What should I do with this?
For now, I grabbed the scruff of the wolf pup that couldn’t even open its eyes yet and lifted it.
Whimper—Whine—
The wolf pup whimpered and cried, seemingly woken from its sleep as I lifted it.
“…Hah.”
For now, I tucked it into my arms.
Leaving it here didn’t feel right. Should I take it with me?
Considering the alpha wolf wasn’t an ordinary monster, this little one probably isn’t ordinary either.
I’ll ask Lowell to check what kind of creature it is.
With the pup secured, I stepped out of the cave.
I then took a quick look at the surrounding monster corpses.
The materials I needed weren’t limited to the troll’s molars, so I decided to see if anything useful was nearby.
“There’s quite a lot here.”
Surprisingly, many of the monsters matched the materials I was looking for.
Did that wolf just attack anything it saw?
Thanks to that, I was able to gather a decent haul of materials, filling my pouch nicely.
After that, I started my descent down the mountain.
I’d chased that wolf so relentlessly that I had no idea where my original campsite was.
I simply made my way downhill throughout the night.
Eventually, as dawn began to break…
“Hah…”
I finally reached the base of the mountain and headed toward the distant city walls.
“Who is it?”
“It’s not time for entry yet!”
The guards on the wall shouted as I approached the city gates, likely due to the early hour.
“Fetch the person in charge.”
“What?!”
“Bring someone who can recognize this.”
I showed them the Boyd family seal Lowell had given me, and that was enough to get me through.
Despite carrying a wolf pup in plain sight, they didn’t conduct any further inspection and let me inside.
I headed straight to the Boyd family estate.
“Who is it!”
Even here, the gatekeeper shouted at me, which made me chuckle.
Was this a double layer of security?
“It’s me.”
“Oh, understood. Come in. You’re late.”
Thankfully, I didn’t need to show the crest this time.
The gatekeeper recognized me and opened the gate without hesitation.
“Thank you. Take care.”
“You’re late. And… are you injured?”
“Yes, I plan to get treated right away.”
I entered the estate and headed for the infirmary.
It was nearly dawn. Would the healer still be awake?
She was usually an early riser, so I figured she might already be up.
Knock Knock.
– Come in!
I knocked on the infirmary door, and sure enough, she was awake.
Creak.
“Hello.”
“Ah, good morning. What brings you here… Oh?”
The light in the infirmary revealed my disheveled appearance clearly.
Having tumbled through the mountains, fought the alpha wolf, and descended in a hurry, I must have looked like a mess.
“What… what happened to you?”
“I went hiking.”
With that, I pulled the wolf pup out of my arms.
Yip!
The little one squirmed as if waking up again.
“Wow, it’s so cute… Wait, what is this? Did you pick it up?”
“Something like that. Can you check its health?”
“Shouldn’t I treat you first?”
“Handle this one quickly, then take care of me.”
I figured my treatment would take a while, so I asked her to start with the pup.
For now, I was forcing myself to endure, but ever since that attack hit me squarely, I had left my battered body unattended.
To be honest, I felt like I could collapse at any moment.
“Ah, okay… Let me take a look.”
“Be careful—it’s a monster pup.”
“Huh? Really?”
The healer glanced at the wolf pup I had placed on the bed.
“It doesn’t really look like one…”
Even to me, the tiny creature that couldn’t open its eyes and squirmed around didn’t seem like a monster.
Actually, it didn’t even look like a wolf. It looked more like a newborn puppy.
“To be honest, I’m not sure what kind of monster it is.”
“Uh, where did you pick it up?”
“Up in the Kaine Mountain Range, at the higher elevations.”
Considering how far I had chased the wolf, I must have reached the highlands.
“You went up to the highlands?”
“I had my reasons.”
“Good grief… Alright, I’ll take a look.”
As the healer examined the wolf pup, I felt the tension leave my body and sank onto another nearby bed.
Hah. People always say leaving home is asking for trouble.
It’s the same story every time—I almost died again.
The past two years had been so peaceful, but now that I’m wandering around again, I end up like this.
At least I managed to gather what I needed.
The materials I collected would have taken forever to find individually, so I consoled myself with that thought and passed out.
**
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a white fluffball.
…What?
Something was pressed against my face, making it hard to breathe, so I lifted the fluffball with my hand.
Yip…
A faint whimper followed.
“Oh.”
Right—I fell asleep in the infirmary.
Did the healer seriously put the pup and me on the same bed?
Unbelievable. What about hygiene?
I placed the pup on the side of the bed and sat up, noticing that my entire body was wrapped in bandages.
I had been filthy after tumbling through the mountains, but now I was clean. She must have taken care of that while I was unconscious.
She really went to a lot of trouble.
I should repay her somehow… but what kind of gift would be suitable?
Last time, I tried giving her jewelry, but she didn’t seem to like it.
As I pondered what might please her, I glanced down at the pup, which had crawled onto my lap.
Why does it keep clinging to me?
Doesn’t it realize I killed the alpha wolf?
The pup nestled its belly against my lap as I studied its tiny form.
It’s really small.
About the size of two fists?
It was hard to imagine this little thing growing into something like the alpha wolf.
Well, anyway…
I picked the pup off my lap and placed it back on the bed before standing up.
My clothes… I don’t see them anywhere. Did she send them for cleaning?
Stretching my stiff body, I opened the infirmary door.
It was nothing but the pockets I had put in my clothes, and there were materials I had extracted from the monster’s corpse.
I needed to find my clothes, which had my pouch with the materials from the monster corpses.
I should take those to the blacksmith while the painkillers are still working.
But—
“Where are you going?”
Right in front of me, in the hallway, the healer appeared, carrying medicinal supplies.
“Ah, did you see my clothes?”
“They were too filthy, so I sent them for cleaning.”
“And my pouch…?”
“Oh, I sorted it and put everything in a basket.”
“Ah, thank you! Where is it?”
Was the basket in the infirmary earlier?
As I asked, ready to grab it and head out…
“Ah-ah, complete rest is mandatory!”
With those words, the healer grabbed my back and pushed me back into the infirmary.
“Where do you think you’re going after bringing your little brother here?”
“…My what?”
“This little one here. By lineage, wouldn’t it be your younger sibling?”
“Excuse me?”
The healer pointed at the squirming wolf pup on the bed as she spoke.
What kind of nonsense was this?
It’s not like it’s a pet, let alone my sibling.
“We’re not even the same species.”
“But don’t you think the young lady would consider it your sibling?”
“…Huh?”
…That could be true.
Considering how stubbornly the young lady calls me “Puppy”, she might actually think that.
“But is it okay to raise it?”
Frankly, I brought it along because I thought it was better than leaving it out there.
But the healer seemed to have already assumed I’d raise it, which surprised me.
Was it even allowed to keep a wild animal—let alone a monster—in the estate?
“I asked Sir Lowell, and he said it’s fine.”
“You asked Lowell already?”
It was still bright outside, and it felt like only a few hours had passed since dawn when I returned.
Had Lowell already come and gone?
“It’s been two days, so of course he stopped by.”
“…Two days?”
“You must not have realized since you were unconscious.”
“Ah.”
…Looks like the strain on my body was worse than I thought.
To think I’d been out cold for two whole days.
“That’s why you need complete rest!”
In the end, I obediently sat back down on the bed.
Yip.
As soon as I sat, the wolf pup squirmed its way onto my lap again.
“It really seems to like you.”
“Do you know why it’s doing this?”
“No idea. Maybe it thinks you’re its parent?”
…Impossible.
If anything, it should see me as its mortal enemy.
“What’s its name?”
The healer asked as I absentmindedly stroked the pup’s head, which had come to rest on my lap.
“Its name? Let’s go with Whitey.”
Given its snowy fur, “Whitey” seemed fitting.
“Hehe…, that’s a cute name.”
She gazed at the pup with a fond expression, clearly enamored with it.
“Do you want to keep it here?”
I considered letting the healer raise it.
Judging by her personality, she’d take good care of it. But—
“Huh? I can’t keep it here…”
She sounded genuinely regretful as she gestured at the surrounding medicines.
“Once it grows even a little, it’ll be too much to handle.”
“That’s true….”
So, what should I do?
“Where will you raise it…?”
As I pondered, I noticed the healer watching me closely.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Is this even something you need to think about?”
She pointed out the window.
Outside, a well-maintained garden was visible.
“You already live in a doghouse, don’t you?”
“Ah.”
“Just ask them to build a house for your ‘sibling’ next to it.”
…Come to think of it, this estate was already home to a “dog”.
Adding one more wouldn’t change much.
“That’s true.”
With that, I grabbed Whitey by the scruff and stood up.
I had planned to grab my clothes and quietly sneak back to the doghouse, but—
“Complete rest!”
The healer grabbed my shoulder and forced me back down.
…Great.
Looks like I’ll be stuck here for a few more days.
