The tune branched out and progressed, mixing major and minor and guiding the listener onward.
Was that thunder in the distance? No, the sun’s come out again. I can see the warm, bright light of spring… What a wonderful feeling!
Hinata and Mayuka, who hardly ever heard classical music, were completely astonished. The music seeped through their skin directly into their core.
Mito is so amazing!
The next thing they knew, the piece was over, and the audience had burst into soaring applause.
Mito bowed again. “Thank you very much. For my next piece, I will perform Monti’s ‘Czardas’…”
✦ ✦ ✦
After the thirty-minute concert, Hinata, still buzzing with excitement, took Chris into the elevator.
“We’ll hold your puppy in the ship’s kennel during the dinner party,” Chihori had said. “Unfortunately, the owner must take their pet to the kennel in person, so I can’t do it for you.” She was now showing him the way.
Here on the ship, they had a kennel—a facility to hold passengers’ pets and take care of them. The elevator took them silently up to the twelfth deck, the highest on the ship. They exited the elevator and walked through the glass doors at the end of the hall, emerging onto an open-air deck. Unlike the bustling lobby, this area was deserted. The sun had gone down, and the air was cold. The wind whistled in Hinata’s ears.
“Here we are,” said Chihori.
She indicated a door to their left, which featured a cute little emblem that looked like a doghouse. She knocked on it, and it opened at once.
“Welcome to our home!” a cheerful woman called out in English from inside. She was a foreigner, heavyset, and probably in her forties. She wore a green uniform, and her thick hair was tied tightly behind her head.
“Hi, Liz. We have a visitor,” Chihori said.
Liz’s sharp features formed a grin. “So I’ve heard. These must be two of our special passengers, Hinata and Chris, correct?”
Hinata nodded, and Liz opened the door so he could walk inside.
“Come on back to the counter.”
Unlike the chilly outside deck, this room was warm and full of light. There were pictures of dogs and cats on the wall and a selection of pet magazines and books in foreign languages on the bookshelf. A number of comfortable-looking sofas were arranged around the room.
Hinata could detect a faint animal smell in the air, and some barking and whining could be heard from the back. Another guest was already standing at the counter—a boy with a large golden retriever. He was speaking with another female staff member.
Chris growled softly.
“What’s the matter, Chris?” Hinata asked.
He moved his hands farther up the leash to keep him closer, just in case Chris leaped. Maybe he had a problem with the other dog. Chris was usually friendly when they met other dogs on their walks, though.
Both the retriever and the boy reacted to Chris’s growl. The dog’s ears pricked up. Its eyes sagged, and its tongue lolled out of its mouth. Although it seemed large, it might’ve still been a puppy. It appeared excited just to see another dog.
The boy, on the other hand, looked momentarily startled. He was dressed in a slim black suit with a turquoise necktie. His face was delicate, pale, and framed by short hair. His straight black bangs covered half of his eyes, but the irises were a deep blue that seemed almost to glow.
Hinata figured he was probably in middle school and bowed politely, just in case. The boy ignored him and said to the staff member, “Please take care of him,” before handing over the golden retriever’s leash.
“Understood,” said the staff member with a smile. “When you come back to pick him up, be sure to bring this with you,” she added, handing him a small card in exchange for the leash. “Have a good evening, Mr. Hasekura…”
The boy patted the retriever on the head one last time, then hurried out of the room, not sparing so much as a glance at Hinata. The staff member pulled on the leash and took the dog back behind the counter and to the right.
“Over here, Hinata, Chris!” Liz said cheerfully.
Hinata stepped up to the counter and glanced at the form that had been left on top of it. Underneath some English sentences were the handwritten names Reo Hasekura and Kotarou.
Oh, so the dog’s name is Kotarou. That’s kind of cute…
Liz brought out a new card and form and placed them on the counter. “Please write your name and your dog’s name on this card and piece of paper,” she said.
Once Hinata had done so, Liz entered the time and date and signed the form herself, then handed over the card. “Here you are. You’ll need this when you come back, so don’t lose it,” she said.
Hinata was putting the card into his bag when the leash suddenly slipped out of his left hand.
Huh? He looked over at Chris and was shocked to see the dog trotting around the left side of the counter.
“Ch-Chris, what are you doing? Come back!” Chris stopped and turned to look at Hinata. His expression was tense—he was in work mode. He then continued walking toward the back. “No, Chris! You can’t just go back there!”
Hinata hurried after his dog, followed by Chihori and Liz.
The space to the left behind the counter was a storage room. There were many kinds of pet food, sanitary products, and toys stored neatly on the shelves.
Chris was sniffing around at a stack of cardboard boxes all the way at the back. Then he barked happily. He seemed to be saying, “How’s that? I did a good job, right?!”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Aww, are you hungry?” said Liz, laughing heartily. “Those boxes contain special food for one of our dogs. It’s very fancy and expensive. You’re a greedy boy, aren’t you?”
Hinata turned red and scooped up Chris’s leash. “S-stop that, Chris! That food belongs to another dog. I have yours right here.” He tugged the leash and smacked his shoulder bag.
“Wuff?” Chris tilted his head as if to say, “Did I make a mistake?”
Liz, still chuckling, held out her hand. “Here, give that food to me, and I’ll make sure Chris is fed. You go to the party, Hinata. It’s about to start, isn’t it?”
Hinata pulled the package of dog food out of his walking bag and placed it in her hand. “Th-thank you very much. Um, Chris isn’t usually such a glutton,” he added, trying to salvage his dog’s reputation. He felt his cheeks flushing.
Chihori noticed and reassured him, “Don’t worry; just leave it all to Liz. Maybe Chris was just a little nervous from all the excitement, and now that he’s out of the hustle and bustle, he’s relaxed and realized how hungry he was.”
Liz grinned and said, “That must be it. Now, may I have the leash, too?”
Hinata handed it to her, patted Chris on the head, and left the kennel area.