Taking a good look at my just-hatched beast friend, the first thing that sprang to mind was that it looked like a wolf, but it wasn't. It was completely snow white and silvery, with white horns erupting from its head, twisting like twisted branches and coming to a sharp point behind its ears.
The little creature sat on all fours, its head inclined to one side, staring at me. It had golden eyes with a subtle light of nine hues in its irises. The pupils were acute slits that would typically make it appear dangerous, but with the body of a little canis-lupus like animal, it merely looked too adorable.
Not to mention the white flames that surrounded its neck, snout, and the ends of its limbs and tail.
The newly hatched little wolf gave out a toothless yawn before collapsing on its back after losing its footing. As a result, I was flooded with an intense desire to embrace this creature.
"Kyu?" It fastened its piercing eyes on me, displaying intelligence that belied its appearance.
"Hello there, little guy... or girl. I'm Ryan!" I reached out my hand to it, as if it were a puppy that needed to know my scent.
"KYU!" It jumped onto my lap and looked up at me. I gently petted the adorable creature, keeping back the impulse. The silver fur was surprisingly silky, and its eyes gleamed in gold, except for a tiny glimmer of nine hues in its irises. I suppose all newborn animals, whether people or monsters, were soft. It began to yawn and close its eyes.
As I let out a quiet laugh, I could feel the stress on my face melt away. "Hehe..."
The little wolf rolled onto its back, demanding a more thorough treatment. The belly felt like a very soft furry coat, which made it quite smooth to rub. I examined its claws more closely and noticed that they resembled paws rather than true claws. The only thing that was tough were its horns, which were surprisingly sharp as well.
I guess it had to use them to crack the egg from the inside.
I'm kind of curious though. Is the magical beast egg supposed to hatch out this soon? And did this little one really absorb the mana when I first met it as an egg in the shop?
This little guy is really mysterious.
"Aren't you a cute little one?" My smile grew to the point of being addictive while touching this gorgeous newborn.
After a while, I couldn't stop thinking of names for it, which made me realize I was wondering about its gender.
"Kyu~!" The infant suddenly thrust its tongue out and licked the underside of my left palm's rear.
"Ah!" I instinctively moved my arm away from the scorching heat, but before I could, a glowing golden light engulfed my arm.
I merely waited because the prickling sensation went away rather quickly. The wolf drew its tongue back, revealing a black mark on the backside of my left palm.
Huh? This appears to be a contract seal. "Oh!" Nevertheless, it seems to be some sort of magic circle. Well, I've heard of something like this before, but it is certainly my first time.
'... Mama~?'
The wolf's mouth was closed as it looked up at me.
What? I obviously just heard a voice.
"Mama?" This time it was crystal clear in my mind.
"... is this the contract's effect?"
Shaking my head helplessly, I responded vocally, "I guess I'm your mother. But since I'm a boy, you should address me as papa or just Ryan would be fine, okay?"
"Papa!~" It suddenly jumped up and licked my nose.
Ha ha! Woah! It's so cute!
Even with a great hero who faced countless foes in my past life, this little guy's attitude just melts me.
...
After talking with my little friend for a while, I realized a few things.
I suppose a telepathic connection was established between us once the mark appeared on the rear of my left palm. The voice I heard in my thoughts from the wolf sounded like a boy's, so I chose to name him Ku. Well, it only makes sense since this little guy is responding with adorable "kyu" sounds.
And aside from the cute sound, I named him Ku because it was the other name that was bestowed on my past life's ancestor, the god of war, Agroth.
"Kyu?" My new companion responded with his head tilted, seeing me clenching my fists when thinking about my close companion in my past life, the Celeste. Although it was a sword, it was my first friend and my only comrade till the end.
I grinned at Ku as I picked him up and brought him near to my face. "That's right! Your name is Ku now! Nice to meet ya, buddy!"
He nuzzled his nose to mine while closing his sharp eyes.
Another thing I noticed was that Ku seemed quite intelligent for a newborn.
He appeared to have the mental capacity of a two-to-three-year-old youngster. I knew he wasn't necessarily speaking to me in my language while we were chatting telepathically, but I just took it that way.
It was a weird sensation, not knowing what he was saying but knowing what he meant. Aside from simple words like "papa," most of his thoughts with me came across as emotions. I was able to get the gist of what he meant by how he felt.
Although, for a newborn, he seemed mature enough to fight against magical beasts.
"Ku, let's go! It's already late now. Shall we go inside the dungeon?" I said while setting him down.
"Kyu?" He tilted his head once more as he stared up at me. I got the impression he was asking me, "What?" so I just chuckled and brought him with me.
"..mmhm. What am I going to do with you?" Ku jumped like a spatial mage in the vacant mid-air like steps and ultimately jumped onto my head and tucked himself, hitching a ride as I grinned at him and stood up, patting the back of my pants.
"Hey? Did you just use some sort of magic? How can you do that? Ku! Even I don't have that kind of attribute!"
What kind of magic is that? I didn't sense any mana from that jump just now. Is it even magic at all?
"kyuu?"
Wait, if he has that kind of an attribute, does that mean I will have it as well? I have read about magical beasts possessing powers similar to its master's, as the magical beast could only hatch after synchronizing its mana core to its master's mana flow.
Well, I never thought this mysterious little guy would light up interest in taming and stuff. "Let's see how we both grow from here on, Ku!" I said as Ku nuzzled my head with a "Kyu!"
"Alright! Shall we go, Ku?"
"Kyu~u!!"
It seems, from now on, I'll depend on you to pass my lonely days, buddy.