"Whew…"
The day after I met Lexia-san and the others. I hadn't quite gotten my head around it yet, so I was exploring the other world for a change.
…I never thought someone would return a favor in such a straightforward way…
Because there had been so much malice directed at me until a while ago, Lexia-san's marriage proposal was too shocking… and it was a big confusion. Why did she want me to… she says it was love at first sight, but it was really just a miraculous coincidence that I was able to save her…
Well, even if I think about it, I don't know how Lexia-san feels. I'm here for a change, so let's just keep exploring in peace. If I start fighting a monster, I won't have the time to think about it. I shook my head and restarted the exploration, but I haven't met a single monster yet.
"Hmm… I wonder if I could see more monsters if I went further inside…"
My thoughts, or my spirit, have become much tougher. If it were me in the past, I would have fainted at the mere sight of a monster and refused to even meet one, let alone fight it. Now I use it as a means of calming my mind. It's a dangerous tendency. Let's be careful.
"It can't be helped… Let's finish it here and continue on another day."
Since I can't use magic, I was exploring the hinterland with a little trouble; if I want to resume my search from my current position, I'll have to walk from my house to this place. A complete waste of time… maybe not quite, but still inefficient. Apparently, the door that leads to this world can be made to appear to me so that I can go back soon…
"If I'm going to walk to and from, I might as well walk back and see if I've missed anything."
I cut my exploration short because I was expecting to walk back to that house on foot, so there were no major problems. As soon as I decided to do so, I decided to go back the way I came. After all, if I had magic, I could get back and forth to this place in an instant, I guess.
As I was longing for the magic I couldn't use, I unexpectedly heard a small sound. Something is groaning and shrieking. From the feel of the voice, it's not very human-like…
As I was curious, I activated the [Assimilation] skill and approached the sound, holding my breath.
And then…
"Fugooooo!"
"Kyain!"
A big monster, humanoid and pig-faced, was attacking a single black dog. The pig monster's weapon may be inferior to mine, but it still uses a good-quality weapon even to the layman's eye. On the contrary, the black dog has a very small body, which makes it look like a newborn puppy.
The puppy was battered and covered in blood, but standing there desperately. Then something like a steamy black thing rose from its body, but it quickly disappeared, and then the dog got dizzy and fell on its knees.
The pig monster had a wicked grin on its face that even I could clearly see… What's with that, no matter how I look at it, that pig monster just looks like a bad guy. It should be a battle of nature, according to the law of the jungle.
Yes, the pig monster can't be that bad. It's just that it was fighting the puppy in front of me. But from my perspective, I can't help but think that it was doing something wrong. This is entirely a matter of my sensibility.
It looks like the pig monster is tormenting a puppy, but I can't help it if it's said that this is also the rule of nature. We humans also do the same kind of things anyway. However, since I had met a monster I had never seen before, I decided to use my appraisal skills to check its status at the very least.
[Orc King]
Level: 600
Magic: 5000
Attack: 20000
Defense: 15000
Agility: 5000
Intelligence: 5000
Luck: 1000
Hey, what's with this guy? You're kidding me, it has an attack power of over 20,000? And it's got a very high defense…
I'm still under 10,000 in any status. Moreover, the level is much higher than the devil bear and goblin general, let alone me. Is this…a so-called S-class monster?
It's not easy to determine that the orc king is an S-class monster, because even a monster with S-class potential can be a low-level monster, and vice versa. It looks like a pigman dressed in gorgeous equipment… but since it's an orc "king", there must be ordinary orcs too. That's what we got with the goblins.
I was also a pigman until I lost my weight… What's with this disparity. It's unreasonable. That orc king is fatter than I was, and yet it's so powerful! It's not fair! (T/N: LMFAO.)
It doesn't matter. This orc king is clearly out of my league. I think a single attack is enough to kill me instantly. With the devil bear, I still seemed to be able to beat it, but this guy's level and status were too overwhelming. It's going to be difficult unless I get a little stronger.
…It's unfortunate, but I guess I'm better off just ignoring the sight in front of me and going. I thought so and tried to leave the place quietly…
"Fugogogogogo!"
"Kyaain!"
"….."
My legs stopped at the sound of a mournful puppy.
…Sigh.
What can I say, I must be an irredeemably stupid person. Just what would grandpa do in this situation? …There's no way I could ignore it after all.
It's really reckless, and above all, hypocrisy is a good part of it. But I really can't help it, because somewhere in my heart I also want to help if I can. Eventually, I stopped running, and again, I stared at the orc king in front of me. Luckily, it doesn't seem to have found me yet.
…In the meantime, let's make a surprise attack to get its attention.
No matter how I look at it, it will repel my attack, but then if it's turned its attention to me… Yup, I'll just do something about it later. I can't help thinking about it. Some say it's called escapism.
I took out [Absolute Spear] from the item box, and quietly entered a throwing position on the spot.
And──
"One, two… Go!"
I threw [Absolute Spear] at the orc king with all the strength I could muster. And I immediately took out the [Omni-Sword] and jumped out of the place where I was hiding so that its consciousness would be directed towards me.
"Come on, bring it on!"
Shouting like a roar, I held up my [Omni-Sword] so that I could prepare for its attack at any moment.
"….."
The upper half of the orc king's body had disappeared.
"...…..Eh?"
If I look closely, there is a mark that looks like it was hollowed out with a spear-like object.
…Hey, no way…
Just when I've come to one conclusion, and think that there's no way such a thing happened, the bloody [Absolute Spear] came back to my hand.
"….."
After seeing [Absolute Spear], I'm convinced. Apparently, the orc king's life was brought to an end by the stroke of the [Absolute Spear]. The remaining orc king's lower body fell to its knees on the spot, and as it did so, it disappeared as a particle of light.
"Eeeeehhhh…"
Are you kidding me? You're not really dead, are you? Eh, then, what about my determination? I appeared here while screaming!? Wow, you're embarrassing me! I didn't think for a moment that I could take it down with a single blow, and all I could do is expose a dumb expression.
…No, if I think about it calmly, it's not that strange. After all, When I was level one, and all my stats were one, I had already defeated the bloody ogre whose stats were far above me at the time.
The [Absolute Spear] in my hand is a genuinely fantastic weapon.
"What kind of person was the wise man again…?"
The identity of the wise man who left these weapons and house behind was starting to bother me in earnest. I feel like I would believe him even if he says he's a god. Well, I heard he already died, though.
"Well, whatever… More importantly…"
"Whooof…"
I turn my gaze to the puppy, who is breathing hard but still threatening me.
Ah….come to think of it, I've always been hated by animals…
If I approach a dog or cat, I will be barked at, fouled, and scratched. It's such a harrowing experience that the only thing I know, I'm not good with dogs and cats.
I don't dislike them just because I'm not good at them. Well, if the stinky, ugly me had come near, even dogs and cats would have hated it. You can guess that. It made me want to cry when I said it myself.
I let out a sigh and took out the [Complete Recovery Herb Juice] from the item box.
"Well…you know, you might not like it, but… You're covered in wounds, aren't you? If you drink this, you will get better, so…well…can you just drink it?"
When I timidly approach it, the puppy starts to threaten me at first, but then, as it gets closer to the limit of its physical strength, it slumps to the ground.
"Hey!"
I quickly grabbed the puppy and got him to drink the juice.
…I'm sorry if this dog hates citrus, but for now, I hope he can be patient.
I managed to get the nearly unconscious puppy to finish drinking the juice, and the wounds all over his body healed in a matter of minutes. The puppy also looked at his own body curiously as he gradually awakened his consciousness.
"Phew … I managed to make it on time."
I'm pausing to take a breath, and then the puppy unexpectedly licks my hand.
"Hmm?"
"Woof!"
The puppy was barking like that and patted my leg….so cute. I almost grinned at the cuteness of the puppy, but I asked what bothered me.
"Hey, what happened to your parents? Isn't it too dangerous for you to wandering alone?"
You may think I'm talking to a puppy, but I had a feeling he could understand my words, so I was talking to him like this. Then, the puppy makes a sad sound and shakes his head.
"Uhm… are you lost?"
"Woof."
The puppy shakes his head.
"Then…you don't have parents?"
"Woof…"
The puppy nodded sadly. Hmm…
"Hey, wanna come to my house?"
"Woof?"
"My home isn't a rented house, and even if it doesn't work out that way, there's still a place for you to live."
Yes, if it's the home in this world, it won't be a problem even if I can't keep him on Earth.
"What will you do?"
As for me, it saved me the trouble, but more than anything else, I've developed feelings for this guy in the short time I've been here. I mean, he's so cute.
Then the puppy barked once with a twinkle in his eye.
"Woof!"
It meant that he would take my word for it. At that moment, a message appears in front of me.
You have acquired [Tame] skills. [Black Fenrir] has been successfully tamed.
Eh, what's [Tame]? Besides, I didn't appraise this guy yet… Is "Black Fenrir" his race? …hmm? I feel like I've heard of Fenrir before…well, never mind.
While I tilted my head at the message, the puppy slipped into my lap.
"Woof, woof."
You're so cute, boy.
With an unbearable, shily expression on my face, I confirmed the skill that I had acquired.
[Tame] :: You can make a monster your companion with a certain probability.
He~e, there's such a thing as a skill for making monsters into friends, huh? With these thoughts in mind, I appraised the puppy as well.
[Black Fenrir]
Level: 500
Magic: 10000
Attack: 10000
Defense: 10000
Agility: 15000
Intelligence: 10000
Luck: 10000
Note: Yuuya Tenjou's Follower.
"You're strong!?"
"Woof?"
The puppy tilted his head, not knowing what I was talking about, was overwhelmingly stronger than me. I mean, with this status, you could take out the orc king, right?
Well, he may have been hit by surprise and suffered a great deal of damage before he could fight properly. That's just how I suddenly defeated the orc king.
"I mean, you're under my command now, and you're stronger than me…"
It's not that I'm sad or anything, it's just that I'm genuinely okay with it. I'm just a petty citizen. I can't win against the strong. But the puppy didn't seem bothered and wagged his tail happily.
"Woof,! woof!"
"Well, whatever. More importantly, if you've become my friend, I'll have to decide on your name as well…"
It's weird to keep calling him a puppy, and I can't call him Black Fenrir because it's too long. As I watched the puppy looking at me with curious eyes, one image came to mind.
That's what I thought when I saw the glossy, jet-black fur. And with that image in mind, I decided on a name.
"Alright, your name is Night."
Night──in other words, night. (T/N: The Author wrote in English at first and in Japanese for the second one.)
It's so cheap, right?
Well, night is in my name too, so I guess that's fine… (T/N: Yuuya's name in Japanese is 優夜, 夜 = Yoru = Night. Sorry for the bad explanation :P)
And then the puppy─Night wagged his tail even more intensely; he seemed to like the name.
"Woof!"
With a bark, Night jumped right into my chest.
"Whoa… yeah, let's go home."
"Woof!"
While hugging Night, I threw the orc king drop items into the item box and headed home. I can check the drop items at home as well.
──Just like this, I got a lovely companion and a family named Night.