The Demon Lord’s generals lost their power and became servants, and the Fen Wolves’ wounds have healed. The lake and the elves’ forest have also returned to normal thanks to some magic. Seems like everything’s settled. Now I just have to continue living my peaceful life without a care in the world. I do sort of get the feeling that that alone is raising a flag or two, but my life as a pet is safe and secure—hopefully! The capital city of the kingdom—Arfgalem. Built on high ground, with the royal castle standing at its tallest point, the city was divided into Hightown, where nobles, aristocrats, and others in the higher echelons of society lived; Midtown, which housed the commoners; and Lowtown, home to the poor and destitute. High walls and bulky gates cordoned each area off from the others, creating a three-tiered city. With monsters running rampant outside, this structure was an excellent defensive choice. In Hightown—the highest and best-defended area—was a certain location: the main office of the Adventurers Guild, an organization that dispatched adventurers all over the land, operating beyond territorial borders. These headquarters were marked by a gate. A signboard out front, depicting an adventurer and an emblem of flames and a sword, rattled slightly, shaken by a loud argument taking place inside the building. “But why?!” “No matter how many times you ask me, there is nothing else I can tell you,” answered the young woman sporting silvery hair with green tips. Her name was Emerada. Though she looked young, she had the been guild leader for a full century or so now. Her long ears, decorated with earrings, marked her as an elf—member of an incredibly long-lived race. Exhausted by several days of work in a row, she sat down at her desk and sighed decadently. The gesture was oddly sexy, and an average adventurer would have been rendered speechless. “You can’t tell me? Not even me?” But the one facing her didn’t react that way. The person pressed in on Emerada—the one with the highest position in the guild—and was frustrated enough to bang her hands on Emerada’s desk. “If you can’t even tell me, then that proves my suspicions.” “I can’t really respond to that…,” murmured Emerada, leaning her cheek on a hand, scribbling on a piece of paper and stamping it. She was fed up with clerical work—day in, day out, always the same—and she felt the same about this persistent questioner. “Alstera,” she said, putting her pen down and removing her chained glasses, “even if you are an SS-Rank adventurer and someone great enough to bear the title of Hero, I can’t give you special treatment.” The guild leader’s deep-green eyes bored into Alstera, but the Hero didn’t flinch. In fact, she grew even more insistent. “Why can’t you at least tell me the reason you won’t investigate?” demanded Alstera. “I know an A-Rank adventurer party—the Swords of Dawn—already went to check things out. The result of their investigation was that there were no problems. But that’s not possible. From what I hear, the magical disaster that occurred in the great eastern forests was the strongest in history. Regardless of whether its source can be confirmed, you’re telling me it didn’t produce any labyrinths or powerful monsters? And more than that, the whole thing was resolved without anything happening at all? You can’t possibly expect me to believe that!” She struck the work desk with her palms again, eyebrows rising as she protested. It was practically written all over the Hero Alstera’s face: Her cause was just. Her gallant appearance was beautiful, certainly one befitting a Hero. She had short and lustrous black hair and indigo eyes that bespoke the strength of her will. Clad in light armor, she wore a wide-bladed sword on her back. She was the very image of a legend. A brave and dauntless woman, respected and anticipated by all nations to become a true hero and save the world should the Demon Lord ever return. One thing that differed from the fairy tales, however, was that Alstera was a woman. However, her armor covered her chest as if to deny that fact, in an attempt to hide her gender. “The matter of what happened in Marquis Faulks’s forest has been resolved. No further investigation is necessary.” “…!” As the Hero seethed, Emerada put her glasses back on and returned to her paperwork. If Alstera said anything more, the soldiers outside would likely be summoned. Emerada’s attitude had declared an end to the questioning. “Why does that damn guild leader have to be so stubborn…?! She’s lived so long she’s gotten senile! Gah…!” Alstera slammed the heavy front doors open and left the guild headquarters. An investigation of the great forests was absolutely necessary. Her intuition as Hero—no, the holy sword she wore on her back insisted to her that there was something there. The sacred white sword, passed down in her family for generations, was legendary. It was said a hero long ago had wielded it when he’d destroyed the Demon Lord. A big reason Alstera was called “Hero” was that she possessed this sword. She’d slain many a foul beast with it, and eventually she’d ended up as an SS-Rank adventurer. There were only a few SS-Rank adventurers in the world, and once you earned that rank, you got wrapped up in all sorts of troublesome affairs. That was the price you paid for fame. Still, being able to operate beyond nations gave her a good degree of flexibility. She was also able to bring in a substantial income—more than many nobles, even. And, apparently, causing violent incidents you’d normally be arrested for resulted in exemption from responsibility a lot of the time. Of course, a Hero like her would never do something so wicked. Her job was to slay monsters. The finer details didn’t concern her. Still, she’d never managed to keep any party members around for long. The monk Tania had retired after serious injuries, and the sorcerer Zenith had quit after cursing Alstera, saying she was a berserker. The only one who had stayed with her through it all, a swordswoman named Zenobia, had— “Wait, what did happen to Zenobia?” She couldn’t remember what had become of her comrade, and yet they’d been as close as sisters. She was the one Alstera trusted the most. At some point, she’d disappeared, and she had been missing ever since. Alstera was certain they’d talked about something just before Zenobia had left, but that was all a blur to her, too. “Zenobia… Why did you leave me…?” Uneasy, Alstera touched the hilt of her holy sword. A nearby pedestrian flinched. But after she met Alstera’s eyes and saw her peerless beauty, her expression dissolved. “Whoops, my apologies,” said Alstera. “Bad habit.” “N-no, it’s okay! …Ummm, you’re the Hero, Lady Alstera, right? I’m a huge fan!” “Oh? Really? Well, thank you. I appreciate it,” responded Alstera with a smile, causing the young woman to squeal. She wanted to shake hands; Alstera obliged and even threw in a hug for good measure. “This will be our little secret, all right?” “Oh… Okay!” …And she made sure the girl wouldn’t tell anyone she’d put her hand on her sword in the city, too. The girl nodded at her in blank amazement. Alstera gave her a cool smile, then left. This was part of that price of fame. Her androgynous appearance and valorous exploits were enough to inspire operas. In fact, she was so popular with the people that most bards didn’t even bother telling her tale. As the Hero, she also had to be careful of her behavior toward others. She shouldn’t have put her hand on the sword—it was a bad habit of hers. Whenever she started to feel uneasy, her hand would always find the holy blade. It was said to have been used by the legendary hero Routa. It was a family treasure, handed down from one generation to the next. It had been with her ever since she’d inherited the family estate. Through difficult times and sad ones, if she clutched the holy sword, she could endure. It was her protector. She never let it out of her sight, no matter what. It was because of this sword that she’d been labeled the Hero, and that was how she’d lived her life. Slaying monsters was the true mission of a Hero, after all. And this was why she had to go to the great forests. The monster presence there was growing stronger. And anyway, you’re in the right. You’re not doing anything wrong. It’s all your comrades’ fault—they were the ones who disappeared. The guild leader doesn’t understand justice. She can be left to rot. It almost felt like the sword was whispering those things to her. Her tightly wound demeanor began to soften. “Phew. Now that I’m calmer, I just noticed how hungry I am.” When she came to, she realized it had gotten dark. She’d continued down the hill from Hightown and was now in a marketplace near the Lowtown area. She had considered going out to hunt some monsters to let off some steam, but at the moment, her empty stomach took the reins. “This will do.” She caught one of her favorite scents amid the insane tempest of alcohol, grease, and perfumes on the street. Drawn by the delicious smell of sizzling meat, Alstera stepped into a pub. Seeing the Hero enter caused the guests to stare wide-eyed for a moment, but they soon looked away and resumed their own meals and conversations. Adventurers seemed to frequent this place. She could partly tell that by the one running the shop. He was a muscle-bound man with an eye patch, likely an ex-adventurer. If most of the other patrons here were in the same line of work, they’d understand why she wasn’t one for attention. They didn’t make a fuss about the celebrity’s arrival as Alstera searched for an empty seat. Still, no matter how low they kept their voices, the rumors were still audible. “So that’s the Hero, eh? Lot younger than I heard.” “Look at that face—better to be an actor, I say. Would be even more popular with the women.” “Eh? Isn’t the Hero a woman?” “She hides behind her cape, but look at those hips—definitely a woman. To think a skinny girl like that is a demon who averages two thousand monster kills per year… I heard she slew an evil dragon down south just the other day. They’d have needed an army for that one, and she took care of it all by herself. Makes ya wonder which one’s the real monster.” “If she’s SS Rank, she should have made enough to live comfy for the rest of her life. Wonder why she still goes out to fight.” “Who knows? That’s why some are calling her murder-happy. She probably loves killing.” Alstera wasn’t small-minded enough to feel angry upon hearing an unfair rumor about herself. Still, she wasn’t able to ignore a certain name that she’d heard for a moment. It was a familiar one amid the whispered words. “And Zenobia Lionheart…” It was the comrade she’d just been thinking about earlier. Alstera looked around at the seats. She quickly found the one talking, keeping his voice low. He was in a group of four people giving off a somehow dismal air. They drank their alcohol like this noisy pub was actually a funeral, each with one hand on his beer mug. “…It’s been months since that happened, but I still have dreams about it…” “Yeah, me too… All those eyes staring at us from out of the dark forest…” “C-cut it out… Don’t make me remember…” “And all they did was look. They never came after us. Which only made it more terrifying… What did those monsters want to do to us…?” “Hell if I know… In the end, we couldn’t do any real investigation…” “Thinking back, it was a pretty strange place… The marquis raising a horrible monster, a grand witch showing up who must have been the first guild leader, Zenobia Lionheart living there when she was supposed to have gone missing…” “Oh? That’s quite an interesting story.” The adventurers nearly jumped at the voice coming from behind them in the middle of their hushed conversation. The guild leader had placed a gag order on the investigative mission to the forest; they weren’t supposed to be talking about it in public. Despite the failure of their mission, they’d been paid the full fee—partly to keep them quiet. If the guild learned they were talking about it in a pub like this, they could be demoted for a breach of confidentiality. Ordinarily, they’d never have been speaking of it so inattentively. The fear burned into their hearts, however, had been great, and they’d been drinking—both of which had loosened their lips. Now that they’d been heard, they’d have to silence the intrusive visitor, too. Intimidation or conciliation? The adventurers moved, eyeing the person to see which would be more effective. “Eh? Didn’t your parents ever tell you not to eavesdrop on…” “The Hero?!” But the listener was not someone who would buckle to either intimidation or conciliation. The man who had turned around threateningly, a ranger, froze in place; the monk stood up and gave a shrill cry. An SS-Rank adventurer—the main attraction of the guild. The Hero herself had heard them. They trembled in hopelessness. Demotion was an optimistic prospect now. They could have their licenses revoked and even be chased out of the Royal Capital. “Ahh, no, you don’t have to be so formal about it.” Alstera waved a hand, preventing any more attention on them. Instead, she called over a barmaid, then ordered another round of drinks for those at the table. “We’re all adventurers here, right? Let me in on this story, will you?” She put her arms around the adventurers’ hunched shoulders and pulled their faces close. “That was a really fascinating conversation you all were having. Very interesting. I’ll pick up the tab, so would you give me some more details? Starting with…the location of a certain friend of mine.” Alstera directed a cheerful smile at the men, who were still as statues. “Please accept this.” Papa places a leather pouch on his desk. It produces a heavy clinking sound. “What is it?” asks Zenobia. She stands at attention in front of Papa like a soldier. “I apologize for the lack of fanfare with my show of gratitude, but things are a lot calmer now thanks to you. This should be a suitable reward for all that you’ve done.” “A reward, sir? But I’m not an adventurer anymore…” “Oh, I know. But I can’t let your efforts go without recognition. Your resolution of the matter with the elves was swift and, frankly, stupendous. The Royal Capital has begun cracking down on conspirators plotting to overthrow the government, preventing the threat to the city in advance. And it’s all thanks to you, Zenobia. You’re more than deserving of your former title of SS-Rank adventurer.” “I haven’t done that much! The one who solved things was—,” begins Zenobia, looking over at me. Hm? Didja need something? I’m just sitting next to Papa, indulging in his head scratches. It feels super-good. “Hm? Oh, did Routa have something to do with the incident?” “N-no, nothing at all! That silly dog would never be any help whatsoever!” Zenobia lets out an exaggerated laugh. Her acting’s just as terrible as always. She’s doing it to conceal my identity, and now I owe her again. But it’s not like I have any way of repaying her! Ha-ha-ha! “……” Zenobia directs a cold glare at me, as if to ask what the hell I’m laughing about. Eek! …Wait, I could get used to this. “In any event, I’ve prepared a commensurate reward for you, so I hope you’ll accept it. It isn’t the most glamorous way of showing my thanks, but I can’t exactly go through the guild to get a reward from them.” “I appreciate the consideration, sir.” “Would it really be that difficult to be reinstated with the guild? I could lend you my assistance if you wanted it. A certification from a marquis would surely forgive the matter of your abandoning your duties. I’ve no doubt that losing an adventurer of your caliber was a heavy blow for the guild.” “……” Zenobia has always called herself an ex-adventurer, but I guess her quitting wasn’t really a smooth process. She bites her lip, silent at Papa’s offer. Seeing her like that causes Papa to exhale. “No, I apologize. Personally, I’d much rather have you here, of course. Mary has taken quite a liking to you, and the servants all look up to you as well. If it’s all right with you, I’d like you to stay here permanently.” “Thank you. I, too, would like to make this place my final home.” Zenobia, good heavens! You’re being reinstated?…is how I was planning to react, but it looks like her NEET days aren’t over just yet. She practically declared that she’s fine being a NEET until the day she dies. I guess my rival isn’t dropping out of the race after all. Ugh. “…I did have one other matter to discuss, though it may be cruel to tell you like this,” says Papa, reaching into a drawer and taking out a letter. “This just came earlier. I decided it was impossible for me to deal with, so I’d like to reveal its contents to you.” “What on earth could it be?” Zenobia asks dubiously. Papa’s answer is short: “The Hero is coming here.” “…!” The Hero? You mean that Hero? The natural-born silver bullet who’s gonna defeat the Demon Lord for us? Well, that’s great! The real Hero is on the way. Time to get rekt, baddies. All this Demon Lord’s army stuff has been a pain in the neck, and I’ve been struggling to deal with it however I can. But if the Hero shows up, I won’t have anything to worry about, right? The whole situation with me, a pet, fighting dangerous battles has been weird from the start. Woo-hoo! Now I can live my life as a pampered pooch worry-free! “Arwf? (But why do they have such serious looks on their faces, then?)” Papa waves the high-quality envelope. Its contents rustle; he must have already read them. “It seems it’s for a reinvestigation of the area. The decision must have been that the previous investigation carried out by the adventurers was incomplete; the Hero will be coming on an airship that should be arriving soon. It all feels forced and thrown together to me, but this is an active SS-Rank adventurer we’re talking about. The guild is doing a lot for our sake, too. The letter that came today says they can’t afford to rile things up, so the Hero will be coming as a guest. Well, the ship is probably in the air already. It will likely arrive on schedule—the day after tomorrow.” “I… I see…” Zenobia looks down. Did something happen between her and the Hero in the past? “I’m sorry,” says Papa. “I know this is the last person you want to meet… You may live somewhere else for the duration of the Hero’s stay if you deem that course preferable.” “…No, I always knew this time would come. I’ll be here.” When Zenobia looks up again, she’s wearing an unusually serious expression. And then I start to hear the pattering of footsteps running through the hall. The feet stop in front of the door, and then someone knocks properly. That must be Lady Mary. No doubt about it. “Father!” cries my lady, clutching a letter to her breast. “Eliza says she’s coming here soon! She wrote to me and said she got on an airship so it shouldn’t be much longer until she gets here!” Papa nods to himself, pleased with how happy she looks. “I thought taking an airship would be easier than riding in a rickety carriage for a long time, so I had it arranged it for her. I figured she would be able to stay here longer if her travel time was significantly reduced.” Way to go, Papa! You’re always so thoughtful. “Thank you so much, Father!” The young lady, effervescent, her eyes glittering, takes my front paws and hops up and down. Papa watches over us with a smile on his face. And when Zenobia sees us like that, her own expression starts to loosen up. “Come. I need to have words with you.” With that, Zenobia takes me to the usual spot: the back courtyard. The air around us is tense as we stare each other down—I feel like I know where this is going. “A-arwf?! (Seriously? Are you gonna try to slice me up again?!)” And here I thought she had finally run out of swords to break; she hasn’t been challenging me as much lately. Wait! She must plan to use the extra income from Papa to stock up on new swords! Then she’ll put all the old swords on sale and purge the rest by testing them out on me! I know what you’re going to do before you even do it! I won’t let you, though. You will fall before these adorable poses of mine! “Woof, woof! (Here I come, Zenobia! Do you have enough swords in stock?)” I roll over on my back, striking the most powerful pose I have in my arsenal. “…What are you doing?” Huh? You’re not gonna try to cut me? Zenobia stands still with her arms folded. It looks like the whole clearance-sale thing was a misunderstanding on my part. I return to my sitting position, and Zenobia speaks. “…This is me talking to myself. A human and a dog would never be having a conversation, of course,” she says, emphasizing each and every syllable. You don’t have to say it like you’re warning me about something. I am this family’s proud and conventional pet dog. “I always planned on cutting you down if you ever caused anyone harm, no matter your true identity.” Yeah, you’re less strict around me now, but in the beginning, you were so hostile all the time, Zenobia. Some things never change, though—even though she’s softened up, she still tries to kill me by claiming she’s trying out new swords. “I’ve been watching you—always keeping an eye on you, as it were, so that I could kill you if I ever caught you slipping. But you’ve done nothing evil. In fact, your only deeds are great feats that end up saving people. You defeated a dragon to cure the young lady’s ailment, you rescued enslaved elves, and you even captured rebels plotting to overthrow the monarchy.” I do feel bad for pushing it all on her in the end, though. Considering her personality, her current situation—with all the credit placed firmly in her lap—has been little more than humiliation. But I need to have her take all the credit so I can continue living my pampered life as a pooch. So I fully intend to keep dumping all the glory on her the next time something happens. “To be honest, I have no idea what you’re even thinking. You have so much power, but you don’t do as you please with it, or attack people like monsters are supposed to. You’re trying to live humbly as a simple dog. Why is that?” What do you mean, why? If you twisted my arm for a response, I’d say, “Because that’s what I want.” I don’t want the power fantasy of being Fenrir—I want the young lady to spoil me while I’m in dumb-dog mode. I have the heart of a pet. Please try to understand. “I know why. It’s because you’re kind.” Huh? That is…not the response I was expecting. When you call me a good person to my face, it really stings my conscience, since I regularly swipe extra food every night. Not that I have any intention of stopping, of course. The old man’s smoked meats are to die for. I’ll be grabbing some tonight, too. “But no matter how kindhearted you may be, it won’t mean anything to the Hero. If you’re a monster, your circumstances won’t mean a thing—you will be cut down.” That doesn’t sound all that different from how Zenobia was in the past… She was an easy opponent, though. A little bit of cute posing was all it took to get her to lower her guard. “I don’t know how you made it through the last guild investigation, but it won’t work again. The Hero’s sword is a holy weapon that can annihilate whole hordes of monsters with a single slash. Even you wouldn’t be able to walk away unscathed after a swipe from that blade.” A holy sword, huh? Well, I guess that’s the kind of thing heroes are supposed to have. According to Zenobia, the sword is actually the one the Hero from ages past used. It’s been passed down through his descendants this whole time. “Hero” is like a nickname, though; this Hero earned the title with the help of the beautiful white sword and all the monsters exterminated with it. It doesn’t really seem like the Hero is acting with the nation’s support in order to destroy the Demon Lord. “There’s no Demon Lord in this generation, after all. Without an enemy to defeat, a true Hero cannot exist.” Well, maybe not a Demon Lord, but some of his army’s generals have revived. Two of them, in fact. And if two came back to life in the forest, a third might soon follow. Thinking about it that way, I suppose it’s a good thing the Hero is coming here. Letting him defeat the Demon Lord’s army for us is my true intention, after all. …Wait, hold on. If the Hero is coming here, then the young lady will see him, too. Oh no. This is bad. She’s practically the leader of the Hero fan club. If someone like that came here, wouldn’t she fall madly in love with him?! The young lady is mine! I have to think of a plan! I have to stop this, no matter what! “…You’re not thinking of other things when your own life is on the line, are you?” “A-arwf, arwf! (Er, no, not at all! I’m certainly not thinking about how to steal back the young lady’s attention from the Hero.)” Seeing me in a panic causes Zenobia to sigh. Weren’t you the one who said you were just talking to yourself? Don’t mind me—go ahead. Continue. “I used to be in the Hero’s party.” Hmm. I figured they knew each other somehow. I guess she really was one of the Hero’s party members once upon a time. “At first, we had four people. I know I’m biased, but our strength was unquestionable. A year after we started off at the lowest adventurer rank, we reached B Rank; then A Rank in our second year, and finally S Rank in our third.” I don’t know how amazing that is, but it definitely sounds like a suspiciously fast series of promotions. I usually see her at her worst when she’s bumming around the mansion, though I guess she was incredible in the past, huh? “But as we conquered labyrinths at reckless speeds, going around and defeating famous monsters in every region, one of our number eventually wasn’t able to stay with us. She was injured and had to retire from the adventuring lifestyle. Fortunately, nothing stood in the way of her living a normal life, and she’d made enough money to live comfortably by then. But when she left, she was worried about the Hero. She said that if things stayed as they were, the Hero would eventually be the only one left.” Zenobia’s tone is dispassionate as she speaks about her past. It’s almost like she’s purposely trying to keep her own emotions in check. “And she was right. A little while after she left, the other party member, realizing the Hero’s path was still set in stone, said she couldn’t keep up with us. She vehemently disparaged the Hero, but it was as if the Hero didn’t react at all. In fact, Alstera seemed mystified about why she wouldn’t be able to stay with us. That other party member invited me to leave along with her, but I couldn’t just leave the Hero alone.” A hint of sadness leaked out of Zenobia’s eyes. “We continued to fight without rest, and the next thing we knew, we’d earned ourselves the incredibly rare titles of SS-Rank adventurers—the highest rank in the guild. By that time, everyone acknowledged the Hero as, well…the Hero.” Zenobia’s expression was a mix of pride and sympathy. “The Hero never changed, even after gaining money, status, and honor—everything an adventurer should want. We traveled to many places, chasing rumors of powerful monsters and slaying them. We formed temporary parties with local adventurers a few times, but I was the only one who stuck. Those we saved sent innocent gifts to us, but the adventurers looked at us as if we were monsters or something.” It probably wasn’t just their strength—they must have been scared of a couple monster-killing machines in their own right. Well, I understand how they feel. I’d shy away, too, if I were in that situation. I mean, she’s clearly an extreme workaholic. I was the same way, right before I died in my previous life. And it’s awful. You die if you keep working, but not working makes you anxious. In the end, the only person I ever had to talk to—the man at the convenience store—looked at me like I was some sort of monster, too. Oops. Didn’t mean to derail the conversation. Please continue. “…That was around the time the Hero started acting really strange. Our targets expanded from the violent creatures of the past to include herbivores that never attacked humans—and even newborn monsters. All of them got slaughtered in a one-sided massacre.” As she remembered those days, Zenobia’s expression became bitter. “The Hero continued butchering monsters with what almost seemed like relish. I complained about it many times. When we’d first formed a party, this hadn’t been what we’d wanted. We’d wanted to be adventurers for the sake of saving people imperiled by monsters.” Is this the first time she’s opened up about this? She seems to be having a pretty hard time talking about it. She has a hand to her chest as she wrings out this confession of her past. “But the Hero didn’t listen; the desire for conflict had grown too ingrained. To stop it, we ended up having a final duel.” Suddenly, Zenobia smiled darkly, as if in self-deprecation. “I lost. Badly. I’d never thought before that there was such a difference between us. I failed, in the end, to stop the Hero. And I can’t stand thinking of my own inexperience.” What? I’m not sure you’re quite on the mark there. Zenobia acts cold all the time, but at heart, she’s a really good girl. She might like training and weapons and stuff, but I don’t think it’s because she likes the idea of fighting itself. She’s a young maiden who secretly talks to stuffed animals in her room, after all. Also, she’s always gone easy on me, even when she was convinced that I was an evil monster. That’s good evidence. If Zenobia had truly wanted to kill me, she would have used that sword right away—the magical black one that sliced through Len’s scales. Maybe she unconsciously chose fragile swords, but I think that deep down, she never really wanted to kill me. I’d bet she actually had the Hero on the ropes during their fight but couldn’t find it in her to deal the final blow, and then she got counterattacked. But that’s fine. I wouldn’t want Zenobia to be a murderer. I recall what she was like in front of that campfire some time ago: every bit the stray guard dog. She looked like a fragile little girl then, hugging her knees to herself. That’s probably who she really is deep down. Even this dumb dog knows that at her core, Zenobia is a kind, gentle person. “…What are you looking at me like that for?” “Arwf, arwf? (Oh, nothing, why?)” “…Fine. Anyway, after my defeat, I fell into a river and managed to keep myself alive as I drifted downstream. But by then, I already felt a revulsion toward the adventuring profession. And I was disgusted with myself for running away, unable to stop the Hero. In the end, I abandoned the quest and didn’t go back to the guild. I wandered aimlessly for a while after that.” Ah, so Zenobia’s secretive wanderer phase is coming to light. I bet she would have been real stinky back then. It makes me want to sniff her. “I walked for several days, my thoughts running in circles. I stopped caring about food and water, and when I finally collapsed, it was right by this mansion.” Apparently, Lady Mary was the one to find her. “The people here remembered me, so long after I’d taken a request from them one time. My lady was very young back then, but she still remembered my name.” I can easily picture the scene Zenobia is talking about. Leave it to the people in this mansion to find a suspicious person, collapsed and beaten up, and welcome them with open arms. That must be why she’s trying to protect those who live here. Her mind and body were spent, but they kindly took her in. She would have wasted no time swearing her loyalty to them. Actually, I’m surprised Zenobia managed to reach this mansion with her terrible sense of direction. Does she have homing instincts? What is she, a dog? Now that I think about it, her personality is very doglike. I had no idea she was my rival in that category as well. Gah. This mansion isn’t big enough for two good-for-nothings—and I won’t give up my spot! Wholly unaware of my antagonistic feelings, Zenobia continues talking. “The master, the young lady, the servants… I have a debt to all of them that I’ll never be able to repay. I’d do anything to ensure their happiness.” “Woof, woof! (That’s good, Zenobia! Protect my happiness and my lifestyle, too! I’m their pet, after all! Part of the family! One of the people you have to protect!)” Anyway, the long discussion has made me hungry, so I’m gonna leave now. Adieu. “Where are you going?” As I’m leaving, a hand grabs the back of my head. “A-arwf, arwf. (Wait, I thought you were done.)” “You have just as big a debt to this family as I do, in case you forgot!” “A-arrrrrwf! (Y-you’re right, but! But! I’ll pay it back a little at a time with my daily fluffiness! Please, let me slide!)” “You’re not getting away! I haven’t said the important part yet. If the Hero sees you, you’re sure to be attacked. But we know the exact arrival time, so hiding you is an easy matter. It would be the same as what the master said for me—while the Hero is here, you can just retreat somewhere else.” Oh? Well, let’s go with that plan, then. I’m amazingly good at running away from things I don’t like. “But you have friends in the forest that the Hero will end up investigating, don’t you?” “Arwf… (Ah, right, I see…)” That’s what the Hero is after—an investigation of the forest. Was Zenobia telling me about how fearsome the Hero is out of consideration for my friends? And here I thought you were dim-witted! Where did the usual muscle-for-brains gorilla go? Still, I’ve been thinking about it a little, too. This might turn out to be something worse than I thought. Everyone’s in the forest—Garo and the Fen Wolves, and the other monsters we picked up at Drills’s place. And that giant bear who joined up recently. And Zenobia’s saying the Hero will attack them? After hearing all that, I don’t have much reason to doubt her. This just turned into a big issue, didn’t it? I always thought the Hero would solve the problem of the Demon Lord’s generals reviving, since my pet life was in danger. But now it seems like he’ll create more problems than solve them. “I’ll try and think of something, so you reflect on it, too. After all, you’re the only one who can protect your forest friends.”
Chapter 92
31 min read