Sheto raised his head. As did the wolf by his side.
A star flashed in the sky, and something fell.
‘What!? Damn it! Sheto, catch him! Fi cannot fly!’
“Uh, ahh!”
He quickly stretched out his arms.
“Gyaa!”
“Nnngaaah!”
He fell back, cashing into the wolf’s body as the thing was thrown to the side.
Even during the night, the scales of the young dragon were vibrant and blue. It shook its head and got up unsteadily.
“Ahhhh!”
“Huh? Ah. What!? What!?”
As the startled dragon moved back, something flashed at its chest.
‘Calm down, you fool. A proud dragon should not be unnerved by this.’
The deep voice rang. It was not a voice that Sheto had heard before.
‘Can you hear me, young kobold? Sheto.’
“Ah, yes. I hear. Who are you?”
‘I am the dragon god. The guardian of that young dragon. My hope is that he will be able to help you. His name is Fiacur. Your new companion.’
Fiacur stood up awkwardly and bowed.
“…Why. Is he here?”
‘He was always curious about life over there. And so it seemed like a perfect match. He is not very nice around strangers, but he will get used to it.’
“This is ridiculous! Why is this happening so suddenly!? And…”
The young dragon’s eyes caught the two monsters behind them.
“And right in the middle of a duel!”
‘Well, it’s fine. You should be able to manage. Later then.’
And then the voice and light died away.
“Hey! Is that it! Don’t you have any nicer words to say!”
“You.”
“Huh!?”
“Don’t be so scared. I, won’t do anything.”
Sheto had never heard of a shy dragon before. And if he was scared of a kobold, he must be a great coward. It reminded Sheto of his youngest brother.
“Salia. Will this one really join us?”
‘Aye… Yes. It has already been decided.’
“What! Why do you sound so regretful!”
His younger brother was also one to talk loudly to those close to him. While thinking about such things, Sheto introduced him.
“I am Sheto the Kobold. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Fi…Fiacur.”
He hesitantly extended his hand. And while he shook, his grip was firm.
‘So, are you ready? Can we start the duel?’
Came another low voice. Sheto tensed up. He stood in front of the scared Fiacur and looked towards the Star Wolf.
‘Wait a moment, Lord Evacus.’
‘What is it? Saliashe.’
‘I was wondering about your Hero.’
He was holding a lantern in one hand and looked quite sleepy.
‘He appeared to be tired?’
‘…It took too long for things to get started. I had wanted to finish things here.’
‘In that case, what about having the duel tomorrow morning?’
‘It cannot be helped.’
With those last words, the god called Evacus began to talk to his Hero. And the Hero took out a small box from his bag, and transformed it into a giant house.
“What!?”
“A ‘save house’! Woah! So that’s what it would look like in real life…”
“Is that…a divine vessel!?”
“Pro-probably…”
While staying away, Fiacur explained what he knew about the Hero’s belongings.
“That house comes equipped with water and food. It even has a store where you can purchase items. You can even change monsters, which is usually restricted to town. It’s pretty much a mandatory item near the end of the game.”
‘I knew it. You really do know a lot about the game that the ‘divine rule’ is based on.’
“I played it a lot. Though, it’s starting to bore me.”
Salia seemed to be satisfied by this, as Sheto could smell her happiness.
‘Now then, let us hear it. All the knowledge that you have.’
After climbing into bed, Satoru gazed up at the dim ceiling. The Save House looked exactly like his own room. There was even a string hanging from the ceiling light.
“Evacus. Do you have a minute?”
‘…What is it?’
He sounded strange. His voice was lower. It reminded Satoru of his scary teacher. Had Evacus caught a cold? Could gods even get sick?
As he thought of such things, he said what was on his mind.
“Next to the kobold. That was a Star Wolf, wasn’t it?”
‘It was. Why do you ask?’
“Was it…Shiro?”
‘Shiro?’
“You know. The first monster I caught.”
There was a long silence, and then the god murmured something.
“…You don’t remember?”
‘I’m sorry. I was very busy.’
“Right.”
When he had first come to this world, he had been so worried about everything. Unlike the game, the monsters here were actually frightening.
However, Shiro was different. The monster he met in the forest.
‘Lone wolf?’
‘Yes. When wolf packs get too big, they send some out in order to form new packs. He is one such wolf.’
Satoru had found Shiro and saved him from a trap. After that, he gave Shiro some food to eat. They quickly became friends, and traveled together for some time after that.
‘Why don’t you make Shiro your monster?’
‘…But… What will Shiro say?’
Of course, Shiro did not talk. He was smart, but still just a wolf. But when Satoru offered the capturing crystal, Shiro went inside willingly.
After that, they went to all kinds of dungeons and completed quests in villages. And his level went up. However…
‘No! Why do I… Why Shiro!’
‘Because, you have too many monsters now. Besides, if you keep him, he will eventually be killed by some strong monster. It is best that you let him go now.’
In the end, he left Shiro by the side of some road. Though, Shiro continued to follow him after that.
‘When you level up more, you will be able to hold more monsters. And then you can come back for him.’
‘…Fine. Alright, Shiro. I’ll be back. So just wait for me here.’
How much time had passed after that?
Satoru began to lend his monsters to other Heroes. And he even began to spy on the kobold.
It seemed that these days, he was doing nothing that was similar to the MonColo game.
“Evacus.”
‘What is it?’
“If that is Shiro, do you think that he remembers me?”
‘…It is the same as MonColo. If you say goodbye once, then you cannot get the exact same monster again. Besides, so much time has passed that it would have remembered you anyway.’
“I guess…you’re right.”
For some reason, there was a pang in his chest. In this room that was his, but somehow not his, he went under the covers.
‘Are you lonely?’
“…I don’t know.”
‘Don’t worry. Soon, you will be able to go on the adventures you wanted to. Acquire your favorite monsters and fight strong rivals. Yes, you said before that you wanted a dragon. Now that you have a wyvern, a dragon can be your next one.’
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Yes, a dragon. That’s what he wanted. But…if he could get that Star Wolf…it could…replace his Shiro…