[Ding! You have earned 20 faith points]

The sudden message woke me up as I got out of the bed… only to notice that I was not alone in my bed.

Somehow, I had not noticed (or cared) that Fenrir had followed me into my room and taken a spot on my bed.

And my sudden movement had woken the puppy up.

"Oh—! It's morning. I need to wake up. Master, I am hungry. Can I get some food? And then go out? I promise I won't cause any trouble for you. The woods are not too far away and I need to stretch my legs. I will be back before you know it and also—"

"Ugh, it's too early for all this chatter… right, I recall now. I bought that Animal Language pack."

I blinked as more and more of my consciousness returned to me. And with that came back the knowledge of what had happened.

It made me wonder whether the police had been able to take care of the rats or not by now.

"Let's go have breakfast. I'll take you for a walk after that. You need to grow up a little more before I feel comfortable sending you out alone."

I told Fenrir as I went to the bathroom and closed the door. He was not allowed to follow me inside.

But I could hear scratching noises on the door outside and whines of "it's not fair."

Well, this was a good time to teach Fenrir a valuable lesson—life was not often fair and you could not always get what you wanted.

Once I went down and poured both myself and Fenrir some breakfast, I grabbed a leash and allowed the puppy to tug me.

The puppy was the size of a small house cat already, but he was too powerful. I could feel myself getting tugged when the puppy tried to lead me down.

Either I lacked any muscle or Fenrir was just too strong… it was definitely the latter. I refused to believe I was so weak that a puppy would be able to tug me around.

There was a noticeable lack of rats and other rodents around the vicinity, but a few were still there. I could hear the rats' chatter about how the cursed ones were dead and the town would return to normal soon.

But there was also light chatter about how there was a new "potion" in town that was harmful for the rats and they could no longer feast in people's houses or the fields.

On one hand, that was good. That would mean fewer chances of diseases spreading. But I also worried about the rodent population.

Not that it was any of my concern.

When I returned back to my shop, I found Miss Shirley waiting for me right outside my door. She was trying to ring or knock and look inside my shop.

As a result, not only did she look impatient, but also like a thief looking at her next robbery site.

Cough

"Is there anything I can help you with, Miss Shirley?"

I asked as the female turned around to give me a startled look.

"Huh—! Shopkeeper? You were outside? I thought you were in there… anyway, I'm here to give you the latest news. Aren't you glad I am here?"

The older lady sounded… far too proud of herself as she spoke. Her eyes shone with the need to tell me.

I knew people like her, but more importantly, I knew Miss Shirley well. She was going to tell me the news anyway.

"The police found the underground chamber where the mastermind behind the rat case was hiding. He was a frantic believer and thought he could use that power to turn other rats into humans as well. This town was even designated as a sacrifice. But we were all saved due to an anonymous tip by someone. Don't you find that fascinating?"

Miss Shirley asked, and her eyes twinkled as they looked at me. I had no idea whether it was because she knew something or she merely looked at me like that because she wanted me to comment.

Not that she was going to get her wish because all I did was pretend I knew nothing.

"Ah—! Is that so? How fortunate for us. I guess there won't be any need for the rodent repellents to hit the market now."

That was a loss of profit for me, but thankfully, those pills had not cost a lot of faith points.

"Huh—! Are you talking about those rodent repellent pills? Surely you jest, shopkeeper. Those things are a huge hit. Even if there is no longer a problem with rats, people still want to have protection. Besides, farmers are making a huge demand for them to put in the fields and storage spaces."

That… was not something I had considered.

Not that it was any of my business for now. I would deal with the problem if it came to it.

"Is that so? I guess the situation ended quite well."

I told Miss Shirley, but she did not seem to agree with my sentiment.

"Oh—! You are saying the same thing the others are saying, shopkeeper. But I have a different opinion. I have a feeling things have not settled down quite as well as we hope they have."

The female told me, and I felt a little startled by her shining eyes.

"Is that… so…? I guess I will take your word for it. Thank you for all this information."

"Sure, shopkeeper. I am willing to help you out with anything, so please approach me. And remember, knowledge is power."

The female told me before she left. I just had a feeling that she wanted me to do something for her, but she did not come out to say what she wanted.

As for the "feeling" she had, I was not sure what to think.

"Master, are you alright? Do you want me to bite that lady for you?"

Fenrir asked me as he looked at Miss Shirley's back walking away. But I shook my head.

"No, let her go. She is not the reason I feel so frustrated anyway. I guess I will leave the investigation to the police. A powerless person like me is of no use here."

I told myself this, and I spent the rest of my day serving people around the shop.

Now that the threat of the rodents no longer caused these people any trouble, they were free to head out and shop as much as they wanted. The traffic to my shop had been restored.

I also decided to walk to the station to check on the claw machine and felt a relieved sigh leave me when I got some faith points.

The number 90 had never felt sweeter to me than before.

I walked out of the station, but as soon as I started to head home, I felt the restlessness in the air grow around me.

At first, I did not realize what I was feeling, and I felt confused. But when I paid a little more attention, I noticed that the reason all this was happening was because of the rats.

They looked uncomfortable as they tried to run away.

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