Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”-

Side Story - Do You Like Puppies?

Side Story - Do You Like Puppies?

This chapter is a continuation of the Volume 7 side story that I skipped before.

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Side Story : Do You Like Puppies?

Translator : PolterGlast

Two shadows were reflected in the dimly lit room.

Surrounding the two figures was a row of weird equipment reminiscent of a laboratory, with various colors of magical light shining through the equipment.

"So, how are things going?"

One was a tall, slender guy. His ears and tail, covered with shiny golden fur, were illuminated by a suspicious glow of magical light.

"We haven't gotten any results yet. We just finished that prototype a couple of days ago, you know. More importantly, where did you put that prototype?"

The other one is a boy with a rather distinct medieval tone in his voice.

He had been moving around the room for a while now, working on some kind of equipment that had been installed there.

He placed something in the form of a shredded thread in a beaker that glowed purple, and subsequently placed a sheet of paper on the laboratory table.

A circular magic circle was drawn onto it, and a plate-like object reminiscent of a crescent moon was placed on top of it.

"Since it's a prototype, it needs to be tested. I thought so, so I'm putting it to the test now."

"Where did you put it?"

"Don't worry. We are dealing with a reliable customer."

The boy gave a disgruntled glance at the fox-eared guy, but at that moment, smoke erupted from a purple beaker.

The boy hurriedly took the thread-like material out of the beaker and placed it on the magic circle on the lab table.

"Anyway, we don't have enough material to make the complete version."

"If so, I guess I'll have to go out and get some. I'll be right back."

The fox-eared guy turned on his heel and quickly left the room.

The boy was left behind, illuminated by a purple magic light as he continued his dubious experiments.

***

One day after school. Nozomu was invited by Irisdina to the forest north of the city.

According to her, she wanted him to help with a request she had received from the guild.

Of course, they were going to split the commission fifty-fifty, and since it was Irisdina's request, Nozomu gladly accepted the offer.

"So, the request was to take care of the wild hounds, was it?"

"Yes, the son and daughter-in-law of a hunter who died last year asked us to take care of them. There were two of them. There have been several sightings of similar-looking dogs in these northern woods. They wanted us to escort them home and protect them if we could, but if that's not possible, they'd like us to take care of the Hounds for them. That's what they said."

"I see..."

The request was to protect them. If it was not possible, the request was to kill the Hounds.

The Hounds were originally owned by the client's father, and when he passed away, they both disappeared.

Hounds that became wild and started to harm people were identified as demon beasts. Demon beasts known as Wild Dogs were classified in this category.

In particular, Hounds that have been kept by people are especially dangerous because they are not afraid of humans.

One or two Hounds would not be a problem for Nozomu and Irisdina, but for ordinary people and children who do not know how to fight, they would be a threat. Nozomu, who had experienced being attacked, was well aware of this.

"Nozomu, is there any place around here where hounds might find a place to reside?"

"There is. If they are still alive, it is very likely that they are living in the outskirts of the city, moving around the boundaries of their respective territories to avoid being spotted by the other Wild Dogs and Goblins who have settled in the outskirts of the city. But they won't be able to go deep into the forest. Because there are Orcs and Cyclops and the like in that area."

Wild Dogs are classified as low-ranking demonic beasts. They are a threat in numbers, but their abilities are nowhere near those of a Cyclops or other such creatures.

If they have lived their lives as hunting dogs, they are probably familiar with the threats posed by other demonic beasts. If there are only two of them, they should avoid fighting with other demonic beasts.

Besides, if they are accustomed to people, they would have no qualms about setting up a nest near a human town.

Therefore, Nozomu and Irisdina began to search near the northern road.

"Iris, I found an animal trail. Some relatively new footprints."

It took about 30 minutes to find the footprints that were supposedly left by the hounds that were the target of the request.

The footprints of what appeared to be several dogs were traced on the animal trail that stretched through the gap between the trees.

"The number is...4. The number doesn't match, but two of the footprints are smaller than the other two. They could be Dogs born this year."

"So, you mean they are watchdogs?"

They were told that there were only two hounds, but there was no information in the request form that they were watchdogs.

Judging from the small footprints, it could be assumed that the two hounds were still children, but watchdogs with children are sometimes more troublesome than a higher-ranked demonic beast. This is because they will bare their fangs in a desperate attempt to protect their children.

Nozomu and Irisdina proceed down the animal trail with even more caution.

"Nozomu ... I found the nest."

Eventually, Irisdina found a nest at the end of the trail.

The two of them went around the nest and hid in the bushes to take a peek at the nest.

The nest, built by the hounds, was a simple one with a hole dug in the ground.

In front of the entrance of the nest, two puppies, which appeared to be the watchdogs' cubs, were playing with each other.

"Two puppies ... The numbers match. Looks like they were born this year after all."

"Yeah..."

While snuggled up next to Irisdina, Nozomu searched for any signs of their surroundings.

Meanwhile, Irisdina stared intently at the nest, perhaps considering the possibility that the parents might be in the nest.

"Looks like the parents aren't here..."

"Yeah..."

They could not detect any sign of large demonic beasts in the surrounding area.

For the time being, Nozomu returned his gaze to the nest.

The puppies that were playing with each other were still quite young. They are only a few months old. Maybe not even a month old. They have short legs and rounded bodies. Their body fur is not yet smooth, but fluffy and shaggy like wool.

The fact that they moved with such young children indicated that they might be chased by other demon beasts and moved out of their previous nests.

This probably means that the parent hounds would not have gone that far from the nest, and would likely be hunting in the vicinity.

In other words, the parent hounds will be back sooner or later.

"Iris, what are we going to do? Should we just secure the puppies while we can? Or do we wait until after the parents get here?"

"Yeah......"

Should we just wait until the parents return and round them up, or should we secure just the puppies first?

By the looks of it, the pups had not been born very long. If so, they would be less wary of humans. In other words, although it was uncertain whether the parents would harm people as a result of becoming feral, it might be possible to hand over only the puppies to the client. However, Irisdina's response to Nozomu's question was strangely slow.

"...Iris?"

"Yeah..."

No, it was not just slow.

When Nozomu glanced at the girl next to him to see what was going on, Irisdina was staring at the puppies playing with each other with a sparkling gaze as if she were a child.

"F-, furballs ... Two fluffy furballs ... Ah, I want to stroke them. I want to rub them on my cheeks..."

"............"

Nozomu couldn't believe his ears at the words that escaped from Irisdina's mouth, who had a serious look in her eyes.

He felt as if he had just heard something very out of place.

Furballs, fluffy, rub, and cheeks...

"W-, what is it?"

"Do you have a soft spot for puppies, by any chance?"

"W-, what are you talking about? There's no way I have a soft spot for them!"

Her voice was obviously shaky. And her eyes were scurrying and swimming in the air. It wasn't very convincing at all.

"Iris, do you like puppies?"

"W-, wha? T-, That's not it. There's no way I find those round eyes adorable, nor those little wobbly legs would make my heart melt."

"What about their cuteness?"

"Cute is Justice! Ah-, no, umm..."

It was confirmed. This girl, forgetting about the request, was completely captivated by the puppies.

A surprising fact is that she, who is so dignified and mature, actually likes puppies. And the sight of her cheeks turning red with embarrassment at being told of it is quite charming.

Unfortunately, however, Nozomu was unable to enjoy that moment.

"More importantly, Iris, you were yelling so loud that the puppies found us..."

"Eh?"

The puppies' eyes, which had been playing with each other earlier, were now turned toward the bushes where Nozomu and Irisdina were hiding.

In addition, next to the puppies, there were two larger dogs that had not been there before.

"What's more, their parents are back."

"Eeeh!?"

"Grrrrrrrr..."

The parents of the puppies were growling and glaring at the bushes with full alertness. They were obviously aware of Nozomu and Irisdina.

"What are we going to do? They're completely on guard."

"Don't worry. I've prepared a secret tool for this kind of situation."

A secret tool.

Since she said so, it sounded reassuring, but for some reason, Nozomu couldn't shake his bad premonition.

He felt that he had witnessed a similar situation just the other day.

"This is it! These are the gloves that their former owner used to wear. If I wear these gloves with their owner's scent on them, they will think of me as their companion!"

His bad premonition was proven right.

The way she confidently took out the equipment was a perfect mirror image of her younger sister. In addition, the subtle smell of disappointment that wafted through the air also matched hers.

"No, those gloves are over a year old, aren't they? Their former owner's scent must have long since worn off. And no matter how many gloves you put on, if it's Iris who's wearing them, they're not going to let their guard down... -hey, listen to me!"

Though he thought it was useless and tried to interject, Iris, of course, did not hear him.

She put on the gloves and confidently approached the dogs. All she focused on was the furballs.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm on your side..."

Irisdina walked up to them with a fond smile on her face. In front of her, the dogs were still growling in full alertness.

Moreover, they have lowered their heads and bared their fangs. They were completely ready for battle.

But this time, Irisdina would not let him escape.

After swiftly blocking Feo's escape route, she poured magic power into her rapier and with a single sword stroke, she cut through the magic barrier like a piece of paper.

"Hiih~! It grazed me, it grazed me!"

Feo screamed as he saw the deadly attack grazed his cheek.

Irisdina then thrusts the rapier at him as if to finish him off.

The thrust struck Feo's fox ear and pierced deeply into the wall of the hut.

"I didn't hit you for the sake of being your friend. But if you try to run away again, I will ... cut you down."

If I was not her friend, would she cut me down without question?

While letting such a question slip from his mind, Feo raised his hands and surrendered.

The released puppy rushed to its parents and pampered them wholeheartedly as if to drown out any anxiety it might have been feeling.

"Now, we have to rescue the other one."

While smiling at the puppy's situation, Irisdina walked to the back of the room to rescue the remaining puppy.

"Nozomu, we've caught the culprit over here. All that's left to do is to catch the root of th-..."

Though Irisdina stepped into the laboratory with high spirits, she involuntarily froze at the sight in front of her.

The wall of the hut that has been cut down ... this is probably the hole that Nozomu made when he entered the room. However, the person who rushed in is still holding his drawn katana, and for some reason has a stunned expression on his face.

On the desk in the middle of the room, there is a piece of paper with a magic circle on it, and Tom is holding the puppy in his left hand, looking stunned and stiff with an expression of shock on his face.

What caught her eye more than anything else was what Tom was holding in his right hand.

It was a brush with a very fine whisker attached to it. Obviously, it was not something a human would use, but something for combing fur and the like.

The brush's whiskers were full of fur that seemed to belong to the puppy, and the puppy, for some reason, seemed to be comfortable as he leaned back against Tom.

"Nozomu, what is this about?"

"Brushing... it seems."

"... Ha?"

Wasn't he trying to use the puppy as experimental material? There are some suspiciously colored chemicals and magic circles laid out ....... But brushing?

In Irisdina's head? Question marks danced wildly.

"It's terrible of both of you! You're destroying my workshop like this!"

"No, umm... eh?"

Tom, who was stiff with the brush in his hand, cried out in protest and snapped at the confused Irisdina and Nozomu. That further aggravated their confusion.

"C-, can you guys explain about this in detail, please?'"

Tom cried out in tears. Nozomu and Irisdina were moving left and right, flustered. And the puppy lying comfortably on the floor.

In the midst of the chaos, Feo began to tell the whole situation in a weak voice.

***

It all started when Tom wanted to have his own workshop.

While looking for a suitable property, Tom found one that had been abandoned because the owner of the workshop had left Arcazam. Just recently, he rented it at a reasonable price.

However, he spent most of the money he had on hand to rent it, and as a result, Tom had to struggle for money for a while.

At that time, he was approached by Feo with an offer to make a certain product, and he thought he could make money by helping him with it.

For that business, he desperately needed animal fur. And they needed high-quality animal fur at that.

So Feo went around and caught animals. Tom then brushed the animals to get the fur, and they worked hard to make their products.

"Well, what you did was misleading..."

After Feo explained the situation to Nozomu, he let out a sigh of relief.

From the beginning, Feo had no intention of taking the puppy's life. He was going to return them to their parents after he received some of their fur.

He had not received the request for the Wild Dogs, either, just having seen it on the guild's bulletin board.

"Good grief, this is a huge loss for us. The materials we had saved up are gone, and the workshop is destroyed..."

"If Feo had explained the situation from the beginning, we wouldn't be in this situation..."

"Don't be an idiot. Information is vital in business. We haven't mass-produced the product yet, and information leakage is the most important thing we have to worry about."

"No, well, that may be true... But still, selling animal-fur goods is a bit..."

By the way, the products Tom was making were animal ear made of animal fur. Yes, it was the same line of products as the cat-ear magic items that Somia had.

In fact, in a corner of the laboratory, there were not only cat ears, but also a wide variety of animal ear-shaped items, such as rats, horses, sheep, and deer.

"Will they sell?"

"A small percentage of our customers have already placed orders. One of our major customers is Hime-san's sister..."

"Oh, come to think of it, Somia-chan also had one..."

Nozomu recalled a girl wearing cat ears and playing around in a vacant lot in the commercial district.

The image he recalled along with a headache certainly suited her well.

"... I, I have no idea! Have you seen her wearing it, Nozomu!?"

"Yeah, she was really cute. Well, there was a thing afterward..."

Irisdina was upset that she had no idea about it at all.

Although Nozomu did not tell Irisdina because Somia herself had asked him not to tell her, Irisdina herself was quite shocked.

"Wh-, what on earth is going on here?..."

Irisdina put her hands on the floor and hung her head as if it was the end of the world.

Just as she was about to fall into a state of disappointment, the two puppies she had protected ran up to her and began to lick her face.

"Ku~n, ku~n..."

"Are you comforting me?..."

With tears in her eyes, the very moved Irisdina embraced the puppies.

She embraced them as if she would never let them go. The puppies cry out in pain, and their parents yelp in protest, "Woof - woof!".

Irisdina loosened her arms in a hurry, and the puppies licked her sweetly. And then Irisdina's arms get tighter again, and so these patterns began to repeat themselves.

"Good grief..."

Nozomu smiled wryly at Irisdina and the dogs as they repeated the loop like a comedic act.

"By the way, Nozomu-kun. I hope you will pay for these damages."

"...Eh?"

Hearing this sudden words, Nozomu was involuntarily taken aback.

Looking closer, Tom, with an ice-cold smile on his face, pointed to the wall that Nozomu had cut down.

The hole Nozomu made was two meters long and less than one meter wide. Not only the wood of the wall, but also the tiles lining the inside of the wall were all cut and torn, falling to the floor and shattered.

Incidentally, these tiles. Since alchemy involves the use of magical materials, these tiles were specially manufactured with various measures, such as soundproofing and anti-magic, making them quite expensive.

Specifically, one of these special tiles alone costs the equivalent of three days' worth of food for Nozomu.

However one might look at it, more than 20 of them had completely gone back to the dirt.

"Nozomu, you slashed them, of course, it's only natural."

"Um, Tom. Are you angry?"

"What makes you think I'm not?"

No wonder, since he had just acquired the workshop he had longed for, and now it is in this state.

It was too dangerous to use it as a workshop without at least replacing these special tiles.

"The workshop is a mess! The fluffy ears and tail I made with my best effort are covered in the rubble! Who wouldn't be angered by this is out of their mind!"

"H-, huh? Are you one of those guys who like animal ears?"

"What are you talking about? There is no craftsman who wouldn't be angry if his work was destroyed!"

Indeed.

Although there was probably some personal preference in it, if one thought about it, his girlfriend is also a beastman. Well, no wonder he was furious.

"Umm, Feo..."

Looking to Feo for help, the fox-eared young man smiled a radiant smile and gave a thumbs up.

"Well then, it's time for me to make another sales pitch."

And then he firmly dismissed Nozomu. He is a man who never wavers when it comes to money.

"As for these dogs, I'll leave it to Hime-san!"

"Umu! I'll take good care of them at the Francilt mansion. I'm sure Mena will be convinced if I explain to her that they will also make splendid guard dogs!"

Feo left the workshop before Nozomu had time to rely on him. In no time at all, Feo had left the workshop and disappeared into the crowd.

"Leave it to me. I will raise you to be as good hounds as your parents!"

Irisdina, on the other hand, lifted the puppies high in the air and made such a declaration with enthusiasm.

The puppies wag their tails happily as they were lifted up. Irisdina happily cuddled the puppies.

She was so absorbed in the puppies that she didn't even notice Nozomu's pleading for her help. All she could see were the furballs...

"Um, I'm begging you..."

"That's a given! Right!?"

"Yes......"

Nozomu raised the white flag completely when Tom came at him with so much fierceness.

It was terrifying. Specifically, he was as scary as his late master whom he had angered before.

After that, he had to clean up the messy workshop with Irisdina until the evening on Tom's orders.

Even from the side, Nozomu's eyes looked cloudy like a dead fish as he cleared away the walls he had cut down with a broom and a dustpan.

Unlike the mentally exhausted Nozomu, Irisdina was in a good mood the whole time, encouraged by the puppies.

Although the puppies were also playing with Nozomu, Nozomu, who had been traumatized by Tom's rage and intimidation, was completely oblivious to the situation. It was pathetic.

It was not until the next day that Irisdina came to her senses and paid Tom for the repairs to the workshop.

By the way, the money for the repairs came from a 50-50 split between the request and her own personal expenses.

After that, the hounds and their cubs were taken in by Irisdina and were now working as guard dogs at the Francilt mansion under her training.

"By the way, Tom-kun, do you have dog ears?"

"...Eh?"

Somehow, this conversation took place on the spot where the repair cost was handed over.

Later, this conversation would cause another ridiculous trouble, but that would be for another story.

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