.jpg)
IBP 115
“......Mung?”
Look at that. She's already licking her lips.
“I was going to give our Coco some sweet potatoes. What a shame.”
“Mu, mu-ung.......”
Looking completely crestfallen, her ears drooped down to the floor.
The tail that had been spinning like a top now clung tightly to her backside.
‘What a silly puppy.’
As if apologizing, Coco licked her own cheek with her tongue.
“You naughty puppy, you're not Coco, so you can't have any sweet potatoes. I might just never give them to you for the rest of your life.”
The moment those words left her mouth, a look of great shock clouded Coco's black eyes.
She was so startled that her little red tongue poked out from her small mouth.
“Puuuuu!”
Coco tried to shake herself off to escape from Chloe's embrace.
It seemed to be her own version of a decisive rebellion.
Hugging Coco's sturdy body, Chloe spoke seriously.
“No. There's too much water here. I'm not letting go. It's dangerous.”
Holding Coco tightly, she looked at the water that had completely filled the space.
They had to get out as quickly as possible.
Along with Coco, the drenched mouse and the blue bird—everyone had to be brought out safely.
“Mung!”
“Let's get out first. It's too dark and cold here.”
“Muuuuung.”
Coco panted, as if she were exhausted.
Then, a piece of Coco's fluffy fur landed right on her tongue. And just as Chloe plucked the fur from Coco's small tongue...
A pure white light emanated from Coco's body, which she was holding tight.
“......Coco?”
Chloe had merely swayed her a few times, as if soothing the small body enveloped in light.
But the weight of the puppy, which had been heavy, became even heavier.
The tiny puppy had become human again.
Coco brushed back the hair clinging to her face like seaweed and whispered while looking at Chloe.
“Hah, it took way too long to become human this time.......”
Chloe didn't know why Coco had become a puppy or why she had been left alone in this water-filled space.
However, the most important issue remained.
Discipline.
“What is this? Suddenly wandering off on your own, turning into a puppy. Hmm?”
“Um, uhm.......”
“If you want to stay safely with me for a long, long time, our Coco needs to be scolded a bit.”
When Chloe gave her backside a light, patting slap, Coco's eyes widened.
“Gasp! Big sister patted me! This is a butt-pat! She's praising me!”
Chloe tried once more to use a stern voice.
“It's not praise. Coco, did you act dangerously today or not?”
“Um, but....... There was a box with bad black magic in it, so I came to take care of it. You shouldn't be affected by black magic, Big Sister!”
Looking at the brightly smiling Coco, Chloe sighed.
“......You should have told me before you went. That's it. No sweet potatoes and no Choco for both.”
A look of great distress clouded Coco's face.
So, Chloe expected Coco to shake her head and throw a tantrum.
However.......
“Okay.”
Her attitude was so composed that it actually flustered Chloe, who had been the one to impose the ban.
“......Really?”
“Gillen is going to be in big trouble now, so just thinking about that makes me....... I can go without sweet potatoes and Choco for, um, ten whole days.”
“Ten days? You've really made up your mind, haven't you?”
“Yep!”
......What is one supposed to do with this fool who thinks the number ten is an enormous amount?
“Let's save the scolding for later. Let's go dry you off first.”
While they talked, Chloe carrying the soaking wet Coco, they were finally able to exit the ship completely.
On the shore, Chloe could see Gillen protesting with both hands raised in the air.
“If this ship is suspicious, of course it must be investigated! I am innocent. I was scammed too!”
......I don't know, Gillen. Do you really think people will fall for your stupid little tricks?
True, you probably won't be completely ruined by something like this.
Still, seeing Gillen protest with a face pale with shock was quite satisfying. It was even more ridiculous because he looked so drunk that his nose seemed crooked.
Just then, feeling Chloe's gaze, Gillen looked over and his eyes darted wildly.
“Damn it......! Oh, Chloe. As my fiancée, you've come to save me, right? To testify for me—.”
“Shut up. I feel like throwing you into hell right now.”
Despite her harsh words, Gillen looked as if he had grabbed onto a lifeline.
“Ah, Chloe.”
But.......
At that moment, as if he were on a dedicated mark, Grand Duke Rivera appeared with a cynical expression.
“Hello, Marquis Gillen Amadeus. We meet again, I see.”
The Grand Duke's face was drenched in sweat, as if he had just finished using his supernatural ability with Caligo to move everyone to the shore.
He spoke as he walked forward lightly.
“Investigator, stop wasting words and transport him immediately.”
In Grand Duke Rivera's hand was a handcuff-type magic tool, though it was unclear when he had retrieved it.
Gillen's unsightly voice could be heard shouting that it was unfair and that he had been scammed.
Then, Coco rolled her eyes and whispered.
“Big sister, is Gillen going to prison now and never coming back?”
Chloe whispered back, rubbing Coco's cheek.
“No.”
The expression of the innocent child, who believed that everyone who does wrong is punished, turned sad.
Still.
“It'll be quite a blow to him, though.”
*
Chapter 19. Coco Hides Her Fate
“I heard that guy was throwing a fit, claiming he got scammed when he bought the ship.”
The front page of today's newspaper featured Gillen, who was currently in custody. Ruth explained that it was a ‘mugshot’ taken with a camera-type magic tool.
Although he was expected to be released on bail, he was also facing a lawsuit for damages. Moreover, apparently, not many people believed a word Gillen said.
‘Anyway, Gillen, you're basically ruined, right?’
Perhaps because I was in such a great mood, I didn't even hear any of Gillen's nasty hallucinations.
Just as I was about to enjoy my meal, I slumped my shoulders gloomily upon seeing that there was nothing but grass on the table.
Meanwhile, cynical conversations about Gillen were being exchanged across the dining table.
“Honestly, scammed my foot! He just kept spouting nonsense that even a passing dog wouldn't believe.”
Hiccup.
I, who wasn't exactly a ‘passing dog’ but was more of a ‘sitting dog,’ let out a small hiccup right then.
Ruth clutched the back of his neck and leaned back in exasperation.
“And what is this on the second page? An engagement? Without telling us? Wow. You really are a lunatic.”
“Listen to me, sweetie. Be quiet.”
“I can't believe you'd drop a bombshell like this... and that only Lucrezia and I among the family didn't know...”
“It is a union between our house and the Grand Duchy of Rivera. Isn't that actually a good thing? I didn't tell you beforehand because it wouldn't be detrimental to you, Ruth.”
At my sister's almost dry tone, Ruth spoke seriously.
“Hey. Get a grip. Marriage must absolutely be based on love.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Tell me honestly. Do you love Grand Duke Rivera?”
“I said, what nonsense is this?”
“No! This is so frustrating. I'm asking if you two are a match made in heaven, a destined love at first sight! Ah, this won't do. I have to call the people from the Rivera family to the estate immediately.”
“Have you ever even been in love?”
“I haven't. How could I have experienced an emotion as great as love at my young age?”
...Ruth Ardos.
He was, in fact, a tremendous romantic.
However, far from stopping the highly excited Ruth, Duke Ardos...
“I have already decided to meet with the kin of the Rivera family soon. Though it is a meeting between kin, we shall hold a modest engagement ceremony there.”
“Understood.”
“And Chloe, you shall oversee that event.”
“I suppose I can do that.”
After answering as if it were nothing, my sister waited for me to finish my meal and then wiped my mouth with a napkin.
“Now that you're done eating, get up, Coco.”
“Hm?”
“I need to take you for interrogation.”
Interrogation! That was a word I had seen in the newspaper earlier.
The thing that happens to bad people like Gillen!
“I didn't do anything wrong!”
My sister whispered softly, so only I could hear.
“Getting on a ship all by yourself and doing dangerous things. Hm? Turning into a puppy and then back into a human again.”
“Hing...”
“Follow me right now.”
However, the place my sister took me by the hand was neither a prison nor a basement.
It was none other than...!
*
“It’s been a while, my disciple. I was almost bored.”
Inside the drawing room.
Belief Ardos, the younger brother of Duke Ardos and Coco's teacher, smiled kindly as he served a cup of well-brewed tea to Coco and Chloe.
“Hup, Teacher! I'm sorry I couldn't see you because I've been so busy.”
“Indeed. Your recent activities have been quite spectacular.”
In truth, even just hearing the rumors, there had been so much happening that any lingering disappointment toward Coco vanished completely.
It was just as Belief, having heard the stories directly from their mouths, nodded with a short exclamation of admiration.
Chloe spoke up cautiously.
“Coco seems to be struggling a bit. I was wondering if there might be a problem. If the light ability is used repeatedly, could it cause issues for the child?”
“Exactly what kind of problem are you referring to?”
“Well, Coco's body underwent some changes while manifesting her ability.”
“Exactly what changes occurred? She likely became closer to her ‘essence.’”
He spoke with an urgency born of scholarly curiosity.
Strangely, Coco and Chloe shifted their eyes at the same time.
‘Why? Is it something they can't talk about?’
He naturally changed the subject.
“...Anyway, forget that. What do you mean by Coco seeming to be struggling?”
“Actually... Coco saved me from the brink of a berserk state. I'm worried that the amount of ability she used was too much.”
As Belief listened to Chloe, his expression clouded with bewilderment.
‘If that's true, Coco must have been in agonizing pain.’
Waiting for an answer, Chloe continued with a troubled expression.
“Will something happen to Coco?”
Of course, something would happen.
Because Coco's ability is based on life force.
If used excessively, her lifespan would be shaved away.
But he simply could not bring himself to speak.
How could he tell her that Coco had given up a portion of her life to save Chloe?
He couldn't even imagine how Chloe would react to those words.
.jpg)