These past few years of teaching have been satisfying.
‘If I can’t enroll as a student, I’ll become a professor!’
Thoughts like this had sufficiently rewarded my overworked mind and body.
I get paid well, there’s no stressful boss around.
Compared to my workplace from my previous life—no, it’s so good that it’s almost rude to compare.
But. There was one thing, just one, that wasn’t satisfying…
There are absolutely no incidents or accidents worth mentioning.
That’s right. This academy is…
Too peaceful.
What?! Why not?
This isn’t just any academy—it’s the most famous and largest academy in the empire. Why aren’t there any incidents?
Where’s the shadowy group plotting to overthrow the academy?
Spies embedded within, despite the empire boasting top-notch security.
Or monsters prepared for practical training suddenly going berserk.
At the very least, shouldn’t there be delinquent students who rely solely on their parents’ positions and act arrogantly?
Maybe my expectations were too high from all those academy stories I read in my previous life.
Since becoming a professor, I haven’t had a single day without fantasizing about what I’d do if something happened.
But fantasies remain fantasies because they don’t happen.
No terrorist attacks on the academy, not even any delinquent students—it’s reality.
The pay is decent, the benefits are great, but… even with all that, it’s getting kinda boring.
A feeling of emptiness that money can’t fill often creeps up on me.
—I wouldn’t mind being sent to another world filled with demons, just to alleviate this boredom.
And if I keep letting this boredom linger, I don’t know what might happen to me.
Some people might say, “If you had a romance, you wouldn’t have time to be bored.”
But if it were possible, I would’ve done it already.
The women around me are basically students, professors, and my teaching assistant.
Romance with a student? If caught, that’s instant termination.
Other professors? That doesn’t make sense.
Lastly, my teaching assistant… She’s like a daughter to me; I couldn’t possibly see her as a romantic interest.
But! This mental suffering ends today.
I’ve finally figured out the location of an exclusive pet shop catering only to high-ranking individuals within the empire.
How much hardship I endured to find out the shop’s location and how to contact them!
Every weekend, I secretly skipped out to give private tutoring to the children of the elite…
I even conversed with them…
After sacrificing countless weekends, enduring indescribable hardships for months, I finally got the information.
‘So… it’s around here, right?’
In a back alley where there’s hardly any sign of human presence.
Not far from the capital of the empire where I work, they say this legendary pet shop exists.
‘…Is someone here?’
If I’ve come to the right place, there should be someone nearby.
I’d already made contact beforehand, so the employee disguised as a vagrant was supposed to approach me with the correct password.
At the same time, I was reminded to be cautious. Since this shop operates under strict secrecy, there’s only one chance to say the password.
‘The password is definitely…’
Right when I was reviewing the password again to avoid any mistakes, I heard footsteps from afar.
“A penny for your kindness!”
‘You’ve arrived!’
A man draped in tattered rags, shouting loudly while begging, approached me.
Common sense dictates that there’s no reason for anyone to beg in a place devoid of people, so he must be a shop employee in disguise.
‘Alright, I’ve memorized the procedure… Let’s go!’
Once I finished thinking, I walked up to him for the rendezvous.
Pulling a gold coin from my pocket, I said,
“Excuse me, if I were to give you this money, what would you buy first?”
“Churu… I need to buy Churu…”
The tramp repeated the password exactly as I remembered it.
Only after hearing the password did I manage to ease my tension, which had been building until then.
At least I hadn’t approached the wrong person.
However, it’s still too early to fully relax—the password exchange isn’t over yet.
“Churu. Not for personal consumption, I assume… May I ask why?”
“I have a cat…”
“You seem to have a good caretaker. Please consider adding this gold coin to the Churu fund.”
“The verification gold coin has been securely received. Welcome to our shop, sir.”
The tramp—who was actually a shop employee—quickly grabbed the gold coin I tossed and bowed, changing his tone instantly.
While I don’t understand why they chose such a conversation as the password, you gotta follow the rules.
Thankfully, I was told that from now on, I’ll be registered as an official customer, so I won’t have to go through this hassle again.
“Well, this way please.”
The employee guided me to a secluded corner of the back alley.
Even though it was just a dimly lit back alley devoid of people, I wondered why he led me here.
“Please wait a moment.”
—Creeeak!
As he fumbled against the wall a few times, the appearance of the back alley began to transform before my eyes, disappearing in an instant.
“Well, this way please.”
Following the employee inside, another man presumed to be an employee greeted me.
“Oh wow, isn’t that Professor? When we received the message, we were half-believing it, but here you are! Who would’ve thought you’d have an interest in pets?”
“Teaching others is hard work, you know. The stress is immense.”
“Haha! Exactly, exactly! That’s why people keep pets, right?”
He seemed bulkier than the employee disguised as a tramp. He probably handles physical tasks inside the shop.
Given that this is a pet shop, it likely involves animal training.
The numerous small scars on his hands supported my guess.
Training animals is far more difficult and labor-intensive than imagined.
Without truly cherishing and loving animals, it’s impossible to perform such a task—meaning he, like me, genuinely loves animals.
People who love animals are never bad.
With a kind smile, he informed me that the wolves I desired were prepared inside and led me further in.
Walking down the corridor behind him, I noticed several rooms along the way.
-Puppies
-Kittens
…
Judging by the names written on them, these seemed to be the pet sections.
It makes sense that the shop could sustain itself even targeting only high-ranking customers, given the numerous pet sections present here.
Opening any of those doors would surely reveal many animals eagerly awaiting their new owners.
But my target was different.
Puppies and kittens can be easily obtained anywhere without going through such a complicated process.
However, the animal I wanted was far from ordinary, which is why there weren’t many shops handling them.
It’s only natural, isn’t it?
Wouldn’t anyone tire of common animals after living in a fantasy world for ten years since reincarnating from a world where they were commonplace?
‘Even snakes or spiders didn’t catch my fancy, so there’s nothing more to say.’
After walking for some time, I finally saw the name of the animal I was looking for.
-Wolves
I wanted to raise a wolf.
Within the empire, only this shop handled such creatures.
A pet shop claiming to sell every kind of animal in existence.
Today, I’m buying a wolf from here.
I’ll roll around with the wolf to alleviate the boredom of academy life.
“So, which wolf shall I show you?”
My answer was simple:
“Could you show me all of them? I’d like to personally choose the one I’ll spend a long time with.”
“That’s a fair point. I anticipated that, so I’ve gathered all our wolves. Take your time looking around and let me know which one you prefer.”
After the employee stepped aside, I entered the wolf section.
I looked forward to seeing what kinds of wolves awaited me.
-Grrr…
-Huff! Huff!
-Auuuoo!
True to my expectations, there were many wolves inside.
Black, gray, brown… some even had red or blue fur.
I don’t know how their fur colors turned out this way, but in a world with magic, anything’s possible.
“…?”
Then, as I observed carefully, I noticed something strange.
Among all the wolves, there wasn’t a single white-furred one.
There were black-and-white spotted ones or striped ones, but none with pure white fur.
Of course, this might not be a big deal.
All the wolves here have beautiful coats and clear eyes, so choosing any one of them wouldn’t lead to regret.
But… somehow…
When people tell you not to think about something, it’s all you can think about, right?
With every color and pattern represented except pure white, the image of a white wolf filled my mind.
I pictured it running gracefully in a snowy field, its pristine white fur shimmering against the snow.
A pair of glowing eyes peeking through the white fur came into view.
The haunting howl echoing as it tilted its head skyward reached my ears.
By this point, my mind was completely consumed by thoughts of a white-furred wolf, so I asked the employee.
“Excuse me, but are there no wolves with white fur?”
“Yes? A white… wolf?”
“Yes. While spots or stripes aren’t bad, I’m particularly drawn to pure white.”
“Are you really looking for a white wolf?”
“Absolutely.”
My heart had already been captured by the allure of the white wolf. It felt like only white could fill the void within me.
“Could it be that someone else has reserved it or it’s not for sale?”
“No way! Follow me, Professor. I’ll show you immediately.”
I worried that someone might’ve discovered the beauty of the white wolf before me or that it was a mascot-like figure in the store.
But judging from the employee’s confident stride ahead, it seemed my worries were unfounded.
After walking for a bit, the end of the corridor came into view.
There stood a roughly shaped door, and the employee, grabbing the doorknob, announced:
“Here we are! Inside, Professor, is the white wolf you seek!”
Upon finishing his sentence, he opened the door, revealing…
A white-furred wolf shining brilliantly within!
“…?”
It wasn’t there.
‘Wait, upon closer inspection, this room… the walls look a bit off, don’t they?’
But my confusion was short-lived. Realizing there was magical enchantment on the walls, I glanced at the employee.
“Please bear with us for a moment! We’ll show it to you right away!”
Saying this, he rushed to the wall, hastily pressing a few bricks.
As he did, I could feel the magic on the wall activating, and shortly thereafter—
-Creeeeak!
The wall began to split open.
The dramatic staging seemed to appeal to every man’s inner desires, momentarily stealing my breath away. Before I knew it, the approaching man pointed toward an iron cage and said:
“Well, how about it, Professor? Here’s the white wolf you were looking for.”
The wolf’s eyes gleamed with radiant gold, even behind the iron bars.
Its mane, whiter than snow, swayed gently with each breath.
“Could you let it out for a moment?”
Unable to resist the sight of fur softer than imagined, I requested the cage be opened.
Since I was planning to buy it anyway, touching it for a bit couldn’t hurt, right?
“You can stroke it as much as you like.”
Understanding fully, the man silently complied and opened the cage without a word, as if expecting this moment. And just as expected, the white wolf bounded toward me.
“…!”
An average person might’ve panicked, thinking the wolf was attacking, but I didn’t flinch.
Because the intense gaze directed at me wasn’t filled with malice but affection.
“Heck! Heck!”
Did it realize I wouldn’t back away?
The creature soon began to snuggle up to me, panting softly.
The fur, stroked as expected, was incredibly soft.
A striking appearance that hit all my preferences, combined with an affectionate nature that would cuddle up to strangers.
Although it wore a tattered cloth of sorts, that was easily replaceable with a new outfit.
Judging that I’d definitely regret not buying it today, I was already asking about the price.
“The price… considering we hope for your continued patronage, we’ll only charge 10,000 gold.”
How could price matter when experiencing such softness?
I happily opened my wallet without hesitation…
…Actually, it was half the price I’d expected before coming here, for a reason.
“Huff Huff”
Was it naturally affectionate?
Even during the payment process, it kept staring at me, clearly wanting more pats.
I gave it a small wink in response.
“Well, who would’ve thought such a renowned professor would take an interest in this sort of thing?”
“It’s only natural for a professor to be interested. As I mentioned earlier, the stress from the academy is quite significant.”
“Yes, I understand. I also relieve stress by stroking these creatures while working here.”
“I appreciate your understanding. Well, I’ll be taking my leave now. I need to name this one and prepare its living space.”
“If you need anything, feel free to visit anytime.”
Demonstrating the exceptional service of the empire’s top shop, I was respectfully seen off by the employee all the way.
Of course, the white wolf, now my pet, accompanied me.
***
“Finally sold that bastard.”
Watching the spot where the professor used the teleportation scroll, a voice came from behind the male who’d escorted the professor to the shop.
It was the contact handler who met the professor.
“Rather, if it were just ferocious, we could’ve sold it to nobles who enjoy breaking stubborn beastfolk.”
The smile and courtesy shown to the professor moments ago had long disappeared from the man’s face.
“So, we thought that cursed girl abandoned by her pack might not sell to anyone. But that professor sure was strange.”
Wolf beastpeople generally have hair ranging from black to gray.
But the item sold earlier had hair whiter than snow.
She was, in other words, a cursed child.
We originally bought her intending to sell to aristocrats who go crazy for rare items…
But perhaps due to the rumors surrounding her rarity being too ominous, no one wanted to buy her.
It was a loss to keep unsold merchandise, so she was scheduled to be disposed of tonight.
But then, the professor suddenly appeared and bought her.
To everyone who kept refusing to purchase the item shown to them, the professor’s voluntary purchase seemed odd even to the slave traders.
“What’s wrong? Isn’t it great we managed to sell the problematic stock?”
“That’s true.”
For sellers like them, strange customers like the professor were welcomed.
“Still, I didn’t expect him to treat her like an animal the whole time.”
Even to them, the professor’s behavior was somewhat unexpected.
The moment the cage was opened, the beastperson who lunged at him and bit his neck.
Despite no harm coming to him, treating her that way throughout was surprising.
“There are people out there who don’t treat beastfolk as humans, you know.”
“I get that. But I didn’t expect a professor to act that way.”
“Ah, buddy, judging people solely by their appearance gets you into trouble.”
Concluding his conversation with his business partner with a worldly remark about the vastness of the world and the diversity of people, the man recalled the professor once more.
Eyes that revealed nothing.
A tone and manner that treated slaves as non-humans.
A calm demeanor handling a beastperson charging with murderous intent as if it were a playful pet.
Subtle madness could be sensed.
‘Just one look tells you that guy’s crazy, completely nuts.’
Wearing the mask of a reputable professor, but no mere mask could fully conceal his true nature.
Perhaps it would’ve been better for the merchandise to have been discarded.
Thinking this, he closed the shop’s door.
