It's dead. This time I thought with all my heart.

That day, as usual, I was working in the garden of the raggedy shack.
Well, everything I grow is demon, and as long as I harvest at the right time, we've had a good harvest of carrot-shaped demons such as jack-o'-lanterns and devil carrots.
Incidentally, this Devil Carrot. When you pull it out, the carrot will have arms and legs that flap around. It's kind of cute.
Lily says they're not so ferocious when they're newborn, and they're not too dangerous, so they're good for new adventurers.
We also have some killer plants that failed at first, but they're a bit of a nuisance.
They'll attack us as they grow, and even then they'll pick a fight with the neighboring pumpkin.
In the worst case, the pumpkins and the plants would get into fights and ruin the field.
And so it was that I was working hard in the field, as usual.

It was you. Who's growing demons here these days?

There was something about a group of soldiers surrounding us.

Come and join us. The Lord of our city demands your presence.

I thought, that's a dead end.





Welcome. Well, I hope you won't be too nervous about sitting in that chair.

With that said, the man sitting across the table in front of me is a man who looks like the lord of this town.
The exact age of the man sitting across the table from me is hard to tell from his appearance alone, but he's probably in his late 20s or early 30s? Surprisingly young.

"I called you here today to talk about your demon cultivation business.

Here it comes. Shit. This is definitely a pattern where you're being punished for breaking the law or something.
Or else you're going to get kicked out of town. What am I going to do?

"Actually, I need a favor from you at long last. Can't you train the cockatrice to lay an egg?

"Yes?

I couldn't help but ask him back. Coca...... what?

To tell the truth, I caught a cockatrice the other day and it is having trouble laying eggs. Normally, cockatrice eggs are usually taken from their nests. But nowadays the number of cockatrice in our region is decreasing. That's why the number of natural eggs is decreasing.
So I was wondering if you, the monster grower, could help me get these cockatrices to lay eggs too.

Well, if you caught them, wouldn't they just naturally lay eggs if you let them go?

No, no, no, not like that. For some reason, the moment the cockatrice is captured by a human, it stops laying eggs. Then they starve to death without eating any food we offer them.

Oh, I didn't know that. Would you rather die than be trapped and humiliated by your enemies?
That chicken demon was such a proud demon?

We can't do anything about it. It will be of great benefit to our region if we can produce cockatrice eggs. Of course, if you succeed, you will be paid accordingly.

"I see. By the way, why don't you say no?

"Oh, you want me to say that?

You can see the word "black-hearted" on your face as you smile so darkly.
Yeah, I have no other choice but to take it.





And so I got the cockatrice and some money to grow it. Yay!
Just getting them to lay eggs would be a cakewalk compared to the demon cultivation we've seen so far!
By the way, I don't think about what would happen if I couldn't do it.

However, the cockatrice that I took in looked just like a chicken on earth.
There's a snake attached to its tail, and it's threatening you from the cage.

Master, what's wrong with the baby?

When I returned home, Dora-chan appeared out of the dirt and jumped on my shoulder, as if she had woken up from a nap.

A lot of things led me to raise them here. If you let her lay eggs, I win.

It's pretty abbreviated, but as long as you get to the point, you'll be fine. Even Dora is sitting on my shoulder, saying, "I see.

So first thing to do is to feed them. Eat, chicken!

And laid out a monster named our vegetables in front of the chickens. Hey, do chickens eat soybeans? Was there ever a soy-based demon?
and vegetables in front of the cage, but they are spectacularly stunned. Hmm, this one might be tougher than I thought.





So, two days later, I went into town and bought something soy-like for them. I went into town and bought some soybean-like foods for her, but she didn't pay any attention to them. I also gave her some other food that looked like something a chicken or a bird would eat, but none of it worked.
I had no choice but to go into a nearby cave with Lily and I killed a giant worm and gave it to her, but that didn't help either.
By the way, this is the second dungeon in my life. I thought I was going to die just like last time. It didn't seem to help.

Maybe it's better to give up. They say cockatrices are a proud race that will die an honorable death if captured by humans.

"Oh, I knew it.

But I'm really stuck, though. It will drink water, but it won't eat food.


Maybe that's why she doesn't have enough nutrition and can't lay eggs. In other words, if she eats something, it will make her lay eggs, so it's all about feeding her.

Let's get it out of .......

I mean, hey, are you serious?

"This is another way to build trust and close the distance! If you think about it, in what world would someone become more likable while trapped in a cage? First you let them free and then skin-to-skin is common sense!

As soon as you let him go, he'll bite you.

You're right. But we don't have any other ideas.
You have to do it.
So you open the door of the cage and free the cockatrice.
You'll be able to get out of the cage, and the cockatrice will slowly wander out to stare at our garden.
Yes, it's still a bit weak at heart. The main chicken is noticeably less energetic than when I first saw it, and it hardly screams at all now.
If you look at the snake on its tail, it looks like it's gone limp. Isn't the snake worse than the body? He clearly looks weak, and because of that, the chicken part of him: .......

"Hmm?!

Now I've become aware of a possibility. No way this guy.
No, it's worth a try.
I'll hurry with Lily and I will go back to the cave to take some things.
By the way, I've left the guard and the chickens in charge of Dora and Jack.





I can't believe he's eating ......

Now, looking at the cockatrice in front of me, gobbling up the food we've caught, Lily is looking at it with a look of disbelief on her face.
Yeah, I can see that. I know that there are two surprises on that face.
One, of course, is that this cockatrice is eating food given to it by a human.
And the other is.

That's not true. The cockatrice wasn't a proud monster. It's just that we've been feeding on its tail, and it's a different kind of food.

Yes, what the cockatrice is eating right now is a rat-shaped monster called a baby rat, and it's swallowing it in one gulp rather than gobbling it up.
And the snake part of the cockatrice is swallowing it in one gulp rather than gulping it down.

This cockatrice was thought to be a chicken-shaped monster. The main body seems to be the snake one.
And you know the snake's staple food is a mouse. They wouldn't eat it even if you gave them food that a chicken would eat.

The cockatrice swallowed the food we gave it. The cockatrice was satisfied with that and let out a cry of thanks.
I'm not going to be able to tell the difference. If you feed him, he'll take to it.
Anyway, this gives me hope that it might lay eggs in the morning.





Conclusion. It was a male. That was an earlier issue.
Hey, lord, you should at least check that out.
Soon after that, a female cockatrice was brought in and laid eggs safely.
By the way, the male cockatrice was delicious.