Chapter 125 – Carving the Boar
Thanks to Pii’s hard work, the boar was drained of blood in no time.
“Thanks, Pii.”
“Pii-pii!”
“Dragon, just wait a little longer.”
“Grau.”
While the dragon held the boar in the air, I cut off the skin.
“We can tan and use this later. Either for clothes or carpets.”
“Now that I think about it, both the climatologist and Ije said that the winters here were very harsh.”
“Aye. And so we should prepare while it’s still warm.”
The Adventurers and scholars had brought winter gear.
However, there was a limit to how much you could bring, and so it was only the bare minimum.
“Everyone keeps the skins when hunting boars. But I still think that it’s not enough.”
Kelly started to think with a serious expression.
“If there was something like cotton that we could pick here, you could probably do something with your skills.”
“I will ask Ije if there is any.”
“That is a good idea.”
“…In the first place, I wonder how Ije and the others survive during the winter.”
“Ije has her own fur, so perhaps she is just stronger against the cold?”
“…That’s true.”
It could be that their fur just grows longer when it is winter time.
“It must be nice to live with Ije.”
“Why?”
“She is so fluffy. It must be warm when you hug her.”
“I see. Well, there is Shiro. So there is plenty of fluffiness.”
“I really am jealous…”
While I worked to cut off the skin, Hippolius moved around my feet.
“Kyuo!”
Apparently, Hippolius wanted to be held while sleeping.
“You are warm too. Yes, we should sleep together during the winter.”
“Kyuo! Kyuo!”
Hippolius wagged its tail happily, and then Kelly picked it up.
“Hippolius. How strong are you against the cold? What do you think, Mr. Theo?”
“Kyuo! ‘The cold is nothing!’”
“Hippolius says that it’s strong against the cold.”
“Hmm. Well, Hippolius does have a lot of fat…”
“Kelly. Hippolius doesn’t have any fur. Shouldn’t it be weak against the cold?”
“Many animals are like that. But Hippolius was from the sea.”
We had first encountered Hippolius while on our sea voyage.
“There are whales that live in cold waters filled with ice.”
“That’s true… But it’s only the surface that is covered in ice, right? So it is probably not as cold as some places on land.”
“Indeed… But Hippolius is a dragon. They can convert magic energy into heat…”
“Hmm. So the magic energy is like a coat.”
“It is possible. Judging by how other dragons and monsters are.”
“I see. Hmm.”
“Also, not just monsters, but living creatures in general tend to be larger in colder climates…”
“In other words, being large makes them strong against the cold?”
“Yes. There are various reasons, such as the amount of surface space compared to the weight…”
“…So Hippolius might be weaker while small.”
“Kyuo?”
Hippolius looked up at me.
“It would be difficult to make clothes for Hippolius when it is large, as you would need a lot of materials…”
“Kyu?”
“But it would be possible when Hippolius is small.”
“Kyu-kyuo!”
Hippolius wagged its tail happily.
“Well, don’t expect too much.”
‘Okay!’
In spite of saying that, Hippolius’s eyes were shining with great expectation.
Hippolius would be very sad if I didn’t keep my word and make the clothes by winter.
And so I would have to be careful to not forget.
As we talked about such things, I finished skinning the boar.
“I’ll put this in the magic bag for later use.”
But just as I was about to fold the skin, Pii jumped on top of it.”
“Pii!”
“Hmm? What is it?”
‘Take off fleas?’
“Ah, I see. Yes, can you do it?”
“Pii. Pii.”
There would usually be a lot of fleas and bugs on boars.
And so Pii spread its body over the skin.
And like that, it ate all of them without letting any escape.
“Pii. Please do that to us as well.”
Kelly said as she crushed the fleas on her clothes.
They had moved on to other targets.
‘Okay.’
“Pii said it will.”
“I see. Thank you.”
“I would like to burn some incense to keep the fleas away, but this is Boaboa’s nest…”
It probably smelled very bad to Boaboa.
the type of incense that I used spread out a lot.
And while there was an air current through the cave, it was slow.
So it might take days for the air to clear.
“We will just have to rely on Pii when it comes to the fleas.”
“Pii-pii-pii.”
Pii said happily as it hopped around.
On the ground was the boar skin. Pii had not only removed the fleas and bugs, but all of the dirt and stains as well.
Thanks for the treat.👍