It’s the new year by the time I make it back to the surface.
I head to the guild as soon as I leave the dungeon, but sadly, or obviously, it’s closed.
Normally I sell stuff and take a shower there, but I’ll have to go to a public bath.
I wash myself with water in the dungeon, but not that frequently, and it doesn’t clean me completely.
Going back dirty would bother others, and I might be embarrassed too. Maybe.
And so I’m here in the public bath, but…
I can’t go in?
Why?
No pets allowed?
What pet… Ah.
I didn’t know what they mean by pet, but I have a small horse behind me.
Why are you here? Didn’t we say goodbye in the dungeon?
Yes, I parted ways with Fuuma in the dungeon.
I wanted to undo the summon before I returned, but it was still resisting.
I got pissed off and told it I didn’t care about it anymore, but even though I left it, it’s following me like that’s to be expected.
I’m not even wearing the guardian beast armor, why are you around? Is that how all summoned beasts are like?
I should ask the weapon store owner and see if he can do something about this thing.
I can’t go to the public bath like this, which means going home dirty.
How embarrassing… Not really, but I like to wash off and feel like I’m really back from the dungeon.
Hey! Fuuma! Back to the dungeon!
I can’t go relax in the bath!
What? You want to relax too?
You can’t! No pets allowed!
Why are you even following me!? Go eat grass in the dungeon!
I grab Fuuma, who still isn’t listening, and shake it violently. But Fuuma isn’t perturbed by something like this, and instead it looks like it enjoys it.
But even if we don’t see this as violent, that doesn’t mean others won’t.
Eh? Report me?
For what?
Animal abuse? You already called the police?
No no, this isn’t an animal… Police officer, you’re working fast today.
I try to explain that Fuuma isn’t an animal, and feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around, and I’m taken by the police before I can explain.
They say it’s because I’ve had a few run-ins with the police.
And I’m supposed to accept that!?
◇ ◇ ◇
I was taken unreasonably, take out the card of the officer that handled me before, and ask that they call him.
He just happens to be working, so it doesn’t take long for him to come.
This is the guy that left me for a long time, and said he’d treat me to a meal or something.
His name is Totsuka, and he’s a veteran officer in his fifties.
He looks at my face, and asks what I’ve done this time, with an exasperated expression.
I argue that’s not fair, and that I got dragged here despite not committing any crimes. He asks the guy that brought me here what happened, and seems to accept it.
No no! This isn’t right!
I didn’t abuse anything! It was happy even!
No, that’s not just what I think!
Do you have any idea how much trouble that thing caused me!?
I got lost somewhere because of that horse, and wandered for days! I was stranded, stranded!
What do you mean strange?
This is no time for bad puns!!
I say, and Totsuka grins proudly.
I realize playing the straight man with him will only make him happy, so I try to advance things.
Can I go?
I’m tired, a lot happened.
It stinks?
Did you fart, Totsuka? Gimme a break, this is a locked room~.
No? Me?
That’s why I was in the public bath!
I wandered the woods for days, and when I thought I made it out, I went in the opposite direction! I ran out of food right away and had to procure it on site! Do you get it!? Hunting animals, taking them apart, and cooking them. It was so bad… Wait, can you not look annoyed?
I try to tell them how hard it was for me, but a middle-aged man’s annoyed face is right in front of me.
Totsuka, was your face always that weird? I feel like asking, but then another policeman enters the interrogation room.
According to him, the animal is rampaging and they can’t get it under control. And it’s calling for its owner.
I urge Totsuka to go quickly, but he says that’s my job.
Right.
◇ ◇ ◇
I heard there was an animal rampaging, but it’s more like it’s scavenging for food.
It’s noon, and a miniature horse is munching on the bowl of rice with toppings someone must’ve ordered.
The other policemen are trying to stop it, but can’t. The miniature horse, Fuuma, weighs over a hundred kilos, and is round with fat.
It has the power to fight on the thirty-first floor and beyond, so policemen who only passed the twentieth can’t handle it.
A policewoman clings to it, and it drags her as it stuffs its face in the bowl, munching and looking very satisfied.
And the policewoman clinging to it looks happy too.
It’s a win-win, a very nice outcome.
Wait no.
What am I doing? I pull Fuuma from the bowl, and the policewoman comes with it. And she lets go when she looks at my face.
Something doesn’t seem right there, but let’s leave that be.
I hand Fuuma to Totsuka, tell him to boil it or roast it, leaving the decision to him.
I’m sure he’ll make good use of it, and sure enough Totsuka…
“Take it with you already.”
Fuuma and I are thrown out of the police station.
◇ ◇ ◇
You’re the ones who dragged me there! I want to say, but I don’t want to be charged with obstruction of public duties or business, so I leave.
I’m still dirty, so I walk home. I could take public transportation, but it should be packed at the start of the new year, and I don’t know if I can take Fuuma.
Well, it’s less than an hour from the police station to my apartment, and I’ve done this walk before, so there’s no problem.
As I walk, people look at Fuuma and point. I’m sure a fat horse is funny. It doesn’t look like Fuuma cares, and it even lets a kid waiting at a crosswalk touch it.
The mother asks if it’s okay to touch it, and I say go ahead. The kid fearfully reaches towards it and pets its head.
Fuuma is really quiet when the kid is petting it. I wish it was always like this.
The kid is satisfied and goes back, and the mother smiles.
After that, Fuuma gets pet every time we stop at a crosswalk, and when a kid comes over to throw a rock, it uses wind to make the brat fall.
That’s what you get.
The brat deserved it, but I warn it not to overdo it.
They’re kids, and Fuuma wouldn’t budge to a rock. But I think it’s a good lesson anyway.
I pet Fuuma’s head, tell it it did a good job holding back, and it bites my hand with a happy expression.
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