The entire venue fell silent, as quiet as a cicada in winter.
That statement was really profound...
Nanako rubbed the sweat from her head and said, "Andrew, you are indeed knowledgeable!"
Andrew's gaze swept across the room, his expression indifferent as he said,
"Is that so, Nanako? Then this mission is assigned to you."
At this, Nanako was taken aback and said, "Eh, why me?"
Andrew calmly replied, "Because you are an ice mage, and the area where the anomaly occurred is in the volcanic region within the Southern Silver Empire. Many of the anomalous areas are related to a special flame curse, so you are the best choice."
Nanako was momentarily speechless and said, "But... I don't understand pig language!"
The pig let out angry grunts.
Andrew calmly said, "Isn't this a perfect opportunity to learn a new foreign language?"
Nanako was dumbfounded.
...
Half an hour later.
Nanako, wearing a large wizard's hat and holding a staff, walked towards her wizard's tower.
Beside her was a plump, silly-looking white pig.
"So..." Nanako covered her forehead and said in exasperation, "How am I supposed to communicate with you? I know you're a person, but now you're a pig!"
The pig ^(*￣(oo)￣)^ said, "Grunt grumble yip yip yeah!"
Then it swung the backpack hanging around its neck, and a thick dictionary fell out.
Nanako was stunned.
She picked up the book.
On it were written a few large words.
"Basic Knowledge of Multiple Foreign Languages on the Continent: Basic Grammar of Wild Boar Language"
Author: Lynn.
Nanako opened the book's title page in astonishment and quickly read through it, exclaiming in amazement, "Wow... it's incredible that someone actually made a simultaneous dictionary for pig language. That's so amazing!"
The pig ^(*￣(oo)￣)^ said, "Yip yip grumble yip yip yeah!"
With difficulty, Nanako translated his words according to the dictionary and hesitated,
"You mean, you and two other companions were also turned into pigs and are now in Winter Spring Valley? And you want me to find them?"
The pig nodded with a silly expression.
Nanako sighed in resignation.
Having accepted the mission, as the steward of Winter Spring Valley, she naturally had to take responsibility for the matter.
Soon.
A duo of a girl and a pig made their way through the central market of Winter Spring Valley, arriving at their temporary residence.
Pushing open the door, they looked around but found nothing.
"Are you sure they are here?" Nanako asked doubtfully.
The pig sniffed around and then nudged the front table.
"Grunt grumble!"
Nanako went over to take a look and saw a few crooked words written on the table.
"We went shopping, don't worry!"
There was also a pig hoof print at the end, indicating the identity.
Nanako: "……"
Instantly, an image of two white pigs with backpacks and wizard hats strolling together popped into her mind.
No matter how she thought about it, it was very incongruous!
Nanako sighed in resignation and said, "Even though they've turned into little piggies, they still have the mood to go shopping. I really have to admire the big hearts of your two friends!"
She shook her head, turned around, and walked out the door with the big white pig to find his two friends.
After all, they had to go to the south for the mission.
Without their guidance, it would be quite troublesome.
However, it was indeed strange. Although there were indeed some spells in this world that could turn people into animals,
they would usually revert to their original forms once the spell's duration ended.
But their situation was different.
Nanako slightly frowned.
Because Andrew had already examined them, their bodies were heavily imbued with magical energy.
However, there was no way to find a method to turn them back.
Could it really be some kind of curse?
Soon, they inquired their way and arrived at the market once more.
Looking at the bustling crowd, Nanako said in exasperation, "Piggy, don't you have any way to contact them? This way of searching isn't going to work!"
The pig shook its head with a silly expression.
Nanako shrugged her shoulders. Suddenly, she paused and said, "Wait a minute, aside from us, does anyone else in Winter Spring Valley know their true identities?"
The pig paused and then shook its head.
Nanako tilted her head and said, "So, I mean... this is a vegetable market... what would happen if they were really mistaken for pigs?"
And just as she finished speaking,
a series of admiring discussions came from the distant crowd.
"You can't deny, Winter Spring Valley really is something. Even the pigs here have magical energy!"
"Yeah! Look at those two big white pigs with wizard hats from this morning. They definitely aren't ordinary pigs!"
"That's right, they were caught right out of the vegetable market gate, squealing and squirming, and then they were carried straight to the slaughterhouse!"
"……"
"……"
"……"
The wind blew past Nanako's stunned face.
The pig beside her opened its mouth, its black bean eyes equally stunned.
In an instant.
Both Nanako and the pig widened their eyes, their faces showing an expression of extreme shock.
"You've got to be kidding!!" Nanako clutched her ponytail and screamed, her entire person (ΩДΩ).
"They weren't really mistaken for pigs and slaughtered, were they!!"
...
A few minutes later.
After a frantic run,
the girl and the pig panted heavily as they stopped in front of the slaughterhouse.
Nanako grabbed the stall and urgently asked, "Quick! Tell me, did you catch two pigs with wizard hats and backpacks not long ago?!"
The stall owner was stunned and then chuckled, "So you've heard too! That's right! About half an hour ago, I was about to go to the vegetable market, and wow, two big, plump white pigs just strutted right past me!"
"Th...then what?" Nanako stuttered.
The owner rolled up his sleeves proudly and said,
"What else could I do? Walking so arrogantly in front of a butcher like me, who else would I catch? I grabbed them in one go, and you know, they squealed so loudly, I had to call over seven or eight people to carry them back!"
Nanako: "(ΩДΩ)!!!"
Pig: "(ΩДΩ)!!!"
Nanako stuttered, "Then you slaughtered them?"
The owner was stunned and chuckled, "Not yet, I was about to slaughter them when a customer arrived, and they immediately took a liking to these two fat white pigs. They bought them in one big deal!"
"They said they wanted to make soup!"
Nanako was overjoyed, which meant the two pigs hadn't been killed yet?!
That's great!
Really great!
As long as they weren't slaughtered, it wasn't too late.
She exclaimed happily, "Quick, tell us who that person is? We have very important matters to discuss with them!"
The owner was about to speak.
At that moment, a faint glow emitted from the gem on Nanako's staff.
Then a message from Lynn chuckled in her ear.
"Master, I just bought some pork and plan to make you some honey-glazed pig trotters and soup. Master, hurry back to eat, I'll hang up first."
The breeze blew gently.
Nanako stood there in shock.
"……"
"……"