A Dog That Should Not Exist

Lunchtime on the rooftop of Felix Academy.

Rene and I had come here again today without fail—a place that served as both a sanctuary and a landmark for the students. She carried a homemade lunchbox; I held a rye bread sandwich bought from the school store.

"So what did the professor drag you off to say?"

"Nothing much. Just a threat that if I fall asleep in his lecture again, he'll give me an F."

"And that's 'nothing much'…?"

Rene stared at me as if I had lost my mind. The story was half-made-up, sure, but maybe I had overdone it a little.

"I'm kidding. He tore into me pretty hard and said next time it wouldn't end with a scolding."

"That's it?"

"What else would there be?"

"I got extra assignments, and you just got yelled at? That's discrimination!"

"Discrimination? It's a difference in everyday conduct. Don't you remember? When we were carrying the teaching materials the other day, everyone ran off except me. Later they all regretted it when they found out Professor Lin had ordered it."

"Ugh…! I can't argue with that."

Truth be told, I had been about to run off too. Lin had tipped me off beforehand that it was something she had assigned without the other students knowing. That was how she quietly tried to pad my extra credit. It felt a little like cheating and pricked my conscience, but as someone who had already racked up demerits from the start of the term, I was in no position to refuse the gift.

"Anyway, you benefited from that, so from now on don't run away—set a good example!"

"Coming from you, that somehow just ticks me off."

Lunch spent trading words with my childhood friend was easy on the heart. We started with complaints about recent goings-on and soon were laughing and chattering about stories from when we were little. Maybe it was because we shared so many common topics we could both relate to.

"Remember when we rode a sled straight down a kilometer from the summit of the snow mountain and got chewed out within an inch of our lives by the old lady?"

"Right! She yelled that we were insane, that the blood on our heads hadn't even dried yet!"

"Looking back, she was right—it was a completely deranged thing to do."

"We were young enough to be fearless back then. Still, it was fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah… it was."

As childhood friends of twenty years, we had stacked up a mountain of bright, thrilling memories. On the snow mountain we had fought with snowballs and built people—or dragons. In the village we had gone to festivals together and wandered around buying delicious food. Memories that made the corners of your mouth lift the moment they came to mind.

Rene seemed to feel the same; she was chattering away with a sunny smile.

"What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I was just looking."

"Ahh! I get it! You wanted my lunchbox, didn't you? Well, it does have the meatballs you like, so of course you'd covet them."

"That's not it…"

"Your intentions are written all over your face, so why hide them? If you wanted some, just say so honestly! I'll be generous and give you one!"

Rene picked up a savory meatball with her chopsticks and held it out toward me. When I pulled my face back, she tilted her head.

"You don't want it?"

"No. It's not that. It's just… a little embarrassing."

"Embarrassing…? Ah!"

It was no different from the "Aaahn~" thing couples usually did, and that made me bashful. At first Rene had seemed to think nothing of it, but my words must have made her realize. The proof was her face turning as red as a beet.

"D-Don't think weird things!"

"Kh—?!"

Rene's chopsticks plunged into my mouth. The sweet, rich flavor of the meatball spread fully across my tongue and set it dancing. For someone who was usually so scatterbrained, she was oddly good at cooking.

"It's delicious…"

"I-Is it? Good!"

My own embarrassment had faded somewhere along the way, but Rene's cheeks were still flushed. The way she casually left the chopsticks in my mouth, only to realize a beat later and self-destruct, was rather cute.

Maybe this is the kind of side of her that makes the guys in our class fall for her…

A faint gloom settled over me at the thought of my popular childhood friend's relationships. I already had a lover in Lin—so why did one corner of my chest tighten whenever I looked at Rene? That sense of dissonance kept tormenting me without end.

"You don't look well. Did something bad happen?"

"Ah… no, nothing like that."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well, if you say so… that's a relief, I guess…"

Rene began poking at her food with her chopsticks; I offered an awkward smile. The warm, cheerful atmosphere from before had vanished without a trace, replaced by an awkward current. I was fretting over what topic might break the tension when Rene spoke first, her voice soft and careful.

"Hey. Do you remember the promise we made when we were little?"

"Promise?"

"Yeah. The one we made around the time we were nine…"

"Uh…"

What promise had nine-year-old me made with Rene? The sudden question turned my mind completely blank. I tried everything I could to dig it up, but nothing came.

"…Looks like you don't remember."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. It wasn't an important promise anyway."

That was a lie. I had known her long enough to read her face. Behind her smile, she was hiding something forlorn.

"Oh? Look at that—lunch period's over. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Come on, let's get to the next classroom!"

Wearing a forced smile, Rene headed for the rooftop door. I should have grabbed her arm and asked about the promise no matter what. But my body would not move the way my heart wanted. Remembering nothing, all I could do was watch her lonely figure walk away.

Afternoon classes.

Regrettably, I could not focus on a single hour of lecture; my mind kept drifting into the past. The promise Rene and I had made at nine. It was clearly a precious memory I must never forget, so I wrung my brain for all it was worth.

Result: total failure. Even by the time school let out, I had not recovered a single scrap of it.

Strange.

When I had been talking with Rene, childhood memories had come flooding back in droves. Yet it was as if one single puzzle piece had been plucked out—there was nothing from when we were nine. If it had truly been that important, I would never have forgotten it.

If wringing my head did no good, I would simply give up cleanly. Alone now, I stepped out of the classroom.

Did she go home first today?

Normally this was the hour when Rene, finished with her other lectures, would come by to walk home together. But the corridor, dyed orange by the light, held no one but me. I walked listlessly toward the main gate, glancing out the windows. Outside, a few students who had not yet left were still hanging around, talking loudly.

"You're going to the guild again today, right?"

"Ugh, I don't feel like going…"

"We promised yesterday! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠We said we'd go together today!"

"Fine, fine. We'll go together…!"

What was it with promises, that they had to keep tumbling out of other people's mouths too? I felt like I was going to die of frustration.

I was walking the corridor with a deep, heavy sigh when—

"Only just leaving school, are you?"

"Ah… Professor Brand."

"Get home before the sun sets completely."

"Yes, sir."

A mineralogist who had received endless love calls from Felix Academy—a specialist in the field of minerals. His personality was bold and refreshing, which made him quite popular among the students. And he was the only married man among the academy faculty. The wedding ring on the ring finger of his left hand was the proof…

"Ah!"

"Wh-What is it?"

"Professor! Have you by any chance seen Rene?"

"Student Rene? She said she'd left something on the rooftop earlier and went up, but…?"

"Thank you, Professor!"

I bolted for the stairs. A warning not to run in the halls followed me from behind, but I had no leisure to walk slowly. Of course I didn't—because I had remembered what the promise was.

"Rene!"

I shoved the door open as if kicking it. Wind tore across the rooftop. Beyond the iron railing stood a girl, her silver hair streaming in the gusts. Her skin, painted by the sunset light, looked even more lovely.

"Bern? Why are you here…?"

"At lunch you asked if I remembered the promise we made when we were nine, right?"

"Uh? W-Well, yes, but… don't tell me you've been stewing over it this whole time?"

"Yeah. It just came back to me."

Eleven years ago. It had been the once-in-a-century season when the snow on the mountain melted. Flowers that had been frozen solid for so long regained their life, and the whole mountain turned green. Back then, too, Rene and I had been running wild on the mountain. A snow mountain without snow was a first for both of us, so we had gotten excited—and because of that, Rene had fallen off a cliff.

The one mercy was that she was of dragonkin blood, so her life had not been in danger.

"But you were badly hurt, and you were bawling your eyes out at the bottom of the cliff."

"That's right…"

I had hurried down and helped the injured Rene. Even so, her tears would not stop.

"To make those endless tears stop, I offered an outrageous condition. I said if you quit crying, I'd grant you any one wish."

"So you really did remember."

Rene smiled faintly and came toward me. Her warm hand touched my cheek.

"The promise back then was…"

A pure, childish promise to get married when we grew up. The kind of vow little boys and girls make that usually fizzles out as they grow older. But the fact that Rene still held that promise so dear meant that the promise itself…

"Rene, I…"

"It's all right. You don't have to force yourself to keep that promise."

"…Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"Mm. Just know this one thing for me."

Her other hand rose to my opposite cheek, and she pulled my face in close. Rising onto her tiptoes, Rene—

I felt the soft, moist touch of her lips.

"…"

"I don't care if there's someone you like. I'll make sure you look my way no matter what."

Rene left the rooftop with a confident smile. The warmth still lingering on my lips left me completely dumbfounded. What on earth had just happened to me? The whole thing had passed like the wind, and I stood there with my mouth hanging open.

Courtship from two women.

Women who had stirred the hearts of countless men… liked me? The sheer absurdity of it made my face burn.

A-Am I really allowed to be this happy?

In a situation straight out of a dream, I could not stop smiling. If no one had been around, I would have shouted at the empty air. But to avoid creating black history, I kept it locked in my heart for now. Once I got back to my place in the royal capital, I would set this desire free to my heart's content.

"All right…!"

Arriving at my door, I pulled out my key and unlocked it. I stepped inside, shut the door quickly, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and was about to shout as loud as I wanted—

When an unexpected figure was there to greet me.

"Welcome home, Master!"

"Uweh…?"

A beautiful girl with white hair, crimson eyes, and a bright red horn on her head.

"Would you like dinner first? Or a bath?"

She stood there with her fair skin bare, wearing nothing but a single apron.

"Or if neither of those…"

She covered her mouth with a ladle, but the corners of her lips were clearly turned up. Bending her waist adorably, she looked up at me from below.

"Ha.des? Kyaha♡"

"…You've crossed the line."

I seized her cheek hard. Soft flesh yielded under my fingertips; I clenched my teeth and yanked as if I meant to tear the skin right off.

Then everything before my eyes began to shake. The world I had been looking at went black for an instant, then gradually brightened again.

"Hoo…!"

What I held in my grip was a black mass. This little bastard was the cause of the ridiculous fantasy that had been shown to me until now. And the true culprit who had generated that black mass was not far away.

"Krk?!"

A black dog, thrown into confusion by the fact that I had broken free of the black mass's illusion under my own power. There was no doubt—this was the Four Evil Beast that had occupied ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Valdur Mine.

"You dare shove the abyss in my face like that?"

Crunch—!

I ground my molars and glared at the black dog as if I meant to kill it.

"You are a son of a bitch that should not exist."