"This rule was put in place to stop people from adopting stray animals on impulse, then abandoning them when they find them too much trouble."
Seeing that Uchiha Naruto was still a student, the staff member's eyes flashed with an unsurprised look as he explained in a flat tone.
He had seen plenty of people who came to the stray animal center to adopt cats or dogs on a whim, but their enthusiasm usually faded quickly.
Keeping a cat or dog was no simple matter. Feeding, vaccinations, cleaning, taking them out for walks, and so on required a considerable investment of money and time.
Most stray animals on the streets had been abandoned by irresponsible owners.
People valued what they paid for. Requiring payment to the stray animal center or an advance purchase of a year's worth of dog food effectively discouraged impulsive adopters.
"How much is it?" Uchiha Naruto asked. He had not known about this rule at all, so naturally, he could not produce a receipt for a dog food order.
"Thirty thousand yen."
Uchiha Naruto blinked.
It was neither a large nor a small amount.
But Uchiha Naruto had not brought that much money with him, and he also wanted to get one for free.
Stray dogs were rare on Tokyo's streets, nowhere near as ubiquitous as crows and pigeons. Uchiha Naruto could not simply go out and catch one as he had with his first summoning animal, Crow One.
Just then, a staff member wearing a mask and protective clothing emerged from the yard behind the stray animal adoption center, pushing a cart with a motionless little yellow dog on it.
"We caught this dog yesterday. It was full of life then, but today it stopped moving." The masked staff member sighed.
"Could it be canine