'Don't talk nonsense—just talk to me telepathically.'
'Oh! Right… but honey, now that I look at it, can I adopt it? It's so cute.'
'No, let me deal with it first.'
I can see why she said that and why she wants to, but I stopped her—even though it looks like that, the system recognized it as a client, so I have to be careful.
First of all, I took a quick look at the mission.
___________________________
Demanding Client
Objective:
Meet the expectations of ⁜✕‽µëʑ⇗⇹▧ and prevent them from leaving the premises for at least 1 hour.
Rewards:
+5 free attribute points
Destiny Card
5,000 Myrr
Penalty for failure:
+3 Corruption
-15 attribute points (random)
___________________________
Hmm… definitely, judging by the implications here, this is an intelligent being.
It's a bit at odds with what was written in the letter, but nothing says our client has to be a humanoid, and I can't really say I know all the existing races yet.
It's also strange how its name seems illegible—all the previous missions made it very clear—or maybe that's just its name and I don't know how to pronounce it...
No, that's not a priority right now.
The most important thing right now was to complete the mission before analyzing these details.
I stepped forward toward that creature that seemed to be suspended in the air, defying every law of physics I knew.
"Welcome, dear client. How may I assist you?"
I spoke to it politely, hoping there might be a possibility of communication, but…
"Raoour~."
Unfortunately, that creature only made a faint growling sound and didn't utter any words I could understand.
'Honey, I'm going to adopt it. I'm going to call it Pochita.'
'It seems to be an intelligent being, so forget about adopting it.'
"So, dear customer, would you like any kind of service? We have a wide range of them, and I assure you we can satisfy whatever you want."
"Roour~."
That thing seemed uninterested in my words and kept responding with that grunt, which seemed to carry a lazy, disinterested tone.
The creature looked at me, then at Iris, and then behind me, as if searching for something.
It didn't seem to find it with its eyes, so it closed its eyes and began to sniff around.
Finally, it moved, sniffing here and there, and eventually sniffed me, which caused it to come very close to me.
That put me on high alert, and I watched for any dangerous movements, but the thing simply sniffed me and then stopped, as if it wasn't worth continuing.
And, as if it hadn't found anything interesting, it simply turned around and headed toward the exit—something I couldn't allow.
"Wait, dear customer. We're a massage parlor, but we also offer a wide range of other services, like the ones listed outside."
I quickly stepped in front of the creature, but without blocking its path to the exit so as not to make it feel threatened in any way.
"Rouurru?"
The creature seemed to look at me and stared at me for a while with its big gray eyes.
Then it growled and made a gesture with its front paw that I didn't understand.
It seems it really can't speak.
This is problematic.
I really don't have any information about this kind of being, and its gestures and little growls might be a form of language beyond my understanding.
I really need to find a way to…
"Oh, honey! It says it wants food. Isn't that right, Pochita?"
"Roour... graur?"
"Yes, I called you Pochita. By the way, what do you want to eat?"
But my train of thought was interrupted by Iris, who did seem to understand the creature.
It could just be her talking nonsense, but the creature seemed to agree with what Iris was saying.
The creature nodded when Iris mentioned food, and now that she asked what it wanted to eat, it was tilting its head and wearing what looked like a pensive expression—and finally...
"...Raur."
"Oh, I see! You like surprises. Well, we'll give you some really delicious food."
'Honey, can I use Myrr?'
'Huh?... No. Before that... do you understand her?'
'Of course I do, honey! I think the mission is to give her delicious food.'
'￣へ￣... Go ahead, just try not to spend more than a thousand.'
"Yay! Oh, dear customer, come on over and have a seat here. I'll bring you a delicious feast."
Iris really seemed to know how to handle that creature. At least the creature no longer seemed to want to leave, and, as if obeying Iris, it sat down at the table.
I really could only stand to the side, not knowing what else to do.
It didn't seem necessary for me to get involved.
Iris, for some reason, seemed to slip into the role of a waitress at an expensive restaurant, as I watched her pull out a napkin and drape it around the creature's neck.
"Well, dear customer, let's start with the first course, commonly known as pizza. It's a delicately crafted dish; its main ingredient is an exquisite flour-based dough that..."
She then began placing plates on the table and started naming them and talking about them as if they were high-end dishes, even though she was just bringing out junk food one after another.
But the creature, who didn't know this, seemed to be caught up in Iris's game; the creature was interested and listened while nodding along to Iris's words.
It was a very strange situation, and the creature's odd appearance added even more unreality to it.
After all, that creature was something I can only describe as a small dragon.
It was truly strange, since it was, from my perspective, a hybrid between a Western dragon and an Eastern one.
It had features of both; it was mostly black and gold, with one golden horn and one black horn. Its eyes were large and gray.
It had an unrealistically cute appearance. If I had to say, it looked a bit like that dragon Toothless who couldn't fly without his rider.
That little dragon didn't seem to care where Iris got the food from and started eating without hesitation after hearing Iris's explanation.
When it tasted the pizza, its gray eyes seemed to sparkle for a moment.
It looked like it really liked it and that it suited its tastes.
..
.
"Honey, I really want it—can I keep it? I'll take good care of it; I've even named it already. It'll be called Goldy."
"Wasn't it something like Pochita?"
"Oh, that was just a temporary name. Come on, honey, how could you think I'd call it something so unoriginal?"
"...Goldy isn't either... No, forget it. For starters, that thing is kind of smart. I don't know for sure, but I think it's related to the Ryushen."
Time had passed, and between each time Iris pulled out a new junk food snack and gave an unnecessary, in-depth explanation of its origins, nearly an hour of the mission had already gone by.
If I had to say, it seemed like we'd met its expectations and would also finish within the time limit because, once it seemed full, it fell asleep and was now curled up in a ball on the table.
Anyway, in the end, we didn't spend more than 60 Myrr on its food. In fact, that thing ate more than its body size would suggest, but the food was still among the cheapest items in the store.
Of course, as long as we don't order luxury items, like that damn 50 Myrr bag of popcorn.
"But, honey, this is the dragon cub you promised I could have, and I'll definitely take care of it and train it to use the bathroom."
"..."
Well, it's true that I did say something along those lines, though I didn't think something like this would happen so quickly and easily. I'm not really against Iris having a pet.
In fact, as she says, she's very good at taking care of them.
Throughout her life, she's had many, and she didn't limit herself to simple things like dogs, cats, or rabbits.
Sure, she had those too, but she also had snakes, spiders, and many other creatures.
As an adult, she even took an interest in things… that I—and the law—would say were a little illegal to keep as pets.
Though in the end I gave in and somehow managed to get them for her, although I always tried to prevent her from having anything too poisonous as a pet.
Anyway, now that I think about it, before we both died, we had three pets: a Chihuahua, a boa constrictor, and a pretty 'big cat'.
We were lucky that the meeting that day was a little far from our house, and since we didn't know exactly when we'd be back, we left them in the care of my mother-in-law, who also loved animals.
In fact, she herself had some pets that, to be honest, were actually dangerous.
Anyway, I know Iris knows how to take care of and train her pets. The fact that the cat or the boa didn't eat Patroclus the Chihuahua even when they were left alone was proof—or rather, it seemed like Patroclus was the leader of those three.
But the only problem is that I don't know if that little dragon can be classified as something that could ever be a pet; it might just as well be another citizen.
But certainly, having pets has always been a great source of entertainment for Iris… Hmm, if somehow that little thing does it willingly, maybe
"So, honey, can I have it?"
"Hmm, you understand it? And it understands you easily, right?"
"Yes, it's very smart. I think in just a few days I can teach it some tricks. I can make it jump through a flaming hoop like I did with Steve."
Steve was a clownfish that Iris had as a pet a few years ago. I really don't know how she managed to train that clownfish to do that.
"...Yeah, you're good at that. Hmm... well, you can have her, but on the condition that she agrees herself, since she seems smart enough. If she gives her consent, you can have her."
"Yeah! I already have my first mystical creature. Next up is a unicorn, or maybe a griffin, or maybe a Jormungandr..."
"I told you to forget about Jormungandr."
I quickly interrupted her and spoke firmly. I was actually a little worried now. I'm not superstitious, but Iris has inexplicable luck.
A dragon had already come in on its own; if she kept insisting on Jormungandr, one might just walk right through that door.
[Mission Complete.]
The hour had finally passed, and the mission was over.
Meanwhile, Iris happily approached the little dragon and woke it up without a second thought. The mission was already over, so it didn't matter.
"Well, Goldy, do you want to be my pet?"
"...Reur?... Reure."
The creature still wouldn't speak beyond little grunts, but at Iris's proposal, it first tilted its head, confused, and then shook it, as if it weren't interested.
I suppose, after all, an intelligent creature wouldn't want to lower itself to being a mere pet just for food.
"I'll give you delicious and varied meals every day."
"Raur."
"Oh! Honey, Goldy accepted. I have his consent. Can I use Myrr to buy him a bed, toys, and a collar?"
"...Yes, but don't spend too much."
Well, it seems I was wrong—the thing seemed satisfied just with the promise of food.
Iris quickly went upstairs carrying the little dragon, who I hope doesn't regret accepting Iris's offer.
Anyway, this time the client was a little strange and there wasn't even a massage involved, but for me, the important thing is to complete the missions.
"Haaah~. Well, I just hope there aren't any clients for a while, so Iris and I..."
[New mission received]