I Can Speak with Animals and Demons Chapter 7

Asuma village stretches out like a circle, with a large square in it’s centre.

Houses stretch out in rows along each side.

Although the road is made of soil right now, there are plans to lay stone instead in the future. Just like what you would see in the royal capital.

The village is enclosed by a forest, with a natural water source nearby. In both resources, it is very rich.

Although the amount of people here is by no means small, the connections between them are deep.

People’s lives in the village are fairly stable.

Whilst walking, that’s the atmosphere I feel.

The appearance of hope that these people emit is beautiful.

Because the centre of town is crowded, elder sister decides to take a roundabout way to our destination.

Children run around happily, whilst villagers wave to us as we pa.s.s by.

It seems that elder sister is quite popular with the villagers.

After a little while, we finally reach the east side of the village.

The number of houses has decreased, instead a large hut is here as well as a smaller hut.

Fresh and green gra.s.s stretches all over, the smell of wet soil is strong.

Are they keeping pigs? In the distance I see a few pigs sniffing around and digging up holes in the ground.

In front of us, there is a pig with light pink skin.

『Is there a bulb?』(TLN: Bulb as in plant bulb, might also mean truffles since pigs often are used for truffle hunting)

『There is not』

『Oh! It’s an earthworm!』

『Is that true?』

『I’m not giving you it』

『That’s good. Because I have a bulb』

『Didn’t you say you didn’t have one a short while ago?』

『Umeee!』

『……..I was ignored』

…..I can hear those voices again.

This time, it’s also a masculine voice.

「Jed, is something wrong?」

Because I stopped waking, elder sister turns and looks at me.

「Is that a pig?」

Elder sister previously said that demons are intelligent enough to talk, perhaps this isn’t a pig, but a demon?

「Pig?」

『It’s a human!』

『It is a human!』

『Ooh! That elder sister is beautiful』

『It’s true, she must be captivated by my pig’s foot』

『It isn’t like that surely! She must be fascinated by my st.u.r.dy sirloin』

The pigs bring their faces near, whilst moving their mouths.

Am I the only one hearing this?

In elder sister’s eyes, it may seem like I’m just staring at a pig.

Moreover, if I suddenly said「The pig talked!」I would surely be called a fool’s child.

Let’s go.

I decide to leave and began to walk.

「Are you ok?」

「Yes」

『Ah, there goes the beautiful elder sister』

『She must have been embarra.s.sed by my st.u.r.dy body, what a shy girl』

The pigs give elder sister a hot glance, I ignore it and act indifferently.

Noises could be heard from the log cabin this time.

Voices of men enter my ears.

「I think I just heard a lively voice」

「I don’t hear anything?」

Although elder sister crinkles her eyebrows, I strain my ears.

Do you not hear it? From the cabin built with logs, a loud voice could be heard.

Are they running a pub in the cabin? It sounds as if they are drinking during the daytime.

Whilst thinking about this, I peep into gap between the door and the doorway.

『Suckle, little piglets!』

『『『Yes, Mrs Oak!』』』

『It isn’t Mrs Oak, It’s Mrs Shoat!』

『『『Ok, it isn’t Mrs Oak, Mrs Shoat!』』』

What I saw was suckling pigs, tightly packed together.

Continuing after those voices, was the loud voice of a man.

『Iei！You’re in good form today!』

『I guess, but Bunta! Don’t call my first name so ostentatiously!』

『Sorry! Well, what shall we sing today?』

『Rock is good!』

『I like Jazz!』

『Hip hop!』

『I know! Let’s do everything!』

『『『Ok, Bunta!』』』

『We’ll start with rock!』

『『『Hai!』』』

I must be tired today, I could’ve sworn I was hearing piglets break into song.

I suddenly remembered, whenever I was in the residence. I often heard a ghost’s voice.

「Adorable suckling pigs」

Was my expression too contrastive? Elder sister shows a soft smile. (TLN: Contrastive -> He means his expression was the opposite to what it should be in that situation, it contrasted)

After that, we walked further into the village.

When we arrived on the west side, it was noon and time to eat lunch.

Elder sister Julia was worried as I was looking tired and tried to take me home, but I refused. After all, this was not physical tiredness, but mental.

As Julia was ordering food, I sat outside on a wooden bench.

「Haaa~」

I breathe a sign, a lot has happened today.

I can somehow hear animal voices. Horses, perverted pigs and singing suckling piglets.

I had even sort of communicated with the horse on some level.

Sadly for the horse. I don’t even know where his shed is situated, so how can I visit him?

「After all this, are you tired?」

Julia asks as she looks at me with an anxious expression.

「Ah, it’s only because my stomach is empty」

Elder sister laughs heartily as if to say「Is that so？」whilst handing me a round sandwich.

「The sandwich contains bacon and fresh vegetables」

「……bacon」

After hearing that word I almost drop the sandwich. What’s with this timing?

I had just seen a talking pig a moment ago. The scene began to playback in my mind.

「Aa? Do you like the sandwich Jed?」

「Yes, I love it」

I  like it very much, however it’s appearance was slightly ill-timed.

I bite into the sandwich whilst scowling a little.

I’m surprised that the bacon doesn’t smell. It was juicy and very delicious.

I take the remaining bit with me as we walk along the west side.

Although so far our exploration has been aimless, Elder sister suddenly remembers something and our pace quickens.

Elder sister says with a smile「We were asked by Gladys to get something」

What is elder brother asking for? A wooden sword?

Why would he make elder sister go? Does he think he is too important to get it himself?

Whilst I was thinking this, we pa.s.s a a leather workers house opposite a vegetable seller.

The amount of people around started to decrease, would I perhaps meet another pig like last time?

The idea suddenly crosses my mind.

However, as the amount of people we saw began to decrease even more, a hedge came into view.

Have we reached the edge of the village at last? was what I thought.

A vast plain spreads out in front of us. Nearby, there are a lot of horses.

Some of the horses are running, whilst others are lying down. Although they are enclosed by a hedge, they seem to be enjoying the limited freedom in their life very much.

On the outside, one women is brushing a horse near the entrance the hedge.

「Nina!」

As elder sister calls out, the woman stops brushing and turns around.

「You’re slow. Didn’t you say this morning?」

The woman who turns around seems to be in a bad mood.

She seems to have spent a long time outside, her skin is a healthy light brown.

Her appearance is neither powerful nor timid. Her brown hair is bundled up. She is wearing overalls with the sleeves of her white shirt rolled up. On her feet, she wears leather work shoes for safety.

Next to Nina, the horse who’s brushing was abruptly stopped looks unhappy.

『Aww, you were just about to get to the good spot』

A sulky voice is heard from the horse. When I glance at it, I can see it’s tail shaking.

「Hehe, sorry. I lost track of time whilst touring the village with Jed」

「So you did forget」

The woman glances at elder sister who returns the stare.

「Hey, Jed. This is my friend Nina」

Elder sister seems to prompt me for an introduction.

「I am the Clifford families third son, Jed. Thank you for caring for my elder sister」

「He’s a terribly well behaved child. How old is he?」

「Five years old」

「…..five years old!? ……I wish the other children in the neighbourhood were even a little as well behaved as him」

Nina mutters with a dark expression. Even the spirited Nina doesn’t seem to know what to do about the bad children in the village.

However, the boys are probably doing that because they like Nina. Boys are weak to beautiful elder sisters.

「Are you coming today to pick up Glady’s horse as per the schedule?」

Aa, the business we are here for is to pick up a horse.

Now that I think about it, my elder brothers were planning to ride a horse the other day. Weren’t they?

The most surprising thing was that Elder sister was examining the horses one by one, showing an increased amount of interest.

Elder sister seems to be the most compatible with horses.

「What is Glady’s horse like?」

「Glady’s horse is very fast. However, it doesn’t seem to get along well with him. That’s why Glady’s occasionally makes me take care of it」

「He can get on it without trouble」Nina says「How mysterious」elder sister replies.

How sad, I wonder what the reason is?

『It really is you! The punk kid who can understand my words!』

『No way, couldn’t you have made a mistake Caen?』

To horses walk in parallel.

That voice….it’s the same one I’ve heard before.

『It’s definitely him! definitely!』

The horse called Caen halts, looks at me twice and then approaches.

『That child? Well, he seems to be with Nina so I guess he’s credible』

Why are the horses looking at me strangely?

The two horses seem to be sticking to me before long.

「Oh? Is Jed liked that much?」

「It seems to be true」

They also seem to be rubbing their faces on me as if fawning over a child. It must look very warm from an outsiders view.

However, it’s actually like this.

『Hey! It’s be Caen who you met in the morning!』

『Can this guy really understand?』

『Hey! If you can hear us, then speak』

They talk very loudly in my ear. It feels like they’re blackmailing me somehow.

『If you hear us and don’t speak, I’ll kick you down!  What’s my name?』

He seems as if he’ll attack me if I don’t speak.

「……Caen」

I muttered in small voice whilst trembling.

『Hey look! Did you hear?』

『I can’t believe it! He can really understand what we say?』

「……I can understand」

『No way! Unbelievable!』

「……the horses seem terribly pleased somehow」

「You’re right. Just by meeting Jed once they seem extremely pleased. As a professional breeder, it makes me lose confidence a little」

「It’s probably just happening by chance」

Nina seems depressed now.

『Hey, let’s go over there and talk!』

『Lets go!』

「……yes」

It turns out, I somehow managed to meet Caen twice in one day.

Apparently, I have the ability to speak with animals.and understand them.