Chapter 12 - A Second Wish
Translator: Roshi
"Hello?"
I had told Cer to stand guard outside the real estate office door for a moment.
Kkiing! Don't worry, Master!
As if pledging ironclad security, Cer sat himself down in front of the door with a sharp thud.
"Oh, the veterinarian?"
I'd caught a faint voice and thought it might be, and sure enough, the customer already inside was none other than the mother of the little child Cer had rescued earlier.
"Thank you so much for before...! I was actually planning to come by tomorrow with a gift..."
I waved my hands dismissively.
"No, really. You don't need to bring a gift. More importantly, what you were just discussing, was that about moving?"
"Ah, yes. It's just been so nerve-wracking. They say the Gate hasn't disappeared completely and Monsters could keep coming out... I just went home earlier, but every time I see the Gate through the window, my heart drops. Whew."
So she'd been trying to move out quickly, and while there was a place available for immediate move-in, she was stuck because of her existing lease.
"I'll take that place."
"Huh?"
The real estate agent and the young mother's eyes went wide at the same time.
"You, Doctor?"
"Yes. I was actually here to look for a place near the Animal Hospital anyway. Cer will be keeping watch over the Gate area from now on."
She'd said the Gate was visible through the window, so for me, it was actually better for monitoring.
Kking!
Hearing his name, Cer turned his head toward us from beyond the glass door.
"Oh my, if you'd do that, we'd be so grateful. I feel like I just keep owing you."
"Not at all. Then, ma'am, please go ahead and proceed with the paperwork."
"Sure, let me contact the landlord right away!"
A short while later.
"Got the approval. Let's write up the contract right now!"
And just like that, we ended up moving into the officetel right next to the Animal Hospital.
*
Having wrapped up a satisfying contract, I came home with Cer.
The move would be the day after tomorrow.
They said the Gate's next emission would take at least a few days, so we could relax at home until then.
"Let's have some meat, Cer!"
Cer had tried to act like he wasn't interested, but he'd kept sniffing away the entire walk home.
I could practically hear his eyeballs rolling toward the bag of meat I was carrying.
Kkiiing!!
Cer bounced up and down, wagging his tail.
I paused to think for a moment.
Should I cook this for him, or just give it to him raw?
Being a Hell Hound, he was probably used to eating raw meat.
But he might enjoy grilled meat even more.
I remembered how he'd devoured the cooked chicken breast I gave him last time.
"Cer, hang on. I'll grill it up nice for you."
Kkiing?
Cer blinked at the idea of having his meat grilled.
But seeing is believing.
I set a large frying pan on the induction stove and let it heat up.
Then I started picking up the slices of meat I'd spread out, placing them on the pan one by one with tongs.
Sizzzzle!
Oh man. Just the sound alone was mouthwatering, filling the kitchen.
Soon, the smell of grilling meat wafted through the air.
Kkiing...!
Cer's jaw dropped as he watched.
"Here you go!"
After grilling the meat just right, I cut it into easy-to-eat pieces and placed them on a large plate.
Then I set it down in front of Cer.
Chomp chomp chomp chomp!!
Kkiiing!!
With a deeply moved whine, Cer inhaled the meat.
Kkiing! It's so good!
He was so touched that tears were welling up in his eyes.
Getting this emotional over a piece of grilled pork belly.
How long had he gone without good food in that other dimension...
'Welcome home, Cer.'
I didn't know what kind of miraculous coincidence had brought him here.
But after all the twists and turns, he'd found his way to me.
So I was going to make him as happy as I possibly could.
'But seriously, he eats with such gusto.'
Watching Cer chomp away with his cheeks puffed out, I couldn't help but smile.
I hadn't even eaten yet myself, but just watching Cer eat was satisfying enough.
It wasn't just because he was my dog; the way he ate was genuinely heartwarming.
'He's almost done already. Better grill him another piece quick.'
I walked over to the frying pan, picked up the tongs.
Reached out, grabbed a piece of meat from the spread, and placed it on the pan.
Well, tried to place it.
"Huh?"
What?
I definitely hadn't grilled it yet.
But the slice of pork belly pinched in the tongs was perfectly golden-brown.
A delicious aroma drifted up.
And then, a kkiing! from Cer.
I turned my head to look, and at some point, Cer had stretched his neck out from the chair next to the table, sitting there with an eager expression.
"Did you just do that?"
Kking! Yep!
Then, as if something occurred to him, he glanced around nervously.
Kkiing?
His look seemed to say, Are you mad I used fire?
"No, no. I'm not mad. I was just amazed, that's all."
It was just the two of us at home anyway, so there was nobody else to see.
Besides, now that I'd officially signed a contract with the Bureau, Cer's identity had been revealed.
There was no real need to hide him anymore.
Of course, it wouldn't do for him to suddenly breathe fire while we were out on a walk, since that would scare people.
Anyway, what had amazed me was Cer's incredible ability to control his flames.
"That Hellfire melts Monsters on the spot, and you can dial it down this low?"
Kkiing!! Of course!
Cer answered and puffed a tiny flame from his mouth to demonstrate.
It was barely at the level of a jet lighter.
"Oho...!"
This was an incredible perk I hadn't even considered.
With Cer around, I'd never have to worry about anything that required fire.
I'd naturally assumed that if Cer breathed fire, it would melt the meat, no, the entire table.
But it had come out perfectly golden-brown, just right for eating.
And the grilling time was instant, too.
How did he cook it so fast without burning it at all?
Was this the power of Hellfire?
"Alright. Then I'll leave the grilling to you, Cer."
Kkiing!!
"I'll cut it up for you, so eat."
Kkiing...! Kking!
But when I cut the well-done meat and offered it to him, Cer shook his head.
"Hm? Why aren't you eating?"
Kking!
Cer looked back and forth between me and the meat.
"Oh, you want me to eat it?"
What a considerate little guy.
"Thanks, Cer. I'll enjoy it."
I cut the pork belly Cer had grilled into bite-sized pieces and popped one into my mouth.
"Ooh...!"
The rich flavor of perfectly grilled meat spreading across my palate.
And yet it wasn't overdone, so the juices were still intact.
Wow.
Our Cer grills a mean piece of meat.
As I chewed with an expression of awe, Cer stared at me with bright, sparkling eyes.
Kkiing? Did I grill it well, Master?
"Yeah. The best, the absolute best! You grilled it perfectly."
When I pet him as praise, he closed his eyes and nuzzled his face into my hand.
Oh my. So cute.
I immediately turned off the induction stove.
What use was a frying pan anymore?
No need to wait minutes at a time when I had Cer, who grilled things instantly and perfectly.
"Alright, Cer. Tonight is a meat party! Eat to your heart's content!"
Kkiiing!!
We ate until we were stuffed after that.
*
The move went smoothly.
The previous tenant must have wanted out as quickly as possible, because she vacated in no time.
And my own lease happened to be up this month.
So I could move right away.
My landlord apparently found a new tenant as soon as he heard I was moving out.
And so, with the move to the new place complete.
"Alright, let's go in, Cer!"
Kkiing!!
I'd bought the extra things we needed on the way in and had them set up already.
I'd laid down anti-slip and noise-dampening pads.
And I'd picked up a few dog toys too.
Kkiing! Kking!
Thankfully, he seemed to like the place.
I'd kept the living room bare aside from a sofa, a TV, and a small table, so Cer wouldn't feel cramped moving around.
By the time we finished unpacking and were all settled into the new place.
Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang.
"Ah, they're here."
Kkiing?
Cer tilted his head.
I went to the front door and opened it.
"Oppa!! It really is right next to the hospital? This place is super clean and nice!"
"Commuting should be a breeze."
"Son, you've been keeping well and healthy, right?"
"Of course. Come on in."
That's right, my family had come to visit for the first time in a while.
Part of it was because I'd just moved.
But the biggest reason was.
"Oh my, so that's Cer!"
"Look at those bright little eyes."
"Waaah, so cute!!"
They'd come to see Cer.
To be precise, after Cer and I had recently dealt with the Emission Gate incident without a hitch.
They'd seen the flood of news articles and contacted me right away.
[C+-Rank Emission Gate Appears on the Outskirts of Gangseo-gu, Seoul]
[Immediate emission releases multiple C-Rank Monster Trolls; casualties expected but swiftly suppressed]
[Contract Beast of Hunter Jeong Shin-hu, who operates an Animal Hospital near the scene, plays major role]
[A Monster that saved a child? With the friendly appearance of a dog, the video goes viral across social media...]
[Pledges to stand guard and suppress future Monster emissions on-site; Hunter Jeong Shin-hu, an EX-Rank Healer who had been inactive due to a critical Penalty, makes a spectacular return with a new skill...]
'I have absolutely zero plans for a spectacular return, though...'
In any case, once the incident made Cer and me a hot topic, my family had gotten in touch to check on me.
"Cer, say hello. These are my parents. And this is my little sister."
Kkiing!!
Hearing they were my family, Cer snapped to attention and straightened up.
"Wooow... He really understands everything you say? Cer, you don't have to stand so stiff like that. Come here?"
When Yun-a opened her arms wide, Cer looked at me once, and when I gave him a nod, he relaxed and trotted over to Yun-a, tail wagging.
Lick!
"Aw, so cute!"
Yun-a was instantly smitten with Cer.
"Ha ha, quite the sturdy little fellow, isn't he."
"Our son, it feels like just yesterday he was crying and carrying on saying he'd never raise a dog again. And here he is."
"Mom! That was forever ago!"
Kking?
"No, Cer. It's just that regular dogs only live about twenty years, so I hated the idea of saying goodbye. That's not going to happen with you, right?"
I hurried to explain before Cer could get anxious.
Kkiing!
Cer seemed reassured, folding his eyes into a contented whine.
"Oh my, Cer even knows how to smile with his eyes? And his mouth open like that. So adorable. Hold on, let me get a picture!"
Cer, who had no idea what a picture was, sat there as Yun-a's camera went click, click.
Kkiing?!
He stared in fascination at the photo of himself.
Meanwhile, I brought out the meat.
"Why did you buy so much meat?"
"Ha ha, it just kind of happened. Cer! Let's grill some meat!"
"Huh? What does Cer have to do with grilling meat?"
Kking!
At my call, Cer dashed over in an instant.
A moment later.
Fwoosh!
"Whoooa!!"
"Ooh..."
"Good heavens, he can do that too?"
"Go ahead and try some. Cer grills it to absolute perfection."
A mouthwatering sight.
Mom, Dad, and Yun-a all swallowed hard, then dipped the perfectly cooked meat in the dipping sauce and took a bite.
Exclamations immediately poured from their mouths.
"It just melts on your tongue."
"This is so good...! Oppa, so whenever you want meat, you can just grill it like this on the spot? I'm jealous!"
"Ha ha. Well, pretty much."
After that, we shared a satisfying meal while chatting about this and that with the family.
"Well, we should head back before it gets too late."
"Even if you're doing Hunter work, always be careful. Safety comes first, no matter what. You know that, son?"
"Of course. Whose son do you think I am? I'll make sure Cer never hunts in dangerous situations either."
Cer and I saw the family off.
"Oh, right. Shin-hu."
"Yeah?"
"I don't want to pressure you, but don't you think it's about time you got married? Are you seeing anyone?"
"Yeah, good point. Didn't you used to say you wanted a cute daughter and that you'd get married early?"
Oh no. An uncomfortable question had reared its head.
"Ha ha, not yet. Well, if someone good comes along, I'll give it a shot."
"Sure. If you want, your father's friend Dong-sik has a lovely daughter. I could ask him to set you up."
"Or oppa, want me to introduce you to some of my older friends?"
"No, I'm fine. Really. I prefer to let things happen naturally."
"Tch. Who does that these days? Just meet someone however you can!"
Ahem. See? Yun-a nags harder than Mom and Dad.
"Alright, get home safe!"
I somehow managed to send the family off and came back inside.
"Phew! That got dicey at the end there."
I flopped onto the sofa and pet Cer.
"Hoo... Marriage, huh."
If I was being honest, it wasn't like I didn't want to get married.
Having a sweet, loving family was kind of my dream.
But finding someone compatible was hard enough...
I guess it still felt far off.
Still, my family was right that I was getting up there in age.
"Ugh. My head hurts."
Feeling restless, I opened the fridge.
"Just one can!"
When your head's full of thoughts, the best thing to do is drink, get tipsy, and sleep like a log.
Glug glug.
"Ahhh!"
As I downed the canned beer, a pleasant buzz started creeping in.
"Tch, like I don't want to? It's not like I'm single by choice. Right, Cer?"
Kkiing?
Cer tilted his head, but I kept rambling, emboldened by the alcohol.
"You know, Cer. I've always dreamed of raising a daughter so cute I could do anything for her. The apple of my eye. But I can't just date and marry someone I don't even love, right?"
I rolled around on the sofa, throwing a pathetic little tantrum.
"Aaaagh! I wanna raise a cute little daughter who runs up yelling Daddyyy when I get home from work!"
Throwing a fit over something that wasn't even going to happen, I drifted off to sleep right there on the sofa.
Kkiing?!
Just before I fell asleep, I thought I heard Cer let out a whine near my left arm.
But eh, probably nothing.
*****
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