Reincarnation into the Barrier Master

"...... Master Matocal!"

Men in armor raise their voices. They looked ahead and saw Matkal slowly coming toward them from deep in the forest, steering his horse.

"It's all right, don't worry.

What is the matter, sir?

"No, this Hawk must have sensed something. Suddenly he started walking. I was a little surprised, too, because nothing like this had ever happened to me before. But Hawk is a smart horse indeed.

"That's ...... that,...... shoulder."

The soldiers were understandably surprised. A yellow vixen was riding on Matkal's shoulder with a yellow fox cub wrapped around it. But she looks at them and smiles smugly.

"No, it fell out of the tree all of a sudden. She seems to be injured. Perhaps Hawk sensed this. If so, it's ...... time to leave him behind."

Matkal glances at the fox cub on his shoulder and smiles again. Then he returns to his usual expression and opens his mouth.

"So, where are the anteds?"

"They've all been killed."

"I see. Thank you. Burn all the bodies, just in case. It's not impossible for them to resurface again.

"Ha."

Nodding at the soldier's reply, Matkal drove his horse.

Mat returned to the guest house surprisingly quickly. The Anteds had been defeated without any problems, and the soldiers had suffered zero casualties. Usually, Mato comes to report directly to me first thing in the morning, but this time he unusually reported to me by messenger. When I asked him what was going on, he told me that he had picked up a fox cub. As soon as Mato came back, he treated the fox cub and gave it milk to care for it.

"Hmmm. Mato is ......? That's somewhat unusual. But I'm curious about the fox cub. Maybe it belongs to the princess's family?　All right, let's go take a look."

With these words, I was led by a soldier to the room where Mato was.

"Mr. Linos!"

Mato was surprised when I came into the room. However, he soon returned to his usual calm face and looked at the little fox on the table. The fox was drinking milk and eating the bread he had been given. Apparently, he was quite hungry.

"This little fox. ......"

No, Hawk suddenly started walking toward the forest. I was wondering what was going on when all of a sudden he stopped in front of a tree and this fox cub fell out. That horse is a smart horse. I thought he must have sensed something. That's why I brought him here."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe she belongs to the princess, but since her hair color is yellow, I guess that's not true either."

"No, I think it's more likely that a human being is being made to look like a fox."

"Huh?　Then it's exactly like Beauty and the Beast."

"Beauty and the Beast?"

"Oh, you don't know, do you?　Yeah, I don't know that story. Once upon a time, there was a beautiful prince, but he was arrogant and selfish. And an old woman came to visit him, and when he treated her badly, she turned out to be a witch. She changed him into an ugly beast. And the curse cannot be broken until he finds true love. ....... That's the story."

"The Ugly Beast ....... How can a beast find true love?"

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant. ....... What's that ...... called?　He is in the form of a beast, but he has the heart of a man. ...... Well, I remember that in the end, he found his true love, his form changed back to human, and he was happy and satisfied... I wonder if this fox cub is like that too?"

Saying this, I activate my appraisal skill on the fox cub.

"What!　Whoa!

What's going on, Mr. Linos?

I jumped away from him, and Matkal was startled. I wrinkle my brow and open my mouth to her.

"This fox cub is no ordinary fox!

"What?　What do you mean ......?"

"Somehow, this little fox seems to be under multiple layers of magic."

How can you be so sure?

"I sense all kinds of magic."

In fact, when I tried to appraise this fox cub, an image like a sandstorm appeared in my mind with a blast of sound. In other words, it was the image and sound of the old CRT TVs when you tuned in a channel that you could not receive. ......Heisei-born people may not understand it. Ask the Showa-born people around you. The sound was indescribable and unpleasant.

Still, we could get some information from this fox cub, albeit in fragments. She seems to be a young girl. I saw a scene in which the girl was surrounded by various colored spheres. Perhaps this is a sign of multiple layers of magic. Just to be sure, I activated the magic detection, and it is true that I can feel a very strong magic power from this fox cub.

"It's going to be ...... a lot of work to solve this, isn't it?"

I stare at the vixen while muttering something like that. She seemed to be afraid of my gaze, and walked over to Matocalu, making a cute squeaking sound. Matocalu picks up the fox cub lovingly.

"I hope you can get back to your normal self soon.

Saying this, Mato smiled at the fox cub. She then placed the vixen on her shoulder and turned to me again.

"I have a favor to ask you, Master Linos."

"What's wrong?"

"I want you to call Rico-sama."

"Rico?　Why?

I have something urgent to discuss with you.

"What?　What's the matter with you?

I questioned her, and she kept her eyes fixed on me and remained silent.

"I'm sorry, it's something that should only be discussed between women."

Matocal's expression is serious. I was pushed by the unusual atmosphere. I have an idea of some of the problems that Matocal is having, but I wonder if it is about that. In any case, it is definitely something that I, as a man, am not comfortable talking about. It would be difficult to discuss it in the presence of children in the house. Besides, Rico is basically busy when he is working here at the guest house. If Mato goes to the guest house, he would be willing to consult with her, but he would not be afraid to stop her from working. It is natural that she would ask me, who knows Rico's schedule. I open my mouth apologetically, feeling ashamed of my poor judgment.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't notice. If it were Rico, he would have come out by now. But I don't think we have that much time, do we?　I think I can only consult with you for about half an hour, since I will probably start checking the documents again at about 4:00 p.m., is that OK?"

"No problem. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Mato bowed quickly. I told him there was no need to be concerned and ordered him to tell Rico to come to Matocalu's room.

There was still time for Rico to arrive. I talked to Mat again about why the undead had occurred here in Agartha, and what we should do about it.

According to Mato, when burying a dead person, if the body is buried in the ground, it is rare that the corpse will come back as an undead person. He said that this is especially likely to happen in places where large battles took place in ancient times. The place where the undead appeared this time is said to be an old battlefield where the Juka Kingdom's army and the Heedata Empire's army clashed in the past, resulting in many casualties. It is said that the imperial army was lured deep into Juka, and was thoroughly destroyed by the Juka army led by General Kargi, who was waiting for them, and that a considerable number of soldiers died there.

"The battle was so fierce that both armies had so many casualties that there was not enough room to cremate the corpses, so they dug a hole and buried the corpses. No wonder the undead appeared, with their high fighting power and ferocity."

While I was listening to Matocal's story, there was a knock at the door. It seems that Rico has arrived. I motioned for him to come in, and he entered the room. Immediately after that, however, I saw a startling sight, and I was absolutely stunned.

I was shocked to see Matocalu, another man, enter the room behind Riko. ......