Seeing this humanoid-looking woman growling at him made him feel weird. But she didn’t seem to want to get any more touchy.

As soon as he realized that she only threatened him and didn’t attack, his muscles relaxed. Communication was possible, saving him a lot of trouble.

“No running, no hiding, no beating. Stand in place. Or bite you. Grrrr”

“Why?”

“I am guarding you. Stay at your place until someone fetches you. Or bite.”

“Ohh”

At the realization, he nodded.

‘I see. A guardian dog. This was all misunderstandin-’

“Like hell! Why were you trying to barge into the room if you were supposed to guard me?! Huh?!”

‘To hell with communication! This dog scared the shit out of me and this is the explanation! If I wasn’t scared I would whoop her ass!’

“Wuf. Not your problem. I will take care now. Grrrrr”

Then she suddenly snarled so terrifyingly over his head that he almost shat himself.

She put one of her hands over his face to keep him still and turned her head towards his chest staring at it intensively.

For a moment he started to panic wondering what she wanted to do to him but then the hissing sound from the area of his chest he realized she talked about that little kitty.

‘Don’t tell me she was after her only?!’

“No! She is mine, you can’t touch her!”

He tried to yell through the palm on his face but only a muffled sound was heard.

She didn’t spare him a glance as she growled at the helpless kitten lying on his chest.

“Damn, menace.Grrr”

As she reached out for the kitten she felt a sudden numb feeling on her palm. Looking at it she realized that the man she was supposed to guard was biting her!

“Fuck you, you crazy dog! Do you think you are the only one to bite?!”

She frowned at him as she growled in frustration.

“Stop or I will bite. Also, not a dog. Wolf.”

“Lalala. I don’t hear you. Unless you get down and be a good girl and won’t listen to you either!”

“Good girl?!”

“Yes! That’s what dogs are supposed to be like!”

“Not dog! Wolf! Grrrr”

“It is the same!”

“Not a DOG!”

This word seemed to really get under her skin and so he took compromise in a split of a second.

“Right, Wolf. I meant wolf the entire time! Wolves can be good girls too! So stop!”

The girl’s growling slowly ceased as she looked at him with a disgruntled expression.

“All right.”

And the next moment she got off him and crouched next to him still watching the kitty.

Between taking heavy breaths he took the kitty closer to him.

“Meow”

“Thank goodness. You are such a good girl.”

The kitten started to cuddle with him again. He never saw a cat as adorable as this one.

At this, he smiled.

“Grrrr”

Or not. Looking at the Wolf Girl growling at him calling the cat a good girl he started to understand a little the personality of the half-human, half-beast woman.

“Yes, yes. You are a good girl too.”

After he said that he took a side glance at the woman.

She nodded with satisfaction and stopped growling. Still, she was glaring at the kitty.

“So. What do I call you?!”

“Who?”

“The good girl”

“Called Feliria.”

“...”

She seems to really like the moniker!

“Okay, so you are Fel. I will remember it. Can you tell me where we are?”

‘Rule number three: The only good girl here is Feliria.’

Writing this knowledge down to his brain he asked Fel where they were.

“Inside.”

“...”

This girl doesn’t seem to be very intelligent. Or she is playing with him. Either way, he felt this would be just a waste of time if he just kept asking the questions like this.

“Can you tell me where the other residents of this house are?”

“Which?”

“Well for example the old man..”

“Which?”

“Then the maid with a cold expression..”

“Which…”

“Girl with pink hair?”

“Which?”

Dark lines appeared on his eyebrow. This dog is broken!

But seeing her tilting her head in confusion just made him feel a headache. And so he tried to remember something more specific.

Then he remembered that he heard their names when they talked to each other.

‘Sir Araaz? Something like that. And… Lady... Sera. Yes, that should be it.”

“Can you guide me to sir Araaz?”

And so with expectation, he asked for the most dependable-looking person in this place.

But the hopes were squished as soon as they arose.

“No here. Away.”

“He isn’t in the house?”

“Yes. Away.”

Feliria nodded at this.

He sighed. When she finally understood who he talked about she didn’t know where he was.

‘That guy is away and she doesn’t know where? What to do? I don’t know the cold maid’s name. On the other hand… The pink head. I don’t really want to meet her…’

She was the one who gave him the biggest scare in his life.

But considering her nature she looked to be the second easiest to talk to after Araaz.

Clumsy and gullible.

That was his first impression of their short encounter.

The deer’s head confirmed it with its grumbling.

So albeit reluctantly, he asked Felilia where she was.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“You know where the pink head- Ehm I mean Sera is, right?”

After saying that he watched the girl’s reaction.

She was still crouching while her arms were propped up against the ground looking like a sitting dog.

Feliria looked at him and seemed to think hard.

“Inside here.”

Soon her mouth opened with those words.

“That’s great! Can you guide me to her, please?! I need to talk with her.”

“No. You stay in the room. Wait for clothes. She brings later.”

“Clothes?”

He was for a moment confused.

‘Yeah… I was naked the entire time. Even when I met them…’

The awkwardness he felt at the moment was indescribable. He felt so embarrassed for a moment that he ignored the dog before him as he put his hand over his face wanting nothing else than to jump into some unknown hole never to be seen again.

But Feliria didn’t care about his shy demeanor or his crimson face.

“Grrr. So you go to the room. And wait. Now.”

Clearly not happy being ignored she growled as she started to drag him by his leg with her teeth.

Fortunately, she was using her full strength or he would be already lying on the ground dragged away.

“Wait, wait, wait! I can’t go to that room! It is dangerous!”

But she just shook her head and between her teeth she said.

“Room. Wait.”

“I can’t because of you. Because you are a bad girl!

She stopped dragging him. Staring deeply into his eyes she was frowning with her lips slowly rising to show her teeth.

Fearing she would attack him if he didn’t explain himself in the next few seconds he quickly clarified.

“If not for you who wanted to barge into the room, I wouldn’t go anywhere! You just had to scare me, making me want to leave. Now the room is in shambles because of me trying to escape!”

With those words, he tried to look as pitiful as possible. He was trying to get some empathy from her. Dogs can feel empathy. Right?

Fortunately, it wasn’t that hard since he went through so many things in such a short period that he was spent despite waking up a few minutes ago.

Or did more time pass? He wasn’t sure.

‘Whatever’

But the thought disappeared from his mind as he had something more important to do.

“Do you understand now? Would a good girl do something so mean like that?”

When he asked her this she started to avoid his gaze. However, he still gazed at her intently.

He needed her to understand that he was the victim here.

She whimpered at this and her tail which he ignored until now has got down between her legs showing that she could feel the shame.

She looked at the ground and started to circle the floor with her fingers.

At first, he froze and prepared for anything she wanted to do.

But then he realized she was just fidgeting.

So he sighed in relief. However, while looking at her hands in detail he noticed her nails. Or rather lack thereof. Instead long and sharp claws adorned her slender fingers.

Fingers that could easily end him if she really wanted.

‘Good. I will gaslight her more then.’

Seeing her reacting like this to his words he felt as if he had certain control over her.

He wasn't a control freak. He just wanted some assurance in this wretched house.

“If you understand, then don’t drag me. You said that she will bring the clothes, right? Well, can’t you see that I am already wearing a cloak?”

He expected some excuses or stubbornness after asking but seeing her golden eyes so wide he almost wanted to laugh despite the situation.

‘She isn’t really bright. Well, it’s cute though.’

“But… Clothes…”

Still, she muttered this as she cast a side glance looking at his clothing.

He could only internally sigh.

“She would definitely understand since I already got the clothing. But wouldn’t she be more angry if she knew it was you who drove me out of the room?”

She whimpered again as she was touching the ground while her fingers fidgeted.

Unfortunately, the ground was full of stains and was greasy, dirtying her hands.

If he had OCD regarding the cleanliness he would die here already.

‘Why does it feel like it was abandoned here for years when there are people around?!’

This was unthinkable to him.

“Don’t touch the ground. It is dirty.”

He commanded her to stop. It was an experiment if she will listen but it was also from goodwill since who knows what touching that dirty ground caused you.

He felt a little tremor in the house but fortunately, it stopped soon enough and the stillness returned.

‘Maybe dissatisfied? I just called it dirty so that’s probably it. I will need to be careful. Rule one, rule one. Can’t forget it.’

Feliria stopped at this and waited for him to continue.

He made a fake cough and started to bait her.

“And so I made a plan. You will guide me to her and I will not tell her anything about the rule. She will understand that I have clothes and you will definitely be rewarded for guiding me. What do you think?”

At this, her ears perked and her tail started to swing from side to side.

‘Cute.’

“You won’t hit anymore?”

“Hmm? What do you mean”

‘Actually, didn’t she say before to not run, hide, or hit her? Does she actually think I can do something to her? I bit her with all my mind and she didn’t seem to notice without looking! My teeth still hurt!’

But then he noticed something on her forehead.

Under her bangs was a small but still noticeable red bump as if she ran into something.

‘Ahh.’

Since she was guardian before his door and was scratching the door itself then why would she climb from the abyss across the door?

Then he remembered in an instant. The slam and distant whimper of the dog after the door forcefully opened when he ran out of the cursed room.

‘Did I just send her flying with it? And she thought I did it as a form of beating?’

“Ah don’t worry I won’t. I promise that as long as you behave I won’t do as much as touch you.”

Trying to explain to her it wasn’t him seemed to be a waste of time. Furthermore, it was beneficial to him so why bother?

She was visibly at this. Mainly her tail which started to swing around.

He took a few steps away from her and with this act, she kicked up the piling dust in the corridor.

‘This is so freaking horrible. If you live here then at least clean up once in a while! Once a year at least! Walking around here is like doing urban exploration. The difference is that this is not abandoned.’

Saying that he was someone who would clean often and have everything neat would be a lie.

He was a young adult who was doing college and part-time jobs at the same time. Would he waste his time at home by cleaning?

Of course not!

However, he still had good hygiene standards and never made such a mess that he would be embarrassed to invite someone home.

This was on a completely different level. He would even try to sell such houses.

It is just scary thinking about how they live here. Or do they actually have their bedrooms clean and just don’t care about anything else?

‘Do they not care that this place rots?’

He sighed in exasperation. He covered the kitty in his arms fearing that she would breathe in the dust.

The kitty in his arms was struggling a little as she lost sight of her ‘enemy’ but soon calmed down.

‘Are cats supposed to be so obedient?’

He knows about cats mainly from the internet since he or his close relatives never had one.

Actually, he never had a pet. But even if he did, he would probably choose dogs for their friendly nature.

But looking at the ‘dog’ before him and the obedient kitty in his arms he felt a little complicated.

‘Wait, Why am I comparing her to dogs? She may act as a dog but she definitely isn’t one.’

“So? Will you guide me to her, please?”

“....”

She quieted down for a bit and contemplated his words.

“All right. Follow.”

And then she hopped still on her four further down the corridor.

“Follow.”

“Okay, okay. But slow down a bit. We are not in a hurry, are we?”

He hastily trotted through the corridor after her.

In a few seconds they passed the door he came out of and continued.

He expected that they would go down the stairs but Feliria didn't even look at them and disappeared in the dark corridor.

Every so often she would stop and wait for him to get close. But whenever he was close enough she would run again, losing him in the next few minutes.

‘Damn this dog.’

“Huff, huff, huff.”

He felt as if the fire melted his lungs.

It was already a few years since he actively worked out.

Now the retribution for his laziness came.

If it was just a normal house they would be already there whenever they go.

But this house is abnormal. He was running after her for a while in the same direction yet they didn’t reach the end of the corridor.

It took some time to see the door at the end.

“F-finally…”

‘This damn house.’

For a moment he thought this place was infinitive. Thankfully the door was before him, assuring him.

Feliria waited close to that door.

This time she didn’t continue once he got closer and instead watched him trying to catch his breath.

‘She… Can’t open the door?’

Even when she was trying to barge into his room she was scratching the door itself and didn’t look like she tried to use the knob.

“Open.”

The thought he had was confirmed the moment she said this.

With a nod, he went to open them.

He didn’t ask since it was a useless endeavor.

*Click*

With a loud click, he turned the knob. Fortunately, the door was not locked and he could open it with ease.

What he saw beyond though, made his mood plummet.

It was another corridor.

‘No….’

Or not.

He noticed the tracks of two pairs and two hands on the ground leading to his left side.

On the other hand on his right side was a door that looked as if someone tried to destroy it with crude force.

And in front of him was the abyss with all those stairs.

But this time some of them were in different directions.

But still, the young man was sure.

This was the corridor they just come from.

Feliria came around him from behind as the door was slowly closing.

He couldn’t resist looking back into the door just before it closed.

There, he saw the corridor, and far in the distance, he saw himself looking into one of the rooms…

“This is so freaky”

He muttered to himself.

“Follow.”

But soon he turned around and followed the guide he got for himself.

This time to his relief she went to one of the stairs and down.

As they walked down those stairs he slowed down because of the slippery substance on them.

Even the stairs couldn’t escape the fate of filthiness.

Seeing the young woman touching this ground made him feel itchy.

‘I told her not to. Well, she probably doesn’t know how to walk normally, does she?’

He looked around.

Before he didn’t think about it but this house looked really good when it came to the design and style.

If only it wasn’t so crooked and filthy.

When he looked up he realized that the place he was the entire time was the interior balcony where you can overlook the floor below.

The mysterious darkness prevented it though.

As they went down he realized that many things were going on around him.

He heard noises inside of the walls, he felt movements in the corner of his eyes and his other senses also felt something was wrong.

At one time he got goosebumps and looked quickly behind him only to find nothing.

At another, he saw other webs adorning the place.

But this time it was full of spiders.

Not because there were so many but because they were just too big.

Bigger than his fist, the spiders of several species were visibly looking at him.

‘Holy shit.’

Thankfully he didn’t have arachnophobia or else he would just drop dead.

Of course that didn’t mean he was happy to see such creatures living here.

“Feliria. When will we be there?”

With a low voice, he asked his guide who was a few steps before him.

“Follow. Soon.”

He felt like crying.

But the only thing he could do was to grit his teeth and go with her.

When he was under the webs of the spiders he was stiff and on guard, prepared to throw a fit at anything that would get on him.

Fortunately, they just watched.

That was even more unsettling to him.

They stalked him as if they understood what was happening and they were not just arachnids with low intelligence.

‘On the other hand, if they have high enough intelligence, it would lessen their eeriness. After all, it is the unpredictability that is so scary about spiders.’

Not knowing what it wants to do and when it will disappear from your sight is one of the traits that makes spiders or any other small but quick creatures so scary.

Fortunately, they didn’t move the entire time until he got downstairs.

At that moment the darkness around cleared out.

Despite going for some time when looking up, the balcony was just a few meters above.

But his attention was on the place they got to. It was another dirty and messy place. If he were to guess he would say it was the living room.

Hopefully, he will find that clumsy maid somewhere here…