* * *
I put the part-time job aside for now—accomplishing the original purpose of my village visit came first.
The place Ragner, who had promised me a good opportunity, took me to was a certain building on the outskirts of the village.
Its exterior was quite worn, making it look like a very old building, but traces of consistent maintenance were visible.
It had a reasonably sized open lot beside it, and on one side, crude scarecrows made of straw and wood were set up at regular intervals.
“Hiyah!”
And the open lot was filled with shouts of exertion and clear laughter.
Children around Teon’s age were gathered in the lot, swinging wooden swords at the scarecrows.
I vaguely realized why Ragner had wanted to introduce me to this place.
‘He said I needed beginner adventurers….’
The place we had arrived at was a training ground that cultivated beginner adventurers.
Moved, I glanced at Ragner. And then a question suddenly arose.
‘We only met today—why is he being so kind to me?’
I could understand him agreeing to keep the secret about me and the dungeon, but he had also shown me around the village, bought me a meal, and now brought me to the training ground.
It was far too much kindness to show someone he had just met, so I couldn’t help but wonder.
But as someone on the receiving end of the help, it was awkward to ask outright, so I was choosing my words carefully when—
“Woof! Woof!”
From somewhere, the high-pitched bark unique to small dogs came.
“A puppy?”
“Chacha!”
Teon immediately darted out and scooped up the dog that was charging furiously toward us.
“Oh my, Chacha suddenly bolted, and I wondered what was going on—turns out her owners came.”
Someone who had followed the dog let out a breathy laugh.
She was a middle-aged woman with skin heavily tanned by the sun and a build that was firm for her age. Were it not for the wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, it would have been hard to guess her age.
“Thank you for looking after Chacha.”
So the dog’s owners were Ragner and Teon.
“No need for thanks. This one has to be here or Teon will cling to the training ground too.”
The dog, quickly squirming out of Teon’s arms, flopped onto its back at Ragner’s feet and rolled around.
“Whine, whimper.”
My gaze naturally went to the dog. In that moment, I felt a sudden sense of déjà vu.
Fluffy brown fur, large black eyes.
“A poodle….”
If my nickname as an adult was Chihuahua, then before that, during my school days, my nickname was Poodle.
Because of my naturally curly hair.
When I moved to another region for university, I thought I had finally said goodbye to dog nicknames.
But after rumors spread that I had helped beat up a peeping tom who had snuck into the dormitory with my friends using our major textbooks, a new nickname followed—Chihuahua, after Poodle.
That nickname was at least less unfair. My friends who had beaten him up with me also got nicknames.
Doberman, Bulldog, Shepherd.
But I was the only Chihuahua.
Anyway, Poodle was the nickname I hated second only to Chihuahua.
And yet why was there a dog here that looked like a poodle…!
I had a very, very ominous thought. My gaze went to Ragner again.
He was on his knees, stroking the dog as it performed tricks, his eyes dripping with honey.
Don’t tell me… don’t tell me….
I unconsciously grabbed the curly ends of my hair as if tearing at them.
This kind of thing happened more than once or twice.
‘Why do you keep petting my head?’
‘Ah, sorry. You remind me of our Choco at home, I did it without thinking.’
Could it be that the reason Ragner was kind to me was because I resembled his beloved pet!?
“Hm? Come to think of it, your name is similar to our Chacha’s, sister.”
“It’s not similar at all!”
There’s a huge distance between Choi and Chacha—what kind of nonsense was that!
So that was it. That was how it was. Of course there was a reason for the kindness.
Two conflicting thoughts clashed sharply in my head.
Should I be glad that resembling a pet had drawn kindness from a stranger, or should I be offended at being treated like a dog?
After groaning over it, I finally decided.
Protecting my pride lasts only a moment, but the benefits of maintaining a good relationship with Ragner are considerable.
I, Gong Choi, will not be daunted by a trial like this. For the sake of gain, I will gladly—!
“Wow… what a cute puppy! Hellooo.”
I crouched down and waved my hand.
The dog, which had been rolling on its back under Ragner’s touch, lost in bliss, looked at me with its whites showing.
Our eyes met, and a brief, silent probing match followed.
I’ve been called by breed rather than name for half my life, but honestly, I don’t know much about dogs. I’ve never raised one, and I don’t particularly like them.
So the only common knowledge I had about dogs was that, like wolves, they have a hierarchy.
If you lose in the hierarchy, you become something worse than a dog for life!
Shhk—the dog pushed aside Ragner’s hand, stood up solemnly, sniffed, and slowly approached me. Then, wagging its tail, it circled around me as I crouched.
Seen up close, it was similar to a poodle in coat texture, but its features were a bit different.
Just as the dog seemed to finish sizing me up and was about to put its front paw on my leg, Brownie, hidden in my hair, popped out.
“How long are you going to keep doing this!? I want to know about that ‘good opportunity’!”
In that instant, my tension released and I tilted off balance, falling backward from my crouched position and landing on my rear.
“Ouch.”
Coincidentally, it ended up looking like I had been pushed over by the dog’s paw.
And then I saw it. The look of contempt for the weak.
The dog that had knocked me down immediately spread its front legs wide in a triumphant pose.
“…….”
Then it turned its head away dismissively and went back to its owner.
I could feel it instinctively. In this moment, I had lost a hierarchy battle with a tiny dog the size of my head.
“That little runt….”
“Anyway, who is this young lady?”
“Ah!”
I had been so distracted by the dog that I had momentarily forgotten.
A large, imposing elder was looking down at me with curious eyes.
“Ah, hello.”
I hurriedly got up and greeted her.
“She’s a friend I traveled with before.”
Ragner introduced me again using the fake identity the villagers had all come to know.
“Aha, it’s been a while since one of Ragner’s old comrades visited. I’m Ruadis, the instructor in charge of the beginner training ground.”
“I’m Choi.”
“Chihuahua.”
I grabbed Brownie as it cut in and forced it back into my hair. Staying quiet would be more helpful right now.
“I’m Choi.”
“So what brings you here?”
Ragner answered politely.
“I wanted the two of you to meet.”
“Me? With this young lady?”
Ruadis looked at me with a puzzled expression.
To just say that and stop. So the rest was up to me?
If I had been oblivious, I would have just stood there blankly at this timing.
But I had rolled through a dogshit company for years and unwillingly learned to read the room.
With a smile, I cautiously asked.
“Would it be all right if I looked around the training ground?”
“Hmm… that’s not difficult. Teon, stop playing and go back to your spot. You’ll have to train even harder to make up for the time you played.”
“Hing… I wasn’t playing.”
Teon hurriedly grabbed his wooden sword and ran back inside the training ground. Seeing how obedient he was, Ruadis must be quite a scary instructor.
“Ragner, what about you?”
“I’ll take a look around too, since it’s been a while.”
“You don’t need to. If you have time, go check the students’ postures.”
“…Understood.”
I felt just a little sorry for Ragner, who had come along and ended up with work dumped on him.
He gave me a smile and said, ‘Ruadis is someone you can trust,’ then followed after Teon.
Why had he gone out of his way to say that?
“Is your interest in looking around the training ground because you’re interested in being an instructor, perhaps? Though you look like a spirit summoner.”
We began walking slowly in the opposite direction from where Ragner had gone.
“Pardon? No. I don’t have the skill for that. I was just….”
She had said this was a beginner training ground, right?
“I was curious how hard beginner adventurers train.”
Our dungeon’s potential future customers.
“They’re working hard. All of them dream of becoming heroes.”
“Heroes?”
“Like Ragner. Leaving behind great achievements as an adventurer and making a name for oneself. Isn’t that the path every adventurer dreams of?”
I opened and closed my mouth.
Ragner was… a hero? Then that was a problem, wasn’t it…?
After all, heroes and Demon Kings are traditionally sworn enemies, so someone on the Demon King’s side like me….
A sudden chill ran down my whole body. I had only thought he was a strong adventurer—I had never expected him to be a hero!
His very existence was no different from a natural enemy to our lazy, irresponsible Demon King.
Was I currently colluding with the enemy!?
“These days, the threshold for being a hero has gotten lower, so just about anyone is called one, though.”
“R, really…?”
I felt inwardly relieved. Then Ragner was just a somewhat strong adventurer too….
“At the very least, you’d have to defeat a Demon King, or at minimum take down one of a Demon King’s closest aides, to be called a hero, wouldn’t you say? In that sense, Ragner truly deserves to be called a hero.”
Damn it.
