Chapter 288 - Unparalleled 2

"Whoah, for real?"

"… It's the real thing?"

I was quite surprised myself, but Evan-san and Scott-san were even more surprised than me as they stopped moving, aghast.

"Ah~ but, I see…"

Come to think of it, Allen and Elena said they received the antlers. Then it's no wonder the Crystal Elk was nearby~

""Onii~chan, says we should come over~""

"Go… you mean the Crystal Elk said that?"

""Yeah, that! Let's go!""

With that, the kids pulled me by the hand and we approached the Crystal Elk.

"Hello."

"Ku~"

They brought me to the side of the Crystal Elk, but I didn't know what to do, so I just greeted it… and it replied.

We can communicate normally it seems. Probably.

"Erm… the children returned with antlers, but can we really take them?"

"Ku~"

"We will put it to good use."

The Crystal Elk squealed and nodded.

Even though it's a sacred beast, it's still a wild creature, but it seems to have a pretty docile personality.

""What is it~?""

"Ku~ ku~"

Allen and Elena hugged the Crystal Elk innocently.

""I see, I see. Is that so~""

"..."

I wonder if my kids… holding a conversation with the Crystal Elk? It doesn't feel like a simple mutual understanding~

My children are the children of a God, so they can talk to the sacred beasts, I guess?

"Onii~chan."

"Over there~"

"What's over there?"

"Let's go."

"Together~"

As soon as the children said that, the Crystal Elk started walking, as if it had been waiting for us to follow it.

And before I noticed, the twins were on its back.

After the gryphon, is the Crystal Elk also kidnapping you guys?

"Oi~ do we have to follow?"

""Yeah!""

"… I see."

Allen and Elena beckoned while turning around.

"Evan-san, Scott-san, you——"

"No problem, Takumi. Go ahead."

"We will follow from a distance."

I called out to Evan-san and Scott-san to try to get their approval to follow the Crystal Elk, but when I called their names, they gave me their approval with wry smiles.

"Nono, why follow at a distance? We should just go together."

""Impossible.""

"..."

They both rejected me at the same time. Their voices overlapped almost flawlessly.

""Onii~chan, quickly~""

"Yes, yes~"

I looked at Evan-san and Scott-san again to make sure they were okay, but they both waved at me smiling. It's almost as if they were saying, "Have a nice trip."

I knew there was nothing more I could say, so I ran over to the kids and the Crystal Elk.

"And so, where are we going?"

""N, you see~ a little further?""

The kids seemed to be conversing with it, but they didn't seem to know where we were going.

"You are not bringing us anywhere dangerous, right?"

"Ku~"

""Says it's fine.""

I was assured that there was no danger, so the Crystal Elk quietly led us deeper into the mountains.

"Ku~"

""Here?——Onii~chan, we arrived!""

The place we arrived at was a canyon with a narrow river running through it.

""Oh, friends~""

"Whoah, you are right."

There were other Crystal Elks in the canyon beside the one that had led us to them!

"Could this be a habitat? Eh? Are you sure you want to bring us to such an important place!?"

We won't hunt the Crystal Elks, but this is not the place to bring humans!

"Ku~"

"Whaoh, what the hell is this!"

""Ohh~ so many!""

In addition, there was numerous Crystal Elk antlers lying around where the Crystal Elk indicated!

""Giving us~?""

"Ku~"

""Thank you!""

"No, wait! Seriously, wait for a moment!"

My thought process couldn't keep up.

""Are moving?""

"Ku~, ku~"

""I see~""

Despite my confusion, the exchange between the children and the Crystal Elk continued.

Allen and Elena told me that the Crystal Elks were planning to move their habitat to another place, so they were going to give us, who were nearby, their antlers.

The Crystal Elk seem to know that their antlers are valuable and don't want to give them to untactful people… that's quite specific, isn't it!?

""Onii~chan, isn't that good!"

"Oh, well~… we can't receive all of this, can we…"

I would feel awkward saying, "Yes, thank you." and take this much stuff.

""Can't~?"

"Ku~?"

"..."

When I hesitated, the children and the Crystal Elk all tilted their heads.

And even the other Crystal Elk around me were tilting their heads!

"… It's not like we can't take it, but."

""Then, we take it!""

"Eh?"

Because I couldn't refuse wholeheartedly, Allen and Elena started picking up the antlers and handing them to me.

"Here!"

"There!"

"Wait!!"

"This one too!"

"And this one!"

I shouldn't have accepted the first one as quickly as I did.

Allen and Elena continued to mercilessly stuff my arms with the antlers.

"Whoa, wait a minute, both of you! I can't hold anymore!"

"Put it away, put it away!"

"There's still more!"

I quietly stored the Crystal Elk antlers in the Infinite Storage.

Should I have it distributed to all countries through Tristan-sama? The kings of each country seem to be good monarchs nowadays.

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

"Ku~"

When I said my thank you again, the Crystal Elk nodded in satisfaction.

""Byebye~""

After receiving a large number of antlers, we left the Crystal Elk's habitat and searched for a suitable place to camp before nightfall. It was a good thing that we were so close to where the Luminescent Mushrooms grew.

"I'm super tired~"

"Likewise."

And as soon as we found a good spot and settled down, Evan-san and Scott-san hung their heads in total exhaustion.