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When I laid it down near the fire, it closed its eyes as in great comfort. While I was hoping that it would not die, another part of me questioned why I, Asagi the Adventurer, was doing this. What would Daniela say? That side of me asked. But Asagi Kamiyashiro was not so callous. I was still not at a point where I could kill needlessly.

 

The east sky grew brighter and brighter. I used water magic to wash the forest wolves wounds and thought about what I was going to do.

Well, the first thing was to apologize to Daniela…

 

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“…So that’s what happened. Sorry that I used your potions.”

“No, I do not mind. I know you well enough to understand. That was not the kind of moment where you could deal the finishing blow.”

“Thank you… I’ll give you the money for the potions later.”

 

Whether party members or lovers, we had decided to be clear in terms of handling money.

And so I promised to pay for them.

As for the forest wolf, the visible wounds had all closed, but it still wasn’t completely well. It was currently chewing on some meat from a skewer. After finishing its second one, it licked the area around its mouth and then rested as if satisfied.

 

“Seems kind of friendly for a monster…”

“Well, perhaps it was once kept by someone.”

 

Daniela said. Did such things happen?

 

“There are tamers. And I have heard that monsters are sometimes raised as substitutes for guard dogs in the countryside. Maybe this one was a guard dog that was attacked…it is possible.”

“You mean that it was kept in the village up ahead?”

“It is a possibility.”

 

I tried petting its back. It did not resist. It was almost too accustomed to humans. It really was like a pet dog.

 

“Monsters are tough, which means that in some respects, they are easier to raise than dogs. But the problem is that they are hard to tame. It depends on if you can handle them when they turn their fangs on you.”

“Well, they are monsters.”

 

Considering how this one was, there were no problems in terms of being tamed. I doubted it would start biting.

 

“This one seems quite tough. I am sure it will be able to walk again soon. We should clean up here and try taking him to the village.”

“Understood.”

 

I agreed with Daniela’s suggestion and stood up. We cleaned up the trash and took down the tent. All of our belongings were thrown into the hollow bag and then I splashed some water over the fire to put it out. When everything was done, the forest wolf got up and wagged its tail as it rubbed its face against my leg. Damn, it was cute… Something about how it was resting until the last possible second reminded me of Daniela.

 

“Hmm. I feel as if you were mocking me just now.”

“You’re imagining things. Let’s go.”

 

I picked up the hollow bag and started to walk. Then the forest wolf started to walk in front of us as if leading the way. Of course, it was going east. In the direction of the village. It was so smart that I almost believed that it understood what we were saying.

 

It was a very unexpected encounter, but that was how we met this new monster. And so began the short journey of two people and one wolf.

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