Chapter 2

“Arww, arww… (So warm…)” It feels like I fell asleep in something soft. Did someone wrap me in a blanket and put me on this futon? It’s hard to move. I’m still so drowsy that it’s hard to wake up completely. “Arwarw… (What happened? Er… I kissed the floor, died, then……)” I feel like I heard a woman’s voice the moment I died. I faintly recall talking to her, and I think she agreed to something or other, but my memory’s a total blur. Okay, let’s backtrack. First off, who am I? “Arww, arwarw… (My name is Routa Okami. Twenty-nine-year-old office worker. No hobbies. No friends. No girlfriend. No family. No wife. Just a long list of “nos.” I guess “noice” guys really do finish last.)” Aaaand now I’m bummed out. Come to think of it, I can’t recall a single good thing ever happening to me. I led an extremely average life, trudged through a bleak existence as a corporate slave, and then died from overwork. Oh, right. I did die, didn’t I? So why do I feel so alive? What’s going on? Where the heck am—? “Oh, he’s awake! He’s awake, Father!” “Arw…? (Huh…?)” I look up in search of the voice and am greeted by a pair of large, round blue eyes. “Arw?! (A-a giant…?!)” A pair of enormous hands reach down and pick me up. “Arw! Arw! (Hey! Whoa! Stop it!)” Geez, that arw, arw sound is really getting on my nerves! What is it?! I’m currently freaking out, and that really isn’t helping! Enough with the cutesy voice already! “Arf! Arf!” I can only hear the high-pitched yelp when I try to say something. “…Arw……?! (…N-no way…?! Is that my voice…?!)” It sounds like a puppy’s. Wait, a puppy? …Oh, right. It’s all coming back to me now. I guess I did wish for something like this just before I died. Then I heard a woman saying she’d grant me my wish. “Arww…?! (Did I really get reincarnated…?!)” Any lingering traces of doubt are snuffed out in an instant. Reflected in the windowpane of a nearby cabinet is a young blue-eyed girl. Cradled against her chest is something undeniably canine, an adorable puppy covered in white fur with short legs on a fluffy body, a perfectly round puffball. There’s no denying it. I’ve been reincarnated as a dog. “So cute! You’re just the cutest! Oh, Father, I want this one!” “Hmm, very well, then. Make sure you take good care of him. But I must say, you’re rarely this persistent about anything, Mary.” The man standing behind the girl nods. He’s a tall, regal, attractive gentleman. I can’t help but feel a little jealous. “Shop assistant! We’ll take this one.” I wonder if he’s the girl’s dad. He calls out to a man in an apron who fits the description of “shop assistant.” “Of course. At once, sir… Hmm? Did we have a dog like this?”