I Became a Mountain Tiger in a Fantasy World

< Chapter 17: Is There a Pokémon Center in This Territory? >

When I first escaped Skrillzhak’s hideout, I was more surprised by the human who wielded the great sword than by the sword itself that appeared before my eyes.

[Albert of Unyielding Belief Lv. ??]

– Traits: [Aura], [Indomitable], [Swordsman], [Leader]

The status window of the knight, which I saw for a moment, was soon covered with black squares just like with Skrillzhak, making the traits invisible. It was then I realized that his attack just now was a kind of ‘greeting.’

Hey, I’m at this level, what about you? This crazy knight didn’t just make the first move against a monster; he issued a ‘declaration of war.’ From now on, he was going to cut me down. Let’s have a go.

Naturally, I was overwhelmed by his imposing presence and could only freeze in place, unable to say a word.

Excuse me, bunny knight? I’m a newbie here?

‘Why is the final boss showing up already?!’

However, who am I? At that moment, I wasn’t the genius tiger but an utterly harmless ball of fluff. Fortunately, my ‘insignificance’ was potent enough to deceive the absolute powerhouse Albert! That’s right. I was genuinely a newborn.

[Tigrasis Cub Lv. 19]

Uh, well. The level is a bit high, but it’s just a misunderstanding. Baby tigers are naturally like that!

Fortunately, Albert was a man of principle, so he couldn’t bring himself to kill a young creature in front of his soldiers and sheathed his sword. And that’s when I met her.

‘That Lady.’

[Cordelia Beatrice von Bloodmoon of Fate Lv. 15]

A suspicious human woman with an incredibly long name. With her outstanding looks and seemingly naive behavior, I immediately recognized her as a ‘noble lady.’ But there was something unusual about her status window.

– Traits: [Potential Entity], [Salvation or Destruction]

The descriptor ‘Fate’ before Cordelia’s name. The traits containing two possibilities. And most notably,

[Member of the Hero’s Party], [Animal Lover]

These two traits particularly caught my eye.

A hero’s party, really? I thought this was just a fantasy world, but is it actually a light novel? My head started spinning.

‘So, does that mean there’s a Demon King?’

If the Demon King appeared and the hero’s party lost, what would happen then? Do I just have to die?

Grr!!

“Grrr!”

Thinking this far, I clenched my front paw with a determined expression. It seemed I would have to give up on a pampered life this time as well.

The world was on the brink of ruin; who has time for pampering? I was no ordinary tiger, after all……!

‘So, is she on the good side or the bad side?’

I couldn’t suppress my curiosity. I decided to find out what kind of person Cordelia was.

.

.

.

But how should I find out?

I made various plans, but ultimately, I had to revise them again. The world never unfolds as expected, and all I could do was choose the best option at any given moment.

In other words, an unexpected event occurred.

* * *

“Snore… snore…”

Before helping the humans through the young lady, I needed to find out what kind of person she was!

With Eryllion’s help, I was getting a good night’s sleep.

Using earth-digging magic, I created a burrow, poked an air hole, and made a cozy bedroom.

Is this what an earthen bed feels like?

With Eryllion, who was like a living light bulb, taking turns standing guard, it was truly the best sleep I had in a long time.

“Fer…!”

“Snore, snore…”

Ugh, just five more minutes…

“Fer!”

No, just one more minute… I muttered, rubbing my eyes as I woke up to a somewhat urgent voice.

What’s going on?

I didn’t sense anything unusual.

Looking around, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

Then, as I turned my head in the direction Eryllion was pointing with his finger, I was startled and bumped my head against the ceiling.

It was because Brother Beak, who had turned into an egg, was suffering…!!

“Growl!”

“Fer, Fer!”

What’s going on here!

Emergency, emergency!

【Unquenchable Crimson Savage Beak Lv.10】

-Status: [Cold], [High Fever]

What?!! A cold?!

How can a phoenix catch a cold!!

…Is it because it’s a baby?

It seemed that carrying the egg around instead of leaving it in one place had taken its toll.

Well, I guess even I wouldn’t sleep well on a moving bed.

Hmm, but a cold, really.

What could possibly go wrong?

And just like that, I set the flag.

* * *

Bbol bbol bbol.

I tore open the emergency bear skin egg pouch, soaked it in the clear lake water, and then placed it on the egg.

Sssss.

Oh my! Is it because it’s a Phoenix?

The wet bear skin quickly dried and became a dry bear skin.

“Fer!”

“Grrr!”

Is this the time to be amazed?

What should I do? The heat is worse than I thought. Should I try putting the egg in the bear skin, fighting fire with fire?

But what if it just goes up in flames?

I stared at the egg with a serious expression.

There was something above Brother Beak’s name that looked like an ‘HP bar,’ and now one segment of it was reduced.

‘One, two, three, four…’

There were ten segments in total, so if they all disappeared, Brother Beak would…

Would he die?

I imagined Brother Beak’s tombstone.

Phoenix. Fell asleep here due to a cold.

No, Brother. You made a grand entrance, and you’re leaving in an artistic way too.

Ah, damn it. What should I do?

“Fer!”

Meanwhile, when I wrapped the egg in the bear skin, another HP segment decreased.

Fer and I quickly removed the bear skin and tried to place the egg on a sunny spot…

Wait, no!

“Grr!”

“Fer!!”

「’The Exiled Prince’ insists that the earth’s energy will save the egg!」

That’s only for you Ellafae!

Damn, Eryllion and I both knew too little about the world.

Moreover, I was a single person who had never raised a child.

Even the knowledge from my previous life was of no particular use now.

Damn it, what should I do when a Phoenix egg catches a cold! Why don’t fantasy novels provide countermeasures for such moments?

Writers, reflect on this!

“Grr!”

Even after a long time of pondering, I couldn’t find the answer.

As Brother Beak’s HP continued to decrease, I thought standing by and watching wasn’t the right answer either.

“Fer!”

At that moment, Eryllion hovered in the air and pointed to one side with a stern face.

It was a city visible beyond the mountains.

The land of humans we encountered yesterday.

“Grr.”

You want to ask humans for help?

I hesitated.

What would happen if they saw this egg?

Would they really help without realizing the ‘true identity’ of this egg?

“Grr!!”

Of course not!

The egg was clearly exuding an aura that screamed, ‘Yes, I’m a legendary Pokémon!’

But…

「’The Exiled Prince’ urges that there’s no time to delay!」

Brother Beak’s health was deteriorating in real-time.

Alright. There’s no other way.

In this situation, I had to take a ‘risk’!

I thought of the only human I had some acquaintance with.

‘Young Lady.’

She definitely had the [Animal Lover] trait.

I made up my mind and carefully moved Brother Beak to the subspace.

Hold on a bit longer, Brother Beak.

I will save you no matter what.

“Grr!”

Eryllion and I started running at full speed.

Come to think of it, there was a ‘cartoon’ that taught what to do in such a situation.

Alright! The target is the Pokémon Center!

Hey, can you treat this egg?

* * *

Lia was deeply immersed in her magical research when she finally let out a long sigh.

“Ugh, I can’t concentrate.”

It was obvious that she would be busy once she entered the academy next year.

Therefore, she had to complete the magical theory on ‘communication’ before her admission!

-Gyarung?

A fluffy ball appeared in her mind.

That cat with red eyes.

As soon as she saw that kitten, Lia fell in love.

Oh my! How could such a cute creature exist in this world!

A kitten, chubby like a puppy.

When she picked up that creature under the pretext of rescue, filled with affection,

‘So soft…!’

Lia melted at the touch of that soft, squishy body.

Those clear eyes looking at her.

Yes, those eyes were definitely saying this.

‘Raise me!’ ‘You’re my servant from now on!’ They definitely said that, for sure…!

-Grr!

That kitten played with Lia for a while and then lost interest, going its own way.

The way it walked away was so determined…! The kitten heartlessly never looked back.

How could it! How could it do that!

“Sigh…”

Lia let out a deep sigh.

Well, if it was with the fairies, it wouldn’t be an ordinary mountain cat, right?

But still, she was worried.

‘What if it gets eaten by a big monster?’

“No, that can’t happen!!”

With determination in her eyes, Lia gathered her supplies and went out for a ‘stroll’.

She packed ‘food’ that could attract monsters and a taming scroll just in case.

In truth, Lia disliked taming scrolls.

Animals must have thoughts and emotions too, so how could she use magic that completely ignored those and tamed them?

What was the difference between that and the mind control magic classified as ‘black magic’ for brainwashing humans?

That, that was why this taming scroll was…

In case it ran away again… No, in case an emergency came up!

That’s why she was bringing it.

“Ugh.”

In the end, Lia threw the scroll away and dashed outside.

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t use such an evil spell.

‘I don’t need a scroll! I’ll win you over with my own power!!’

She took the irresistible Churu treats and delicious snacks that cats loved.

And if she used the special ‘ability’ that no one else knew about! There was no animal that Cordelia couldn’t tame!

With such a resolute determination,

“Ah, Young Lady? Are you going out?”

“Haha, yes. Sir Albert is working hard, so I should go and help too.”

Lia confidently headed towards the Verdant Grove.

.

.

.

“Um, Young Lady? It’s getting dark, shouldn’t we head back now?”

“Th-that’s right! Haha!”

However, Lia’s plan ended in complete failure.

She had scoured the area where she had met the kitten yesterday, but she couldn’t find the little cat.

Well, the forest was vast…

Meeting the kitten again in this vast forest was almost impossible.

But how could there be no trace at all?

Could it really have been eaten?!

‘Sigh…’

She should have followed it without hesitation yesterday.

As Lia was filled with regret,

“Grrr.”

A small growl reached her ears.

“Hah?!”

“Y-Young Lady?”

Ignoring her escort’s shouting, Lia dashed off quickly.

“Grrr.”

She could hear it.

The small growl was getting closer.

“Y-Young Lady!”

Then, one of the knights grabbed her wrist.

As he appeared, the growl seemed to recede.

“Raymond! Just once! Just let me go once!”

“But, Young Lady…!”

“Grrr.”

Once again, the small growl echoed.

Lia saw Raymond’s eyebrow twitch.

Raymond, the knight, must have heard that beast’s growl too.

And he knew about Lia’s special ability to communicate.

“It’s calling me. You know that!”

“…..”

Raymond looked deeply into Lia’s eyes and then let go of her wrist.

He knew he couldn’t break her stubbornness.

“Don’t go out of sight.”

“Thank you!”

Lia dashed forward like an arrow.

Finally, at a spot where Knight Raymond could barely see her, she met the creature again.

“Gyarung.”

“You…!”

There it was, the little kitten with eyes as clear as rubies that she had been searching for so desperately.