I Became a Mountain Tiger in a Fantasy World

< Chapter 30: Eryllion’s Secret, and the Promise >

「Your level has increased!」

Hello. Today starts with a level-up.

Why? Because I’m growing rapidly right now!

“Chomp chomp chomp!”

Mmm~ so delicious!

I sent the former landlord (Teravore) to Valhalla.

May he rest in peace in my stomach.

Actually, Teravore’s meat didn’t taste that good.

Seriously, rabbit and elk are still the best. Herbivores are the real delicacy!

“Chomp chomp chomp!”

But right now, I’m so hungry that I’m grateful for even this.

For some reason, whenever I exert myself, I get hungry, and when I eat magical beasts, my strength returns.

Is this because I’m a tiger, or is it a trait of magical beasts?

It’s probably a trait of magical beasts.

Feeling my strength returning, I checked my status window.

「You have directly defeated ‘Master of the Underground Mine’!」

「Your achievements are etched into the Forest of Greenery! Karma has increased!」

「You have recorded an unbelievable achievement! You gain a large amount of experience points!」

…

「Your level has increased!」

「Your level has increased!」

「Your level has increased!」

Wow, this keeps popping up, it’s a bit embarrassing.

With a satisfied expression, I checked my level.

【Unknown Night Tiger, Lu-deus Lv.39】

Wow.

Do you remember? My level was 33 before I defeated Teravore.

But after clearing the branding event and defeating the boss, I quickly reached level 39.

An increase of 6 levels!

Considering that it takes more experience points to level up as you progress, the efficiency was insane.

‘Wow! This is the thrill of defeating a boss!’

Considering the effort I put into defeating Teravore, it was a very fitting reward.

Yes, it should be like this! Haha!

“Fer…”

“Grunt?”

I turned to the side and was startled.

Eryllion’s face was pale blue, and he was staggering.

‘Ah, could it be because of the smoke?’

Come to think of it, Eryllion wouldn’t have resistance to toxins, right?

Smoking is that deadly.

I decided to leave this place for now.

“Grunt!”

“Fer…”

—

“Ah, ah!”

“Fer, fer!”

Eryllion and I returned to the small waterfall with the essence.

Since it’s a hidden place, it was rarely visited by other magical beasts.

Because of this, the lake was clear and, above all, it was the perfect place to zone out while watching the small waterfall.

“Purr… purr…”

“Fer, fer.”

It made me purr instinctively, that’s for sure!

I lay on my back in a relaxed position, exposing my belly and purring, while Eryllion rested his head on my stomach and listened to my purrs.

“Fer, Ferrrr, Fer.”

Soon, Eryllion began the fairy hymn.

The sound of the trickling waterfall, the fairy hymn, and my purring harmonizing together.

Is this Shangri-La?

“Purr purr.”

「Your mental and physical fatigue is relieved by the hymn of the ‘Exiled Prince’!」

Ah, nature is good for a reason.

Before we knew it, we were snoring and enjoying a sweet rest.

…

And that evening.

“Grunt.”

“Fer?”

I approached Eryllion, who seemed deep in thought.

He was looking up at the night sky, wallowing in melancholy, with “I’m depressed today” practically written on his forehead.

Ugh, troublesome.

“Grunt!”

I yawned loudly, and Eryllion gave an embarrassed smile.

I gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder with my paw and then wrote on the ground.

[What. Is. It.]

Understand, I’m still not used to the language.

“……”

Eryllion hesitated for a moment before conveying his thoughts.

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ says he broke a taboo today.」

“Grunt?”

I looked at him blankly.

Yeah, I don’t get it.

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ asks if you aren’t afraid of him.」

“Grunt?”

My eyebrows furrowed.

Is he seriously talking about fear to this tiger here?

Why does that kind of question hurt my pride?

Was I always like this?

Scratching my head with my paw, I shook my head.

[This tiger. Fearless.]

“Ferrr!”

Eryllion burst out laughing at my writing.

What? I’m serious.

This tiger, strong. Just really strong.

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ asks if you remember the magic he used today.」

Ah, that hand thing? I asked, and Eryllion nodded.

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ says it wasn’t earth magic but dark magic.」

“Grunt?”

This time, I was a bit surprised.

Dark? Wasn’t this guy ‘Ellafae of Earth’ or something?

I looked at Eryllion with a bit of admiration.

[Dual magician?]

“Pfft, Ferrr!”

Again, I was serious, but Eryllion laughed joyfully.

What, is he mocking a tiger now?

After laughing for a while, he suddenly became serious and sighed.

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ says that to fairies, darkness is a curse.」

“Grunt?”

Only then did I understand.

When referring to the demon, they called it ‘The Darkness of the Continent,’ didn’t they?

I see. That’s why this guy was exiled.

‘Hmm.’

The general story became clear.

Prince Eryllion was born.

Oh, Mother. What is this? Shadows are coming out of my hand!

Oh, my! Eryllion! You must never use that power.

…

But a few years later, due to some incident, Eryllion’s dark attribute was discovered, and he was exiled…! Dun dun!

Wow, should I write a fantasy novel titled ‘Eryllion, the Earth Fairy’ later?

As I was daydreaming,

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ asks how I knew, eyes wide open.」

Wait. What, was that real?

Scratching my head, I smiled awkwardly.

[I am a tiger.]

Tigers know everything, you fool!

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ marvels at your ability.」

What, does he believe this?

This prince seems way too naive.

Hmm, what should I do?

Since I had no idea, I decided to just gloss over it.

As I tried to move on, Eryllion hesitantly brought up the main topic.

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ says that now the fairies will come after him.」

“Grunt?”

Eryllion continued his explanation.

Dark magic is a product of a curse, so his power was sealed, and he was exiled.

But since he broke his promise and used his power, the fairies would now come to kill him.

‘What the heck?’

These despicable fairies, how dare they bully and torment a prince because they have no one else to pick on?

“Snicker!”

“Fer?”

I burst out laughing and took out my eggshell.

Here, the eggshell branded by the demon.

And over here, the necklace branded by the fairy.

I clinked the eggshell with Eryllion’s necklace and said,

“Grunt!”

[Friends]

From today, we are friends against the world.

So bring it on, whether it be monsters or fairies… I’ll take them all down!

Crack.

I broke Eryllion’s necklace.

Then I tied that necklace to my egg.

In other words, this was a promise between those who could not speak the same language.

A vow that could never be casually made or broken.

I showed the word “friend” to Eryllion again and extended my paw.

Eryllion looked at my eggshell tied with the necklace and the word “friend” and trembled slightly.

“Fer.”

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ swears to be your friend.」

「The story of ‘The Eggshell and the Necklace’ is engraved in the small pond.」

…

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ wishes to move forward by his own will.」

A bright light emanated from Eryllion’s body. I could tell that he was about to cast off the seal that had been binding him.

【Exiled Young Prince Eryllion Lv.25】

– Traits: [Fairy], [Nature Affinity], [Royal Bloodline], [Clue of Liberation]

– Skills: [Digging Lv.3], [Mining Lv.2], [Leadership Lv.5], [Grasp of Darkness Lv.3]

– Status: [Faith], [Trust], [Exile]

Eryllion had grown rapidly. Then, an unexpected voice echoed in my mind.

…

「The ‘Exiled Prince’ has obtained the Clue of Liberation.」

Clue of Liberation?

The term seemed odd for breaking free from exile. This guy wasn’t some colonial nation, was he?

‘Hmm. I don’t know.’

There weren’t enough clues to speculate just yet. As expected, his status window was unique right from the start! I was glad I saved him back then.

Eryllion becoming stronger was beneficial to me as well, which made me quite pleased.

“Grunt!”

“Fer!!”

We bumped fists and shared some trivial stories. The conversation had no real meaning, but it just felt good.

Somehow, a part of me felt relaxed, as if my spirit had ascended a level.

「You have had a significant impact on the change of an existence. Your stature has slightly increased.」

No way, seriously?

Scratch, scratch.

My stature increased?

Hmm.

I couldn’t feel any difference.

Just to be sure, I tried summoning my wild instincts, but nothing felt different.

In fact, I felt less agitated than before, which made me feel oddly calm.

‘Huh?’

I quickly gathered my thoughts and summoned my instincts again.

Could it be that this is what it meant by an increase in stature?

It seemed that as my stature increased, so did the total amount of wild instincts I could withstand.

That’s right. This body has become stronger today.

Did you see that? A tiger can grow stronger just by conversing with a friend.

Ah, what a beautiful world!

***

The next day, when we went to loot Teravore’s mine, we discovered an unexpected gift.

No way, did this really come from here?