In small towns, the day begins as soon as the sun rises and ends when it gets dark. A few raindrops started falling without warning, and in no time, it was pouring buckets.

The rain made the few people who were still out on the street seek shelter from the rain. It wasn't too late, but many of the stores were closed. The only lights you could see were from the taverns, where their patrons rested and drank, waiting for the rain to pass.

In the middle of the deserted streets, a figure ran quickly to escape the rain, their cloak full of bundles they wanted to protect from the weather. Due to the rain, the streets were empty, so they quickly made it home.

(Aww. I'm soaked. Why did it start raining suddenly?) Zack thought as he tried to dry off from the rain.

Ironically, despite all the magic he had learned, there was no spell to dry off from the rain.

Zack raised his hand and directed it towards the fireplace.

Spark

A spark appeared among the firewood, causing it to start burning. In no time, a fire had appeared in the fireplace.

One of the bundles he had in his clothes began to move quickly.

"Whoa," exclaimed Zack, as the bundle in question wriggled in his shirt.

The small bundle quickly escaped from his hands and headed toward the fire he had just lit.

Zack watched as the animal he had just purchased shivered in front of the fire, trying to warm up.

Seeing that it had no intention of moving, Zack grabbed the bag of food he had bought in the morning, which he held in his other hand, and headed to the kitchen to cook something and find a place to store the rest.

As he took out the food and thought about what to cook, Zack thought about the reason he had bought the dog.

Upon reflection, it wasn't appropriate to have a pet. What he needed now was to study all the books in his head and learn as much magic as possible to level up. It's not suitable to have distractions around. Although he could take care of himself, Zack wasn't sure how to take care of another living being.

To be honest, there wasn't a concrete reason; it was more of a spontaneous impulse. There was no particular benefit to letting an animal into his house. However, Zack had to admit that these days in the village, his life had become... lonely.

Life in the castle was different. Every day, he had breakfast with Austin, Shun, and Miyu, and there was always at least one servant following him. Although he never spoke to the other magicians, the library was full of other people studying or gossiping. Even though he was always alone, he was never really alone.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"It's different here," Zack thought.

These days had been completely different from the almost eight months he had spent in the castle.

From morning to night, he had complete freedom to manage his time as he pleased. There was no one to supervise him, and the people in the village didn't come to this place except for emergencies. Unless he went to the village for some reason, he wouldn't have contact with anyone all day.

No one to have breakfast with, no one to listen to talking, no one around...

Zack sighed.

Zack finished storing the food and prepared a vegetable soup. With ingredients from the market and a little magic, it wasn't difficult to prepare something hot in a few minutes. After preparing two plates and putting the vegetable soup inside, he left the kitchen.

The moment he reached the dining room, the new tenant's nose began to twitch, and he began to search for where that smell was coming from.

His eyes met Zack's, and he soon located the plate.

Leaving the fire behind, the dog approached him and grabbed his leg while looking at him with its tender brown eyes.

Seeing what the dog was doing, Zack couldn't help but smile.

"I guess the reason I decided to buy him is that I felt lonely," Zack thought.

No matter how much he wanted to deny it, these days had been lonely. Humans are social beings and need the presence of others around them.

Zack didn't make his new companion wait long and placed the food bowl gently at his feet. The moment the plate touched the floor, the little creature shot towards it and began to voraciously devour its contents.

Seeing this, Zack took advantage of the fact that the dog was eating to approach him and start petting him.

"You must be hungry. Does old Harris not feed you?" Zack asked, even though he knew he wouldn't receive a response.

Apparently, the owner of the pet shop had not been able to sell this little animal for several months, and it had become a regular companion of his.

This dog belonged to the last litter he had obtained. At first, he had thought of trying to sell it to a local as a companion animal, but no one was interested. Then he tried to sell it as a guard dog to the wealthy families in the area, but that also failed. Even if he could sell it as a pet to their children, these families could afford a dog with a better pedigree or any other animal they desired.

As a last attempt, he tried to sell it as a hunting dog to the adventurers who entered the dungeons every day. Unfortunately, all the corners of the dungeon were mapped in the guild's maps, and because there were classes that detected the presence of enemies, having a dog didn't make much sense.

Due to the multitude of animals Harris had to deal with daily, and having already tried to sell it unsuccessfully, Zack managed to buy it for the modest price of two silver coins.

"You're going to need a name, little friend," Zack said while continuing to eat.

After observing him for less than a minute, Zack had already decided on a name for him. It wasn't that difficult; he had always had a special love for dogs. Unfortunately, due to the apartment they lived in, it wasn't suitable to have a dog in the house, and his parents didn't really want to live with an animal.

"You will be called Titan. From now on, we're going to be very good friends."

Yawn

Once the dog had finished eating and began to walk back to the fire, Zack grabbed him from both sides with his hands and placed him gently in his lap. As he petted him and felt the soft touch of his new owner's hands, Titan's eyelids grew heavier and, after a yawn, he was completely lost in the land of dreams.

Seeing that Titan had fallen asleep, Zack smiled gently as he started eating his own food. At this moment, he didn't want to do anything in particular. Neither practicing magic, nor reading books, nor worrying about what his future situation would be.

Just sitting by the fire, looking at his new pet with the sound of the rain in the background, was enough to make him feel fully content.

Zack hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.