Chapter – 44
“A New Family”
When I returned to the company with the puppy, both Midori and Haruki happily petted the stuffed-animal-like little dog.
“Is this baby on weaning food?” Midori tickled its belly.
“She’s two months old, so it’s dry food softened with water. Looks like I’ll have quite the task raising a puppy for a while.”
“But she’s something else, isn’t she? Even being brought here like this, she doesn’t cry and acts so dignified,” Mitsuko said with a laugh.
“I’m sorry about today, but I need to stop by the vet, so I’ll be heading home a little early, if that’s alright.”
“Isn’t it fine? Our president is already taking the puppy to the hospital,” Midori laughed, sounding exasperated.
“Ah, a customer!” The buzzer for the store entrance rang, and Mitsuko went downstairs to the first floor while checking the monitor.
Ruri looked at the puppy in the carrier on the passenger seat and wondered, I wonder if this little one can see fairies? Some dogs growl or run away when they sense ghosts. What about this one?
Ah, I have to decide on a name.
The vet said we could use a temporary name for this visit and decide on a real one next time when we register it with the city office.
Until I decided on a vet, whenever I saw people walking their dogs in the neighborhood, I’d ask them (like a suspicious person?) about vets with good reputations. If we were in Tokyo, I could just use the vet Taichi or Mitsuko goes to, but here that wasn’t possible. When I asked Koudai too, he introduced me to a well-regarded vet that his friend uses, so I decided to go with that one for now.
Will Fosse be happy? He’s been saying ‘wan wan’ ever since we left the dog park.
Should we all decide on the name together?
Ruri smiled, thinking the puppy, who was sleeping comfortably without even getting carsick, was truly something special.
When she got home, she replaced the images [on her phone/computer] with ones featuring the dog. Magic was really convenient depending on how you used it.
As she put the car in the garage, the puppy woke up and started moving.
Holding the carrier, Ruri opened the front door and called out, “I’m home~”
“Wan wan? Where?” Fosse came flying over.
“She’s right here, but you mustn’t startle her.”
“Gently.”
“Yes, gently now.”
As she spoke, Ruri walked with Fosse to the living room.
The fairies also seemed to be seeing a dog for the first time and were moving about restlessly.
“Is the dog in there?” “She’s so small,” Zacro and Feyn said, seeming fidgety.
“Are there no animals in your world?” Ruri asked.
“There are,” Flare said. “Like bears and wild boars that we hunt for food.”
So that’s not so different from Earth, huh?
Before opening the carrier, Ruri spread pet sheets all over the room, as the puppy wasn’t yet house-trained.
“What in the world is this?” Litia was startled by the mysterious paper and made a suspicious face.
“I’m going to let her out in the room now, but she’s still a baby and isn’t very good at using the toilet yet. So everyone, please be kind and help teach her where the toilet is, okay?” As she said this, Ruri pointed to the large toilet area she had set up in the enclosed corridor.
This house had a long indoor corridor, with rooms beyond it. Currently, they used the far rooms as bedrooms and the nearer rooms as work rooms. The fairies often relaxed in the living room and the Japanese-style room, making accessories and watching TV.
“That board is the toilet? The toilet is completely exposed~!” Lemon said, making the other fairies laugh.
In the Jewel Kingdom, toilets are enclosed; they had explained it was “like a box place,” so an exposed toilet must seem strange to them.
“If she’s this small, why is the toilet so big?” Chrysos looked at Ruri after peeking into the carrier.
“This little one will grow to be about… this big,” she said, spreading her arms wide to show the size.
“Even though she’s so tiny now, she’ll get that big? There are cats in the Jewel Kingdom too, but they’re small,” Morgana said, her face still full of surprise.
So, there are cats but no dogs? Does that mean cats are the more commonly kept pets there?
Seeing Fosse, who couldn’t wait any longer and was prowling around, Ruri laughed and opened the lid of the carrier.
