The Visitors
The mansion had been unusually bustling these past few days.
A place that rarely saw visitors—honestly, one might even call it reclusive.
The first guests in two years since moving to this new estate, and nobles at that.
I could see everyone energetically preparing all sorts of things, even from my spot lying in the garden.
They spent the time like that, diligently readying for the guests.
And finally, the day they were due to arrive dawned.
“Lane! Are you there?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Let me fix your hair!”
The maids from the mansion suddenly burst into my doghouse, just like always when I was alone.
For the record, Lane is my name.
These maids were among the few in the estate who called me by name.
“How is your hair so silky?”
“May I tidy up the place too?”
“Do as you like.”
The maids who had some free time would often come to the doghouse like this to look after me.
At first, they’d clearly been terrified of me.
“Agh, I left the snack here, and you spilled it all.”
“Oh, did I? I forgot.”
“You should’ve kept it in the bowl properly. I’ll clean the saucer for you!”
But now, any sign of that was long gone.
The lady calling me “puppy” every single day must have worn away my scary image.
“With guests coming today, make sure your clothes don’t wrinkle and your hair stays neat.”
“Understood.”
“More than that, the lady was bragging about you. We’d better spruce you up even more.”
“I’d appreciate that...”
A few of the maids, especially those who found garden work boring, often came to stroke my hair.
But today, with guests on the way, they were going all out.
“Stay still. Don’t shake your head.”
“...I won’t.”
“Alright, how about slicking it all back today?”
Still, having the maids surround me like this was comfortable and nice.
It felt like only yesterday I was glued to a bunch of roughneck guys in the Colosseum all day long.
God knows how I survived that.
If someone told me to go back now, I wouldn’t, even if they beat me to death.
“This is something I bought at the night market last time. They say it holds your hair in place.”
“Oh, that? Everyone’s using it these days.”
“Just a little... Oh no, I put on too much! I’m sorry!”
The way they treated me was... ambiguous, somehow.
Too careful for how one might handle a mere dog, yet too casual for treating me like a knight, the way Deron or Caiden did.
More like handling a particularly precious pup, I suppose?
At any rate, I could tell they were fond of me.
“What are you all doing?”
“Ack.”
“Back to your posts!”
Just like that, before the head maid caught them, the maids finished primping me, got an earful, and scattered like a flock.
Left alone again, I sprawled out flat in the doghouse.
Hmm, they tidied it up nicely. Feels a bit roomier.
I was always grateful when they did this.
If I ever got the chance, I’d repay them properly.
Wonder when the guests will show up.
I think they said afternoon.
It’s noon now, so a quick nap should do it.
Everything’s fine, except there’s nothing to do without training.
This world’s got way too few entertainments.
Still, boredom beats hardship, I figured, and closed my eyes.
When I opened them again...
“There’s a doghouse here?”
“Must be where they keep their pet.”
I heard voices from outside the doghouse right away.
“Oh...”
“Judging by the size, it might be a pet monster, so don’t get too close.”
...Who’re they?
Not the usual servants’ voices.
“Let me take a look.”
“Please be careful.”
And now footsteps approaching, as if they were determined to check it out.
Not a masked intruder like last time.
I had a pretty good guess who they were, so before they could peer in, I stepped out to greet them.
“Hello.”
“Huh?”
“Hm?”
The two of them startled at the sight of me.
One was a girl about my age, the other a middle-aged woman who looked quite mature.
“W-Who are you?”
“The caretaker?”
“No, I live here.”
...Probably the guests they said were coming.
Why’re they out here alone? Where’s the lady?
“Might you be today’s guests, by chance?”
At minimum, they were nobles, so I asked politely.
“Ah, yes, that’s right... And you are?”
“Well, I...”
Just as I thought I should explain myself to the two, who looked baffled at me popping out of the doghouse...
“You two! There!”
The lady came striding over from the front garden.
“What’re you doing with my puppy?”
“Your... puppy?”
The two stared in confusion at the lady’s bold claim of calling me “puppy.”
Huh. Guess the reclusiveness kept rumors from spreading.
The servants here really know how to keep their mouths shut.
“Puppy, come here!”
She called, so I went to her, and she reached out her hand as if to say good boy.
...She wants my head, right?
I knelt on one knee.
Pat pat.
“Good boy!”
Having to put on this show in front of strangers.
But it wasn’t anything new or embarrassing.
The servants had all seen it plenty of times before.
I’d long since grown numb to dog treatment.
“The puppy you wanted to introduce us to... is a person?”
“Yep! I’ve been raising him for two years now.”
“I see.”
Yet it seemed some semblance of common sense still lingered in this world.
The other two still looked flustered.
Yeah, that’s the normal reaction.
What kind of lady keeps a person like a dog...
“...If I’d known ahead of time, I would’ve brought a different gift.”
“What’d you bring?”
“A dog toy... I should’ve asked first.”
...What?
Their reaction wasn’t what I expected.
They were surprised at first, but quickly nodded as if they understood.
“What a splendid-looking pup.”
“Yes, he has such dignity. Clearly well-cared for.”
Fuck me.
I thought I’d learned a lot about this world, but I was still half-blind.
“Heh heh, our puppy’s handsome, isn’t he?”
Pat pat.
Delighted by the praise, the lady stroked my hair even more enthusiastically, messing up the maids’ hard work.
The maids who did this would cry if they saw.
“Our puppy has lots of talents too!”
“Talents? Any special skills?”
And apparently, the lady wanted to show off more.
“I was saving this brag for later, but... Okay, puppy! Fleet!”
“Pardon?”
“Fleet!”
“Ah...”
Look at those sparkling eyes.
I wondered how to show off.
Was this seriously her idea of a brag?
“Understood.”
Fine, gotta be obedient.
I stood and used Fleet to leap atop the doghouse.
“Hm?”
I vanished, and the two looked startled for a moment.
“Fleet?”
“...You know it.”
I turned to face them.
She spotted it was Fleet right away.
“Whoa, you look my age, and you use Fleet that smoothly?”
“Puppy’s specialty!”
“Not just any puppy, then.”
Yeah, it’d be a shock.
Where in the world is a puppy that uses Fleet?
And so cleanly too.
I might not know much else, but I’d honed my Fleet to perfection.
“Can he do other things?”
“Of course! Our puppy’s got so many tricks.”
I had plenty to show.
But doing my full routine in front of guests?
“Lady...”
I tried gently dissuading her...
“What’s everyone doing out in the garden?”
When the voice I most wanted to hear right then rang out.
“Rowell?”
“Yes, my lady. With the guests, I see.”
Right on cue.
That old man’s timing is impeccable, as always.
“Ah! Hello, Mr. Rowell...”
“Ho ho, a pleasure to meet you.”
“I-I’ve heard so much about you.”
The noble girl bowed deeply to Rowell, flustered.
...He really is something, huh?
The lady treated him like a kindly grandpa, but the other servants were always deferential, so I figured as much.
Even another noble acting like this was impressive.
“The honor is mine.”
The middle-aged woman beside the girl even gave Rowell a small salute.
Clearly a man worthy of respect.
“More to the point, it seems the lady is showing off the puppy I trained.”
“Trained...? By you, Mr. Rowell?”
Rowell dropped it casually the moment he arrived.
At “trained,” the guests’ eyes turned to me, weighing whether it was truly “training” for a puppy.
Or perhaps “instruction” instead.
What’s there to weigh?
If he knows Fleet, he’s been taught.
“Hmm.”
“Definitely not your average pup...”
Like that.
I tried ignoring their increasingly burdensome stares.
“Why isn’t everyone coming up?”
A woman’s voice called out.
Not from ahead or behind.
From above.
I looked up.
Whoosh—
A woman descended with the wind.
Her red hair whipping in the breeze.
The one I’d only seen from afar.
“Teacher?”
“Master!”
The mage whom even the revered Rowell rated highly.
She dropped right out of the sky.
“Met here, huh? Hmm...”
And then.
Her crimson eyes fixed on me.
Not jewel-like prettiness like the lady’s, but eyes like roaring flames.
“So you’re the puppy?”
Pat pat.
She reached out and stroked my hair.
“Tougher-looking than I expected.”
I sighed inwardly at how this great mage, the lady’s own teacher, treated me so naturally like a dog.
Fine.
Guess this really is the norm.
No need to hide in the house next time guests come.