By the time I returned to the mansion, the information about Gabal and Algerio's recapture had already spread amongst the soldiers, making everyone sigh in relief and continue their daily lives.

「I'm backー Hm?」Grey

When I went inside the mansion, a strange scene greeted me. It was Liz crying in Yuna's embrace. Kris-san and Aria-san were also there, trying to calm Liz down.

「What happened!?」Grey

Seeing that unusual scene, I quickly rushed towards them, fearing that Liz was hurt during the battle.

「Are you alright Liz? Did someone hurt you? 」

「Uuuu...」Eliza

「!!!」Grey

Rather than explaining what happened, Liz cried even louder when she saw me.

Eh!? Ehh!? Did I do something to make her cry!? Wha-What did I do!?

「Uuu... Gwey-owiisawa!!」Eliza

Liz let go of Yuna and out of nowhere, she suddenly embraced me tightly, leaving me dumbfounded.

Not being able to understand what had just happened, I looked at everyone with eyes asking for an explanation.

「She's been like that ever since I came back. It seemed like she was really worried about us.」Yuna

I see... So she was just worried... I was scared for a second there, I thought I did something that made her cry.

Ah... But this child sure became very attached to us... It hasn't even been that long since we have met...

But still, I'm really glad that she was worrying over us.

「Sorry if I made you worried... But as you can see, I'm safe and sound! So no need to cry, okay?」Grey

I said to Liz, gently, as I wiped her tears away. But contrary to my expectations, Liz didn't let go, instead, she embraced me even tighter. It was so tight that if I were a normal person, my body would have been crushed.

「Hm? What's happening here?」Gustav

As our little drama was undertaking, Gustav-san entered the mansion by chance, and not understanding what was happening, he gave us a confused face, with one of his eyebrows raised like an arch.

Seeing his reaction, we quickly explained the situation to Gustav-san, and his response...

「I understand, but first, we should probably eat breakfast. That battle really made me hungry.」Gustav

... didn't help at all.

Though, because of what he said, I remembered that we still haven't eaten breakfast yet. But... by this time, the food should already be cold.

We headed to the dining room, with Liz still clinging on my side. Thankfully, when we arrived there, Fritz managed to convince Liz to let go of me.

Also, I don't know what his reason behind it was, but Rhodes-san kept the food when the battle was undertaken and reheated it when the recapture was announced. Really, what a strange guy he was.

Because of what Rhodes-san did, we managed to enjoy a warm and delicious meal. However, even after we finished eating, Liz still seemed to be in low spirits.

Haah... I wonder what I could do to cheer her up...

「Ahh... That hit the spot. Good food really does cheer people up. Hahaha.」Gustav

That's it!

「Thank you, Gustav-san!」Grey

「Ah, sure...?」Gustav

Hmm... Now what should I cook...? It should be something uncommon but delicious at the same time. Something that Liz has never tasted before. Something that a child will enjoy eating.

Should I try pudding? No, Liz has already tasted it. Then how about spaghetti? No, making the pasta is too much of a hassle. Then burgers? Wait, that's just too simple.

Then what should I... Ah! I got it!

Pizza!

「Hey, Yuna. I have something to tell you.」Grey

「Hm?」Yuna

「You see...」Grey

Since I wouldn't be able to pull it off myself, I let Yuna in on the plan. Though, I did not whisper to her too close. I've already learnt my lesson.

「Hmm... I see...」Kris

While I was whispering to Yuna about my plan, Kris-san popped out of nowhere and joined in. It just showed how much Kris-san loves sticking his nose into things.

「Kris, what do you think you're doing?」Aria

「Eh? Listening...?」Kris

「No, you're eavesdropping.」Aria

「But their conversation is too interesting!」Kris

「Haah... Grey-kun, Yuna-chan. I apologize on behalf of this idiot. He really doesn't know when and when not to meddle into things.」Aria

「Aria, why do you always call me an idiot?」Kris

「Because you are one.」Aria

But of course, Aria-san scolded him, but shortly after their conversation started, they have gone off to their own worlds.

Seeing them act like that reminded me of the first time we met them. I wonder, just how did these two become lovers......

Yuna and I were about to continue what we were talking about once again, but when Kris-san noticed us, he joined once again. And since the two of them were already there, I also let Kris-san and Aria-san in on my plan.

Well, although I say plan... It's really nothing big, it's actually just gathering the ingredients I will use for making the pizza.

「That's a good plan, but I have one question.」Yuna

「Hm? What is it?」Grey

「What is pizza?」Yuna

「Yeah, what is it?」Kris

「I've also never heard of it.」Aria

Ah, right... I've never cooked it with Yuna before, since we didn't have access to flour while we were still at the Haltea Great Forest.

Also, there was no way Kris-san and Aria-san knew of it. It's literally food from another world. I would be more surprised if they did.

「I'll tell you guys later. But first, Yuna, please buy those ingredients with Aria-san. Kris-san and I will go in the forest in search of good meat.」Grey

Although I already have plenty of meat in my『Storage』, it wouldn't hurt to have a few more. Well actually, the main reason why I wanted to hunt meat was because of what I heard from a market vendor.

According to him, once every few years, there's an event where migratory beasts called Bulldeers arrive near Moterno as a part of their migration journey. Other than their spectacular build, Bulldeers are known for their delicious meat. Luckily for us, that event is happening right now.

「Well then, what are you waiting for, Grey? Let's go.」Kris

「Ah, sorry... Well then, we'll be going now.」Grey

After we waved our goodbyes, Kris-san and I exited the mansion and headed to the Cervidia Plains where the Bulldeers were supposed to be at.

When we arrived there, an amazing scene welcomed us. Hundreds of Bulldeers gathering in one place, grazing at the grass peacefully, without a single care in the world.

「Woah, there sure are a lot of them.」Kris

Kris-san was right, in fact, If those number of Bulldeers were to run wild, it would surely cause a disaster, not just to Moterno, but to the neighboring villages as well.

「So, Grey, how much should we take down?」Kris

「Hm... Just one should be enough. But if want to take some too, then we can increase that number.」Grey

「Nah, I think one is also fine. With the size of those things, you could feed a village with just a few of them.」Kris

Kris-san was right once again. Actually, it was so big that you can't even compare them to a bull nor a deer. It was closer to the size of an elephant, just a little smaller.

「So, how would you like to hunt them?」Kris

「Hmm... With a herd as large as this, I think we should use traps to separate one of them and hunt it down without the others knowing.」Grey

「Seems fair. We wouldn't want them to panic and run wild after all.」Kris

Yep, I just thought of that moments ago. Although we could stop them if that ever happens, it might cause the Bulldeers to go extinct.

Haah... What a pain.

After getting in the perfect position, I let Kris-san in on my plan. Frist, I'll use curse magic to lead one of them away from the herd. When it goes far enough, I'll control it towards us. When that happens, Kris-san will take it out in one blow.

「You sure are talented. You even know curse magic.」Kris

Kris-san commented in a wry voice.

Well, I couldn't deny what Kris-san is saying, but I also can't tell him that I learned it because of what God imprinted on me. For now, I'll just nod silently.

「Is any target fine?」Kris

「No, one of the market vendors told me that adolescent ones have the most tender and delicate meat. I'll just appraise all of them to see which ones fits that description the best.」Grey

「You do just that, I'll just get into position.」Kris

「Sure.」Grey

As I appraised the Bulldeers patiently, Kris-san walked about ten meters from me and readied his trusty hammer so that he can strike at any moment.

Hmm... Now, which one... Which one.............. Ah!

-----------------------------------

【〔Beast〕】

【Species】Bulldeer

【Sex】Male

【Age】6 (Adolescent)

【Status】Healthy

【Mana Capacity】93 【Mana Quality】G

【Combat Power】29 【Threat Level】G

【Attribute】Earth 【Magic Control】11%

【Physical Enhancement】13%

【Intelligence】21

【Description】

A large cervine-type beast that never stays in one place. It has a migration route which extends for at least 2,400 kilometers. They are known for their delicious meat, and high-quality materials. Males can often be seen fighting each other in the right to mate the females.

-----------------------------------

When I locked on a certain target, I let Kris-san know with a simple hand signal, and he responded with a light nod.

Alright, let's do this...

「《Hijack》.」Grey

I casted a spell and shot it over a long distance, and with perfect control over it, I manipulated its trajectory to hit the Bulldeer perfectly.

「Oh, it's really moving towards us...」Kris

Kris-san commented in an amazed voice.

Now that I've got a hold of it, all I need to do is to lead it away from the herd. Slow and steady... Slow and... steady... Slow and stー

「Hm... Grey, I have a question.」Kris

「Sure, what is it?」Grey

「Do you like Yuna?」Kris

「Eh!?」Grey

I was so shocked by Kris-san's question that I lost control of the Bulldeer. As for the bulldeer in question, it returned back to its herd, confused by how it got far away from it in the first place.

「W-What's with that all of a sudden?」Grey

Panicking, I tried to dodge Kris-san's question with another question, but...

「Ah, it was just a random thought of mine. But judging by your reaction... looks like I was right.」Kris

... my reaction gave it away. Because of that, there was no way I could deny what Kris-san said.

Agh... Was I really that obvious? Or is Kris-san just that perceptive? Wait! Does that mean that Yuna also noticed it? Maybe Yuna hates me by now! What have I done??!!

「Wait, Grey, if you're asking yourself if you were obvious. That's not the case, so you can stop panicking now.」Kris

Hearing Kris-san's words, my bizarre train of thought stopped, and I calmed down a little bit.

「I really wasn't obvious?」Grey

「Yeah. Like I said, it was just a random thought... Anyway, we should probably continue our hunt as we talk.」Kris

「Ah, right...《Hijack》.」Grey

Just as Kris-san suggested, I once again tried to control that same Bulldeer to separate from its herd. And while this was happening, Kris-san and I continued our talk about Yuna.

「So, Grey, when do you plan on confessing to Yuna?」Kris

「When I have the courage to, I guess...?」Grey

「What are you, a kid? Courage is not something you have to wait for. It's something you have to create for yourself.」Kris

Ugh... I get what Kris-san is talking about. But just the thought of losing Yuna is scaring me. I know I'm acting like a spoiled child, but I just can't help myself.

Ahhh!! I should have asked God to make my personality more courageous!

「Well, I couldn't really blame you. I was like that at first when I realized my feelings for Aria. But after realizing that I might lose her someday, I braced myself for the worst outcome and confessed to her.」Kris

Wait, is this how they came to be a couple?

「But of course, I got rejected... I was so dejected that time that I wasn't able to sleep for two weeks. Ahhh... the memories...」Kris

I guess not.

「But I still didn't give up after that. Time after time, I confessed to Aria, and time after time I got rejected. It took 73 times before Aria accepted my feelings. At that time, I really felt that all my efforts were not in vain.」Kris

Kris-san... Just how persistent can you be?

Are you sure Aria-san accepted your feelings because she developed feelings for you, or did Aria-san just give up because of how annoying you were.

「Anyway, the thing is. It's better to regret something than regret not doing it. Oh, looks like it's here.」Kris

Just as Kris-san finished giving me advice, the Bulldeer arrived in our location. Without wasting any time, Kris-san bashed its head with his hammer, killing it in one blow.

「Anyway, Grey, did you understand what I was getting at?」Kris

Now that I think of it, Kris-san's words really hold some truth. If I don't confess today, how can I say that I can do it tomorrow... No, will there even be a tomorrow with the two of us together? Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.

That's right. We wouldn't know what the future will hold until we've experienced it. And if tomorrow comes and Yuna won't be with me anymore, then I will surely regret not confessing to her.

「Kris-san, thank you. My minds all clear now.」Grey

「Hm? Sure. Just think of it as advice from your adventuring senior. Anyway, you should probably store this thing before the meat goes bad.」Kris

「Ah, right.」Grey

After storing the Bulldeer's corpse on my『Storage』, Kris-san and I then headed to our next hunt location, but on the way there, our topic had derailed once again.

「By the way, Grey, you didn't use 《Hijack》on Yuna to fulfill your desires, have you?」Kris

「No, I haven't. I didn't even had the idea to do that.」Grey

「Are you sure?」Kris

「Yes I am. In the first place......」Grey

CHAPTER 41 END