Strange Dragon – 169

Chapter 169 – The Devil Once Again

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This shark creature did not look very strong.

I searched my surroundings. But aside from the shark, there didn’t seem to be anything around.

“(Pii. Is there anyone else here?)”

‘No.’

“(I see. Well, I guess I’ll try talking to it then.)”

If it is dangerous, then we can just run away.

When talking, the thing you had to be careful about was not scaring them.

You had to be gentle and not intimidating.

Also, it depended on what they were.

Obviously, the taming skill had no effect on humans.

“(But I’ve never seen anything like this on the old continent…)”

But what was normal there, was not normal here.

“(Alright.)”

I took a deep breath.

And then I purposely made some noise as I showed myself from a distance.

“Be-bemu?”

It looked at me with surprise, and tried to run away.

Its legs were rather short, but it moved them desperately as it waddled.

The tail fin swayed as it walked.

It did not move like a land animal. It was just so slow.

I could catch up with it even if I was walking.

That being said, I would not be able to talk if it ran away. And so I quickly activated the taming skill.

“Please wait. I mean you no harm.”

The taming skill had three levels. The first level was communication.

And so the shark creature stopped.

That was how powerful taming was.

Clearly, this was a monster or animal.

“I mean you no harm.”
“…Bemu?”

‘Really?’ It asked.

In any case, I decided to think of its race as land shark.

If Hippolius was a sea hippo, then ‘land shark’ would do just fine.

Perhaps Kelly could think of a better name later.

“Yes, I mean it.”
“Bemumu?”

It was asking why I was here. And it still didn’t fully believe me.

“Ah, I came to search for sugar beets. But I found you.”
“Bemu!”

The land shark reacted to the mention of sugar beets.

Apparently, it knew about them.

“Could you guide us to the place where they grow? I will pay you.”

The second step in taming was to create an equal cooperative relationship.

With their consent, you would offer something for their help.

“…Bemu.”

It said that it would like to, but it could not.

“Why is that?”
“Bemu.”

“There is someone scary over there?”
“…Bemu-bemu-bemu. Beeemu!”

The land shark looked very sad.

It could not go close to the fields that it had worked hard to raise.

Apparently, though it was not human, it was capable of farming.

This was rather surprising.

Kelly would be so excited to hear it.

But that could come later.

“It took it away? Who did?”
“…Bemu.”
“…The devil, huh?”
“Bemu-bemu.”

It was the same as the creature that we had called the false demon bear.

Ije and her people had called it the devil.

Something that was not human, monster or animal.

It had killed Fio and Shiro’s wolf pack, Ije’s village, and badly wounded Boaboa.

“Is it still nearby?”
“Beeemu.”

Apparently, it walked in this area regularly.

And it would kill the land sharks, whenever they were spotted.

As the land sharks were slow, they were easy prey.

“Does the devil like sugar beets?”
“Bemu.”
“You don’t know.”
“Beemu.”

While it didn’t know, the devil would go wild and ruin the fields.

And any sharks that tried to stop it would be killed.

Apparently, whenever it tried to tend to its fields these days, the devil would come.

It had killed many land sharks to the point that they could not go close anymore.

And they did not know what was to be done.

“I see. Well, leave it to me.”
“Bemu?”

“I will call my friends too. Will you come with us?”
“Bebemu.”

It said it did not want to leave, as some of its friends might come back if they succeeded in escaping.

“I understand how you feel.”
“Bemu.”

However, judging by how slow it was moving earlier, I doubted many of its friends were safe.

That being said, the devil was a cruel being, and so perhaps it would capture them alive, like it had Ije and the wolf cubs.

“However, the devil might come back here.”
“Bemu!”

“Yes, we should hurry. Very well, I will return here within two hours. Will you come with us now?”

It would be very sad if the other sharks were killed while waiting.

“…Bemu.”
“Thank you. Let’s hurry then.”

The land shark agreed to accompany us. And like that, we made our way back to Hippolius and the others.

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