Chapter 223
Chapter 223. Rare Material
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—
By the time I was leaving Evaroti, the sun was beginning to set.
The captives are diurnal, so I scheduled the audience for the evening. I should arrive at the Demon Lord Castle around midnight, which is broad daylight for the demon race.
“—You can sleep if you want?—”
Leila said she’d wake me up when we arrived, but really, it would be a waste to sleep through the flight with Leila.
“—Ehehe—”
Also, I’m thinking of ordering my own Bon-Deji style soon, so I need to gather materials too. Like pelts or horns from a big game I’ve hunted myself, just like the Demon Lord and the Demon Lords’ Princes.
“—I see… like your father’s scales?—”
Leila asked so naturally, with no negative feelings whatsoever, that it surprised me.
No…! That’s… well, a little…
“—I believe there are still a few left, right?—”
No… it’s not just “a few”…
It’s more like a keepsake for Leila…
It’s not just some leftover stock!
“—It would be a waste to leave them unused… and I think your father would be happy if it helps you—”
R-really???
“—Plus… it would definitely look cool—”
A warm image flowed from bashful Leila. I imagined myself wearing a super cool outfit accented by Faravgi’s scales…
“—W-wait! No! Not that!! Forget I mentioned it!!—”
Leila screamed, accelerating rapidly, shaking me up on her back. Noooo! I didn’t see anything!! I swear!!
“Bwahahahah!!”
Antendeixis, who had been silent, couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
…Regardless, I could tell that Leila genuinely desired this (more than anything), so I decided to gratefully use Faravgi’s scales after all.
However, just having scales wouldn’t complete the Bon-Deji style. I’d need some kind of leather too. On our way back to the Demon Lord Castle, we should take down something big like a bear.
“—Oh! How about that over there?—”
While flying with my eyes wide open, Leila pointed ahead with her foreleg.
“Let me see?”
“—Over there… a rather splendid four-legged beast!—”
I strained my eyes to see what Leila was pointing at, but… I couldn’t see anything! Even if demons could see well in the dark…!
After flying for several seconds, when we reached a clearing between the mountains, I finally spotted a black shadow standing in the shade of a tree.
Whoa, dragon vision is insane!! They could survive just on lookout duty… though it’s not really necessary.
“That’s… a two-horned beast, I guess.”
It was a magical beast resembling a horse, with two sharp, magnificent horns. It’s a counterpart to the Light attribute unicorn and possesses dark magic. It’s significantly larger than a normal horse, and apparently has a fierce and omnivorous nature…
This was my first time actually seeing one, so I had only heard rumors. Apparently, like the unicorn, it has considerable magical resistance, is physically strong, and can run super fast. To catch it would be incredibly difficult—more like very dangerous.
It has magnificent horns and would likely be well-received by the demon race, plus we’d probably get a lot of fur from it, and Kusemon could probably handle the tanning with magic.
Alright, let’s go for it!
“—Got it!—”
Leila started her dive. The Baikorn, munching on something below, looked up with a startled “Huh?” at the approaching Leila.
Even a ferocious magical beast like the Baikorn was intimidated by a dragon’s dive. Well, of course, it’d freak out; even a Hero would be scared of that.
It turned and bolted, sprinting away at an incredible speed! Leila could catch it in one go, but since this was my hunt, I had to land the final blow myself.
—
Alright, I’ve got it.
I’m in range now.
“[Escape is forbidden]”
The Baikorn froze in place and collapsed right there. The ground was just grass, but as long as the fur wasn’t damaged…
As Leila spread her wings wide to slow down, I elegantly leaped off, readying my sword spear.
“Sorry.”
I plunged the Adamas blade into the body of the Baikorn, which was desperately trying to get up. If it has the same internal structure as a horse, I should be able to pierce through its heart and lungs with one thrust—
The Baikorn crumpled weakly to the ground, blood gushing from its wound.
“…”
This was, after all, my first real hunt since being reborn…
Magic is OP!
Having my prey not escape feels like cheating… I could easily become a lifelong hunter with this…
“Not that you need to.”
True, but…
“It worked out well!”
Leila landed gracefully next to me, her voice sounding almost musical, metallic in quality.
“Seriously, thanks, Leila.”
I gently stroked Leila’s head, brushing her scales near her eye.
“Ehehe…”
Wow, this is a substantial catch. I still have the body of a boy, but it’s massive regardless. I was debating whether to just strip the fur, but Leila said, “It looks like we can carry this!” So we decided to just drain the blood and return to the Demon Lord Castle—
However…
“Eh, making clothes from Baikorn leather?!”
I ran into Platy, who was just finishing work near the dragon launch and landing spot, and when I explained the situation—
She let out a shocked voice.
“That’s a bad idea! It’s considered bad luck!”
“W-what? Bad luck?!”
That was totally unexpected.
“Why is Baikorn bad?”
“Look at this.”
Platy suddenly struck the Baikorn’s impressive horn with a chopping motion.
Crack! The sound rang out dryly as it broke effortlessly.
“Unlike unicorns, this one’s horn is fragile despite its appearance… while it regrows quickly, it’s considered bad luck for demons because it breaks so easily.”
“Ehh…”
I didn’t know that…
“If you wear Baikorn’s fur, imagine what people would say…!”
“But… I’m already being called ‘Hornbreaker Zilbagias’ and it doesn’t seem inappropriate in that context?”
“What if you become ‘Hornbreaker’ for real?”
Ugh, ughhhh…
Thus, the Baikorn’s remains were deemed useless…
I felt kind of bad. If I had known this beforehand, it would have probably been galloping around the prairie still…
—
With nothing to do with it, I approached an Ogre Soldier in the training grounds and asked, “Do you want it?” He gleefully shouted, “A feast!!”
“Thank you, Demon Lord!”
It appeared he didn’t recognize me as a prince. He looked up with brownish-red skin, bowing his head courteously, which was quite amusing.
“Are you really going to eat it raw?”
“Hmm. Raw is delicious, but I prefer it thinly sliced, dipped briefly in hot water, and sprinkled with salt. That’s what my grandpa says is the best.”
Quite the gourmet…
I somewhat regretted not trying it out as I headed back to my room.
“Welcome back, my lord!”
I was greeted by Garunya and Viene, and after changing into my loungewear, I took a breath.
“Wow!”
Liliana rushed over. Aww, was she lonely? Sorry for leaving you alone. I patted her while relaxing on the sofa.
But this is a dilemma. I had no idea Baikorn was avoided by demons… even though it’s a dark attribute monster…
Should I go hunt something else? But there’s not much time.
The hunt with Leila was super fun, but I’ve got studies, training, and necromancy research to attend to as well.
“Maybe there are some good materials… leather…”
As I muttered absentmindedly,
“What are you talking about, my lord! There’s a fantastic material right here!”
Viene said with an overly smug smile.
“Huh? What is it?”
“This! Right here ♡”
What Viene pulled out from the closet was—
A warm-looking smooth white leather—
“Wow…?”
Liliana tilted her head in confusion.
“It’s the skin of a holy dog!!”
You idiot!!!
