Chapter 104

“Woo! (Stop it! I don’t like you!)” “Woo! (Huh?! This female has the same scent as Daddy, too!)” “Woo! (Really? It’s even thicker than on the females from before!)” Oh, that’s probably because of the stuffed animal Zenobia has. The thing is stuffed full of my fur. And she keeps it in her cleavage 24-7, so she must really smell like me now. “Woo, woo! (I’ll lick it off you! I’ll lick it off you!)” “Hey— What— Where do you think you’re licking?! That tickles— Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Damn you both! I have nothing but envy. Let me in. “Squeak? (More importantly, shouldn’t we inform the mother that her daughters are safe?)” “Arwf. (Whoops! You’re right.)” I give a howl high into the sky. As if in response, several howls come back in sequence from afar, with my information getting to the distant Garo. The Fen Wolves are the forest’s hunters, and they have the speed of information transmission to match. I only howled the way I’d been taught to, but it looks like it went well. After a few moments, Garo arrives at a ferocious speed. “Grwl! (Shiro! Kuro! Are you all right?!)” “Wow! Now a big black puppy dog is here, too!” Oh crap, it surprised my lady. But she’s as blind as ever. Her eyes seem to be perfectly perceiving Garo as a dog. “Yes, that certainly is a grand-looking dog. How beautiful…” And Lady Mary’s friend deserves mention, too. She’s got the same level of blindness. “Woo! (Oh! It’s Mommy!)” “Woo! (Mommy!)” Shiro and Kuro jump from Zenobia’s arms—she’s collapsed to the ground already—and run over to Garo. “Grwl… (You look fine…)” Garo sighs in relief. It’s a little late to mention it, but Garo takes a formal, polite tone with her children. Maybe it’s so they don’t learn any strange word choices. Still, as far as I’ve seen, it hasn’t been working much. “Grrr… (You understand what happens now, right? Mommy told you to be obedient and stay at home. I know you know the punishment for going against that…)” ““W-woo! (W-we’re sorry! Mommy!)”” “Grwl! (No, I will not forgive this. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused? Well, you will have plenty of time to think it over!)” ““Wooo! (Nooo! Help us! Daddy!)”” The baby wolves run away from the barking Garo and cling to my feet. “Arwf. (Well, they’re safe and sound, so go easy on them, all right? You don’t need to be extra angry at them for my sake.)” Children are invincible beings equipped with perpetual motion devices and acceleration features, so there’s no point trying to get them to sit still. She should have taken them along with her instead of having them stay at home. “Woo! (Daddy! You’re so nice! I love you!)” Shiro and Kuro rub up against me. “Grwl… (Now you’re making me out to be the villain… Shiro, Kuro, I’m so glad you’re safe…)” Garo, anger quelled, walks over and brings her face to Shiro’s and Kuro’s. “They’re so close with one another…! I bet these children are her family…!” Drills, watching over us, is moved. “Would that mean this black dog is Routa’s wife? And not only does he have a wife, he’s had children as well…?” Huh? Upon hearing Drills’s words, Lady Mary is flabbergasted. “W-wait, really? Routa, is that true…?” Huh? What? I feel a misunderstanding barreling toward us like an avalanche. “W-woof, woof! (No, that’s not it, Lady Mary! I don’t have any dependents! My beloved family is Papa and you and everyone at the mansion, and that’s it! These are my friends, just friends!)” Please don’t remove me from your list of family members, please! I still want you all to raise meeeeeeeeeeee! “Woo? (Daddy, you’re not our Daddy?)” “Woo? (Really?)” “A-arw… (Errr…)” No, not even if you look at me with those cute round eyes! I’m still a puppy, only a few months old! Stop trying to make me take responsibility! “Grwl, grwl. (Shiro, Kuro, you mustn’t do that. His Majesty is our liege, not your father.)” Oh! Garo is backing me up! Thanks a million. Go ahead, tell them what our actual relationship is. Tell them we’re not related by blood, so they should stop calling me their father. “Grwl, grwl. (Stop addressing the king as if he is your father.)” Yes, that’s right. Stop that. “Grwl, grwl… (The reason being…)” Yes, the reason being! “…grwl, grwl. (…that it is essential that all Fen Wolves become His Majesty’s wives.)” Yes, that all Fen Wolves should be my— Urk!! That’s totally wrong! I thought you were backing me up, but you weren’t! That wasn’t support fire—you just tossed a grenade at me! “Grwl, grwl. (And when you two grow up, you will one day be wives to the king as well. However, you cannot be his wives if he is your father and you his children. Are you okay with that?)” ““Whine! (No! Daddy… We want to be Daddy’s wives!)”” Shiro and Kuro have, unfortunately, been promoted from “daughters” to “potential wives.” How is that supposed to make me happy? I’m not a furry, and I don’t need any wives! I’ve already decided I’ll live as a pet in this mansion anyway. Having a family of my own is out of the question. “Woof, woof! (Isn’t that right, Lady Mary?! I’ll be your baby forever! You’ll never demand that I move in with a wife because I had children, right?!)” I turn around and search for Lady Mary to agree. “Routa, this is…!” She puts a hand to her mouth and looks at me. “A-arwf…?! (Oh… Oh no, not you too…! Do you mean to say I’m a failure as a pet?!)” I’m innocent… I swear, I’m innocent…! These aren’t my daughters or potential wives—they’re just friends! I haven’t done a single thing I need to be embarrassed about! “…!” Lady Mary, oblivious to my desperate argument, suddenly turns around and starts running toward the mansion. “Arrrrrrrrrrrwwwwwwf! (Lady Mary, waaaaaaait! Don’t get rid of meeeeeeeeee!)” My outstretched front legs shiver and quake and eventually give out. It’s over. My pet life is all over… Will I have to live as a wild Fen Wolf King from now on…? Will I never go back to being a pet puppy dog…? Flat on my face, I cry a river of tears, and then eventually I hear a lively voice from inside the mansion. “Father! Father! Quick! Come quick!” “Hey, what’s going on now, Mary? I’m in the middle of work…” “But you have to come!” “All right, all right. You don’t need to pull on me. Ha-ha-ha…ha?” When Papa comes out behind Lady Mary, he’s struck speechless at the sight of Garo and the others. “Is…? Could this be…?” Ahh, now Papa is looking our way all surprised. Does even Papa think I’m a stupid, irresponsible dog now? There is no hope left. They’re going to get rid of me. I’ll be abandoned, and then I’ll have to be the Fen Wolf King. “Has Routa made a new family?!” “That’s right, Father! And they’re our family, too!” Huh? That’s…not exactly how I expected them to react. They both seem to be overjoyed. “Well, we can’t just stand here. The bed in Mary’s room might be a little small. Let’s order a new special-made one posthaste.” “They might be hungry, too! We’ll have to ask Mr. James for food!” “Oh, yes! How wonderful! There is no greater joy than gaining new family members!” Wait…what? It doesn’t look like they’ll get rid of me, but I didn’t think they’d be so forward and accepting about it. “Routa! Looks like you’re quite the playboy, eh?” Playboy? But I’m still pure—and that includes my past life. I try to argue the point as Papa pats me on the back, but my words don’t get across, of course. “I want to take a bath with everyone, too! I’ll have the maids prepare the large bathtub!” “That is a good idea!” The young ladies are over the moon as they prepare to take in Garo and the others. “Arwf? (Uhh, so that’s a thing. Did you three want to be part of the mansion?)” I have no intention of raising them, but it’s fine if we’re all raised together. “Grwl. (No, Lord Routa. I must humbly decline.)” Garo, however, takes Shiro and Kuro and backs away. Her eyes are quiet but filled with an unmovable denial. Perhaps having sensed that rejection, the two young ladies quiet down as well and watch. “Grwl, grwl. (I have nothing but respect for you, Your Majesty. However, I cannot forgive humankind.)” “Woof, woof. (I see. Well, that’s fine. You can live in the forest, and I’ll live at the mansion. I’ll come to visit. With Len and Nahura.)” Garo nods and turns around. ““Woo! (Daddy! See you soon!)”” “Grwl. (And you two are getting a talking-to when we get back.)” “Woo! (Mommy, noooo!)” Mother and children leave toward the setting sun. “They’ll be together, even if they live apart…! How splendid…! How beautiful…!” Drills has taken it upon herself to be touched. They really just kind of left normally. They’ll probably show up again at some point. I doubt those rambunctious little kids will want to stay put in the forest. “Routa has children already, huh… I wonder when I’ll have to start thinking about that sort of thing…” “They sure were adorable. They reminded me of Routa when he was little.” I was little only a short time ago. I don’t think it’s something you can get that nostalgic about. “Err, actually, Lady Mary, Lady Elizabeth, they do not seem to be Routa’s wife and children.” Zenobia tries to clear up the misunderstanding for me. “Arwf… (Thanks, Zenobia. But maybe if you’d explained at an earlier stage, I wouldn’t be this wiped out now…)” Exhausted, I can only go back for fifths during dinner. I’ll eat more tomorrow!