Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter SS1

Bonus Short Stories 

A Prideful Hound 

“Oh...?” 

Thud, thud, thud. 

The fruit rolled down the sidewalk. It was a fruit from one citrus family or other, one that Lorraine had purchased earlier at the market. She’d been feeling a certain lack of sugar as of late. The call of slumber was intensifying, and this type of fruit would be just the thing to ward it off. 

There were also quite a few other grocery items in her bag; food for the next few days in fact. The fruit, having lost its balance one way or another, had been jostled out of the bag. Lorraine did have a magical pouch, but it was currently full due to certain circumstances. As a result, she was unable to use it. Inconvenient as it was, Lorraine had no choice but to use a normal bag. 

There was, however, something that caught the fruit as it continued bouncing this way and that, bringing it to a stop. That “thing” being... 

“...A dog, huh.” 

The township of Maalt was a border town with a little bit of everything in it. Humans walked its streets, yes, but animals did so as well. While there were occasionally monsters walking about here, Lorraine knew very well that they were Rentt’s familiars. This dog was probably no such thing though. It was merely a natural occurrence. 

Lorraine slowly approached the dog. “Ho, not running away, I see. You must be someone’s pet dog, then...? Hm, not quite, it would seem...” 

The dog regarded Lorraine with slightly narrowed eyes. It breathed regularly, panting like a dog would, but a certain spark of intellect and wisdom dwelt in its eyes. It then slowly approached her, the fruit in its snout, as if to hand it over. Lorraine, in turn, extended her hand, and, sure enough, the fruit was placed on it without incident. 

“My apologies. Hmm... I could not possibly ignore what you just did, simply because you are an animal. Let’s see here...” 

With a few swift actions, Lorraine peeled the skin off the fruit and tossed half of the freshly peeled slice to the dog. Catching it mid-air, the dog gave it a few good chomps before swallowing it altogether. A bit of a meal for the dog, if nothing else. 

“And with that, the formality is done. I could take you home if you liked...” Lorraine said. But the dog turned around as soon as it heard the words, walking away. 

“...Not interested in being a mere pet, eh? Quite the prideful one, no? I do not dislike that, not at all... Hey! If you are ever in need, come to my abode! The smell should inform you, yes?” Lorraine called out, her voice slightly raised as the dog continued walking away. She thought she’d make an offer, but the dog simply barked once in response, then disappeared into a corner of the street. 

It was a few days after this event, when Lorraine paid a rare visit to the local Adventurer’s Guild, that it happened. 

“Ah, Miss Lorraine!” 

“Hmm. Sheila.” 

Sheila, a staff member of the guild, called out to Lorraine from behind the counter. But she didn’t seem like her usual self. This piqued Lorraine’s interest. 

“Searching for someone, I suppose?” 

“Ah, yes... I was wondering if Rentt was...” 

“Hah. Has he gone and done something again?” 

“No, nothing like that, Miss Lorraine. I actually wanted to ask if he’d take on a certain request for me... A child got lost in the sewers, and still hasn’t been found...” 

“I see... And no one else seems interested in taking up the request, I assume?” 

“Well, no... Those who were free to assist have already done so, given the nature of the incident. It’s just that...the sewers of this town are quite complicated. I recall Rentt being most familiar with them, so...” 

“Hmm. Yes, I suppose he would be.” 

Sheila was referring the the sewers under these street; the long and winding path under the cobblestones of Maalt. The sewers and aqueducts had been built in times of old; it didn’t help that they were built in a most haphazard, confusing, and chaotic manner. It was said there was no one alive who understood their entirety... 

Other than a certain Rentt Faina. 

Rentt had a habit of sewer-spelunking when he was still a human, mainly on expeditions to clear blocked waterways and the like. Due to the frequency of these requests, he’d become very familiar with the sewers. If anything, the most complete and detailed map of the sewers would be in Rentt’s mind. 

However... 

“He is currently outside Maalt’s walls. Rentt did say he would be back by night, yes. He had left to fulfill a certain request of mine, you see.” 

“Eh? Is that so... it is most regrettable, then, but I suppose nothing can be done...” Sheila’s expression was one of visible, almost tangible shock. 

It was understandable, given that the child would most likely be instantly found with Rentt’s assistance. Nothing could be done about it now, given that Rentt wasn’t even in Maalt at this point in time. 

Lorraine, however, felt a certain sense of responsibility about the situation, given that Rentt had set off on her accord in the first place. She momentarily paused, then turned to Sheila. 

“I shall set off on this search then. Though you called it a request, Sheila...I presume the reward is middling, at best?” 

“Yes... I regret to say that that is indeed the case. Even so...would you still be interested?” 

“I did inadvertently get in the way of all this. The child would be easily found if Rentt were here, yes? In that case, do you have anything that belonged to the child perhaps? I do have some divination skills that should help with the search.” 

While Lorraine did have magical tools that assisted in divination, it was common knowledge that a personal possession would be more precise when it came to searching for missing individuals. A relatively open, unobstructed space would be one thing, but searching for a child in a complicated network of winding tunnels would be a little difficult to do manually. 

“Ah... Please wait, I’ll be back shortly.” Sheila ran off, soon returning with something in her hands. “Would this do?” 

“A shoe, huh... I see.” 

“Yes. The mother of the child claims to have found this at a sewer entrance, so...” 

Lorraine realized that the child’s mother was most likely in one of the guild’s waiting rooms. She’d most likely been prohibited from going into the tunnels herself to prevent another missing persons case. 

Although the typical adventurer could most likely do something about the situation at hand, trouble would surely befall a concerned, less-than-adventurous parent. 

“I will be borrowing this then. There is nothing to worry about. The child will soon be found, so do tell the madam to try to relax, yes?” 

“Of course, Miss Lorraine.” 

Lorraine returned home after the exchange, retrieving a magical tool designed to locate missing persons with divination techniques. Since there were quite a few entrances to the sewers beneath the streets of Maalt, Lorraine headed toward the one closest to her abode... 

“Ho... We meet often, no?” 

Something unexpected stood at the entrance. It was none other than the dog Lorraine had encountered sometime earlier. It panted somewhat quicker this time, seeming a little better since their last encounter. 

“I take it you live here then? Hmm... In that case, dog, would you happen to know who dropped this?” 

Lorraine had asked for the sake of it, extending her hand—with the shoe—toward the dog’s nose. With a few quick sniffs, the dog looked up at Lorraine momentarily, then unexpectedly bolted off. It was like the dog was motioning for her to follow. Lorraine could do little but do so in a panic. 

“Quite the speed! Hardly what I would expect from such a thin dog!” 

Even though Lorraine was somewhat surprised, she was, for all intents and purposes, a mage. It didn’t take her long to channel mana through her body to quicken her step. With her enhanced speed, she ran after her canine companion. The two soon found themselves... 

“Ah... I see. Yes, yes. Hardly possible for the child to return, in this case...” 

What appeared to be a gigantic Slime had consumed the child. From where Lorraine stood, the child hadn’t been completely submerged yet. Their head was visible, still bobbing above the Slime’s gelatinous mass. 

The digestive process had apparently not begun yet. It occurred to Lorraine that the situation was still somewhat salvageable in that case. 

“I must crush the core!” 

Lorraine knew just how dangerous it’d be to recklessly rain magic down on the entire Slime. If only the core was destroyed, the Slime would lose its form, so Lorraine set about doing just that, weaving a spell under her breath. 

Then... 

Shick! 

A projectile flew toward the Slime at an astounding speed. In the very next moment, a discernible hole could be seen in the Slime’s quivering core. The child was unhurt, and was now lying unconscious among the spreading fluids. Lorraine immediately ran toward them, checking for the presence of a pulse. 

“...The child yet lives, I see. There will be no problems then.” 

Lorraine heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed the situation had resolved itself safely. 

“Hmm. So you were a monster all along, huh? A Wind Wolf...you did pretty well, finding your way into Maalt.” 

The one responsible for the Slime’s timely demise was none other than the dog, the Wind Wolf before her. It was by no means a weak monster; Wind Wolves were relatively capable creatures. It was, however, loose on the streets of Maalt... 

Yet it wasn’t a harmful presence. It did just lend aid to a human child, and chose to starve instead of attacking Maalt’s townsfolk. Thus Lorraine came to a conclusion: 

“I am an adventurer after all, yes? As such, I could not possibly let you run free. In any case...come along, now.” 

The Wind Wolf, as if understanding Lorraine’s words, followed silently behind her. 

“Hmm... Ah. Here it is,” Lorraine said, digging around the mess that was her room for a certain item. She eventually found it, holding a collar of sorts in her hands. Holding it, she turned to the Wind Wolf. 

“If you put this on, I will know where you are at all times. I will, of course, also know if you ever turn your fangs upon the people of this town. In exchange, so long as you do not harm any of Maalt’s denizens, I shall allow your presence on these streets. How about it? Not a bad trade, no?” 

Upon hearing those words, the Wind Wolf slowly approached Lorraine, lowering its head. 

“As I thought, you are quite intelligent. Well then...” 

Immediately after Lorraine had collared the Wind Wolf, it made a quick turn, and was out the door. 

“You are welcome to stay in this house if it ever strikes your fancy!” Lorraine called out, her words trailing after the running pup. The Wind Wolf didn’t stop or look back, and soon, it was gone. “Well. I guess I could just pay you a visit or two sometime. I will also know of your whereabouts after all.” 

With all that said and done, Lorraine brought the child to the Adventurer’s Guild as quickly as she could. The child’s mother was very pleased and offered her a reward. 

Though there were questions about how the child was ultimately found, Lorraine chose to hold her peace on the matter...