Arcadia (8): The Cantankerous Friend's Greed
The Grateful Puppy
The cantankerous friend grew greedy. Seeing how even that fool with nothing had made a fortune thanks to the puppy's help, he couldn't stop imagining how rich he'd become if he got his hands on it.
And so, the cantankerous friend spoke up.
"I wanna borrow some of that puppy's luck too. Mind lending it to me for a bit?"
"Huh? The puppy?"
"Yeah. I wanna make some big money too."
The husband pondered his friend's words for a moment before shaking his head.
"Lending you this puppy would go against the courtesy I owe the guest who entrusted it to me. Sorry."
"Really, no way?"
"Nope."
The husband was firm. And rightly so. To the couple, this wasn't just any pet—it was precious family, a treasure left by that mysterious guest.
Handing such a puppy over to someone else would be disrespectful to that guest.
"Then... how about I return the treasure you pawned to me as collateral when you borrowed money? Would that work?"
"Our family heirloom...?"
"Please, I'm begging you. Come on?"
The husband hesitated. Truth be told, pawning that long-cherished heirloom had been a thorn in his heart all this time.
But still, he shook his head. No matter how precious the heirloom, the puppy's favors demanded he refuse.
Then.
"Woof!"
The puppy stood up and barked once.
"Woof woof!"
As if asking to be sent along.
"See? The puppy wants to come with me too. I'll return your heirloom, so lend it to me."
At his friend's words, the husband looked at the puppy. It wagged its tail brightly, looking lively as if to say, don't worry, send me off.
"Fine. Bring back the heirloom next time, and I'll lend you the puppy."
"Can't I take it now?"
"No. We need a little time to say goodbye too."
The cantankerous friend wanted to take the puppy as soon as possible, but the husband's resolve was unshakable.
In the end, the friend went home, then returned a few days later with the pawned heirloom.
And so, the puppy left the couple to go with the cantankerous friend.
Hmm. The Arcadia sightseeing tour wrapped up pretty nicely.
I even saw the Killer Queen and her Killer Hornets acting unusually friendly toward people, for monsters.
Hmm. Monsters tamed by humans.
Well, no matter how ferocious and savage they are, they're still living creatures at their core.
With the right circumstances piling up, it's possible to tame them like that, right?
Maybe down the line, folks will start capturing monsters to raise as livestock or pets. Like in that one famous game.
Though they wouldn't fit in pockets, obviously.
Anyway, with the Arcadia tour over, the Hero and I prepared to hit the road again.
"Are you really entrusting this child to us?"
Makairodus's wife, the queen, asked while cradling the Beast God in her arms.
"Yeah. It's about time that guy settled down in one place."
As a god, steadily gathering faith is crucial too.
Unless you're like me, with Life Goddess temple pilgrims wandering the world to spread the faith.
Especially for a god revered by a specific race—staying put is even more important.
Yggdrasil and Sagarmatha are prime examples.
It's easier to offer faith to a god you can plainly see than one you can't.
Gathering faith like that should help the little guy grow even more, right?
Plus, Makairodus's queen—the Beast God's priestess—will be right there.
Hmm.
"So, take good care of him."
"We will. Leave it to us."
With Arcadia's king and queen, and a crowd of people seeing us off, the Hero and I set out once more.
We left behind the Beast God, who'd served as our mount, but whatever. No big deal.
Walking the earth on our own feet is part of travel's charm.
And if we need to hurry somewhere, we can always fly.
"Walking just the two of us like this brings back old memories."
"Old memories?"
"Yes. Back when we first started our journey."
Ah. Right, that time.
We'd set off on the journey, and only after a bit did we catch that wild, beastly thing.
After that, it was always the three of us traveling, so yeah, it's been a while.
As we made our way through the lush forest, I casually brought it up.
"So, when are you planning to find a partner?"
"Pardon?"
"A partner. You're not thinking of staying single forever without kids, are you?"
"Well, that's..."
Cutting off the Hero as he tried to speak, I pressed on.
"Don't gimme that 'having you around is enough' nonsense—I'm pretending I didn't hear it. What you need is someone who can give you what I can't."
Yeah. I can be a parent figure, but not a lover.
Until I can empty out the junk in my head, that's just impossible.
"But..."
"Or do I need to step in before you listen? Should I spread rumors through the Life Goddess temple pilgrims? 'Seeking a partner for the Hero'?"
At my words, the Hero's face drained of color.
Nothing spreads word like the Life temple pilgrims.
Those kids circulate through the world like blood in veins, carrying messages everywhere.
Spread it through them, and soon marriage proposals for the Hero would rain down like a storm.
Plus, the Hero's reputation is solid even among other races.
We might hear from dwarves or elves too.
Especially the dwarves... they'd been eyeing the Hero's sword hungrily during that dwarf-elf tournament the other day.
If they snag a chance, they'll chew, gnaw, taste, and savor that sword for sure.
"P-Please, go easy on that."
"But how else will you find a partner?"
The Hero's name carries huge weight. More than most kingdom kings.
A Hero roaming the world, slaying mighty monsters— he's a hero in every sense. A Hero.
Repelling monsters in crises, saving people. In this era with few entertainments, every one of the Hero's exploits becomes thrilling gossip.
That's why choosing the Hero's partner requires care. Plenty would try to exploit his name.
"Urgh..."
The Hero, clearly aware of that, just let out a small groan.
"Or... what about that girl from the village near the Life temple?"
"Her...? That might be tough."
The Hero's response was skeptical.
"Decades have passed already. She's probably married with kids by now."
"Hmm... Want me to check?"
"Ah, no. It's fine. Really."
The Hero mumbled weakly.
Hmm. This won't do.
Whether she's married or not, I can check myself!
The Hero has no say in this!
The Grateful Puppy
The puppy that followed the cantankerous friend received lavish treatment for a while.
Delicious food, soft bedding, even servants dedicated to it.
But despite all that, the puppy didn't do much.
It occasionally dug up ore-laced rocks from the mountains or pawed at the ground for the thirsty, but to the friend, it just looked like the puppy playing around.
And no wonder—his family was already wealthy, wanting for nothing.
Not knowing what more to do for someone who lacked nothing, the puppy just played day by day.
The cantankerous friend didn't like the puppy's attitude.
A freeloader eating without contributing.
So, little by little, he tightened the reins.
The fine food and soft bed became stale bread and straw bedding; the servants stopped tending it and moved to other tasks.
The puppy, which had enjoyed its early days, now grew unhappy and missed the couple.
But the clever puppy didn't return to them.
Going back now would just invite mischief from that cantankerous friend toward the couple.
One day, the cantankerous friend grumbled at the puppy.
"Why aren't you doing anything? I gave up a huge treasure just to get you!"
"Woof!"
"Woof my ass! Argh! Ungrateful mutt!"
Fuming, the friend kicked the puppy.