It was the custom of this household that no crime or misdeed ever went unpunished and there were no exceptions to this rule. It applied to one and all-human beings, animals, even insects. My uncle showed no mercy, hating the very word, as to him it was the mark of weakness. What happens when there is an epic battle between cruelty and humaneness and the one caught in the middle is a hapless animal? Lost in the forests of India, a man comes across a bizarre and dangerous ritual-does he flee or does he stay and rescue his fellow travellers? And in the uneven contest between a man with his gun and a panther or tiger, how does man end up winning? From jungles to battlefields to the frozen Russian countryside, adventure and danger lurk everywhere. Read the awe-inspiring adventures set in these exotic locations in this new collection compiled by Ruskin Bond.

There are all sorts of Professions in this world, from Magician to Fencer, from the lowly Beast Tamer to the mighty Hero. Every adult has their own, which they can never change as long as they live. Kanata Aldezia is an icy and mysterious beauty, a fighter, and a genius without peer. Today is her Selection Ceremony: the day when a child must decide their Profession from those chosen for them by the gods. Everyone is eager to see what Profession Kanata will choose. There is even speculation that she will be the one chosen as Saint, destined to lead the Holy Church. But Kanata has a secret. There is something she must obtain at any cost. Something more precious to her than her own life—her quest for the fluff! Kanata loves fluffy fluffy critters more than anything, and would go to any lengths to pet their soft fluffy fur. Saint? No! She’s just a passing Beast Tamer!

Locked in the dungeons underneath the High Cathedral in the Holy City Lordentia, the Spirit Wolf Fenrir cries out for his Saint. For centuries, he has waited for the rebirth of his master. But now she is close. He would recognize her scent anywhere. Can Fenrir escape his captor’s torments to warn the Saint of the danger? And what will he do when he learns that she’s not a Saint at all, but just a passing Beast Tamer? Can he possibly learn to get along with this ridiculous furball calling himself the King of Demons? Kanata threw away the title of Saint to lead the freewheeling life of a Beast Tamer in search of fluffy critters, and now that she’s saved the city a few times and broken the Goddess’s curse, she’s ready to head out on her adventure! But the wickedness of the Church and their false Goddess is greater than she knows. Not that it bothers her! The open road is ahead, and the fluff awaits! What else could possibly matter?

“I CAN FINALLY, FINALLY......PET THE...THE IIDATOY FLUFF!!” Kanata Aldezia is a peerless genius, and everyone is waiting with bated breath for her to be blessed with the opportunity to be a Saint, the rarest and most honorable of professions. Little do they know that Kanata’s got other plans—for her, it’s Beast Tamer or bust! Illness kept her bedridden in her previous life, and she could only admire animals from the other side of a screen. This time, she’s been reborn as a healthy and spry young girl...so nothing’s going to stop her from petting all the fluffy critters she can!

Having successfully signed on with a guild, Kanata and Zaggy can finally take their first step in their journey: accept quests to earn money for equipment and food! Between the beast tamer and a former demon king, what can’t they do?

For centuries, the world has been ruled in secret by a conspiracy of alien gods, seeking to harvest the souls of humanity for sustenance. They had wielded both the Holy Church and the Demon King freely, perpetuating strife between humans and magic beasts for their own twisted ends. But something has gone wrong. A girl, powerful enough to challenge the gods themselves, has been thwarting their plans one after another, assembling a team of powerful beings and even founding a new religion, threatening to steal their much-needed faith! Who is Kanata Aldezia, and what does she want? What passion or principle could have driven her to obtain such strength? The answer, of course, is simple—the fluff! Kanata doesn’t care for power one way or another, and she certainly has no intention of thwarting the gods’ wicked designs. She’s happy as long as she has fluffy critters to pet, and with Zaggy and Fen-fen now in the party, she’s on a keen lookout for a third. Maybe in that ruined castle?