Frostgale still wouldn't let it go.
"Who's going to look after you without me? Who's going to protect you in the arena?"
I turned and scanned the room, found my target, and pointed at the doghouse without a second thought.
"Him. I've made up my mind. I'm bonding Shadow as my partner."
Shadow was the stray I'd picked up a while back. Right now he was curled up in his little doghouse, fast asleep.
"A dog? Hilda, have you lost your mind?"
It was exactly what Cassandra and my parents wanted to say too.
"What's wrong with a dog? At least a dog is loyal. Not like certain ungrateful mutts who bite the hand that feeds them the moment an outsider comes along, no matter how well you treated them."
Frostgale had nothing to say to that, but he still thought I was joking.
I ignored him, walked straight over to Shadow's doghouse, crouched down, and raised my wristband to scan.
"Bonding standards met. Do you wish to bond?"
The prompt caught me off guard. Bonding Shadow had been a spur-of-the-moment idea. I hadn't expected that animals in this world could be bonded at all.
I glanced back at Frostgale. He was still certain the bond would fail. After all, no one would turn down a powerful beastman for a weak household pet.
The next second I tapped bond without hesitation, and the wristband confirmed it. Shadow and I were bonded, the connection established.
"Hildegarde, you'd really rather have a dog than me?"
Frostgale looked wounded, but I didn't have a second to spare for him. I opened Shadow's detailed stats.
Every number was terrible, just as I'd expected. Next to Frostgale's impressive figures, Shadow's were painful to look at.
"Hilda, stop trying to prove a point. Let me give Frostgale back to you. That stray is far too weak. How could he ever protect you?"
"Sure."
I agreed just like that, and Cassandra froze, stunned that I'd actually say yes.
Frostgale, on the other hand, lit up, his joy plain on his face.
My parents frowned and launched straight into scolding me for being difficult.
Looking at the way each of them reacted, I smiled.
"Even if you give him back, I'll just toss him out to live as a stray beastman. Do whatever you want."
With that, I wanted nothing more to do with the mess. I scooped up Shadow and went back to my room.
