We've been here for only an hour and Bomber has already made my day twice. The first moment of hilarity was descending the vine; as we fell, he kicked and squeaked non-stop until passing out in the last ten or twenty feet of the drop.

The second came when he woke up and the both of us made our way down to the first section of the Valley's grass and trees. Bomber's first instinct tells me that either he or ranbli have a basic instinct when it comes to plants: eat first, ask questions later. He didn't even cast me a look to see if it was fine to eat the mana-glowing plants but once he started eating it, he didn't stop until I cleared my throat to get him moving. Mana-enriched grass most likely provides additional nourishment, since on his last stretch of grass I got a certain pop-up for the first time in a long time.

Congratulations! Your summon Bomber has leveled up! + 2 Maximum HP

+ 6 Maximum SP

+ 2 STR

+ 3 DEX

+ 1 INT

+ 1 CON

+ 1 LUCK

+ 1 RES

But don't let that level-up fool you; we hadn't found or faced anything yet to try earning him some experience. Based on his cumulative level, it's likely that only the Boneback or something stronger could do it, so I wasn't particularly interested in that idea yet.

Our first gemfawn finally makes an appearance when we slip into the third flower patch, bearing mismatched crystal antlers as if one had been broken in a struggle or by accident. I still had no idea what to look for that I could see without getting right next to them that would tell me what gender it is... but for the sake of my sanity, I think it's a young male. It's a few inches bigger than the ones I'd seen so far, so it was possible that this one was also just older rather than the species carrying dimorphism.

The entire time I spent analyzing the thing, however, I could feel my impatient striker shifting his club from side-to-side. Maybe it's the fact that he spent so much time slaughtering ranbi, but Bomber doesn't look comfortable with the creature's presence.

I don't blame you for being cautious and uneasy, Bomber, but the two of us need to see if we can capture or convince it to help us.

His ears droop but his expression at least seems understanding. I can't explain it, but while their faces are like that of a rabbit's, they do seem to emulate some human facial gestures like blinking excessively for confusion or scrunching up their nose at bad smells. Right now, Bomber's drooping ears and twitching tail make me think he's sad but excited to see what we do.

Since I didn't tell him the plan for the capture attempt, I guess it's my fault that he doesn't understand how taming will work. Within our storage, we have more than enough flowers to offers as gifts to the gemfawn.

Including the fields we ran across before being picked, while we moved, we have enough that I should be able to raise its relationship quite high if it's anything like how the Amassed Creeper works. The only problem is going out and doing it myself.

I'm a plant and it's a herbivore. It'd be like walking into the room with a gentle-natured tiger; it might be nice but it could turn and try to eat me at any moment. Its crystalline antlers also mean that it most likely can store magic or excess mana for some form of attack or defense. Coming to that conclusion makes me certain that gemfawn must be strong in some manner, otherwise the Boneback Bears would be able to hunt them with ease in this sort of environment.

I pass Bomber a bunch of flowers, taking his club aside and directing him toward the gemfawn.

Make sure you go slow and try to offer them to the creature. If it starts eating them, slowly bring it this way.

The ranbli kid hushedly squeaks and sets off to his task, allowing me the opportunity to patiently dig and try to unearth some of the local cuisine for my snacking. Once we're in Grey Valley's forests, there'll be so much grass that Bomber will be fed... but I need to make sure I have both nourishment and safety snacks.

...

Five minutes of petal peddling and Bomber finally was able to convince the gemfawn to stop shifting away from him. It's astonishing to see my plan and idea working so well... but it's not terribly surprising. Deer and rabbits never really had issues being close to one another in my prior life, so as long as neither scares the other I can't imagine there'd be any reason for the two to fight. Add in the incentive to feed on his flowers and the whole thing is an obvious gravy train of success.

My problems in this situation, however, are that worms are gross and the gemfawn isn't providing pop-ups like the Amassed Creeper Thorn did. Whether it's because Bomber is the one feeding it instead of me shouldn't matter; I've seen plenty of notifications for my summons but right now I'm receiving nothing whenever the gemfawn eats. That means one of two things, neither of which is something I'd consider good.

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First possibility: relationship growth when it's done for my summons isn't tracked. This is the most hopeful thing I'd prefer to happen.

Second possibility: the system doesn't work on gemfawn. It could be due to Bomber feeding it instead or it could be that the Amassed Creeper Thorn works with the system in a different light. My world up until coming to the Grey Valley had been very sheltered so this possibility is there... but it's potential for how bad it can get worries me. Interacting with things and using that system might only incorporate certain individuals, so obviously it's bad if that system only works within certain conditions rather than any.

All I know is that I'm not going to risk getting close to the damn thing even if I have enough spells to turn it into a thorn-cushion. It's good enough for me that the gemfawn's feasting is going well. Bomber is even starting to lead it around by offering and stepping away.

At the very least, we can lead it. I doubt experts would call it taming but for now it's good enough.

Bomber, set the flowers down. Let's see if it still follows you.

Even if he can't see me that well amidst the flowers, the little guy drops the flowers from above the shade mixed line and starts moving away. Our gemfawn guest chooses to stay perfectly still and make us both look silly, chomping down on the other flowers around us.

Taming it... isn't going to work out. We don't have the flower supply nor the time if the system isn't working; even if it is working, the amount of time we'll spend trying to get a deer to be obedient seems a complete waste.

That makes the next best option to capture it.

Bomber, come here.

The ranbli takes a few moments to scramble around the field and I use that time to access the Inventory. While it's good to know we can feed the deer flowers and keep it content, it was always more likely that we'd need to secure it via capture. Thankfully, we have enough Creeper Thorn in supply that we were able to create something perfect for the job.

Withdraw Creeper Thorn Leash.

Seven feet of length and an adjustable collar might not sound like much, but when you realize just how much Creeper Thorn I had to harvest until I had not just the right length but also similar thickness so I could bind them tighter? This thing may be simple but its strength is enough that neither Bomber nor Ivy could break it by pulling on it. It also should be strong enough so even chewing or biting it won't outright snap it, since it took a fairly sharp blade to cut right through the vine while I was testing it.

Bomber emerges, at last, brushing stray petals off his head. Heh. It's a good reminder that I'm not the only one out of my element. I may have reincarnated and had an isekai experience on top of that, but even natives to this world can find things they've not encountered.

Handing him both the leash and the collar, I take a minute to make sure he has both in as firm a grip as his paws can muster.

Alright. So... the plan is simple, Bomber. I want you to go out there, put the collar - the ring part - over its head. You might need to jump... but once you get it on, slide it down its neck and then tighten it up. If you go slow and give it flowers, it shouldn't worry too much.

I'm not going to sweat it too much if the flower-eating bastard runs off with the leash but I'll admit I'd be a bit angry since we only made two. Unfortunately, we can't exactly practice doing this back home at the dungeon since none of us are the right height nor able to match the gemfawn's temperament.

Once the collar is tight, pull the leash and try to lead it this way. Got it?

Although he nods, I don't think he fully gets it. But that's fine because Bomber is at least trying. Capturing a gemfawn is just our first idea of many while in Grey Valley. The reward for it working could allow us to make use of the creature's size to carry or drag our loot. While I can send things to my Inventory, it needs to be within some reason for me to actually utilize it.

And maybe we find something that doesn't fit or want to keep it with us. You never know what we might find or what Brogdar will throw my way.

... Wait, Bomber already left?

Oh no, Bomber is-

Bomber walks right up and does the most profound thing I've seen since I've known him, at least on par with his selective High-Kick finisher.

He hops up out of the tall flowery zone and lands right on the deer's back, effortlessly slinking the leash on and tightening it without the gemfawn so much as even giving him a glance. Bomber turns to look at me and wave so fast that I guess there's only one explanation.

The system works and these two are friendly. Either that or the gemfawn just doesn't give a shit what happens to it. At this point, I think it might just be the creature's simple lifestyle of eating and relaxing making this easier than it should be.

Now that we have our beast and no longer need to stay on the outskirts, it's time to head into the forest proper and see if we can't find something to fight or explore. I'd wager that most reincarnated heroes and heroines probably feel excitement right about now but I feel like I'm forgetting something.

I remember the instant I see the gemfawn turn its head and its pair of mismatched antlers glow bright red.

Right. The gemfawn can store mana so why can't it use magic?

Dodge Bomber! Jump toward me!

Unlike his normal confusion or doubt, my tone makes it painfully clear that I'm serious. Our relationship had been the only one improved so far out of my summons and maybe that played a part to.

Bomber springs clear of the gemfawn mere seconds before sparks of fire burst out of the antlers and spew through the air where he had been sitting. Cinders of magical fire spin and curl, igniting the flowers around the gemfawn as it spins around and paces away from the burning patch and the scrambling ranbli. In an instant, I can understand why the Boneback developed magic-resisting bones on its back. Comparing the bear and the deer, the bear is shorter; if it were to cast spells like this, it likely would burn along the Boneback's spine.

Gemfawn capture aborted. It's too dangerous to take back with us right now, for me or the dungeon. It's going to have to die.