Chapter 39
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: Special
Chapter Title: Who Stole Whom?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"..."
The sun had nearly set, the sky shifting from red to black.
Ulpi ran down the road. Cleaving through the wind, she raced toward home.
Last time, just as her brother had suggested, Ulpi decided to look for something more honest work.
She doubted whether those people would let her go simply because she wanted them to, but she chose to trust her brother.
Her brother wouldn't lie to her. Even if it was a lie, she could let herself be fooled once.
And the result? Surprisingly, nothing happened at all.
No one paid any attention even when she ignored their orders.
In fact, they hadn't even given her any dangerous or malicious tasks to begin with.
No...! No one had ever come to their house demanding repayment and causing a ruckus.
What on earth had her brother done? How had he silenced those ruthless thugs?
...In truth, it was nothing special—just a matter of sufficient wealth and force—but that was something Ulpi could never know.
In any case, even if she didn't fully understand, Ulpi knew for certain that a precious opportunity had come her way.
She had gone outside. Out of the house, out of this neighborhood filled with dark, depressing emotions.
The outside world was nicer than she'd imagined. The people—humans—were kind.
Sure, some got irritated now and then and still seemed to dislike beastkin, but even they never resorted to violence.
The beastkin were managing to live their own lives reasonably well.
It wasn't quite as good as she'd hoped. Beastkin still tried to stay quiet and avoid drawing attention.
But it wasn't as bad as she'd feared, either. They might have cared about others' eyes on them, but they were taking charge of their own lives.
Unlike her, who had been dragged around every which way and forced to harm others just to survive.
She found some work. Preferably something that used her body more than her head.
She took on odd jobs. Delivering packages here and there.
Of course, she nailed it. Ulpi might not have learned much, but no one could match her when it came to moving her body.
It would have been nice if she could have learned slowly instead of jumping straight into the fray, but that was far too greedy a thought.
Ulpi did great. She got a little lost on the unfamiliar route, but her natural physical prowess ensured she arrived in good time anyway.
After a few days of this, someone even asked if she'd work for them regularly. She nodded without hesitation.
The woman pitied puppy beastkin to an unusual degree.
At first, Ulpi thought she had some misconception about them.
She figured the woman was sympathizing more than necessary.
But when she thought about it, her own life really had been pretty rough.
Plus, for some reason, the woman knew Ulpi's circumstances unusually well.
Ulpi got flustered and put up a bit of a guard, but the woman just talked about some novel. Ulpi decided she wasn't a bad person.
And today, she finished her usual work. She even got paid properly.
Not just pocket change for food—this was real money she could save for the future.
Before heading home, she stopped at a restaurant to pack some food for Rafi. She'd only learned beastkin restaurants existed after venturing outside.
The sun had set, but it wasn't full night yet.
It would take longer to get back, but Ulpi was happy.
She'd arrived. Now if she just opened the door and went in...
Eh? There was a pair of shoes. Adult male shoes.
Someone was inside. The house where only Rafi should have been.
What was this feeling—like her mind had blanked out for a moment.
Her tail stiffened, her pupils dilated.
A low growl rumbled from her gritted teeth without her realizing.
Her body tensed, ready to lunge forward in an instant.
A few more seconds, and she might have gone straight for the throat.
But she didn't—because she heard Rafi's laughter from inside the house, along with an all-too-familiar voice.
"..."
What was this? She probably looked pretty stupid right now.
Before she knew it, she was rushing forward. Her body wobbled as the tension drained out, but she ignored it.
"Sis!"
"...Oh, Ulpi, you're back."
There was Rafi, beaming happily, and her brother.
He'd come. He'd kept his promise to Ulpi.
What should she do? What should she say?
She didn't know. Ulpi wasn't good at that kind of head stuff.
So she just charged in.
"Hey, wait—"
She ignored whatever he said.
She threw herself into his arms. Or had he pulled her in? Didn't matter.
"Ulpi, I can barely... breathe here..."
"...Missed you."
"Yeah, yeah, I missed you too, okay?"
"Really...?"
"Yeah, so could you loosen up a bit...?"
"Happy...!"
"...Alright, I'll try breathing less."
Just a little longer, please.
Brother's tough anyway. Bear with it a bit.
A breeze blew in. For some reason, her legs felt cool.
Why? Oh—her tail was wagging like crazy.
Ah. Guess I'm really happy right now.
She tried to stay like that just a bit longer...
"Sis...? Mister...?"
Rafi's voice snapped her back to reality.
Ah, Rafi. Sorry. Should've taken care of you first.
She quickly pulled away from him. Glancing to the side, Rafi was pouting at them.
"...All done?"
"S-sorry..."
"You didn't even care about me..."
What now? She'd totally failed as a big sister.
"Me too..."
"Huh...?"
"Hug me too..."
"Ah, got it!"
She spread her arms wide, waiting for Rafi to come in.
"?"
"?"
Eh? Rafi hugged.
Into brother's arms.
"??"
"Ulpi, there's a misunderstanding here."
Misunderstanding? What kind?
Rafi had snuggled right into brother's embrace.
Couldn't see her face. But her tail was swishing happily. That was clear enough.
Guess I looked like that too. Yeah.
Brother was explaining it was a misunderstanding while watching my reaction.
I didn't think anything weird of him in this situation.
I just figured they'd gotten really close while I was gone.
Good thing. Yeah, a good thing.
...Still, weren't they hugging a bit too long?
Rafi, didn't you hate humans?
Last time, no matter how much I said nice things about brother, you kept doubting.
Was this... brother stealing her little sister from her?
Or her little sister stealing brother from her?
...What am I even saying? Obviously the first one.
Brother's not the type to get stolen like that.
Just... feeling a little wistful, that's all.
Maybe I should've held on a bit longer...
Well, somehow I smoothed it over.
I explained I'd come to talk with Ulpi today, arrived early, played with Rafi, and that's how we got close.
Ulpi believed me more easily than I'd expected.
"If there's a human who could open Rafi's heart, I figured it'd be you, brother."
"...I'm not that great."
"No way. I've seen plenty of humans all this time."
The humans you'd seen all this time... well...
No. No need to poke at old wounds...
Still, comparing myself to those scum felt a little surreal, but what can you do?
"So you came to see me today, Ulpi?"
"Yeah, got something to say."
"What?"
"Well... I'd prefer if it was just the two of us, if possible."
"What?!"
Rafi, who'd been watching our exchange like a spectator, reacted as if struck by lightning.
"Why...!"
"Not sure it's kid-appropriate."
"My sis isn't an adult either!"
"Why say that to me, Rafi..."
This time, Ulpi looked hurt at Rafi's words and mumbled gloomily.
"Don't wanna be alone..."
"It'll be quick."
"Hing..."
"In exchange, I'll play with you more after we're done talking."
"O..."
"!"
Both Rafi and Ulpi lit up at that offer.
...Hey, at this rate, I'll be heading home way later than planned.
Whatever. Future me can deal with it.
I gave Rafi's head a pat. Her tail swished softly.
Ulpi's eyes sparkled. I ignored it on purpose. I heard a deeply disappointed sound.
We stepped outside. It had gotten pretty dark already.
"So, what'd you wanna talk about?"
"First off, one question—no troubles lately? No weird guys showing up?"
"Nope."
"Good."
Ulpi chattered on about how she'd been spending her time.
Overall, it felt like she was blending into a normal daily life pretty quickly.
Still a long road ahead, but taking that first step was something.
...And after hearing her out, I decided to reciprocate.
Tell her what I'd been up to.
Like tracking down those thugs and telling them to leave Rafi and Ulpi alone.
Or writing that novel exposing all their dirty deeds.
I apologized for including the character Rika.
Fortunately, she didn't make a big deal of it. She didn't even get why I was sorry to begin with.
Ulpi listened to the whole story quietly, impassively.
Hard to read her thoughts from her expression.
Her tail and ears were still, too.
"Um, brother. Why'd you tell me all this?"
"You deserve to know."
"Just... curious what you think. About those guys. ...And about humans, too."
"Hmm."
"Don't wanna say? That's fine. Sincere this time."
Ulpi seemed to mull it over, nodding a few small times.
I waited patiently. No reason to rush her.
"Yeah. I've decided. I'll tell you."
"...Alright? Thanks."
"But first, brother."
"Hm?"
"Should I tell you more details about my past this time?"