15 minutes ago.
Rain had reached Winderline Manor and had just entered his room.
'Time to check on my cute pet.'
Not wanting to waste time, Rain used a single thought to release it from the system storage.
"...eat you!!"
Along with the appearance of the huge wolf in the room, the phrase it hadn't had time to finish last time came off its mouth.
'Those aren't the cutest words I could have heard.'
Rain thought as he continued to observe the Rift Master's behavior.
It looked around confused, wondering where they were.
Since it had been in the system storage where time stops all along, it looked to it as if it had been abruptly teleported from the rift to another location. But there was something that bothered it even more.
'Why can't I feel my rift?'
The Rift Master tried to sense it, but nothing was happening no matter how much it tried. It quickly realized that the answer had to be in the smirking man in front of it, so it was ready to growl something loud again, but it was determined.
"Silence."
The collar around its neck activated and an unknown force prevented it from uttering a sound.
Rain wasn't worried that someone might hear them, since he'd asked the system ahead of time to put a soundproof barrier around his room, just like the one he'd used with Liana. He just didn't particularly want to hear its arrogant yelling.
"We don't want to be heard, do we?"
Rain gently stroked its head.
"If you raise your voice one more time, I will silence you for the rest of your life."
When the monster reluctantly calmed down, still retaining murderous intent in its eyes, Rain removed the restraints from its voice.
"The world of your rift has been completely destroyed."
Rain said bluntly, seeing the question in its eyes.
Rain wasn't upset, as he knew it was too dangerous to leave it behind, as the academy already knew too much about the rift and had the ability to enter it.
But the huge wolf in front of him showed a completely different reaction. The young man's words made its eyes twitch, as if something in it had cracked.
'Have I now become a Rift Master without a rift?'
The rift to their race was the embodiment of their strength and power. As they supported and nourished the rift, so it supported and nourished them in return. And without it, the huge wolf felt it had lost a part of itself.
"You don't need to be upset, because with my help, you will create a new one that will be infinitely better than the old one."
Rain didn't like the terrain of the past rift anyway, so he was glad that he could now create his own world that would be perfectly suited to his wants and needs.
How cool was it to have his own mini world in which he was a master?
Rain realized that he would soon find out.
The monster ignored his words, simply staring blankly into the space in front of it.
[Searching for errors that changed the course of story...]
Time seemed to stop as Rain stared breathlessly at the flashing line. But after an unknown amount of time, a new message appeared in front of him.
[Error not found.]
Seeing that this time it didn't end up like his last encounter with the Will of the World, Rain was relieved.
'But why did it only come up now?'
[What you just saw happens when you alter the original source story or the fates of those involved too much. Saving someone who was bound to die is one of those cases. But as I said, you're in no danger as long as I'm with you.]
'So my saving the Rift Master has had a much greater impact on this world than I originally thought.'
This caused him to sneer at the World's Will.
'Then continue to watch in silence as I continue to take everything for myself.'
With these thoughts, Rain shifted his gaze to the woman in front of him, who was silently baring her fangs at him.
Her differences from ordinary humans were immediately apparent: a pair of pointed fangs in her mouth, fluffy ears, and a nimble tail. And her dark hair, which occasionally shimmered with a hint of polar glow, made her even more unique.
'This form of hers is perfect for my plans...'
But it also piqued his curiosity.
"You've been a woman all this time?"
She didn't answer his question and planned to ignore it completely, but that's when the collar activated.
[A pet can't ignore its master's questions.]
The words of one of the rules imposed on her popped into her head.
"I'm not a pet! Khngghh!"
An electric shock ran through her body. After a while, she couldn't take it anymore, and she answered reluctantly.
"We don't have a gender, but judged by your human standards, I'm a woman."
She pointed to the two soft bulges on her chest while maintaining a disgruntled expression.
Assessing her massive assets once more, Rain confirmed his assumption.
'She'd look perfect in a maid's outfit.'
But even though she was now human-like, her eyes were still arrogant and unruly, and contempt read in her gaze at him.
'That won't do. This puppy needs to know who her new master is.'
Rain's eyes flashed purple as he leaned in close to her soft fluffy ears so she could catch every word he said.
"Do you remember how during the fight you threatened to eat me? Well, now I'm going to do the same to you."
Those sweet words made her feel a discharge run through her body.
***
Thanks for reading, everyone.