Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Picked Up a Puppy (2)
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I picked up a puppy.
A really tiny one, at that.
"Woof! Woof!"
"It's so young, it's yipping away nonstop."
Its tail was wagging like a helicopter propeller.
The pup sniffed around the house.
Its tail was shaking so wildly it was hard to follow with the eyes.
'...Raising dragons is tough enough. Why did I even bring this thing home?'
I'd stuck my nose in where it didn't belong.
I glanced at the dragons, who were eyeing the puppy with interest.
They were sprawled out on the floor, observing it.
"Heh heh heh, this one's gonna taste great roasted! When do we eat it?!"
"It's not for eating, Hwa-ryun sis."
"Then why'd you bring it home?!"
"Well... I don't know either."
Su-ryun shook her head like she had no clue.
It seemed the kids had no concept of pets.
Better to explain it to them.
"Dad will teach you all about pets myself."
"Pet?"
"Yeah."
What was a pet?
An animal that humans kept close by and raised with love and affection.
Unlike livestock like chickens or cows raised for eggs and milk.
It was kept as a companion, like a family member.
"Now everyone gets what a pet is, right?"
"I get it!"
Snap!
Hwa-ryun raised her hand confidently, shouting that she understood.
"You can't eat it! But you can raise it by your side!"
"Right, good job understanding for once, Hwa-ryun."
"Which means, from a dragon's perspective, humans could be pets too!"
"Hmm, I thought you'd finally got it. My mistake."
Thud.
I pressed my forehead at Hwa-ryun's remark.
Humans as pets?
"What on earth do you mean by that, Hwa-ryun?"
"I'm right though!"
Hwa-ryun grinned and shot back.
"From a dragon's view, humans could totally be pets! Dad, you're my pet!"
"Calling your dad a pet? Hwa-ryun, does that mean you don't wanna be my daughter?"
"That's not it! Don't cross the line, Dad!"
She crossed the line herself.
And told me not to.
Hwa-ryun had activated the children's skill 'Saying Absurd Things.'
And Su-ryun nodded along in agreement.
"For once, sis is right, Dad. Humans can be dragons' pets. Why? 'Cause dragons are great beings. It's totally natural for mighty dragons to keep humans."
"Mm-hmm, that's right!"
Hwa-ryun and Su-ryun nodded together in agreement.
The red one and the blue one aligning like that.
It felt pretty ominous.
"Thinking of your dad as a pet? From today, you're no longer my daughters."
"No way! Once Dad, always Dad!"
"You trying to abandon us, Dad? If so, I'll make every human a pet to have you. Heh heh, all humans as pets..."
Here we go again.
These dragon kids.
"Got it. Never mind, forget I said that. Let's just look at the puppy."
Sigh.
I let out a sigh and focused on the pup.
Then Hwa-ryun and Su-ryun naturally turned to the puppy too.
Before I knew it, the pup was in Cho-ryun's arms, panting happily.
"Oh, Cho-ryun. Already getting along?"
"Yeah! Woofy seems to like me! He's so cute, Father!"
Cho-ryun stroked the pup in her arms.
It closed its eyes peacefully, savoring her touch.
"Woof! Woof!"
"My hand must feel good! Woofy! Wanna be my friend?"
"Woof! Woof!"
"You're saying yes, right? I'm so happy! Hehe!"
Cho-ryun was happily playing with the puppy.
She'd even named it Woofy.
But did Su-ryun not like that?
"Hmm... I don't like that name."
Su-ryun approached and snatched the pup from Cho-ryun's arms.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Quiet down and come here."
The pup kept barking nonstop after leaving her arms.
Cho-ryun reached out toward it and yelled.
"Woofy!"
"What kind of name is Woofy? Why'd you name it, Cho-ryun? I'll name it."
"N-No fair! Su-ryun sis! Give me back my Woofy!"
Hyap— Hyap—
Cho-ryun stretched out to reclaim the pup.
Su-ryun glanced indifferently at her and swatted her away with her tail.
"Move. You're in the way."
"Kyaang!"
Tumble tumble.
Cho-ryun went rolling off into the distance from the tail swipe.
"Hmm, finally quiet."
Su-ryun held the pup high and met its eyes.
Then she stared intently at it.
"Hmm."
"Whine... Whine..."
"Why cry? I'm the great dragon, and I'm about to name you."
"Whine..."
"I'll give you a really special name."
What name was she gonna pick?
Su-ryun stared at the pup avoiding her gaze and declared its name.
"Kaiser. Your name is Kaiser."
"Whine...?"
Kaiser.
Hearing that, I thought to myself.
'Su-ryun really has no naming sense. She's my daughter, but hard to defend.'
Woofy was better.
Cho-ryun apparently agreed.
The shoved-aside Cho-ryun came back for the pup and shouted.
"What Kaiser? It's Woofy, Su-ryun sis! Don't change the name!"
"No, Kaiser suits it. Anyway, give it back. It's mine."
"Eee! Don't bully my friend!"
Su-ryun and Cho-ryun kept snatching the pup back and forth.
Maybe 'cause it kept getting passed around.
The poor thing was suffering in the middle.
"Mine. Give it."
"No, it's my friend!"
"Whine... Whine..."
It met the wrong owners.
Sorry, Woofy.
I offered a brief apology in my heart and rescued the pup from between them.
"Dad, what're you doing?"
"Father, what are you doing?!"
I said to the two glaring at me.
"Don't bully it. We're just watching it till it gets adopted anyway. Name's just Woofy, simple as that."
Woofy was easiest to call.
This time, siding with Cho-ryun was right.
"From now on, it's Woofy. Got it, everyone?"
"...Annoying."
"Yes, Father!"
Zap.
Was Su-ryun mad I sided with Cho-ryun?
She glared at me, then went to the corner and fiddled with her smartphone.
'I'll smooth that over later.'
Su-ryun might look cold and emotionless on the outside.
But she got sulky the most.
I set Woofy down and said to the dragon kids.
"Anyway, we'll raise Woofy till it finds an owner. Got it? So get along, no bullying. Especially you, Hwa-ryun."
"Why me!"
"You didn't even wanna name it, so you planned to eat it, right?"
"W-What?! How'd you know? Dad read my mind!"
"Don't need mind-reading powers to see what you're thinking."
She was drooling blatantly.
Hwa-ryun still saw Woofy as food.
But living together would change that.
'The dragon kids get a good chance too. Living with a puppy will build their experience.'
If they could learn human sensitivity from raising a pet.
That'd be great.
I thought that as I looked at Woofy.
It was newly born, but now surrounded by dragons.
'I feel a bit bad about that...'
Still, hope it has a comfy time till it finds a good owner.
With that thought, I decided to prep dinner.
The fridge had good ingredients ready.
***
Evening.
For the first time in ages, the smell of meat filled the one-room apartment.
"Hwa-ryun, lower the heat a bit."
"Graaah!"
Sizzle sizzle.
Pork belly browning nicely on the frying pan.
No more just pork shoulder—we could afford pork belly sometimes now.
I was touched by this moment of grilling meat at home.
"Never imagined a day like this would come."
Somehow.
It turned out this way.
I plated the done pork belly and told Hwa-ryun.
"All done, Hwa-ryun. Good work. Sit and wait."
"You giving me extra!? I worked hard!"
"Yeah yeah, I'll give you more."
"Yay!"
Hwa-ryun spread her arms like an airplane and dashed to the table.
Then she poked at Woofy, who was sitting quietly on the floor.
"Woofy, you'd taste good too!"
"Wh-Whine..."
"Kuhahaha!"
No need to tease Woofy.
I brought the plated meat to the table.
"Eat up, everyone."
"Yay!!"
"Don't choke. Eat slow."
Nom nom nom.
They reached for the meat with chopsticks and devoured the crispy pork belly.
Seeing them eat heartily was heartwarming.
"Cho-ryun, lettuce and peppers for you."
"Yes, Father!"
I even minded Cho-ryun's veggie diet.
I checked the pot on the stove.
Meat-boiled water bubbling away inside.
"This should be good and done. Perfect for Woofy."
Woofy was still a baby.
Better to feed it like this.
I scooped out the well-cooked meat and plated it.
Set the plate in front of Woofy and said.
"Eat up, Woofy. You had it rough out there, huh? Might get rougher till you find an owner. Take care."
"Woof! Woof!"
Gobble gobble.
Woofy scarfed down the meat without suspicion.
It'd been held by the plump one at first, so seemed pretty docile.
I sat at the table, watched the dragons eat happily, and petted Woofy.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Hope you find a good owner too."
Hope both owner and Woofy are happy.
Somehow, watching it.
Reminded me of first meeting the dragon kids.
Felt nostalgic.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Yeah, eat up."
So cute.