Is this a joke?

Because no matter how I see it, that's a dog.

More specifically… That's a golden retriever…

Wait… Maybe it's some alien species that looks like a dog but isn't a dog? Perhaps humanity crossbred the dogs with some other alien and they've become some monster instead?

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if that was the case…

There were two cages so I assume the second cage also contained the same thing but I wasn't sure since it was completely dark inside.

I looked at the dog and it looked back at me with a slight tilt of its head.

I almost thought that it would say something until it opened its mouth and started panting with its tongue hanging out the side of its mouth.

… So cute.

But just in case…

I turned back to the merchant, "So these two cages right? What are they?"

He raised an eyebrow at me, "You don't know what these things are?"

"I want to hear it from you."

"They're dogs. Savage creatures they are. I don't even know where the client bought them from but I just need them to be transferred to that station."

"Dogs… They're dogs?" I repeated.

"Yes. I won't lie, I know that you aren't an experienced exotic animal handler but at this point, I just need you to transport them to the station in one piece. Shouldn't be too hard as long as you leave them in the cage and don't ever open it. Just give them their food and water through the bars of the cage and you will be fine."

"Ermm… Just to make sure… What breed of dogs are they?"

He shrugged, "I dunno. I'm not an expert myself. So do you want this job or not? I will pay you ten million Credits up front and ten million more after you deliver them safely."

"You offered thirty million before the guy walked away though."

His jaw visibly clenched, "That… I only offered that much because he is a trusted Gold ranked Merc. He has the credentials to back up his worth. No offence but… Could you say the same?"

I gestured to Amber and myself, "We're Gold ranked Mercs who recently helped the military plan and execute a defence against a Pirate Lord's fleet. We were also the ones who fought the Pirate Lord himself and captured him to hand over to the military."

His eyes widened, "Wait… Wait, wait… No way… You're the one who got instantly promoted to Gold rank and skipped over Silver rank?!"

"Oh, I'm surprised you even know that."

"Ok, ok… Ok! Fuck this! You agree to this job, I'll pay you fifteen million Credits up front. You get these two to the station intact, I'll pay you twenty million Credits after that! How about it?!"

Oh wow, I should throw out my status more often if it's going to give me benefits like this.

I was already going to agree to it when Amber stepped forward, "Hold on for a moment. When's the deadline for this delivery?"

His jaw tightened and Amber just stared at him.

"Three… Three days…" He muttered.

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That's not too bad, we would be able to make it there if we leave… Err… Right now…

I turned to Amber and raised an eyebrow.

She nodded, "We can make it. But we'll need to leave in… Two hours."

I turned back to him, "Add another bonus for reaching there in time and you've got yourself a deal."

He stuck out his hand, "Five million Credits for timely delivery!"

I grasped it, "Deal."

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a Credit Chip to hand over to me.

I took it and plugged it into my Codex, nodding when I saw the number on my Codex jump up by fifteen million.

"Alright, then I'll leave this to you girls! When you reach the station, the cage themselves will ping the client and someone will come and find you. I'll get the notification that it has been delivered and I'll send you the money after that! I've got to go now!"

"Wait, you're not coming with us?"

"I'm definitely not going anywhere near those things if I can help it! They're your problem now!"

He then ran off without even making sure we would not just be running off with the money instead of fulfilling the deal.

Err… What's going to happen if we just leave with the money now?

I looked at the dog in the cage and it was still panting while staring at me. I could even see its tail wagging behind it.

Amber sighed, "As much as this job is profitable… I think this is going to be the most uncomfortable job we'd be doing so far…"

Eh? Uncomfortable? Why?

Hmm… I guess for the people in this universe, animals like these have become exceptionally rare so they aren't used to having pets around?

Perhaps only the rich would be able to afford pets like these?

But if that's the case… Why are they being transported in such a crude way? I'd think if they were such expensive goods, they would be placed in a much better container or something.

That was when I felt a tug on my arm which made me turn around.

Ries was holding on to my sleeve and looking up at me with teary eyes. I also noticed that her body was shivering slightly and her ears were drooping under that hood of hers.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Do… Do we have to… Transport that?" She asked, her voice quivering.

"Eh? Didn't you want me to take this?"

"That's… That's before I knew… The job was transporting that…"

I turned to look at the cage again. The dog seemed to have lowered its head but instantly perked up and started panting at me again while its tail wagged behind it.

"It's a dog isn't it?"

"Ye… Yes? One of the scariest and most dangerous animals that managed to reach space alongside you humans before your planet disappeared off the star charts?"

I blinked at her.

Err… What?

"Most dangerous?" I asked.

Lea turned to me, "Umm… Captain? What do you know about dogs?"

I decided not to tell them what I knew about my version of dogs and just gave the bare minimum instead so I don't look like I was crazy.

"I know that they are animals? I guess?"

I wasn't even sure if my words were right at this point.

Mara nodded, "They're one of the most dangerous animals that have gone into space with humans from Earth, Tera. There are various reports on how these animals have slaughtered entire ships of people single handedly… Only highly qualified people are able to control these animals. They're killing machines."

Wait, wait, wait… Killing machines? Hello? Do you see that big ball of golden fluff over there currently wagging its tail like the friendliest thing you've ever seen? It's practically asking for head pats right now! What kind of killing machine does that?

"I don't know about that… Doesn't it look pretty friendly and tame right now?" I pointed out.

Amber shook her head, "That's all a facade, Tera… The moment you let your guard down, that thing would jump on you and bite off your neck. Ugh… We should have asked for another five million from him… Having this thing on our ship is not going to make me sleep well at night…"

I frowned, "But… It really does look like it's friendly though?"

Ries sighed, "Watch this, Boss…"

She slowly detached herself from me and took a step towards the cage.

Almost instantly, the dog switched its gaze from me to Ries, its previously friendly and calm demeanour melting away as it stood up and bared its teeth to growl at her.

Ries paused, clearly frightened but she still took a breath and took another step forward.

The golden retriever lunged at the bars of the cage and started barking while trying and failing to leap towards her.

As if triggered by that, the other dog in the second cage also revealed itself, joining the goldie in barking and lunging at the bars of the cage.

Oh, that's a Beagle.

Ries actually let out a rather cute "Eep!" before she ran back towards me and hid behind me.

The two dogs instantly calmed down and settled on the floor of the cage, their gazes switching back to me and relaxing with their tails wagging behind them.

"Err… Maybe because they don't like Maochattes?" I suggested.

"Not at all, Tera…" Amber disagreed, already taking a step towards the cages.

The dogs reacted to her in the same way as they did to Ries, both of them standing up in a threatening pose while growling and snarling at her.

She took another step and they also started barking and banging against the cage as if they were trying to attack her as well.

Amber didn't leap back like Ries did but it was clear she wasn't really a fan of the dogs either as she stepped back to my side, prompting the dogs to settle down again.

Seriously… Why the heck is this happening?