by Inumajin
“Thank goodness you caught on fast.”
“You’re reading my min—”
“—Your face.”
Let’s just get back on topic.
“Very well, Routa Okami. I heard your wish for rebirth when you died. You want to be a dog, correct?”
“Yes!”
“All right, then. Let me make some preparations…… Huh? A dog? Like a puppy?”
“Yes!”
A dog! A dog belonging to a rich family! The type of dog who’s soft and flabby and gets fed lots of fattening food!
“Wh-what a strange request… A lot of humans ask to be reborn as different creatures, but it seems that most of them are close relatives to humans.”
I’m guessing things like elves and vampires. I can understand why some people would want to be reborn as a fantastical being. They’re being reborn in another world. They probably want to be beautiful or get a bunch of cheater abilities to take with them.
“But I want to be a dog. A rich family’s dog.”
I mean, after all, getting reborn as a creature that looks like a human would still come with lots of work, right? And I don’t want to have to deal with human interactions, either. I’ve had enough of that struggle.
I want to spend my days lazing about, not thinking about anything, being spoiled by my owner, and not having my stomach hurt from anxiety over worrying about the next day.
If someone could grant me that, then I’d be happy to be reborn in any world.
“R-really? If that is your wish, then I shall grant it.”
Yes! Hell yes!
“Becoming a nonhuman species means your spirit shall also change shape, meaning I have to make a number of adjustments, but you will essentially still be you, with all your memories. You may feel some slight instability until I can place you in a physical body, but your memories and personality should return to you.”
“Okay. That sounds fine to me.”
I didn’t realize how lucky I’d be when I died of overwork. Nothing particularly good happened in my life, so I was never expecting this plot twist at the last second.
Thank you, goddess. Now I can be a happy dog.
“You wish to be reincarnated as a pet dog to rich owners. Is that correct?”
“Yes!”
That’s exactly what I want. Nothing more.
Oh, although it would be nice if my owner was a cute girl.
Being the pet of a filthy-rich, hairy, fat guy is a little…
I’m sure I’d live a lavish lifestyle, but I don’t imagine being the pet of some gangster would come with much coddling.
“Very well. Just relax and let yourself slip away.”
“Understood.”
I close my eyes as my chest swells with the desire to pass on to the next world. Not that I have any eyes.
“Everything is in constant flux. This being shall be liberated from his previous world and be reincarnated in the next. The goddess Aphrodite commands it.”
She spreads out her arms, and I am bathed in a dazzling light.
It’s finally time. I’m kissing my human world good-bye and getting reincarnated as a rich dog.
The pet life I’ve only ever dreamed of is finally here!
“But you know, I am a little worried about leaving it at that.”
“Huh?”
The goddess speaks up just as I’m about to be reincarnated.
“What is there to worry about?”
“Well, lots of other people wished for overpowered physical or magical abilities in preparation for the journeys ahead. You won’t have anything at all, though, and I don’t think that’s fair. You are so modest that I feel compelled to grant you a few small boons.”
“Huh? Um, goddess…?”
I don’t need any boons.
I’m just happy being the dog of a rich family.
“Let’s see. Regular dogs only live for about fifteen years. That is rather pitiful. Let’s increase your life span.”
Okay, that’s not so bad.
A few extra days to laze around should be more than enough.
“Let’s add an extra thousand years for now.”
“Huh?”
A thousand?! Why?! A goddess’s idea of standard is way too huge!
“Also, the next world is full of monsters, so it might be quite dangerous. Let’s have you be reincarnated into a powerful creature closely related to a dog.”
“Huh?”
Closely related to a dog?! I want to be reincarnated as an actual dog, though! Not something that just looks like a dog!!!
“Oh, this one looks good. It is a particularly powerful variation called a Fen Wolf. It’s the King of the Fen Wolves known as Fenrir. It’s a bit big, but since it does look a lot like a dog, it being huge is a trivial matter.”
“Huh?”
Goddess?! What are you summoning from that huge book of yours?! What is that catalog?! What’s written in there about the recommended reincarnations?! And it being huge is not a trivial matter!
“It comes with a lot of magical powers. Oh, wow. It’s the strongest ranking creature here. It’s so strong, you can destroy it seven times without killing it.”
“Huh?”
Why’s it so strong? Wait—that’s not the issue here!
“Yes, yes, you would have a difficult time when you get into a fight because you have lived in such a peaceful country. I shall install some half-self-activating offensive magic. One that will destroy a mountain in a single shot. I am sure that you will find some use for such powerful magic.”
“Huh?”
That sounds terrifying. That’s not what I want! I don’t need any of that!
“Oh, no, no need to thank me. It is my job to ensure that your reincarnation goes smoothly, after all.”
That’s not it! That’s not what I want! I’m happy being a simple pampered pooch!
Why do you have to add all these unnecessary features?!
“Well then, have a nice afterlife!”
“Just listen to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”
Can you see my face telling you to stooooooooooooooopppppp?!
“Arwf?! (N-wha—?!)”
I snap awake.
That was a memory from before I was reincarnated. I was able to remember it clearly in my dream.
“Arww. (Ohhh…right. That’s it. I remember now.)”
It’s all that dumb goddess’s fault. It’s thanks to all these unnecessary features she gave me that I’m the King of the Fen Wolves.
It’s her fault my pet life is a colossal mess.
I never asked to be targeted by a knight, or to have a bunch of Fen Wolves make me do those reckless things, or to have a death battle with a dragon.
“Bark! Bark! (I won’t forget this, you useless goddess…! I’m gonna give you a piece of my mind the next time I die!)”
I swear to the blue sky above me.
“What’s wrong, Routa? Why are you howling at the sky?”
Lady Mary looks up from the book she’s reading and strokes my cheek.
“Arww. (It’s nothing. I’m just getting ready to complain to a goddess.)”
I rub my face against her cheek, and she squints her eyes as it tickles her.
We were having a break in the shade of the large tree in the garden, but I must have dozed off at some point.
She leans against my body and resumes her reading.
Once more, I’ve taken on the role of the sofa.
“Arwf. (I suppose I’m thankful that I ended up with my lady somehow.)”
I’m pretty sure I hit the owner jackpot.
There’s no doubt about it. She’s the best mistress ever.
“Arwoo! (But I still won’t forgive you for giving me this Fenrir body! I refuse to! I won’t forget this, you worthless goddess!!)”
As I bear this grudge against a goddess who refused to listen to me, I howl at the sky.
Meanwhile, in the heavenly plane.
A goddess managing the departed s
ouls in the cycle of rebirth is taking a break from work.
“I wonder what Routa is doing right now? He was the one who made that odd request to be turned into a dog.”
I gave him a lot of unique features as a special service. I wonder if his life is going well?
The worried goddess decides to take a peek.
She spreads out her arms, and a hole appears in the white floor.
She sees a young girl and a dog snuggling under a large tree.
The dog is so huge and its face so ferocious, you can’t really call it a dog anymore, but that’s a trivial problem for the goddess.
The human and creature seem incredibly happy.
The dog looks up at her as if he notices he’s being watched from the heavens and lets out a wild howl.
The goddess looks at him and chuckles softly.
“Hee-hee, I’m happy you’re happy. I hope you enjoy your second life, Routa, or would that be your ‘dog life’?”
The dog’s howl sounded rather angry, but the goddess just took it as a howl of thanks.
The dog’s rage never reaches the goddess. In her mind, she doesn’t need to hear words of praise. She gets embarrassed easily, so she’s a bit shy.
Afterword
To all my first-time readers, it’s a pleasure to meet you.
To those who know me from my very first novel, Alto Ciel of the Azure, good morning, good evening, and good night.
Those who have known about me for a while are probably already great friends, so come on in! Make yourself at home! Would you like something to eat? Gwa-ha-ha! (Just like old man James.)
Let me start again. Thank you so much for picking up this book.
This is the official publication of my light novel, which I uploaded to the novel websites Kakuyomu and Shousetsuka ni Narou.
I’m thankful for the advice of a senior author who told me, “The most important thing for writing a novel is to write what you want.” That made it easy to create and release, and from that came everyone’s support, until finally this new novel came out. I’m just overflowing with joy.
Of course, it also made me a million times busier. I want a break!
It’s been only four months since my debut, and I’m already on my third volume. I want a break!
My schedule was hell. I want a break!
But by focusing my anger on that desire for a vacation, rather than on my editor in chief, I was able to put everything into this novel, Woof Woof Story: I Told You to Turn Me Into a Pampered Pooch, Not Fenrir!
Days off. Overtime. Commuting. Not making the last train. Those days of hard work wore me out, and I really wanted some therapy with a cute, fluffy animal. No, I really wanted to become something that would get all the head pats. I wanted a cute master to take care of me, to eat delicious food, to sleep as much as I wanted, to not have to worry about my future, and to take it easy and be spoiled every day.
Let me shake your hand if you feel that way, too. Let’s become Routa together.
Now let me thank everyone who helped make this book a reality.
First of all, everyone who read the online version of this story! You supported me with your comments and reviews. Thanks to that, I was able to get the physical version done. Thank you so much! The online version is still ongoing, so I hope you keep enjoying it!
My editor K, who helped me with the third volume of Woof Woof! I’m a terrible author who doesn’t work if not being hounded, but you really saved me by keeping me to the schedule and somehow making all the deadlines! But, um, could you maybe allow a little more breathing room in the future?
Kochimo, who drew some colorful illustrations that really made the novel pop: the cool yet super-fluffy Fenrir, a kind and energetic young lady, a no-good knight, and a sexy witch. You brought them to life along with a variety of other characters through your fantastic designs. Thank you! I smile every time I look at them!
Also, the artist and author, my teacher, 47AgDragon (Shirudora), who taught me the importance of language in character creation and story structure when I was just writing on instinct.
To everyone at the publishing company, designers, proofreaders, marketers, booksellers—it was thanks to all the people who supported me that this publication happened. Thank you so much!
And of course, my biggest thanks to you, who picked up this book.
Sorry for keeping it short.
I hope to see you again in future volumes! Until then!
2017.9 Inumajin
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