Chapter 13: Ownership of the Pet

After formally apologizing for his mistake, the burly man then noticed that the boy was carrying a sack over his shoulders. Hence, he couldn't help but get slightly curious about that.

"Sir, may I ask why you are carrying such a big sack and bringing it in this store?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean this?" Renan removed the sack on his shoulders and placed it down on the counter. "Actually, this is the reason why we visited your shop. Take a look at this."

Following his words, he untied the rope and pulled down the sack to fully reveal the cute brown furball that was hiding inside it. And when the burly man saw it, his eyes correspondingly widened in astonishment. He took the child beast in his hands and gave it a once-over by flipping it all around from its head, back, front and bottom. After he was presumably done with it, he gently put it back down on the counter before closing his eyes and nodding his head a couple of times.

"I see, I see… This is a rare find indeed." He opened his eyes at that moment and stared at the youth with admiration. "I never expected that you would be able to steal this baby cub from the beast of the forest. How did you do it, good Sir?"

"That's a professional secret that I'm not willing to tell." Renan smiled and plainly said to him.

"Oh? Well, that is indeed too bad… But, I guess that's how it is. We all have our own trade secrets to keep." The burly man shrugged his shoulders then continued on saying, "And so, what do you want to do with this pup? Sell it?"

"Hahaha! My, my, what a funny guy you are, Mr. Shopkeeper. Why'd you think I would want to sell it?"

"Hmm? Why not? I could offer you a pretty decent price, y'know~"

"Yeah… I think I'll pass you up on that offer thank you very much. No, I want to domesticate this baby and make it my bitc—I mean pet." He hurriedly corrected himself at the last second.

Ars and the burly man both gazed at him perplexedly for abruptly changing what he was going to say, but Renan pretended not to notice that. Yet, inside his head he breathed out a sigh of relief while thinking to himself: 'Phew… My sadistic tendency almost slipped out right there. It's okay if it were just the burly man here, but with Ars it's a different story. I wouldn't want her to hear me say such things and think of me any less…'

Seeing Renan staying silent over this matter, the burly man just shrugged his shoulders and didn't push him but brought back the topic along the track.

"So anyway, you want to tame this pet, yes?"

"Yes, please."

Ars was unexpectedly the one who answered this time. She looked up at the burly shopkeeper with pure eyes and gave him a sweet and innocent smile. The burly man was moved by that smile, and he also smiled back happily at her while saying: "And so, who among you two will take ownership of the pet?"

Simultaneously, the two looked at each other for a moment. Before Renan could even open his mouth, Ars took the lead and spoke up first.

"Umm… Since you did all the hard work and risked your life innumerable times in the process, I think it should be you Renan…" Ars said somewhat confusedly because even she didn't know why she said that.

I mean, it was a rare type pet they were talking about here! Why did she think to herself about giving it up to a complete stranger who she only knew and met in a day? Was she really that mystified by his good-looks and charm?

But when he heard those words, Renan merely smiled and said to her: "Nonsense. How can I have the face to take this pet away from its rightful owner? Do you think of me as shameless, Miss Ars?"

"Wh-What?! N-No, I just—I didn't mean it like that!" Ars was in a flustered state as she hurriedly tried to explain herself, "Don't you remember? In the first place, you were the one who brought us an opportunity to escape from that frenzied boss that was pursuing us, and next was the strategic timing and insight you used to quickly subdue those goblins and steal the sack from them. Do you get it now? It was through your brilliant thinking that got us out of those perilous situations, and why we're standing here well and alive right now."

Ars spat out what she had in mind all in one breath, leaving her slightly gasping for air and her adorable cheeks flushing red. Renan had on an amused smile the entire time he was hearing her out, and when she was finished, he finally added in the answer that whisked all her distress away.

"All of that wouldn't have been possible if you weren't by my side, Miss Ars. It was wholly a team effort in the end, don't you agree?"

She remained silent at his sentiment because deep down she knew that he was right and that she had no way to easily refute that statement. On the other hand, Renan accepted the fact that he was currently nothing more than a newbie, and that he had to rely on the strength of others to get by or get things done as quickly as possible. In this way, by giving the pet to Ars right now he would indefinitely be tying her to his ship. And with the kind of person that she was, she would never forget to repay this act of kindness, thus creating a strong bond between them.

'Besides that, you were the one who was dying a lot of times in the process. So yeah, you do deserve a reward for all your painstaking efforts…'

At the very least, he prided himself as a man of principle. And one of those principles was to do unto others what you would want others to do unto you. It's as simple as that really—his intentions were out of the pure benevolence in his heart—yes that's right, it must be so! Or so he thought.