Chapter 52, Cat Knight on the Hamster’s Back
"...This seems to be a quite prosperous and wealthy village...No, it should be said to be a new small city."
After finally arriving at the destination and bidding farewell to the caravan that accompanied her along the way, Arshe, a young female magician from the Bajas Empire, walked along the streets of Kahn Village with her three companions, strolling around while looking around at the surroundings. Street scene, while muttering in a low voice:
"...It's really hard to believe that there can be a city of this size in such a wild and remote rural place!"
——In the past six months, because of avoiding the natural disasters of the undead, Li. With the influx of refugees from the Kingdom of Yestije, the village of Karn, now actually controlled by the "Great Tomb of Nazarick Alien Group", has transformed from a remote village of a few hundred people to a village with a population of more than 4,000 Prosperous town. Outside the village, a huge stone wall as high as three stories was built, as well as several towering sentry towers for observing the enemy's situation.
Looking outside the city wall, I saw the cool autumn wind blowing through the forests and grasslands, and the golden color representing the harvest filled the fields in the suburbs.
Inside the city walls, you can see neatly arranged multi-story apartments and wide and smooth stone or cobblestone roads. In the center of the town, there is also a lively market, although it is not busy with traffic, as well as several exquisite and small roadside parks.
"...Yes! I really didn't expect..." The captain of Arshay's adventure team, the swordsman Heklan, also looked around and sighed sincerely - after accepting this mission to go abroad for reconnaissance, and from his employer It was learned there that the destination was Li. When he arrived at a refugee gathering place in the Kingdom of Yestije, Heklan thought he would see an extra-large garbage dump filled with simple shacks and dilapidated tents, filled with all kinds of odors, just like the ones he had seen before. Like many beggars or homeless camps. But what appeared in front of him now was a well-organized emerging city!
Moreover, in terms of cleanliness and tidiness, I am afraid that even many ordinary towns in the empire cannot compare with this place, right?
"...It is indeed a prosperous place, but some things seem to be a little too much..."
The middle-aged strong man Robatiku nodded, but at the same time he paid special attention to the little goblins flying in groups above his head, as well as the various jelly-like slimes and cats passing by from time to time... Although In today's Bajas Empire, the above three things are already commonplace, but in terms of quantity and density, they are still far behind the Kahn Village or Kahn Town in front of us.
Moreover, the cat here can actually talk. It is said that it is a pet kept by the great magician Ainz... Although this kind of thing is not incredible due to the vast power of magic, it still makes Arshay and his party feel very strange.
"...Eh? This place even has a fountain? And it was built casually on the street! It's such a luxury!"
Arshay's partner, the female elf scout Imina, looked down at the fountain pool in the middle of the street and couldn't help but marvel. In front of her, a lion-headed statue carved from marble was opening its mouth wide, letting the cool spring water flow from its mouth, filling the petal-shaped pool under the head, and then overflowing into the In the ravines on the ground, it gradually flows into the distance, and finally disappears into a hole.
The female elf Imina couldn't help but stretched out her hand and inserted it into the water curtain of the fountain. Feeling the coolness in her hand, she couldn't help but sigh.
Although it is just a fountain, judging from the surrounding ancillary facilities, the infrastructure in this town is probably very complete, including even sewers. In terms of convenience of living conditions, it has surpassed Most human settlements of the same size, right?
However, according to the merchants I met along the way, everything in front of me was built by Master Ainz in just a few months!
Alas, this is really... a mysterious city! A mysterious and powerful magician! Appearing mysteriously in this wild border!
Just as several amateur spies from the Bajas Empire were reaching into the fountain pool, a roar suddenly came from their ears:
"...Meow! You guys, take your hands out of the water! Don't dirty the public water source, meow!"
The female magician Arshe stood up and looked back, but was immediately overwhelmed by the strange sight in front of her.
A arrogant and petite black cat was holding a mini spear, pointing at the four of them from a distance, meowing and scolding.
Well, although this situation is a bit embarrassing and weird, Arshe can probably understand it. After all, people like her did not do it right... But who will tell her what the giant monster riding on the cat's crotch in front of her is. What is it?
——Silver-white fur, slender tail, round black eyes, a chubby and flat body that develops laterally... He is tilting his head cutely - he does not look like he has a neck, and he puffs out his cheeks. He watched Archie and the other four sniffing around with their noses.
To sum up, this is a super-large Jakalia hamster, named "Hamsuke" by the owner of this place, the great magician Ainz, who used to be a Japanese office worker before time travel... Then, this hamster Not only is it huge in size, it is also very intelligent and can speak. For example, at this time, it stared at a pair of beady eyes and then shouted sternly: "...I am the guard Hamsuke! You are ignoring public order and good customs and blatantly polluting Water source, can you know the crime? ”
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In full view of the public, the cat knight Rachel, with a stabbing sword hanging on her waist, a black cloak on her shoulders, and a big-brimmed hat, looked like the upright "Black Cat Sheriff" in the cartoon, riding a giant cat knight. The cow's Jakalia hamster sternly scolded the outsiders in front of him who were dirtying the water source.
——In most ancient Western cities, those fancy-looking public fountains were actually not just for viewing, but had important practical value. First of all, fountain pools are an important daily water source for urban residents, equivalent to modern public faucets. Secondly, the water from the fountain continuously overflows the pool and flows into the drainage channels and sewers, which can wash away the accumulated waste and keep the urban drainage system smooth.
Therefore, generally speaking, pedestrians are not allowed to put their hands directly into fountains in cities. If anyone dares to wash feet or drink horses inside, it will cause public outrage. Because this is equivalent to washing your feet in the water tank of a modern residential building, and letting a large group of people drink your foot-washing water is just as dirty...
So, today was like usual. Cat Rider player Rachel, who was patrolling the streets with nothing to do, saw someone putting his hand into the fountain pool. He immediately cheered up and drove the giant hamster "Hamsuke" under his crotch. Warned in the past.
The four foreign men and women who looked like adventurers knew what was going on. When they saw this, they hurriedly bowed their heads and apologized, then left the fountain and slipped away quietly. But at the same time, all kinds of people from the market gathered around and commented on the black cat knight Rachel and her mount
"...Oh, the Black Cat Knight is out patrolling on [Forest Sage King] again! Let's teach these dishonest guys a lesson!"
"...This is the Wise King of the Forest?! It's so amazing! What an amazing monster!"
"...Wow, the Wise King of the Forest...is truly worthy of his reputation! You can feel its powerful power just by appearing in front of you!"
"...By the way, what does [Forest Wise King] mean? Why did you give that monster this name?"
"...Because this monster originally lived in the nearby forest and was one of the strongest three-headed monster kings in the entire forest, the local villagers gave it this name. This year, after the great magician Ainz arrived, , for everyone's safety, the nearby forest was swept, and two of the three monster kings were killed, and this [Forest Wise King] was tamed by Lord Ainz and used as a mount for his men. …”
"...To be able to tame such a monster as a mount...the owner of this place is really awesome!"
"...No, no, no. To be able to freely reward such a majestic mount to his subordinates, it should be said that Lord Ainz is really generous..."
……
Almost all the passers-by looked at Rachel curiously - no, they looked at the super-large Jakalia hamster "Hamsuke" under her crotch. At the same time, they whispered to others with various expressions of surprise, admiration and fear. The tone made a din of discussion.
Rachel, who was the focus of attention, lowered her head and looked at the hamster on her crotch, completely unable to see its attributes other than its cuteness.
A little black cat rides a huge silver-white hamster. It should look like a fairy tale, and the contrast is cute!
But why do these people's reactions have nothing to do with their own ideas? It seems like cultural differences lead to different aesthetics, right?
So, the black cat knight Rachel patted the hamster's forehead, signaling it to leave the crowd of onlookers and continue to move forward and patrol.
——Since the body shape of a hamster is completely different from that of a horse, it cannot be put on a saddle at all. Therefore, the current black cat knight Rachel actually sits directly on the neck or shoulder of the hamster, with her buttocks tilted back and her body Lean forward slightly and grab the fur in front of her with both hands to prevent it from falling. Moreover, she must spread her feet wide apart, otherwise it will be difficult for her body to maintain balance.
To simply describe it in one word, this posture is the so-called "duck sitting". It is said that only women can achieve the classic and super cute sitting posture. But it’s actually related to the softness of the body. Fortunately, cats’ bodies are much more flexible than humans, so Rachel sat very firmly on the hamster’s back.
However, if an uncle like Ainz were to ride on the back of a giant hamster to perform a "duck sit", it would be a shame for PLAY... At least that's what Ainz thinks. So after trying to ride it once, he hurriedly threw the big hamster to Rachel.
As a girl, Rachel doesn't feel that there is any shame in this, but she also doesn't feel that there is any sense of accomplishment.
Just as she was riding on the back of the hamster boredly, squinting her eyes and dozing off half awake and half dreaming, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in her ears.
"...Hey! Sister, why are you shopping again? What is there to do in such a small place?"
——Rachel's twin sister in real life, the little elf player Flor in the game, flapped her translucent wings and flew to her side, and then skillfully straddled her in the posture of a child "sitting on a shoulder cart". On Rachel's neck.
"...Well, except for hanging out, there seems to be nothing else to do, right? Dear sister! For the sake of safety, the people above are not allowing us to leave the town. We could have been trapped here together before Chatting with classmates from another world, but now..."
Rachel sighed leisurely, "...we are the only ones left!"
In this regard, Flor also remained silent - with the passage of time and the continuous accumulation of reward points, the fifteen players who were previously trapped have successively collected the 50,000-point safe offline standard and successfully escaped. Got out. As of now, the only two twin sisters, Flor and Rachel, are still stranded in this fantasy world waiting for rescuers.
"...What? Are you feeling lonely, sister? Or are you worried?" After a while, Flor said dryly.
"...It's a bit lonely, but there's nothing to worry about. So many people have been successfully rescued before, there's no reason why problems will happen when it's our turn! But, if this trip to another world is so ordinary, Wouldn’t it be a pity if it ended?”
Rachel muttered slightly tangledly, "...Except for the initial crisis, we were all protected in the rest. There were no thrilling adventures or memorable encounters... Although we could It’s good to go home safely, but... alas——”
She let out a long sigh, as if she didn't know how to formulate her sentences, "...Of course, I also miss home..."
Faced with her sister's complicated mood, the little elf Flor was speechless for a moment. In the end, she could only gently stroke Rachel's head, bite her cat ears and said: "...To be honest, I also felt sad in my heart. It’s very messy. But no matter what, I will stay with my sister until the end!”
"...Well, okay, sister, we want to be together forever!"
Just like that, the little goblin rode the cat, and the cat rode the hamster, disappearing at the end of the street in a cute and fairy-tale style.
However, the indigenous humans in this world seem to have a completely different perception of this picture.
……
"...Huh, what a terrifying monster! The momentum just now almost scared people to death!" Looking at the giant hamster gradually disappearing at the end of the street, Alshe said with lingering fear, "...If it were replaced by If we go to fight against such a monster, we may not be able to win!”
"...Well, if the four of us go together and are fully prepared in advance, we can probably barely fight against this [Forest Sage King]. If we are very lucky, we may be able to kill it. But if we want to capture it alive, ...This is completely impossible.” Team Heklan. The commander pondered for a moment, and finally shook his head, "...Okay, let's not mention this. We are not here to play. It's time to start working on the reconnaissance mission! Now we will split up to find out the reality of this place, and then go to Let’s meet here again in the evening!”