An endless grassland stretched as far as the eye could see, a vast pasture where all the residents were skilled at raising cattle and sheep. The livestock raised here served as the primary food source for the people of the Fiore Kingdom.
This was the location for the requested mission, and coincidentally, the best viewing spot for the aurora was not far from here. Following the client's address, Aux continued his journey.
When he passed a certain pasture, he unexpectedly spotted someone dressed in clothing identical to a cow's hide, moving busily among the herd.
The herdsman looked strange, wearing a cow costume with shorts over it, and even carried a peculiar double-bladed axe on his back.
"Hello," Aux greeted him, preparing to pretend he was lost to strike up a conversation.
"Moo…"
The busy herdsman, clearly a drama queen, responded with an exaggerated cow's moo.
Aux found it amusing. "Excuse me, where is Mr. Cory's house?"
The herdsman pointed to the left. "Walk another thousand meters down this slope, and you'll see a blue house. That's Mr. Cory's house, moo~"
How interesting. Aux felt the man was quite entertaining, but since he had work to do, he ended their conversation and slowly walked in the direction pointed out.
Before long, his figure gradually disappeared from the herdsman's sight. Aux left decisively, unaware that behind him, a young blonde girl was slowly approaching…
Mr. Cory was a simple herdsman, and his house was very easy to spot. He quickly welcomed Aux inside.
"Mr. Cory, let's get straight to the point. Your request states that you need to soothe hundreds of dairy cows?" Aux asked directly.
Mr. Cory nodded with a worried expression. "Recently, many outsiders have come here, passing by my pasture every day and frightening the pregnant dairy cows so much that they stopped producing milk. I wanted to find a Mage to help regulate the cows' bodies. I heard that Mages possess great and magical powers. I hope you can help soothe them so they can continue to produce milk smoothly. Only by getting the milk out quickly can it be sold for a good price."
Regulating cows!
Aux's mouth twitched involuntarily. This was something a veterinarian would handle better—there was a specialty for every profession. This Mr. Cory was completely desperate. If Natsu or Gray had taken this job, the former would probably burn a few cows to "warm them up," while the latter would end up freezing beef and iced milk, possibly adding shaved ice on top to taste it.
"I can try to handle this small matter," Aux said. He didn't guarantee success; he still needed to see the cows' condition.
As for them being scared… Aux suspected those outsiders were all coming to see the rare aurora that appeared only once in a hundred years.
After understanding the mission, Mr. Cory immediately took him to the pasture. But to Aux's surprise, the pasture turned out to be the same place where the man pretending to be a cow had been.
"Mr. Cory, does someone help you raise livestock in this pasture?" Aux asked. The cow-costumed herdsman wasn't there anymore; he didn't know whether the man had left or was hiding.
"No!" Mr. Cory denied. "I raise the livestock in this pasture myself. I've never hired anyone."
How was that possible? Aux was certain he hadn't seen wrong, yet Mr. Cory insisted there was no one else. That meant the identity of that cow herdsman was suspicious.
"When I came, I saw a herdsman wearing clothes identical to a cow's hide, with a double-bladed axe on his back," Aux explained. The clothes fit tightly to his body, almost like real skin. He had no idea where such realistic attire was custom-made.
He originally thought Mr. Cory could explain, but instead, the man's face instantly turned pale. His expression twitched uncontrollably, and his eyes filled with fear.
"Mr. Cory?" Aux called out.
Taking a deep breath, Mr. Cory spoke in a heavy tone. "That's a Cow Demon!"
Aux was about to laugh when his mind suddenly jolted with recognition.
A cow herdsman…
Carrying a double-bladed axe…
Isn't that the lecherous Celestial Spirit, Taros the Taurus?
Realizing this, Aux scratched his hair in annoyance. He hadn't thought much of it earlier, simply assuming the man was a cosplaying herdsman. Turned out he was a Celestial Spirit all along! And wasn't Taurus originally found by Lucy in a pasture just like this?
"There's a legend of a Cow Demon in this pasture," Mr. Cory continued. "A few years ago, at night, people often saw a Cow Demon moving among the cattle."
"Later, the sightings became more frequent, but since no cattle or sheep went missing, people gradually stopped talking about it, and the Cow Demon never appeared again. If there really is a humanoid cow monster, then it's probably the long-lost Cow Demon. It would be great if the Mage could eliminate it."
Aux felt cornered. Celestial Spirits don't die in the Human World, so he couldn't eliminate it even if he wanted to. And he wasn't a Celestial Mage—he couldn't capture one either.
"Perhaps the reason your cows are scared and not producing milk isn't outsiders but possibly this Cow Demon," Aux replied. The problem now was what to do. He couldn't just call Lucy over to handle it.
He decided to try communicating first. Taurus wasn't harmful; a conversation might resolve things.
"Taurus!" Aux stepped forward and called out toward the pasture to see if he could summon him.
Moo…
To his surprise, it worked. The grass trembled, and Taurus sprang out from underground, landing in front of them.
"Cow Demon!!" Mr. Cory trembled with fear. Even if the rumored Cow Demon hadn't harmed anyone, it didn't make him any less terrified.
"Taurus, Taros… Why are you here? And is the cows' fear and milk stoppage related to you?" Aux asked.
Taurus didn't expect someone to know his name. His eyes lingered on Aux for a few seconds before showing visible disappointment upon realizing he wasn't a Celestial Mage.
"I'm waiting for my master here," Taros explained. "These cows are milked all year round. I heard their cries of pain, so I stopped them from producing milk!"
Speechless. Aux stared at him with dead-fish eyes. Did Taurus also like meddling in other people's business? And he was a Celestial Spirit! Just because he shared the same skin pattern with dairy cows didn't make them related.
"I don't care if you're waiting for your master, but these dairy cows are vital to Mr. Cory's livelihood and crucial to my mission. Don't cause trouble again," Aux said.
But Taurus clearly had no intention of listening. He gripped the double-bladed axe on his back, proving through action that he was determined to interfere.
_____________________________
Go to my Patreon:
patreon.com/dreamlexi
For just $3 you can read various chapters of novels that have been translated and changed several chapters in advance.
_____
Support me with your Power Stone and Reviews guys °•°
Have a nice day ><