Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The whole continent was in uproar upon the news that one of the hardest dungeons located in Brixt, kingdom of Erman, was said to be finally conquered. Many dreamt of descending to the abyss and unraveling the mysterious scene lies beneath, just as many that failed. It didn’t get the title of being one of the hardest for nothing.

The first question that followed after the hearsay naturally would be; ‘Whose party did it?’

People listed many infamous party names, consisting of remarkable S-ranked and A-ranked adventurers who boasted in achievements and strength. But it was none of the above.

When they found out that only a single adventurer with his familiars did that unbelievable gig, their jaws dropped to the floor.

Yes. It was Mukohda and his little party consisting of his unique familiars; a legendary beast Fenrir, a pixie dragon, and a one of a kind slime, who paraded through the land conquering two dungeons in Dolan dan Aveling previously.

The more shocking news was, after the conquest, Mukohda apparently gained a new familiar. It was an ancient dragon, who slumbering in the deepest floor of the Brixt dungeon, and with whichever way it was, convinced into forming a contract with Mukohda.

Many people didn’t believe it. How could one man alone conquer three dungeons consecutively, emerging unscathed without as much as a scar, and still as healthy as he has ever been? And how could that one man put a leash on multiple dangerous creatures ever in history?

Regardless, the invincible party of S-ranked Mukohda leapt bounds. He gained the title of the strongest S-ranked ever in history, much to the rumored man’s dismay.

***

“I only wanted to live in peace…” Mukohda complained.

Mukohda and his familiars have already returned to their homebase in Karelina town, kingdom of Leonhardt. Currently lounging in the living room, he shared his concern with his familiars. Of course, he could see their reactions a mile away:

“Hmph. So long as they don’t meddle in our affairs, I care not for their babbling mouths.” Fel, the proud Fenrir, said in a haughty tone. As always, he didn’t bother with trivial matters as long as it didn’t invade his personal being (or his foods).

“Indeed. They already given direct orders by the royal palace to leave us alone, no? I see nothing to be concerned about.” Old Man Gon, the newest familiar of Mukohda and an ancient dragon, agreed. He resembles Fel in many ways. Maybe it is something to do with them being the legendary beasts on top of the food chain. It was akin to an eagle soaring high in the sky and won’t bother with an army of ants crawling on the ground.

  《Yeah! You worry too much!》 Dora-chan, the pixie dragon, chimed in.  Unlike Gon and Fel, he couldn’t yet speak the human tongue verbally, so they communicated via telepathy, something that naturally came to them as Mukohda’s familiar. 《Anyway, it’s time for dinner! Hurry and make us food!》

At the mention of food, Sui, who slept soundly on Fel’s flank, finally woke up.《... Hmm? Dinner time? Yeay, Sui is hungry!》 said the slime, starting to jump up and down in excitement.

None of his familiars shared the same distress and agony. Mukohda already resigned to his fate after taking Fel, the Fenrir, as familiar. Everything finally calmed down after people started to get used to Fel. But now with Gon, the ancient dragon added to the picture, he was even accused of having the intention of subduing the continent! Like, not a country anymore, but the whole continent, you see? Of course he’d worry! It was justified! If all of the nations banded together to seize him, what could he do? His familiars always went on and said that they wouldn’t lose, but it wasn’t like he left with anything even if he won. His longlife wish to live in tranquility and serenity would be crumbling to dust.

Mukohda decided to take his mind and absorb himself in cooking. With Gon’s portion added, he found himself making even more food than ever. Before, Fel and Sui held the title of the biggest eaters of their party. With Gon joined in, it was like Mukohda cooking for a whole army. Thanks to the new titles he gained, ‘The Solitary Chef’, and job as ‘Cook’, everything was so much quicker and easier when it came to cooking. But, taking care of four gluttons would still pose its own challenge.

Today’s dinner was a double fried karaage using rockbird, orc, and black serpent meat. After serving the nth time for Fel, Gon, and Sui, everyone found their stomach full to the brim and left satisfied. Dora-chan already sprawled on the floor with his belly facing the sky after a few servings, still had a long way into catching up with his fellow gluttons (not like Mukohda wished him to, anyway). The pixie dragon almost looked like knocked out, if not for his murmur about the delicious treat he just had. The others also shared a mutual feeling that the dinner they had just now was beyond satisfying.

Even more impressive, there was a warm and comforting bath awaiting after dinner. Soaking in the lukewarm water with a refreshing yuzu bath salt added, they could doze off straight away with how blissful it felt.

“Ahh, wonderful. It is truly a wise decision to be my liege’s familiar!” Gon entered the master bedroom. He was the first to get out of the bath, but he wasn’t the first to reach the bedroom where they would sleep.

Fel, who already took his usual spot in the master bedroom, hummed in agreement. He was the only one who didn’t join in for a bath, as always. Despite being a powerhouse who was feared by humans and fellow monsters, his weakness lay in his vehement hatred towards baths, or especially, getting wet. “I couldn’t agree more. But, I must say, your willingness to be his familiar was beyond my expectation, old one.”

That’s true. Actually, it was true for both of them. He, an ancient dragon, and Fel, a Fenrir, were both legendary beasts which could bring down a nation at a whim. They prided themselves as creatures above humans. Bowing down to one would be akin to a disgrace and humiliation, and the notion never crossed their minds before. That is, if not for the situation they had.

“I did have my doubts. But, say, I trust you in that regard, Fel.”

Fel was confused. He raised his head to look at Gon, who put himself on corner room across from him. “Me?”

“Someone like you wouldn’t carelessly declare yourself as a human’s familiar, no? Especially since most of them would vouch so low as to benefit us for our power with their boundless greediness. Even if you were lured in by his meals, if he turned out to be a despicable human, you’d soon chew him out and go somewhere, am I right?”

“Hmph. But of course,” Fel raised his snout. “Before anything else, I observed him from afar. The first time I met him, he was traveling with a party of five humans, seemingly hired as his escorts. He was even more of a weakling by then, but his cooking smelled delicious as ever.”

《Oooh, you’re telling a story when you first met him?》 Dora-chan chipped in. He entered the room with Sui in tow, bouncing behind him.

《When Uncle Fel met Master?》 Sui jumped in with curiosity.

“I see, I am his first familiar after all. So, let’s hear this tale when I met him.” Fel said, seemingly proud. He patted his paw on the floor in front of him, a gesture for Dora-chan and Sui sat in front of him. They obliged with excitement and anticipation.

Gon  was bemused by the sight. The Fenrir he fought once was mighty enough to rival him in strength, more so until they were forced to call it a draw. Never in his wildest  imagination did he see the same Fenrir patiently told of the bygone days of him in such a manner like this towards his two other companions.

“That night, I was around the area where they passed through. Our path didn’t cross, and I hated getting sighted by humans, especially adventurers, since they raised such a huge ruckus even when I did nothing but pass by.”

The last sighting of Fenrir was 300 years ago, and it wasn’t by coincidence. Since Fel could sense other creatures’ presence including humans, he chose to slightly detour his path if possible, and not travel on the main road where humans would use.

“I was just brought down another worthless enemy, a giant deer, and fed on his raw flesh since I'm hungry, when I suddenly smelled something delicious wafted in the air.”

《Oooh! That’s him! I know it!》 Dora-chan lit up.

《Master's cooking! Smells yummy!》 Sui jiggled happily in his place.

Gon could imagine it, as well. The very first time he smelled the garlic steak that Mukohda cooked in front of him, too marvelous to be described, it almost brought his drool even just to remember it. “Indeed. The smell never fails to bring out my appetite.”

Fel nodded. “Naturally, I was drawn in and followed it to the source. I could sense the presence of humans ahead. But as far as I know, when they travel, all of their rations are tasteless garbage like hardened bread or dried meat. That was the first time I saw a human cooking a fresh meal in the wilderness, with such appetizing aroma, no less.”

At that moment, the main topic of conversation, Mukohda, who had just finished with his bath, passed by the master bedroom. “Huh? What’re they talking about?”

He saw all of his familiars circling around discussing something. Even Sui, who is usually quick to out of light after a bath, listened to Fel attentively. They looked so engrossed in their activities it brought a smile on Mukohda’s lips. Unfortunately, today was the day he would take the order for the Gods and Goddess’ offerings.

He was tempted to join in, but who knows what would await him if he postponed the meetings with the gods and goddesses? They would be sure to cause a ruckus, especially a certain disappointment of goddess who loves sweets above all else, Ninrir. He bet she had finished all of her Fumiya cakes already.

So, with a heavy heart, Mukohda strode to the next room. He usually does this since he wouldn’t disturb his familiars who fell asleep right after dinner and bath, and he also took his time to listen to all of the orders.

Back to the gluttonous quartet, Fel was still resuming his tale.

“As far as I can see, he was timid, and a coward to the bone. Every time they encountered a monster, even the smallest fry, he would either stand frigid or scream in futile. Such an embarrassing sight that even I should reconsider being his familiar.”

《Ah. No surprise there. He’s a wuss, I get it.》 Dora-chan commented, face full of understanding.

《Master is weak! But Sui will protect Master and pew-pew baddie!》 Sui’s intention was good, but how his Master’s heart would be so heartbroken being called weak (even if it’s true). 

“At the moment, my liege’s overall status was more or less the same as high-ranking adventurers. But even with all of his skills and multiple gods’ blessing, he was still scared in front of a mere monster like a red boar or such.”

  “And with double barriers from both of us.” Fel added.

Gon shook his head in astonishment. Aside from their barrier, Mukohda also had a skill called Perfect Defense bestowed from gods, which would defend him from any malicious attacks with only extremely strong attacks like death curse as exception. The barrier he and Fel set wasn’t something trivial either. If the monster didn’t have at least the same strength as them, the barrier wouldn’t break. And what chance were there any monsters stronger than them out there? Yeah. None.

“Even with such shameful traits, I can sense he is quite a decent human. When I appraised him, I found out he was most likely to be a summoned hero, which should have ample strength and usually seek to be the greatest. But alas, he had no such drive at all,” Fel said, almost sounding exasperated. “It was mine who prompted to be his familiar. Such an honor no ordinary human came across easily, and many would kill for the opportunity alone, and you know what? That foolish a of human almost rejected my idea. Twice !” he continued, fumed.

Gon laughed. “Grahahaha! That’s my liege for you!”

“How audacious! But, since he might be a hero from another world with no clue of how this world works and how much might I hold, I let that ignorance aside.”

 《Come to think of it. He actually never agreed to us being his familiar, no?》 Dora-chan wondered, only now starting to realize this fact.

Either it was Fel, Sui, Dora-chan, or Gon, all of them basically thrust themselves into Mukohda to take as familiar, regarding his approval or not.

With Fel, Mukohda didn’t know much about Fenrir and whatsoever since he just got summoned recently. He judged his decision by how the members of Iron Will,who escorted him back then, struck in horror when they encountered Fel. He deduced that Fel was too much of attention grabbing and would bring trouble, which is why he almost refused Fel’s proposal of being his familiar (even though failed).

With Sui, since the slime was practically born the day before and had no means to communicate, he only wished to be Mukohda’s familiar since he showed him kindness and let him eat. And Mukohda, unknowingly, accepted his feelings. With Sui, though, he didn’t regret it as much since he found the slime was cute and good-natured (unlike Fel).

Meanwhile with Dora-chan, it was almost the same; Dora-chan couldn’t communicate in human language and wanted to be Mukohda’s familiar after he tasted his delicious cooking. He launched himself at Mukohda to form the contract, which was successfully accepted by the latter (accidentally). Since he is a dragon, Mukohda lamented for yet another striking familiar in his party. But, he thought it was quite alright since Dora-chan is a pixie type of dragon, which is small, and his color is close to pink and thought that he is kind of cute.

And lastly, Gon. Mukohda definitely refused him. Unlike Dora-chan who is pocket-sized, he was a fully-fledged dragon, as big as twelve storey building in his actual size (and the similar size as Fel when he traveled with Mukohda), with black scales to boot. In summary, he was intimidating and fearsome thorough and thorough. Non-adventurers tend to mistake Fel as a giant wolf and not Fenrir, but in Gon’s case, he was a dragon and dragon only. Veteran adventurers, though, could tell he is an ancient dragon, the pinnacle even in the dragon ranks.

“It is true… I should thank my liege for being soft-hearted, because I’m now his familiar.”

《Yeah, his soft-heartedness was the reason he accepted us, I guess.》

《Master is kind! Sui loves Master!》

Fel continued on with his story. “So in the end, I thought that I should go at it. If he was proven good enough human and wouldn’t exploit my great power, then shall I be bound to be his familiar for the end of his life. Humans’ life was fickle compared to mine, after all, it won’t hurt to serve some decades with him, if I could get delicious meals in return.” he said, and then added threateningly, showing his sharp claws while smirking menacingly. “And if he dared to scheme into using my might for his own avarice, I shall shred him and all of his party altogether. Easy choice there.”

《Man, you’re too over the top, Fel…》

Unlike Dora-chan, who casually took it without any problem, a certain slime shook at Fel’s declaration. It slightly deflated while his body quivering. 《Master…? Uncle Fel… will hurt Master?》

“Grrk! No, Sui… it’s… uhhh-”

《Uncle Fel! No bullying Master! Uncle Fel baddie!》 Sui jumped on top of Fel’s head and hit it multiple times with its two tentacles.

  “No! Sui, stop it! It was just back then-”

Dora-chan laughed heartily at Fel’s suffering under their youngest. 《That’s mean of you, Fel! You deserved it!》

《Uncle Fel baddieeee!》

“Though, I also had the similar thought as you, Fel,” Gon said, having no concern of the Fenrir's distress. “Back then, you said his meal was delectable, no? I didn’t believe it, and thought, ‘If it is proven otherwise, I’ll just use my dragon breath and annihilate you all until no ashes remain’. I mean, that was the price for lying to an ancient dragon, you know?”

  “Right?! You know what I feel, Gon! See, Sui?! Now get off from my head!”  Fel said, before adding something about Gon’s remarks. ”But, of course, I won’t perish easily.”

“Highly doubt that. Your agility is superb, but your overall statues are below mine. Bringing you and your party back then was a matter of greatest ease.” Gon countered.

Fel’s eyes glinted at the remarks. “Oh? That’s a challenge, I assume? Shall we settle this matter so we know the actual result?”

“We can use this chance to resolve the match we had before, once and for all.”

《Sheesh. You guys on it again?》

《Fighting? Sui wants to join! But Sui is still angry because Uncle Fel is baddie!》

“Hey! You two, stop that!”

At the very least, Mukohda returned to the room. Both Fel and Gon quickly turned away from each other. They know from experience that resuming their banter would risk their meals, and it was torment beyond their capabilities to handle.

Mukohda walked closer and fetched Sui from on top of Fel’s head. “What’s wrong with Sui, anyway? It looks distressed.” he said, inspecting the slime closer with a concerned look.

《Master! Uncle Fel baddie! Sui punished Uncle Fel because Master!》

“For me? What for?” Mukohda turned to Fel, which pointedly avoided his stare and refused to answer. “What did you do, Fel? Actually, what did you do to me to cause Sui like this?”

“I-it’s only a matter of bygone. No one is harmed. Sui only misunderstood, that’s all.”

Of course Mukohda didn’t buy it easily. Something definitely up. Sui was his favorite familiar, after all. But, since he was concerned to calm Sui down more than anything, he let it go.

“Sui? I’m alright, you see? Uncle Fel is sometimes a meanie, but you should forgive him, yes? Just like Sui, he makes mistakes as well.”

Sui looked down. 《Alright… but Sui is protecting Master…》

“Sure, I depend on you a lot for that, Sui! Sui is such a good kid, always protects me from a meanie !”

“Grrrr.”

《Yes! Sui will protect Master! Sui is a good kid!》

“Thank you, Sui! And it’s getting late, let’s sleep, okay?”

At the mention, Sui was reminded how sleepy it was. 《Yeah. Sui is sleepy… let’s sleep…》

Dora-chan also let out a big yawn. 《Man, it’s already late, huh? I’m sleepy as well.》

Dora-chan flew behind Mukohda and Sui, who headed towards the bed. Fel and Gon, since their sizes were too enormous, were sleeping on the soft, carpeted floor. The mansion Mukohda bought in Karelina was a 14LDK with many spare rooms, but somehow, they always huddled together in the master room to sleep. Mukohda thought it was such a shame to not utilize all the rooms, but in the end, he thought it wasn’t such a big problem if they slept together in one room like this. The master bedroom was huge after all.

“Good night, everyone,” Mukohda said, but only got soft murmurs and steady breathing as answers. He chuckled. “I wonder what they talked about? I should ask them tomorrow morning.”

With that, Mukohda drifted to sleep, along with his four familiars.

Chapter Text

It was just another day of Fel and the others insisted on going hunting. Mukohda tried to dissuade them, saying that they only touched down in the city for a few days. But, his effort was naught, and proved to fall on deaf ears. Figures, but at least he tried. In the end, he relented since his familiars kept pestering him 24/7. They ate breakfast first thing in the morning and then left Karelina city.

Mounted on Fel’s back, Mukohda and his three familiars; Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan, blasted past the forest for around three hours straight. They arrived in a clearing in the middle of the forest southwest of Karelina, just by a shallow river with clear water. The scenery is pretty, so that’s a plus for Mukohda, who will wait here and cook while the others go hunting.

“Yeah, this should be good,” Mukohda scanned his surroundings, satisfied.

He got off Fel’s back, grumbling about his stiff muscles, and then softly tapped his bag. “Sui? We’ve arrived. You want to join Fel and Dora-chan for a hunt, right?”

Sui fell asleep halfway through after getting tired from singing enthusiastically. It popped out of Mukohda’s bag groggily. 《Hunt…?》 It took some time to register what Mukohda said. Maybe because it just woke up. 《Oh, yeah! Sui wants to go hunting with Uncle Fel and Dora-chan!》

Without further ado, Sui jumped and landed on top of Fel’s head, bouncing up and down. 《Yeay! Let’s go huuunt! Sui will beat lots!》 he declared with determination.

《Nah, I’ll beat the most!》 Dora-chan replied, grinning in competition.

《No, Sui will!》

The eldest of the three, Fel, surely wouldn’t join the trivial bickering. He had another concern, though. “Then, we shall get going. Don’t forget to prepare for lunch.” Yep. He said, ever so kindly reminding Mukohda.

“I know, I know.”

Fel cast a barrier around Mukohda and then ran into the forest with Sui singing on top of his head. Dora-chan matched its speed, still arguing with Sui about who would beat the most monsters.

Mukohda sighed, looking at the trio that soon disappeared from his sight.

“Alright, I should get started with cooking, then.”

For today’s lunch, he prepared a dungeon beef stew since he had plenty of time. He purchased the necessary ingredients from Online Supermarket; including a bag of carrots, onions, and potatoes. The backyard in his mansion in Karelina city grew many kinds of vegetables and fruits, thanks to Tony and the others who managed it, but he had yet to try them, so he had to buy them online. He would make sure to try it when he came back later.

He chopped the dungeon beef into large dice-size, and gave a sprinkle of salt and pepper over it. The marbling of dungeon beef is like that of wagyu meat, so beautiful!

He continued on with chopping the vegetables; onions, carrots, and potatoes. Melt butter inside a pan, add the meat and saute it until the outside is brown colored. Put the vegetables in. After it cooked a bit, and then red wine, water, and consomme. Let it shimmer down, and add demi-glace sauce and a little of ketchup.

He scooped a little of the broth and put it in the small tasting plate, and let out an approving hum. Yes, this is perfect! Now he just lets it shimmer down on low heat.

“And it’s done!”

He put off the fire, and checked the rice he steamed on the other stove. It is also cooked and ready to serve as well. He put off the fire, looking around. “Hmmm, they sure take their time, don’t they? How far do they go? I hope everything is okay…”

Lunchtime had passed for some time, but none of his familiars come back.

Mukohda couldn’t get rid of the anxiety that maybe his familiars encountered dangers. It couldn’t be helped, especially when he thought about Sui, a literal baby who was born just recently, faced with malicious beings. He had met many monsters in this world. Still, Fel scoffed, saying the number of monsters that Mukohda met didn’t even reach twenty percent of what he had witnessed in the span of his 1000 years of life.

Okay, that didn’t exactly do him well in this situation. Still, when he remembers that his familiars took S-ranked monsters like a walk in a park, he shakes his worry. If anything, he should pity the monsters that encountered his familiars.

They’ll be okay. Fel’s there, and everyone is also unreasonably strong ; Mukohda tried to reassure himself. Fel said that the only one who could rival his strength was an ancient dragon. They wouldn’t happen to meet one, for sure. Ordinary dragons are already rare, and ancient dragons are even rarer. They were almost never spotted in centuries and treated like a myth.

Hmmmm. But wait. Fenrirs was also never spotted in three centuries, and one has already become his familiar. What if they really met an ancient dragon?

It’s not entirely impossible, with their records of them randomly meeting an Earth Dragon and Red Dragon before.

“No, no, no! I worry too much! It’s okay, it’s okay! They’ll be back soon!”

Mukohda decided to spend his useless distress into making another dish. Since his familiars looked like they wouldn’t come back soon, he settled on making something sweet as a dessert. It has been quite a long time since he made the dessert himself. Usually, he would buy something from Fumiya.

He craved a blackberry pie that he once bought from a bakery near his workplace. He looked for a recipe after that, and it’s pretty simple and easy. He hadn’t yet managed to recreate it himself since baking wasn’t really his forte. But now it looks like the time he finally put it into fruition has come.

But first, he should put the stew pot inside the Item Box so the food can stay warm. His Item Box stopped time, so he didn’t need to reheat it when his familiars arrived.

At that time, he heard some rustling behind him.

“Fel?”

Mukohda felt relieved for a second; worry washed down from him as he turned towards the direction of where the sound came from.

See? It’s nothing to be worried about. They’re fine-

Mukohda waited for a few seconds, but there was no answer.

That’s odd.

Mukohda looked around the area where the rustling sound came. There was nothing. Did he mishear that? Or maybe it’s just a gush of wind?

Another rustling sound could be heard again. Mukohda gulped nervously. He put down the pot on the table and pulled out his mithril knife from the Item Box. He has Perfect Defense skills and Fel’s barrier cast around him, but it’s not like it was enough to convince him that he would be one hundred percent safe.

There were some rustling sounds again, seemingly heading his way.

Mukohda waited with bated breath, hands shaking. At that moment, he remembered a casual talk of some townsfolk about this forest; they said there was a sighting of many kinds of snake monsters, even serpents, around here. This forest is more dense and damper than some he encountered before, and it makes sense if some snake monsters found this place to their liking.

Nononono, if one of them appeared there, what could he do? They might have failed to attack him with their jaws, but they still could have wrapped their bodies around him and suffocated him to death. Does Perfect Defense have any counter for that? Probably not.

Hahaha, he’s doomed!

The rustling sounds came nearer until finally…

RUSTLE!

HE’S DEAD!

“WAHH!”

It wasn’t Fel, Dora-chan, or Sui.

It was… just a man.

Mukohda was surprised, lowering his hands that covered his eyes. He and his familiars went pretty deep into the forest, so he didn’t expect to see people wandering this far. However, since this world had adventurers who were raring to conquer monsters and such, his surprise didn’t last long.

“Oh… you’re startling me…”

Mukohda almost took a breath of relief. Almost. Because when he saw this man again, his eyes almost bulged out of his sockets.

Why would that man stand there naked?!

“WHAAAAA!!!”

Mukohda covers his eyes out of instinct again, dropping his mithril knife to the ground. Be damned if that thing cut his legs! He had to protect his eyes!

“What are you doing?”

“No, what are you doing walking around naked?!” he retorted back, angry and pained.

Shit, is this man an exhibitionist? Nooo! His eyes were tainted! How to unsee?! Damn it! He wanted to wash his eyes with the river water until the scene beforehand was erased permanently from his brain. It wasn’t meant for his eyes!

“What are you babbling about? It is I, Fel. My form had changed, and that also happened to Dora and Sui. We should think about how to return to normal.”

The man spoke in an irritated tone, and though it sounded silly and unfathomable, Mukohda lowered his hands.

“Huh…? What?”

Mukohda stood there flabbergasted. And then, behind the man who declared himself as Fel, another boy appeared, face in complete dismay, and followed by a toddler not older than five.

“Hey! Quick, think of something! I want to go back to being a dragon, y’see!” the boy complained out of nowhere in a high-pitched voice. He has pinkish short hair, which is really reaaaaaally similar to Dora-chan’s dragon skin color.

“Master! Master! Sui is like a Master! Sui has hands! And feet! Look! And and, Sui can talk! Talk normally like you!” the toddler, walking with unsteady feet, gushed with excitement palpable in his face. He has a round, chubby cheeks, and the way he talks…

Sui?

… What…?

“It took some time for us to adjust to walking with two feet, especially Sui. Even though we learn quickly… hm? It smells delicious, you must be finished with your cooking. Alright then, feed us first.”

Yeah, that haughty tone is definitely Fel’s. And the way he lost track of mind when it came to food.

“Oh, right! We’re famished! It’s such a long walk, you know? Let us eat a lot!”

“Masterrr! I want to eat a loooooottt!”

Wait. Wait. Wait !

What happened here, guys!?

***

To sum it up, the three of his familiars turned into humans.

After they gobbled the dungeon beef stew and demanded a few cakes to replenish their energy, Mukohda finally asked what was going on here. His jaw dropped at the implausible thing explained to him. Darting his eyes to the man who claimed himself as Fel, and then Dora-chan, and then Sui.

So, according to Fel, they encountered a dungeon on their way back from hunting. The dungeon was just born recently, so it wasn’t as deep as the more mature dungeons like the ones in Dolan or Aveling, and the monsters wouldn’t be as strong. They took the chance to dive into it, thinking it wouldn’t take long to finish before their lunchtime. After all, their hunt today proved to be rather disappointing. And even though the monsters inside wouldn’t be as worthy as the ones on the outside, the thrill of diving into a dungeon gives a different feel.

The dungeon only had four floors, with only weak monsters, as predicted. It took no time for them to descend to the deepest floor within hours.

The problem occurred in the last boss room on the fourth floor.

The fourth floor was a den of goblins. Of course, it posed no threat in the face of the invincible trio, who bulldozed their way in. Fel was displeased since there was no orc king in the boss room, which plummeted his fighting spirit. He left the massacre to Dora-chan and Sui. Sui, who was seated on Fel’s head, took out his two tentacles and brought down goblins with his Acid Bullets. Dora-chan also rained them down with his Ice Magic, creating ice spears that rammed through the goblins’ bodies and skewered them.

It took only one goblin to cause this disaster. This particular goblin wielded a bow, so he must have high accuracy. He was severely injured by Dora-chan’s ice spear, and they thought he was already dead when suddenly he threw a small bottle of potion towards Fel and the others.

Unfortunately, with Mukohda’s absence, Fel didn’t think of erecting barriers just like he always does. He thought nothing could hurt them, and that moment of carelessness was the result of this.

It was Fel’s blind spot, and when he realized it, it was too late. He slashed the goblin down at the same time the bottle crashed into the side of his body, releasing a strange, dark purplish color of smoke and liquid that spread out at them.

When the smoke disappeared, their forms already changed.

“And then, we need to wait for an hour for Sui to finally be capable of walking on his own,” Fel said, ending his story.

It took time for the story to sink in Mukohda’s brain. It’s really unimaginable, but him getting summoned into another world is also something unimaginable. Maybe he should get used to absurd things that will happen from now on.

“So, you don’t know about this potion, Fel?”

“I’ve lived for more than a thousand years, and this is the first time I encountered such a thing,” Fel affirmed. It is rare for him to pose no knowledge about something, and it brought Mukohda’s optimism down.

“Hmmm, if you said it like that, I doubt anyone has more understanding than you…” Mukohda fell deep into thought, pondering hard. “But, then again… what’s with your appearance?”

Fel gave a quizzical look. “And what of it?”

Mukohda squinted his eyes at Fel, feeling suspicious. “You… you chose this form, didn’t you!? I mean, how could you look like you’re in your twenties?! Shouldn’t you, well, be older than that!?”

That’s right. Fel was in the form of a man in his mid-twenties. His body is tall and ripped, standing over 1.9 meters, the very picture of a seasoned adventurer. Well, given his overwhelming power, that’s only natural, but-BUT!!!

BUT, HIS FACE! Damn! Why is his face like that?! Mukohda lamented.

Fel’s face, in short, was like a top celebrity. His jaw is well-defined and chiseled. He had a high and pointed nose, with sharp eyebrows and eyes, and his glare was as sharp as it had been when he was in his Fenrir form. His hair and eyes are blue, even though his hair is more light colored than his eyes.

No, no, no, in the first place, Fel is more than 1000 years old! But why does he look younger than Mukohda, who is 27?!

“How frivolous. Don’t lump me with the likes of your fleeting existence. A mere thousand years old may seem an eternity to humans, but for Fenrirs, it marks the prime of youth,” Fel answered, and apparently that explains his form.

Aah. Izzat so?

Still, Mukohda refused this firmly!

Alright, let’s forget about that conceited bastard. Next was Dora-chan. He’s in the body of a young boy around 12-15 years old. He seems lanky now that he’s appropriately dressed (they are all already dressed with clothes Mukohda bought from his Online Supermarket since none of his spare clothes fit them), but Mukohda has already seen his hard muscles and abs beneath. Again, it must be something to do with his strength.

Mukohda wondered if his body would be like that if his status was high enough… damn, how pathetic he is, jealous of a boy!

Dora-chan has short pinkish hair. His face is quite handsome (though Mukohda would call him cute, but the pixie dragon wouldn’t take it kindly). He’s around 100 years old, so that’s relatively young for dragons, huh.

And for Sui…

Sui looked up after noticing that he was being stared at by Mukohda. “What is it, Masteeer?”

Mukohda couldn’t help but raise Sui and hugged him close.

“Sui will always be the cutest in the world!”

Sui was literally a baby, only a few months old. In human form, he’s a toddler at around 4 years old. He has short blue and silver hair, with chubby cheeks, and big, bright eyes. He is the kind of kid who would make people go, “Awww, cute!” when people saw him. His cuteness is as lethal as it is!

“Sui is cute? But Sui’s body isn’t slime?”

“Whatever form you are, you’re the cutest still!”

“Heheheee… is that so? Sui is happy!”

Mukohda gushed at Sui, who was drowning in happiness. Meanwhile, Fel and Dora-chan watched the show from the sidelines with flat faces.

“Are you done? Shall we start thinking of a way to resolve this?”

Mukohda cleared his throat and put Sui down. As he collected himself, he said, “Hmm, let’s use Appraisal first…”

Mukohda wanted to confirm their statuses, which could be affected by their current forms. Appraisal windows appeared in front of him, showing the overall status of his familiars. His eyes scanned them. There wasn’t much change to it, but one thing caught his attention.

“Yep. Your statuses are overall the same… eh, Dora-chan? Your agility has dropped by almost… half.”

Actually, it’s more than half . If Mukohda remembered correctly, Dora-chan’s agility stats were more than 4000 when he last checked. Now, it has dropped to a whopping 1890.

“WHAT?!?” Dora-chan yelled, surprised.

Fel, who also has the Appraisal skill, seemed to use it on Dora-chan too. “Indeed you have. Maybe because, in this form, you lost your wings?” 

“Ah, I see.” Mukohda nodded, agreeing to the assumption.

As a dragon, Dora-chan flew almost every time, and his agility was based on his speed, which relied on the wings on his back, after all. Now that he was in human form, he lost aerial space, which is his home turf, and he hadn’t yet been accustomed to walking around by two feet as well.

“NOOOOOOOOO!!! WHAT THE HECK, I WANT TO GO BACK!”

Dora-chan started to trash around, seemingly in agony with his decreased stats. Aside from his MP, he took great pride in his agility. But there is nothing they can do to fix this right now.

As Fel said, there was a status below that indicated their current situation.

[ Currently affected with magical potion and turned into a human. The effect is temporary. ]

What half-assed information this is. The status didn’t mention the duration. “Fel, your Appraisal skill is more detailed than mine. Does it mention how long this effect will take? It’s only said temporarily in mine.”

“No. In my Appraisal, nothing about it is mentioned either.”

“I see,” Mukohda sighed in resignation. He could only hope it wouldn’t last long, or else his familiars would really lose it. “Now, now. Let’s calm down. Aside from Dora-chan’s agility, everything else is normal. Only the form is changed, and it is said to be temporary. Let’s hope you’ll change back within a few days at most.”

“We have to do something about this as soon as possible!” Dora-chan protested.

“Of course, we will do what we can. How about you try to use magic to confirm if your magic isn’t really affected?” Mukohda suggested, looking at his familiars.

“Hmm. Very well.”

Fel walked a few steps forward. He lifted his right hand and brought his fingers down. It was one of his signature attacks, Rending Claws. The trees in front of him were cut cleanly into multiple pieces and dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

Mukohda’s jaw dropped. No matter how many times he saw this, it is still an ultimate skill. And in human form, the skill just looked absolutely more OP than usual.

“I guess there’s nothing changed with my magic,” Fel said, somewhat sounding triumphant.

“Then, it’s my turn now!” Dora-chan said, eager to try.

“Waitwaitwait, Dora-chan!” Mukohda hurriedly stopped him. “What are you trying to do just now?”

“What? It’s the usual. I’ll coat my body in fire magic and blast through the trees.”

Yes, it is his signature skill that could punch a hole into an enemy’s body; truly frightening but effective to insta kill monsters, and he could do it through as many as he wants. But, this is definitely a problem. Dora-chan said it like there is nothing wrong with it at all. “It was fine before, but now you have clothing on your body, remember? Don’t you think it’ll get destroyed?”

Dora-chan looked down to a pair of shirts and pants clung to his body and then clicked his tongue. Of course, coating his body with magic will burn it down in a flash. “Tch. Being human is so troublesome! Then, I’ll try my Ice Magic!”

Dora-chan channeled his mana, and soon the air condensed and formed multiple ice spears. He brought down the ice spears, and they penetrated the trees like they were made of tofu. 

“Yeaaaah! Nothing’s changed! That’s it!” Feeling there wasn’t any difference in his strength, Dora-chan cried happily. It might have mended a bit of his wound because he lost half of his agility.

Mukohda felt a tug at his sleeve and looked down.

“Masteeer! Can Sui go pew-pew?”

It was Sui’s turn, apparently. He seemed so pumped up after watching the others’ performance and looked like he was in some sort of competitive spirit. Mukohda smiled and patted his head. “Yeah, but don’t go overboard, okay?”

If Sui went to the extreme, this clearing would get three times bigger than before.

Sui nodded and balled his fists. “I promise I won’t!”

Sui walked ahead and raised both of his hands in front of him, making a pointed gun with both of his index fingers.

“Destroooooy!” he said innocently in a happy child tone, but his action was far from that.

Acid bullets blasted from the tip of Sui’s fingers and made holes in the trees. The numbers exceeding those of Fel’s and Dora-chan’s were cut down.

Even Fel and Dora-chan went ‘ooooh!’ at that.

… Yeah, as expected. This much wouldn’t be categorized as going overboard by these battle junkies. Now, the clearing really is three times bigger than before.

“Heheheee… how is it, Master? Is Sui awesome?”

Mukohda bit back the blanching feeling and gave Sui his two thumbs up. “The most awesome!!!”

“YEAY!”

When Mukohda and Sui gave another scene of a loving dad and son, Fel focused on his feet and tried jumping a few times. “This is indeed a peculiar feeling. Given only two legs, I won’t be able to reach the same length as I did in my Fenrir form. But my agility stats haven’t decreased much.”

“Yeah, it’s not fair! Yours should be decreased like mine!” Dora-chan protested.

“Hmmm, then I shall try it to make sure.”

Fel made a move with a slightly lower body, just like a runner before racing a sprint. After that, he kicked the ground and blasted through the forest, leaving dust and winds behind.

“WHA-?!”

The speed was incredible. It reminded Mukohda of a foreign superhero, The Flash. He once again marveled. Fel’s agility was above ten thousand. So that’s how it looks when a human has that much stats of agility, huh? His movement wouldn’t be as fast as his usual Fenrir body, given their different builds and reaches, but it’s still amazing.

Fel came back shortly after, not even out of breath. “Huh, it’s slightly slower than usual, but with a smaller build, it is proven to be more flexible in its own ways,” he said, reporting his experience.

“Awww, I can’t test mine out since I don’t have wings, but I’ll try!”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?” Mukohda reminded him.

“I know!”

Dora-chan leapt from where he stood, and in a blink of an eye, he was swallowed by the trees. Again, Mukohda was astounded. Even though Dora-chan’s agility has dropped more than halfway, it is still a fantastic speed to behold.

Dora-chan came back after a while with a pouty face. “This is so slow! I hate this!”

“Indeed. Usually you have no problem matching my speed, but now you’re considerably slower.”

Fel, my friend, you shouldn’t say that bluntly…

Dora-chan looked even more dejected than usual. Sui came and patted his head, “Don’t be sad, Dora-chan! Dora-chan is awesome!”

You can always rely on Sui for emotional support like this, huh? And he’s cute to boot. Not like someone, Mukohda gave sideways eyes at a certain Fenrir.

“What?”

“No, nothing.”

“Sui will try, too!”

Of course, Sui would want to try it as well. He wasn’t nearly as fast as the other two, but Mukohda was secretly jealous of that kind of speed. He meant, when he encounters danger, it surely helps a lot to flee, didn’t it?

After that, they regrouped again to discuss the result. There wasn’t anything changed in particular, which was a relief, especially since they were still out in the open like this, where monsters were lurking around and ready to prey upon weaker opponents.

“There is nothing we can do. Appraisal said it’s only temporary, so bear with it for a while, okay?” Mukohda said again, to which he received a lamented moan from Dora-chan. After thinking for some time, he suggested, “Then, should we try to come back to the dungeon you mentioned? Maybe there is an antidote left there.”

“That certainly makes sense. We rushed out of the dungeon without looking for any,” Fel nodded, and then stood up. He turned to look at Mukohda, and said,  “Alright, then. Get on my back.”

It took a few seconds for the words to sink in.

“What?! No!” Mukohda firmly rejected it and backed away from Fel, who gave him a questioning look. “It doesn’t seem right! Why would I get on your-I mean, a man ’s back?!”

“What? You walk like a snail. If you don’t get on my back, how could we arrive in the dungeon before they close the city’s gate?”

“No, it was impossible to come back to the city today. And besides, don’t you forget about something, Fel? Do you not take consideration of others?”

Fel locked his gaze with the humanoid forms of Dora-chan and Sui, and let out a soft ‘oh’ sound.

Usually, when they want to travel fast, Mukohda would mount on Fel’s back, with Sui inside his bag. Dora-chan would fly on his own and match Fel’s speed without a problem. But, with their current situation, it’s impossible to pull the same stunt.

Mukohda went on and explained his plan. They would start walking back to the dungeon and (hopefully) reach it before night. They would set camp, eat dinner, sleep, and dive into the dungeon the following day.

This time, Fel joined with Dora-chan and started complaining, too. Fel thought it was a waste of time to wait until tomorrow, but Mukohda didn’t want to argue about it, that it was final. Only Sui was sidetracked with the mention of food, and the boy practically didn’t bother as long as his food was secured.

Fel and Dora-chan finally relented, though they grumbled along the way, which Mukohda ignored wholeheartedly. He was more concerned about his slaves in the mansion. They must be worried since he and the others didn’t come back home. He did say he’d go hunting, but didn’t mention anything about camping outside. This happened once, and they worried so much about him (especially the female ones). He felt bad and promised to not pull the stunt again, but he couldn’t do anything given their current predicament.

I’ll apologize to them later.

Their journey towards the dungeon wasn’t a short one. Dora-chan kept asking if they had arrived, clearly impatient with their current pace. Fel wasn’t in a particularly good mood either, adding the complaint that if he carried Mukohda and everyone, they’d arrive sooner (you know, to be precise, his suggestion was for Mukohda draped on his shoulder like a sack of rice, and carry both Sui and Dora-chan in both of his hands).

In the end, they arrive just about time for dinner. The dungeon was located below a tall cliff, and the entrance wasn’t that big, so it was easily unnoticed. They stopped a few distance from the entrance, and Mukohda got to work making dinner for everyone. Exhausted himself, Mukohda chose to make a simpler dish and cooked a wyvern steak.

“That was delectable,” Fel said, seemingly in a slightly good mood. “Now, we shall clear this dungeon. The monsters have already spawned, but it won’t be long before we finish them all.”

“No,” Mukohda firmly rejected.

“Guh! Why?!”

“Yeah, this dungeon is really easy-peasy! We still have time before bedtime, so we better hurry!” Dora-chan added.

“Sui will pew-pew them all!”

Having gobbled down a mountain of steaks, all of his three familiars were raring to spend their energy. Mukohda faced them with a stern face, hands in hips like a scolding mother.

“I said this already: we will enter the dungeon tomorrow. This dungeon won’t go anywhere, I remind you. And after what you had encountered before, it is better to be prepared because clearly, you can’t even underestimate it with the reasoning that it’s just a new dungeon,” Mukohda gave his most authoritative tone. “It’s better to start off fresh after a good night’s rest! I won’t change my mind on this!”

It was finally settled that they would go to the dungeon tomorrow. Mukohda deafens his ears to the whinings and prepares the beds. He summoned stone walls to make a replica of a small squared house. He laid out the cartons he got after purchasing them in an Online Supermarket before putting the futons on them. After dusting some, he grabbed Sui and went straight to sleep. Today was exhausting with many strange events, but tomorrow promised no less. He had to make sure he got his beauty and healthy sleep.

“He really went to sleep…” Dora-chan said. He and Fel were still lying outside, looking at their Master, sleeping with his back on them.

“Hmph. What a weak creature. His reasoning is all vain.”

“Hey, say. What if we get in and look it out for ourselves? After all, it’s not that hard, right?”

“Hmmmm.”

Just when Fel started considering Dora-chan’s suggestion, a voice came from inside the stone-walled house.

“I heard you. And if you do that, you two will have no breakfast tomorrow.”

It looks like the threat shocked both Fel and Dora-chan to their cores. They quickly shuffled into the house and went straight to sleep without even a word. Mukohda hmph-ed in triumph.

After all, his cooking always reigns supreme in their food chains.

Chapter Text

“Alright, let’s do this quickly and reach the deepest floor.”

The next day, as promised, Mukohda and his three familiars dove into a new dungeon. Now trapped in human bodies, the three of them (especially Fel and Dora-chan) seem eager to get this done and come back to their original forms. Of course, everything happens after they gobbled down a breakfast comparable to a whole village.

But, unlike his familiars, Mukohda was uneasy.

“Hm? What are you doing?” Fel asked, as he noticed that Mukohda was still glued at the entrance.

“Hey, no dilly-dally! Come on!” Dora-chan urged.

“Masteerrr?” Sui jogged back to Mukohda’s side, worry plastered in his small, chubby face. He held Mukohda’s hand and looked up. “What happened, Master? Are you scared?”

Mukohda didn’t answer for a long while, and instead looked at Sui, and then Dora-chan, and lastly, his gaze landed on Fel. He patted Sui’s head with a strained smile. “Yeah, I’m always scared. But, right now… I’m more nervous than I usually am. Maybe because you’re all in human forms?”

Hearing that, Fel snorted. “Do not jest. This form will not be a hindrance, as you witnessed yesterday with your own eyes that my might haven’t been affected.”

“I mean, my agility dropped down, yeah, but I’m still hella strong! I can take the fries in this trashy dungeon with my eyes closed!” Dora-chan reassured, trying to prove it by throwing ice icicles around.

“Master, don’t worry! Sui will protect Master!” Sui added, holding on Mukohda’s hand tightly.

“Thanks, you guys,” Mukohda was kind of touched that maybe ( maybe ) they wanted to cheer him up. He let out a heavy sigh. “But, it’s not that I’m worried about myself… ah, you’re right. I saw that your skills are pretty much the same. I just… you know, with your human forms, I just can’t bring myself to believe that I’m being protected by a teenager and a literal baby . I’m sending you off facing those monsters while I’m hiding behind like a cowardly adult!” he admitted with hands covering his face, feeling one hell of turbulent emotions within. After all, appearance-wise, he’s the oldest one here. And the image of sending Sui, a toddler who only managed to walk just the day before, to the frontline while he’s cowering in the back didn’t sit well with him.

“Again with your nonsense reasoning,” Fel exasperated. “If you don’t want to send Dora or Sui, I can take this dungeon on my own.”

“Hey! Don’t you cheat on me, you just wanna have fun on your own, right?! I saw through you!” Dora-chan quickly shot Fel’s suggestion, accusing gaze directed at the blue haired man.

“Nooo! Sui will fight, too! I’ll come with Uncle Fel! Master, let’s gooo!” Afraid that they will get left behind, Sui tugged Mukohda’s clothes, trying to drag him forward.

Seeing them bickering like any other day, Mukohda was reminded again that for them, this is just a little walk in the park - not a threatening situation at all. Even though they didn’t understand Mukohda’s concern and problem point, it also assured him in a way.

“Alright, we’ll go together. But, Fel, can you cast a barrier not only to me, but to all of us? Maybe I can be slightly relieved.”

“Very well.” Fel casted the barrier on the four of them. “With this, I assume there is nothing to worry anymore? Except you doubt my barrier,” he threatened, taking a step closer and towering over Mukohda with menacing looks as if taunting the latter to dare say he did.

“Ack! Step back! Yes, yes, I trust you!” 

“Hmph. Serves you for being such a worrywart.”

After he pushed Fel’s face away (and failed), Mukohda gathered his resolve and determination. “Okay! We’ll go at once!”

“Hell yeah!”

“Let’s goooo!”

And they descend into the dungeon until they reach the deepest floor. Even though it was relatively easier and shorter with its low difficulty, it was way more exhausting than any other dungeons combined. The reason was, Mukohda was always frightened by every monster that appeared and ran to the rear, but when he realized Sui or Dora charged at those monsters to protect him, he sprinted back to the front while screaming around, “No! Don’t bully kids, you damned monsters! How lowly of you!”

In the end, he participated actively, unlike usual. He fired Fire Balls and Stone Bullets at every turn. He almost depleted his mana just by the second floor, and had to replenish his energy. Because of this, Fel even generously showered him with praises, saying that he should do it more often to get stronger. Meanwhile, he, who was breathing heavily from hard exercise and strained to his limit, couldn’t muster the energy to curse back and only did it in his heart.

The dungeon boss of the fourth floor is a horde of goblins. Everything ends in a blink of an eye, but now the real work will begin.

“Fel and Dora-chan, you two search over there. Me and Sui will search in this area. Look carefully, okay?”

“Alrighty!”

Even without Mukohda saying it, the two of them will not slack off. But, after searching for a while, they found no clue whatsoever. They even checked the dead bodies of the goblins who haven’t yet been absorbed by the dungeon. After two more thorough checking, they finally resigned to the fate that the cure doesn’t exist anywhere in that room.

“There is nothing…” Mukohda said, plopping on the ground with a sigh.

Fel clicked his tongue in annoyance, and Dora-chan screamed in frustration. “AAAGH! So what now?! Am I going to be in this form forever?! Turn me back now!”

Mukohda also kinda bummed with their empty hands, and after an arduous journey he went through, on top of that. But, he still has some options left. “We’ll go back to the city and try asking people about this. Hopefully someone will help.”

***

“Ah, Mukohda-san. You’re back… huh? Where’s your familiars?”

The guards in Karelina city knew Mukohda fairly well. After all, Mukohda bought a grand mansion and made this city as his base operation. People rejoiced with open arms to have an S-ranked adventurer, a reliable source of power, like him around. Especially whenever he returned from his journey, the number of crimes within the city suddenly dropped down more than half. Of course people who work in security like the guards and the knight brigade would be thankful as well.

Even though the city guards were still cautious of his familiars (again, because of a certain Fenrir), they usually threw small talk with him whenever there was an occasion. The city guards warmed up to him after knowing that he was kind and humble, unlike the popular stereotype of high-ranking adventurers that are usually overbearing and boorish.

It was already past noon by the time Mukohda and his familiars reached Karelina. People went in and out, the entrance as bustling as ever with common folks, adventurers, also merchants with their caravans, queueing before getting permitted inside. The sight of him walking alone from outside made the guards confused since he left with his familiars in tow yesterday.

Mukohda scratches his cheek. “Uuuh, they’re-”

“I’m here. I’m the Fenrir.”

“Gueh!? FEL!”

The guards stared wide in shock at Fel, in his humanoid form, who was looming behind Mukohda with an intimidating face. Instead of a fella with incredibly good-looking features, he looks like a thug who’s ready to throw hands at the slightest provocation.

Why are you giving them such a dirty look? They asked harmless questions… ah, the cat was out of the bag already.

“E-excuse me?” the guard asked again, looking dumbfounded and unsure.

Mukohda sighed in exasperation. “So, you see…” And he was proceeding to explain their current quandary, make it short and simple, hoping it will be easier to stomach. The guards listened on and on with blank faces, eyes continuously darting between him and his three humanoid familiars.

“Then, the three people behind you… are the Fenrir, the dragon, and the slime?”

“Dora-chan is a pixie dragon, but yes.”

The guards looked at each other. “I… I’m afraid I can’t make a decision on this. I’ll call the head guard immediately. Please wait a bit!”

Since this is no ordinary event, the regular guards must be at a loss of what to do. One of them sprinted to call the head guard.

The head guard, a man named Ivan, was a big, burly man with a bald head. And since the gig where Mukohda saved the city from the horde of wyverns, he was directly sent his thanks and thus they started off as acquaintances. The guard proceeded to explain what Mukohda told them, and after that, he walked towards Mukohda.

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t let you pass without proof, Mukohda. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that you wouldn’t go as far as to make a story without reason, but rules are rules. I’ll treat the three people you bring with you as regular people since we don’t know if they’re actually your familiars or not.”

So it’s like this, huh.

There was really nothing Mukohda could do to prove that they’re his familiars, just like Ivan said. If not because he knows them way too well, he wouldn’t believe it either. He was ready to pay for his familiars’ entrance fee. It’s 2 silver each, so the three of them would be 6 silver. Just when he was about to pull out the payment, though…

“If proof is what you wish, shall I prove my might by bringing down this gate?” Fel said menacingly, seemingly offended that he wasn’t recognized as the mighty Fenrir that he is.

The guards’ faces quickly blanched at the threat.

FEEEEELLLL! DAMN YOU! STOP CAUSING TROUBLE!!!

“Quit it, Fel!” Mukohda took a step in front of Fel, shielding the poor guards. He faced Ivan and shoved six silver coins into his hands. “Sorry, just forget what he said. Here, here, the payment for three people. Take it, quick !”

Ivan accepted the coins and Mukohda rushed his familiars inside (he had to push really hard on Fel’s back because he wouldn’t stop glaring at the guards).

They finally reached Karelina city. Mukohda put his hands on his hips as he stood in front of Fel. “Just be civil for these days, will you? Stop threatening people left and right. We don’t need any more trouble than what’s currently in our hands!”

“I’m not as free to seek any trouble purposely. They lured it themselves.” Fel said, matter-of-factly, as he walked past with chin up.

“Still… sigh. Whatever,” Mukohda feeling tired. He followed behind Fel while holding his aching temples.

The first thing in Mukohda’s mind was to go to the Adventurer’s guild, of course, and their familiars agreed.

Walking around with Fel in his Fenrir’s form is always attracting attention, but his human’s form wasn’t that far off, even though with a very different reason. Every once in a while, women would steal a glance at Fel and then giggled happily. Noticing this, Mukohda couldn’t help the bitterness in his heart.

Damn it, Fel! Turn back into Fenrir already!

Mukohda was burned with a fury of jealousy.

“They like you, Fel,” Dora-chan pointed out. He also noticed the glances that keep being thrown to Fel. 

“So gaze as they want. They wouldn’t get a piece of my attention.”

Mukohda fought back the urge to yell at Fel’s indifferent face. You should be grateful, you snob!

They walked past a clothing store, and Mukohda made a detour and sprinted inside to buy his familiars new clothes. They’re currently in modern clothes which he bought in Online Supermarket yesterday, and he especially bought the most simple designs so they could pass by quite normal in this world. But, buying the real clothes in this world would be easier, since he needs to stock some spare clothes because they might be in this forms for a while.

Aside from that, it was also because he secretly enjoyed playing dressing doll with them. He was never one to keep up to date with the latest fashion even back in the modern world. But, right now, he suddenly had the urge to do so, especially with Sui since the kid’s clothes had more variations and cute designs.

Sui, ever obedient and indulgent, happily obliged to Mukohda’s whims, sparing Fel and Dora who were silently grateful that they’re not Mukohda’s main model.

“Aaah, that was so fun!” Mukohda said happily as he stepped out of the store, holding three big bags in his hands. The store owner also happily sent him off, smiling wide with the sudden rainfall of profits. He was humming while putting the bags into his Item Box.

Fel eyed him with an impassive look. “You realize that we’ll come back to our forms later, right? Why did you buy so many?”

Mukohda smiled sheepishly, scratching his cheeks. “Hehe, I can’t help myself…” he admitted. He wasn’t one to spend aimlessly, but really, this time he can’t help it!

Surely they wouldn’t make it to the Adventurer’s guild just like that. They passed food stalls along the way. It was lunch time, anyway, so Mukohda let them eat anything they wanted. Free-spirited, they bought various kinds of food, and seemed intent on trying everything.

Since they bought many at once, the food stall owners gave them freebies. With Fel’s outstanding looks, also Sui and Dora-chan’s cute appearances, many crowded around them and gave them other freebies as well. The glutton trio wouldn’t say no to food, so they accept it gladly.

Mukohda, getting pushed and squished between human walls around, didn’t know whether to be grateful or annoyed. His task was to pay for the foods which his familiars ate, anyway. When people asked who they were to him, he lied and said that they’re distant relatives.

They spent more time than expected and had to cut through the crowd to get out. Only after that, Fel showed his annoyed face without restraints, and his daunting aura instantly dispersed the mob swarming around them to who knows where.

When they reached the Adventurer’s guild, the receptionist knew the drill. Once she sighted Mukohda, she went and called for the guildmaster.

Willem walked down from the guildmaster’s room on the second floor. “Oh, Mukohda. Your previous haul of monsters are already butchered. You can grab the meat in the storehouse,” he said, and then noticed the three unfamiliar faces behind the man. “Are they your friends?”

It’s usual for Mukohda to go out inside the town without Fel and the others, so Willem didn’t pay their absences any mind.

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll go grab them later. But, more importantly, guildmaster, let’s talk privately…” Mukohda whispered the last sentences.

“Oh. Alright. Let’s go into my room.”

Once they arrived in the secure area of Willem’s guildmaster room, Mukohda explained everything.

Willem’s face was blank even after Mukohda finished his story.

“... Guildmaster?”

Seemingly in trance, Willem said, “They… what?”

“They turned into humans,” Mukohda repeated, hoping that it would finally sinked into Willem’s brain. He introduced his familiars again. “This is Fel, the Fenrir. Then Dora-chan, the pixie dragon. And that little boy is Sui, the slime.”

Willem glanced at them one by one. “I… see…”

“So, do you perhaps have any experience with this matter? Or maybe you heard about this and how to return them to normal?”

Finally regaining his composure, Willem shook his head. “Unfortunately, no, this is the first time I heard and saw this case. A potion that can turn them into humans…” Mukohda’s shoulders slumped in dejection. “You said it’s only temporary, no? Then wait for a bit more.”

“Yeah, that’s the plan, but it will be nice if we can turn them back into their usual form immediately.”

“Maybe you should try with the church. They do have more experience with this and have more knowledge about potions.”

An idea suddenly struck Mukohda. Church? Of course!

“That’s right! Guildmaster, thanks! See you later!” Mukohda hurriedly ran and left the Adventurer’s guild. He almost forgot to grab the meat in the storehouse, but fortunately on the way he met Johan and the butcher kindly reminded him.

Instead of heading to any churches within town, he found an empty alley near the Adventurer’s guild and stop his tracks.

“Hm? Don’t you wanna go to a church? Why are you stopping here?” Dora-chan inquired, glancing around.

“If it comes to this, of course we should go to Ninrir’s temple,” Fel said, ever so devoted believer of Ninrir. If only he knew how much of a miser and sweet tooth his goddess is.

“Nope.”

“What?! Why!?”

“Listen. Why ask the church, when I can ask their Gods directly?”

Since he has access to the Gods and Goddesses (with them constantly in touch to ask for more offerings), why not doing so? He felt so stupid for overlooking this fact!

“Oooh, that’s right! You talk to them regularly, right!” Dora-chan piqued at that. “Hurry, hurry! Ask them!”

Mukohda chose which God he had to ask. At first, he wanted to ask the other Gods such as Kisharle or Agni, but he quickly rejected the idea. They might want something in return, so he asked Demiurge instead.

“... Demiurge?” Mukohda tried, slightly hesitant.

“Ooh, Mukohda. I see that you’re as cautious as ever.”

With the latter capable of reading his mind, Mukohda wasn’t surprised that he knew why he chose to ask him.

“I guess I shouldn’t explain my situation either?” Mukohda inquired.

“Yes, I know. Your familiars turned into humans with a special potion. It is a rare item that only drops with a very slim chance in a dungeon, even I am also surprised that it will appear in such a young dungeon like what you’d encountered.”

“I see. So, where can I get the cure?”

“There’s none.”

“What? None?”

“Yes. It is nothing dangerous. Your familiars will stay in those forms within a week, shorter if their mana is abundant. Your Fenrir will turn into his original form in three days, at most.”

Mukohda listened attentively, then asked. “... So, there’s nothing we can do? You can’t even turn them back on?”

“Why, it will not be fun, right? Hohoho.”

“ Pardon ?”

“-Ahem. I mean. Yes, let them be. As I said, it’s nothing life-threatening. After all, you also have fun with them this way.”

Well, that’s true, but…

As soon as he said that, Demiurge used the chance to bid farewell and flee. Mukohda felt that if he really wants to, Demiurge can turn them back with his power - after all, he is The God of Creation. But, since it will ruin his fun, he chose not to. Damn it!

Mukohda felt his communication with Demiurge disconnected and faced his familiars with resignation.

“So? How’s it?!” Dora-chan urged, excited. He tiptoed with face closer to Mukohda.

“... There’s nothing we can do,” Mukohda said.

“WHAT?!”

“Demiurge said that you’ll be in this form for a week… depending on your mana, to be precise. Fel will turn into his original form within three days.”

“Hm. Since we have taken this form yesterday, then I’ll revert to my usual form the day after tomorrow,” Fel calculated, seemingly to accept his current fate. 

“Then, how about me?!” Dora-chan wailed. 

Mukohda patted Dora-chan’s head with a coaxed voice. “Let’s bear it for a week, okay? I will increase your puddings this week!”

Dora-chan seemed not to be appeased that much, but since he couldn’t do anything about it, he crossed his hands and turned his head away. “Whatever!” He swatted Mukohda’s hand that still ruffled his hair. “And don’t treat me like a kid!”

“Sorry, your hair is so soft to touch,” Mukohda said.

“Master, Master! Sui also wants more cakes like Dora-chan!” Sui quipped excitedly. Though he never raised a single complaint over his transformation, he couldn’t possibly let go of getting more treats.

“Okay, okay.”

“I want my fair shares of cakes, as well,” Fel added.

“... Yes, I know.”

They finally arrived at the mansion. The first ones who welcomed them were the beastmen twins, Irvine and Luke. They were on duty to guard the gate that day.

“Hey, Mukohda! You’re back!” Irvine opened the gates for them.

“See? They caused a ruckus even though it’s not the first time he camped outside. He would be fine!” Luke said in a ‘told-you-so!’ tone. 

“I’m sorry to make you worry. I hope nothing major happens while I’m gone,” Mukohda said.

“No. It’s just that, the women made such a ruckus saying you’re in danger or sumn,” Irvine reported, and then shook his head. “They worry for nothing, I said. If something really capable of making your familiars rendered powerless, then this country… no, this continent, is doomed for!”

“Right?!” Luke also thought so, apparently.

They rambled on and on, and then Luke’s gaze fell on the three people behind Mukohda. “Anyway, where’s your familiars? And who are they? Your friends?”

“No. Um, they’re… let’s talk inside, shall we? I want to explain things to you all, so summon everyone to gather at the living room,” Mukohda instructed, and though both Irvine and Luke were curious, they heeded his command and went to call for everyone.

After a short while, everyone gathered in the living room. The women just in the basement to refill his soap and shampoo, meanwhile the men mostly tend to garden. Mukohda had to apologize profusely for causing his slaves to worry about them, before diving into the point.

“So, you see… this man right here is actually Fel. The teen with pink hair there is Dora-chan, and this toddler is Sui. Yesterday, for some reason, they turned into humans, but this effect lasted only for a week, so… yeah, just so you know,” Mukohda introduced the three people standing by his side, and this scene reminded him again with their first introduction.

It took a while for them to digest this information, so Mukohda let them be. It was Lotte, who first broke up from her stupor and stood up suddenly. She pointed at the young boy. “Sui?!” she asked.

“Yes! Sui is Sui!”

Dora-chan and Sui couldn’t talk verbally in their original forms,  so this is the first time Lotte and everyone heard his voice. Right, right, even his voice is cute, I know! Mukohda couldn't help but to gush at his youngest familiars’ cuteness.

Lotte seemed excited as she turned towards her parents. “He can talk!”

“Sui can!”

“Aaaw, so cute!” Unable to contain her excitement, Lotte ran and hugged Sui tightly. Sui is smaller than her, so it looks like they’re siblings. She looked at Mukohda with bright, hopeful eyes. “Big brother Mukohda, can I play with Sui?”

“Of course, if Sui wants to,” Mukohda turned to Sui, smiling. “Do you want to play with Lotte, Sui?”

“Sui wants to!”

“Yeaaay! Let’s play together, Sui!”

“Yeah! Let’s!”

Lotte must be ecstatic since she found someone more or less to her age. Everyone is older than her, and most of the time, they’re busy working. She grabbed Sui’s hand and ran towards the lawn, laughing all the while.

Seeing how easily Lotte, the youngest, adept to such a situation, the others also slowly receive the shocking truth. Theresa and Alya expressed their relief since Mukohda can return safely, which is the most important part. And after that, they dispersed to continue to work.

And when the night came, the hardest hurdle finally surfaced.

Was it bath time? Yeah, partly.

Fel’s hatred for bath extended even in his human’s form, but Mukohda wouldn’t let him bathe once or twice a month just like before. He’s in human’s form, bathing once a day is a bare minimum, alright! So they argued for a long while before Fel finally relented at the mention of dragon’s meat as dinner for the whole week.

And of course, Fel had to bathe by himself!

The last obstacle was, of course, their sleeping arrangements.

Even though the mansion Mukohda bought was enormous and has many empty rooms available, he and his familiars always sleep together in the master bedroom.

Fel, standing on the outside of the said master bedroom, facing the human wall which is Mukohda, didn’t feel the least bit pleased. “What now?!” he demanded.

“You’re sleeping in the other rooms, Fel,” Mukohda declared.

After enduring the annoying bath, Fel’s mood was even damper than usual. He lashed out. “Why must I?! What’s wrong with me sleeping here?!”

“This room only has one bed. Where do you think you’ll be sleeping? Since you’re now human, I’d feel bad letting you sleep on the floor like usual.”

Even though there was a soft and comfortable carpet on the floor, it looks like Mukohda was very cruel to let him do that.

Fel’s gaze darted to the bed. “The bed is spacious. Since it’s come to this, I shall sleep on the bed as well.”

That’s true. The bed was spacious, but Mukohda made an X with his hands, shaking his head strongly. “Nope! I ain’t sharing my bed with any man!”

“What’s wrong with that!? You let Sui and Dora sleep with you!” Fel pointed at his other two comrades, sitting comfortably on the huge bed without any problem. Even if Mukohda always has preferential behavior towards the others (especially Sui), this is already taken too far.

“They’re different! They’re a baby and a teenager! Of course they can!” Mukohda reasoned, while in Fel’s ears it was utter nonsense.

Fel looked like he would chew on Mukohda right there and then, head fuming like it’s about to erupt.

Dora-chan, seeing the debate going downhill, pipped in. “Hey, Fel is right. Even with four of us sleeping here, there’s still enough room to move about. Why not let him in, though?”

“Master, Uncle Fel, don’t fight…” Sui said, concerned.

Mukohda looked at the two, and let out a heavy sigh. Finally, he took a step aside. He really didn’t intend to be mean for no reason, but since the others wouldn’t understand his point, he relented, hands on his temples. “Alright, maybe I’m a bit too overreacting. It’s just… agh, forget it. Sorry about that, Fel.”

“Hmph.”

Fel ignored him and strode towards the bed where Dora-chan and Sui sat. He plopped down on the soft, bouncy bed, and quickly resumed to lay down and closed his eyes.

Mukohda was feeling bad, so he approached him. “... Fel? I apologize.”

“I’m sleeping.”

“Look at you, making a ruckus out of nothing. Better sleep for now, he must be upset. Let’s talk about it tomorrow,” Dora-chan also tucked himself in, and pointed at Sui, whose head lolled in front several times but he jerked up and straightened his head with half-closed eyes; clearly drowsy. “Sui is so ready to sleep at any moment, but staying awake for your sake.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s sleep.” Mukohda climbed up to the bed. The bed was really too spacious. Even with four of them sleeping together, it wasn’t cramped at all.

The next day, Fel was still angry, but he’s already willing to talk to Mukohda, which was a relief. Dora-chan and Sui helped to make them make up, so all is well once again in Mukohda’s mansion.

Like Demiurge said, on the third day, Fel returned to his original form. He even let his excitement show by running and jumping all over the garden, which caused Dora-chan to envy him vehemently. On the fifth day, Dora-chan also finally gained his dragon body back, and he expressed his glee by flying around the mansion for hours non stop. Sui turned into slime on the seventh day, and the one who mourned the most was Lotte. Since in this form, she couldn’t communicate with Sui anymore. She even cried out loud which caused everyone to try to comfort her, and Mukohda would translate what Sui said to her whenever he’s nearby.

After that incident, the slaves in Mukohda’s mansion were less cautious with Fel and the others. Mukohda did say that they’re better to be left alone, and everyone was willing to carry on the idea - more because they’re wary. Especially the beastmen twins of Irvine and Luke, who experienced first-hand how disastrous it was to anger Fel.

Since Lotte was too small to be included in the house chore team, she would play with Sui right after she finished breakfast. Later, Dora-chan would feel left out, and Mukohda suggested they play together. Dora-chan wasn’t a fan of children, same as Fel, but maybe living together had her rubbed into Dora-chan so he could tolerate her. Fel, thinking it was too childish to join in, would nap by himself in the lawn, even though the trio would occasionally disturbed him. Just now, Lotte played tag with Sui dan Dora-chan. They circling around Fel’s huge body, running and screaming ecstatically which is impossible for the Fenrir to sleep. In the end, he chased them down around in a fit of anger. They couldn’t hold a candle with Fel’s speed, of course, but Mukohda noticed Fel intentionally decreased his speed.

“Must be fun, right, Fel?”

Fel, who resigned to his fate as a sleeping mat for the tired trio now snoring on his flank, only opened one eye to look at Mukohda. “Noisy. Don’t disturb me, I can finally sleep in peace.”

Of course Mukohda would join in as well, plopping himself beside the trio, much to Fel’s protest. It was still a while before dinner time, and he had some pre-made foods ready, so why not enjoy the nice weather and sleep away?