Chapter 75: One Dares to Brag, the Other Dares to Believe!
"What should we name him?"
Now that they had adopted him, he obviously needed a name. Yurine posed the question on the way home.
"I say we call him 'Two-Face'," Jashin-chan chimed in, glaring at the magical beast cub trotting obediently at Yurine's feet. "His attitude toward me is completely different from how he acts with you guys. He's constantly changing his face."
"And whose fault do you think that is?" Ryohei asked, looking back at her, speechless. Yurine and Minos also shot her a look. You've really got some nerve.
"Woof woof—!" the beast cub barked accusingly at Jashin-chan.
"Well, if you really want to assign blame, you can only blame his ancestors, right?" Jashin-chan said after a moment of profound thought, her hand on her chin. "It's because his ancestors committed so many sins that I have to be wary of him." She saw absolutely nothing wrong with her own logic.
"You really don't think you're the problem at all, do you? You're a non-stick pan," Ryohei retorted.
Getting back on topic, Minos considered the name from a practical angle. "Why don't we just call him 'Woof Woof'? Name him after the sound he makes. What do you guys think?"
"What do you think?" Yurine asked, looking down at the beast cub by her feet.
The cub shook its head.
"Looks like he's not a fan."
"Tch! So picky! If you're so smart, why don't you name yourself!" Jashin-chan huffed, her hands on her hips.
"Grrrrrr—!" the beast cub spun around, lowered its body, and let out a warning growl from deep in its throat. I've had enough of you, scumbag snake!
"How about we call him Beto?" Ryohei suggested. He seemed to recall that was his name in the anime.
'Beto?' Yurine's head whipped around, her reddish-brown eyes wide with disbelief, her lips slightly parted. That was the exact same name she had just thought of.
W-What is this? Are we on the same wavelength? No way… At that moment, Yurine's heart began to beat a little faster as she looked at Ryohei's handsome face, her breath catching in her throat.
"What do you think of that name, Yurine?" Ryohei asked, noticing her startled reaction, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Um, I think it's a great name…" Yurine's voice was a little unsteady.
Just as Ryohei was about to say something else, he felt something on his leg. He looked down and saw the beast cub affectionately rubbing against his calf.
"Looks like he's a fan of the name, too," Ryohei said, a little surprised.
"That's wonderful! From now on, your name is Beto!" Yurine said, kneeling down and ruffling the fur on his head. For some reason, she felt strangely self-conscious under Ryohei's gaze and needed to distract herself.
Jashin-chan clicked her tongue at Beto's brown-nosing. "What a cunning little beast! Already knows how to suck up to people at his age!"
"In a way, a 7,000-year-old who only knows how to cause trouble is even less mature than Beto," Ryohei said casually.
"What?!" Jashin-chan bristled, slithering right up to him. "What's with you tonight, Subject? Are you looking for a fight?" He had been undermining her all evening.
"Sorry, sorry. I was just being a little too blunt," Ryohei apologized, though his expression wasn't very apologetic at all.
"You're better off not apologizing!"
"I'll be more careful next time."
"You still want there to be a next time?!"
"That's about enough," Yurine's calm voice cut in.
"Oh, okay," Jashin-chan immediately backed down, leaving Minos, who was still pulling the cart, at a complete loss for words. She just shot Jashin-chan a sidelong glance and smiled ( ﹁ ﹁ ).
Back at the new house, Jashin-chan refused to go to the pet store to buy supplies for Beto, so she was left behind to clean the food cart and watch the house. Ryohei and the others took Beto and a taxi to a large pet store.
"Welcome!" an employee greeted them with a smile as they walked in. His gaze fell on Beto, and he paused, confused. In his two and a half years of working here, he had never seen a creature like this.
"Hello. How much is it for a pet bath?" Ryohei asked. Although Beto looked clean, since they were already here, he figured they might as well get him properly washed.
"Our bath and blow-dry services are usually priced by the pet's breed. What kind is he?" the employee asked, still unable to identify the animal.
"He's a dog," Ryohei said, then looked down. "Beto, bark for him."
"Woof woof—!" Beto sat down and let out two perfect barks.
Okay, it's a dog! But what kind of dog looks like that? The employee felt like he had learned something new today. He put on his professional smile. "Given your dog's size, we'll just charge the standard rate for a medium-sized dog. That will be 8,000 yen."
"He doesn't bite, does he?"
"No, Beto is very gentle," Ryohei said, looking at Yurine.
"Please take Beto for his bath," Yurine said to the employee. "Is it alright if I go with him?"
"Of course. This way, please."
While Beto was being groomed, Ryohei and Minos went with another employee to look at doghouses. Ryohei, remembering from the anime that Beto grew quite a bit, decided to buy a large one to save them the trouble of replacing it later.
"Do you prefer a pre-assembled doghouse, or a kit you can build yourself?" the employee asked.
"A kit, please," Ryohei replied. A pre-assembled house would be too difficult to transport in a taxi.
"A wise choice. You have more material options with a kit, the price is more reasonable, and you can even customize it a bit," the employee said. "We have these three basic models."
He gestured to three display models on a shelf. "We'll provide you with all the necessary materials and blueprints. Even a complete beginner can assemble it with ease."
"You can leave the assembly to me," Minos said, turning to Ryohei with her hand on her ample chest. "I'm pretty good at this sort of thing."
"Really? Then I'll leave it to you," Ryohei said, happily delegating the task. He remembered that her family was in the construction business in the Demon World. It made sense that she would have some skill in this area.
"Actually, if you just give me the materials and tools, I could build you a doghouse from scratch," she boasted, her chest puffed out with pride, her silver tail swishing behind her. "Building a real house is no problem, either."
"Well, buying the materials would be less convenient than just buying a kit," Ryohei said with a smile. "But maybe you can show me your skills some other time."
"Sure, no problem!" Minos replied, full of energy.
The employee, watching the two of them, couldn't help but think, One dares to brag, and the other dares to believe. They must have a great relationship! Are they a couple?
(Yurine: There's a cow in our midst!)
~~~
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