EP.1 I Became a Companion -2 (Revised)
EP.1 I Became a Companion -2 (Revised)
I'd always thought that humans were, by nature, one of the weaker animals.
They had no sharp claws, no thick fur to protect their bodies, not even lethal venom.
So how could they possibly defeat powerful predators like tigers, lions, and bears?
The answer was simple: humans used tools.
Humans built civilizations and continued developing new tools.
No matter how ferocious the beast, none could withstand a machine gun made by human hands.
And since humans possessed all manner of highly lethal weapons beyond machine guns, it was fair to regard them as the apex predators.
Yet if you asked anyone whether humans were the apex predators, every single one of them would answer no.
That was because this world contained beasts no human weapon could defeat—creatures that defied common sense.
Each was an extraordinary being powerful enough to overturn the world. They were the Divine Beasts.
The very same Divine Beasts that had repeatedly nearly driven the human race to extinction throughout history...
"Kyuiit?"
...was right here in front of me.
'I suppose those terrorists had their reasons for being so desperate to get their hands on the egg after all.'
No number of machine guns amounted to anything beside a single Divine Beast.
To terrorists seeking to overthrow the government, a Divine Beast was priceless.
'But in the end, all it did was make my own situation even worse...'
Wherever I fled, the terrorists would chase me to the ends of the earth.
I had hoped I could simply put some distance between us...
but now that was no longer an option. I had to run with everything I had.
"Nothing else for it."
Even if the grizzly bear had driven them off for now, they would come after me again.
To them, this baby dragon was the fulfillment of a long-cherished wish.
"It is time to get moving."
"Kyui?"
The government and the terrorists were fighting over a Divine Beast egg. Since the government knew about it, my next move was obvious.
I had to reach somewhere with cell reception as quickly as possible and request help from a government agency.
"Hey, you understand what I'm saying, right?"
"Kyuiit!"
"Good. Could you stay inside my bag for just a little while, then?"
Before it hatched, the egg had been too bulky to fit, but at its current size, I could just barely squeeze it in.
So before I fled in earnest, I wanted to hide the dragon's existence by putting it in the bag.
If the terrorists learned that the dragon had hatched, they would pursue it even more relentlessly.
Men obsessing over me... Ha, the thought alone was disgusting.
"Kyuiitt!!"
The baby dragon shook its head rapidly, refusing to get in the bag.
It clung tightly to my arm and wouldn't budge.
I tried prying it off by force, but it just held on with some absurd strength, showing no intention of letting go.
Even when I shook my arm this way and that, it shot me a look that made it perfectly clear it would never let go.
This wasn't working. If I tried to tear the dragon off, it felt like my arm would come off with it.
"Then...! Fly on ahead and wait outside the mountain..."
"Kyuiitt!!"
That idea was instantly shot down too.
It was making it emphatically clear that it didn't want to be separated from me.
"You hate being apart from me that much...?"
This was bad. I should have looked troubled, yet I could not stop smiling.
For the first time in my life, an animal had chosen to stay near me.
It might seem trivial, but imagine going your entire life without a single animal ever coming near you.
After living like that, anyone would be moved if an animal came within a single centimeter.
And if an adorable creature actually hugged you, you might feel ready to die without regrets.
That was exactly how I felt.
The only problem was that the first animal to approach me was practically a walking calamity. Even so, I was grateful.
"We might have to part ways someday, but until then, I'll pet you as much as I can."
"Kyuiit!"
The baby dragon flashed a beaming smile. It, it was so cute!!
Honestly, I wanted to keep her forever and dote on her for the rest of my life.
"Huff, fuck! Finally shook him off...!"
The terrorist boss's voice rang out from the distance.
I had wasted too much time. I needed to leave immediately.
"Hey, it's a favor! Please, can't you just stay in the bag for a little while?"
"Kyuiitt!!"
"If you do this favor for me, I'll grant you anything you want! Anything! So? Please? No?"
"Kyui..."
The hatchling began to mull over my offer.
Any further delay would be disastrous. This was the moment to drive the point home.
"Alright! If you do this for me, I'll grant every single thing you want! How about that?"
"Kyuiit!"
At that final offer, the baby dragon willingly slipped into my bag.
...So young, and already so greedy.
"It'll probably get pretty jostled in there, so please bear with that."
"Kyuiitt!!"
The baby dragon chirped from inside the bag as though telling me not to worry.
I wanted to pamper it and pet it to my heart's content, but that would have to wait.
"Here I go!"
I sprang to my feet and sprinted toward the clearing I remembered.
The brief rest had restored my legs enough to run.
Could I make a non-stop run all the way to the base of the mountain like this?
"What the...? The masochist was still there?"
'So I really couldn't slip away unnoticed after all.'
The rustle of my movement had given me away.
And so, the chase was on once more.
But what was different from before was that this time, both arms were free and my stamina was plentiful.
The terrorist boss, on the other hand, had been running without pause until now.
That meant his physical limits would arrive sooner than mine.
"Huff...! Huff...!"
"If you're tired, why not just stop chasing?"
"Shut up! Quit yapping and hand over the egg, you son of a bitch!!"
As befitting a boss, he kept pursuing me to the end even while gasping for air.
It just showed how badly he wanted to get his hands on the Divine Beast, no matter the cost.
I had to admire the dogged boss's tenacity. Not that it made me any more willing to get caught.
'Finally...!'
I broke free from the densely wooded area and was greeted by the wide-open plain I'd been longing for.
I would definitely get a cell signal here, but regrettably, I didn't have the luxury of calling for help right now.
I had to commit my lungs and every last muscle purely to running away, so I just kept my eyes forward and ran on.
If I could just make it down the mountain somehow, this chase would be over...
-Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the area.
...He had a gun?!
"Krhhuk...!!"
In an instant, my leg flared hot, and the pain sent my footing out from under me. I tumbled forward and collapsed.
"Agh!! I-it hurts...!!"
A hole I'd never seen before had appeared in my leg. Hot blood streamed from the wound, beginning to dye the surrounding grass red.
"Hoof, you shit! Finally got you!"
"No...! Fuck!"
I thought I'd been making a clean getaway. I never imagined he'd snipe me...!!
"Running out into a place with no cover like this is basically asking me to shoot you, wouldn't you say?"
"You fucker! Haah...!! Haah...!!"
"The government whore and you both sure have filthy mouths."
"Shut up!!"
"Ooh, yeah! Glaring at me like that just gives me a nice little thrill, you know?"
"Masochist bastard...!"
So much for a dogged boss... He was just a fucking pervert.
"Let's stop the small talk here. With that injury, you can't run anymore anyway, so why not hand over the egg nice and easy."
"If I hand it over quietly, what's in it for me?"
"Who knows? Well, I can promise you a painless end before things get any more agonizing. Or don't you know how expensive bullets are these days?"
I let out an incredulous laugh. Of course I hadn't expected much, but his answer was basically telling me he'd kill me either way. I was dumbfounded.
Terrorists really were the same irredeemable trash no matter what.
"So what now? Makes no difference to me. Whether I kill you right now and take the egg, or kill you as painfully as possible and then take it, it's all the same."
I tried to shuffle backward a little, away from the gun pointed at me.
But a hyena behind me let out a menacing growl, blocking me from backing away any further.
"I take it this is your companion animal?"
"Yeah, my adorable companion animal."
"I see. But what a shame. See, I also had a partner with me."
"Huhh...?"
"You still haven't caught on? The egg I was carrying—it was too big to fit in the bag I'm wearing right now, don't you think?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it... Wait, so you had your companion animal move it?"
"That's right, exactly as you said. While you had your attention on me, my companion animal already took the egg and bolted somewhere else, you see?"
It was a desperate lie; I had no other option.
I was going to die either way if I stayed still, so I figured I might as well bluff and try to buy some time.
"Oh my god, fuck! I thought I hadn't seen your companion animal for a while now—I can't believe you pulled something like that...!!"
I did not actually have a Companion Animal... but seeing him so thoroughly convinced that I did made my eyes sting.
If I truly had one, perhaps I could have escaped this situation.
"Now you understand? Killing me will not bring back the egg. This was over before you even caught me."
"Hmm... No! It's not over yet!"
"What?"
"Companion animals prioritize the safety of their human companion above all else. So if we let it know you're in danger, it just might come right back, mightn't it?"
Why was the situation turning against me in such a strange way?
"I'm about to inflict some absolutely horrific torture on you. So go on and scream your heart out. Loud enough to reach your companion animal's ears, if you can."
I wanted to confess honestly that I was actually a person without a companion animal.
But if I did, I'd probably wind up with a hole in my head and my life would end right there.
So it seemed I had no choice but to clam up, endure it, and pray for a rescue that might never come.
Just as I resigned myself and braced for the pain, the weight I'd been carrying on my back suddenly vanished.
"Kyuiit!"
The baby dragon that had been hiding inside the bag burst out and planted itself between me and the terrorist.
She had done it solely to protect me.
"What the? What is this creature?"
"I'm fucked..."
The baby dragon's courage moved me.
She not only liked me but had tried to protect me. I was happy beyond words.
But to be brutally honest, its appearance right now was an utterly terrible move.
Even if I had been tortured, she should have remained hidden.
"Ha! Hahaha...!! Muhahahaha!! So that's how it is! Wow! Yes! I did NOT see this coming!!"
The terrorist boss studied the baby dragon from head to tail and seemed to recognize what she was.
Now this was truly dangerous!
"The information brokers said it would take at least another thirty years to hatch...! I never imagined it would've hatched already!"
"Kyuiitt!!"
The baby dragon tried to intimidate the masochist with a thunderous cry.
I could not exactly call the display threatening.
Honestly, it was nothing but... adorable.
"Ho-oh? What's this? You're trying to protect him right now?"
"Kyuiit!"
"Could it be that since this guy was the first thing you saw when you hatched, you think he's your parent?"
"Kyuiitt!"
The hatchling immediately shook her head.
Apparently, imprinting did not apply to reptiles.
"Well, don't you worry. Your first daddy's going to die and disappear very soon, so I'll become your new daddy."
What was this? Could he not understand the baby dragon?
Was I the weird one here?
"Kyuiitt!!"
The baby dragon reacted furiously, slapping the ground with her tail and scrunching up her face.
She clearly wanted nothing to do with a father like him.
Well, of course not. Who would ever want a perverted freak like that for a dad?
...More importantly, why had I been able to understand the dragon all this time?
I had no idea. At any rate, I was on the verge of death. Something like that no longer mattered.
"Just wait a little bit. This'll be over in a second."
The terrorist boss pressed the muzzle of his gun to my head and prepared to pull the trigger.
-Bang!
Once more, a gunshot rang out across the plain.
I should have seen blood spray, heard flesh burst, and smelled the thick stench of gunpowder...
But instead, the fresh scent of yuja tickled my nose.
"Wh-what the?!"
"...Forgive me for being late."
I blinked. A blonde woman who had not been there a moment earlier now stood before me, holding the baby dragon.
She wore a jeogori, a rare sight these days, and had perked fox ears and a gently swaying tail.
She certainly had a distinctive appearance.
"From now on, I shall protect you!"
Her voice also sounded familiar.
No, I had definitely heard it.
It perfectly matched the voice of the woman who had helped me just minutes ago, when I was being chased by the terrorists on the mountain.
This woman was certainly the one who had helped me.
"Wh-who... are you?"
She was the woman who had repeatedly saved me through this entire ordeal.
Her eyes flew wide open in surprise that I had spoken to her.
But soon, she broke into a smile of absolute bliss...
"Aah...!! Thank you so very much for asking me yourself!! My name is Miho! I am your first companion animal, and the Nine-Tailed Fox who has sworn eternal love to you, my dear husband♡"
Out of nowhere, she started spouting utterly absurd things.
Husband? Companion animal? Eternal love? Nine-Tailed Fox...??
...Apparently, my savior was a chick who was batshit crazy about cosplay and roleplay.