Chapter 197 – Shiro’s Power
Kelly looked at me with a smug expression.
“What do you think, Mr. Theo?”
“About demon wolves scratching crystals?”
“Yes, yes.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing. It’s hard to believe.”
“Right? Right?”
Kelly was proud, as if she was the one who was being complemented.
“At the very least, the demon wolves on the old continent would not be able to do that.”
“Mr. Theo. What about other monsters?”
Asked one of the other Adventurers. I thought about it for a moment.
“Inded. Perhaps some kind of dragon.”
“Dragons…”
“And it would have to be a high-ranking one.”
The Adventurers were quite stunned by this.
On the other hand, Gisela was not surprised. She was just petting Shiro happily.
“I see. That’s amazing, Shiro.”
“Wuff.”
“What about the dragon here?”
“Probably? He is high-ranking.”
Back at his home, he was an old king among the dragons.
So scratching a crystal should not be difficult.
“Indeed, it is probably possible. Perhaps we should ask him to do it later.”
Kelly said as she took out a mass of metal and placed it in front of Shiro.
“Shiro. Can you scratch this?”
“Wou.”
Shiro scratched it with her claws, and Kelly patted her on the head.
“Good, Shir.”
“Wuff!”
And then she inspected the metal before showing it to me.
“See?”
“There is a scratch, but…”
Said Victor. The other Adventurers nodded.
In general, metal was softer than crystal.
So this outcome was expected.
“Hmm? So you don’t understand how impressive this is. Mr. Theo, please tell them what this is.”
“It’s an orichalcum and mithril alloy.”
As I have the appraisal skill, I was able to tell what it was just by looking at it.
That being said, there was no skill needed now.
After all, I had given the alloy to Kelly.
“Exactly. Mr. Theo shared it with me. Shiro, that is amazing.”
“Wuff!”
Shiro wagged her tail happily as Kelly petted her.
Victor was now sweating profusely.
“Victor?”
I called, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“…How…how…I don’t know what to say.”
Well, I couldn’t blame him.
This alloy was of the highest grade, and often used for weapons and armor.
And yet Shiro had scratched it so easily.
Had she been in serious combat mode, then she could have probably split it in half.
In other words, even if the Adventurers were covered in armor, it would be useless against Shiro’s claws.
“Her fangs are amazing too. Shiro, bite this.”
“Wuff.”
Kelly held the crystal in front of Shiro’s snout.
And so she bit it obediently.
Crunch.
And just like that, there were teeth marks in the crystal.
“Good, Shiro.”
“Wuff.”
While crystals were hard, they had low fracture toughness.
If struck by an iron hammer, they could shatter.
So it would be easier to crush them with fangs than to scratch them with claws.
But I did not point this out, since Shiro was wagging her tail proudly.
“Next, try biting this alloy.”
“Wuff.
While there was no sound, Shiro was able to put marks on the metal as well.
“In other words, armor made by the best blacksmith will do nothing against Shiro.”
“Wuff!”
Well, the best blacksmith would choose a better shape and thickness.
There were various techniques and shapes that helped to strengthen it.
So perhaps it would not be that easy for Shiro.
As the Adventurers looked stunned, I decided to go back to the subject at hand.
“So…Shiro being able to do this is proof that she is a fenrir?”
“Yes. In the first place, there were no fenrirs on the old continent.”
“Indeed. Neither Victor nor I ever saw them.”
“However, there are old records of them.”
I had seen those records myself.
They were the most powerful and high-ranking demon wolves.
As for features, they had silver fur, large bodies, and lots of magic energy.
Still, I was not sure that scratching this was enough of a confirmation.
“An old monsterologist created that definition. If a demon wolf can scratch a crystal with its claws, then it is a fenrir.”
“…Really?”
“Ms. Kelly. Are you certain?”
“Yes, Mr. Victor. That is the rule.”
Well, if it was established, then I suppose Shiro really was a fenrir then.
I was starting to understand why Kelly had forgotten to report this sooner.
In the end, it was just a matter of how humans on the old continent decided to define things.
It did not really change anything for us in the present.
We still saw them the same. And our relationship with Shiro and the cubs would not change.
Good, Shir. -> Good, Shiro.
Thanks.