Lion Dog

The weather outside had gotten much colder. As the three of them left the city and moved away from the bustling streets, the chill that enveloped them became even stronger. Every breath they exhaled turned into a thin mist, like ink dripping into a vat, lingering in the air for a long time.

"Phew! It's so cold..."

Lia rubbed her hands together, her cheeks red from the cold.

The little warmth she had painstakingly rubbed into her palms was instantly dissipated by the biting cold wind, causing her to involuntarily sneeze again, "Ha--ha-choo!"

Lia tried to suppress this physiological reaction, but unsurprisingly failed.

When she looked up again, her eyelashes were still glistening with tears.

"Why did it suddenly get so cold? Has winter arrived so quickly?"

Seeing this, Galan took out a scarf he had prepared beforehand, walked behind Lia, and wrapped it around her exposed neck.

Because he had no experience in giving coins to others, he ended up wrapping Lia up like a dumpling.

Lia gave him a resentful look, muttered a "thank you" under her breath, and then hurriedly jogged a few steps to catch up with Frieren was walking ahead.

But on her cheeks, which were previously hidden by the coins, a blush had already spread far more intense than before.

Seeing that Lia was ignoring him, Galan shrugged helplessly. Logically, his earlier gesture should have been incredibly thoughtful—a textbook example of a considerate man's action. Why did he react like this?

He couldn't figure it out, but gave up trying to understand the girl's thoughts. Perhaps it was because Elves had a harder time feeling emotions than humans.

Galan blew warm air into his palms twice, then jogged a couple of steps forward to look at Frieren, who was already wrapped in a thick protective shield. Wanting to ask about the Lion Dog, he asked, "Frieren, have you seen Lion Dog before? Is it a dangerous monster?"

Faced with Galan's question,

Frieren was like a lecturer in a classroom, answering his questions little by little.

"[Lion Dogs ] are social monsters. They are not very intelligent, but they have strong bodies and are extremely aggressive."

"In terms of danger, it's definitely not as dangerous as the Demons you've encountered before, but it's still not something an ordinary person could handle."

She turned her head and looked at Galan with a smile.

"For this mission, I'll be in charge of providing support from the sidelines. You and Lia will be the main attackers."

"Why? If what you just said is true, with your help, it should be resolved quickly, right?"

Seeing the mysterious smile on Frieren's face, Galan was momentarily at a loss as to what was going on in her mind.

"Anyway, let's just consider this a question I, as the teacher, gave to Lia. With you standing in front of her, she can rest assured, right?"

She turned her head to look at Lia beside her, a doting smile on her face.

Seeing the harmonious scene between the two, Galan felt a sense of relief.

It seems that Frieren has now fully accepted Lia as her apprentice. Even if she might have been a little resistant at first, it's easier to get along with someone who is also Elf.

The group walked for a long time in the cold wind, crossing an entire forest.

Just as we were about to leave, we finally found the field and the pack of Lion Dog that the female shopkeeper had mentioned.

As far as their eyes could see, the fields were littered with trampled crops, while the culprits wandered aimlessly, kicking and stomping their large feet at the rotten vegetables on the ground.

Not far from them was the ruins of a small, destroyed shack, through which various tools could be seen through the broken doors and windows.

"Is this Lion Dog...? It looks like a porcupine ten times its size!"

Galan stood there admiring the ferocious monster with its full mane and two long fangs, feeling no sense of oppression whatsoever.

After all, the moment the image of a "giant porcupine" popped into his head, the other party was no longer a terrifying monster with bared teeth and claws, but a wild animal that had accidentally escaped from the mountains and forests. Now, he was already thinking about what the meat of this Lion Dog would taste like when it was roasted. Perhaps it wouldn't be too different from pork.

While he was lost in thought, Lia and Frieren had already left the forest and headed towards the monster.

No, it should be similar to grilled pork belly, right?

Looking at its strong, muscular body, I can't imagine how chewy it would be to eat. "Galan, if you stay here slacking off any longer, I'm going to get angry! We're currently fulfilling the shop owner's request!"

When Lia turned around and saw Galan still standing there, she thought he was just slacking off or daydreaming.

"No. I was just wondering if that Lion Pig... I mean Lion Dog, was edible... By the way Lia, could you use that [Gale Inferno Transformation Magic] again and see if you could roast them directly?"

Faced with Galan's unpredictable thought process, Lia was momentarily unable to keep up with his train of thought.

How could anyone's first thought upon seeing a monster be to roast it and eat it?

After realizing what the other person meant, even though she didn't quite understand, she still answered seriously:

"No—that magic is too destructive; it will destroy the fields!"

"What if I use them as bait to lure them to that open space?"

Sensing the expectant look in Galan's eyes, Lia pursed her lips, struggling with her own thoughts.

In the end, he sighed helplessly and gave in to this somewhat capricious request.

"Hmm... alright... then you'd better be careful, those Lion Pig... ah, no, I mean Lion Dogs seem pretty fierce."

Was she swayed by Galan after only hearing it once? Should we say she was too focused on what Galan said, or what...?

Frieren looked at her clumsy apprentice, shook her head, and couldn't help but recall her own time when she was over three hundred years old.

Upon hearing Lia's affirmative answer, Galan instantly became interested, feeling an inexhaustible surge of energy coursing through his body.

This is the meaning of adventure, and this is the reason why he keeps getting stronger!

"It's nothing, it's nothing. I've fought Demons before, what are these pigs compared to that?"

Amidst the puzzled looks of Frieren and Lia, he drew the long sword from his back and charged wildly towards the large herd of Lion Pig in the distance.

Now free from the constraints of his identity as Apothecary, he's completely lost his initial cautious demeanor. He's now a total rogue, acting like a foolish general from ancient times riding a donkey, brandishing Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade as he charges forward, yelling at the distant enemy, "Damn it! Damn it!"

Then, with an unparalleled air of idiocy, he stormed into the fray.