That Famous Line from a Certain Game

Come to think of it, something occurred to me while I was looting amid the chaos.

I wondered just how much the Item Box could store.

I'd been tossing furniture and food into the Item Box at random, but it had been working without a hitch.

Everything was properly listed in the stored-item list, too.

In other words, does this mean I can store even 'someone else's property'?

Or can I store things because I 'recognize them as my own'?

Or is that announcement—the one I'll call the Voice of Heaven for convenience—deciding whether something belongs to me?

I think it's either my own perception or the Voice of Heaven's judgment.

Probably the latter.

My own perception is pretty vague, after all.

Take the water in a plastic bottle, for example.

I could store a plastic bottle with water in it, but I couldn't take out just the 'water.'

That's probably because I myself see the water and the plastic bottle as a single unit.

How much of what I 'perceive' gets through to the Voice of Heaven?

I'll have to test it bit by bit.

"Oops..."

While I was thinking, I finished going down the stairs.

It normally takes less than a minute to walk down them, so that took a surprisingly long time.

Every room on the first floor had been thoroughly ransacked.

The goblins probably did it.

But even though the rooms had been ransacked, there were no bloodstains or signs of a struggle.

I guess the residents really did evacuate. Without me.

"I-I'm not lonely or anything. I was just asleep!"

"Oh, right. The car."

I wonder if my car is okay.

I head toward the parking lot.

It was wrecked...

It had been reduced to a pitiful sight.

Damn you, monsters! I still have payments left on it...!

There's no way I can drive it like this.

But it feels wasteful to just leave it here.

I wonder if it'll fit in the Item Box. I've leveled up, too.

I'll try.

The car vanishes.

Oh, it went in!

Even something this huge fits inside.

The Item Box really is amazing.

Seriously, it's a cheat.

Heh heh heh, just you wait, you monsters.

I'll crush you with the car you wrecked!

When I check the list, 'Scrapped Car ×1' has been added at the very bottom.

A scrapped car... Sniff.

"...Hm?"

Just as I'm feeling a little down, I sense something behind me.

But I get no response from either 'Hostility Detection' or 'Danger Sense.'

So it isn't a monster?

Could it be someone who failed to escape in time?

I slowly turn around.

A dog is standing there.

"You... could you be Momo?"

"Woof!"

The dog called Momo answers energetically.

"Whoa, Momo! You made it!"

"Woof!"

I dash straight over and throw my arms around Momo.

Momo licks my cheek over and over.

Momo is a stray dog whose territory is this neighborhood.

She's a female Shiba Inu, and I'd been giving her food now and then ever since I found her in some bushes nearby.

I knew you weren't supposed to feed stray dogs irresponsibly, but this apartment doesn't allow pets.

I couldn't bring her inside, but I didn't want to take her to an animal shelter or find another owner for her.

That was because Momo was, for me, a source of comfort second only to online novels.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that online novels and Momo were what kept me going.

Maybe because I'd taken such devoted care of her, Momo had grown completely attached to me despite being a stray.

"I'm so glad—I'm so glad you're alive, Momo!"

"Whine..."

Sorry, Momo.

To be honest, I'd been so absorbed in monsters and Skills that I completely forgot about you.

I know I'm a real piece of work.

I mean, with the world like this, I figured you must already be dead, so I tried not to think about you.

I'm really sorry, Momo. Please forgive me.

"Whine..."

Momo licks my cheek as if none of that matters to her.

She's adorable. This is so soothing.

"Oh, right. Momo, you must be hungry. Here, have some food."

I take some dog food and a bowl out of the Item Box and give them to Momo.

Since Momo must have been hungry, she starts wolfing it down.

Watching her, I feel soothed.

Oh, and I'm still keeping an eye on our surroundings, okay?

There doesn't seem to be any sign of monsters right now, either.

After a while, Momo finishes eating.

She licks her lips, looking satisfied.

"Hm?"

Momo stares at me intently.

What? Was that not enough?

Do you want a little more?

I try to take some more dog food out of the Item Box.

≪Momo seems to want to join your party. Will you let her join?≫

"Huh...?"

Did I just hear some weird announcement?

Specifically, I feel like it was that famous line from a certain game...

≪Momo is looking at you as if she wants to join your party. Will you let her join?≫

"Woof!"

I wasn't hearing things!

Momo gazes at me with sparkling eyes.

Wait, this world has a system like that!?