Bringing the new trainer, Sienna, to the inner part of the garden, I noticed that Lowell had disappeared once again.
It seemed like showing her around had become my responsibility.
“Huh? There are two doghouses here? Do you keep other animals at the estate?”
“Yes, we have another dog.”
“Where is it? Judging by the size of the house, it must be a pretty big dog.”
“That would be me.”
“…What?”
Sienna, who had been looking at the doghouses, turned to me with a bewildered expression.
“You’re joking, right? Like earlier?”
“No, it’s really my house.”
I pointed to the inside of the doghouse.
Sure enough, it was filled with items clearly meant for a person rather than a dog.
“Uh… um, can I ask why you live here?”
“Because I’m a slave.”
“Oh.”
Her eyes widened in surprise at the word “slave”.
“Umm…”
She began inspecting my appearance, likely trying to reconcile my statement with the luxurious clothes I’d changed into this morning and the styled hair—courtesy of the maids who had caught me lazing around earlier.
“Um… uh… why…?”
“The young lady is a bit strange.”
“I see…”
Well, that’s the normal reaction.
It’s the nobles who think all this is perfectly natural that are the odd ones.
“Anyway, let me introduce you to Whitey.”
With the trainer now here, it was time to get the “student” out.
I entered my doghouse and brought out Whitey, who had been curled up asleep on the cushion.
“Oh, it was sleeping inside?”
“Yeah, it always sleeps here.”
Honestly, the space feels cramped because of it, especially since the things I’ve been rewarded with from various missions already take up a lot of room.
“It seems to trust you a lot.”
“Here, hold it.”
“All right…”
As expected of a trainer, Sienna carefully cradled Whitey and studied it closely.
After observing Whitey for a while.
“Ah! It’s so cute!”
She left a comment.
“…And?”
“Huh? Oh… it seems healthy. Its coat is shiny and well-maintained.”
…Well, that’s thanks to the maids.
They take care of Whitey every time they pass by, as if they have nothing better to do.
“How do you plan to train it?”
“Since it’s still young, I’ll focus on simple things like house training and basic commands. But first, I’ll need to assess its temperament.”
“Temperament?”
“Yes. Wolves, like any animal, have different personalities. I need to figure out what kind of individual it is before I start training.”
Hmm… she’s surprisingly systematic.
“Treats work well for training, but since it’s still young…”
As I was listening to her plans, Whitey, who had been dozing off in Sienna’s arms, opened its eyes.
“Oh, it looks like it’s waking up.”
Blinking against the light, Whitey slowly opened its eyes fully and stared at Sienna.
Then suddenly—
Whine!
Whitey wriggled in her arms, reaching out toward me.
“Aww, how adorable!”
It seemed Whitey was still shy around strangers.
Sienna handed it over to me, and I set it down on the ground.
“Don’t you hold it often?”
“Not really. There’s no need to.”
I do sleep with Whitey, but carrying it around everywhere seems unnecessary.
As soon as Whitey touched the ground, it grabbed my pant leg and started tugging.
“That looks like a complaint to me…”
“It’s teething these days.”
I get that its teeth are itchy, but it’s been biting everything it can find.
That’s part of why I called Sienna here.
“Please make sure to train Whitey not to do things like this.”
“Oh, yes… By the way, what’s your relationship with Whitey? You seem very close.”
Sienna glanced between me and Whitey, then looked at the two doghouses standing side by side.
“I found Whitey.”
“Huh? Where?”
“During a walk in the Kaine Mountain Range.”
“Oh… You went for a walk in the Kaine Mountain Range…”
Even as I said it, I realized how absurd it sounded.
Explaining it simply wasn’t possible; my situation was far too complicated.
“Oh, I see… It sounds like there’s a lot behind that story.”
Thankfully, Sienna didn’t press for more details.
Anyway, after that.
“Come here!”
Sienna started playing with Whitey, perhaps to ease into training.
“Do you have a frisbee or something?”
“There’s one inside.”
“Oh, it’s a bit worn. Do you play with it often?”
“…It’s something I used for training.”
“Wait, what?”
“Don’t ask for details.”
“Oh, okay…”
Despite a few awkward moments, Sienna spent the entire morning observing Whitey in the garden.
“Hmm, Whitey is playful and well-behaved!”
She finally concluded with a satisfied nod as she dusted off her clothes and stood up.
“Since it’s the first day, I think we can try some basic training.”
“Please take good care of it.”
So, the training was about to begin.
But given that Whitey’s house was right next to mine, I’d inevitably end up watching the entire thing.
“Oh, by the way, what does Whitey usually eat?”
“Meat from the estate’s kitchen.”
Whitey used to drink warm milk, but now that its teeth had come in, it had started eating meat.
“What kind of meat?”
“You can see for yourself. It’s almost lunchtime.”
Having played with Whitey all morning, it was finally time for lunch.
And right on cue.
“Oh, here they come.”
I spotted the maids approaching from across the garden.
“Rain, here’s your lunch.”
“Thank you.”
They brought me a tray with four perfectly grilled steaks, soup, and bread.
For Whitey, there was a bowl of finely chopped raw meat.
And as for Sienna.
“We’ll escort the trainer to a separate dining area.”
Since Sienna had been hired by Lowell as a specialist, it seemed they’d prepared a separate meal for her. However—
“Wow… Oh, no, I’ll eat here.”
After marveling at our meal, Sienna decided to stay.
“I need to bond with Whitey first. With wolves, building trust is crucial.”
“I see.”
“Yes, but spiritual beasts like Whitey tend to recognize close companions more easily, so that helps.”
She said this while watching Whitey devour its finely chopped meat.
…She knew Whitey was a spirit beast?
Well, Lowell wouldn’t have hired just anyone.
The Boyd family’s decision to employ her was proof of her skill and reliability.
I wondered what her background was like.
At first, her striking appearance had been distracting, but now I could see traces of rigorous training in her movements.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Oh, nothing. What weapon do you use?”
Since our eyes met, I decided to ask. It wouldn’t hurt to know her main weapon.
After all, in this world, one’s weapon of choice often reflected their personality or hobbies.
“Me? Oh… I use an axe.”
“Ah.”
“I also use throwing axes and a crossbow.”
Sienna swung her arms in wide circles, mimicking the act of throwing an axe.
“Do you use that for hunting?”
“Yep, in my hometown, we usually hunt while leading wolves.”
Hmm, that makes sense.
The northern region is known to be a harsh land, so hunting must play a big role in survival.
Farming likely isn’t very viable there.
“What kind of prey do you usually hunt? Do monsters show up often?”
I found myself growing curious about the northern region.
Hunting in the forest with wolves sounded picturesque.
I wondered if there were mercenaries up there as well and what their lives might be like.
“Most things aren’t too bad, but we do get trolls.”
“Trolls?”
“Yes, they live up in the mountains, but they often come down to eat livestock.”
That sounded like a real problem.
Trolls are strong monsters, ones that typically require a group of silver-ranked mercenaries or an experienced Aura user to handle.
“How do you deal with them?”
“Well, the village elders sometimes take care of it, or I’ll gather my friends and deal with them myself.”
“…I see.”
I gave Sienna a quick once-over.
Was she really capable of handling trolls?
By “friends”, did she mean actual people, or were they trained wolves and other animals she commanded?
My curiosity about her suddenly grew.
“Why are you looking at me like that again?”
“Oh, my apologies. Please enjoy your meal.”
Well, she wasn’t my trainer; she was Whitey’s.
I decided to drop the subject.
Besides, I wasn’t lacking sparring partners these days.
After all, once this break ended, I’d have to head back up the Kaine Mountain Range, so it was better to focus on resting.
And so—
“Whitey, come here!”
After lunch, Sienna spent the entire afternoon playing with Whitey and starting light training sessions.
By late evening, she was still in the garden with Whitey.
“…When are you planning to head home?”
At this point, even Whitey looked exhausted, so I couldn’t help but ask. Sienna tilted her head.
“Me? I’m not going home.”
“What?”
“I have room and board here!”
She gestured toward the estate, indicating that she’d be staying there.
…Looks like she’ll be in the garden first thing tomorrow as well.
The fact that she’s staying at the estate shows just how serious Lowell was about hiring her.
“Well, I’ll take my leave now.”
Eventually, Sienna finally wrapped up and returned inside, and that marked the end of the day.
The next morning.
“Good morning!”
As I’d expected, Sienna appeared in the garden bright and early.
“Hm? Whitey is still sleeping? Does it usually sleep in this late?”
“Yes, it sleeps quite a bit.”
“It must be because it’s still a pup.”
Watching Whitey sleep peacefully, Sienna hesitated for a moment, then shifted her gaze to me, lying comfortably next to it.
“You seemed interested yesterday. Want to join me for some training today?”
“What kind of training…?”
“Lowell said we could use the training grounds! It’d be a problem if my skills get rusty.”
For a moment, I thought she was suggesting something like Whitey’s training, but it seemed she was talking about actual combat practice.
The suggestion was a bit out of the blue, but—
“Sure.”
I wasn’t the type to turn down a sparring opportunity.
I got up from my spot without hesitation.
