20 – Onwards to our next destination

"Are you fucking kidding me!?"

The reason I was shocked was because of a big decision. I finally made up my heart and decided that maybe this place could be my new home. I was prepared to remodel Shera's forge and improve it with proper living quarters. But now all my plans are ruined.

The thing is… the minotaurs decided they were going to abandon this town. The vote was mostly unanimous. Basically, this place can always be targeted by demons. It's true that the dungeon has valuable materials and the layout of the gorge makes it easy to defend with proper remodeling. So basically, they mined as much as they felt it was necessary so that they can have a fresh start somewhere else.

"Insolent fools! I should turn them into my chew toys. We would bless them with our presence and offer them protection, and they just turn with their tails around? Let me give them a piece of my mind and…"

Lina was raging and I can't blame her. After all, all our plans are ruined because of this. But what happened next was unexpected. Shera suddenly grabbed Lina's head…

"Please, calm down!"

...and she gave her a large headbutt. I could visually see the air pressure flowing from the impact. Because of her bovine traits, Shera's skull was tougher than most. Of course, that doesn't mean she broke Lina's head, but she did bring her down to her knees and showed her some stars.

"Lina, that's a big no. A scenario like that is what caused your problem in the first place. Getting people to reliant on Ayaka is not good."

I scratched my head. Shera is right. That is what got us in this mess to begin with. I can't let it repeat.

"That being, said, mom, what are you gonna do?"

"I'll come with you of course. What parent would abandon her child? Wherever you guys go, I go."

"Which brings us back to square one. Where should we go now? Lina, Shera, do you girls know any place where I can live a slow and lazy life? All I want is peace and quiet and to be able to do anything I want."

Both Lina and Shera started thinking heavily for a few moments. Seems like this is a pretty big deal. Since I have no memories… I can't help. Heck, I don't even know the layout of the planet, not to mention names of various places.

"I got it! How about we go to the frost wolves?"

When Shera proposed that, Lina's tail stood straight up and a chill ran across her spine.

"Are you crazy? You can't trust wolves. We foxes are much better. Wolves are dumb and drool everywhere. Besides, they are called frost for a reason. They live in a land where it snows 9 months a year. You want Ayaka to catch a cold?"

"Err… Lina, for starters you don't have to worry about me catching a cold. I can wrap a fire aura around myself so there's no need to worry. Second, what are frost wolves?"

"Frost Wolves lives in a secluded village in the snow. They adapted themselves to those conditions. They have the same built as humans. Males tend to have more muscles and the females are a little shorter, but make no mistake, in their society females are the alphas. A unique trait is that their hair is either silver, grey or muddy blue. They are well organized in working together to take down larger opponents and their hands and feet generally have sharp claws. Plus they have fluffy ears and tails."

"Did you just say… fluffy?"

Lina, once again panicked.

"Wait!! They can't compare to my tail! Those creatures are too rough! Ayaka, trust me, my tail has all the fluffiness you need."

"Ara, ara. Try to calm down Lina. I mean, the frost wolves sounds like the perfect place to settle down. It's quiet out there. And besides, wouldn't you want Ayaka to see just how superior you are compared to the rest?"

"That's right! Those mongrels should know just how much class a fox can have!"

"Well, I'm glad you two are on the same page. I guess we have a plan then. It's time to visit the frost wolves!"

Of course, I wasn't too happy when the girls told me that from here, it's pretty much a one week flight until we reach them. It feels like I'm going through way too much exercise on my quest to be lazy. But what can I say. Some sacrifices must be made in order for my slow life to be secured. Now that I think about it, snow might be fun. I wanna make snow castle and go sledding!!

This might turn out fun after all. So… without further objections… frost wolves, here comes the loli! I'm curious what reaction they are gonna make when I demand petting them. Oh well. If they have angry puppies, I'll just have to tame them. Hopefully, we won't run into any more trouble on our way.