[– Don’t Destroy the Natural Environment Recklessly –]
“Ready!”
After causing all sorts of commotion in the dormitory kitchen, I finally completed three boxes of sandwiches. Since they’re sandwiches and not cooked food, they shouldn’t be horribly tasteless or anything, right……? Besides, I’ve prepared some other foods like ham, wine, cheese, and fruit to accompany the sandwiches, so if the sandwiches aren’t great, we can make do with those.
After stuffing the picnic basket with food, a large cloth for a mat, and an umbrella, I was ready to go.
On a Saturday with dazzling sunshine, it was perfect picnic weather. If a young man and woman went together, it would be the perfect chance for a love to blossom rapidly!
Well, it’s not my love but a wish for someone else’s love to blossom.
I brought up the idea of a picnic two days ago.
“A picnic!? Great, absolutely! Right, Lumins, you’d love it too?”
When I asked if they wanted to go for a picnic with me on the upcoming Saturday, Velkina excitedly grabbed my hand. If you’re that happy, I somehow feel sorry…….
“I don’t have any plans for that day. Where do you plan to go?”
Lumins also nodded lightly in agreement. Alright, the stage is set.
“How about the Forest of Joy to the east of the tower? These days, hyacinths are blooming in abundance and it’s very beautiful. Velkina, you haven’t been there yet, have you?”
“Yes. Since coming to the Magic Institute, everything has been really fun. I’m glad I came here after all!”
The game hinted that Velkina, an orphan, had a rather unfortunate life in a small world before coming here. Every day must have been refreshing at the Magic Institute.
“………….”
“Senephin?”
“Oh, oh- since I suggested it, I’ll take care of the food and preparations. You two just need to bring yourselves.”
Alright, I’ll roll up my sleeves to make this a fun picnic! By the way, the guy next to you is really nice! So I’ll make sure you get him!
So on Saturday, I cheerfully headed to the meeting place with the picnic basket. Although we could have left together from the dormitory since we live in the same one, I said we should meet at the plaza in the Forest of Joy because I had some preparations to make beforehand.
Of course, I arranged for Lumins to escort Velkina since she didn’t know the location. Even I thought it was a very thoughtful setup.
“Arrived!”
I walked here excitedly, not even noticing how heavy the basket was. Wiping the sweat off, I looked around. First, I needed to choose the right spot. It should be a place with a beautiful view when they sit down together, right? I crouched here and there to check the view and settled on a spot.
I laid the checkered cloth I brought on the ground and secured it with the picnic basket, the wine bottle, and the water bottles. I arranged the food nicely and then sat down on the cloth to take a breather.
“Phew…….”
Of course, I had no intention of brazenly inserting myself between them from the start. When the two of them arrived, I planned to say something urgent came up and then leave, playing the perfect wingman by giving the budding couple some alone time.
The breeze gently dried my sweat, and the sunlight was warm. The yellow hyacinths swayed in the wind, giving off a pleasant fragrance. Talking together in this environment would surely make them feel happy, and I think to myself, I did well.
As I was praising myself, I heard a rustling sound nearby.
Thinking it was just the wind, I turned towards it without much thought, and my eyes widened in surprise.
It was a tiny gray puppy, about the size of two of my palms put together, walking towards me, looking a little shaggy from the dirt.
“……!!”
Cute, so, so cute! Is it a wild puppy that lives in the forest? Although it’s obviously a different breed, this fluffy little creature looks just like a Jindo puppy. I wanted to rush over and pet it immediately, but I thought I shouldn’t startle a wild animal, so I held my breath and watched quietly, like an inanimate object.
“……Huh?”
The puppy climbed onto the cloth. I was starting to wonder if I should make my presence known and shoo it away, but something seemed off. It was staggering a bit, and then it made a move to bite the ham. However, just before reaching the ham, it turned its head as if it had done something wrong and tried to leave the cloth.
Then, it collapsed after taking only a few steps.
“Puppy? Puppy……!!”
I gasped and grabbed the puppy. A healthy wild animal would react immediately by either biting or running away, but this puppy just lay limp and didn’t respond properly.
Fortunately, it had a pulse and didn’t seem to have any visible injuries. When I touched it, I realized that, despite its fur, it was extremely thin. It might be malnourished.
I opened the lid of the container holding the sandwiches and poured some water into it. I brought it to the puppy’s mouth, and it instinctively licked the water.
Among the food I had brought, ham seemed the least likely to harm the puppy. Though it’s salted and might not be the best for its body due to the sodium… I decided to break it into small pieces and feed it just a little.
I tore the ham and crumbled it with my fingers, then held it to the puppy’s mouth, just like I did with the water. The puppy, seemingly too weak to swallow, licked it a few times but then started choking.
This isn’t working. I wish I could use healing magic, but unfortunately, my mana element affinity makes it difficult for me to perform that kind of magic. I need to get to the tower quickly.
I left a message in mana traces explaining that I had to rush back to the tower to save a malnourished puppy and that they should have fun without worrying about me. Well, I didn’t even have to lie, a real emergency had come up.
Anyway, I scooped the puppy up in my arms and ran straight back to the tower.
When I returned to the tower, I found a researcher on weekend duty responsible for emergency contacts. Seeing me bringing in the puppy with a distressed look, she was a bit surprised but cast a healing spell on it. She also provided me with a few food items that wouldn’t be harmful to the puppy and informed me that keeping pets in the dormitory was allowed since it was protected by soundproofing magic.
The puppy must have been exhausted, because after receiving the healing magic, he fell asleep soundly. I carefully laid it on the bed and prepared some food for it.
I finely ground the ingredients to make it easier for the puppy to eat, then securely stored the food in a container and placed it in a cool spot, ready to feed it as soon as it woke up.
After finishing this task, I heard rustling noises coming from the bedroom. Thinking the puppy might have woken up, I quickly washed my hands and rushed over.
“………..?”
A beautiful silver-haired boy was crouched on the floor, completely naked. He looked at me with a wary expression, pulling the sheet to cover himself.
Atop his silver hair are animal ears, silver like the rest of his head. I recognize this setting.
Although I had never seen a beautiful boy with animal ears before, his face seemed very familiar to me.
“Wh-who are you…………?”
I ask in disbelief, and the boy’s ears twitch as he replies with his little voice.
“……… I’m Jin.”
Jin?
One of Velkina’s conquest characters, Jin? The silver wolf beastman character I nicknamed “Whitey”……?
But wait, aren’t you supposed to be a young man, not a boy……?
I’ve also played the Jin route in The Arlandast Saga, but I don’t remember seeing him in this tiny puppy form. He always appeared in his majestic wolf form, showing off his proud silver fur. So, it’s no wonder I didn’t recognize him as a puppy.
Setting aside the fact that I didn’t recognize him in his puppy form, why is Jin, who is supposed to be a dignified young man, now appearing as a boy?
Did something go wrong because I disrupted his appearance flag?
Jin spoke in a faint, growling voice. Even in his human form, he was panting, indicating that his body hadn’t fully recovered yet.
“……Are you not surprised?”
……Oh, I must have reacted too calmly.
Although this world has magic and lakes with monsters, beastmen are not generally known to exist. So, it must have seemed odd to him that I didn’t scream when a puppy suddenly transformed into a (naked) boy with wolf ears. I hastily made up an excuse.
“Oh…… Well……. that’s because… I heard stories about beastmen from my grandfather when I was little. Everyone said they were just old fairy tales, but I believed they might be real.”
It was a ridiculous excuse, but perhaps due to his malnutrition clouding his judgment, Whitey simply responded, “I see.” Then he buried his head in the sheet again, like a puppy curling up. Despite his human form, his actions were so dog-like that it was cute.
“Well, um……would you like something to eat? I prepared food thinking you were a puppy, so it’s raw. Should I prepare human food instead…….”
“I can eat human food, but there’s no need for it.”
Come to think of it, there were various meal events in the game, but I don’t recall ever sharing a meal with Jin.
“Then, I suppose you’re not malnourished. But you look so weak…….”
I assumed he was malnourished since he tried to eat the ham as soon as he saw it, but maybe it’s something else entirely.
“……I am malnourished. Not from lack of food, but from a depletion of the mana I need to consume. We beastmen sustain our existence by absorbing the mana in nature.”
Ah, that’s a setting from the game. In this world, beastmen are somewhat like fairies, living hidden in environments rich with strong mana. Jin could adventure freely because he received mana from Velkina, who had extraordinary mana.
“Did the natural mana suddenly deplete?”
“Yes……. I don’t know what happened, but the Lake of Tranquility in the north lost all its power, and the mana I needed to consume disappeared with it.”
“…………..”
I swallowed hard, my smile frozen.
This is bad.
I had no idea that Whitey’s mana supply came from the Lake of Tranquility……!
In the game, the Lake of Tranquility gets destroyed in Lumins route, and Jin doesn’t appear in that route. I never imagined there was such a profound reason for it.
No, this isn’t the time to sit and analyze things calmly. What am I going to do? I intended to disrupt the flags, not cause an extinction. Jin is supposed to be the last remaining beastman on this continent.
“Would you mind taking some of my mana? I’m a mage after all.”
I said, feeling a prick of conscience.
He didn’t respond to my suggestion immediately. Instead, he gazed at me with his clear emerald eyes for a moment.
“……What is your name?”
“Senephin Cromwell.”
“Why are you so nice to me?”
It’s a valid question. By common sense, there’s no reason for someone to be so kind to a naked boy of a species they’ve never seen before.
As I was pondering how to answer, the doorbell suddenly rang.
– Ding dong.
Startled by the unexpected sound, I turned toward the entrance.
“Wh-who is it?”
“It’s me, Lumins.”
L-Lumis? Why is he here? And what about the picnic!?
“You said you rescued a puppy, right? I came to help. Please open the door for a moment.”
Ugh, I was too honest in my message……!
I turned back to Whitey. Speaking as quietly and quickly as I could, I urged him, “Transform back into a puppy right now, quickly!”
In my urgency, I had completely dropped my usual composed and polite manner of speaking. Maybe intimidated by my tone, Jin looked a bit flustered but then transformed back into a puppy. Good.
“I’m opening the door now!”
I hurriedly opened the front door. Lumis, looking as handsome as ever, entered the room. He was dressed casually, unlike his usual work attire. Of course, he looked great in anything!
“W-welcome, Lumis. But what about the picnic with Velkina……?”
“How could I enjoy a picnic when I’m worried about you?”
With that, Lumins set down the picnic basket he had brought. Ah, the fruits of my labor in the kitchen…….
“Velkina went to get some necessary supplies, and I came to check on you first. Where’s the puppy?”
I felt a pang of regret for ruining the perfectly set picnic spot. But now wasn’t the time to lament that. I reluctantly pointed towards the bed.
Whitey, now back in his tiny form, was lying down with his lower half covered by the sheet. He looked adorable, but I feel sick to my stomach…….
Lumis tilted his head in confusion and walked over to the bed. After looking at Whitey, he turned back to me with a puzzled expression.
“It’s not a puppy, it’s a person?”
