My grandfather passed away.

He was living alone in a rather rural house, so our entire family tree gathered to stay in this house to discuss matters like sorting Grandfather's belongings and what to do with the house.

In the end, my father decided to inherit the house, and we've just about finished cleaning up. Everything went smoothly without any disputes, and the relatives have all gone back.

"Are you really okay being here alone for a whole month?" My mother asked, looking worried as we packed up.

"It's fine, you know. It's not like I'm all alone in the middle of nowhere, as they depict in certain TV shows. I can ride my bicycle and get to a small supermarket in the town in about 10 minutes."

"And these guys are here too." Saying that...

In the yard, two Shiba Inu[efn_note]Shiba Inu: [/efn_note] dogs that my grandfather used to keep were playing with my brother. There was a male black Shiba and a female brown Shiba.

"Yeah, that's right, Kuro-Mame and Kinako are here, so it's all good."

「Woof, woof!」The two dogs barked energetically, as if to say, "Leave it to us."

"Make sure to contact us once a day."

"Dad, I'm not a child anymore. I'm a grown-up."

"I know, but..." his eyes expressed his worry. The whole family seemed to same. He must be worried for two reasons.

RinSakura Aotsuki, 28 years old. My profession is an illustrator. I used to work for a certain publishing company in Tokyo, but I resigned last month due to personal reasons. It's a common story.

I was dating a male editor from the same company. He was about to be assigned to work overseas. He asked me to quit my job and go with him, but just when my work was becoming interesting, I started receiving offers from various directions. It was the first time in a while, so I asked him to wait, and he easily broke up with me.

Well... Looking back, we were probably both already losing interest in each other. Maybe we were just talking about marriage out of convenience and habit. Because of that, I wanted a little break in my life, more like a rest for my soul.

I finished the remaining work quickly and quit. With just a PC, I can work from anywhere.

I'm not as dejected as my family and friends seem to think, and it's a bit annoying that they believe I'm quite heartbroken. It was a perfect opportunity, so I'm going to enjoy a countryside life for a while along with my dogs.

The yard may be small, but there's a little garden. There are some rather aggressive chickens. There's also a pond with some large, energetic koi. Am I the only one who finds it a bit unnerving when those koi cram the lakeside so eagerly, begging for food?

So, despite my family's concerns, my rural life started on the second day. Early in the morning, there was a fairly significant earthquake. Even the dogs sleeping by my side were startled, and they jumped up.

Once the shaking stopped, I cautiously looked outside from the front door while holding Kinako, but there didn't seem to be any significant changes. For the time being, I opened all the shutters.

I went down into the garden I went down into the garden but nothing seemed different.

Relieved, I was about to sit on the veranda when, in the next moment...

A creature I'd never seen before sprang out from the depths of the yard.

Was it a saber-toothed tiger? It had a face like a tiger and teeth that could practically touch the ground.

But the fur coloring was strange. Blue with yellow spots... This can't be some monster from an RPG, can it? Could it possibly be a magical creature? Despite being scared, I found myself staring at it. Its eyes were blue...

Definitely not a creature that would be found in the mountains of any prefecture here. When I recognized it as a real creature, I suddenly couldn't move from the spot. Then, Kuro-Mame leaped in front of me as if to protect me.

「Growl... Grrr...」

With its nose deeply wrinkled, it was displaying maximum intimidation. Kinako had also joined the confrontation, making it a two-on-one glaring contest.

"Kuro-Mame, Kinako be careful." I warned.

What should I do? Did I have a tranquilizer gun or something like that? I wonder if my grandfather used to hunt...

As I nervously pondered, contemplating heading back inside to search for something, it happened. Something large descended from the sky. It moved at an incredible speed and swiftly severed the monster's head.

「Gwooooon!」 As soon as I heard such a voice, the severed head rolled to my feet.

「Eeeek!!」 The color of the blood looked like green slime, and it was terrifying.

But what's more perplexing was the identity of this man... Upon closer inspection, the man had animal ears on his head, and a tail swayed behind him. He had a wild beard, messy hair, and his clothes were quite dirty, with tears and frays here and there.

After the monster, now a beastman... I wonder if we can communicate?

The man remained motionless, staring at me with his amber-colored eyes, which gleamed with intensity. One trouble after another, is that how life goes...? Rinsakura's face was tense.

The man then spoke slowly, "Miss, would you be willing to part with one of those beasts over there?" He gestured towards Kinako and Kuro-mame.

"Huh?" I replied, not entirely understanding his meaning...

I understood what he was saying, but... What does he mean?

And more importantly, it was strange that we could communicate so easily. He didn't seem like a Japanese speaker, so it felt as though the words we were speaking were being automatically translated into our respective languages.

"I'm on a mission right now, so that's why I look like this, but I'm not a suspicious person." Well, you seem pretty shady to me.

"When my mission is complete, and I safely return to my country, I'll make sure to pay you properly. So please, let me have one of these beasts." The dubious man pleaded earnestly.

"Um, by the way, what do you plan to do with Kinako and Kuro-mame?" I asked.

To this, the man responded with a cheerful smile, saying, "Eat!! I haven't had a decent meal in days."

These words made Rinsakura lose her temper. "Kinako and Kuro-mame are my family!! Get out of here, you perverted man!!"

Rinsakura grabbed the nearest object at hand and hurled it at the man.

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