Chapter 117

When these vegetables first appeared, the old man was astonished, but now he takes care of them with practiced hands. I hope they grow big and tasty for the dinner table! When I cross through the vegetable fields, I come to the stables where Mare, Elusive, and Grace live. “Arwf. (Top of the morning to ya.)” “Neigh. (Oh, hello, Mister Wolf. Up early again today, are we?)” “Whicker. (How admirable.)” Elusive and Grace, the married couple, poke their heads out from their sleeping areas and return my greeting. I’m not up early again, though—I was out playing all night and just got back. “Arwf? (Hm? Where’s Mare?)” I don’t see the considerably larger black horse anywhere. “Neigh. (The red-haired swordswoman took her to go for a morning ride.)” “Whicker. (Mare is so full of energy, after all.)” Curse you, Zenobia! You’ve already made Mare into your personal possession, have you? That monster horse belongs to the Faulks family. You need to get my permission first, since I’m the one who did the capturing. Hmph. Once she gets back, I’ll reproach her—though she won’t understand what I’m saying, of course. After returning to the mansion, I head straight to the kitchen. “Woof, woof! (Old man! Breakfast please!)” When I call out from the back entrance, old man James appears. “Out all night once again, eh? You’re such a delinquent.” “Arwrw. (Heh-heh-heh. Sowwy.)” The elves’ food is delicious, but it doesn’t feel like I’ve eaten anything until I’ve had the old man’s cooking. In fact, my stomach was totally empty by the time I made my way back from the forest. “Here you go. It’s a little rich to have for breakfast, but I’m sure you won’t mind.” “Arwf! (’Course not!)” The old man gives me a super-thick meat sauté. Covered in a buttery sauce made from the fat and grease that came out when frying, it drives my appetite mad. “Your friends bring me meat pretty frequently, after all—we shouldn’t have to worry about food shortages for the time being.” The Fen Wolves are just as enamored with his cooking as I am, and when they hunt down prey, they apparently deliver it here in secret. In exchange, they have him cook half of it for them. They’ve built a give-and-take relationship for themselves. I, meanwhile, am allowed to eat it without paying anything. It’s a take-and-take relationship. “Arwf! (This is great! Monster meat is great!)” Even the most vicious, grotesque-looking monsters quickly transform into an ultimate dish in the old man’s hands. When I bite into the soft, but substantial meat, the juices come bursting out of it. The meat’s cross-section is red like a ruby, but it’s been heated all the way through and had the muscles cleanly stripped, so gristle doesn’t get stuck between my teeth while I’m eating. And the deliciousness keeps on rushing at me. “Arwf, arwf!! (Your food is number one in the whole world, old man!!)” As he pets me on the back, I enjoy his cooking to my heart’s content. “I hear Lady Mary’s illness is going to get better, too. That’s a relief. It was only a minor fever this time, but whenever she came down with one in the past, things got scary.” Before I got the wyrmnil, the old man had to think really hard about what to feed the young lady, because the fever prevented her from eating much. I wonder what he’d think if he knew her illness was actually an effect of the seal on the Demon Lord. He’d probably just feel tortured by his lack of ability to do anything for her with food. I wouldn’t want him to know about it, either. “Arf, arf. (Well, I’m gonna go take care of things real quick, so make some good food and wait for me.)” “Oh, going already? Well, you can look forward to lunch.” “Arwf, arwf! (Of course! I plan to stuff myself with plenty of food for the journey right before I leave!)” “Hey, it’s Routa!” Just as I decide to take a nap in the mansion, Betty the maid finds me. Her freckles are energetic and charming today as well. “Would you like me to brush you? It’s been a while.” “Arwf! (Yes, yes!)” I roll over on the spot, and then Betty starts brushing my fur. “Looks like it’s not shedding as much as when your coat was changing.” “Arwf. (Yeah. All that fur caused a big problem, so I hope it doesn’t fall out very much anymore.)” If I hadn’t found my invincible, unburnable fur shoved in the incinerator, everyone would have realized I’m not a dog. Still, that stuffed animal with my fur in it saved Zenobia, so I can’t exactly say it was all for naught. “Oh, Betty!” “Not fair, doing it by yourself…” Then the fluffy-haired Connie and the smooth-haired Mira arrive. I see them together a lot—maybe they work the same shifts. “Routa, would you mind if we brushed you as well?” “So fluffy…” “Woof, woof! (Of course not! Please, brush me all you like!)” This body is humongous, after all. Betty wouldn’t be able to do it all herself. “Here? Do you like it here?” “Arwrw! (Ahh, right there, yes! More, more—brush me mooore!)” I’m in love with Betty’s brushing technique. Once they all work together to brush me, I end up having even fluffier fur than I usually do. Time to let Lady Mary pet this fluffy chest hair. I’m sure she’ll be happy. “Arwf, arwf! (Okay, bye, Betty, Connie, and Mira! Thanks for the brushing!)” But just as I’m heading over to Lady Mary’s room, someone yanks me away from behind. “Come with me.” Oh, this grabbing technique—I know exactly who that is. “Arf, arf. (Zenobia, come on. Don’t make me test another sword. It’ll just break, and you’ll end up crying again.)” “I don’t know what you’re saying, but I can tell you’re making fun of me.” Wh-what…?! How did Zenobia, of all people, read my mind like that…?! Of all people, Zenobia? Zenobia…?! With incredible brute strength as usual, she drags my enormous frame outside. She brings me to the backyard, like always. You can see us from the old man’s kitchen window, but he’s too focused on his cooking to notice us. “We should be able to talk here. After having talked to you for so long, some of the maids are spreading a rumor that I’ve gone mad.” Ah. I figured she was worried about that. “Neigh. (Zenobia talks to me when we go for morning rides, too.)” A black horse, bridle still attached, gives a whinny. “Arwf. (Oh, hello, Mare.)” It seems they just got back from their morning ride. “Neigh. (Good morning, Routa. Our morning ride felt very nice.)” “Arf, arf. (Good for you. Later you can tell me what Zenobia said.)” She’s got a surprisingly girly side to her, after all, judging by her affinity for stuffed animals and the like. I bet I’ll hear some interesting stuff. “Neigh. (I cannot. It is a secret between women.)” Come to think of it, Mare is a girl, isn’t she? At some point she must have formed a strong attachment to Zenobia. “…I heard everything from Lady Hecate.” Oh? So she’s already heard what we talked about yesterday, huh? “It’s such a spectacular story that my mind can’t fully comprehend it, but I do know you’ve been tasked with a crucial role in it.” Well, I don’t really get it myself. Like, if I change the past, what will happen to the future? Will we have parallel universes, or will it cause a time paradox, or what? Anyway, I don’t know what parallel universes or time paradoxes even are. I was just firing off some vocabulary I happen to know. Never seek knowledge from a dog. “I had thought about going with you.” Seriously? I’d be glad to take you along with me. I’m sure Gorillanobia’s combat strength would be a big help. “But to be frank, compared to you, I would be nothing but a hindrance.” That’s not true. You’re super-dependable. Come on, give a helpless puppy a hand, would ya? “It seems like you understand, too—why I’m staying on the bench for this one.” No, I don’t. You’d be way better off the bench. Help me. Please, help me! “Yeah. You’re right—I wouldn’t help you very much. So instead, I will be a sword to protect Lady Mary while you’re gone.” Ah. She’s not understanding me at all. She and I can never seem to have an actual conversation when it’s important. “So you don’t have to worry about that when you go.” Actually, now I’m more worried than I would have been. I was planning on adding you to the team I’m bringing. You’ve got nothing to do anyway, and you perfectly fit all the requirements to be chosen! You and I are the only ones who don’t do any work around here, after all. After Zenobia sees me off with a nice smile, I go back inside the mansion in disappointment.