--In front of the cave that leads to the grassland area.

All right, boys, let's go hunting for demons!

　Each of my pets responds to my words.

I'll be on my way--before I go, since it looks like you're all evolved. I got a little something for you.

　As for my pets, other than Orochi, who was transformed from the Giant Blood Serpent to the Crimson Evil Serpent just a few days ago, all three of them have already evolved.

　Yata changed from the Noir Crow to the Nachtking Crow.
　Byak changed from "Haunted Cat" to "Great Haunted Cat".
　Seimi changed from Water Spirit to Undine.

　In terms of changes, Yata has grown in size, and her claws are sharper and stronger than before.
　Byak's tail has increased in number, and at a glance, you can see that his fur is much more lustrous in color.

　Seimi's appearance didn't change much, but it seems that it was influenced by its evolution into the undine race, or perhaps it can now change into a female form, sometimes changing its body shape to take on this appearance.
　Although it's called the feminine form, it looks more like a mannequin, so it's more like a demon imitating a human form rather than only looking like a human like she does.
　The amount of magic in its body is a head or two above the other three, and it has grown to specialize in support.

　They've long been able to overwhelm the southern area demons with ease and win the eastern area demons one-on-one, as well as the western area demons if the four of them work together in shallow areas.

　As our defensive strength, I'm not ashamed to say that they are now strong enough to be used anywhere.

　...... or rather, seriously, if it weren't for the ridiculously harsh environment of the magical forest, it looks like it would be a boss in some territory.

　According to Nell, who is familiar with our company but also knows the outside world very well, if we want to take down these four animals, the country will have to make a serious effort to do so, and they have incredible strength that they are treated as completely low-level pets in our home.

　I'm happy to say that one of my goals, a dungeon in which a bunch of mid-bosses attack you the moment you step in, is now halfway accomplished.

　Well, I'm going to let these guys grow up a lot more!

　I don't want you to get complacent, but I'm sure that my pets have grown up to this point in their lives with a lot of effort, so to celebrate, I've made something for them today.

Come on, boys, come here.

　With that said, I put the accessories I had prepared for the pets, all three around their necks, except for Seimi, who has a piece of polka-dot attached to her.

　This is the elastic collar that we exchanged in the DP, with some modifications from me.

　I asked them if they wanted something, and they all said they wanted a collar to match Lil', so I got them this.

　Indeed, no one but Lil' had a collar on, but ...... are you guys sure you want one?

　I was hoping that they would request something else from ......, but as far as I can see, they are quite pleased with it, and they seem to be showing each other their happiness, so I'll just say that it's a good thing.

　By the way, Orochi and Seimi were specially made because Orochi's body is so slippery that it would slip down if it were an ordinary accessory, and Seimi's hand would fall through if you tried to put it on, since it's watery.

　Orochi's is designed to react to the wearer's magic and attach itself to the body, while Seimi's is the same in design, but without the chain-like part around the neck, so I gave her an ornament in the middle.

　In fact, I couldn't think of anything to do with the two collars, so I had to put it off until later.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you're happy with them. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you're happy.

　At my words, my pets all bowed towards me.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one who can get away with it.　Why are you there?

"Eh, heh, ......

　Peeking out of the cave is Liu.

　I didn't know he was there.

Sometimes, I just want to follow your husband. You know what, ......?

No, it's fine. I'm just going to go hunting for a demon, so it's not too dangerous and not too much fun, you know?

It's a good thing that you're able to have a good time with your husband. ...... Compared to the weaknesses of Leffy and Nell, our weaknesses don't allow us to follow you out of the house as much. I'd like to be with my husband at a time like this.

　You'll be able to find out more about this in the next few days.
　I think he means when I go out of the house, rather than the magical forest.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. ...... This guy really does say some cute things to you unexpectedly. 　

It's not just a matter of time before you find yourself in the middle of the night.　Suddenly, you strike such a weird pose.

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing.

　You just caught me off guard, so I'm just writhing and posing like a jock.

Okay, I'll go with you then. But stay close to me for sure, okay?

"Yes!　Let me accompany you!

　Then we left for the forest of the magical world.


　　　* * * *


"Hey, master, what's the weapon?　You don't want to use En-chan today?

　I'm sure he's happy to go with you, and with a smiling face, Liu, who is riding with me on a lil' boat, asks me about it.

....... It's the last time you'll be in En's place today, Lord.

　So replies En...riding lil further in front of Liu and looking a bit disapproving.

"Ah, ah. I have a prototype that I want to use. I'm going to use it, so don't look at me like that.

　The weapon I'm carrying this time is a cannon.

　It's called a magic cannon. It is named "Flower Cannon".
　It is based on the concept of a portable cannon, which is a smaller version of an ordinary cannon tube, with a trigger and handle attached to it.
　It's designed to be held at the waist to release magic bullets, and has a strap to put it around your shoulder.

　To be frank, it's just a bigger version of my old magic sidearm.

　It differs from the old magic sidearm in that it's much larger, so its power is commensurate with its size, and depending on the amount of magic you put into it, you'll be able to unleash a blow that will change the terrain.

　If you put in the maximum amount of magic that this guy can tolerate, it's possible to unleash an attack on the same level as the breath that I recently learned to create with my spirit magic, Leviathan.

　It's not a good idea to use it as a weapon to take over the battlefield, but it's also a mechanism that limits its power, which is unusual for me, as I am a big-ship, big-armed, one-shot kill-oriented person influenced by Lephi.

　The disadvantage is that it is a cannon, so it can't fire continuously.
　No, because it is designed to divide the magic power that has been poured into it, it can fire two shots in a row, but that's it.
　It takes about 30 seconds to reload, so you have to think about the timing of firing bullets.

　Also, it's not very fuel efficient.


　I've made a mechanism to control its power, but even so, firing ten shots is enough to wipe out all my MP.

　Furthermore, the breakdown of these ten shots, two of which were intended to be used by putting magic power into the cannon beforehand, is limited to eight shots when used from scratch without magic power.

　The mana potion, which is rarely used, is a weapon that becomes indispensable.

　At the moment, I'm looking into the possibility of attaching an external magic tank to further increase its fighting ability.
　Let's try it out a few times to see how it's doing, and then we'll work on an improved version.

　I'm not going to be front and center, but rather I'm going to let my pets do the fighting, and I'm going to be my own back-up, so I brought this instead of En - but En looked a little sad, so I brought her along with me.

　It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to find a way to get the best out of it.

　For that reason, I hastily brought her body, which is currently strapped to Lil's side.

　It's Lil. It's a bit heavy with three people on board and En's body, but ...... I don't want my child to sulk, so please do your best for me.