
They were bundled up in a blanket and snored while nuzzling into each other.

“Fio? Shiro?”
“I’ll introduce you to them once they wake up.”
“Kyu.”

Fio and Shiro were likely very tired.
And it would have been a long time since they last slept on a soft floor, where it was warm and they were out of the rain.
And they had also eaten a lot.
So I hoped that they would rest long and recover from their tiredness.

“Who Fio and Shiro?”
“Umm. They are friends who came in the middle of the night.”
“Friends?”

Upon hearing this, Hippolius seemed to relax a little.
In spite of its size, Hippolius could be a little cowardly, it seemed.

That was surprising, as it had hunted down very large boars.
No, perhaps it wasn’t that. After all, there was a difference between seeing a large bug outside and one in your house.
Perhaps it was that kind of phenomenon.

This house was Hippolius’s territory.
Who wouldn’t be surprised if a stranger suddenly appeared in their house?

“…That being said…”
“Kyuo?”
“You didn’t wake up at all last night.”
“Kyu?”
“We had made quite a lot of noise too…”
“…Kyu!”

Hippolius started to lick my face like there was no tomorrow.
Was it trying to distract me from that mistake?

“It can’t be helped, since you’re just a child… But it will be dangerous if you don’t sharpen your senses a little.”
“…Kyuu…”

Hoppolius seemed apologetic.

Last night, I had been the only one to even notice that Fio and Shiro were there.
Perhaps Victor had known as well.
But the other Adventurers and scholars had not been aware of the visit.
However, the Adventures had been drunk, so it wasn’t their fault.

That being said, once Fio started to make a lot of noise, most of the Adventurers woke up.
The only reason that they hadn’t come out, was because they must have decided that it was best if I dealt with it.

And it turned out to be the best decision.
Fio and Shiro would have been scared if they were surrounded by a lot of people.
I would have to thank the others during breakfast, and explain to them in detail what had happened.

“Now, Hippolius. Let’s go and prepare some breakfast.”
“Yes!”

Hippolius wagged its tail.

“Calm down, calm down. Your tail is so big, so you shouldn’t wag it while indoors.”
“Okay!”

Hippolius nodded with a serious expression.

And so Hippolius and I were about to leave the house.
“…Hahhh…”
Shiro got up and took one look at Hippolius and froze.

While Hippolius was a child, it was still a large dragon type.
And there weren’t many monsters that wouldn’t be afraid.

“So you’re awake, Shiro. This is Hippolius. Our friend and my familiar.”
“Kyu.”
“Woof.”
“We’re all friends and part of the same pack. So be nice.”

I said, and then Shiro licked Fio’s face and slowly stood up.
And after stretching its body one, it cautiously moved closer to Hippolius.

“Kyu.”

“Woo.”

Shiro put its nose close to Hippolius’s nose and sniffed a little and then went around to the back.
And then Shiro started to sniff the butt.

“Kyu kyu.”

Hipplius looked a little awkward, but this was how wolves greeted each other, so it couldn’t be helped.

“It’s a wolf greeting. So be patient.”
“…Kyu…”

As this was happening, Fio also woke up.

“Fio. You can sleep longer if you’re tired.”
“I fine.”
“I see. That’s good. Now let me introduce you again. This is Hippolius.”
“Hippo…lius.”
“Hippolius is our friend and my familiar… But just think of us as one pack.”
“Okay.”

Fio came out of the blanket and stretched before approaching Hippolius.
She didn’t look scared at all.

Fio was a natural when it came to taming. So perhaps she wasn’t afraid of monsters

“Hippo?”
Said Fio as she slowly walked up to Hippolius from the front.
And then their noses came close and they sniffed each other.

“Kyu.”
And then after sniffing her, Hippolius licked Fio’s face.

“Hippo!”
And then Fio moved around to Hipplius’s backside and joined Shiro in sniffing the butt.

“Kyu…”
Feeling even more awkward, Hippolius looked towards me as if to ask for help.

“It’s a wolf greeting, so just wait.”
I said again. Greetings were very important.

But thanks to this thorough sniffing, Fio and Shiro were able to become good friends with Hippolius.