Rushing towards the Army Ants that surrounded the Dragon Horse from behind, I mowed them down with Ice Bringer.
The Army Ants tried intimidating the sudden intruder by snapping their jaws. There, Sophia rushed in, lunging with the Wind Spear 【Tempest】. Gales blew violently from the spearhead, swallowing up the surrounding Army Ants and launching them into the air.
Flames were brought forth the moment Maria stabbed an Army Ant with the Flame Spear 【Explode】, burning the insides of the Army Ant.
The Army Ants that Sophia had launched into the air started falling. I struck one of ants on the head with the adamantite alloy butt end off my spear, easily smashing its exoskeleton, which could withstand an iron sword and can only be chipped by a magic steel sword.
I sidestepped instinctively, then suddenly, formic acid scattered and fell onto the spot I stepped away from.
「Be careful of the formic acid!」
I called out to the girls, and hit the head of the ant that tried spit formic acid using butt end of my spear. The blow I did to stop it from spitting was stronger than I expected and the head of the ant twisted off and flew somewhere.
The swarm of ants that took pride in their tough exoskeleton and weapons were cut up and killed without resistance. The extermination took 5 minutes.
I hit the head of the ant that wouldn’t stop biting the Dragon Horse with the palm of my hand, invoking 『Decomposition』 on its brainstem. The Army Ant let go of the Dragon Horse and fell like a puppet that had its strings cut.
Dosa! (Thud!)
The moment all of the Army Ants were exterminated, the Dragon Horse collapsed.
The Dragon Horse’s body had bite wounds from the Army Ants’ powerful jaws and festering scales covered in formic acid that were painful to look at.
It raised its head and snarled at me when I tried to approach.
「It’s okay, we won’t harm you. Hey you, why not become my familiar?」
Sophia, Maria, and Kaede went to my side.
Did the Dragon Horse understand something when it saw Kaede? It stopped snarling.
「You’re a clever one. I’ll even heal your wounds. Will you come with me?」
The Dragon Horse that had its head raised, nodded.
「High Heal!」
My recovery magic enveloped the Dragon Horse, and in a flash, the bite wounds and festering scales recovered to how they were before.
The Dragon Horse slowly stood up and faced me.
I activated the Taming skill.
〈Tame the Drake Horse? Y/N 〉
It had transmitted that the Dragon Horse accepted.
Naturally, I chose YES.
〈The Drake Horse has been tamed〉
I felt that a path of magic power connected the Dragon Horse and myself.
「I have to give you a name. Hmm, what should it be?」
「This one is a girl. Wouldn’t a cute name be nice?」
Would a cute name fit a Dragon Horse? Maria said that a cute name is fine.
「Master, how did Kaede get Kaede’s name?」
「Kaede’s body has a leaf pattern, right? It is exactly like the leaf of a tree called Kaede[1], so that’s where I got it from.」
「Then name this one from a leaf too, Master.」
Being told that by Kaede, I looked at the Dragon Horse and gave it some thought.
I examined the Dragon Horse properly again.
It has a large, strong body covered in deep green scales, and a white mane that sways with the wind. It’s crimson eyes were watching me intently.
「Alright, this one here is Tsubaki.」
「What is Tsubaki, Master?」
「Ah, it is an evergreen shrub, one whose leaves do not fall all year round, and it has red and white flowers. This Dragon Horse has deep green scales and deep crimson eyes that’s why I associate it with the tsubaki[2]. Your name is “Tsubaki”.」
「Burururu」
Tsubaki shook her head as if to say that she was pleased with the name.
「Tsubaki, it has a nice ring to it.」
「It’s quite the splendid horse.」
Sophia and Maria approached Tsubaki and pet her too. Kaede is already on Tsubaki’s back.
Name: Tsubaki（Takumi Iruma’s Familiar）
Race: Drake Horse
Age: 3
Level: 12
Condition: Healthy
Vitality: 210
Magic Power: 80
Strength: 160
Agility: 180
Stamina: 240
Dexterity: 30
Intelligence: 50
Unique Skills
Dragon Scales Lv2
Passive Skills
High Speed Travel Lv4
Long Distance Travel Lv2
Active Skills
Charge Lv2
Presence Detection Lv2
Magic Perception Lv1
Confirming her status, I could see that she has outstanding stamina.
「Hey Kaede, can’t Tsubaki use telepathy?」
「Tsubaki can’t yet. Tsubaki can’t use telepathy unless she evolves one more time.」
Considering that, Kaede being able to use telepathy right after being tamed is amazing.
After that, everyone rode on Tsubaki’s back, heading back to the place we left our carriage at. Tsubaki was galloping easily even with all of us on her.
Tsubaki ran like the wind, not at all affected by carrying the four of us.
Her back surprisingly didn’t shake so we weren’t burdened.
Returning to the carriage, I manipulated it and we returned to Volton. Tsubaki ran alongside the carriage. Kaede was merrily riding on her back. She seems really pleased.
I later heard that she was happy she was able to get a sister.
***
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