"Ahaha, yeah, I suppose this is pretty surprising."

"Y-yes…"

Fleur placed a hand on her chest, taking deep breaths to calm herself. I hadn’t meant to startle her that much, but… well, my bad.

"Could it be… that this is the magical beast in question?"

"Ah—no, not this one. From what I heard at the guild, the beast that appeared in the forest was a Silver Wolf over four meters tall."

I almost nodded instinctively but managed to stop myself just in time. We’d been asked to keep this confidential. I still didn’t fully grasp what an S-rank magical beast entailed, but in any case, keeping quiet to avoid causing panic in the city seemed like the best course of action.

"I see… But this tamed beast also looks like a Silver Wolf."

"Yes, that’s correct."

"…Is that really true?"

Her skeptical gaze was sharp, but since that was the official story, I wasn’t about to say anything more. Still, she was perceptive.

"…My apologies. It’s a bad habit of mine. Now then, let’s get back on track…"

Just as she tried to move on, another puzzled expression crossed her face.

"Ah, perhaps the wood is stored in your magic bag? If so, please feel free to take it out here."

Oh, right. When we sold magical beasts to Fleur before, we had to drag them in with ropes.

"Alright, I’ll bring it out now."

Since we weren’t trying to hide it, Rio and I retrieved the wood from our dimensional storage.

"A dimensional storage…!"

"That makes ten logs."

"Y-yes, I’ve confirmed the delivery."

Handing her the designated request form, I received her signature. I felt like we had startled her quite a bit, but she quickly composed herself.

"That concludes the transaction."

"Thank you very much."

"No, thank you. Thanks to this, the craftsmen can finally get back to work."

"Oh, right. This city produces a lot of furniture, doesn’t it?"

"Yes, that’s correct. We can’t afford to keep our customers waiting."

"…Does that mean Beldran Workshop was also waiting on wood?"

Rio’s words made me realize something. If they were also short on wood, our bed’s production must have been delayed too. And the gel slime-infused ultimate comfort bed was an urgent matter.

"Yes… Wait, do you have an order with Beldran Workshop?"

Nodding at Fleur’s question, she suggested delivering the wood to Beldran Workshop directly. That would likely speed up our furniture order. Since I had no objections, I agreed.

After receiving an additional reward for the wood delivery, we stopped by the guild to report the completed request before heading to the workshop.

"Welcome!"

Upon entering the workshop, we were greeted by Clay, just like last time. His slightly babyish speech was still the same. He saw us enter and locked his gaze onto us. I expected him to call for his mother like before, but he simply kept staring.

"Hello, Clay."

Not wanting to prolong the awkward silence, I greeted him. Still, no response.

"Fwooooahhh! A doggy!"

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he shouted in excitement. Jumping down from his chair, he ran toward us.

Standing before Nir, who remained seated, he looked up at the beast’s towering face. The height difference was striking.

"Can I pet you?"

Clay directly asked Nir, though I wasn’t sure if Nir truly understood human speech. It responded well enough, so I assumed it did.

As I observed, Nir suddenly stood up and walked toward Clay. Pressing its body gently against the boy’s side, it lay down flat on the ground.

"Haha, that means yes."

"Really!?"

Beaming with joy, Clay crouched and reached out toward Nir’s neck.

"So fluffy… and warm…"

His face softened into a smile as his hesitant strokes gradually became more confident.

"Clay could probably ride Nir…"

"Huh?"

Rio’s casual remark made Clay look up at her, though his hands never stopped petting Nir. Impressive focus.

But she was right—Clay could easily ride on Nir’s back.

Actually, if Nir returned to its original size, I could probably ride it too. That would mean full-body immersion in fluff! My dreams were expanding…!

"Wanna try riding?"

At my suggestion, Clay glanced between me and Nir before turning to Nir again.

"Is that okay?"

"Wafuu."

With a soft bark, Nil shifted into a half-standing posture, signaling permission.

"Looks like it’s fine."

"Thank you!"

Careful not to step on Nir feet, Clay climbed onto its back. Once he was securely seated, Nir slowly stood up.

However, Clay lost his balance and fell forward, clinging to Nir’s back.

"Oh! …But so fluffy…"

Although he seemed startled at first, he soon buried his face in Nir’s fur, looking utterly content.

"Clay! If we have customers, you need to tell me—"

Just then, Clay’s mother, Sariana, entered from the back of the store.

"HIGYAAAAAAAHHH!?"

The moment she saw Nir with Clay on its back, she let out a shriek and promptly fainted.