This chapter is a
continuation of the Volume 7 side story that I skipped before.
----------------------------------------------------
Side Story : Do You Like Puppies?
Translator : PolterGlast
Two shadows were
reflected in the dimly lit room.
Surrounding the two
figures was a row of weird equipment reminiscent of a laboratory, with various
colors of magical light shining through the equipment.
"So, how are things
going?"
One was a tall,
slender guy. His ears and tail, covered with shiny golden fur, were illuminated
by a suspicious glow of magical light.
"We haven't
gotten any results yet. We just finished that prototype a couple of days ago,
you know. More importantly, where did you put that prototype?"
The other one is a boy
with a rather distinct medieval tone in his voice.
He had been moving
around the room for a while now, working on some kind of equipment that had
been installed there.
He placed something in
the form of a shredded thread in a beaker that glowed purple, and subsequently
placed a sheet of paper on the laboratory table.
A circular magic
circle was drawn onto it, and a plate-like object reminiscent of a crescent
moon was placed on top of it.
"Since it's a
prototype, it needs to be tested. I thought so, so I'm putting it to the test
now."
"Where did you
put it?"
"Don't worry. We
are dealing with a reliable customer."
The boy gave a
disgruntled glance at the fox-eared guy, but at that moment, smoke erupted from
a purple beaker.
The boy hurriedly took
the thread-like material out of the beaker and placed it on the magic circle on
the lab table.
"Anyway, we don't
have enough material to make the complete version."
"If so, I guess
I'll have to go out and get some. I'll be right back."
The fox-eared guy
turned on his heel and quickly left the room.
The boy was left
behind, illuminated by a purple magic light as he continued his dubious
experiments.
==================================
One day after school.
Nozomu was invited by Irisdina to the forest north of the city.
According to her, she
wanted him to help with a request she had received from the guild.
Of course, they were
going to split the commission fifty-fifty, and since it was Irisdina's request,
Nozomu gladly accepted the offer.
"So, the request
was to take care of the wild hounds, was it?"
"Yes, the son and
daughter-in-law of a hunter who died last year asked us to take care of them.
There were two of them. There have been several sightings of similar-looking
dogs in these northern woods. They wanted us to escort them home and protect
them if we could, but if that's not possible, they'd like us to take care of
the Hounds for them. That's what they said."
"I see…"
The request was to
protect them. If it was not possible, the request was to kill the Hounds.
The Hounds were
originally owned by the client's father, and when he passed away, they both
disappeared.
Hounds that became
wild and started to harm people were identified as demon beasts. Demon beasts
known as Wild Dogs were classified in this category.
In particular, Hounds
that have been kept by people are especially dangerous because they are not
afraid of humans.
One or two Hounds
would not be a problem for Nozomu and Irisdina, but for ordinary people and
children who do not know how to fight, they would be a threat. Nozomu, who had
experienced being attacked, was well aware of this.
"Nozomu, is there
any place around here where hounds might find a place to reside?"
"There is. If
they are still alive, it is very likely that they are living in the outskirts
of the city, moving around the boundaries of their respective territories to
avoid being spotted by the other Wild Dogs and Goblins who have settled in the
outskirts of the city. But they won't be able to go deep into the forest.
Because there are Orcs and Cyclops and the like in that area."
Wild Dogs are
classified as low-ranking demonic beasts. They are a threat in numbers, but
their abilities are nowhere near those of a Cyclops or other such creatures.
If they have lived
their lives as hunting dogs, they are probably familiar with the threats posed
by other demonic beasts. If there are only two of them, they should avoid
fighting with other demonic beasts.
Besides, if they are
accustomed to people, they would have no qualms about setting up a nest near a
human town.
Therefore, Nozomu and
Irisdina began to search near the northern road.
"Iris, I found an
animal trail. Some relatively new footprints."
It took about 30
minutes to find the footprints that were supposedly left by the hounds that
were the target of the request.
The footprints of what
appeared to be several dogs were traced on the animal trail that stretched
through the gap between the trees.
"The number is...4.
The number doesn't match, but two of the footprints are smaller than the other
two. They could be Dogs born this year."
"So, you mean
they are watchdogs?"
They were told that
there were only two hounds, but there was no information in the request form
that they were watchdogs.
Judging from the small
footprints, it could be assumed that the two hounds were still children, but
watchdogs with children are sometimes more troublesome than a higher-ranked
demonic beast. This is because they will bare their fangs in a desperate
attempt to protect their children.
Nozomu and Irisdina
proceed down the animal trail with even more caution.
"Nozomu ... I
found the nest."
Eventually, Irisdina
found a nest at the end of the trail.
The two of them went
around the nest and hid in the bushes to take a peek at the nest.
The nest, built by the
hounds, was a simple one with a hole dug in the ground.
In front of the
entrance of the nest, two puppies, which appeared to be the watchdogs' cubs,
were playing with each other.
"Two puppies ...
The numbers match. Looks like they were born this year after all."
"Yeah…"
While snuggled up next
to Irisdina, Nozomu searched for any signs of their surroundings.
Meanwhile, Irisdina
stared intently at the nest, perhaps considering the possibility that the
parents might be in the nest.
"Looks like the
parents aren't here..."
"Yeah…"
They could not detect
any sign of large demonic beasts in the surrounding area.
For the time being,
Nozomu returned his gaze to the nest.
The puppies that were
playing with each other were still quite young. They are only a few months old.
Maybe not even a month old. They have short legs and rounded bodies. Their body
fur is not yet smooth, but fluffy and shaggy like wool.
The fact that they
moved with such young children indicated that they might be chased by other
demon beasts and moved out of their previous nests.
This probably means
that the parent hounds would not have gone that far from the nest, and would
likely be hunting in the vicinity.
In other words, the
parent hounds will be back sooner or later.
"Iris, what are
we going to do? Should we just secure the puppies while we can? Or do we wait
until after the parents get here?"
"Yeah……"
Should we just wait
until the parents return and round them up, or should we secure just the
puppies first?
By the looks of it,
the pups had not been born very long. If so, they would be less wary of humans.
In other words, although it was uncertain whether the parents would harm people
as a result of becoming feral, it might be possible to hand over only the
puppies to the client. However, Irisdina's response to Nozomu's question was
strangely slow.
"...Iris?"
"Yeah…"
No, it was not just
slow.
When Nozomu glanced at
the girl next to him to see what was going on, Irisdina was staring at the
puppies playing with each other with a sparkling gaze as if she were a child.
"F-, furballs ...
Two fluffy furballs ... Ah, I want to stroke them. I want to rub them on my
cheeks..."
"…………”
Nozomu couldn't
believe his ears at the words that escaped from Irisdina's mouth, who had a
serious look in her eyes.
He felt as if he had
just heard something very out of place.
Furballs, fluffy, rub,
and cheeks...
"W-, what is it?"
"Do you have a
soft spot for puppies, by any chance?"
"W-, what are you
talking about? There's no way I have a soft spot for them!"
Her voice was
obviously shaky. And her eyes were scurrying and swimming in the air. It wasn't
very convincing at all.
"Iris, do you
like puppies?”
"W-, wha? T-,
That's not it. There's no way I find those round eyes adorable, nor those
little wobbly legs would make my heart melt."
"What about their
cuteness?"
"Cute is Justice!
Ah-, no, umm..."
It was confirmed. This
girl, forgetting about the request, was completely captivated by the puppies.
A surprising fact is
that she, who is so dignified and mature, actually likes puppies. And the sight
of her cheeks turning red with embarrassment at being told of it is quite
charming.
Unfortunately,
however, Nozomu was unable to enjoy that moment.
"More
importantly, Iris, you were yelling so loud that the puppies found us..."
"Eh?"
The puppies' eyes,
which had been playing with each other earlier, were now turned toward the
bushes where Nozomu and Irisdina were hiding.
In addition, next to
the puppies, there were two larger dogs that had not been there before.
"What's more,
their parents are back."
"Eeeh!?"
"Grrrrrrrr..."
The parents of the
puppies were growling and glaring at the bushes with full alertness. They were
obviously aware of Nozomu and Irisdina.
"What are we
going to do? They're completely on guard."
"Don't worry.
I've prepared a secret tool for this kind of situation."
A secret tool.
Since she said so, it
sounded reassuring, but for some reason, Nozomu couldn't shake his bad
premonition.
He felt that he had
witnessed a similar situation just the other day.
"This is it!
These are the gloves that their former owner used to wear. If I wear these
gloves with their owner's scent on them, they will think of me as their
companion!"
His bad premonition
was proven right.
The way she
confidently took out the equipment was a perfect mirror image of her younger
sister. In addition, the subtle smell of disappointment that wafted through the
air also matched hers.
"No, those gloves
are over a year old, aren't they? Their former owner's scent must have long
since worn off. And no matter how many gloves you put on, if it's Iris who's
wearing them, they're not going to let their guard down... -hey, listen to
me!"
Though he thought it
was useless and tried to interject, Iris, of course, did not hear him.
She put on the gloves
and confidently approached the dogs. All she focused on was the furballs.
"Hey, it's okay.
I'm on your side..."
Irisdina walked up to
them with a fond smile on her face. In front of her, the dogs were still
growling in full alertness.
Moreover, they have
lowered their heads and bared their fangs. They were completely ready for
battle.
"... Huh? That's
strange."
"Not surprising.
Good grief, they are sisters and have the same behavior pattern..."
As expected, it would
no longer be possible to bring them back if they were so alarmed.
"Iris, since it
comes to this, we have no choice but to kill them..."
"No, don't! I
will protect them at all costs!"
Irisdina, however, was
determined to protect them and did not seem to be willing to give them up at
all.
Her personal feelings
were on full display, and she showed no signs of giving in at all. Her usual
calmness had been erased without a trace.
"Then how are we
going to protect them? If we take them by force, they won't open up to us, and
even if we take the time for them to let their guard down, other adventurers
might take care of them in the meantime..."
"~……"
Nevertheless, she
seemed to still have the rationality to listen to what he was saying, and when
he pushed her to reason with him, she seemed to easily be at a loss for words.
With a sad expression
on her face, she looked back and forth between the Furballs and Nozomu.
Her sad, moist eyes
stirred Nozomu's sense of guilt.
(I'm begging you,
don't look at me with those abandoned puppy eyes---!)
Even Nozomu did not
want to kill them if he could, but he could not ignore the request.
At that moment, a
familiar voice could be heard by Nozomu and Irisdina.
"Huh? Is that
you, Nozomu? What are you doing in a place like this?"
"Feo, why are you
here?..."
The one who suddenly
appeared was Feo, dressed in his adventurous gear. He was carrying his trusted
staff on his back and a large bag of some sort.
"I saw the
request, too. A request to take care of the Wild Dogs that has been roaming
around here lately."
Feo's gaze fell on the
hounds and their cubs, who were growling behind Nozomu and Irisdina.
The parents also
noticed the meaning of Feo's gaze and turned from Nozomu and Irisdina to Feo.
Just like when they were facing Nozomu and Irisdina earlier, they were firmly
gripping the ground with all their limbs, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Feo-kun, wait a
minute. They are not going wild yet! It's too early to kill them as demon
beasts!"
"No, those dogs
have been on their guard for a while now..."
"They're just
wary of us because we came out of nowhere. Don't worry, give them time and they
will realize that we are not hostile!"
Irisdina stood between
the hounds and Feo.
Irisdina tried to
convince Feo that there was no need to kill them. Feo, however, turned down her
idea with an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm sorry to say
this, but even I can't give in to this situation. Please bear with me."
Irisdina suddenly
began to radiate a threatening air, and Feo suddenly held up the staff he was
carrying on his back.
Suddenly, the two of
them were in a confrontational atmosphere, and Nozomu hurriedly intervened.
"Oi, Feo, calm
down. Iris, you too."
"What are you
saying? There's no way I can leave these cute little furballs-... these little
lives alone!"
"You just said furballs,
didn't you?"
Even though she was
radiating such a dangerous aura, her brain was still full of furballs.
That gap made Nozomu
couldn't help but throw Tsukkomi at her.
"I can't give in,
either. My future life is at stake after all."
"No, your life of
poverty is more than half your own fault, but if it's just a little bit, I can
accommodate you, you know?"
Feo's poverty is
mostly his own fault, but as expected, it was not good to leave the situation
in such a difficult atmosphere.
Nozomu's wallet is not
that thick either, but for the sake of his friends who helped him out, he is
willing to do anything to help them.
However, his wish was
not granted.
"Fine by me. If
you come with force, then I will return it with the same force."
"Bring it
on."
The tension between
them swelled up at once.
Despite various
unfortunate reasons, they are both highly-ranked students in their third year
at Solminati Academy. Naturally, their fighting spirits are extraordinary.
The parents of the
puppies, exposed to the fighting spirit of the two, widened their eyes for a
moment, and then one of the young puppies let out a cry that sounded like a
screech.
The next moment, Feo
made his move.
Quickly, he pulled out
two spheres from his pocket and slammed them into the ground.
An intense flash and a
burst of sound followed. White smoke rose up and covered Irisdina and the
others' vision.
"Wha?"
"What's with this
sudden blindness?"
While depriving
Irisdina and the others of their vision with balls of light and smoke, Feo
quickly used a physical enhancement spell to strengthen his body. He then
sprinted toward his target.
The hounds were in a
state of panic from the sudden flash and burst of sound.
"Kuh!"
Irisdina quickly cast
a spell even though her vision was almost completely blocked.
Aiming at Feo, who was
hidden by a smoke screen, she fired a magic bullet.
The magic bullet was
able to accurately target Feo, who was running past Irisdina and the others,
despite the fact that he was almost invisible.
However, before the
magic bullet landed on Feo's body, it dissipated along with a burst of sound.
Apparently, Feo had
used a simple magic barrier in addition to body-strengthening magic.
"Hahaha, I'll
take these babies for now! Bye~bye~!"
"Ku~n,
ku~n..."
Feo rushed to the
puppies' side, quickly stuffed them into the bag he was carrying, and then left
with a strangely annoying line.
The anxious whimpering
of the puppies echoed in the smoke-filled surroundings.
Seconds later, when
the smoke cleared, all that was left was Irisdina, who was frozen with a
stunned look on her face and her hands raised in the air. And with the cubs
gone, all that was left were the parents, who were turning to the right and
left.
====================================
Feo, having completed
securing his target, was on his way back to the hut in the civic district where
he was based.
This was a hut Tom had
rented for his alchemy experiments, originally a workshop built by a senior
student.
While working in the
workshop, Tom received the target from Feo and picked it up to check on the
puppies' health.
The puppies were
shivering and crying anxiously, probably because they had been brought to a
strange place.
"So you used a
smoke ball? I don't want the fur to get a funny smell on it, you know..."
He sniffed the fur
while asking Feo a few questions.
It smelled a little
smoky, probably from the smoke ball.
"It can't be
helped, can it? Nozomu and Hime-san were working together, you know. It's a
good thing I was able to get away with just that."
"... I'm amazed
you managed to escape."
“It’s because Nozomu let his guard down completely. If
he had been on full alert, I would choose to flee immediately."
Tom sighed
involuntarily as he listened to what happened from Feo.
Nozomu and Irisdina.
Both of them are already top-ranked in the Solminati Academy.
A young man with the
ability to detect the presence of a beast man and outstanding swordsmanship.
The other is a talented young woman who is proficient in all kinds of
techniques, from magic to swordsmanship.
Knowing them both so
well, it was almost a miracle that Feo was able to escape.
"Well then, let's
get started..."
"Ku~n,
ku~n..."
"I'm sorry. I'm
not going to let your lives go to waste..."
With such a meaningful
line, Tom lifted one of the puppies in his arms and disappeared behind the
door.
Feo sat down on a
nearby chair, looking relieved.
He had been worried
that Nozomu and Irisdina might catch up with him.
But this hut was on
the outskirts of the civic district.
Even if Nozomu and
Irisdina had returned to Arcazam immediately after what had happened, it would
have been impossible for them to find this place immediately.
With that thought, Feo
let out a breath of relief and picked up the one remaining puppy. The puppy was
tense, its limbs taut, and it was scurrying around with an anxious expression
on its face.
But the next moment,
the entrance door suddenly blew open with a crashing sound.
"W-, what
the!?"
"Stop right
there. You ruffian!"
"H-, Hime-san!?
How did you find this place!?"
The one who blew down
the door was Irisdina, who Feo thought he had shaken off. She was carrying her
drawn rapier in her hand, and her whole body was filled with fighting spirit.
"I would not have
been able to do it alone. But now I have friends I can rely on!"
""Uo~~~n!"
Behind her were the
puppies' parents. Apparently, these dogs had tracked Feo's scent to reach this
place.
"Wan, wan,
wan!"
The puppy, which Feo
had picked up, squealed with delight at the appearance of its parents.
"Kuh, did you
manage to make the parent hounds come with you?"
"I didn't make
them come with me. We joined forces!"
"Kuh~, Tom, can
you hear me? We're under attack! Get out of here!"
"E-, eh!? Wait,
uwa!"
Suddenly, from behind
the door, there was a banging and a thumping sound of a falling object coming
from the other side of the door.
Then came the thuds,
bangs, and clangs.
"What the hell!?
Tom, what happened!"
"Nozomu is
cutting through the wall and entering from the other side. But still, I never
thought it would be Tom who was pulling the strings behind the scenes..."
Apparently, Nozomu had
launched a surprise attack from the rear, just in time with Irisdina's entry. It was truly a pincer
attack. Tiger at the front gate, wolf at the rear gate.
But the person Feo
currently facing now was much more fearsome than a wolf or a tiger.
"Well then, don't
think you can escape now."
"Damn it, we
can't be caught in a place like this!"
Even so, Feo did not
surrender.
He held up the puppy
he had picked up and again slammed a ball of light and a ball of smoke.
While depriving his
opponent of their vision, he strengthened his body and activated his magic
barrier. He attempted to escape through a nearby window.
"Too naive! I
won't fall for the same trick!"
But this time,
Irisdina would not let him escape.
After swiftly blocking
Feo's escape route, she poured magic power into her rapier and with a single
sword stroke, she cut through the magic barrier like a piece of paper.
"Hiih~! It grazed
me, it grazed me!"
Feo screamed as he saw
the deadly attack grazed his cheek.
Irisdina then thrusts
the rapier at him as if to finish him off.
The thrust struck
Feo's fox ear and pierced deeply into the wall of the hut.
"I didn't hit you
for the sake of being your friend. But if you try to run away again, I will ...
cut you down."
If I was not her
friend, would she cut me down without question?
While letting such a
question slip from his mind, Feo raised his hands and surrendered.
The released puppy
rushed to its parents and pampered them wholeheartedly as if to drown out any
anxiety it might have been feeling.
"Now, we have to
rescue the other one."
While smiling at the
puppy's situation, Irisdina walked to the back of the room to rescue the
remaining puppy.
"Nozomu, we've
caught the culprit over here. All that's left to do is to catch the root of
th-..."
Though Irisdina
stepped into the laboratory with high spirits, she involuntarily froze at the
sight in front of her.
The wall of the hut
that has been cut down ... this is probably the hole that Nozomu made when he
entered the room. However, the person who rushed in is still holding his drawn
katana, and for some reason has a stunned expression on his face.
On the desk in the
middle of the room, there is a piece of paper with a magic circle on it, and
Tom is holding the puppy in his left hand, looking stunned and stiff with an
expression of shock on his face.
What caught her eye
more than anything else was what Tom was holding in his right hand.
It was a brush with a
very fine whisker attached to it. Obviously, it was not something a human would
use, but something for combing fur and the like.
The brush's whiskers
were full of fur that seemed to belong to the puppy, and the puppy, for some
reason, seemed to be comfortable as he leaned back against Tom.
"Nozomu, what is
this about?"
"Brushing... it
seems."
"... Ha?"
Wasn't he trying to
use the puppy as experimental material? There are some suspiciously colored
chemicals and magic circles laid out ....... But brushing?
In Irisdina's head?
Question marks danced wildly.
"It's terrible of
both of you! You're destroying my workshop like this!"
"No, umm...
eh?"
Tom, who was stiff
with the brush in his hand, cried out in protest and snapped at the confused
Irisdina and Nozomu. That further aggravated their confusion.
"C-, can you guys
explain about this in detail, please?'"
Tom cried out in
tears. Nozomu and Irisdina were moving left and right, flustered. And the puppy
lying comfortably on the floor.
In the midst of the chaos,
Feo began to tell the whole situation in a weak voice.
=================================
It all started when
Tom wanted to have his own workshop.
While looking for a
suitable property, Tom found one that had been abandoned because the owner of
the workshop had left Arcazam. Just recently, he rented it at a reasonable
price.
However, he spent most
of the money he had on hand to rent it, and as a result, Tom had to struggle
for money for a while.
At that time, he was
approached by Feo with an offer to make a certain product, and he thought he
could make money by helping him with it.
For that business, he
desperately needed animal fur. And they needed high-quality animal fur at that.
So Feo went around and
caught animals. Tom then brushed the animals to get the fur, and they worked
hard to make their products.
"Well, what you
did was misleading..."
After Feo explained
the situation to Nozomu, he let out a sigh of relief.
From the beginning,
Feo had no intention of taking the puppy's life. He was going to return them to
their parents after he received some of their fur.
He had not received
the request for the Wild Dogs, either, just having seen it on the guild's
bulletin board.
"Good grief, this
is a huge loss for us. The materials we had saved up are gone, and the workshop
is destroyed..."
"If Feo had
explained the situation from the beginning, we wouldn't be in this
situation..."
"Don't be an
idiot. Information is vital in business. We haven't mass-produced the product
yet, and information leakage is the most important thing we have to worry
about."
"No, well, that
may be true... But still, selling animal-fur goods is a bit..."
By the way, the
products Tom was making were animal ear made of animal fur. Yes, it was the
same line of products as the cat-ear magic items that Somia had.
In fact, in a corner
of the laboratory, there were not only cat ears, but also a wide variety of animal
ear-shaped items, such as rats, horses, sheep, and deer.
"Will they
sell?"
"A small
percentage of our customers have already placed orders. One of our major
customers is Hime-san's sister..."
"Oh, come to
think of it, Somia-chan also had one…”
Nozomu recalled a girl
wearing cat ears and playing around in a vacant lot in the commercial district.
The image he recalled
along with a headache certainly suited her well.
"... I, I have no
idea! Have you seen her wearing it, Nozomu!?"
"Yeah, she was
really cute. Well, there was a thing afterward..."
Irisdina was upset
that she had no idea about it at all.
Although Nozomu did
not tell Irisdina because Somia herself had asked him not to tell her, Irisdina
herself was quite shocked.
"Wh-, what on
earth is going on here?..."
Irisdina put her hands
on the floor and hung her head as if it was the end of the world.
Just as she was about
to fall into a state of disappointment, the two puppies she had protected ran
up to her and began to lick her face.
"Ku~n, ku~n..."
"Are you
comforting me?..."
With tears in her
eyes, the very moved Irisdina embraced the puppies.
She embraced them as
if she would never let them go. The puppies cry out in pain, and their parents
yelp in protest, "Woof - woof!".
Irisdina loosened her
arms in a hurry, and the puppies licked her sweetly. And then Irisdina's arms
get tighter again, and so these patterns began to repeat themselves.
"Good
grief…"
Nozomu smiled wryly at
Irisdina and the dogs as they repeated the loop like a comedic act.
"By the way,
Nozomu-kun. I hope you will pay for these damages."
"...Eh?"
Hearing this sudden
words, Nozomu was involuntarily taken aback.
Looking closer, Tom,
with an ice-cold smile on his face, pointed to the wall that Nozomu had cut
down.
The hole Nozomu made
was two meters long and less than one meter wide. Not only the wood of the
wall, but also the tiles lining the inside of the wall were all cut and torn,
falling to the floor and shattered.
Incidentally, these
tiles. Since alchemy involves the use of magical materials, these tiles were
specially manufactured with various measures, such as soundproofing and
anti-magic, making them quite expensive.
Specifically, one of
these special tiles alone costs the equivalent of three days' worth of food for
Nozomu.
However one might look
at it, more than 20 of them had completely gone back to the dirt.
"Nozomu, you
slashed them, of course, it's only natural."
"Um, Tom. Are you
angry?"
"What makes you
think I'm not?"
No wonder, since he
had just acquired the workshop he had longed for, and now it is in this state.
It was too dangerous
to use it as a workshop without at least replacing these special tiles.
"The workshop is
a mess! The fluffy ears and tail I made with my best effort are covered in the
rubble! Who wouldn't be angered by this is out of their mind!"
"H-, huh? Are you
one of those guys who like animal ears?"
"What are you
talking about? There is no craftsman who wouldn't be angry if his work was
destroyed!"
Indeed.
Although there was
probably some personal preference in it, if one thought about it, his
girlfriend is also a beastman. Well, no wonder he was furious.
"Umm,
Feo..."
Looking to Feo for
help, the fox-eared young man smiled a radiant smile and gave a thumbs up.
"Well then, it's
time for me to make another sales pitch."
And then he firmly
dismissed Nozomu. He is a man who never wavers when it comes to money.
"As for these
dogs, I'll leave it to Hime-san!"
"Umu! I'll take
good care of them at the Francilt mansion. I'm sure Mena will be convinced if I
explain to her that they will also make splendid guard dogs!"
Feo left the workshop
before Nozomu had time to rely on him. In no time at all, Feo had left the
workshop and disappeared into the crowd.
"Leave it to me.
I will raise you to be as good hounds as your parents!"
Irisdina, on the other
hand, lifted the puppies high in the air and made such a declaration with
enthusiasm.
The puppies wag their
tails happily as they were lifted up. Irisdina happily cuddled the puppies.
She was so absorbed in
the puppies that she didn't even notice Nozomu's pleading for her help. All she
could see were the furballs...
"Um, I'm begging
you..."
"That's a given!
Right!?"
"Yes……"
Nozomu raised the
white flag completely when Tom came at him with so much fierceness.
It was terrifying.
Specifically, he was as scary as his late master whom he had angered before.
After that, he had to
clean up the messy workshop with Irisdina until the evening on Tom's orders.
Even from the side,
Nozomu's eyes looked cloudy like a dead fish as he cleared away the walls he
had cut down with a broom and a dustpan.
Unlike the mentally
exhausted Nozomu, Irisdina was in a good mood the whole time, encouraged by the
puppies.
Although the puppies
were also playing with Nozomu, Nozomu, who had been traumatized by Tom's rage
and intimidation, was completely oblivious to the situation. It was pathetic.
It was not until the
next day that Irisdina came to her senses and paid Tom for the repairs to the
workshop.
By the way, the money
for the repairs came from a 50-50 split between the request and her own
personal expenses.
After that, the hounds
and their cubs were taken in by Irisdina and were now working as guard dogs at
the Francilt mansion under her training.
"By the way,
Tom-kun, do you have dog ears?"
"...Eh?"
Somehow, this
conversation took place on the spot where the repair cost was handed over.
Later, this
conversation would cause another ridiculous trouble, but that would be for another
story.