The forest was at Mt. Bizef’s base, opposite the path we’d hiked up. Lush and green, it looked like a barrier preventing humanity from entering. Looking down at it from above told me nothing.
“Wonder where this unicorn is,” I muttered.
Even Noela was stumped. “Can’t track unicorn. Don’t know smell.”
I spotted a lake where animals might gather, and we had Griffy touch down there.
“Time to bust out the lure.” I spread the stuff around the lake and then watched from afar. A horde of monsters and animals would soon congregate; hopefully, a unicorn would be among them.
The lure’s appealing aroma quickly drew out all kinds of small creatures. I should drink some Translator DX now, just to be safe. I sipped a bit. Noela drank some too.
“Griff’s looking forward to seeing a real live unicorn, Master!”
“We’re not just here to observe, remember?”
“Once unicorn appears, Griffy attack!” Noela ordered.
“Sure thing, Instructor!”
“Don’t listen to her! We’re not here to fight it.” I figured it’d be best if we could make nice with the unicorn, so it gave us its horn willingly. But what if it’s got a chip on its shoulder, like that centaur Eva tried to tame?
We dug into the lunches Mina had made us as we watched the lake from the shadows. While Griffy and Noela focused on their food, I noticed that all the animals gathered around the lure had quieted.
Noela’s ears twitched, and she set down her lunch. Even Griffy seemed to sense something; the griffin was holding its breath. They both stared at a spot where I’d spread the lure.
“Neeeigh! Neeeigh!” A beast slowly emerged from the bushes.
At first glance, it looked like a horse. It had blue eyes that reminded me of the sky, a golden mane, and a pure-white coat, practically blanketed in a divine aura. A single golden horn protruded from its forehead, proving that it wasn’t just a horse.
One-Horned Beast: Mystical beast known as a unicorn. Only ten exist in this world. Horn is a reputed cure-all.
I-It’s a real unicorn.
The creature surveyed its surroundings, looking for the source of the lure’s aroma. “I smell something delightful,” it neighed.
The monsters and animals whispered among themselves.
“It’s the sovereign!”
“The sovereign’s come!”
“How heavenly!”
“The sovereign!”
The unicorn is the sovereign of this forest? I see. From its appearance, I understood why the other animals called it that.
“The unicorn’s amazing!” Griffy squealed.
“Groo. Cool horn!”
I agree, Noela. Man…there’s no way that unicorn’s just going to give me its horn if I ask.
“Did you spread this scent around the lake, human?” the unicorn neighed.
Gah! It knows I’m here! There was no point hiding, so I cautiously stepped out from the shadows. Noela clung to my legs. Usually, she was the first to say she’d protect me, but now she was terrified.
“G-greetings, Sovereign,” I stammered. “Um, yes. I spread that scent.”
“Hmph. Just the underhanded tactics I’d expect of a human.” The unicorn had a mature woman’s voice.
“Unicorn lady sound old, Master!”
“Shh!”
“Did you call me old?” the unicorn demanded.
See? You upset her.
“Don’t be rude!” I tousled Noela’s hair. “Sorry this fluffball’s so impolite.”
“I haven’t aged. I’ve simply acquired years in this world.”
Yeah, that’s the kind of thing women past a certain age say.
“You’ve journeyed deep into these woods, human. What’s your target? Me?”
She’s on to me. Guess there’s no point keeping it secret. “Yes. I’m here to ask for your horn.”
“Nonsense.”
“Master’s serious, Ms. Unicorn,” Griffy interjected.
“How rare!” the unicorn exclaimed, noticing Griffy. “Griffins rarely take to humans.” She turned her gaze to Noela, who hid behind me like a shy little kid. “A griffin and a werewolf… Who are you?”
“My name’s Reiji. I run a pharmacy in Kalta, a town a little ways from here.”
“I see. So, you desire my horn?”
“Right. The mother of a little girl in a neighboring town is incurably ill, and she’s dying. I need to create a panacea to save her, and your horn’s a key ingredient.”
“You desire my horn so that you can save a human’s life? Absurd. I’ll never forget how humans attacked my comrades to sell their horns for money!”
Oh, man. I figured someone would’ve done that. After all, the unicorn was a rare creature, and its horn could produce a panacea. If a human—especially an adventurer or hunter—ever spotted a unicorn, they’d immediately try to capture it for its horn.
The beast’s hostile blue eyes told me to leave at once.
At this rate, if I want the unicorn’s cooperation, I’ll need to use the beast-taming kit. “Noela, could you grab some meatballs and the millet dumpling paste from my bag?”
“Yeah.” Behind me, Noela dug through the bag, then passed me the meatballs and millet dumpling paste. I added the latter to the former.
“That’s Griff’s snack, Master!” Griffy objected. When we poured millet dumpling paste on Griffy’s bug meatballs, the griffin loved it.
“I’m only using a little. I’ll give you some later.”
“Just a little,” Griffy agreed reluctantly.
Once I’d added millet dumpling paste to the meatballs, they were ready to go.
“What’re you doing? Leave Mt. Bizef!” the unicorn ordered.
“Try this!” I tossed a few meatballs toward the unicorn. They bounced and landed at her feet. Would this haughty unicorn stand her ground when she encountered our special meatballs?
“Wh-what are these alluring globes?” The unicorn’s hoof nudged them; she was clearly full of curiosity.
“Ah! Master, the unicorn’s going to ruin Griff’s meatballs!”
“Are these ‘meatballs’ food?” the unicorn asked.
“My griffin loves them, Ruler. Would you like to try them?” I hope she won’t refuse to eat off the ground.
The unicorn hesitated.
Heh! I can tell she’s tempted. I guess she’s wondering whether it’s okay to eat food from a wretched human.
“I assume those meatballs must be full of some strange medicine meant to confuse me,” the unicorn said. “After all, you’re a pharmacist.”
I tossed a few more meatballs at her feet.
“Erm…” She knelt down, but she wasn’t quite able to get the meatballs into her mouth. She couldn’t bring her head straight down, since her horn got in the way.
She was skeptical, but she’d really like to eat those meatballs.
“Unico want meatballs really bad, Master!”
“It looks like it.”
I slowly approached the unicorn. Picking up a few meatballs, I put them in my palm, offering them to the beast. She quickly ate them out of my hand.
“These are scrumptious!” I sensed her hostility vanish quickly, thanks to the millet dumpling paste. I wound up feeding her every meatball. “I desire more.”
“I’m all out.”
“What did you say…?” The poor unicorn looked astonished.
She must want meatballs as badly as Noela wanted more potions after her first one.
“I’m happy to bring you more meatballs if you’ll agree to my request.”
“You wish to trade with me, human?” The unicorn stared at me. “Is the sick woman precious to you? Answer me.”
I realized there was no way I could lie. “No. She’s married, and she’s got children. I only just met her.”
“Why go out of your way for her, then? What do you stand to gain?”
“Nothing.”
“Excuse me?”
“Is it wrong to do something without expecting to gain from it?”
“Humans seek to gain from things constantly.”
“Sure—in your experience. You haven’t met every human in the world, though.”
“Hmph…” the unicorn replied, seeming to acknowledge my logic.
“I promise I’ll use the treatments made from your horn for others’ welfare.”
“I doubt a youngster like you could use my horn properly.”
“Don’t worry. I have a medicine-making skill.” The unicorn gazed at me, waiting for me to continue. “I can’t save everyone in the world, but I want to be able to help the people around me,” I added. “I think that’s why I received that skill.”
She tilted her head down, presenting her horn to me. “Shave some off. I cannot give you my entire horn, but I can provide enough to treat several people.”
“Are you sure?”
“Do it, before I think better of it.”
“Thank you so much.”
Noela brought my plant knife, and I used it to shave off bits of the unicorn’s horn. The werewolf girl also caught the shavings in a bag to keep them off the ground.
As I finished, the unicorn whispered, “I never knew there were humans like you out there.”
She left, trotting back through the bushes.
✦ ✦ ✦
Our mission accomplished, Griffy, Noela, and I headed home.
I got to work immediately, combining a few unicorn horn shavings with the oronaamsou I’d gotten from a young adventurer a while back. Since I had the ingredients, making the treatment was fairly simple.
Panacea: Medicine that cures any ailment.
I managed to stretch the unicorn horn shavings to make three bottles of panacea. One bottle was apparently an individual dose, so I had enough for three patients.
“Three bottles, huh?” I murmured. If Noela ever got sick, I could cure her with this.
“Can get more shavings, Master,” Noela said beside me, watching me work.
“Uh, how?”
“If ask for more, Unico probably give. Pushover.”
“Forget it.”
I mean, that had occurred to me, but it would’ve been a shame to shave off too much of the unicorn’s horn. Without it, she’d just be a white horse. Plus, it wasn’t that the unicorn was a pushover—the millet dumpling paste just worked amazingly well. I wish Noela had said that instead.
“Noela not bribed so easy!” the werewolf girl added.
“Here, have a potion.”
“Groo!”
Pushover.