Chapter 6: The Old Man Gets Drunk and Hugs a Fenrir

A rustling sound came from the nearby patch of grass.

When I looked toward the noise, there was a dog.

Except… it was ridiculously huge.

And what’s more, its fur shone with a silver light.

The giant, silver dog caught sight of me and let out an ear-splitting howl.

N-No way… Could this be that Fenrir I was just thinking about…?

A chill went down my spine, and all I could do was stare at the creature before me.

And… for a moment, I was terribly flustered…

But… I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. Nah, no way…

What do I mean by that?

Well… it’s simple.

Even if I’m only F-Rank, I’m still an adventurer, for what it’s worth.

I’ve got my fair share of experience, if nothing else.

Even I can tell whether or not I can escape from an opponent.

If I couldn’t escape… meaning, if my life were in imminent danger, I should be feeling much more tense.

But… right now, facing this strange dog, I don’t feel that kind of danger at all.

Basically, my gut is telling me I can get away from this thing.

Which means… it’s probably nothing special.

Above all else, no matter how unlucky I am, there’s no way I’d just stumble upon a divine beast out here.

That kind of incredible development only happens in the web novels I used to read.

This world may be another world, but it’s unforgivingly real.

In the end, reality is always dull and boring.

That’s why, even in this world, I’m still the same worthless Old Man I was in my last one, sleeping rough in a place like this…

Besides… I’m honestly pretty drunk right now.

Because of that, my vision is quite blurry.

In other words, I must be in a state of serious intoxication.

That’s probably why I mistook a simple dog for a Fenrir for a second.

I mean, if a Fenrir were this close, there’s no way an F-Rank adventurer… that I… would still be in one piece.

If my opponent were a Fenrir, I would’ve been eaten alive long ago.

But the dog in front of me is just watching me cautiously.

The fact that it’s being so overly wary of a mere human… of me… suggests it really is just a stray.

That being said, however… the sheen on this dog’s fur… it’s so beautiful, you wouldn’t think it was a stray.

And I feel like I’ve seen this dog somewhere before…

Then, a hazy memory floats to the surface of my mind…

The memory of a reckless solo expedition into the Great Forest several years ago suddenly came back to me.

A time when I was running for my life every day from vicious magical beasts…

I feel like there was a big, silver-glowing puppy-dog among them…

That dog… it was pretty persistent in chasing me.

I guess stepping on its tail with all my might was a bad move.

No… or maybe it was when I thought it might be worth some money and decided to “borrow” a bit of its fluffy, silver fur…

Come to think of it… I have heard that Fenrirs glow with a silver light, but…

Right… no, no, no…

It’s probably just some rare breed of dog or something.

Maybe it’s the booze, but my head, already slow from age, is having an even harder time working.

It’s gradually becoming a pain to even think.

More importantly… ahh… if I could just camp out with this fluffy dog, it might be a bit warmer and more bearable out here…

And so, drawn in by its beautiful coat, I staggered unsteadily toward the dog.

The fluffy dog noticed my approach and tried to run.

But it’s just a stray.

As expected, I’m faster.

I caught the fluffy dog without any trouble and touched its fur.

When I actually felt it, it was incredibly fluffy and had an indescribably cozy warmth.

Before I knew it, I was giving the dog a great big hug.

I probably did something so stupid because I was drunk… and lonely.

In any case, I was not capable of sound judgment.

Naturally, that choice made the situation worse.

The fluffy dog’s eyes shot open in alarm for a second, then narrowed into thin, beastly slits.

Then, letting out a growl, it shook me off.

Of course it did.

It might not be a magical beast, but it’s still a stray dog.

There’s no way it would be friendly toward people.

And now, the fluffy dog is clearly angry because of my earlier act of harassment.

It’s growling, trying to intimidate me.

It looks like it could pounce at any second.

…Should I just run away like always?

Nah… if I run now, I’ll have to find another place to sleep…

Besides, I’m an adventurer, too.

Running from a stray dog, even for a perennial F-Rank like me, is a little too much for my pride to—

While I was dithering over my options, my opponent had apparently already made up its mind.

The fluffy dog charged straight for me.

It was pretty fast for a dog.

No… maybe it’s just because I’m drunk?

But… even if my legs are unsteady, I should be able to dodge an attack from a stray dog with ease.

You see, I’ve fought against magical beasts hundreds of times… well, run away from them, anyway…

…I was thinking that, all calm and collected, but the truth is, it was a pretty close call.

The fluffy dog’s fangs grazed my face.

I just barely managed to dodge it.

With its target gone, the fluffy dog couldn’t kill its momentum and ended up plowing halfway into the grassy ground.

…Its fur may be fluffy, but this is one ferocious dog…