Chapter 89 – Dog and Assistant.

It was the dawn of the next day. After falling asleep in his bathtub he was greeted with some new problems. The monster egg had hatched and produced some kind of dog-like creature. If he had to describe it he would say that it was similar to a wolf puppy with long-standing ears and a longer snout.

The other characteristic thing about it was its tail that had a sharp ruby tip. This same tip was now slamming against one of his wooden chairs while the pup was wagging it around. After checking he also discovered that this child was a male.

“Hup…”

He set the passed out half-dwarf on another chair. This guy had activated the trap at his door which shocked and paralyzed him in the process. It would take a few minutes till he could move again so he was nice enough to bring him inside for now.

“What will I do with you…”

While Bernir was indisposed Roland took a look down at the small animal. It was clear that this monster had gone through the imprinting process the moment it hatched from the egg. All of these monster eggs had different requirements for hatching. Probably with the increased heat of his hot tub and maybe the close proximity to him through the whole night it could have triggered the hatching process.

Some of the monsters that hatched from the eggs would see the first living being they come in contact with as their parent. This was the case for canine type monsters that went off of the smell the most.

“I don’t think I can sell you to anyone like this…”

Roland gave out a sigh while the ruby wolf puppy gave out a high pitched bark. The more he looked at the small animal the more it wiggled its behind, soon the ruby tip of that tail caused the wooden chair to give out and splinter. It was clear that this was a monster as a regular dog would not be able to exert this amount of strength.

“Hey stop destroying my house…bad dog!”

He shouted at the puppy that caused one of the chair legs to fly off into the distance. The abrupt shout caused the puppy to whimper while dropping its ears down.

“Don’t you look at me like that!”

The dog looked at him with his big eyes while whimpering some more, this caused Roland to back away. He was someone that actually liked dogs but animals weren’t allowed in his old apartment. Neither could he get one in this world while being on the run or working to further his craft and earn money.

This was quite troublesome even more as the dog started shaking around. Roland was wondering what this was about but the puddle that was forming under it made things clear. He quickly grasped the small puppy and started carrying it out of the house with a stream of urine following both of them as the small dog had quite the full bladder.

“Did you drink the bathwater or something?”

When he got outside with the little red puppy the little guy started barking frantically some more. Its ears stood at attention along with its tail as it saw the large space outside. Soon it was barking and running around with no worry in the world. It was a newborn pup so it was clearly eager to see the new world outside.

Roland had quite the large backyard that was fenced off so he wasn’t afraid that this small puppy would get outside. The problem was with the hidden runic mines buried in some strategic locations. There would be one dead puppy if it stepped on one.

“You’ll have to stay with me for the time being…”

He grasped it with his hand and carried it close to his armpit. The little wolf was then stuffed into a closet so it wouldn’t cause more damage. He himself got some water and a mop to clean the urine. The water was filled up with one of his magic wands that produced it. The problem was that he underestimated how long the half-dwarf would be out cold.

“Is that an enchanted item?”

Bernir was now sitting upright and looking as Roland poured water into a bucket with a magic tool.

“I guess it is, what of it?”

“Uh, nothing, it just has a unique design, and are those runes? D-did you perhaps make it?”

For some reason, he could see some sparkles appearing in Bernir’s eyes. It was as if he was looking at him as if he was some rare animal.

“No… what makes you think that?”

He tried to deflect the question but it seemed that his secret was out. Bernir kept staring at him with that strange look before shooting up to his feet. He quickly ran over to the bucket of water and then just as quickly dropped down to his knees and started bowing.

“Please, Sir. Take me in as your apprentice!”

“Huh? Apprentice? What are you on about?”

The surprise in Roland’s eyes was clearly visible as he looked down to the prostrating half-dwarf. The youth was also calling him sir even though he was only sixteen years old. Though looks were deceptive in this world as old people could look very young with enough vitality or some special skills.

“I’m a great worker! I can clean your house, cook, wash your clothes… and …”

Bernir started listing off things that he could do for him before quickly grabbing the mop that he brought over. He soon was cleaning the urine trail that the puppy created for him, scrubbing everything as if possessed by some kind of cleaning demon. Roland was quite astonished by how proficient this young man was at cleaning, perhaps he even had a cleaning skill that made things easier.

“I’m not looking for an apprentice… What could I even teach you?”

“But sir, you are Wayland the Runesmith, right?”

“The Runesmith?”

Roland’s heart skipped a beat the moment he was called a runesmith by Bernir. He was hoping to stay hidden from the world but he also knew that sooner or later people would associate the wares that he was selling in the auction house with him.

“What makes you think that?”

He asked while going to the side while wondering who was talking about his identity.

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“I overheard some blacksmiths talking about new runic equipment in the auction house, I also saw Sir. Wayland deliver some items into the auction house. It really is surprising that you were actually the Runesmith yourself, think everyone thinks that you are just an apprentice working here. Don’t worry Sir, I’ll be sure to clear things out in the city and tell them everything!”

“D-don’t!”

The half-dwarf was quite chatty while finishing up the cleaning. Apparently, he was the first person to put two and two together.

“Sir…”

“Uh, I’d like that part to remain private… and stop calling my sir, I’m not that old. Uh… who do the people in the city think that I was?”

This farce had kept on for quite a long time, mostly because people didn’t think that a young man like him could be someone producing runic equipment. There just had to be some kind of craftsman working in the background and this was confirmed by Bernir here. Most people thought that ‘Wayland’ was him as a runesmith that for some reason liked playing around as an adventurer.

“But I don’t think many people know about you that much, everyone is concerned with their own things.”

“That might not be the case anymore…”

He murmured to himself while rubbing his chin, after the little fight he had in the adventurer’s guild his name would probably be starting to get known around the city. Wayland the adventurer and runesmith might become the talk of the town soon, even more now when he could finally produce deep steel and deep iron items semi-proficient.