While I was spacing out, something kept patting at me.
"Nah?"
It was Dagaa — that mysterious little critter with four ears and red eyeballs. Where had it been hiding?
A purple jewel glowed on its forehead.
"Oh, ah, I'm fine. Wanna come along together for the first time in a while?"
"Nah!"
It clambered up onto me. Not turning into a knife today, huh?
Mineha and Ruriha didn't seem to be home.
Well then, guess I'd head to the Guild first.
Might as well pick up a request and do some exploring while I was at it.
I made it to the guild without anyone accosting me, unlike yesterday.
I went straight to the bulletin board for Rank V delvers.
"City dungeon requests... none, huh."
"Nah?"
There wasn't a single request that looked like what I was after.
Considering it had only been a week since they were cleared, that was probably to be expected.
There were requests for other dungeons, though.
"Wan! Lord Wof!"
"Is that you, Juicy?"
"Um, h-hi, I'm Juicy!"
"Na!"
She stopped right in front of me and greeted me with a bright smile.
Jet-black hair like flowing wet silk, cascading down past her hips. Big, round, adorable chestnut-colored eyes full of life.
A petite, lovely face to match. Black dog ears and a proud dog tail.
Right now, it was wagging back and forth, swishing through the air.
She wore a red-and-black checkered jacket over a white dress shirt, with a red necktie.
A bright red skirt on the bottom, cinched with a white belt.
The belt had a pink pouch and a quiver attached to it, and she carried a bow slung over her lower back.
A dazzlingly beautiful dogfolk girl, like a sparkling idol straight out of my past-life memories.
Dog... I'm pretty sure I'm not wrong about that, right?
"Oh, hello to you too, Daga-chan."
"Na!"
"Wha— woof?"
Daga leaped straight into Juicy's chest.
Juicy looked startled but caught him up in her arms like it was second nature.
"What are you doing here, Juicy?"
"Um, I was running an errand."
"An errand? Oh, sorry."
She was the daughter of Viscount Tassan. There were probably things I shouldn't be asking about.
Jugy panicked.
"Um, um, wan. Um, the errand is to deliver Lady Dova's letter to the Guild Master. And, um, um, um, I don't know what the letter says. I'm sorry."
"No, no, there's no need to apologize. I don't want to know the contents of the letter, either."
The contents of a letter between the Guild Master and a marquis's daughter. Absolutely did not want to know.
"Yo. You two."
I felt someone call out and turned around. A man was standing there.
Wild red hair and black horns. Pale green eyes with a black iron eyepatch over his right one.
A reasonably sharp-looking face, though his stubble ruined the effect.
Tall, with a trained physique packed into a red jacket, black shirt, and black trousers.
The sabre at his back was an OOPArt called "Flametongue."
At the pinnacle of delvers. First-class delver. Agaro of the "Doom Sword."
"Hello. Agaro."
"Um, um, hello there."
"Yo. What a coincidence. What are you up to?"
"Na!"
"So you're here too, huh?"
"Na?"
Dagaa tilted its head from inside Jugy's chest.
Agaro gave a wry smile.
"Actually, I was looking into whether there were any dungeon jobs available in town."
"I see. So there weren't any, huh?"
"Right. And you, Agaro?"
"I've got a guild quest coming up. This works out. Won't you two lend me a hand?"
"A quest?"
"Um, um, Agaro. Me too?"
"That's right. Wof aside, I know well what you're capable of, miss. Of course. I'll pay you too. What do you say?"
I thought about it for a moment and nodded.
"Alright."
"Um, um um, um, if Wof-sama is doing it, I'll do it too!"
Juicy's dog ears shot straight up, her eyes sparkling, her breathing heavy with excitement.
Her tail was wagging so hard it looked like it might fly off—she was raring to go.
"Na!"
"You coming too?"
"Na!"
Agaro laughed.
"Alright. It's settled then. Let's get going right—"
"Hey, wait—are you Wof?"
The voice belonged to—purple hair and purple eyes. A beautiful woman with somewhat youthful but lovely features.
She wore a white cape, a white jacket, and a black skirt. Quite a plain outfit.
Today she wasn't wrapped in a robe with a hood pulled over her head.
"Narcissus?"
"What a coincidence, Wof. What's the Doom Sword doing here too?"
"Hey."
"Um, um, are you the 'Second Coming of Generous'?"
"You. Tasan's… and who's the little one there?"
"Na!"
"Hm. The name's Daga. Well, you probably already knew that, but I'm Narcissus."
"Na?"
"Yes, that's right. Nice to meet you."
After the… conversation? Narcissus gently patted Daga on the head.
"So, Wof. What were you up to?"
"I was thinking of going to help Agaro out."
"With the Doom Sword?"
"What about you, Narcissus?"
"I'm staying for about another week, but honestly I've got nothing to do. So I came to the guild to try being a delver again for the first time in a while, but I'm totally lost and don't know what to do!"
"Whaaat…"
"…Whoa there."
"Na?"
That really didn't sound like something a Rank I delver would say.
"When you're in a situation like that, you should just ask the receptionist."
"Talking to strangers is scary, you know."
"Yeahhh..."
"Which is why I'm glad I got to meet someone I already know. So, helping out with the Doom Sword? That sounds interesting. I'll help too. The Doom Sword is fine, right?"
"...Well, I don't really have a reason to say no."
Agaro smiled wryly.
"Then let me introduce myself properly. Narcissus Eutopia. Nice to meet you!"
"Um, um, woof. I'm Juicy Tassan. Nice to meet you!"
"Na!"
"I'm Agaro. Pleasure."
"I'm Wof. Nice to meet you."
Introductions all around.
Agaro was grinning.
"So this is the deal, huh."
"Um, um, uh, yes, that's right!"
"Oh, young lady. You've got it figured out."
"Um, woof, yes!"
"Huh?"
"Na?"
"What?"
Agaro and Juicy exchanged a glance and nodded. They looked like they'd been waiting for exactly this.
"Impromptu Wolf Pack!"
Oh, right. That.
Narsess was somewhat put off by the two of them's enthusiasm.
"Impromptu... what?"
"Impromptu Wolf Pack. It's the party name."
"Ohh, Impromptu Wolf Pack... I like it!"
Apparently, she'd taken a liking to it.
And so we were... but where exactly was this Impromptu Wolf Pack heading, and what were we going there to do?