“What?!” roared the Fenrir. “You think a proud warrior like me would deign to be the companion of a lowly human such as yourself?!”
“Y-yes,” Taichi stammered back, uncertain.
For all of the Fenrir’s hostility, his fluffy tail wouldn’t stop spinning like a helicopter blade. He was awfully hot-and-cold.
How to win him over, I wonder.
After a short pause, the Fenrir continued. “Well, I suppose you do look rather puny. I should probably stick with you; otherwise, one of the other forest monsters is likely to take your life.” He huffed.
Woohoo! I did it! Not that he actually did anything. Thankfully, regardless, the Fenrir agreed to join him, anyway.
“Great! I think we’ll get along well. My name’s Taichi Arima, by the way.”
“Taichi, hm? Well then, give me a name.”
“Huh?”
Taichi’s confusion at the monster’s command earned him a judgmental sigh. “In general, monsters do not have names of their own—nicknames, perhaps, but nothing official. It’s a Tamer’s responsibility to bestow a name on their tamed monsters. You should already know this.”
Taichi nodded thoughtfully to himself. Unfortunately, though the cat god had granted his wish to be a Tamer, the god hadn’t filled him in on the necessary details of his job.
“Thanks for telling me,” said Taichi. “I’m still a bit of a novice. You’re the first one I’ve tamed.” He chuckled to himself.
The Fenrir eyed him with open suspicion, scrutinizing him. “What? I thought you were a veteran, but...well, it doesn’t matter. Hurry up and give me a name!”
“Okay, okay.”
The Fenrir was eager to wrap this up, but Taichi had to think. He’d never had his own pet before, so he had no experience giving them names. I can’t give such a magnificent ball of fluff just any name. The Fenrir had said himself that he was a proud warrior. He deserved a striking name.
Taichi let out a low growl of contemplation before it hit him. “Luke.” The moment he spoke the name, light poured over the Fenrir. “Uh, so I picked Luke because it means ‘light.’ You have beautiful, glowing fur, so I thought it’d be appropriate. Do...you like it?”
If the Fenrir dismissed it as boring and uninspired, so be it, but Taichi really had given all his effort to coming up with the name. He thought it was perfect for the majestic monster in front of him.
The Fenrir turned and glanced at its own body, tail still whipping back and forth, as if to confirm what Taichi had said.
Aww, he’s so stinkin’ cute! I think I like all fluffy animals, not just cats!
“Luke, Luke... Hm. Yes, I think this will do nicely,” declared Luke. “It suits a striking Fenrir like myself wonderfully!” He sounded quite pleased.
“Glad you like it, Luke.” Taichi reached out and pressed his hand to one of Luke’s fluffy front feet, which were silky and soft like angel feathers. Taichi’s whole body trembled with affection. I’ve stroked so many cats in my life, but this is different. He’d never felt anything so wonderful before. Soon he was absentmindedly petting Luke’s foot, and the wolf’s tail wagged joyfully, apparently enjoying it. Taichi enjoyed feeling the softness of fur on his skin as well, which made them the perfect partners. He lost himself in the moment, hand sliding across Luke’s fur in a slow rhythm.
Luke’s eyes snapped open. “E-enough! Get your grubby hands off me! I am a proud, legendary Fenrir! Humans should not touch me so freely!”
Taichi smiled wanly to himself. Funny, since you seemed to be eating it up. If he said that out loud, Luke would be furious with him. Luke was intent on keeping up this proud warrior image, and thus wasn’t keen on engaging in too much physical affection with his new master. I can kind of understand where he’s coming from. He wouldn’t be a very proud warrior if he acted like any old dog eager for affection. He sure was a prickly thing, though.
With that out of the way, Taichi was ready to get out of this forest. He didn’t want to linger, not when there were dragons in the area. The first place he wanted to go to was the closest town.
“Say, Luke, I’d like to head for civilization. Do you know the way to a town?”
“A town? Of course I do.” Luke paused. “Wait, don’t you? Come to think of it, you didn’t seem to know much about taming, either.” He fixed his eyes on Taichi.
Well, it’s not my fault. I only just got to this world. He hesitated to say as much, though. Should he really confide the full details in Luke? Would Luke even believe him if he said he’d come here from another world? He’s my first companion. I should be honest with him. Here goes nothing...
“Luke, I have something to tell you!”
“Wh-what?” the wolf stammered back, startled.
“This whole thing might be difficult to believe, but I want you to listen. It may shock you.” Taichi leaned forward as he launched into an explanation of everything that had brought him to this point. He even told Luke about his plans to run a fluffy café.
Once it was over, Luke responded, “Interesting. So you aren’t a human of this world. That tracks, now that I think about it.”
“Huh? How so?” Taichi was the one taken aback by how easily Luke believed it all. Then again, it was the only explanation for why Taichi had no idea where the closest town was, and why he was ignorant of his own impressive strength as a Tamer, calling himself a novice.
“We are in the deepest depths of this forest, where no humans enter,” said Luke. “A person must break through a barrier to enter here, and you are ill-equipped to make that trek in such clothing.”
“Oh...” Taichi nodded to himself. He hadn’t realized it until now, but he was still dressed in the same cheap suit he’d been wearing when he died. It had absolutely no defensive capabilities. In fact, it would certainly rip if he took a tumble out here. Plus, this seems like a dangerous forest. That made him all the more eager to hurry to a town.
Taichi soon realized there was another problem: Luke, six feet tall from the withers, was far too big to bring around other humans. Would the local guards even let him in?
Are monsters even allowed in the town? I guess they must be, since Tamer is a regular job in this world. Right?
“Luke, I’m worried you won’t be allowed into town at that size. Is there anything you can do about that?” asked Taichi.
“Hm? Will this do, then?” As if on command, Luke’s body shrank to about half of its original size. He was no bigger than any other large dog. Surely no one would bat an eye at him now.
“Perfect. Then let’s—”
“Wait,” interrupted Luke with a harsh bark.
“Hm?” Taichi was ready to get out of here.
“I haven’t eaten the dragon I went to all that trouble of hunting.”
“Oh, right.” Luke had mentioned how delicious it looked. Taichi nodded, urging him on. After all Luke had done to help Taichi—well, more or less, anyway—Taichi would feel bad if he didn’t grant Luke this much. “Go on, then.”
With Taichi’s blessing, Luke eagerly chomped down on his prize, like the dangerous predator he was. It reminded Taichi that it was survival of the fittest out here in the wilderness. Still, I can’t believe he’s eating raw dragon meat.
“Ah, delicious!” Luke cried.
If he likes it, that’s all that matters, I guess.
While Taichi watched absentmindedly, he remembered that he had the Prepare Meal skill. Maybe he could use this dragon meat to make something. Might as well give it a shot. He edged closer until he was right beside Luke. The wolf gave him a brief glance but was too invested in his dining to bother saying anything. “Prepare Meal with dragon meat,” Taichi recited, attempting to use his skill.
A screen popped up in front of him. It read: “You don’t have the necessary ingredients to prepare anything right now. You require Dragon Meat and Magical Herbs in order to make Dragon Steak.”
So the skill wasn’t as simple as frying up whatever meat he had on hand.
“Hm.”
Luke, who’d been too distracted to say anything up until now, paused, his eyes wide. “You said you’re a mere novice, but you have the Prepare Meal skill?! I hear the cuisine a Tamer can make with that skill is on another level of decadence!” His eyes were shining with anticipation, his tail whipping through the air again. His eagerness for Taichi to prepare something only piled on the pressure. Taichi didn’t have the heart to admit he lacked the ingredients necessary to do it.
If I’m lucky, there’ll be some Magical Herbs nearby. He scanned their surroundings. There were plants growing all over that he’d never seen before. Perhaps the one he needed was among them. The only problem was that he knew nothing about the flora here. Maybe Luke knows something? But then he remembered he had a very convenient skill to use in times like this.
“Keen Eye.” This was a skill the cat god had bestowed upon Taichi. When activated, it granted him information on items around him. It was perfect for appraising items, and as soon as he activated it, information appeared over the plants in the area, offering names for them and explanations about their usage.
Taichi slowly scanned each plant he saw. There were Herbs, Confusionshrooms, Alluring Blossoms, along with so many others that piqued his interest. He observed them all carefully before finally locating the Magical Herbs he’d been looking for.
“This is it!”
Magical Herbs had serrated blue leaves. Herbs had the same leaf shape, but they were green. If he looked carefully, it should be easy to identify Magical Herbs from the rest of the green flora that filled the forest.
Luke studied his human companion with great curiosity. “What are you going to use Magical Herbs for?”
“I can make steak if I combine these Magical Herbs with that Dragon Meat,” said Taichi. “Now, Prepare Meal!” With a fistful of Magical Herbs in his hand, he accessed his skill again. His hands lit up as the steak magically appeared in his palms, fully cooked without any effort at all on his part. It even comes with a plate?!