Chapter 28: Hunting Dog? Pet Dog?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 28: Hunting Dog? Pet Dog?
After signing the donation contract with the Dakuren Church and sending a letter to the Lukart Church to terminate my existing contract, I walked leisurely toward the square.
Solving that lingering issue made me feel incredibly lighthearted.
With this, I’ve severed all ties with Lukart, except for the loan.
Come to think of it, I’m in a situation where I couldn’t pay back the principal even if I wanted to. They told me they had to verify the loan’s status with the Lukart Bank first.
How annoying.
It’s frustrating that they’re telling me to wait when I’m offering to pay them back, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m keeping the repayment money tucked away, so it shouldn’t be a big problem.
Speaking of the loan, I’ll have to meet the old man in person soon.
I want to give him a piece of my mind regarding what happened at the bank. I want to ask if he really had to slap me in the face with the reality of the royal palace like that.
I’ve mostly moved past it, but the more I dwell on it, the more it leaves a bitter aftertaste.
Let’s not worry about it too much.
Stressing over things I can’t change right now is only a loss for me. If I have to wait regardless, I might as well protect my own mental health.
When I think about it carefully, my situation is much better than it was back in Lukart. I don’t have to spend money on party operating costs, and I don’t have people constantly pestering me for pocket money, so my wallet is quite full.
My hobby lately is buying things one by one at the market to decorate my house whenever I return from a quest.
Even if “decorating” just means buying and organizing essentials like blankets and dishes, the more the house fills up, the more attached I become to it as a space that belongs entirely to me.
What should I buy today?
I walked toward the central fountain, doing a bit of window shopping as I browsed the displays of the shops in the square.
I had plenty of time before our meeting. It looked like I had an hour or two left before the “evening” the Young Lady mentioned.
If I found myself with nothing to do, I could always head to the Adventurer Guild and look over the list of available quests. There’s no harm in preparing in advance based on the quest details, right?
As the party’s supporter, this sort of thing should be part of my daily routine.
“Hm?”
As I got closer to the fountain, the crowd seemed to grow denser. It wasn’t just a feeling; the street, which was usually spacious, was packed with people.
As I slowly pushed through the gaps, a voice reached my ears—definitely not a woman’s, but rather thin and reedy.
“Come on~ I’m saying let’s just go to a cafe or something!”
That was all it took for the hair on my body to stand on end. What was this ominous feeling?
“Hey, I’m a man, and I’m asking you out on a date!”
“…”
I hurried through the crowd.
“Fine, okay. I’ll even pay for the date myself. This is a rare opportunity, you know?”
“I’m not interested. Please stop bothering me.”
“Wh-What…?”
the moment I heard the voice responding to him, my heart began to throb violently. It was a voice that was familiar, yet one I always wanted to hear.
“Hahahaha! Fran! You just got rejected! You’re a disgrace to men, seriously!”
“You, you…! How dare a woman…!”
The owner of that voice was none other than…
“It’s a nuisance when a man I have no interest in hits on me.”
“I thought I’d take you in because you’re somewhat pretty, but—!”
“Young Lady!”
The central fountain.
In the middle of the only space the crowd hadn’t filled stood the Young Lady. She was with a few men I’d never seen before.
“What? Is that a man? Why does he look like that?”
“Fran, looks like you lost to that guy.”
“Ha, me? To an ugly bastard like that?!”
Three men were surrounding the Young Lady. Among them, a man with light brown hair called Fran approached me, huffing and puffing.
He seemed to want to show how angry he was, but his body was scrawny and lacked strength, making him look ridiculous. He was also a full head shorter than me.
“I haven’t seen your face around. Are you an outsider?”
“I moved to Hus recently.”
“Ha, an outsider already trying to seduce a Hus woman? You think you’re a man just because you have the parts?”
Fran pointed his thumb at the Young Lady.
“Is she yours?”
I felt my blood turn cold.
This bastard… he’s treating the Young Lady like an object. Without realizing it, I narrowed my eyes, my gaze sharpening.
“Ugh…!”
With just that, the man named Fran took a small step back.
Our spirits were on different levels. There was a clear difference between me, who had spent half my life rolling through life and death on blood-soaked battlefields, and this weakling who clearly hadn’t even been conscripted and had stayed in the rear.
It’s better to discard any foolish notion that a man who has personally killed anything and everything would carry the same scent of blood as a pathetic coward who can’t even throw a punch without striking a pretentious pose.
“Uuugh…!”
Fran wasn’t the only one who froze. Not just the men, but even the women nearby held their breath at the single look I gave them as I swept back my bangs.
That’s how it should be. In the presence of a predator, prey must control even their breath. If they show a single opening, the hunting dog will immediately lunge and tear out their throat. Then, from the hunting dog’s muzzle to its entire body, it will be covered in a fountain of the opponent’s blood—
“Alto! That’s enough!”
Oh…?
“I’m fine. So don’t be angry.”
This Little Lady is interesting.
Like a large dog perking up an ear, one of my eyebrows arched up in an unbalanced way.
“Something like this happened last time too. It’s my fault for not being more careful.”
The Little Lady pushed past the men and approached me. To move so freely in this atmosphere, even though I wasn’t giving it my all…
As expected of that man’s Little Lady—and his sister.
“Relax your eyes. What are you doing to these weaklings?”
The only man I ever allowed to stand above me. Her eyes and gaze were just as upright as his.
Should I turn up the pressure a bit more?
I grew curious to see how long she could maintain this. Slowly, bit by bit, I began to draw out the faint scent of blood remaining in my body.
“Alto! I’m going to get mad!”
Thump.
Tsk…!
This softie, is he for real?
You’re going to react to the Little Lady’s threat? I thought you were a total loser, but you dare to bare your teeth at the dog?
“Or Alto… are you mad at me?”
“…”
“Tell me honestly.”
Fine, I’ll back down. You pet dog bastard.
“…Not at all, Young Lady.”
I’m angry at myself and that guy.
I ignored the “guy’s” internal outburst as he retreated, and I answered the Young Lady. I let out a sigh at my own immaturity, unable to stay calm over such a trivial matter.
I barely managed to suppress him. That was dangerous. Unless I completely break him, he’ll try to bare his teeth again and again.
“I got a bit overexcited because this happened in such a crowded place.”
When I forced an unfitting smile, I finally heard sighs of relief from all around. It’s troubling if they react like this to just this much. What would they do in the middle of a war? The claws of demons and monsters never wait for you to pull yourself together.
“I was in the wrong today too, but you went too far, Alto.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for?”
I can see it. And I can feel it. Even though she’s pretending to be angry on the outside, her eyes are trembling within.
“For making the Young Lady angry.”
“…I’m sorry for making you angry too.”
Why is she apologizing? The Young Lady did nothing wrong. Those guys were the ones who approached her while she was waiting quietly, and I was the one who overreacted. To be precise, I couldn’t hold back my temper, and that guy popped out.
“You did nothing wrong, Young Lady.”
“Even after you got that angry?”
“I wasn’t angry at you.”
“Hmm~?”
A playful smile appeared on the Young Lady’s face. It was a signal that the tension from earlier was over. Both she and I relaxed.
“We’re party members, aren’t we?”
“To be precise, you are the party leader, and I am a mere party member.”
“We’re in the same party~. It’s no fun if you’re so pedantic.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No lying between us.”
A condition that was both simple and difficult.
“Yes, I understand.”
That’s why promising is easy, but keeping it is hard.
“Let’s just say we both made a mistake today and move on. Okay?”
“Let’s do that.”
I told you, you didn’t make a mistake.
“Let’s go eat! I specifically reserved a private room in a quiet restaurant with no people.”
“Restaurants have rooms too?”
“Haha! That was actually kind of funny.”
I followed the Young Lady as she started walking ahead. As I tried to move forward, the man named Fran was still frozen in place. Since things felt a bit awkward between us, I raised my hand, and he flinched and flailed about on his own.
“Eek! Hieee…!”
Why are the other guys reacting too?
“Alto, hurry up!”
“Coming!”
Well, as a gesture of apology, I gave his shoulder a small pat and quickly caught up to her. As I strode up to her side, the Young Lady smiled pleasantly.
“Don’t I look a bit different today?”
At those words, I scanned her again and spoke meaningfully.
“You’re wearing a skirt.”
“…That’s impressive.”
“It’s pretty.”
“Ugh…!”
I was just giving my honest impression, but the Young Lady quickened her pace and whipped her head away. Was my compliment not good?
“What a strange man…”
Muttering a sentence that was barely audible, she tried to pull ahead on her own again.
“Wait for me, Young Lady.”
“You’re doing fine on your own!”
They say girls at this age have moods that fluctuate constantly, and I guess it’s true. Good grief, is this what it feels like to be an older brother looking at his younger sister?
What? Stop talking nonsense?
I don’t need to hear that from a hunting dog.