Chapter 110

“You can see it, right?!” “I can!” Routa, so gigantic he disrupted their sense of distance, towered high over even the sacred mountain. “To think we would see the same hallucination…! Could this really be…?!” Miranda balked. “Could it be…?!” Gandolf and Miranda exchanged glances, then came to the exact same conclusion. “Overwork, right?” he tried to confirm. “Yes, overwork. There is no doubt.” They nodded gravely. “How could this happen? I had no idea I was this exhausted…” “It appears I have been pushing myself a little too hard as well.” “Let’s call it quits for today. No work. Miranda, you get some rest as well. I give you permission.” “I will do that, sir.” “I must say, though, that is such a ridiculous hallucination.” “Yes, indeed. This has taught me a valuable lesson about the dangers of working too much. I will be sure to take breaks when appropriate from now on.” The two were, as always, blind to the truth. After being enveloped in a white light, I stood there, baffled. “Arwf…? (What? Why does the sky look so dark…?)” And the horizon looks like it’s bent into a round shape. Also, the air feels kinda thin. I thought I was just on the sacred mountain. Where am I? After dispelling the shape-shifting technique, I should have returned to my original form. It wasn’t supposed to change where I was standing, but I have no recollection of this place. “GAROON! (Milord!)” Oh? Len leaps into vision, having returned to her dragon form. But despite her currently being the shape of a dragon, her size is still that of a mouse. In fact, she might have even gotten smaller. Why did she do a transformation like that? “Arf. (What’s wrong, Len? You got pretty small.)” She’s kind of cute, too, flapping her little wings like that. “GARORO! (I am not small—you have grown too large, milord! Look at your feet!)” “Arf? (My feet?)” I look at my body another time, and when I realize what’s happened to me, I scream. “A-arrrrwwwwwww!! (M-my body—it’s so enormous!!)” My giganticness seems to shun the very world—truly fitting of the name of Fenrir, the beast whose jaw was said to reach the heavens, the one who shook the entire earth. “Arwf, arwf?! (Acting cool with my knowledge of mythology from my past life is fine and everything, but how could I be so big?! How the heck did I get to this size in just a few months?!)” This rate of growth is absolutely insane. It’s a good thing nothing happened near the mansion that required me to shape-shift. I’d never be able to explain this away, no matter how hard I tried. “Arwf?! (Wait, wouldn’t you be able to see me from the mansion?!)” The sacred mountain at my feet is visible from there, so there’s no way they wouldn’t see me when I’m far larger. “A-arwf, arwf…! (Th-this is bad! I gotta get small again, and quick…!)” In order to do that, I’ll need to defeat Gigas immediately. Where is he? Where’s Gigas? “GARORO. (Down—directly below you. He is right next to your front leg.)” “Arf. (Oh. You’re right.)” Gigas is staring up at me, mouth agape. “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’s biiiiiiiiiiiiiggeeeeeeeeeeeeeer thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!” Gigas was so tremendous before, but now, he’s the size of a doll. “Arf. (Hmm.)” I slowly lift my front leg and put it on Gigas’s head. “Woof. (Here we go.)” I put a little weight into it and hear a crack. Gigas pathetically flattens underneath my paw. “…Arf. (…Guess that’s a win.)” He was a powerful enemy who caused us so much struggle, and I defeated him in an instant. Are victories like this really the best way to go about things? “GARORO! (Amazing, milord! Quite literally a crushing victory!)” Len happily flits around me. Gigas probably never thought the day would come when he’d be crushed by someone bigger than him, either. “Arf. (Well, a win’s a win, right? Len, please re-cast the shape-shifting spell on me. I want to go back right now.)” “GARO. (That seems like a waste. I prefer you as you are now.)” But I don’t! You can’t raise a pet this big. “GARO. (You could conquer the world at any time if you so wished. You are humble as always, milord.)” Conquering the world? No thanks. I’m really enjoying my current life. There’s no better life than being a dog raised by rich people. So please hurry up and make me small again. “GARO. (I suppose. If you insist, milord, then as your wife, I can only obey.)” I don’t even have the energy to retort that she’s not my wife. I’m tired from running all the way to the sacred mountain, I’m worried that I was seen from the mansion, and I may have peed myself a little because of how scary Gigas was. I have Len cast the spell on me again, and after I get small, I go back to Garo and the others. “Grwl! (My king! That was a marvelous fight! I saw with my own eyes how you crushed that giant to death!)” All I did was press him a little bit with my front paw, but it must have looked like an amazing force from below. “I can’t believe Gigas would be defeated in such a nonsensical way…” “Arwf. (Sorry for beating up one of your friends, Mircalla.)” “…I don’t care. I’m not in the Demon Lord’s army anymore anyway. And besides, that witch is probably gonna grab him, too.” “Oh, you know me so well.” “E-eek?! When did you get there?!” Mircalla gives a shriek and hides behind me. That’s a little too scared, if you ask me. “Woof. (Yo, Hecate. Same as always?)” I wonder what she’s going to steal a fallen general’s power to use for this time. This happens every time, so I’ve gotten used to it, too. “…You never doubt me, do you, Routa?” That’s because I don’t feel the need to. Hecate doesn’t seem like someone who would steal the Demon Lord’s army’s power and use it for evil purposes. And I know she’s saved me a few times already. Most of all, I make it a point to never interfere in anything that isn’t related to my life as a pet. “You really are something.” Hecate gives a wry grin, almost astonished. “In any case, I’ll send you back to the mansion.” “Arwf! (Oh, wait a sec! Instead of the mansion, can you send us to the hot spring?)” I’m positively freezing because we’re here in the cold. There’s even frost crystallizing on my mane. I’d like to warm up in the hot spring first, at least, before going home. And we can just have Nahura send us back when we’re done. “Arf. (Come to think of it, Nahura’s been pretty quiet.)” I glance behind me and see Nahura has fallen out of my mane and is now still as a rock. “A-arwf?! (Sh-she’s frozen?!)” We hurry and launch Nahura into the hot spring. As soon as she thaws, she springs back to life. Like a cheap toy. “Meow! (Well, now, I am quite sorry for causing so much worry!)” Nahura apologizes, lying on the edge of the hot spring. The rocks, heated by the water, seem quite comfortable for lying on. “Arwwfff… (I feel like a new dog…)” The rest of us soak in the hot spring as well, leisurely relaxing our frozen bodies. “Ugh, why am I even here…? Well, I suppose my toes were pretty cold. I was practically about to get frostbite.” Mircalla, who took off only her shoes, is swishing her feet around in the hot water. “Mew, mew? (Mircalla, do you hate baths, too? You’re just like me!)” “No! I got dragged here in the middle of my job! Also, I still have things to do after this! Send me back this instant!” Prioritizing your work over this warm, bubbly hot spring? The maid spirit seems to have permeated you. “Arf. (Well, we’re all warmed up now, so let’s head back.)” While we were soaking in the hot spring, the river’s water level recovered quite a bit. We can hear the rolling of the waterfall from here, too. That should solve the water shortage. The sacred mountain’s terrain changed a little, but aside from the scenery, there shouldn’t be any problems. “Arwf! (Okay—let’s go home!)” With Nahura’s spatial magic, we warp near the mansion. “Grwl! (Lord Routa, thank you for once again deigning to save us!)” “““Grwl! Grwl! Grwl! (Our king! Our king! Thank you very much!)””” “Woof. (Right. See you later.)” We see Garo and the other Fen Wolves off, then head for the mansion’s front gate together. “I’ll go in through the back. Bye.” So she won’t be caught slacking, Mircalla goes off to sneak back into the mansion via the back door. Sorry for summoning you so abruptly. Good luck in the rest of your work. I, not feeling particularly like I skipped out on my duties, return to the mansion through the front gate. “Oh, Routa? Did you go out?” It’s Papa. What has he been doing near the gate? Is he done with work? “I took the rest of the day off. I was so wiped out, I was seeing things. I saw a huge Routa out the window at the sacred mountain! Funny, right? Ha-ha-ha!” “Arw-rw… (Ha-ha-ha… Funny…)” Yeah, he definitely saw me when I was gigantic. But instead of suspecting my true identity, he’s convinced himself he was hallucinating. I’d expect nothing less from Papa. Your blindness is alive and well. “I decided it was a good chance to take you out for a walk, but Dr. Hecate was here a little while ago.” Hecate? I figured she’d come to the hot spring once she was done, but she didn’t. She came back to the mansion? “She left this stone statue here, saying something about it being lucky. I don’t care for statues, but I do hope it wards off evil.” Papa looks up at a stone statue standing there, about three meters tall. When I see it, I start coughing. “Argh?! (Wait, isn’t that Gigas?!)” The giant I just defeated moments ago has been reduced in size and placed right there. “IIIIIIIIIIII doooooooooon’t haaaaaaaave tooooooooooo moooooooooooove. Veeeeeeryyyyyyyy niiiiiiiiiiice. Nooooooow IIIIIIIII caaaaaaaan sleeeeeeep aaaaaaaall theeeeeeeee tiiiiiiiiiiiime.” Gigas speaks in a voice Papa can’t hear. Despite having been made into a statue, Gigas himself seems happy. Anyway, why does Hecate keep putting the generals at the mansion after stealing their power? My land of peace and tranquility is changing into a place infested with demons. At this rate, about 30 percent of the residents will be monsters. “Oh, Routa! Welcome home! I’m finished studying, so let’s go play!” Lady Mary waves to me from her second-story window. Ignorant of how the mansion is steadily becoming a home for monsters, she’s adorable again today in her youthful innocence. “Woof, woof! (Gladly! What should we play? Should we play tag? We haven’t played that in a while.)” She runs down the stairs and flings open the front door, and I catch her with my fluff. “Father! Father, do you want to play, too?!” “Oh, you’re inviting me? That makes me happy.” “It’s been a really, really long time since I got you to play with me! What a wonderful day this is!” “It seems I’ve been too engrossed in my work of late. If I’m so far gone that I’m hallucinating, it’s all over. I’m going to delegate more of my tasks and rest more from now on.” “Really?! I’m so happy!!” Lady Mary’s smile is positively radiant. When she’s happy, I get happy, too. Okay! Today is play day! “Father, we’ll play tag first!” “Ha-ha-ha. No matter how old you are, you’re always a tomboy. Well, if I’m going to play, I’m not going to lose so easily. Are you ready?” “Bring it on!” “Arwf! (Yeah—come at me!)” We run around the courtyard, playing until Papa drops to his knees in exhaustion. Without any way for Papa to keep up with the stamina of a child and a dog, he’ll probably wake up tomorrow with his whole body sore and have to rest even more.