Translator: Nox

I Became A Married Man in Another World

Chapter 58

#058 Santa's Contractor

People often make mistakes because of the name 'Horned Rabbit,' but these creatures don't have horns when they are young. The bone on their head is merely slightly convex.

You can feel it if you touch them, but it hasn't broken through the skin yet. A Horned Rabbit kit that hasn't reached adulthood looks exactly like a regular rabbit you'd see in the mountains.

Leonard carefully maintained a neutral expression while glancing at the top of the child's head. He slurped his stew. It was a dish he liked, but he couldn't even taste it properly. Every nerve in his body was focused on the Horned Rabbit.

No matter how he looked at it, those were definitely horns. He couldn't understand it. Why did this Horned Rabbit have horns? It was clearly still a young specimen.

Furthermore, it was docile. It sat as quietly as a regular rabbit, occasionally snapping up pieces of meat the child placed on the hat.

When the woman beside the child stroked the Horned Rabbit along with the girl, it submissively lowered its ears. It closed its round eyes as if feeling good or made a 'piii' sound as if acting spoiled.

'A magical beast...'

His eyes narrowed instinctively. This was also strange. For a magical beast to be tamed by a powerless woman and child and remain so docile.

'Peculiar. Truly peculiar.'

Most magical beasts possess a nature that follows hierarchy. They prostrate themselves before the strong and reign over the weak.

That is why some are occasionally tamed by humans. In rare cases, if a trainer instills the perception of being strong while the beast is young and weak, it might obey.

However, it wasn't uncommon for that relationship to be flipped.

Magical beast trainers are rare, naturally because catching and taming them is difficult. But there was a more important reason.

Magical beasts are omnivores. They eat animals and humans alike. While some only eat one type, most aren't picky about their food.

As far as Leonard knew, Horned Rabbits were also omnivores. And contrary to their appearance, they had surprisingly violent temperaments. He had heard stories of trainers who looked down on Horned Rabbits only to have their fingers bitten off.

Because magical beasts have such natures, they sometimes harm other humans when brought into crowded places.

It's fine as long as the trainer is strong. They can be controlled even with just a little distance from people. That's why magical beast trainers avoid villages as much as possible, and even if they stop by, they stay on the outskirts.

However, if the trainer grows old or falls ill, or if the magical beast reaches a point where it realizes it is stronger, the relationship can be reversed.

Magical beasts are creatures of hierarchy. Once they realize they are stronger than the trainer, they try to overturn that rank. He had heard of trainers who were eventually killed or eaten by the beasts they raised.

Magical beasts are entirely different entities from animals. Just because they are tamed doesn't mean they completely submit to the trainer.

The reason magical beast trainers were so few was due to an overlap of such various reasons.

"Child, may I try touching that magical beast?"

When Leonard asked the child, the girl named Dorothy tilted her head. Then, she lifted her head as if asking a question. As her head tilted back slightly, the Horned Rabbit lay flat against the hat.

"Oz, are you going to be a good bunny?"

"..."

The Horned Rabbit didn't show any movement, but the child nodded on her own.

"Okay, you have to be good. Only then can you be Dorothy's horn. Understand?"

The child looked at Leonard.

"You can only touch it a little bit. Because Oz is a horn."

He didn't quite understand what she meant. Even at his age, children were always difficult to deal with.

Leonard replied with a smile that he would do so and stood up. He walked around the people sitting by the campfire and approached the child.

Leonard knelt on one knee and fixed his gaze on the Horned Rabbit.

It was docile. The Horned Rabbit remained still, its body flattened against the child's hat.

But he couldn't let his guard down. Just as a rabbit can leap into the air without any special preparation, so can a Horned Rabbit. In fact, they were far superior attackers. He knew this well because he had occasionally hunted Horned Rabbits back when he was a magical beast hunter.

'It was quite a profitable business.'

With a smirk, he surreptitiously moved one hand toward his waist. After preparing to draw a small knife at any moment, he reached out his hand toward the Horned Rabbit's head.

However, his concerns were meaningless. The Horned Rabbit quietly accepted his hand. It remained still even as he felt the protruding horns to confirm their shape.

But when his hand moved below that, it let out a 'piii' cry. The child lifted her head and looked at Leonard.

"That's enough now. You're only supposed to touch the horn a little bit."

"Right, thank you for letting me touch it."

Leonard immediately withdrew his hand. The child went back to her meat, occasionally giving the Horned Rabbit small pieces of what she was eating.

Leonard returned to his seat and received another bowl of stew.

He put the bowl to his lips and slurped the warm broth. A warm sensation spread through his entire chest following the hot liquid.

There are only a few types of magical beasts known to man. Leonard had seen quite a lot while active as a magical beast hunter, but perhaps this Horned Rabbit was a new species he didn't know at all.

However, as far as Leonard knew, there was only one case where horns grew while they were still young.

It was when Santa's Contractor was the master.

'But who is it?'

Seeing the magical beast attached to the child, the most likely possibility was that the child was the master. However, surprisingly, it could also be the mage or the woman.

"..."

Ever since he spoke to the child, he had been feeling the gaze of the hulking healing mage. The healing mage watched him quietly with black eyes.

There was no sign of him moving for a weapon, but the man's gaze was very direct. Just being watched quietly made a chill run down his spine. The instincts of an old hunter whispered to him. That guy is dangerous.

For some reason, following the mage's gaze, the skin in that area prickled. It felt as if invisible small sparks were touching the parts within the mage's field of vision.

A strange magical beast, and a mage with black eyes.

Though the mage's appearance was rare, such people could be seen occasionally. As the war dragged on, many mercenaries from other countries had entered. Among those people, there were quite a few who had appearances similar to the healing mage.

'But if he's with a magical beast like that, he wouldn't be a simple mage.'

Suddenly, the Hero who was said to have appeared in another country came to mind. He had heard they were of a similar race. He didn't know if this mage was the Hero or not, but there might be a connection.

Even if it wasn't him, that man was undoubtedly the contractor.

After sitting by the campfire for a while, Leonard finished his meal and stood up.

There are several liaisons from the Adventurers' Guild in the merchant caravan.

When a massive merchant caravan is formed and many guild adventurers participate, the Adventurers' Guild dispatches liaisons. It's a courtesy to ensure that requests for reinforcements or other matters can be communicated as quickly as possible. The healing mage this time was also called through that liaison.

Leonard stopped by his carriage and wrote a brief letter. After putting it in an envelope, he melted wax on the seam. He sealed it by pressing the merchant group's signet into it and then called the guild liaison.

"Deliver this to the Master of the Berne Adventurers' Guild."

"Understood."

After the liaison left, Leonard once again glanced at the healing mage and the magical beast.

It seemed they were almost finished with their meal. As the child said something, the mage and his wife were laughing.

'No one knows yet, but it will spread soon.'

Even if magical beasts are rare, there are quite a few people like Leonard who know about their ecology. Their abnormality would soon be widely known.

However, Leonard's interference ended here. Stepping in too deep without being asked would draw the guild's wariness. It was best to treat them while maintaining a proper distance.

"Hehe."

A laugh escaped him involuntarily. To form a connection with a contractor was an unexpected harvest.

Conscious of his stomach, which had grown slightly heavy from the meal, Leonard walked around the carriage for a while.

He quietly checked with his eyes to see if there were any suspicious people or if anyone had suddenly joined the other merchant carriages.

In the distance, he saw the guild liaison galloping away on horseback.

The message he sent to the Guild Master of Berne was just one line.

[Rudolph.]

He would understand even with just that.

"..."

The magical beast Rudolph, which only a contractor is said to create. He was very much looking forward to seeing what kind of form it would take.

***

The first day passed quietly and leisurely, like a typical journey.

It was decided that the Red Swords would stand night watch in pairs of two.

Joo-hwan's party didn't stand night watch since they participated as healing mages. However, they were requested to be careful with their condition so they could use mana at any time.

Even without being that careful, using healing magic was easy. It felt much easier than using fire magic. He wondered if his aptitude was perhaps better suited for healing magic.

'It doesn't match my appearance at all.'

Lizi, who had been very tense at first, seemed to feel relieved by nightfall. She must have been worried about what kind of work they would do for so much money.

As the sun began to set, the procession stopped. Campfires were lit here and there around the carriages at appropriate intervals.

The campfires were lit in as many places as possible, not just to ward off the cold but also to stay alert for wolves. He had heard that in the pitch-black dawn, people sometimes disappeared after being dragged away by wolves. It was truly a difficult world to live in.

One slightly strange point was that everyone used flint to start fires even though there was a fire mage present.

"Don't fire mages help with lighting campfires? It's a simple task, so it shouldn't be that difficult."

When Joo-hwan asked Jessie of the Red Swords, she replied in a low voice.

"All adventurers work for a price. Mages especially have a strong tendency for that. Mana is like physical strength; once used, it takes time to return to its original state. There's a saying that your body is your asset, and that applies to mages as well as adventurers."

As a gust of wind blew, Jessie hunched her shoulders.

"You can assume there's no mage who uses mana without compensation. No matter how trivial the task."

Jessie glanced at the fire mage. For some reason, her gaze bothered him. It was a look that seemed to be a mix of hatred and fear.

For dinner, herring was added to the same food served at lunch.

He didn't know why, but herring seemed common even though there was no sea nearby. Even in the adventurer village, herring wasn't more expensive than other foods.

However, the herring he saw in the village was salted, while the one served here was dried. It had been split in half and gutted before being dried.

'Hmm, but isn't this just Gwamegi?'

Its oily appearance looked exactly like Gwamegi.

It didn't seem popular. Most people didn't touch the herring. Lizi and Dorothy didn't even spare the herring a glance either. They only ate the meat and stew. Perhaps it was because of the smell or the fishy taste.

Joo-hwan watched how others ate the herring, then he also tapped it with a stick to soften it before putting it in his mouth.

Well, it would be tastier with seasoning, but it wasn't too bad. He liked it because it was chewy.

He tried offering some to Lizi, but she shook her head in refusal. Dorothy also disliked it, covering her nose with her hand.

'Strange, it's delicious.'

Joo-hwan ate a few more. It was a bit burdensome to eat a lot because it was so oily, but it was perfect when eaten with the stew. It would have been heaven if only there were some spicy soju, which was a bit of a shame.

It seemed they didn't sleep inside the carriage.

Joo-hwan also gathered nearby wood and lit a campfire next to the carriage.

Just then, Marie of the Red Swords approached hesitantly.

"Um, excuse me, would it be okay if our party slept near here?"

The other two members of the Red Swords were a short distance away. They were taking luggage out of a cart. It seemed to be things they would use for sleeping.

"It's fine. Do as you please."

At Joo-hwan's answer, Marie smiled with visible relief.

As he quietly looked around, several people were eyeing the women of the Red Swords.

'Ah, I see. Night raids.'

Joo-hwan smiled bitterly. If he hadn't been there, would the Red Swords have spent the whole night unable to sleep properly, constantly wary of other men?

The Red Swords had something a bit too flimsy to be called a tent. They set up poles with wooden sticks and covered them with thick cloth.

The height was low and the space was small, so it didn't look like all three could lie down inside. Maybe they could barely sleep if all three curled up small.

Joo-hwan sat in front of the campfire for a while. Karin didn't go into the tent either and sat across from him. The howling of wolves could be heard from somewhere.

After a long silence, Karin suddenly spoke up.

"Thank you."

"..."

It was probably about him allowing them to sleep nearby. But he wasn't sure if that was really something to be thanked for. Despite thinking that, Joo-hwan replied with a quiet smile.

"Don't mention it."

Karin sat for a moment before entering her tent.