Members of the guild rushed towards their leader upon hearing the gunshot.
Seeing her unscathed, they looked towards the building where the sniper was. Watching him escape.
"Boss, are you alright?"
The boss, holding her lifeless pet in her arms, looked at her companions.
"I'm fine, but... that guy killed our dog," she commented, casting a sidelong glance at her guildmates. "We need to bury him properly... Then we'll go after that guy."
The three guild members nodded, concerned.
As the boss walked ahead, inspecting the state of the canine, she noticed whispers behind her back.
"Do you have something to say? I'm listening."
"Madam boss... are you really alright? We can go after the killer first if you wish. No problem."
The boss fell silent for a moment, then continued walking.
"I've seen that guy's face. He'll be the first one to help us level up."
The guild continued walking, veering off their previous route for a moment to reach a nearby forest via the public road.
She covered the dog's shattered head with a blanket, lamenting its loss.
Doris, the bespectacled girl, began to dig a hole in the ground with her hands. Finally, the boss placed him inside, and they proceeded to bury him.
Gordon, the muscular warrior of the group, had collected flowers along the way. Placing them on the dog's corpse.
"Our Shinma... sacrificed himself by jumping on me to shield me from the bullet. A brave act... that we will always remember," the boss was grieving, clenching her fist as her guildmates watched her hold back tears.
They couldn't say anything, they felt no attachment to the dog. Their boss, on the other hand, had more interaction with him, despite the short time it may have been.
They looked at each other and placed their hands on their boss to support her through the loss.
Scraf, scraft, scraf
Upon hearing a noise from the ground, as if someone were digging, they all took a step back. They looked around... and the noise sounded again.
Scraf, scraf, scraf
The noise was coming from where they had buried the dog.
A furry head emerged from the ground, looking at the guild members with its usual adorable face.
Shinma was alive.
"Aaaaaaaaaaah?"
"What... What is this?"
"Boss, Shinma is alive!"
The boss was also dumbfounded as the others tried to move away from the dog a little.
The boss helped unearth the dog, carrying him in her arms.
With a stunned look, she placed her ear against his chest...
The heartbeats were a bit faster than normal, but they were stabilizing.
The dog seemed to be in good condition, as if nothing had happened.
"This puppy... Can he regenerate?" the boss commented, placing her hand on Tenma's head, who happily licked her hand."