146 A New Tamed Companion?

Hey, Shun here!

Have you ever experienced encountering a snake in the wild? I've had several encounters with them, one of them being a reticulated python.

I never had any traumatic experience with them so I'm relatively neutral when it comes to my view about them. However, there are really a lot of people who hate snakes or are afraid of them, even though they are yet go encounter one.

I think the internet and the depictions about snakes are partly to blame. The same could be said about the sharks as well.

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(Shun's POV)

After opening up the treasure box, I found six weapons inside it that I couldn't appraise. A staff, a rapier, two different pairs of daggers, a huge broadsword, and a kodachi.

Before I could inspect the items even further though, an azure colored wiggly creature appeared in front of my eyes, almost making me jump in surprise. What the heck?

When I focused on this stick-like azure creature, I finally recognized what it was.

"What's a snake doing here? Wait… Is it a snake or a catfish?" I muttered while looking at the little creature that looks more like a baby snake with blue whiskers than anything else wiggle it's body towards me slowly. Hey, that's kinda cute.

While I was marvelling at the sight of this little creature, it suddenly let out a cry, which surprised me a little.

"Scree~! Sreee!!"

"Oh, how cute. What are you doing here little guy?"

I thought it was just trying to greet me. But then, I saw a little white snake that's half it's size wiggle its tiny body towards the azure colored one.

So that's why it let out a cry. It wasn't trying to greet me. It was trying to intimidate me in an attempt to protect its sibling(?).

Well, this is a little troublesome. Since it was really a rare opportunity to meet a young beast, I kind of wanted to take these two with me but…

"Screee~!" Looking at this adorable little snake's attitude, I don't think I'll be able to. That's what I thought at the time.

However, there was something unexpected that occurred. The smaller white snake voluntarily approached me, gingerly wiggling its way to my fingers. When it arrived to my fingers, it stayed there while wiggling its body, staying afloat.

"Sreee~~!"

"Hmm? What is it?" It was then that something hit me. I think I know why this little guy approached me.

To confirm my guess, I took out the thing that I was holding in my hands during the entire time I was inside this building, looking at the images for a few some time. The moment I took it out, the little white snake began wiggling its little body towards my hand before happily circling around the thing I was holding.

"So you really like the smell of the food. Do you want it?" I may seem like a suspicious uncle who's trying to lure kids with food, but I swear I'm not.

At my question, the little white snake bobbed its small head up and down. Okay, it looks like it could somehow understand me?

I opened my hand before placing the food on the palm of my hand. Once I did that, the little snake began devouring the food at a very fast pace.

I was a little taken aback. The hamburger I was holding is bigger than this little snake but it managed to devour almost half of it in just a few seconds.

"Screeee! Screech!"

"Alright, alright older snake-kun. Let your younger sibling eat. Can't you see that he or she is currently happily eating the food? Here, I got another one. How about you eat it as well?"

I tried to reason with the little guy but it just gave me a 'death' stare. It's honestly not intimidating at all.

It's like I'm looking at a little kid who's trying his/her best to be a good older brother/sister. A very heartwarming sight.

"You're worried that I put something strange in my food? Come on, I ate like ten of them on the way here. If I put something strange in it, I'm pretty sure I would be dead by now." Once again, I tried to convince the little guy to relax. I wouldn't place any poison in my own food. I'm not someone sick in the head.

Upon hearing my words, the little azure colored snake was finally convinced. Cautiously, it approached me. After looking at the food and me for more than ten times, it glanced at the white snake who's still chowing down the remaining bits of the hamburger on my right hand.

Finally, after close to two minutes, it began to eat the food I'm offering it.

I stayed inside that building for a little over twenty more minutes so that I could raise my favorability levels with the two by feeding them with food. I have to say though, it wasn't an easy task.

The azure colored snake is too precocious so I had a hard time befriending it. The same couldn't be said with the little white snake though. It got closer to me fast, swimming around me as it cries happily.

Since I finally managed to convince the two to follow me, I could finally see the weapons that I got from the treasure chest.

The first one was the staff which was made out of wood and had a fancy looking crimson colored gem on top of it. Something inside the gem would flicker from time to time, making it glow.

The rapier has a silvery white blade and a golden colored handle. The very bottom of its pommel is adorned with a purple colored gem. When I tried to swing it, there was a flickering red light that followed it. It looks pretty nice and minimalistic in terms of design.

The first of the two pairs of daggers is also minimalistic in terms of design, with black as its main color. I couldn't say there were fancy things about it as it's really just that, a pair of black and glossy daggers.

Now, for the second pair of daggers, it was the exact opposite of the first one. This one has a silver colored blade and a green handle and some green ribbons attached at the very end of it.

As for the huge broadsword that looks like something straight out of a fantasy RPG game, it looks like something that came straight out of a forge and was crafted very poorly as its blade pulsed like it's made out of molten magma. It's blade also have chips and damages here and there, making me question whether or not it could be used to fight.

As for the last one, the kodachi, it looks like a normal kodachi at first, with an all black aesthetic. I don't really know what it might be but I like its current look.

"Hmm? What's this?" I looked inside the treasure chest and saw a memo.

The thing that was written was, "Congratulations. You have found a chest hidden in the field. The contents are unique weapons. These are weapon types that your party uses the most. You can learn the details by appraising them."

My party? Oh, so that's why there's six weapons. Also, if what you're saying is the case, why didn't I get a bow then?

The two daggers should be for Rikka and Tsuka, the rapier should be for Rokuko, the staff should be for Fenny, and the broadsword should be for Mutsuko-san (?). By process of elimination, I think the one that will go to me is the kodachi, not a bow.

I should say, the developers are really quite generous eh. Even though we're separated, they still considered us as a party.

Nice. I thought.

I feel bad for Kaede-san and the others though. Pochi and Tama already have their own young beast companions but Satania-san and Kaede-san still doesn't have one.

Hmm, wait…

The moment I thought of that, my gaze landed on the little azure colored snake. I pretty much decided to make these two as my beast companions but, since the white one is already attached to me and this one doesn't seem to like me that much, I think I should tell Kaede-san to befriend it.

Given her personality, I think this little guy will open up to her in no time. As for Satania-san though… Let's think up of something for her.

Miu and the others also. I should make exploring and finding young beasts our main priority during this event. To do this, maybe we should go around and explore the map more until the event ends.

With that in mind, I beckoned for the two little creatures to follow me as we exited the underwater building. I didn't have anything else to examine in this place, so I decided to go back and regroup with my friends.

It didn't take long until we reached the surface. I took care not to swim at my maximum speed as the little snake's might get left behind.

However, to my surprise, the two didn't have much trouble keeping up with me despite their diminutive size. Small but terrible, aren't they?

"Puhah!" As I surfaced after a long and tiring journey underwater, I looked up at the sky to see the sun that's only a few hours away from setting.

"Ooooyyy! How's your adventure down there!?"

"You really like to take your time huh, Shun-kun!"

"Hey Shun! You should hurry up and come here! I think Kaede and the others need our help!"

I was immediately brought back down to reality when I heard familiar voices from a distance. There, I saw Rikka, Fenny, Mutsuko-san, and Rokuko, along with the puppy Fuyuku, the little hatchling Phi-chan, the two kittens named MiiMii and Shirayuri, and an unknown white colored pony.

Since it looks like there's an emergency going on, I quickly got out of the water.

"What happened? Did the situation get worse? Wait, where is Tsuka?" I have so many questions to ask. A lot happened since I was away huh.

"Went… away…"

"Went away? To where?"

I was so confused by Fenny's reply that I had to ask again to clarify things.

"Well, it seems like Tsuka got jealous of Rokuko's new pet companion, so she went away after saying that she will go look for one herself. She went towards the south eastern direction where Miu-chan, Satania-chan, Kaede-chan, and the others are." Mutsuko-san replied.

"Hahh… Guess we need to go look for her. She's still on our party so it's easy to look for her on the map. How about the situation on Kaede-san and my sister?"

"Well, they encountered a unique boss mob. It's pretty annoying to deal with I didn't want to join in. It's really hard to enter its melee range." This time, it was Rikka who answered my inquiry.

"We need to help them still. If we finish it fast, we'll be able to look for Tsuka as a group. There's only a few hours before the sun sets so we need to hurry."

"Okaaay… I really didn't want to deal with that tentacle tree monster… It's disgusting…"

I heard Rikka's murmurs so I couldn't help but be curious.

"Tentacle tree monster? Really? Are you sure it wasn't just something from an h-manga or something?"

"It isn't! I think it came from the fantasies of a game developer who's sick on the head!" Rikka rebutted.

"That… makes a lot of sense."

While Rikka and I are talking, Mutsuko-san and Rokuko suddenly interjected.

"Alright. Before we go, I have something to ask you, Shun-kun."

"Me too, Shun!"

"Hmm? What is it, Mutsuko-san, Rokuko?"

When I asked, both of them simultaneously pointed at something behind my head.

"Mind telling us what those floating snakes are?"

"Yup! That white one is super cute! What is it, Shun!? Ow! Don't bump me with your head, Hakkou! Oh, are you jealous? Come here, haha, you don't need to be jealous! I just want to take a look. You and Fenny are one of my most important friends!"

Looks like the name of the white pony was Hakkou.

"I met them at a building on the bottom of the lake. Oh, right, I just got you guys new weapons. We could have it appraised by Magi-san after we get back to our camp."

After saying that, I took out the weapons, except for the kodachi and the pair of daggers that's for Tsuka, and handed them to their respective owners.

"Hmm… Is that so? Still, how can a snake fly in the air though? Ah, thank you Shun-kun. This looks like a good weapon for throwing and hacking, I like it."

"Wow, really Shun!? Oooh, this looks amazing! I like it! Thank you Shun!"

"Thank… you… Master's Master."

"This dagger fits my playstyle and my awesome [Tyrant's Eye] just fine! Kukuku, I can't wait to see what amazing surprises these daggers have!"

"Please don't throw it Mutsuko-san. It's a unique weapon. You're welcome Rokuko, Fenny, Rikka."

I stretched my shoulders for a bit before saying.

"Well, let's go? The others might be waiting for us."

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※~To be continued~※

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Author's Remarks:

※ Another chapter down! Phew, such is life. Good thing I have this for my mind needs some much needed rest.