This is the fifth race of the monster race. Alice said this race is a main one, but what does she mean?
“Now, the fifth race has finally arrived! It’s the race that’s hardest to predict the winner, but it’s also the hottest and exciting one…… The Large Species Race!”
[Large species?]
[Fufufu, you should understand why after you see them.]
“Now, in comes the first one…… the Tyrant of the Skies! Red Dragon!”
Along with the live commentary’s announcement, cheers began resounding, and a dragon nearly five meters long leisurely flew across the race track.
If I remember correctly, that’s the dragon Neun-san hunted before, right? I’ve never seen it fly before, but it looks powerful…… Also, that dragon we had before was quite tasty……
“The next one to appear is…… Number 2, the Hunter of the Absolute Zero! Fenrir!”
[W- Whoa…… Big names come out one after another……]
[This race is full of some of the most talented monsters in the world.]
[Are all of them captured and trained?]
[No way, they’re mostly raised from eggs and children that were given to them by Dragon King-sama’s followers. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have listened to their trainers.]
This race seems to be filled with legendary monsters, which is why it’s so exciting.
Normally, they aren’t the kind of monsters that would be friendly to people, but if they were raised properly from childhood, they will listen to you.
“Whoa, it seems that we have a newcomer making its debut here! Number 6, the legendary magical beast! Behemoth!”
[Whooaaa!? Isn’t that a behemoth……]
A large monster with two pitch-black horns that appeared as the sixth racer, a bit smaller than others…… about 3 meters, but combined with its dark purple skin, I felt a tremendous amount of power coming from it.
If Alice is surprised, does that mean that it’s a really awesome monster?
[Is that an amazing monster?]
[When you mention amazing, talking about the behemoth…… High Ancient Dragon…… along with Níðhöggr, they are one of the strongest monsters in the world…… They’re literally legendary magical beasts, known as the Níðhöggr of the Skies and Behemoth of the Earth.]
[Whoa, so that must have been quite an amazing monster huh……]
[Well, that behemoth is still a “baby” though.]
[A baby!?]
I honestly didn’t believe what Alice told me right away.
That’s a baby? That looks like it’s about 3 meters long already…… How long could it be if it becomes an adult……
[The adult behemoth can reach over 500 metons.]
[……That’s quite large.]
Metons are the unit of measurement in this world, and 1 mt (meton) is about 20cm, I think? That means…… It can reach over 100 meters, which really is like a monster that looks like a certain 3-minute hero would fight against.
Certainly, when it can grow to that size, it makes sense why that behemoth is just a baby.
And, that’s when I suddenly realized…… maybe it’s just my imagination, but the behemoth seemed to be looking at me…… and it feels like our eyes met just now.
Yep, it stopped in the middle of the course and kept looking at me.
[I wonder what’s happening? I don’t think it’s only behemoths who got cold feet in their first race but……]
[I think it’s looking over here.]
[Behemoths are extremely temperamental and aggressive, so maybe it’s thinking that Kaito-san is its prey~~]
[Don’t say frightening things……]
[Ahaha, it will be fine. There’s a barrier installed in the venue, and behemoth it may be, there’s no way it can break it when it’s just a baby. Anyway, let’s go buy some tickets!]
[Y- Yeah……]
Is that really how it is? The emotions I felt earlier, rather than hostility……
When I went to buy a ticket with Alice, the most popular one seemed to be the Fenrir, and the behemoth was surprisingly at the bottom of the list.
[The behemoth’s ranking is quite low huh.]
[Behemoths are amazing in terms of power, endurance, and speed…… but a baby isn’t that great. To be honest, I don’t think it can beat either the Red Dragon or the Fenrir.]
[……I see. Unnn? That thing on the side doesn’t look like a multiplier, right? What’s that?]
No matter how powerful a behemoth is, it doesn’t seem to have that much power as a newborn baby.
Still, he’s in the race for the large species, but it seems to be in a different league compared to the other monsters.
What I was curious about was that next to the names of the behemoth and the red dragon, there was a number like 50 or 70 written, which I hadn’t seen before, so I asked about it.
[Ah, that’s the selling price for the monster.]
[Selling price?]
[Yeah, the monsters that participate in the main race can be bought as pets. So, those numbers are their price.]
[They’re being bought…… Is that going to be fine?]
What a surprise, the monsters participating in the main race…… that includes the Red Dragon and the Fenrir can be bought.
They are all supposed to be amazing monsters, but wouldn’t it be dangerous to buy them?
[Don’t worry. As I said, the monsters participating in the main race were given to us by the Dragon King-sama every year, so they can never go against their lord because of the magic applied by the Dragon King-sama.]
[Heehhh…… Then, do they sell well?]
[No, people rarely buy them. The amount of money written on the side of their names was in white gold coins…… That amount is something only nobles can buy.]
Indeed, if they’re being sold in white gold coins, every monster is hundreds of millions of yen…… It’s not something the average person can afford……
The behemoth is…… 300 white gold coins!? That’s 3 billion yen!!! I- I guess that’s to be expected…… from a legendary magical beast.
[……Hey, Alice.]
[What’s up?]
[Does that mean that I could also buy them?]
[……but of course, wait, Kaito-san!? Please don’t tell me that you’re going to buy one, do you even have that much money?]
[No, I don’t have that much money but……]
The reason why I said that is quite clear.
The eyes of the behemoth that was looking at me earlier—- I can’t get them out of my head.
The emotions I read with my Sympathy Magic were small, like a young child’s…… and they were very pure.
I don’t want to be here, take me away…… These emotions were directly gushing towards me.
That’s why I can’t take the behemoth out of my mind.
No, I know. It’s practically not my problem…… I’m also currently a freeloader, and it may be difficult to have a monster that would eventually become over 100-meter long.
No, it’s impossible to do that if I get down on my knees to Lilia-san at worst, and if that doesn’t work, I don’t think it’s impossible for me to ask Kuro for help.
In that case, the only problem left is the 300 white gold coins……
[……Well, we’re here to gamble, right?]
[Kaito-san?]
[I’ll go buy a ticket.]
[Eh? Wait!?]
After telling that to Alice, I go to the ticket office.
Then, I placed all the money I earned in front of the lady at the reception desk.
[Number 6, I’m betting “two white gold coins”.]
[Huh? Hahhh!? U- Understood!]
Hearing my words as I held out two platinum coins and announced, the lady at the reception desk looked astonished as she held out a ticket for me.
After receiving the ticket, I slowly move my eyes to the signboard…… As expected of the main race, the amount of money multiplier has jumped up, and the behemoth’s multiplier is now about 400 times…… Even though I bet two white gold coins, what I bet if I win would be over 200 times more than that.
In other words, if the behemoth wins the race, I can buy the behemoth. But if he loses, all my possessions are gone.
Geez, it’s times like this where I’m astounded by my own character.
I even harshly warned Alice of gambling, and here I am now, spending all my money on it……
As I was thinking about this, before I knew it, Alice came back with a ticket.
[I don’t know what’s going on, but Kaito-san looked really handsome now…… So, I’ll go with you.]
[Eh?]
[I also bet all-in on the behemoth. Whatever the result may be, know that I will be the same.]
[You…… seriously……]
Seeing the smile on Alice’s face as she bought the same ticket with me, I unexpectedly chuckled.
Dear Mom, Dad—— I know I’m being silly, but I still seem to have a weakness to those eyes. Today is the first time in my life that I gambled, and this is also the day—— that I made a huge bet.
[My Lady!? You’re holding your head now, is something the matter?]
[……No, I don’t really know, but I’m feeling one heck of a chill behind my spine just now……]
[I guess it’s getting cold huh?]
[No, I don’t think it’s like that…… It’s just that I have a very bad feeling…… Luna? Where’s Kaito-san?]
[He went out earlier this morning but……]
[………………]
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<Author’s Notes>
They have a small population, so it’s not well-known, but a black-horned behemoth is a Special Individual.
Next Chapter: “Behemoth’s Victory (temporary title)”
I won’t overlook any seriousness appearing in the novel, and that’s absolute……