Chapter 15: The Wolfdog

Masaya was roused from his sleep in the back room of the detective agency.

“Oh, it’s morning. What time is it?”

Rubbing his eyes, he cast a glance at the alarm clock, noting that it was a little past nine. The morning felt sluggish, and on days like this, all he wanted was to crawl back into bed. 

He got dressed and went out to the office, turning on the television. He brewed some coffee and watched the news while drinking it. The news was reporting a case of arson murder.

“Are there any witnesses? How did they manage to throw the flames through the window?

Masaya became interested in the arson murder case because it had happened in one of the buildings he had designed.

“Good morning,” 

Koyuki Kanbara entered the detective agency. She had been working as a part-time employee since last month. Fuyuhiko was in need of an extra pair of hands, even if it was just a part-time job, so he hired her.

That was the official explanation, but the truth was that Professor Kanbara, who had confided in Masaya about the lucid dreams and the Mana Art, wanted to continue his research and requested that his daughter Koyuki be hired as a part-time employee in the same agency as Masaya.

Koyuki seemed to be in a situation where she could graduate if she submitted her graduation thesis. Her job hunting was also going well, as she had received job offers from several companies. It seemed that she had some time to assist her father during this period.

According to Professor Kanbara’s instructions, Masaya was supposed to record the lucid dreams he had. The professor was exerting tremendous concentration in an attempt to uncover the true nature of Mana Art.

“Good morning. Let’s work together today as well,” 

“Likewise. Speaking of which, I have a message from my father. He wants you to try dividing the gathered magic essence into two,” 

Masaya let out a sigh. Every morning, he would carry out experiments as instructed by Professor Kanbara. Some of the instructions were beneficial for him, but there were also instructions that made him question their practicality.

“Alright, but I don’t really understand how that would be useful,” 

“I don’t know either,” Koyuki admitted.

“Well, never mind then.”

Masaya gathered the magic essence in the air and attempted to form it into two magic essence balls. It took more time and effort than simply forming the gathered magic essence into one ball, but he succeeded in the end. He reported this to Koyuki.

“You did it. It’s amazing, isn’t it? Can you fir them simultaneously?” Koyuki inquired.

Once again, her request was for something truly challenging. Masaya attempted it diligently but found himself unable to accomplish the task at hand. It appeared that manipulating the magic essence had a limitation, restricting him from handling two balls simultaneously. 

Around the time that experiment concluded, Fuyuhiko arrived for work. He greeted everyone with a refreshing smile before taking his seat. Koyuki brewed a cup of coffee and served it to him, and he enjoyed the aroma before taking a satisfying sip.

“What’s our task for today?”

“We’re searching for Oguri-sama’s pet dog, Betty-chan,” Koyuki replied.

Fuyuhiko nodded. Lately, there has been an increase in clients asking their detective agency to find their lost pets. Thanks to word-of-mouth about their high success rate, demand has grown.

The reason behind their increased success rate lay in Masaya’s Mana Art. Within the True Names he had acquired, he had the “Sense of smell”. This allowed him to possess a sense of smell on par with a dog’s, enabling him to track down lost pets.

When he first tried out the “Sense of smell” ability, he was in the office. The scents of coffee, human odors, kitchen waste, car exhaust, and various other smells bombarded his brain, causing a throbbing headache. The unfamiliar influx of information overwhelmed his senses, as if his brain was experiencing an overflow.

As Masaya grew accustomed to it, he became capable of distinguishing among the multitude of smells. He would utilize this ability to track down and capture lost pets.

“Come on, let’s go.”

Fuyuhiko prepared for the task of capturing the pet and called out to Masaya. Masaya and Fuyuhiko headed to the scene. The location was the remains of a factory near Oguri’s residence.

This place had become a gathering spot for stray cats. Someone seemed to be feeding the cats, attracting many felines. They knew that Betty, was a dog, and it was most likely receiving food along with the cats. He tracked down the smell leading there.

However, he didn’t know the exact time when Betty would appear. They had no choice but to stake out the location. The two of them concealed themselves in a place where they could see the entrance of the factory, keeping watch.

“Betty isn’t showing up,” 

Masaya murmured, and Fuyuhiko wore a bored expression, as if he were getting tired of waiting.

“It’s almost lunchtime. Should we buy something?” Fuyuhiko suggested.

“Yeah, why not?”

“What would you like?”

“I’ll leave it to you, Fuyuhiko.”

“Alright then, I’ll get Sweet roll and milk.”

“Huh… Are you some kind of old-school detective from the Showa era?”

“Well, you know, the basics are important in everything.”

“But Sweet roll and milk aren’t exactly “basics”.”

Fuyuhiko chuckled and headed towards the convenience store. What he brought back from the store was a katsudon.

Continuing their stakeout throughout the afternoon, around two o’clock, a dog the size of a Shiba Inu, resembling a wolf, appeared, accompanied by several other dogs.

“Senpai, that’s Betty-chan.”

Behind the dog that Masaya suspected might be a wolfdog, there was the adorable figure of a Chihuahua. The distinctive collar around its neck confirmed that it was the Chihuahua they were looking for.

“What’s with that dog? It looks like it’s so fulfilled in life. What a character!”

Fuyuhiko commented, his eyes filled with frustration.

“The one with the issue here is you. What’s the point of getting jealous of a dog? Stay calm and think of a plan to capture Betty,” 

“There’s no need to think. Leave it to me,” Fuyuhiko declared.

With those words, Fuyuhiko charged towards Betty, the Chihuahua. However, the wolfdog stood in his way, blocking his path.

“Hey, get out of the way!”

Fuyuhiko shouted, trying to scare the wolfdog away. In response, however, the dog growled and lunged forward, clamping its jaws around Fuyuhiko’s stomach.

“Ouch!”

Fuyuhiko was sent flying, the force of the impact throwing him off. The wolfdog truly displayed astonishing explosive power.

Masaya rushed to Fuyuhiko’s side as he lay on the ground.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Senpai… I’m done for. I’ll leave the rest to you. Gah.” 

“Are you an idiot? Don’t say things like ‘Gah’ about yourself,” Masaya scolded.

Fuyuhiko seemed to be in genuine pain, with teary eyes, but he could still crack jokes, so he should be fine. It seemed that the “stylish” fall had absorbed most of the impact. The problem now was the wolfdog. Masaya shifted his gaze towards it.

The wolfdog had assumed an aggressive stance, propelling itself off the ground with a low posture. Its speed was far from ordinary. Had Masaya not honed his reflexes through sparring with Master Miyasaka, he would have surely taken a direct hit.

Masaya managed to react in time, seizing the front paw and twisting, causing the wolfdog to fall backward. This was an application of the Shaolin Kempo techniques he had learned from Master Miyasaka.

The wolfdog rolled on the ground and swiftly regained its footing; it seemed to have sustained minimal damage.

“Uuu… Woof!” 

The wolfdog let out a bark and charged once again, but this time Masaya flipped it down using a technique from Shaolin Kempo.

Through repeatedly rolling and countering, Masaya managed to assert his dominance over the wolfdog. It seemed to acknowledge defeat, exposing its belly and lying down. Masaya approached and gently petted the dog while muttering, “Good boy, good boy.”

With the wolfdog and Betty under control, it was only then that Fuyuhiko finally managed to get back on his feet.

“Fuyuhiko, perhaps it’s time for you to relearn the Miyasaka-style,” Masaya suggested.

“Hahaha… I just let my guard down for a moment.”

They placed Betty in the prepared basket, but were unsure of what to do with the wolfdog. Since it didn’t have a collar, there was a possibility that it was a stray dog. However, Masaya vaguely recalled that the breed known as wolfdogs was popular and expensive. Incidentally, the other dogs had apparently escaped.

Masaya discussed this with Fuyuhiko, and they decided to take the wolfdog back with them. They arranged for Betty to be returned to its owner before requesting that the reward be transferred.

Back at the office, the two of them showed the wolfdog to Koyuki.

“Wow, what a cute dog!” 

Koyuki exclaimed, clearly captivated by the wolfdog as she gently stroked it. The wolfdog seemed to enjoy the attention.

Masaya tried searching for the wolfdog in the lost pet database but couldn’t find a match.

“What should we do with this dog?” 

Fuyuhiko grinned and suggested, “We could sell it at a pet shop. It seems like it could fetch a high price.”

As if understanding those words, the wolfdog glared at Fuyuhiko and let out a growl.

“Just kidding. Don’t get angry.”

Koyuki expressed her desire to adopt the wolfdog as a pet to be kept at home. It seemed that she had wanted a dog for a while. In the end, everyone accepted, and they named the wolfdog “Kohaku” (Amber).

In the days that followed, Kohaku’s life took a remarkable turn after he was rescued by Masaya. This marked the beginning of his transformation into a special dog.