Chapter 1

This is the second submission.

Winner of the 8th Net Novel Award!

The latest book edition, Volume 5, and the latest comic edition, Volume 4, are now on sale!

Please be sure to purchase them!

“...phew... Good work today.”

It's late at night, almost a new day, and I've finally finished today's work and am on my way home.

I don't remember leaving on time recently.

I've been working for two years, with no days off and mostly unpaid overtime, so I think it's a completely black workplace.

However, I don't have the time to look for another job, so I've been continuing this one.

“Ah... I feel a bit dizzy.”

There was a time when I collapsed at home after three months of continuous work without a day off.

I woke up immediately, but I thought it was dangerous and took a sick day to go to the hospital.

When I went to work the next day, my boss scolded me, and my colleagues looked at me with cold eyes.

It's not as bad as that time, but my gait is a bit off.

I haven't been drinking.

I'm just barely an adult, and while I have had some drinks, I haven't had enough to enjoy them.

Once, on a day with less overtime, I was taken to a drinking party by my boss and couldn't refuse, but I was only allowed to drink beer and had to run to the bathroom multiple times.

“What's wrong with this workplace...”

Muttering to myself, I walk from the nearest station to my home.

“Ah, I'll stop by the convenience store. I haven't eaten anything today... I should buy something for him too.”

On my way home, I enter a convenience store, remembering that I hadn't eaten anything all day, and buy a bento and some sausages.

I always make him feel lonely, so I want to buy his favorite treat to cheer him up.

I leave the convenience store and head home with a slightly unsteady gait.

After about ten minutes, I arrive at my apartment building, take the key out of my pocket, and open the front door where the nameplate reads "Kohiro Masahiro."

“I'm home.”

I open the door and call out to him as I enter.

I can hear the sound of him trying to scratch the door open from the other side of the hallway.

“Good, good, you're energetic as always. I'll open it for you, so wait a moment.”

I take off my shoes, walk down the hallway, and open the door for him.

As soon as I open the door, a white object jumps at me with great force.

“Woof... Woof”

“Haha, good, good. Did you behave yourself?”

The one who jumped at me is a Maltese named Leo.

I found him as a puppy in a cardboard box and brought him home.

I had just started living alone as a student, but thanks to Leo, I wasn't lonely.

I named him Leo on a whim when I found him, but it was a good memory when I later realized he was a girl.

Sorry, Leo, for giving you such a name.

“Look, I bought your favorite sausages today.”

“Woof... Woof”

When I show him the sausages, his tail, which was already wagging, starts wagging even more.

He sniffs the sausages and is about to bite them.

“Haha, wait, wait. You can't eat them like that. ...Here, I'll take them out of the package first.”

“Woof! ...Chomp chomp”

I take the sausages out of the package and put them on the floor, and he starts eating them eagerly.

I'll eat my bento too.

I take out the bento that was warmed up at the convenience store, place it on the table, open the lid, and start eating.

...It doesn't taste very good... Was today's bento a bit bland?

Still, I'm hungry, so I won't leave any.

While I'm eating, Leo, who has finished his sausages, starts playing with me.

“Woof... Woof”

“What? Do you want to play? Just wait, I'll finish my bento soon.”

“...Woof”

I pet Leo to calm him down and finish the rest of my bento.

I gather the trash in the convenience store bag and put it in the corner of the room.

Tomorrow is non-burnable garbage day, so I need to take it out before I go to work.

“Okay, Leo, come here.”

“Woof... Woof”

“What? You don't want to play?”

“...Woof... Woof”

For some reason, he keeps pushing his nose against my face and licking me today...

Does he notice that I'm not feeling well?

While I'm wondering, I think it's time to go to bed.

“Ah, I need to take a bath.”

It's not good to just go to bed after coming home.

When I mention the bath, Leo moves away from me.

He still hates baths...

I stand up to take a bath, and my vision starts to wobble.

“...Is it an earthquake?”

It feels like something is shaking... Wait, is it me who's shaking...?

“Woof woof woof!”

I can see Leo barking loudly at the edge of my wobbling vision, but I can't respond as I fall to the floor.

“Woof woof woof! ...Woof woof”

I can clearly see Leo coming closer, worried about me as I fall to the floor, but I can't do anything as I lose consciousness.

――――――――――――――――――――

“...Hmm”

“Woof woof”

I wake up feeling the wind. Was I sleeping? The fuzzy thing covering my face is Leo, right?

“Sorry, Leo, can you move a bit? ...You've gotten a bit heavier.”

“Woof”

While moving Leo, who seems to be making a lower sound than usual, off my face, I open my eyes.

...What I see when I open my eyes is a forest I've never seen before.

“...Where am I? Is this a dream?”

“Woof!”

I remember eating the bento in my room, but I don't remember going to bed.

Why am I in the middle of a forest...?

I pinch my cheek to see if it's a dream, but it hurts.

“It's not a dream...? But why am I in a forest...”

“Woof! Woof!”

Why does Leo's bark sound lower and more powerful than usual?

Since Leo has been barking and asserting himself next to me, I turn my head to look at him.

I'm surprised by what I see.

“Huh? Wait! You're not Leo, are you!”

“Woof!”

The one sitting next to me, tilting his head slightly, is a wolf, much larger than me, that I've never seen before.

“! ...!”

I try to get up and run, but my body is too tired from the continuous work and I can't move well.

As I struggle, the wolf approaches my face.

It's going to eat me! I brace myself, stiffen my body, and close my eyes tightly.

“Woof”

The familiar bark and the feeling of being licked on the face reach my ears.

Could it be you...?

“Are you Leo?”

“Woof! Woof!”

He barks as if to say, “Yes!”

“Why are you so big...”

When I woke up in an unknown place, the first thing I saw was my beloved pet dog, now grown much larger.

Thank you to everyone who read this.

The latest book edition, Volume 5, and the latest comic edition, Volume 4, are now on sale!

Please be sure to purchase them!

I am also serializing other works.

You can find the links to the work pages at the bottom of the page.

If you found it interesting and want to read more, please leave a review at the bottom of the page.

Also, I would appreciate it if you could bookmark it.