Chapter 2

The journey began with a kidnapping by a wolf.

The night after I saved the wolf.

For some reason, I couldn’t sleep, so I was watching the moon through the window. My mind kept drifting back to that beautiful wolf.

I never imagined such a beautiful creature could actually exist.

I was starting to doze off and figured it was time to head to bed when I heard a wolf’s howl.

It would be bad if the cows and horses were attacked, so I hurriedly changed my clothes.

I had zero combat ability, so my job was to check if all the livestock were safely inside the barns.

Once that was done, I stood guard outside to watch for any approaching wolves. I had saved one during the day, but if they were going to attack the animals, I’d have no choice but to fight back.

Still, there were an unusual number of howls. I could hear them coming from all over.

Well, whatever. There hadn’t been any damage yet, and there were no reports of anyone actually seeing a wolf.

If the night passed without incident, that would be fine by me.

I could handle a scuffle between humans if it came to it, but I’d never been in a life-or-death fight—and I certainly didn’t want to die by being eaten by a wolf.

While thinking that, I took up my position in front of the cowshed when something let out a cry.

I looked toward the sound, and there it was.

The beautiful wolf from earlier that day was there, accompanied by others who seemed to be members of its pack.

In the darkness of the night, only their golden eyes revealed their positions. Just by counting the eyes, I guessed there were more than ten of them.

I couldn’t win this. I had no intention of dying, but I couldn’t let them eat the cows and horses either.

Now, what should I do?

“Good evening. It’s a lovely moonlit night, isn’t it?”

A voice reached me. It was a dignified, husky voice—and I was pretty sure it was addressing me.

“Yes, it’s a beautiful moon.”

For now, that was all I could say in response. These things were likely very high-ranking monsters.

As a rule, monsters don’t speak human tongues.

There are two reasons for this: one is that only long-lived species speak human languages, as it takes a vast amount of time to learn them. The other is simply that they look down on humans.

Long-lived species—dragons and demons being the most famous examples—are numerous, but they all view humans as insignificant. Apparently, the only ones who can even stand against them are the likes of a “Hero”; other humans couldn’t win even if they gathered an entire nation’s worth of people.

What business did someone like that have with me…?

“I came here today because I have a question for you.”

“A question? If it’s something I can answer, please, go ahead.”

I had to remain humble, or I’d be killed in an instant.

“Oh, how honest. Then I’ll ask you straight away: why did you save me? Even going so far as to use a precious potion.”

Now, how should I answer this?

I didn’t think she’d believe me if I honestly said, “Because you were beautiful,” but on the other hand, if I told a convenient lie, she’d probably kill me for that too.

“Answer me quickly. I’m not a very patient individual.”

Crap, I have to answer fast. Fine, I’ll just have to bet everything on the truth. If I die, I die.

“I saved you because I thought it would be a waste for you to die there.”

“A waste? What exactly did you think would be a waste?”

Stop scratching your head with your back leg while you ask me that; you’re acting way too relaxed.

“I felt it would be a waste for someone as beautiful as you to die in a place like that, so I saved you.”

Upon hearing those words, the wolf’s ears flicked. After making a gesture as if she were sniffing the air, she suddenly burst out laughing.

“What kind of reason is that?! You, a human, saved me because you thought I was beautiful?! I’ve lived a long time, but you’re the first one to save me for a reason like that!”

Excuse me for interrupting while you’re laughing your head off, but could you please tell your friends over there to stop growling at me? I’m genuinely terrified.

“You really are interesting. Even among the few humans I’ve played with, you are a particularly rare breed!!”

Wait, “played with”?! That was just a game to you?! Man, I didn’t even need to save her then.

Also, I can’t believe she actually fell for the “beautiful” line.

“Hey, I’ve taken a liking to you. What’s your name?”

“Eh, ah, I am—”

“You don’t need to speak so formally.”

“…I’m Ryu. Just Ryu.”

Don’t cut me off. Though, I guess it’s fine to speak casually then.

“Ryu, is it…? An unusual name. Ryu, from this moment on, you belong to me. I won’t accept any objections.”

…Excuse me?

The wolf communicated something to her pack; the other wolves started yipping and howling, but she silenced them. Wh-what’s going to happen now?

“Um, what exactly do you mean by ‘belonging to you’?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. It means that from now on, I’m taking Ryu back with me as my pet.”

What?! What is this sudden turn of events?! Taking me back as a pet?!

“Right, let’s go.”

As she said that, she grew from the size of a large dog to a massive ten meters in length and scooped me up in her mouth.

“W-Wait! Where are we going?! And at least let me pack a bag!”

“Luggage would only get in the way, so you don’t need it. As for where we’re going, you’ll find out soon enough.”

And just like that, with me still in her mouth, she started running off to who-knows-where.

…Seriously, what’s going to happen to me?