LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 28
What should I do with this?
First, I grabbed the scruff of a blind wolf pup and lifted it up.
Keeeng- Keeng-
As I lifted it, the pup woke up and started squealing and crying.
“…Huh.”
I just carried it like that and tucked it into my arms.
I can’t just leave it here, so I guess I’ll take it with me.
Since the Chief Wolf wasn’t an ordinary monster, this pup probably isn’t ordinary either, right?
I’ll have to ask Lowell to figure out what kind of creature it is.
With the wolf pup in my arms, I left the cave.
After that, I briefly inspected the monster corpses around.
The materials I need aren’t just the troll’s fangs.
I’ll take a good look and take whatever’s useful.
“Not bad.”
But upon closer inspection, there were more monsters on my material list than I thought.
This guy must have bitten everything in sight.
Thanks to that, I managed to gather quite a bit of material, filling my pockets.
And after that… I just headed down the mountain.
I was so busy chasing that wolf that I didn’t even know where my original campsite was.
So I just kept heading down all night.
And so.
As dawn approached.
“Huh…”
I finally made it back to the foot of the mountain range and headed towards the distant city walls.
“Who goes there!”
“It’s not yet time for entry!”
Since it was still early morning, the guards on the walls shouted as I approached the gate.
“Bring the person in charge.”
“Huh?”
“Bring someone who can identify this.”
I showed them the Void Family seal I got from Lowell, and that was enough to get through.
Even though I was openly carrying a wolf pup, I was let in without much inspection.
After that, I headed straight to the Void Family mansion.
“Who goes there!”
Seeing the gatekeeper here shouting too made me laugh.
What is this, a two-step security check?
“It’s me.”
“Ah, yes, come in. You’re late.”
Luckily, here I didn’t even need to show the seal; the gatekeeper recognized me and opened the door.
“Good work.”
“You’re late. By the way… are you hurt?”
“Yes, I plan to get treated.”
With that, I entered the mansion and headed to the treatment room.
It’s almost dawn, but would the healer be awake?
She usually wakes up early, so I thought she might be awake by now, and I arrived at the treatment room.
Knock knock.
-Come in!
I knocked on the door, and sure enough, I heard her tell me to come in.
Creak.
“Hello.”
“Yes, what brings you… huh?”
The treatment room was lit, so my appearance was clearly visible to the healer.
Having rolled down the mountain, been hit by the Chief Wolf, and made my way down, I was a complete mess, and the healer was shocked.
“What, what happened to you?”
“I went hiking.”
With that, I took the wolf pup out of my arms.
Keeeng…
As I took it out, it woke up and started squirming.
“Wow, it’s cute… wait, what is it? Did you pick it up?”
“Something like that. Can you check its health?”
“You should get checked first….”
“Just do this one quickly first.”
I told her to check the pup first since it would take a while.
I’ve been holding it in, but ever since I took that hit, my insides have been a mess.
Honestly, I feel like I could collapse any moment.
“Ah, yes… I’ll take a look.”
“It’s a monster pup, so be careful.”
“Huh? Really?”
At my words, the healer looked down at the wolf pup I had placed on the bed.
“It, it doesn’t look like it….”
With its eyes still closed and squirming, it didn’t look like a monster to me either.
In fact, it looked more like a newborn puppy than a wolf.
“I don’t even know what kind of monster it is.”
“Uh, where did you pick it up?”
“Up in the highlands of the Kaine Mountain Range.”
Since I had chased the wolf up there, it must have been the highlands.
“Y-you went up to the highlands?”
“I had business there.”
“Wow… I’ll take a look.”
As the healer checked the pup’s condition.
I, having relaxed, lay down comfortably on another bed nearby.
Huh… They say leaving home is tough.
Last time and this time, I almost died.
The past two years were so peaceful.
But just wandering around got me into this mess again.
At least I got some good loot, so that’s a relief.
Having gathered materials that would have taken a long time to find separately, I fell asleep as if passing out.
**
When I opened my eyes, I saw a white furball.
…What’s this?
It was covering my face, making it hard to breathe, so I pushed it away with my hand.
Keeeng…
Then, I heard a whimpering sound.
“Ah.”
Now I remember, I fell asleep in the treatment room.
…Did the healer put this pup in the same bed as me?
Seriously, what about hygiene?
I put the wolf pup down on one side of the bed and sat up, noticing that my whole body was bandaged.
Plus, I was a mess from rolling down the mountain, but now I was clean, so she must have washed me.
I really put her through a lot.
I want to reward her, but what kind of gift should I give?
Last time, jewelry didn’t seem to work.
What would make her happy? As I thought about it, I looked down at the squirming wolf pup that had climbed onto my lap.
Why does it keep clinging to me?
Doesn’t it know I killed its Chief Wolf?
I carefully examined the wolf pup lying on my lap.
It’s really small.
About the size of two fists?
It’s hard to imagine it growing up to be like that Chief Wolf.
Anyway…
I moved the pup from my lap back to the bed and got up.
My clothes… I don’t see them anywhere.
Did she send them for laundry?
Stretching my sore body, I opened the treatment room door.
I had a pouch in my clothes with materials I extracted from monster corpses.
I need to find my clothes and take them to the blacksmith shop.
I plan to go quickly while the painkillers are still working.
But…
“Where are you going?”
Right in front.
I ran into the healer carrying some herbs in the hallway.
“Ah, have you seen my clothes?”
“They were too dirty, so I sent them for laundry.”
“What about the pouch inside…”
“Ah, I sorted the pouch and put it in a basket.”
“Ah, thank you. Where is it?”
Was the basket in the treatment room earlier?
I asked, planning to grab it and leave.
“Hey, absolute rest!”
With that, the healer grabbed my back and pushed me back into the treatment room.
“You brought your sibling here and now you’re leaving?”
“…Sibling?”
“This little pup here. By lineage, isn’t it your sibling?”
“Huh?”
The healer pointed at the squirming wolf pup on the bed.
What kind of nonsense is this?
It’s not even my pet, let alone my sibling.
“It’s a different species from me.”
“The Lady probably thinks of it as a sibling, right?”
“Huh?”
…Is that so?
Thinking about it, the Lady who stubbornly calls me “puppy” might really think that way.
“But can we raise it?”
Actually, I brought it here because it seemed better than leaving it there.
But the healer seems to think raising it is a given, which surprised me.
Can I really raise a monster pup in the mansion?
Especially since I already told her it’s a monster.
“Lowell said it’s fine.”
“You already asked Lowell?”
Looking outside, it’s still bright.
I came in at dawn, so did Lowell come and go in just a few hours?
“It’s been two days, so Lowell came and went.”
“…It’s been two days?”
“You were unconscious, so you didn’t know.”
“Ah.”
…I must have been really banged up.
Passing out for two whole days.
“So, absolute rest for now!”
In the end, I obediently sat back down on the bed.
Keeeng…
As I sat down, the wolf pup squirmed its way over.
“It really likes you.”
“Do you know why it’s like this?”
“No idea? Does it think you’re its parent?”
…Maybe.
Or maybe it thinks I’m its enemy.
“By the way, what’s its name?”
As I petted the wolf pup that had rested its head on my lap, the healer asked.
“Name? Let’s call it White Pup.”
Since it’s white, White Pup should do.
“Heh… cute name.”
She said, staring at the pup, clearly fond of it.
“Do you want to raise it here?”
Should I let the healer raise it?
Given her personality, she’d take good care of it, but…
“Huh? We can’t raise it here….”
The healer pointed to the herbs around, clearly disappointed.
“It’ll be hard to handle once it grows a bit.”
“Ah…”
Then what should I do?
“Where should we raise it…”
As I pondered, I felt the healer’s gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You’re really thinking about that?”
She pointed outside, where a well-maintained garden was visible.
“You live in a dog house yourself.”
“Ah.”
“Ask for a sibling house to be built next to yours.”
…Come to think of it, this mansion already has a place for dogs.
It’s just one more mouth to feed.
“I guess that’s what we’ll do.”
With that, I grabbed the scruff of the now-named White Pup and got up.
I planned to grab my clothes and sneak back to the dog house, but…
“Absolute rest!”
I was grabbed by the shoulder and sat back down.
…Great, now I’m stuck here for a few more days.