Intrusion
“Approach without breaking anything.”
The voices from outside belonged to intruders who crept across the courtyard toward me, small and cautious as shadows.
“I sense something.”
“We'll handle it quietly and go.”
These ruthless bastards.
They'd even planned to kill the house dog.
But.
Unfortunately for them, I wasn't a dog.
I steadied my breath for a moment.
Then prepared to spring out in one explosive burst.
“Handle the—”
Just then.
As a shadowy figure appeared closest to me.
Crack!
“Gah...!”
I launched myself, clamping onto his throat in an instant.
Then.
Crunch—
I twisted my body against his, snapping his neck.
The familiar tactile rush of killing washed over me, but after so much peace lately, it left a sour, queasy aftertaste as I scanned the surroundings.
“It's a person!”
“Subdue it!”
What I saw were masked figures, obvious assassins or kidnappers by their look.
...There were a lot of them.
After facing gladiators who charged in so boldly with their weapons drawn, dealing with these sneaky thieves felt oddly underwhelming.
More importantly, my instincts picked up no exceptional experts among them.
Of course, this was one against many, and I couldn't even use Aura.
But that only fueled a rising thrill.
The gaze and cheers from the Colosseum had been nauseating.
Whoosh!
“It's coming!”
“Hit it all at once!”
But the raw, life-or-death struggles I'd waged there were etched into my brain as pure ecstasy.
Thud.
I splayed my hand wide, grabbing one masked thug's head.
Then drove a dagger—stolen from the first one's belt—into his throat.
“Gurk!”
Good, two down.
Swish!
I dodged a whistling dagger swing.
Then.
Whoosh—
“Monster...!”
I hurled the one I held into the fray for chaos.
And charged the nearest masked figure again.
With numbers like this, I had to keep moving fast.
Sure, yelling for help would end it quick.
But then my share of the credit would shrink, wouldn't it?
Even in the Colosseum's group fights, extra rewards came for slaying the most monsters.
This was the home of the kingdom's top noble lady, no less.
A slave like me had to score some perks, right?
Pfshk!
The sharp sound of a dagger piercing flesh.
Not mine—the leader-type masked figure's sneak attack.
“Hoo.”
Crack!
I exhaled sharply to shove the pain aside and elbowed him away.
Whew, paralysis poison?
Just a slight tingle.
“Now we hit it together.”
“...Sorry to disappoint.”
Too bad—poisons don't work well on me.
Side effect from those old meds, or just my constitution.
I shrugged off every toxin the Colosseum's monsters threw at me.
And pain? I was used to that too.
Crunch!
I smashed an oncoming masked thug's skull like a melon.
“You monster...!”
“No time! Everyone rush it!”
At least they were the rushed ones.
Good thing—I might've tired out trying to hunt them slow.
And so.
The dark garden became my arena for a brutal melee.
*
A moment later.
“Gahk, urk! You monstrous bastard...!”
The last masked figure—their leader—spewed blood and collapsed.
“Hoo... ha...”
Was it the breaks between fights?
This was exhausting.
Thud.
I slumped to the ground, planning to staunch the holes riddling my body first.
But then.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Applause echoed from the darkness.
“Impressive work.”
“...Had an audience, huh.”
The clapper approaching was none other than the manor’s butler.
His name was... right.
“Rowell, was it?”
“The young lady must have told you my name. More importantly, why didn't you call for help?”
...He'd noticed and watched the whole thing?
Of course—the old man wouldn't miss it.
“What, and risk waking the young lady with all the noise?”
I said, ripping strips from my clothes to wrap the wounds.
Shame—they felt expensive, but with all these holes, they were trash anyway.
“The real reason?”
“If you won't believe me, why ask? Just figured someone might toss a blanket down here.”
The ground was damn hard.
Dogs get cushions, don't they?
True to the young lady's orders, I got no extra considerations a kid her age might overlook.
“Wise choice, all the same. The Boyd family is clear on rewards and punishments.”
“...Glad to hear it.”
Music to my ears—if the butler vouched for it, it was solid.
“I'll treat you first. Follow me.”
“Understood.”
Blood loss was worse than I thought anyway.
And whatever poison they'd slathered on, my limbs were starting to go numb.
“This is...”
“Intruders.”
“Ah.”
The manor was vast, with plenty of staff, so it had basic medical facilities too.
I stripped off my ruined clothes there and sat before the healer.
“What happened to all these scars...?”
“Eh, long story...”
My body—face aside—was a map of scars everywhere.
Some gladiators called them badges of honor.
To me, they were just ugly marks.
“First, clean the wounds...”
The healer wiped them with a steaming cloth, smeared on some mystery salve, stitched them up, and bandaged everything.
Better than that Colosseum hack.
“Aren't you curious? Why the intruders came?”
Rowell asked as I relaxed into the treatment.
“...Does the guard dog need to know?”
He fixed me with a steady stare at that.
Then.
“You're surprisingly dutiful.”
With those loaded words, he turned away.
“I'll go assist with cleanup.”
Cleanup?
...So he'd already called reinforcements without me noticing.
Obviously—he wouldn't leave the scene unattended.
“...Check the bodies if you want, but I left their leader alive.”
“Oh? Did you?”
“Yeah, won't wake up anytime soon, though.”
I wasn't great at holding back.
But he wasn't dead.
“Rest easy, then.”
With that.
Rowell left—his gaze on me subtly shifted.
“Hoo...”
“N-No sleeping!”
The strain hit hard; midway through treatment, I passed out cold.
*
...I woke to a familiar ceiling.
The doghouse one I always saw.
“Ugh...”
These guys treated me and dragged me back?
They'd even dressed me properly over the bandages.
But...
“Oh...”
The floor was soft.
Looking closer, a large cushion covered it.
...Quick feedback loop.
Competent as expected.
My estimation of Rowell ticked up a notch.
“Puppy!”
A familiar voice called from outside the doghouse.
The young lady had arrived.
I went out to greet her, dog-style.
“Young lady.”
“You caught the thieves!”
“...Yeah.”
Thieves? Oh.
Thieves, sure—just stealing people.
“Eua, good boy!”
Pat pat.
Clueless that they'd come to kidnap her.
She beamed, ruffling my hair wildly.
...Felt weird, a kid younger than me praising me like this.
“Young lady, he did well. Time for a reward.”
The butler beside her prompted slyly.
“Right! Reward time.”
Nice.
True to his word, the old man.
“What do you want, puppy?”
What I wanted...
Too much to list.
Training gear, or at least three hours off this collar a day.
After taking blades for this house, why not shoot my shot?
“Well, I...”
As I opened my mouth to ask.
A strange sensation prickled—a vague unease.
What?
Why now?
I studied the young lady before me.
The innocent face I'd seen daily in manor life.
With those red...
“...Just more snacks, please.”
Eyes.
Yeah.
Her ruby-like irises gleamed strangely.
Just like when she'd first propositioned me.
“Snacks? Got it!”
Yeah.
Wasn't that what a puppy would want? Walks or treats?
Wooden swords, training time—
That wasn't puppy talk.
Rowell eyed me oddly from the side, but my gut screamed this was right.
After Colosseum instincts that saved my skin countless times, I trusted it again.
“I'll grab snacks!”
She scampered off excitedly.
“Take it slow, young lady!”
The staff trailed after.
But...
“Not going?”
The old butler, who always shadowed her, stayed—watching me.
“Why throw away a real reward like that?”
He couldn't fathom my choice.
I didn't fully get it either, but...
“...Felt like she'd hate it otherwise.”
That was my gut's reasoning, if I had to explain.
Rowell eyed me dubiously, then.
“Fine enough.”
Flick.
He tossed me something.
A key.
One that looked perfect for my collar.
“When the young lady's away, you can remove it.”
“Pardon?”
“And starting tomorrow, come to me during her lessons.”
Tomorrow?
I stared, confused.
“Bored to death, aren't you? I'll help you work it out.”
Unexpectedly.
He'd said exactly what I wanted to hear.