Chapter 30: Warnings and Awareness
“Rishu. The wolf of destruction, once my master.”
After our morning walk, I was teaching Rishu how to shake hands when Rudil appeared, delivering that line.
“What are you plotting?” Kadal asked, striding in and tapping his staff against the floor with a clack.
“Ufu, the old Rishu wouldn’t let me get close, but he’s so cute. I can’t help but feel a bit suspicious, sorry!” Mishto said, shaking his fluffy, loose golden hair and cutely shrugging his shoulders.
Rishu, still small, couldn’t hold a proper sit for long, his back legs wobbling.
“Hm? What is it?” I rewarded him with a bit of jerky for successfully shaking hands. It was just plain dried meat, though.
“This is the Aragami that shook the atmosphere and destroyed the earth before losing its power. It satisfied its own desires, heedless of anyone’s advice, and bit down on everything that stood in its way.”
“You were an Alpha Dog, huh?” I said, cupping Rishu’s face in my hands and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Alpha…?”
“Alpha— the number one leader. Dogs follow the leader of their pack, and if there’s someone in the pack who doesn’t follow, it causes stress and can lead to aggression. If we’re to live by human rules, the leader must be human, or we’ll all be unhappy.”
Things like not picking him up above my shoulders, or making sure I eat first. I really want to cuddle and sleep together, but I have to hold back. If we’re living by human rules, the leader has to be a human.
“Rishu is a wolf, right?”
“Rishu is a Spirit, but…” Mishto and Kadal’s voices overlapped.
“Wolves are Spirits too. Is there a difference?” I asked, while I playfully tussled with Rishu. He rolled over, twisting his body. Is this the spot? Does this feel good here?
Rudil seemed to have something complicated on his mind, but I didn’t pay it any mind.
“There are those whose nature is influenced by their form, and those who are not. From what I remember, Rishu could speak and had a high level of intelligence. Be careful.”
Kadal said that, but intelligence and instinct are different, so it’s hard to say. For now, Rishu is just adorable.
“I’ll think about it once he starts talking.” I lightly patted Rishu’s side and stood up. The puppy’s belly was round and soft.
“Thank you for worrying and coming to give me a warning.” Rishu must have come to remind me to think before he regains his strength.
After I expressed my gratitude, Kadal vanished, perhaps a bit flustered.
“Take care! You’re my precious person!” Mishto smiled and disappeared. A little devil, huh? Well, I suppose that means he’s a source of power.
“The noble, solitary wolf…” Rudil murmured before fading away.
Watching Rishu playfully tugging at my ankle, I thought that Rudil might want to give up a little. If this was all an act, I’d be surprised by the solitary wolf.
Now, it’s time to prepare a meal.
I took out a loaf of mountain-shaped British bread from [Storage], sliced it thin, and toasted it until it was golden brown, still warm. Once it was crispy, I spread on some butter and piled on sweet and sour Japanese plum jam.
Thick slices that are fluffy are nice, but this is good too. I paired it with a runny fried egg, bacon, and cheese. A salad with prosciutto and a warm soup.
Finally, coffee. I used a cloth drip, but the coffee oil didn’t float. Curious, I used [Appraisal] and found that the cloth here is 100% cotton, which absorbs the oil. No wonder it tastes just like paper drip, without any peculiarities.
It’s a secret that I didn’t notice the difference in taste until I realized the oil wasn’t floating. It’s all about the mood, right?
I relaxed while glancing out the window at the beginning of the snowfall. Over the past few days, I had planted flowers and trees in the garden, changing the scenery quite a bit, but now, the light dusting of snow blurred the boundary between the garden and the mountains.
I still had some of the growth powder for the plants I received, but I certainly didn’t feel like working in a snow-covered garden. I’d plant more once it warmed up.
Now, today was the day to pick up the bathtub. With that in mind, I cheerfully headed to the pottery shop.
“Hello, is it ready?”
“Ah! You’ve come! It’s finished safely!” The master craftsman greeted me with a smile as I stepped through the workshop door.
The enamel bathtub was completed, sitting proudly with gold-plated feet. One had my cat paw design, while the other had a shell-shaped base.
I planned to show the shell-shaped bathtub to the noble I ordered it from. The cat paw design was a bit too obvious, so I chose the shell feet for a more subtle connection to water, and it looked quite nice.
“Oh, and this is what you ordered.”
“Oh, thank you!”
What he handed me were a sugar jar and a salt jar. The sugar jar was glazed to prevent it from hardening when dry, while the salt jar was unglazed to allow moisture to escape and prevent clumping. The glaze was applied on the inside, so it had a slightly different color, but they matched in appearance.
Thanks to the master, my kitchen supplies were becoming quite complete.
I also had the materials ready to build a bathroom, which was a bit exciting. —But how was I going to carry the bathtub back? A carriage? Wait, it’s far, and it’s in another country!
For now, since they were going to wrap the bathtub I’d show to the noble, I had them wrap mine too. I pretended to arrange for a delivery carriage and waited by the roadside.
I gave a tip to the craftsmen who helped carry it and thanked them as they headed back. They were busy, after all; they wouldn’t wait for a carriage with me.
[Storage] is convenient, but it’s a bit of a hassle when bringing back large items from the city.