A Very Proud Monster

‘Magic Tool Creation—Poison Detection.’

I said to a pebble on the ground.

And then the pebble started to glow blue.

And…just as the glow started to die down.

‘Ching…’ it rang. And then it began to vibrate.

It was similar to the reaction that occurred in Rikardo with the carbon monoxide.

So it was probably reacting to the poison.

Probably…there was a poison monster nearby.

“…This might be just the lead I was hoping for.”

I muttered as I moved the poison detector across the ground.

By doing this, I was able to determine which direction the pebble reacted to the strongest.

‘It’s over there.’

‘Understood!’

I told the Proud Wolf the direction that the ‘poison detector’ had indicated, and then had him run towards it.

And then gradually, the reaction of the poison detector became stronger.

Until…

‘There’s a monster!’

‘It…looks really strong!’

The slimes seemed to have found a monster that was much stronger than all of the others up until now.

The only thing left to do…was to find out if I could tame it.

‘It’s a huge bird!’

‘There’s a bird!’

The slimes said as they pointed to the monster.

I used Shared Senses and…yes, there indeed was a giant bird monster nearby.

It was likely the Cockatrice.

‘Giiiiii! Giiiiiiii!’

As I watched…it began to raise its voice.

It seemed like it hadn’t noticed us yet…but it was still a very ominous sound.

Its body was about the same size as a car.

Something like that would draw a lot of attention if it was flying in the sky…

And it was also poisonous. Maybe the receptionist was right about it not making a good pet.

But on the other hand, if I could successfully domesticate it, it would be an incredible transportation force.

It was worth giving it a try.

‘Monster Mutual Understanding.’

As I was going to try and befriend it, I should start off peacefully.

…If that didn’t work, I would have to negotiate with brute force.

‘Hey! Would you like to join our party?’

It seemed like it would attack us if we got close, so I called to it from a distance.

And then the Cockatrice turned to face us.

‘Hmm? …Are you a human? How is it that you understand our speech?’

Oh.

I now knew that we could communicate.

‘I have magic that connects monsters to humans, so I used that.’

‘…That’s very odd magic for a human to use. And…what is it that you were asking?’

‘I asked if you wanted to join us.’

The Cockatrice heard this and laughed loudly.

Apparently, this proposal was deserving of much ridicule to the Cockatrice.

‘How foolish. I am a proud and noble monster. Why would I aid a mere human…’

Then the Cockatrice turned to the Proud Wolf.

As for the Proud Wolf…he was scared and hiding half of his body behind a tree.

‘What is that wolf?’

‘Him? He’s a Proud Wolf that I tamed a little while ago.’

‘Yes! …Mighty Cockatrice, please join us!’

The Proud Wolf said from behind the tree.

This made the Cockatrice furious.