Chapter 6

“Gyuk, gyuk, gyuk, food.” “Gyak, gyak, attack.” “Girl, girl, gehee.” …This is bad. That’s them, all right. With those strange, croaking voices, there’s no way they’re human. These are those monster things. Do they already know we’re here? There’s no hesitation in their footsteps. They’re heading right for us. Luckily, they’re still a fair distance away. We need to get out of here right now. But how? I’ll be fine, but I don’t think Lady Mary will be able to escape. What if I carried her on my back? No, that wouldn’t work. Lady Mary is in dreamland right now. She’ll probably be pretty groggy when she wakes up. Also, I’m not a horse. Even if I let her ride me, she’d probably shift around a lot on my back. There’s no way I could carry a sleepy human without dropping them. What do I do? What do I do…?! “Grr… (Looks like I’ve got no other option…!)” I slip out from under Lady Mary, careful not to wake her. She looks reluctant to part ways and reaches out her hand, searching for my warmth, but she soon falls back into a deep sleep. All right, extraction successful. Now I just need to run for it. “Grr. (I’m sorry, my lady.)” Logically, if I leave her like this, then the monsters will only go after her. Then while they’re attacking her, I can make a clean getaway. Yeah, right! You thought I’d abandon her?! I’m heading straight for the enemy! I run hard as I feel the tears welling up. “Awooo! (If anything were to happen to Lady Mary, my luxurious pet life would be oveeeer!!)” Damn it! That’s the same as dying! My cushy pet life has only just begun. I can’t let it end here! I won’t let it end! I’m going to eat and sleep every day while my lady pets me! Anyone who gets in the way of that is my enemy! I’ll start by chasing them out of the forest. My target is a group of monsters. I may have this wolf body, but I’m still me on the inside. I don’t think about fighting and winning. Just chasing them out should be fine. It’ll be a bluff. I’ll just pretend. It’s only been a month since I was born, but luckily, I have a ferocious face. I can use this. First, I’ll jump out in front of them; then, I’ll howl as loud as I can. Then, I’ll glare at them and scare the crap out of them. I’ll say, “I could kill you all with a single bite, but I’ll let you go for today. Now get out of here and never show yourselves again, you pitiful imps.” Or something grand like that. I’ve got this. I can do it. Believe! I saw myself in that mirror. My face is scary enough to make someone wet themselves. “Grr! (Okay, let’s do thiiiis!)” I pump myself up and jump, flying over the tall, overgrown forest. The group of monsters is ahead of me. I can tell by their stench. First, I’ll howl to scare them. I let out a huge one. “GAROOOOOOOOOOOOOO?! (Which one of you is trying to get in the way of my carefree liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiife?!)” My roar shakes the entire forest; leaves fall, birds scatter, and small animals faint. At the same time, my mouth emits a beam of light, swallowing up the group of monsters among the trees. The light is so dazzling, I have to close my eyes. Then, I open them again… Stretching out in front of me is a circle where the forest has been hollowed out. “…Arf? (…Huh?)” I stand there, dumbfounded, and then shout in surprise: “A-arwf?! (D-d-did that just come out of my mouth?!)”