Kohaku
There wasn’t any ripple on the surface of the lake we reached through horse-riding, and it reflected the mountains around like a mirror.
“Okaa-sama, it sure is a beautiful scenery huh”
“Right. It is my favourite place, you know”
『here, I like』
I heard Sonia’s voice.
“Okaa-sama. It seems Sonia likes coming here as well”
“As I thought huh. She has come to bring me all the way here on her own when we start riding in this direction”
“Is there nobody living around here?”
“Eeh, it is the Royal Family’s land here after all”
“But, even amongst the Royal Family’s people, Okaa-sama is the only one who comes here, no?”
“As I thought, you could tell huh?”
“Okaa-sama, is it alright to be by yourself?”
“Eeh, it is alright, if we don’t go any deeper into the mountains”
Immediately after, Sonia, who was eating grass around the corner, suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction of the mountain on the right-hand side.
『something, coming』
『Eh? What is coming?』
『weakened, saying, help』
“Okaa-sama, Sonia says something is coming. She says it’s asking for help”
“My! What could it be? There shouldn’t be any people around though……”
“Let’s go and have a little look, shall we”
“Eeh, you’re right”
We got onto Sonia. I used Levitation, and we straddled Sonia.
“Tsukuyomi. It is a great help how easy getting on and off that is”
『Sonia. Could you go to where the something calling for help is?』
『let’s go』
We close in on the mountain on the right-hand side under Sonia’s guidance. Immediately after, a small brown puppy came tottering out from the shadow of the bushes by the precipice while dragging its hind leg.
『it is, injured』
I used Levitation, got close to the puppy, and used See-Through Vision on its body. There are two cracks in its ribs. Its right hind leg’s bone is also fractured.
『it hurts, it hurts so much』
I could hear this puppy’s voice.
『What’s the matter?』
『fell, couldn’t see』
From the top? There’s a precipice when I look at the top of the mountain, and a portion of the snow on top of that has crumbled and revealed the rock surface.
『Aah, you fell from there huh』
『it hurts』
『I would think so. I think I can heal your bone fracture, but I can’t heal it right away. I have to treat it continuously every day』
『it hurts』
“Tsukuyomi. How is it?”
“Yes. It has fallen from the high precipice over there, and its ribs and leg are fractured”
“What will happen to this child?”
“It has probably strayed from its parents, and it also has fractures and cannot walk, so if it is in this cold, I guess it will end up dying right away if we leave it be as is”
“Is that so……”
『this child, saveable?』
Sonia speaks to me. How amazing; a horse is capable of conversation to this extent huh. I had heard that horses are highly intelligent, but what a surprise.
“Okaa-sama. It seems Sonia wants to save this child”
“My! What should we do”
“Yeah. Personally, I can save it, and I do want to save it, but……”
At that moment, Sonia reacted again. While obviously being shrouded in an air of wariness. I directed my attention to the direction Sonia is being wary of.
Immediately after, what appeared from the bushes was a gigantic and pure-white wolf.
Be it how big it is or the size of its fore and hind legs, it’s already like a tiger or a lion. It has blue eyes with pure-white fur on its entire body. Being overly surprised, neither I, Okaa-san, nor Sonia could move.
I see; although it looked like a dog, this child was an Arctic wolf!
Immediately after, that wolf started staring fixedly at me face. Tilting its head occasionally. Ah! I see; it knows that I can talk to animals huh. I focus on the wolf, trying to use Telepathy.
『you, who?』
『Me? My name is Tsukuyomi. I’m a human』
『humans, can’t speak』
『I see. I’m, well, called a ‘God’ by humans』
『god? no idea, you, can speak, not, human』
『Uーn. I’m a human as far as it goes though』
『doing what, to son?』
『Eh? This child is your child?』
『that’s right, unsaveable』
『No, I can save him. I have that power』
『humans, reek, everybody, hates, can’t return』
『Aah, I see. Wolves live in a pack, so if he ends up catching the scent of a human, he’ll end up being ostracised from the pack huh』
『entrust, to you』
『Eh? It’s alright for me to bring him off?』
『at this rate, die』
『I see. I got it. I’ll definitely heal him』
『i’m counting on you』
After saying that, the wolf licked its child’s face and disappeared into the bushes.
“Tsukuyomi. What was that just now?”
Okaa-san is nervous. Of course she would be. A wolf that big suddenly appeared before her eyes. It was a scene where it wouldn’t be strange even if she were to faint.
“Okaa-sama. The wolf just now was this child’s parent”
“My! Then this child is a wolf huh”
“It seems so. I thought it was a dog……”
“What is a ‘dog’?”
“Eh? Are there no dogs in this world?”
“I do not know of any animal called a ‘dog'”
“Aah, that’s right. Dogs weren’t in this world’s animal picture encyclopaedia. The dogs on Earth were something selectively bred from wolves. You don’t have them in this world huh”
“So, what will happen to this child?”
“Yes. I told it that I could save him, but I was told, ‘you can’t send him back to the pack after it ends up catching the scent of a human once, so I’ll entrust him to you'”
“Entrust? You’re going to rear it?”
“Yes. It will just die at this rate after all, and I was told ‘I’m counting on you’ at the end”
“But, it will become that size once it grows up, right? Will it be alright?”
“Yes. I was surprised by how big it was too. It was 4 to 5 times the size of Earth’s wolf”
“Will you not get attacked by it when it grows up?”
“But, I managed to talk to them just now after all, and since it looks like a wolf’s conversation content is about as intelligent as Sonia, if I converse with him while he is young and raise him, he will probably not attack people”
“It is fine if that is the case”
“Okaa-sama. Thank you”
“Alright. Let’s name this child ‘Kohaku1‘ then”
“What does ‘Kohaku‘ mean?”
“It means small and white”
“It may be small, but it isn’t white, you know”
“Aah, it is such a colour because it is still a child now. It will become white like the wolf just now after it grows up”
“Is that not ‘Ooshiro2‘ then?”
“Hahahaa! Okaa-sama. That is funny. Why, since the dog I reared when I was a child on Earth was small and white, I named it ‘Kohaku‘. So I just wanted to call it ‘Kohaku‘ again”
“Is that what it is. I understand if that is the case. Now then, let’s quickly bring him back and treat him”
“Yes. Okaa-sama”
After carrying Kohaku, I used Levitation and straddled Sonia. I suddenly felt a presence, and when I looked up at the top of the precipice, the wolf just now was looking down over there. Although I don’t know whether or not it can hear me, I call out to the parent wolf.
『I will raise this child with great care, so don’t worry!』
And then we galloped straight for the castle.
I started Kohaku’s treatment at the stable when we returned to the castle.
『I named you Kohaku. So I’m gonna call you Kohaku from here on out』
『me, kohaku』
『That’s right, it’s your name. It’s Kohaku』
『me, kohaku』
『I’ll be treating Kohaku’s injury from here on out. It won’t be painful, so don’t worry. No moving, alright』
『no moving』
『Good boy』
I cast Healing and stimulated the bone’s cells. I performed this three times, in the morning, afternoon, and night, and continued until it heals. I placed a splint on its fractured hind leg and fixed it in place with a bandage, and so that Kohaku wouldn’t move, I brought a just-right size wooden box over, filled it with straw, and placed him inside.
Alberia made a collar with leather for me. As far as it goes, it’s connected to a sturdy leash. The corner of the stable became Kohaku’s place of belonging. The horses other than Sonia were fidgety initially, but I personally spoke to them one by one and calmed them down.
His feed is raw meat, but since Kohaku is still small, I gave it to him after mincing it with a knife. He came to eat energetically after calming down.
Okaa-san and I came to wake up early after that. The two of us would go to the stable before breakfast, Okaa-san would take care of Sonia and others, and I would feed Kohaku and treat his bone fracture.
I then repeatedly made him remember his name and conversed with him whenever I did. It reminded me of the time I started rearing my dog, Kohaku, and it felt like my heart was being healed.
And then ten days have passed since Kohaku came here, and his bone fracture has already completely healed. As I thought, because I supplement with my Healing power when he’s still a child and his growth is at its peak, it looks like his bones joined easily while growing.
He’s already, running around the stable energetically. It seems Kohaku has been conversing with Sonia and the others as well around this time.
If I carry on raising him like this, I wonder if Kohaku will become like the horses’ watchdog, or rather, become like a sheepdog. It looks like there wasn’t any need for worry.
It came the day to check for Torenia-oba-san’s ovulation. I go to Oba-san’s room before going to the stable with Okaa-san, measure her temperature, and observe the state of her ovulation. She, still hasn’t ovulated.
We subsequently go to the stable, take care of the horses and Kohaku, and have breakfast.
After that, I go to Oba-san’s room again and check for her ovulation, and this time around, it’s swordsmanship practice. It’s quite hectic.
The horse-riding training in the afternoon also started. I ride Sonia in the indoor horse-riding ground. I learned all of the basics from Okaa-san. After I became capable of that, in my case, since I’m able to speak to Sonia directly, Sonia responds if I give her the instructions with Telepathy even without kicking with my heel or pulling the reins.
That’s why I ended up being capable of riding however I wish even if I don’t do according to what Okaa-san says. Okaa-san seems to be a little jealous of that.
Oji-san saw my horse-riding and apparently thought of something.
“Tsukuyomi is learning swordsmanship, so isn’t it better to make it so that he can ride the Royal Palace Chivalric Order’s knight-use horse instead of the horse-riding horse here?”
“Oji-sama. What is the difference between the horse-riding-use and knight-use?”
“First, the knight-use one is bigger for the horse’s size. Because it will be stacked with heavy equipment. Furthermore, it also has stamina because there are also instances where it runs for a long time”
“But, there is no war or whatnot now, right?”
“Although that’s true, as the Royal Family, we have always be prepared, you know”
“Ah! That’s how it is huh. My apologies”
“There is actually a foal born in Autumn this year, but we are stumped by how unruly it is. If it is Tsukuyomi, maybe you will be able to converse with it directly and successfully tame it?”
“Then, let’s try talking to that foal”
I came to the Royal Palace Chivalric Order’s barn. It’s connected to the back of the castle, and it’s side-by-side with the Chivalric Order’s knight’s bunk and the armoury. This place is too big to call a stable. There are likely 50 horses inside. In the very middle of the vertical stone-made building is a passage, and stalls have been made on both sides, interposing that passage.
There are barrels with fodder and harnesses crowding the passage, and a child like me loitering about might bump into them without an adult’s supervision. Since that’s how it felt, I used Levitation in mid-air, hovered to an adult’s eye level, and followed behind Oji-san.
There were female knights in the respective stalls, and when they caught sight of me, they stopped what they were doing, popped their heads out from the stalls, and gave a smile. I waved at the female knights amicably.
“Tsukuyomi. It’s this horse”
I heard it’s a foal, and yet it’s bigger than I thought. It’s true that it has an overactive feeling. It’s moving around over and over.
“It sure is huge for a foal huh!”
“Aah, it’s because it has been more than 8 months since it was born. It has weaned as well after all”
I hover to the foal’s eye level and focus my mind. The foal also stopped moving around and faced me when I did.
『Hello. I’m Tsukuyomi』
『who, you?』
『Like I said, Tsukuyomi』
『human?』
『Yeah』
『hmーm』
『Do you hate it here?』
『can i run?』
『Do you want to run?』
『i want to run, i want to runn!』
“Oji-sama. It seems it wants to run”
“Is that what it’s saying?”
“Eeh, it looks like it wants to run so much that it cannot help itself”
“Uーn. But there’s no way we can let it run as it likes either”
『You can run if you let me ride you; how about it?』
『let you, ride?』
『Un. You don’t want to?』
『sure』
『You, won’t shake me off, right』
『won’t』
『I’m going to put a saddle and reins on you though, is that alright?』
『if i can run, sure』
“Oji-sama. It seems it will let me ride it”
“Tsukuyomi! Onii-sama, is that not dangerous?”
“Uーn. Ah. But if it feels like you’re going to get thrown off, you can just go on to fly huh”
“Eeh, that’s right”
“Alright, let’s try letting it run then, shall we. Oi. Pull on the harness. The smallest one for the reins”
“Yes. Understood”
“Tsukuyomi. Be plenty careful, alright”
“Yes. Okaa-sama”
I went into the stall and straddled the foal since they equipped the harness.
『Now then, we’ll go running from here on out. But you can’t suddenly sprint off. Bit by bit, alright』
『got it』
After I had them open the stall’s fence, we went out of the stall and started slowly walking down the passage, heading outside.
The female knights have all come out and are making worried-looking faces.
“Well then, I will be off for a bit”
After saying that to Oji-san and others. I spoke to the foal.
『Now then, let’s run outside, shall we! Take it slowly at first, alright』
『got it』
『Let’s first go one round around the castle. Run along this wall, alright』
We increased the speed bit by bit and started running. It’s smaller than Sonia, and the reins are also small, so it’s easy to ride.
I grabbed the reins tightly, floated my hips, and matched its movements. There wasn’t any problem because I practised with Sonia.
『Un. Well done. Is it fun to run?』
『fun, running! fun!』
We carried on to go three rounds around the castle. Halfway through, the gardeners and the servants were pointing at us and saying something. Oji-san, Okaa-san, and the soldiers had all gathered en masse in front of the barn. They looked at us, clapped, and smiled. As one would expect, the foal looked like it got exhausted as well, and at the end, it ran slowly and stopped in front of the barn.
“It seems this child is satisfied as well”
“Tsukuyomi. You have already gotten so good at horse riding huh”
“I can run while talking to this child after all”
“Well then, let’s make this horse Tsukuyomi’s horse”
“Eh? Is it alright for me to have this child?”
“Aah, it’s decided. Give it a name”
“A name huh. Yeah. I will name it Artemis then”
“Artemis huh. What does that mean?”
“It is the Goddess of the Moon”
“Artemis huh. It’s my first time hearing that word. The Goddess of the Moon huh. I’m glad it’s a mare”
“Aah, come to think of it, I didn’t bother with whether or not it’s male or female. I’m glad it’s a mare”
“Hahaha. You didn’t know huh”
Artemis is a name I got from the name of the toy poodle Mai reared.
Maybe I shall call it ‘Ar’ like Mai.
- 小白(Kohaku).
小(Ko) means small
白(Haku) means white - 大白(Ooshiro)
大(Oo) means big
白(Shiro) means white.In Japanese, Kanji can be read in two ways (though each way often have multiple ‘pronunciations‘).
‘Kun’ reading and ‘On’ reading.
Which is why, despite having 白 kanji, they are read differently.
