I was eating lunch at the adventurer’s guild corner.
“..Byakko?” I whispered as I sipped my coffee “A what?”
“I said a Byakko, it’s like a white tiger.”
The names of monsters in this world are truly original. There is a shogun like monster called General Winter, and weird monsters called Running Hawkites.
Why am I talking about this? Well...
“If you call it a Byakko it sounds like a dangerous boss, but white tiger sounds like something we could beat.”
“Call it whatever you want, I’m not fighting it.”
Megumin was reading a request poster. It said, “looking for a ‘Byakko’. The reward is 200 million Eris.” An amount that makes you think that the target is no ordinary monster.
“Besides the giant tortoise and the blue dragon, there are highly rewarded monsters that protect the four cardinal directions, it must be something like that.”
“Turns out you know a thing or two, huh Kazuma? That giant tortoise you’re referring to is the treasure island, it’s said that there’s a giant tortoise that has rare gems and minerals in its shell, it sleeps in the very deep underground and once every ten years it comes out to the surface to bask.”
I referenced something that often appears in fantasy games, but it turned out to be real.
“Returning to the white tiger, it peacefully lives within the mountains west of the city, but lately there have been reports of people seeing it near here.”
What are we supposed to do about it?
Darkness sipped her tea gracefully as she spoke. “I'm fine with that. I haven't heard of anyone being hurt by it. We should see for ourselves before deciding whether it should be slain. The fee for it is quite high due to the gorgeousness of its fur, although apparently no one has been able to catch it because it's so fast.”
“No, I may be broke, but I have adventurer’s pride. Darkness said it hasn’t hurt anybody, so there’s no need for us to bother. Even though it’s a monster, killing harmless living creatures is against my beliefs. I’ll go back to the mansion and sleep.”
“I also refuse. It’s a sacred beast, not a monster. In a way it’s kind of a god servant. I couldn’t possibly harm it. I’ll go back to the mansion and have a drink in front of the fireplace.”
“Kazuma! You happily exterminated snow spirits! Aqua also don’t act like a priest at a time like this! 200 million Eris, 200 million! You could instantly pay off your debt!” Megumin continued to push the quest poster towards Aqua and me.
Even if you say that...
“Think carefully, we’re a party that can’t even fight well against frogs! There’s no way we could beat a boss-like enemy like that.”
In games or manga, a Byakko is an important character that would appear at the end. Not something that novice adventurers like us could fight.
“I’ve thought about it enough. I heard that white tigers are much bigger than regular tigers. Being a large target, it doesn’t matter how fast it is, it won’t be able to escape my explosion.”
Hearing that, Darkness put her hand on her chin, thinking “...Yes, it doesn’t have any kind of armor either. If Megumin’s magic hits it directly, we might be able to defeat it.”
I get the power of explosion magic, but would it really be possible to win by letting Darkness withstand its attacks, and then finish it with Megumin’s magic?
The enemy has a bounty of 200 million, which is more than enough to pay off our debt.
“Yes, but... 200 million... 200 million...”
“Oh my gosh, you’re all so dumb. I won’t be joining you! Slaying a sacred beast, what are you guys thinking? Megumin, Darkness, you’ll be corrupted with dirty money, don’t stray any further!” The main culprit and the origin of the debt said that with a serious face.
Part 2
“-Uu... uuu... I didn’t want to... I said I didn’t want to...”
“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t be here either. But what can I do? I want to quickly pay off the debt caused by a certain someone.” Dragging Aqua we arrived at a mountainous road in the western part of Axel.
Megumin made a deal with her, if it gets too dangerous, we bail. White tigers are usually seen deep in the mountains, but since there were reports that someone saw one around here, we don’t need to go too deep.
“We should be able to escape safely from here. Aqua, take it easy. I will protect you.”
Feeling the confidence of the two, Aqua pushed on while still being aware of her surroundings.
Reports of sightings have increased, but the monster is rarely seen, we’ll stay for a while and if it is impossible, we’ll go straight home. As I naively thought that, then...
“...a beginner’s bane.” A black panther with huge fangs, the sworn enemy of novice adventurers appeared.
“An unexpected beginner’s bane! Since it’s a sneaky monster I’ll take a position at the back, we can’t use explosion magic while it’s this close!”
“Megumin, Aqua, get behind me!”
“Aqua cast support magic on Darkness! Megumin prepare to cast explosive magic just in case! If there are beginner’s bane here, other monsters may be nearby too!”
“Kazuma, you always just give orders and then hide in the back! Go and fight too, Darkness can’t hit anything!”
We instantly fell into a state of panic and grabbed our weapons preparing to fight. However, even though we were caught off guard like this, there was something strange about that beginner’s bane.
Instead of attacking, it just stood there.
“...It’s not attacking.”
“W-What? Maybe it’s afraid of us. After all, we’re the party that defeated several demon king generals, it’s instincts may be telling it not to fight us.”
“I wish, but those eyes don’t show fear. It’s almost like its studying us...” While everyone was whispering the beginner’s bane howled loudly.
We reflexively got alert; the same howling could be heard all over the mountains.
“Wait a minute, there’s a whole bunch of them? Fighting just one is difficult enough, we can’t beat a group!”
“Let’s escape for today, it’s enough for now!”
“That’s what I said!!”
“......”
“Hey, Darkness, why are you smiling.”
Not turning my gaze away from the monsters, I slowly began to step back...!
“Listen, those monsters have a habit of chasing if we turn our backs to them. But even if we keep our distance we’ll still be caught. We all need to run away at the same time. Whether it’s fast or slow doesn’t matter. If we run away at the same time, they won’t know which one to chase.”
“I see, then, after the count of five let’s escape.”
“I understand, trust me.”
Darkness had until now been dealing with the monsters, she nodded and began to count. “Alright, I’ll start then. One.... two....”
“Three!” Counting three together, we all escaped, that is, except Darkness.
“Four... Ah?! W-Wait...!” Darkness ran after us with the crackling sound of her armor, the two behind me started shouting “I knew you’d do this; you won’t fool my crimson eyes!” “Kazuma you’re a liar! Just like Megumin, you just can’t fool me either!”
Darkness was calling for us “W-Wait a minute, my armor is heavy...! H-Huh? It’s not chasing us.”
“Wha…?” Replied the rest of us, turning around we saw that; indeed, the beginner’s bane did not move from its place.
Part 3
The four of us, grouped up again, were talking about the monsters “What’s wrong with it? Is it hungry? I still have some dried squid left in my pocket from earlier, if I give it this it’ll probably leave.”
“I’d chase us if that was the case, what was that howl? I’ve never heard of a beginner’s bane doing something like this...”
Then, we noticed trees pushed aside as if something was pulling them away.
Darkness whispered “How beautiful...”
What appeared before us was a giant tiger with snow-white fur, it was the Byakko.
“Me-Me-Me-Me-Me-Megumin, Megumin! Look, the enemy appeared!”
“F-f-f-feel my explosive ma-magi...!”
“Megumin hurry up, those eyes are the eyes of a beast, hurry up and destroy it!”
“Didn’t you say that it was sacred! It’s your servant, right? Persuade it!”
We fell into a state of panic against the unexpectedly huge size and strong impression of a final boss the white tiger left on us.
Megumin hurriedly started to cast her magic; Darkness lowered her weapon, smiling to the Byakko “Take it easy, I don’t sense any hostile intent from it. It probably won’t attack. Besides, it looks smart. The beginner’s bane aren’t moving, it must’ve given them orders.”
I turned to the Byakko, its snow-white fur has a striking pattern like that of a silver tiger, anyone would be mesmerized, it has a beautiful and holy aura. It’s green jade-like eyes gave the impression that it’s highly intelligent.
Holding her greatsword spread out both her hands Darkness spoke softly “I feel ashamed for trying to hunt such a beautiful creature. ... See, I’m not scary …ugh?!” The Byakko kicked her away with its front paw.
“It wants to fight! Megumin, is your magic ready?!”
“I-I-I’m ready to let go at any moment! It’s just a big tiger, a big tiger...!”
“Aqua give Darkness some recovery magic... Huh? Don’t run away!”
Perhaps sensing Megumin’s magic power rising, the beginner’s bane hid among the trees while the Byakko remained calm.
“This way the title of Holy Beast Slayer will be mine! Accept my strongest magic! EXPLOSION!” Megumin unleashed her deadly magic.
The explosion was accompanied by rumbling sounds and shockwaves, Aqua was blown away while I hurriedly lay down on the ground. When the explosion ended, all that remained was a huge crater with no Byakko in sight, the beginner’s bane also disappeared.
As I helped the collapsed Megumin, I tried to find the missing Byakko…
“...Did it work?” Darkness got up looking around just like me.
Someone was muttering words that should not be said at a time like this “It was just a monster. Just like that we get 200 million, too easy. Come on, Kazuma, let’s go home! Even if we pay off the debt, we’ll still have a lot of money left, so we’ll take life easy for now!” Aqua, as always, was inciting bad luck.
I took out the request note to read it again “Wait, this says that the reward is for its fur, we didn’t have to blow it up...” I froze as my enemy detection skill signaled that there was something behind me.
I nervously turned around,
“I don’t know if you understand what I’m saying or not, but let me say this first. I refused to slay you from the start; after all, I’m a cat person. No, no, I didn’t mean to equate tigers with cats.” I spoke to the Byakko that had been there for who knows how long, while raising both my hands to signal my surrender.
To instantly appear behind us like this, it’s no common monster.
“I told them you are a sacred beast, so if we had slayed you, we would’ve been subjected to divine punishment! But these fools, tainted with greed, are trying to take your fur, I’m trying to stop that...!” Aqua tried to persuade it with me. Megumin was playing dead.
“.........” The Byakko approached Aqua.
“Hey, why did you come near me?! I haven’t done anything bad, what’s the problem! As I’m a goddess, let’s be friends... Eh?” The Byakko dropped something it held in its in his mouth at Aqua.
As she inexplicably accepted that, the Byakko turned around and left, into the mountains.
I stared at the back of the departing Byakko.
Darkness came over and looked at what Aqua was holding, “A cub...?”
Back in Axel.
“I can’t take care of a baby!” While hugging the white fur ball, Aqua chanted recovery magic.
The cub was very weak, to the extent that it has a hard time breathing.
“You could say you won Megumin, if it stays like this you’ll get that “Holy Beast Slayer” title you wanted.”
Megumin was sweating frantically “Wa-Wait a minute, does that mean it’s my fault?! Did the cub get hit by my explosion magic?”
“It's unmistakable that Megumin does unnecessary things,” Aqua began, “but the cub is weak because it doesn't have holy energy. Sacred Beasts like the Byakko can give holy energy, but that Byakko wasn't giving out any divine power. I guess that it ran out of holy power while giving birth and came here sensing my really strong divine power.”
“In other words, she was looking for a replacement? Before we got the mansion, we slept in stables with horses, do you really have holy power?”
“Such disrespectful words, you will be exposed to divine punishment! Look at the cub’s relieved face after receiving my divine power.”
“...Did he just wet the bed?”
Aqua wanted to throw the fur ball that had peed on her scarf. Darkness looked at its face. “I understand an archpriest like Aqua would have divine power, but what about the cub?”
“Let’s keep it.” Aqua said while hugging the almost-thrown fur ball “Its mother gave it to me, which means is mine now. My wish is to raise a dragon, but a sacred beast is fine too. I will raise it to be a loyal servant and make it our ace against the demon king!”
“You can’t even take care of yourself and you want to have a pet!?”
Part 4
The adventurer’s guild receptionist restlessly stared at the fur ball Aqua was hugging “Umm... You can get your reward, but…”
After returning to Axel, we went straight to the adventurer’s guild.
“Demon! Kazuma the demon! You want to sell this cutie?! Is your heart colder than General Winter itself?!”
I was asking if the fur of the cub could be sold “An adventurer shouldn’t say such naive things. No matter how cute it is, it’s still a monster!”
Aqua threw a tantrum “This man, he went to slay the Byakko even after saying killing harmless monsters was against his beliefs and when he found out that he could make money off of it he immediately changed his mind!”
“Megumin, take a good look. That’s the face of a person blinded by money.”
It was very noisy behind me. I quietly took the cub from Aqua “How long do you think it would take to raise this kitten-sized monster to be able to fight?! A sacred beast could live for hundreds of years, it might take decades!”
“NO! NOOOOOOO…!”
Ignoring Aqua I placed the cub on the reception desk “Alright, go ahead and give me the reward. How much is it?”
“A-Are you really going to sell it? It’ll sell for at least 10 million Eris, but...”
The receptionist was little surprised but paid no attention to the commotion going on around her. She looked at the cub curled up on the reception desk and smiled slightly.
As expected from a Byakko, just a cub is up to 10 million! I can’t pay off the debt yet, but with this much we can use it to get through the winter, especially...!
“Meow! Meow!” Perhaps recovering with the holy power Aqua gave it, the cub meowed on the table as it stared at me. Aqua stood beside me and continued to stare at my side face at a close distance.
“Uh... it feels so soft...” The receptionist girl was not panicked and stretched out her hand feeling the cub’s fur and trembling.
“I already have a familiar, but I don’t have a problem with raising another.” Megumin said as I was ignoring the still staring Aqua.
I reassured myself. Be strong Kazuma, I may love cats, but this is a tiger. Moreover, 10 million, 10 million! If asked to choose one, it’s obvious which one I’d choose.
“Y-Yes, I understand Kazuma wanting to pay off the debt. As adventurers, we must not forgive monsters. Raising one is not a praiseworthy act. Let’s leave the decision to Kazuma.” Darkness kept staring at the cub and smiled.
“Meow! Meow! Meow!”
Even Darkness seemed to have given up, but I’m different from them. No matter how much he meows…!
Back at the mansion.
“Did you buy the litter? Then prepare an empty box for it to sleep in. And a blanket too.”
“Share the litter with Megumin’s. For the empty box, I’ll ask the neighbor.”
I was defeated by its cuteness and prepared to receive the cub.
Well, it’s a cub now, but in the future it’ll will be strong. I don’t know how long it will take it to grow up, but I have to think positively...
“I’m home!” Opening the main door, Aqua went straight to the front of the fireplace, with the cub right behind her. As Darkness went to the kitchen, I lowered Megumin onto the sofa.
“It’s staring at that corner. Could there be something we can’t see?” The laying Megumin said, following the cub’s gaze.
I won’t be able to sleep at night if it does that.
“The cub sees the ghost living in the mansion. I’ve mentioned it before, right? There’s a ghost of a noble girl here. She floats around, it must have caught its attention.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, if she really exists, let me talk to her. She’s not like usual ghosts, is she?”
Darkness happily returned while holding something. “Hey, what are we going to call it? Here, I brought some warm milk. The cub feeds on holy energy, can it drink a little?” She said that as an adventurer we should not raise monsters, and here she was offering it milk.
Part 5
The next morning
“This cub’s name is Siegward. Wolfgang Siegward, call him Sieg.” Aqua said while holding the cub.
Why give it such a cool name.
“I have also thought of a name.”
“No way, Megumin! You’ll give it a weird name like Megumegu or Minmin!”
“Hey! Can you stop mocking my name!?” The two were already making a fuss so early.
Darkness was changing the sand of the cub’s litter “It looks healthier than yesterday.”
It’s been only a day, but it seemed to have recovered well.
“That’s right. In his condition, given another week of holy energy, and it’ll be fine.”
According to Aqua, the sacred energy was only needed when it was a newborn, after that, no matter who took care of it, it’d be fine.
After one week, Sieg got very healthy.
“Alright, I’ll not raise you to be a pet. That’s why, starting today, you’ll train to be our ace against the demon king’s army!” Sitting cross-legged before Sieg in the center of the garden, Aqua gave a threatening gesture while crossing her arms.
“Meow!”
“Not ‘Meow’. Answer with ‘yes’.”
“Meow! Meow!” Sieg meowed as it approached her.
“No, it’s not lunch time yet. .... Hey, stop biting my scarf. Although it’s a holy treasure, it’s very... Waaaa! Wait a minute, give it back!” Sieg’s got Aqua’s scarf and ran away.
Probably thinking Aqua was playing chase with him, they ran around the garden until Sieg got tired and fell asleep.
The next morning.
“Sieg, don’t befriend that cat. I feel a malicious presence from it. Moreover, she’s very aggressive with me.” Aqua warned Sieg off Chomusuke as they played in front of the fireplace.
“Compared to my familiar, Sieg isn’t bad at all.”
“Aww, how cute... Megumin, Aqua, can I pet them?”
The three were watching the two pets wrestle and bite each other playfully.
“Sieg, use the God Blow that I taught you yesterday. Show the difference between you and that evil fur ball!” Aqua yelled, clenching her fists. The two pets fell asleep and started curling up in front of the fireplace.
Paying no attention to Darkness, who was anxious to touch them but was afraid to wake them up, Aqua hugged Sieg with both hands “Why don’t you listen to what I say? Today I won’t spoil you. Come on, get up! Get up and practice! Even if you cry or beg, I won’t forgive- waaaaaaaa!”
“...It always pees on you; does it think that you’re a toilet or something?”
“Why doesn’t it do it on the litter! Uuu, uuu... Sieg, please at least remember where the litter is...” A teary Aqua left for the bathroom.
Then, that evening.
“Sieg! My scarf is something very precious, not a blanket. I’ll bring you a real blanket instead, give mine back!”
“It always does what it wants, it’s impossible for you to raise a pet.”
“We just can’t communicate well yet! Tonight, I’m going to sleep with it, I’ll instill the impression of a parent” Aqua took a position in front of the fireplace hugging the box where Sieg was.
Well, I’ll let her do what she wants.
“Ah! You want to pee again, right? There’s no mistaking it...” I went to my room as Aqua continued to talk to the cub.
In the end, the afternoon of that day was repeated for several days.
“It’s a beautiful day Sieg. I understand your sleepiness. But it’s time you to listen to me, I think it’s the best time for combat training.” Aqua was basking in the sun while hugging Sieg.
I was enjoying stroking Sieg’s fur beside her “Never mind that, it’s not important to practice fighting or being an ace against the demon king. Just being like this every day is fun.”
“I don’t feel happy at all! It still doesn’t remember where the litter is, you know? Moreover, it doesn’t get along with me. It’s a sacred animal so I thought he’d be a bit smarter, but he wets the bed every day!”
Bedwetting, if I’m not mistaken...
“Oh yeah, I heard that lonely children tend to wet the bed. Maybe it’s lonely because it can’t be with his mom?”
“...This cub can’t forget it’s mother even though I’ve taken care of it for so long? My goodness, what cold-hearted attitude!”
“Don’t say weird things to the cub. Anyway, if it continues, it’ll get used to it eventually. If it no longer wets the bed in the middle of the night, it means it has recognized you as his parent.”
“Wait a minute, then my sacred treasure will continue to be desecrated? Geez, this isn’t funny! Sieg, what do you think a goddess’ sacred treasure is? Being cruel despite being pampered in this mansion, I will punish you severely!”
A few days later, in the vast mountainous area west of Axel.
“Is it really okay?”
We walked where we first met the Byakko and the cub.
“I told you, right? I don’t want a stupid cub who can’t even remember where the litter is. It didn’t listen to me at all, it’s better to raise dragons. Did you hear that Sieg? Today I part ways with you, but I feel relieved” Even while saying that, she did not let go of Sieg from her arms.
“...But Aqua, even if we go back, it doesn’t guarantee that the mother Byakko will be waiting there. What do we do if that happens?”
“Keep raising it and matching it against my familiar is better.”
However...
“I’m sure its’s waiting there. I can tell because of my divine instinct.” At Aqua’s words, Darkness and Megumin fell silent.
“See? Just like I said.”
The mother was lying on her stomach with her eyes closed on the same place we met it before. I don’t really understand, but maybe it was convinced that Aqua would bring back her cub.
The Byakko slowly opened its eyes and approached Sieg who was in Aqua’s arms.
While we were watching them, Aqua bent down to lower Sieg to the ground “There, hurry home.”
Sieg continued to stare at her motionlessly.
“...What? Are thinking about what I said? When I said dragons are better than tigers thar was just a joke. If you feel like returning the favor, grow up and defeat the demon king.” At those words, Sieg gripped the end of Aqua’s scarf like it was playing.
Aqua could not help herself and started hugging it. Megumin and Darkness could see no more of this and lowered their faces.
Then, the Byakko slowly approached the hugging couple.
“Time to split, go Sieg. ...Sieg, let go off my scarf. Hey, this is not your blanket. I can’t give it to you. It hurts, Sieg, your claws hurts!”
The Byakko stopped for a moment as if in thought while looking at them, then, using her mouth, held Aqua’s by the nape and lifted her up.
“You idiot, don’t let it get away!”
“Aqua! P-Please wait a moment, please try to escape!”
“Wait! Where are you taking Aqua?”
The Byakko has incredible speed; of course, we weren’t going to be able to catch up with it.
Aqua returned three days later, covered in Byakko fur “I better raise a dragon...”
Credits
Feel free to translate this to other languages/ get in touch to further improve, just make sure as to include the credits section as included here. Thanks.
Konosuba Yorimichi Anthology Volume 2 by Natsume Akatsuki
Illustrations by Kurone Mishima
Published by Kadokawa Shoten on November 1st, 2020.
Original crappy translation by H. Berry.
Edited by Felinicity Bone.
Feel free to translate this to other languages/ get in touch to further improve, just make sure as to include the credits section as included here. Thanks.
Konosuba Yorimichi Anthology Volume 2 by Natsume Akatsuki
Illustrations by Kurone Mishima
Published by Kadokawa Shoten on November 1st, 2020.
Original crappy translation by H. Berry.
Edited by Felinicity Bone.
Edited chapter title image by u/artgold8 and @jacht_ny, images sent by Felinicity Bone.
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