Bringing Home the Little White One
I stared at it for a moment.
What the hell am I supposed to do with this?
For now, I grabbed the scruff of the wolf cub's neck—it couldn't even open its eyes yet—and lifted it up.
Kyeng— kyeng—
The moment I picked it up, it woke from its sleep and started whining pitifully.
"...Hoo."
I just tucked it into my bosom for the time being.
Couldn't exactly leave it here, so maybe I'd take it with me.
The alpha wolf hadn't been your average monster, after all. This pup probably wasn't ordinary either.
I'd have to ask Rowell to check what kind of creature it was.
With the cub nestled against my chest, I made my way out of the cave.
After that, I took a quick look at the monster corpses scattered around.
Troll fangs weren't the only material I needed.
If anything useful was here, I'd grab it.
"Not bad."
Surprisingly, there were more monsters on my material list than I'd expected.
This bastard really bit anything that moved, huh.
Thanks to that, I stuffed my pockets nice and full with a decent haul.
And then... I just headed down the mountain.
I'd chased that wolf so single-mindedly that I'd lost track of our original campsite anyway.
I plunged straight down through the night.
By the time dawn began to break.
"Hoo..."
I finally reached the foot of the Kaine Mountain Range and headed toward the distant city walls.
"Who goes there!"
"It's not time for entry yet!"
The guards on the walls shouted as I approached in the early morning gloom.
"Get your superior."
"Pardon?"
"Bring someone who can identify this."
I flashed the Boyd family seal Rowell had given me, and that settled it.
Even with the wolf cub blatantly tucked in my arms, they waved me through without a thorough search.
From there, I headed straight to the Boyd mansion.
"Who is it!"
The gatekeeper yelled the same thing, which almost made me laugh.
Double checkpoint? Really?
"It's me."
"Ah, yes, come in. You're late."
Here, at least, the gatekeeper recognized me and opened up without needing the seal.
"Good work out there."
"You're late. More importantly... are you hurt?"
"Yeah, heading for treatment now."
Saying that, I entered the mansion and made for the treatment room.
Would the healer even be awake at this hour?
She usually rose early, so she might be up already. With that in mind, I arrived at the treatment room.
Knock knock.
—Come in!
I knocked, and sure enough, a voice invited me inside.
Creeeak.
"Hello."
"Yes, what brings you... oh?"
The lit treatment room exposed my state in stark detail to the healer.
Caked in mountain dirt, battered by the alpha wolf, and roughed up from the descent—I looked like hell, and her eyes went wide.
"What in the world happened?"
"Went for a hike."
I pulled the cub from my bosom as I spoke.
Kyeng...
It woke up and started wriggling in protest.
"Whoa, so cute... wait, what is it? Did you pick it up?"
"Something like that. Check if it's healthy, please."
"Shouldn't we do you first...?"
"Handle this one quick, then me."
I figured mine would take longer, so the cub first.
I was holding it together for now, but ever since taking that full hit earlier, my insides had been a churning mess, left untreated.
Honestly, I felt like I could drop any second.
"Alright... let's see."
"It's a monster pup, so be careful."
"Pardon? For real?"
She glanced down at the cub I'd set on the bed.
"It... doesn't look like one."
With its eyes barely open and tiny body squirming... even to me, it didn't scream monster.
Not a wolf beast at all—just a newborn puppy.
"I don't even know what kind of monster it is myself."
"Where'd you find it?"
"High up in the Kaine Mountain Range."
Chasing that wolf had taken me pretty far up, so yeah, high altitude.
"You went to the high zones?"
"Had to."
"Good grief... alright, let's check it."
As she examined the cub, my tension finally ebbed, and I flopped onto a nearby bed.
Hoo... they say shit gets real once you leave home.
Last time too, and now this—I nearly died again.
The past two years had been so peaceful.
Guess wandering around stirs up trouble.
Still, I'd scored a solid haul of materials that would've taken ages otherwise. Small mercies.
With that satisfied thought, I passed out cold.
**
When I opened my eyes, a fluffy white ball blocked my view.
...What the?
It was smothering my face, so I peeled it off with my hand.
Kyeng...
A pathetic whine followed.
"Ah."
Right—I'd fallen asleep in the treatment room.
...Did the healer put us on the same bed?
Some hygiene awareness there.
I set the cub aside on one end of the bed and sat up. Bandages wrapped my whole body.
And the grime from all that tumbling in the mountains? Cleaned off while I was out. She'd even washed me up.
Talk about extra work.
I wanted to make it up to her somehow, but what gift would work? Jewelry hadn't landed last time.
As I pondered, the cub wriggled onto my knee. I glanced down at it.
Why's it so clingy?
Doesn't even know I killed its alpha.
It lay belly-up on my knee. I studied it closely.
Tiny thing.
Maybe the size of two fists?
Hard to picture it growing into that massive alpha.
Whatever.
I lifted it back to the bed and got up.
My clothes? Nowhere in sight.
Probably sent to laundry.
Stretching my stiff body, I headed for the door.
My pockets had the monster materials. Needed my clothes to take them to the smithy.
With the painkillers dulling the ache, I'd make it quick.
But...
"Where are you going?"
Right in front of me.
I ran smack into the healer carrying herbs down the hall.
"Ah, seen my clothes?"
"They were filthy, so I sent them out."
"What about the pockets...?"
"Oh, I sorted those into a basket."
"Thanks. Where is it?"
Was the basket in the treatment room earlier?
The moment I asked to grab it and go—
"Whoa, absolute bed rest!"
She grabbed my back and shoved me right back inside.
"You can't leave your little brother behind."
"...Little brother?"
"This pup here. By bloodline, it's your dongsaeng, right?"
"Pardon?"
She pointed at the wriggling cub on the bed.
What nonsense.
Not even my pet—brother? Come on.
"It's a different species from me."
"But the Young Miss thinks of it as her little brother."
"Huh?"
...Does she?
Come to think of it, with Agatha's stubborn "woof-woof" nicknames, yeah, she might.
"But can I even raise it?"
Truth be told, I'd brought it because leaving it here seemed worse.
But she was acting like raising it was a given.
Was it okay to keep a monster pup in the mansion?
I'd even warned her upfront.
"I asked Sir Rowell, and he said it's fine."
"You asked him already?"
It was still bright outside.
Seemed like only a few hours since dawn, but Rowell had come and gone?
"It's been two days, so of course he did."
"...Two days?"
"You were out cold, so you didn't know."
"Ah."
...Guess the accumulated damage was worse than I thought.
Out for a full two days.
"So, absolute bed rest!"
I meekly sat back down.
Kyeng...
The cub crawled over as I settled.
"It really takes to you."
"Any idea why?"
"No clue? Thinks you're its parent?"
...No way.
If anything, it should see me as the enemy.
"Anyway, what's its name?"
She asked as I stroked its head on my knee.
"Name? Whitey, I guess."
White fur, so Whitey it was.
"Hee... cute name."
She stared at it, clearly smitten.
"Want to keep it here?"
Maybe let her raise it? She'd take good care.
But...
"Here? No, I can't..."
She looked regretful, gesturing at the herbs around.
"It'll outgrow this place too fast."
"Ah."
Then what?
"Where to raise it..."
As I pondered, I felt her gaze.
"Why stare like that?"
"That's your dilemma?"
She pointed outside. A well-kept garden stretched beyond the window.
"You live in a doghouse yourself."
"Ah."
Right—this mansion already housed dogs.
Just one more mouth.
"Guess I'll do that."
I grabbed Whitey's scruff and stood.
Grab my clothes, sneak back to the kennel.
But...
"Absolute bed rest!"
She seized my shoulder, plopping me back down.
...Great. Stuck here motionless for days again.