Since she can fly she can cover more ground and still catch up to Lizzy. That is going to be our best bet to find the mana beast without wasting time. If she finds some mana beasts she will come back and get me so that I can check them.

While I could probably teach her how to sense a mana beast's level and even how to help them evolve, I am worried. If I send her out scouting the beast lands for mana beasts some of the tribes may attack her. I will probably wait to do that until all the tribes have joined me and are familiar with her.

With her flight speed it should be easy enough for her to go anywhere in the beast lands. Of course, it will depend on how long she can be away from the barrier. We should be able to figure that out after we visit the lizard tribe since we will be passing the mountain.

The monkey and ogre tribes are further south past the sacred mountain. We still have a few days of travel before we get there, but so far things have gone smoothly. I was actually expecting the visit at the city to take longer, so we are ahead of schedule.

With everything going better than expected I find myself worried about something going wrong. It might just be my imagination working over time, but normally things don't go this well. I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and something to go horribly wrong.

Kechara meets up with us for lunch, but reports she hasn't had any luck yet. As we are eating, I am staring at the grass waving in the wind when I realize a problem. The grass is really tall, if the mana beasts are small Kechara won't be able to see them.

However, I don't really have any other options, so when we are done eating Kechara returns to scouting. Instead of riding inside the carriage I climb onto the roof with Asuna. Not only do I want to spend some time with her, but there is a very slim chance I might spot something.

I am leaning back against Asuna and petting her while keeping an eye out for movement. Although, the chances of me spotting something that Lizzy missed is extremely small. About an hour after we started moving again Lizzy suddenly stops and looks around.

"Lizzy, is something wrong?"

Lizzy says "I'm not sure. For a second I caught a really odd scent."

Taking a deep breath I don't smell anything strange, but I trust Lizzy's senses. So I stand up on the carriage roof and look around, trying to sense if anything is nearby. While I can't see, hear, or smell anything, I get the feeling that something is there.

"There is something here, but I can't spot it. What did it smell like?"

Lizzy says "It had an earthy yet spicy scent. Definitely warm blooded."

"Are you sensing any movement underground?"

Lizzy says "Not currently, but I do feel some small tunnels in the area."

After Lizzy finishes speaking I jump down from the carriage and walk into the grass. I move the grass aside and search the ground until I find a hole that is about a foot across. Then I kneel down and take a good look at the ground around it trying to find footprints.

As I do I smell the scent Lizzy mentioned, to me it kind of smells like spiced cider. It is definitely not an unpleasant smell, but it is an odd smell for an animal. That is when I spot the pair of eyes staring at me from within the hole.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."

Slowly the head of the beast comes up out of the hole and I can get a good look at it. Its head is similar to that of a ferret, but it has protruding teeth like a beaver. Its fur is brown, but multiple different shades of brown and it is very clean looking.

The beast finally comes the rest of the way out of the hole and stands on its hind legs. It is about three feet tall, its body is thick compared to its thin neck and head. On its front hands it has long claws, like a badger's, probably meant for digging.

Altogether the beast is rather strange looking, although I am sure girls would call it cute. What interests me is the intelligence I can see in its eyes as it looks at me. However, as I try talking to it, it doesn't show any signs of understanding me.

When talking doesn't work I try pulling dishes out of my pouch and offering them to it. It finally reacts when I pull out a salad, meaning it is probably a herbivore. As it is eating it lets out a happy sounding cry and a few minutes later several more come out of the hole.

It is easy enough for me to keep pulling out salads for the others as they appear. My group is watching from the carriage, but slowly Myria approaches to get a closer look. When she comes up behind me all the beasts stop eating to stare at her.

Luckily, since she is a bunny they don't see her as a threat and quickly return to eating. While they are eating I extend my sense to check on them, but none of them are ready to evolve. Either this isn't the beast I am looking for, or the one that can evolve isn't here.

Myria says "They are kind of cute! What do you plan to do with them?"

"Nothing, I was just seeing if any of them are ready to evolve."

Myria says "Are they?"

"None in this group are. There are probably more spread all across the plains. It would be impossible to go searching through all of them."

Myria says "So, you are not going to adopt one and add it to the family?"

"No. They seem perfectly happy as they are. I don't plan to interfere with them."

Myria says "Then should we get moving?"

"Yeah."

Before returning to the carriage I pull out a couple more salads for the beasts. Then I climb back onto the carriage roof and Lizzy starts moving again. As we move away Lizzy gives the beasts one last look, she is probably wondering what they taste like.

When the sun starts going down we find a decent spot and stop to set up camp. Kechara rejoins us about a half hour later and when she does I start serving dinner. I make sure to give Kechara an extra serving since she spent the entire day flying around.

Kechara says "I didn't find any beasts, but I did find an area of grass that was flattened."

"Was it walked over by something or eaten?"

Kechara says "It looked like both, but I ran out of time to follow the trail. I will try again in the morning."

"Alright. Thanks for all your hard work."

Kechara says "It is no big deal, dad. It is kind of nice to just fly around all day."