Chapter 28

Let's go back a little in time and talk about when I met the weakened Dark Wolf.

※ ※ ※

It seems I had successfully tamed the Dark Wolf.

It looks like a small dog, but if an expert saw it, they would realize it's a wolf.

If I take it outside, there will be a commotion. The Self-Defense Forces might even get involved.

While I was wondering what to do, the Dark Wolf brought me a D-can, which it used to be afraid of but now seems to have no problem with.

The lid of the D-can was already open.

A D-can is a can that only opens under special conditions, similar to a gacha can.

It is extremely hard, even capable of breaking the Dark Wolf's teeth, which can crush steel.

Most people don't know how to open it and just wait for it to open by chance, but I have the Detailed Appraisal skill, so I know how to open it.

By the way, the release condition for this D-can is—

Oh, I see.

This is a can that opens when a monster is tamed.

After all, I sorted through 15,000 D-cans using Detailed Appraisal, so I had almost forgotten about the difficult-to-open ones.

So it opened, huh.

I wondered what was inside, and it turned out to be a collar.

I checked it with Appraisal.

【Collar: Put it on your precious pet】

Just a regular collar.

A dud.

I decided to check it with Detailed Appraisal.

【False Collar: A magical collar. When this collar is put on a tamed monster, people around will only see it as a regular pet】

Oh, it's a magical item.

I see, I see.

So, if I put this collar on the Dark Wolf and take it outside, it will only look like a regular dog.

I can take it for a walk or to the vet without anyone noticing.

What a convenient collar.

However, considering the causal relationship between the contents of the D-can and its opening condition, it's not entirely a coincidence.

"Danpon, is it okay to keep this guy here?"

"It's fine, but it's a bit pitiful. This is a dungeon specifically for Taiga. When Taiga is not inside, it's completely dark and nothing can be done."

"That means it's not okay, right? But what did you do in that case?"

"I can still move around as the dungeon's caretaker."

So, the option of leaving the Dark Wolf here was out of the question.

However, if I introduce it to my mother, she will definitely say—

"No way. Take it back to where it came from."

As expected, it didn't work.

My mother is against pets.

Even though she is usually gentle, she becomes like this when it comes to pets.

She's just like Ota-kun's mom.

"Just let me put it in the yard for a bit."

"Just for a bit, Taiga? Pets aren't something you just put somewhere. You have to take care of them responsibly. And pets always die before their owners."

Come to think of it, I haven't told her about this guy yet.

"…No, this guy is a monster, a special individual called a Dark Wolf. According to Danpon, it can live for a thousand years."

"Then that's different! Let's definitely keep it!"

What!?! Isn't that the opposite of what most people would say?

If it were a dog, it would be fine, but keeping a monster is out of the question, right?

That's why I didn't mention it was a monster at first.

"What are you talking about? It's so cute and it lives for a long time. I love dogs and cats, but I didn't keep them because I didn't want them to die. But if it lives longer than me, that's a different story. You, come be my child!"

And with that, my mother hugged the Dark Wolf.

Seriously, my mother is actually an animal lover.

She didn't want to keep pets because it was painful to see them die.

The Dark Wolf looked at me as if asking for help, but just let her hug it.

Understand this, the level of strength or physical power doesn't matter.

My mother is at the top of the household hierarchy.

Behave like a cute dog.

So, the Dark Wolf officially became a member of the Ichino family.

And my mother asked me to give it a name.

"Name… it's a wolf… Dark Wolf. Wolf. How about Yajcha? Like 'Ryūga Hōkō'… No? It sounds like a loser? I see. Then how about Kuro? It's just what it looks like. Is that okay? Better than Yajcha? Got it."

And the Dark Wolf's name was decided as Kuro.

It feels like I can communicate with the Dark Wolf normally.

It's not that it's speaking human language or that I can hear its thoughts in my head.

Is this what it means to tame a monster?

Anyway, now that the name is decided, the next thing to do is—

"Kuun"

"Endure it. Kuro, you're a strong one."

I spoke to Kuro, who was lying on the table.

However, Kuro looked at me with sad eyes.

It must know it's going to have a rough time.

"Okay, it's done. Kuro, you were a good boy. Come back next year, okay?"

The vet said, and the rabies vaccination was over.

I was really worried about what would happen if it went berserk at the animal hospital.

Even though it's weakened, this monster is stronger than lions or hippos.

Then, we went to the animal guidance center by bicycle and completed the dog registration.

※ ※ ※

"That was a lot of trouble…"

After that, we went to a home center and bought a doghouse, leash, dog carrier, dog food, and dog treats.

I also tried throwing a frisbee for Kuro to catch, and it caught it beautifully, then proceeded to bite it to pieces.

While recalling these memories, Kuro and I entered the PD.

For Kuro and me, the PD is a regular walking course.

We walked through the PD, which is a trace of the Tenshiba Dungeon, and went to the fifth floor.

In the PD, we don't need to hold a leash, so it's quite convenient.

Once we reached the fifth floor, I did some light stretching.

"Alright, Kuro. Ready for a challenge?"

"Woof"

"Let's see who can collect the most D-coins. The winner gets a treat after dinner. But I don't plan on losing."

"Ao-o-o-on!"

Kuro seems to be full of determination.

Alright, let's go.

"Ready, set, go!"

Kuro and I ran in different directions.

The monsters here are goblins, lizardmen, and cubes.

I use my sword to defeat the goblins and lizardmen.

Cubes are just cube-shaped monsters that run away. They are very fast, and even I can't catch them if they get away.

Until now, the only way to defeat them was to corner them in a dead end.

"Release: Fire Arrow!"

I use fire magic to deal with them.

The power is minimal, but it's enough for cubes.

With the ability to use ranged attacks, I have no blind spots.

I also have the skill to detect the presence of monsters, so I don't need to search for them.

Kuro has high agility, but even with the weakening, it's not as fast as a princess, and it can't catch up to cubes in its current state.

Furthermore, Kuro doesn't have an inventory, so it has to pick up the D-coins and put them in a bag hanging from its neck, which takes a lot of time.

I had no reason to lose.

Sorry, Kuro.

Even though it's a pet, the master can't go easy on it.

An hour later, we regrouped.

Kuro's bag was filled with D-coins, presumably dropped by goblins and lizardmen, and after calculating, I found out I had lost by a small margin.

"What…!?"

"Woof"

"Master did well? Master's monsters were of higher quality? Thanks for the encouragement, but it just makes me feel worse. Damn, why did I lose? What? Tracking prey by scent? Focused on goblins and lizardmen instead of cubes?"

With my presence detection, I can't distinguish between monsters, but Kuro can track them by scent.

It focused on monsters it could defeat alone.

I noticed I encountered fewer goblins and lizardmen than usual, which means Kuro was hunting them.

It seems I played the role of the rabbit in the tortoise and the hare.

"I won't lose next time. Yeah, the treat after dinner?"

After our walk, we went to Danpon to exchange the D-coins.

"…Mr. Taiga. These D-coins are covered in saliva. Please don't let Kuro pick up D-coins anymore, or at least wash them before submitting them."

Danpon was really displeased.

Thank you.

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