Chapter 3

"......Sorry, Leo, I haven't been able to spend much time with you lately."

"Woof? Wuff"

When I look back, I realize that I've been more concerned about not being able to relax than about not spending time with Leo.

Since I brought him home, I've kept him in my room and taken care of feeding him, but I only took him for a walk once a week.

I've been making him wait for me to come home late at night all the time...

When we get back home from this forest, I'll quit my current job and look for a more flexible one.

Since I haven't had much to spend my money on, I should have saved quite a bit from my salary since I started working.

I'll live off that for a while and take it easy with Leo.

As I thought about this and stroked Leo's beautiful silver fur, he suddenly looked up and licked my cheek once.

"Woof. Wuff"

"......Are you telling me not to worry?"

"Woof"

Thank you, Leo.

Thanks to you, I haven't felt lonely at all.

Feeling a bit sentimental, I stroked Leo, who had put his head back on my knee, and rested.

After a while, when I thought it was about time to get moving, Leo suddenly stood up as if he had been startled.

"What's wrong, Leo?"

"Uuuuu!"

Leo didn't answer my question but started growling, looking in the direction of the forest we had come from.

"What's wrong? Is there something in the forest?"

"Uuuuuuu!"

No matter how I talked to Leo, he kept growling at the forest.

Thinking there might be something in Leo's growling, I turned my face in that direction, but the trees blocked my view so I couldn't see what it was.

However, a sound different from Leo's growling and the sound of the river started coming from the forest.

The sound of someone stepping on and pushing through the grass and trees.

The sound of someone approaching where I was.

"Uuuuuu!"

When Leo bared his fangs and growled even more, someone who had been making the noise came out from between the trees.

Someone... it was a creature I had never seen before.

About the height of a human, walking on two legs.

Holding a spear and pointing the tip at me.

The round belly might be a bit fat.

If it were just that, I might have thought it was a human, but its face wasn't human.

It had a pig's face.

"Huh? A pig? But it's standing on two legs... and a spear? Huh?"

I was just confused by the sight.

I woke up in an unfamiliar forest, took a break by the river I finally found, and now a pig-man (?) has appeared.

I have no idea what to do.

...Hmm... I feel like I've seen a creature like this somewhere before... where was it...?

...Ah! In a game! I think it's called an orc!

I'm not very knowledgeable, but I've played a few games.

Well, just the popular ones.

"Wait, what? An orc? Really!?"

This is an unfamiliar forest, but this is Japan, right?

I've never heard of such a creature being discovered in Japan...

A part of my mind is thinking about the setting of a light novel my colleague was reading recently, but I'll ignore that.

It's just too unrealistic.

"Uuuu... Gau!"

While I was just confused by the creature that appeared from the forest, Leo, who had been growling at what I assumed was an orc, suddenly pounced!

"Gau! Gauu!"

"Kyuuuuu!"

Leo slashed at the opponent with his front claws and then sank his fangs into the throat to finish it off.

I could barely follow Leo's quick movements with my eyes, but I couldn't react fast enough.

...Leo is strong...

The creature I assumed was an orc let out a scream and fell to the ground, not moving.

"Gau. Wuff wuff"

Leo wagged his tail, looking proud as he dragged the creature's arm to me with his mouth.

"Woof woof"

"Um, are you going to eat it?"

"Wuff!"

Leo nodded at my words.

...Hmm, I have some resistance to eating a two-legged creature...

It's true that it has a pig's face, so it might be pork, but...

Leo is looking at me with hopeful eyes.

I'm also quite hungry from walking in the forest.

"...At least let's cook it."

"Woof? Wuff, wuff!"

Leo, who was thinking, then brought some dry branches he had picked up.

"Should we start a fire?"

"Wuff"

Even so, I've never started a fire from scratch.

But I don't want to eat raw meat... the orc (?) from earlier looked kind of dirty...

Well, I'll give it a try.

Even though it's a forest, it's near the water.

There's no sign of rain, so there are dry branches lying around.

Leo and I gathered as many branches as we could to make a fire.

"Well, the question is whether the fire will start..."

I remember from TV or something that you rotate the tip of a branch on a wooden board and rub it...

"Woof"

While I was thinking about how to start the fire, Leo approached the branches he had gathered.

"Gau!"

He barked once, and a small flame came out of his open mouth, igniting the branches.

"...Leo? What did you do?"

"Woof? Wuff"

A bit smug Leo.

So many surreal things have happened since I woke up that I don't know where to start.

I'll ignore all the questions dancing in my head for now.

First, let's get something to eat.

"Leo, can you cut this up with your claws or fangs?"

"Woof!"

Leo extended his claws from his front paws and easily sliced the orc into pieces.

"...I'll just accept it as it is."

Maybe I've reached a state of enlightenment...

I've thrown away all my questions about Leo growing bigger and easily slicing the orc.

"Thanks, Leo. Let's cook it."

"Wuff, wuff"

I washed the thin branches I found in the river water and skewered the meat Leo had cut, then lifted it.

I stuck the branches into the ground near the fire, as I didn't want to burn the branches while cooking the meat over the open flame.

I don't know how this meat will taste...

I skewered a few more pieces of meat on branches and stuck them near the fire.

"Wuff wuff"

Leo watched the meat skewers cooking with an excited look.

It should be done soon, so let's wait a bit.

After a few minutes, I thought it was about time and took the skewers away from the fire.

The meat looked like the pork I've seen many times before.

I gave some to Leo first, then took another skewer from the fire and started eating.

...For a moment, I hesitated as I remembered the creature standing there earlier, but in the end, my hunger won out and I ate it.

"Mmm... Mmm..."

"Wuff... Munch... Munch..."

Leo is eating enthusiastically, apparently enjoying it.

...This tastes like regular pork.

It might be a bit higher quality, but it's really delicious.

No matter how it looks, it tastes like pork...

"Mmm... Mmm..."

But I wish I had some salt and pepper or other seasonings...

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