Prologue

“How is it, Rick? Tasty?”

“Chirp!”

“Glad to hear it, buddy!”

Rick, my newly tamed Gray Squirrel, let out a joyous squeak as he feasted on the acorn cookie I gave him, his cheeks puffed out from the excess bites he had crammed into his mouth.

“That’s freaking adorable...” I sighed.

“Chirp?”

“Go on, have some more!”

“Chirp!” He closed his eyes as I stroked his head gently, a look of pure contentment on his face.

“Mm-mm!”

“...!”

“Whoa there.”

As I was playing with Rick, I suddenly felt something bump against my hip, followed by a light tug on my robe. I turned around to find my two other tamed monsters there. Olto, the green-haired gnome, was hugging my waist, and Sakura, a pink-haired tree nymph, was tugging at the hem of my robe. Both of them glanced up at me expectantly.

“What’s up? You two wanna play too?”

“Mm.”

“...”

“You little munchkins!”

“Mm-mm!”

“...♪”

Olto and Sakura beamed with delight as I tousled their hair. They were a mess by the time I was done, but they didn’t seem to mind.

“Chirp chirp!” Rick squeaked as he climbed on top of my head. He was determined not to be excluded.

“Come to join us, Rick?”

“Chirp,” he replied as he munched on the rest of his cookie.

“Hey! Quit spilling crumbs on me!”

“Chirp?”

Judging by the huge mess I had seen him making earlier, my head was no doubt filthy now. As much as I wanted to dust the crumbs out of my hair, both of my hands had already been claimed by Sakura and Olto.

“Mm!”

“...♪”

“Oh well, I’ll deal with it later.”

Better to enjoy this blissful moment surrounded by my three adorable tamed monsters while it lasted.

“I wasn’t sure how things would turn out at first, but I’m glad I decided to continue playing this game.”

If I had chosen to rebuild my character back then instead of sticking it out, I wouldn’t be living my best life, like I was right now.

“Come here, you cuties.” I beckoned to my monsters.

“Mm-mmm!”

“...♪”

“Chirp chirp!”

This was only the beginning. Just thinking about the many more exciting and joyful moments sure to come made me smile.

“Man, I can hardly wait!”