After discovering that herbicide had been sprayed on my field, I decided to bring the boar home with me.
For a moment, I swear I misheard something like “No boar hotpot, please” but don’t worry—I had no intention of eating it.
I needed to come up with a plan.
Destroying crops without permission was a clear case of property damage.
This was probably a matter for the police, but last time I called them—when I found Dori—they told me nobody lived out here.
So I wasn’t sure how much help they’d actually be.
『Waaoooon!』
「I’m hoome!」
「H-Hey, just get inside already!」
As everyone else filed into the house, I struggled to drag the boar inside.
Out of all of us, it knew the most about what had happened.
I had to get it to talk—well, as much as a boar could talk.
「Is the field okay?」
Sena appeared at the entrance, looking concerned.
She must’ve already known about the damage—maybe Grandpa had told her?
「Ah, well… a lot happened.」
「Everyone else is back now.」
Apparently, all the explorers had returned.
That worked out.
The more people we had brainstorming, the better.
But just as I was about to step inside, I noticed the boar had latched onto the doorframe, refusing to go in.
Sena, seeing me struggle, walked over and muttered,
「If you cause trouble, you’re going in the hotpot.」
The boar flinched.
Oh.
So that’s how you discipline a boar.
When I finally managed to bring it into the living room, the others were lounging around, drinking tea and snacking on rice crackers.
It made sense—they’d been running around ever since Chips’ pups were born.
This was probably their first chance to relax in a while.
「Oh? Is today a boar hotpot kind of day?」
「I can butcher it if needed de gozaru.」
The explorers were all staring at the boar with great interest.
If they kept talking like that—
…Wait.
The boar wasn’t freaking out.
Was it because Sena was standing next to it?
「You’re as unnoticed as ever, so you end up being good at everything.」
「I’m just doing what I can de gozaru…」
「A may shing!」
Dori, in her usual sweet way, was doing her best to cheer up the sulking samurai.
Watching her warmed my heart a little.
「So, what’s with the boar?」
「Ah… someone sprayed herbicide on Potato’s field.」
「Herbicide!?」
Everyone’s voices overlapped in perfect unison.
It was clear how much of a shock this was.
「Yeah, let’s just turn it into boar hotpot.」
「I can butcher it right now de gozaru.」
「If we’re bleeding it out, I’ll take care of it in the poison swamp.」
「Forget eating it. Let’s just blow it to bits.」
Among everyone present, the explorers were by far the most intense.
They looked ready to process the boar on the spot.
The only problem?
The boar wasn’t the culprit.
If it had been, it wouldn’t have drawn attention to the herbicide in the first place.
「It’s not the boar. The real culprit is someone else.」
「What!?」
Once again, everyone’s voices overlapped in perfect sync.
This time, I swear I heard a bit of harmony.
…No way they coordinated that on purpose, right?
They’re good, but not that good.
「I think it was actually trying to catch the culprit.」
I set the boar down.
The moment it touched the floor, it removed its tusks and lowered itself into a full-on dogeza.
Guess this was its way of apologizing.
And to top it off, it even slid the cushion out of the way before kneeling—so it wouldn’t get dirty.
There was no way a boar this considerate would poison a potato field.
「What’s your take on this, as an animal?」
Grandpa turned to Shan-Shan, asking for his perspective as a fellow animal.
Shan-Shan tilted its head.
Yeah… didn’t think a bear would have much insight.
Now that I think about it, Shan-Shan was just chilling on the veranda, sipping tea.
Next to him, Karaage sat in the breeze, looking equally at peace.
A bear and a kakapo (unconfirmed) hanging out together was already weird, but—
Food-chain-wise, Karaage was supposed to be eaten here.
Karaage eating fried chicken.
And then Shan-Shan eating that Karaage.
That would’ve been the normal order of things.
The animals in this house were definitely a little different.
Meanwhile, Potato was sitting next to me, crunching away on homemade potato chips Grandma had made for him.
Even though his own potato field just got poisoned, his priorities were clear.
Snacks first.
「We could check the security footage—」
「You can’t just say that out loud!」
Sena had caught onto something, but the noblewoman quickly covered her mouth.
Did they have some kind of plan?
「More importantly, go wash your hands first.」
Grandma handed me a plate of potato chips too.
Right—I’d been handling the boar this whole time without washing up.
But the moment the boar saw the chips, its eyes sparkled with excitement.
Just like when Potato and Chips first arrived.
Maybe Grandma really was the one animals trusted most.
「Alright, let’s wash up before eating.」
I led the boar to the sink.
It staggered, legs trembling from sitting seiza too long.
Yeah… walking on two legs probably wasn’t the best idea.
Something was nagging at the back of my mind.
I felt like I was forgetting something.
But if I couldn’t even remember what, then it probably wasn’t a big deal.
So I just shrugged it off and went to wash my hands.
Meanwhile, in the corner of the room, a tablet sat abandoned—
And on its screen, a desperate Doctor was trying to say something.
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