Track 7

Give it up for Leo, Ace, and Shingen—! What an incredible sequence of hurdle jumps and frisbee catches~!

Wow~ that was truly impressive! Watching those valiant police dogs soaring through the air in perfect sync was breathtaking!

That full-on attack of cuteness and coolness has the entire venue completely captivated!

WAAAAAHHHH~ BOSSMAN IS SO COOOOOL~~!!! Me next~! Throw a frisbee at me tooooo!!! I’ll catch it with my mouth!!!

Y-Yachiyo-kun! Come on, sit down! Everyone’s staring…!

(… But wait, Sakujiro-san’s shaking like crazy next to me, too!?)

This humble Saku is doing his utmost to hold himself back. …But the moment Mile and Totomaru aced the scent detection test, I couldn't help but give them standing ovations in my mind over and over and over again!

I’m so blessed to have witnessed the young master's hard work bloom so beautifully… I shall etch this moment into my very eyes, down to my soul forevermore!

Woof woof! Awoof! ♪

(Even Shumai's eyes are sparkling…! … Yeah. Seeing everyone do their best makes you happy, too, huh.)

What an absolutely spectacular performance!

Word on the street is that these brilliant pups were actually homestaying with the members of R1ze for the past few days! Is that true?

That’s right. Spending every day together only brought us closer. As long as we’re together, the sky’s the limit—right, Mile?

Arf!

What a reassuring answer! Why, this pair looks ready to head out on an investigation any second now. …Ah, hold on!

As much as I’d hate to say goodbye, it looks like our time together is drawing to a close.

And that wraps up R1ze's special stage with our K9 heroes!! Let's give one last big round of applause, everyone!

(That was such a great performance. I'll make sure to tell them my thoughts when we meet up later…)

… Woof?

(… Huh? The crowd’s getting a little restless. I wonder what's going on…)

Hey, check this out! I just got a news alert… It says there’s been a jewel heist in Ward 4!

No way—! Isn't that like, right there? Wait, they’re using dogs to commit crimes? Ugh~ Talk about total scum~! Like, these jerks totally need to do their lives over~!

(That's the criminal organization Kafka warned me about…!)

W-W-WHAAAAAT!? A-A-A JEWEL ROBBERY~~~!?

… Chief, everyone, please remain here. I shall assess the situation immediately and report everything to the president.

For the sake of the young master’s peace of mind, you mustn't leave this heavily guarded area—especially you, Chief!

I-I understand. We’re counting on you.

(I can’t believe it actually happened... I hope everyone’s okay…)

Woof...

… Sounds like things are getting lively over at the stage.

Don't tell me… They want an encore!? We’re totally ready! Right, Leo?

No… this commotion is…

Looks like something’s about to go down.

The jewelry store in Ward 4—

Got it! Let's hurry up!

(... So they’ve made their move.)

(We warned the ward’s residents in advance. Looks like they hit the exact jewelry store we anticipated.)

(Given how we’ve already tipped off the police, they shouldn't have that much difficulty dealing with—)

Oh? Liguang-san. The incident’s happening in your own ward, but you don't seem all that worried. You got something up your sleeve?

I’m under no obligation to explain anything to you.

If you already planned for it, then why not just wrap it up quick and easy?

The police should take the credit this time. This matter has nothing to do with the Lurong family.

Yeah, yeah. As much of a hardass as ever, I see… hm?

Excuse me! Kosaka-san! Are the police dogs available for deployment!?

No, there was a sudden cave-in incident in another ward earlier, so they were dispatched there along with their handlers.

W-What…!? But didn't the higher-ups instruct us to keep extra police dogs on standby in case of emergency?

We were. But considering that lives were on the line, we had no choice but to respond to the request from the accident site.

(A cave-in?... And now of all times…)

They should be back within a few hours. Until then, we have no choice but to deploy Leo and the remaining dogs.

But if the handlers are tied up over there, too… This is bad… Can we even handle the police dogs on our own?

I will report this to the superiors immediately!

(So there aren’t any active trainers who can respond…?)

Too bad, it looks like the police won’t be able to take all the credit after all~

Tch…

(No matter how much groundwork I lay, I can’t account for every single unforeseen circumstance…)

Young Master! Everyone! So this is where you all were.

Sakujiro, fill us in. What's the current situation?

Yes. I've managed to gather all pertinent details en route—

A robbery just occurred at a jewelry store in Ward 4. While the human perpetrators have been apprehended, several dogs carrying the stolen jewels scattered in separate directions and are currently on the run.

According to reports, these dogs were specifically trained to assist in these heinous crimes and are highly likely to attack civilians.

These must be the guys Kafka was talking about…!

Making the dogs do all the dirty work’s pretty low, isn’t it?

Dogs that are trained to harm people… We can’t let them roam free. Someone could get hurt.

Yes, that’s exactly right. These dogs have been specially conditioned to attack humans.

Until the situation is resolved, I believe our best course of action is to remain here with the police. How would you like to proceed, President?

(... If the officers were trying to rely on police dogs, then manpower alone isn’t enough for an investigation like this.)

(If this keeps up, HAMA will be in danger...)

… Oguro. I’ll handle it.

Haha, that’s more like it. Good luck~

… Liguang… you’ll go by yourself…!? That's, that's… too dangerous, y'know…!

I'm used to violence. Save your concern for yourself.

Liguang… I'm worried, too. I don’t want to see you get hurt.

… You don’t need to worry, Kamina.

(It’s true that Liguang is more than capable of handling this himself, but…)

Arf, arf! Arf!!

Mile…? Don’t tell me… you want to be deployed?

Ruff! Ruff, ruff!!

… Of course. You’re worried about everyone in HAMA, too, huh?

… Kosaka-san. Right now, Mile and the others are the only police dogs available for deployment, correct?

If that’s the case, then please allow us to help with the investigation.

(… Now that’s reckless. At the very least, everyone besides Murakumo and I should remain here—However…)

(At this hour, I don't have any men I can mobilize on such short notice, either. Since we can’t hand the credit to the police regardless, all of us stepping in might be our most effective option.)

That’s out of the question! I can't allow civilians to do something that dangerous—

But this is an emergency. We need to make use of everything we have.

B-But…

(The police won’t grant us permission. I figured as much.)

......

Oguro, lend me your ear for a second.

…!

Using the dogs is indeed the fastest way to resolve this. However, I won’t stand by and let you put yourselves in danger.

… If you agree to my conditions, only then will I put pressure on the police.

What do you mean?

Focus only on searching and driving the dogs into a corner. Don’t make any attempts to capture them yourselves.

And lastly, if a dog looks dangerous, swear to me you’ll retreat instead of confronting it.

Should harm come to anyone in our territory’s midst, the Lurong name will be stained.

… Got it.

That's fine by me.

… Let me talk with the deputy chief.

…! Liguang-san… If you’re getting involved…

Deputy Chief Shirosaki…!

That's how it is. I thought your precinct could settle this on your own, but it looks like I still have to intervene after all.

… *Sigh*. We just never anticipated the cave-in. I apologize for wasting the information you provided us.

That doesn’t matter right now. Just give us permission. You are already aware of my family’s situation—so I’ll handle this under my own name.

Oh… I see how it is, Shirosaki-san. So you've been in touch with our 4th Ward Mayor all along, weren’t you?

… Permission granted. We have our own circumstances to consider as well. I’d… appreciate it if you didn’t pry any further.

Deputy Chief…

It's alright, Kosaka-kun. He isn’t the type of man who would put the dogs in harm’s way.

We’ll make a special exception just this once. However, this is not an official investigation—only an extension of the police dog event.

We’ll treat this under the guise of putting on a performance around the area. Under that pretense, I will authorize your cooperation.

However, if you sense any danger, please ensure that you will withdraw immediately.

Of course we will.

Everyone, it's time to put all our training to good use. For now, our priority is to locate the escaped dogs and corner them.

Alright! Let's catch those bad guys together, Leo!

Ruff!

… Renga, you stay here.

Huh!? N-Not this again...!

I’m coming, too, no matter what! I’ve got plenty of stamina, and I’m quick on my feet… I know I can help with the investigation more than you can!!

Still, no means no…!

(If Renga gets bitten again…)

(If he ends up on death’s door again…)

Honestly… back then, a part of me had already given up. I thought if I ended up dying like that… then I guess it couldn’t be helped.

(... No.)

(I can’t let him go through that again!)

... You’re staying right here, Renga!

…!?

Why…? Why are you being so damn stubborn about this!?

No matter what you say, my decision’s final. This is an order from your Preside—

Oguro.

Even if you slap a collar on him, this idiot will just tear it off and break loose. Is that what you want?

......

C-Collar!? You’re treatin’ yours truly like a do—

Quit barking. We don't have time for this, so shut your trap.

If you're that worried about this mutt, then protect him yourself. That's the quickest solution.

Maybe doing that will finally clear your head.

......

… Fine. Renga, you’ll stick with me. In exchange, you’re not allowed to go off on your own.

…! O-Okay! I promise!

(Sheesh… talk about overprotective. All we’re doing’s just herding a few dogs.)

… The mere thought of Young Master's safety being at risk… tears this Sakujiro’s heart into pieces...

HOWEVEEEERRRR—! I have already prepared for such an occasion! Everyone, please—I insist you make use of these.

What are those?

Kamina-san, pardon me for a moment. I am going to touch your head.

Oh, this is…

Behold! The "Fluffy-Wuffy Fuzzy-Wuzzy Ultra High-Performance Dog-Ear Intercom"!

Ease of use and cutting-edge features are guaranteed! It even supports wireless communication, and can transmit and receive location data!

I've spared no effort on every last detail, from the fluffy texture to the adorable design! Wear these, and your cuteness level is guaranteed to go up by 180%!

Oh, you're right. It feels legit~ …But aren’t your priorities a little backwards?

… Why are they dog ears?

Would you have preferred deer ears instead?

That's not what I meant.

Well, we can't just utilize the police’s intercom network, can we? And officially, this is supposed to be nothing more than a "performance." As such, dog ears are the only proper choice in this scenario!

I’d say they’re perfect for a police dog PR event. Let's use them.

… Wow. It fits my head perfectly. It stays put no matter how much I move. Maybe I could use something like this for my ice show costumes, too.

Young Master... Please be careful. Though my heart aches with worry, this Saku believes in you more than anyone.

Thank you, Sakujiro. I promise we’ll all come back safe and sound.

(... For now, I’ll set these feelings aside.)

Alright—R1ze Patrol, is on a roll¹