"Hey... are you sure it's safe?"

The adventurers cautiously approached us, weapons still drawn, their vigilance unbroken.

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely certain myself. It was more of a gut feeling—a sense that this wolf and I had formed some kind of bond.

"I think it should be fine," I said.

Though internally, I added, Don’t quote me on that. Somehow, I could feel the wolf’s thoughts, or perhaps intentions—it seemed like all it wanted was a good meal.

"I want to touch it too," said Rio.

While I responded to the adventurers, Rio had already joined in, enjoying the wolf’s luxurious fur.

I decided to take this opportunity to retrieve the bone the wolf had been chewing on. Perhaps because it was out of the adventurers’ line of sight, they didn’t seem to notice me collecting it.

"What is even going on here...?"

"Wait a second, isn’t that a Great Dragon...? Where did it even come from?"

The adventurers consisted of five members: a swordsman, a heavy warrior, a scout, and two mages. They looked like a well-balanced party.

"I’m Wyatt, leader of the B-rank party ‘Fang of the Sky Wolf.’ Sorry, but would you mind answering a few questions?"

The scout, who appeared to be the leader, cautiously approached, keeping an eye on the wolf that was still devouring its meal.

"Uh, I’m Shu, an E-rank adventurer. I don’t mind answering, as long as it’s within reason."

"E-rank!?"

"What!?"

The other party members seemed shocked, but I chose to ignore it for the sake of moving the conversation along.

"So, uh... why are you here in the first place?"

"We were tasked with checking the state of the supply depot."

"Ah, I see. In that case, there’s probably no issue with your presence."

Wyatt muttered to himself as he nodded in understanding.

"Now, about this Frozvitnir... what’s going on here? It looks like it’s been tamed."

"Oh, does it? I was starting to feel that way too," I admitted.

"Huh?"

"Wait, don’t tell me you tamed it without realizing," one of the mages, a lively woman, chimed in.

"I’ve tried taming before, but it never worked. This is actually my first successful attempt," I said, scratching my head with a sheepish laugh.

"That makes no sense," the swordsman muttered in disbelief. Honestly, I was just as confused as they were.

"Still... taming an S-rank Frozvitnir is unbelievable," Wyatt said.

S-rank? Really? I turned to observe the wolf as it tore into the Great Dragon. A Silver Wolf is C-rank, right? Then there’s the Sky Wolf above it, and after that, Frozvitnir. So, logically, it should be A-rank... unless it skipped a tier somehow.

"By the way, is that a Great Dragon it’s eating?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. It’s a Great Dragon I took down in the Demon Forest a while back."

"The Demon Forest, you say..."

The Demon Forest wasn’t directly adjacent to the merchant state, but it was famous for being a den of dangerous monsters. Pretty much everyone knew about it.

"You do realize Great Dragons are A-rank monsters, right?"

"Good to know. Thanks for the info."

"Anyway, we’ll need to report this to the guild. Could you come with us? We’ll discuss the details there."

"Sure," I agreed, glancing at the wolf that was still engrossed in its meal. What should I do about it?

"If you’ve tamed it, you’ll need to register it with the guild."

"Oh, right. I’ll need to take it with me either way, then."

No way was I letting go of a beast like this. Its fluffy fur was far too addictive, and Rio clearly felt the same way—she hadn’t stopped petting it.

After finishing its meal, the wolf let out a satisfied yawn and sprawled out on the ground.

"All done?" I asked.

"Woof!"

It responded with a bark loud enough to hurt my ears. Its sheer size made its voice thunderous.

Rio, who had been glued to its fur, finally snapped out of it when the wolf shifted positions.

"Well then, shall we head back?"

"Understood."

Our mission was complete, and everything seemed fine. The supply depot this wolf had demolished didn’t belong to the Rashiyu Merchant Guild, so we were in the clear. The ‘Fang of the Sky Wolf’ party could likely claim their task as accomplished, too.

After storing the wolf’s leftovers—the Great Dragon’s bones—in my spatial box, I received another round of astonished stares, but returning to the guild took priority. With seven of us in total, we began walking, the wolf rising to follow us. Its size was still overwhelming.

"You’re way too big to enter the city, aren’t you?" I muttered.

"Woof..."

The wolf let out a dejected whine, its ears drooping sadly.

"If only you could shrink," Rio remarked.

The wolf’s ears perked up instantly at her words.

"Awoooo!"

With a howl, its body began to glow. In the next moment, it had shrunk to the size of a large dog.

"Seriously?"

"That’s ridiculous."

Well, that was convenient. At this size, it would be much easier to pet, too.

"It’s smaller now. This makes it easier to cuddle," Rio said, smiling brightly.

While it could now enter the city, I wasn’t sure about the inn. Sharing a room might be pushing it. I’d have to ask the innkeeper about it.

And so, with our mission accomplished, we headed back to the city in high spirits.