"What is that...? Is it tormenting the creature in the center?"

Three large hawks that had relentlessly been targeting me.

One plump, large lizard, bigger than a giraffe.

　

A life-threatening situation.

I should go around the long way—better to avoid this place.

Especially that lizard—it looks dangerous.

Its teeth, thick and sharp, clearly indicate a fierce carnivorous nature.

Actually… isn't that more like a dinosaur than a lizard? There's a certain romance to it, but the thought of it attacking me isn't funny at all.

Detour, detour.

―I'm starving

Just as I was about to detour before being spotted, I heard a voice.

Strictly speaking, it was the sound of an animal's

heart speaking through communication. The voice had directionality— I couldn't hear birds or lizards that weren't aware of me. It was only because there was, to some extent, a will

to communicate that I

could hear them. In

essence, this voice was— —I

can't move

anymore —I'm so hungry again.

I looked forward once more. The creature in the

center was looking at me. Though sprawled out, its large eyes stared at

me intently. And clearly, it said:

—Help me. Hearing

those words, I burst into a run. After

closing part of the distance, I dropped to my knees in a shooting

stance. About thirty meters. At this range, I couldn't

miss. With a dull thud, the giant bird collapsed.

Immediately aimed at another bird and pulled the trigger again.

The rapid fire was something I'd practiced just two days ago.

The bird fell with three bullets.

The lizard still didn't move. It couldn't have failed to notice, but perhaps it didn't understand what was happening.

At the very least, the bullets shouldn't have been visible to it. To the lizard, it would have seemed like it heard a sound and then the bird was already dead.

I re-aimed at the lizard.

My target was the core of its spiritual energy—exactly facing sideways toward me.

I pulled the trigger quietly—but at the instant I fired, the lizard vanished from the scope.

"Missed!?"

I looked away from the scope and checked with my eyes. The lizard had noticed me and was now moving toward me.

No, it's not that simple. Despite its bulky appearance, it moves at incredible speed.

It's already right in front of me――

I shattered the barrier stone immediately.

There's no way I could possibly respond with a gun.

I don't know why that lizard avoided the bullet—maybe it was luck, or perhaps it just has sharp instincts.

But I've heard hunters say it's hard to shoot an animal. So, killing a living creature isn't as easy as it seems.

The lizard, having lost sight of me, swivels its eyes wildly, turning its body this way and that, searching for my position.

(Well, what should I do now...)

I want to save that child, but I doubt I can do so without defeating this lizard first.

Then again, dodging bullets isn't an option either...

(Oh, that's right)

I remembered the story I heard from Serika-chan about someone who brought a gun into the transfer and conducted an experiment.

The barrier stone is an inviolable space, but what happens if you shoot someone from inside?

Does the bullet bounce off the barrier wall? Or can you not even fire the gun at all?

The answer turned out to be incredibly simple.

The barrier instantly dissolves the moment you make an attack.

This property allows a hidden technique—shooting your opponent while remaining invisible.

It's commonly known as the "Vanishing Shot," or something like that.

After exchanging a new barrier stone for one point, I raised my gun.

The distance to the lizard was less than ten meters.

Its outer skin looked tough, but the kinetic energy of the slug round could pierce even steel plates.

I aimed through the scope, targeting its eye.

If it hits the eyes, it will directly destroy the brain and definitely knock it down. In a way, this is even more reliable than targeting the spirit energy's lifeline.

At the exact moment the lizard stopped moving, I pulled the trigger.

The bullet was fired and, upon touching the barrier, the barrier vanished. But the bullet didn’t stop.

The 18-millimeter bullet, fired at supersonic speed, struck the lizard’s cheek, causing an explosion-like destruction to its head.

The massive lizard, now brainless like a corpse, collapsed heavily to the ground.

"……Good."

Honestly, I hadn’t expected to waste so many precious bullets—just one point’s worth—on a place like this.

Sericca-chan is probably scolding me and that idiotic, useless, brainless moron right now. If I had dodged the Vanishing Shoot, I would have been instantly checkmated.

　

I knew that risk perfectly well, but I couldn't just pretend not to see it—there was nothing I could do. Besides, there was the "hint" to consider. If this encounter was connected to the hint, then fighting was inevitable.

Of course, it might have nothing to do with the hint at all...

"Ah, forget it! I'll think about it later!"

After confirming there were no other animals around, I hurried toward the creature that had been calling for help.

—Thank you

—I'm starving

—Anything at all

—Please

The fragmented, continuous whispers of a desperate mind.

But more than that, I was utterly captivated by the creature's appearance.

(——Adorable!! What is this little one!)

It's unclear whether it's a monster or an animal, but it definitely has a round, fluffy, ball-like head. At first glance, it looks like a sphere wrapped in thick, dark blue fur.

Its size is about the same as a balance ball.

Long, fluttering black eyelashes. Large, glistening eyes that sparkle like stars, as if they contain the entire universe.

Its large ears hang down like those of a lop-eared rabbit, utterly adorable. It's impossible to tell where its mouth is—probably hidden beneath the fur.

Several strange, dangling appendages hang from its body, resembling tentacles, but their purpose is unclear—whether they're arms, legs, or tails, no one can say.

I've seen several large skull fragments scattered nearby—perhaps they belong to these little creatures.

It might have looked disgustingly strange, but to me, it strangely seemed cute. I just had to help it, no matter what.

"What would you like to eat?"

— Do you understand? Why?

— Want to eat

— No strength to chew

— Stone

— Please

"Stone? Maybe you mean a spirit stone. Just wait a moment."

I traded three crystals for a small knife used for dismantling, then extracted the spirit stone from the giant bird's back. Quite large. Colored. A wind spirit stone.

"Here you go. Can you eat this?"

— Thank you

The creature with hairy eyes weakly moved its ears—perhaps they weren't ears but tentacles—and opened its mouth much wider than I'd imagined, then took a big bite out of the stone.

Perhaps it's rolling around in their mouth like a candy.

Closing their eyes as if savoring it.

"I'll get more to eat."

I took stones from the remaining two birds and placed them in front of the eyeball child.

There was no sign of life around.

I'd like to pull the stone out of that lizard too, but with a ten-centimeter butchering knife, slicing through the tough outer shell of that lizard's back seems difficult.

I sat beside the eyeball child, watching them slowly lick the spirit stone.

It's such a strange creature. I don't understand why those strong lizards and birds were tormenting this child.

Maybe because it was weak, and looked like it might be eaten...

(I wish this child would come with me.)

I established communication with them for several reasons.

I also thought that if I could become allies with a strong creature and fight alongside it, I might still be useful after reuniting with Hei-chan.

But as I look at this child, I can't help but wonder.

As someone who loves animals, can I really make that creature fight?

It's different from how a trainer uses a pet in a game. This is real life, after all.

It would be fine if we were hunting together with a herbivore—there wouldn't be much danger, and we'd be doing it to eat.

But hunting in the dungeon is different. Well, in a way, it's still hunting for food, indirectly. Still, there's definitely an element of using the creature as a tool.

Maybe Serika-chan suggested I take the "Physical Strength Up" skill because she realized this.

...That might be it.

That's because she doesn't bother explaining things she's already concluded.

— Where are we going?

By the time I noticed, the eye child was staring at me with her beautiful eyes.

Mind communication is the ability to convey thoughts directly. She must have sensed my thought that I wanted her to come along.

"Once we get past here, we'll reach the place where someone important is waiting. It's far away, so it might take dozens of days."

The eye child had already begun working on her third spirit stone.

Though it's common knowledge that spirit stones can be eaten, it was strange to think that animals eat them like this.

— Can he eat one too?

Without responding to my answer, the eye child moved her tentacle slightly and pointed toward the lizard.

"Fine, but I can't extract that spirit stone from my equipment."

— slightly relieved now

— can eat it as-is

— like this?

— still can't fly

"Carry it? Can I touch it?"

— Yes

— I don't think you're an enemy

Hearing that voice, I gently hugged the fluffy, eye-covered creature.

It was surprisingly heavy—about thirty kilograms—but carrying it was barely manageable.

I casually rubbed it a little. The soft, fluffy fur felt wonderful to touch.

Beneath the fur, the skin felt surprisingly tough, quite the opposite of its cute appearance, exuding a plump, sturdy build typical of a carnivore. Its body was warm, quite toasty indeed.

When it reached the lizard's corpse, the eye child began greedily devouring the body with its tentacles, squishing and tearing it apart with surprising dexterity.

It's quite gruesome, yet I can't help being impressed by its incredible bite strength.

Since I've always enjoyed animal documentaries, I'm relatively used to this sort of thing.

Or rather, I can't help wondering how something so small manages to fit all that inside, but I suppose it must have an extraordinarily efficient energy conversion rate. In this world, even humans can consume massive amounts, so it's best to just accept it as a given.

More importantly, I needed to stay alert for any other dangerous animals approaching.

While we could use a barrier stone, we're still right in the heart of a dangerous zone—there's no point wasting points unnecessarily.

"Tasty?"

It's a bit gruesome, yet the way it eats looks cute.

I asked vaguely, and the eyeball child answered diligently.

— Delicious

— This one's fast and strong

— So if you defeated this one, you must be stronger?

— Doesn't seem like it

The eyeball child chomping away at the white meat.

Huh? You're floating, aren't you?

When it moves its eating spot, it floats gently through the air!

— My strength's coming back

— Thanks to you

— I'll follow you

"You'll follow me?"

— Yes

— As long as my stomach doesn't growl

It seems eating is the condition.

The lizard is already half gone. Incredible appetite.

It might be tough if it's strictly meat-based, but if it eats anything, maybe it'll manage somehow.

— Can eat anything

— Even stones are fine

"Then let's go together!"

I don't know if this little one can fight, and I still have to cross this dangerous place. Just because I've gained a cute traveling companion doesn't mean I'm any less cautious. But still, the thought crosses my mind that simply saving one life might mean I've left a tiny footprint in this world.

Even if I die, this little one will eat.

— Can't give up

— I'm strong

Those words seemed to echo. The eye-shaped creature gently swayed its long eyelashes, focused and relentless in its eating.

Strong as it may be, with such a small body—

"—Ah"

Suddenly remembering the ecology of animals in this world, I opened the status board.

Using up the last crystal, I tapped "Monster Identification."

Monster Identification displays information about the last monster or animal I saw.

'Evil Eye Ball: Monstrous Body — A one-eyed creature that floats through spirit energy and naturally manipulates multiple elemental magic types. Its eye possesses a special power, capable of producing pseudo-magical effects simply by being seen, hence its name "Magic Eye." Though an innate apex predator (Top Predator), it suffers from poor fuel efficiency and low mobility, making it prone to running out of energy and inevitably starving to death. Omnivorous, yet particularly fond of eating spirit stones whole. This specimen is classified as "Annihilation Predator" and "Quasi-Demon Lord." Spirit stone drop rate: Chaos 100%.'

"I see...

Why was this creature on the verge of death? Seeing this, I finally understood.

In this world, carnivorous creatures grow stronger by devouring surrounding life, transforming into monsters that consume everything until they eventually starve.

It's as if the tank capacity never increases, yet the engine displacement keeps growing endlessly. In other words, they become so powerful that their energy consumption outpaces supply.

This also explains why monsters can't leave their territory in search of food—they inevitably reach a point where the balance of life collapses, and they become unable to move.

This creature, too, must have been starving after consuming all the life around it.

The bird and the lizard were probably waiting, hoping to eat its stone after it died.

""If you still aren't full, you can eat that bird too,"

— Thank you

— I'll eat

This kid was on the verge of starving to death, so it must be an incredibly inefficient monster in terms of fuel consumption.

I don't know exactly how much it eats, but it feels like it's already eaten several times its own body weight.

"Do you have a name?"

I suddenly asked, curious.

— Name?

— No

That was the answer I expected. There's no way a wild animal living alone would have a name.

"Then can I give you one? You're Ai. The Ai from Evil Eye Ball."

I gave it the same name as the dog I once briefly had at home.

— Ai?

"Yes. Shall I call you Ai-chan? Oh, I'm Nanami."

— Nanami

"Yeah. I'll protect Aichan, so be nice to her."

— "Because you saved my life"

— "Nanami and I are allies"

— "Looking forward to working together from now on"

Aichan replied, the very next moment.

A heavenly voice echoed through her mind.

"Congratulations! As your first summon bonus, 10 crystals have been awarded."

"Congratulations! As the first isekai transferor to successfully tame a monster, you've earned an additional 3 points as a first-time bonus."

"Congratulations! As the first isekai transferor to successfully tame a sub-demon lord, you've earned 5 points as a first-time bonus."

"Congratulations! You've been awarded the title 'Demon Tamer' for successfully taming a sub-demon lord. As your first title acquisition bonus, 1 point has been awarded."

W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-what?!

Suddenly it hit me!

Even though it was a complete coincidence, Ai-chan seems to be a remarkably strong creature.

The fact that she became an ally was apparently a rare occurrence.

Still, taming? Is this what taming is like?

In games, you usually defeat and subdue a creature to make it a companion, but with Ai-chan and me, it feels more like a fated bond.

Anyway, the important thing is that I'm grateful.

My points jumped up by nine all at once. The crystal is happy too.

Now I have 14 points left. If I use them wisely, maybe I can make it through this wilderness.

In any case, this is how my transfer to another world began.

　

Making a companion on the first day was a very promising start.

And above all, Ai-chan is adorable.

It wasn't because I remembered the dog I once tried to keep when I gave it the name "Ai," but I can't deny that the image of that dog flashed in my mind.

This time, I will absolutely not let it die.