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IBP 150
(Part 1 Epilogue)
On the way to the dog star after saying goodbye to my sister.
I tried my best to walk bravely.
‘Usually, sister always walked by my side.’
Actually, I was so worried about her that I couldn't bring myself to move, but I tried hard to keep walking.
Step by step, as I grew further away from the original world...
“I'll give our Coco a treat if she does her tricks well.”
The happy memories of showing off my tricks in front of her and eating delicious sweet potatoes...
“Our Coco looks so pretty with her hair tied up like apples!”
I remembered the touch of her hands as she tied back the white fur that used to cover my eyes.
One by one, the precious memories with my sister—which had lost their vitality and been forgotten—came flooding back.
The moment I managed a small smile at those fluffy memories.
My body shrank, and soon, I turned back into a puppy.
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I became a puppy!
Moreover, there was something else that had changed.
“My paws are strange!”
I bowed my head low and looked at the darkness clinging to the tips of my paws.
Then, I gazed at the black yet gentle darkness that enveloped my body like a fluffy cloud.
‘This darkness is tied to me!’
That means sister is protecting me.
Thinking that she was by my side, my paws began to move quickly.
‘Because we will meet again.’
Bit by bit, the worry and anxiety vanished.
As I trotted across the wonderful rainbow bridge, I was finally able to smile.
Then, the rainbow bridge, which had felt endless, transformed into a brilliant, five-colored slide.
“Whoaaa!”
My body zoomed down the rainbow bridge just like riding a slide.
“This feels just like playing with sister!”
Feeling the cool breeze, I finally returned to the dog star.
As soon as I landed with a thud from the rainbow bridge, my friends gathered around in a noisy swarm.
“Coco! You're finally here!”
Cherry patted my paw with her front paw as if to comfort me.
“Cherry!”
“You've finally arrived, Coco.”
“Whoa, Choco is here too!”
As Choco licked my cheek to comfort me, Ryan spoke with dignity.
“You were really cool at the end. You looked like a real divine beast.”
Hearing those words, it finally felt real.
I, Coco.
I have finally returned to the dog star!
Feeling proud, I set my bag down and spoke solemnly.
“Everyone, look at my bag!”
I worked hard to open the bag with my front paws and pulled out various things.
“This is a meat doll that Cherry's owner had!”
“Whoa!”
“I took it secretly!”
“Whoaaa...”
Cherry's eyes sparkled, and she promptly took a firm bite of the doll.
“Next, a really mysterious broken gramophone from the back alleys!”
“Gasp.”
Choco, who had been turning his head away with a dignified air as if it were no big deal, suddenly became excited, his eyes twinkling.
“And...”
Finally, I looked at the puppy god walking toward me with a majestic stride.
“God! God! I brought a doll that looks like you!”
Star-shaped dolls tumbled out of my bag.
“...Do I look as stiff as a star?”
“Mm-hmm, God gave me a new life, and helped me not be in pain... So you're a warm puppy, just like a star!”
At my words, the puppy god's eyes grew round, and he gave me a gentle nudge with his paw, speaking warmly.
“This is the first time I've heard such a thing. Thank you.”
Having reunited, the puppy god carefully examined my body.
He said he would first check if I was a sick puppy or not.
Then, he looked at the darkness on my front paws with surprised eyes.
“Coco, there really is darkness clinging to your paws. What a strange child.”
The other puppies chattered and gossiped around the puppy god.
“That's right! Coco's paws turned black! She needs to wash them.”
“It's not like that!”
I shook my head maturely. The puppy god also spoke with an expression that looked like he was suppressing a laugh.
“It is the love of your sister clinging to you. Your sister's heart, which cherishes you, has arrived at the dog star along with you, Coco. It is a wondrous thing.”
“Um... does this not happen often?”
“It rarely happens.”
I chose my words slowly, as if catching my breath.
“It's like a miracle.”
The puppy god looked down at my paws and gave a broad smile.
“Then, Coco. Shall we create a new miracle?”
“Huh?”
“Now, you must train for five years to become a divine beast.”
“Whoaaa!”
I looked up at the god with sparkling eyes.
“I can do it reaaaally well!”
“A divine beast is a spiritual being that can become a human or an animal. From now on, you must learn how to become an animal, and also how to become a human.”
“Whoaaaa.”
“It will be very difficult, won't it?”
“No! I think it'll be super fun!”
“...Even though it's rigorous training?”
“Still! Heehee!”
“Then, follow me!”
Before I knew it, a gentle breeze blew against my cheeks.
The path to meet my sister again might be hard and difficult.
But with the strength of my warm and gentle sister, I was ready to overcome anything!
I ran proudly, wearing the bag sister gave me.
Inside the bag were the toys sister gave me, a note she had scribbled randomly—it said [Coco is a dummy]!—and even a photo of our family.
It was so full of memories that I didn't feel tired even though I ran so hard that my front paws sweated.
You know. I'll work really hard and go back looking wonderful!
Everyone, don't forget about me!
* * *
“I... I made a wildflower crown. I want to give it to Coco, where is she?”
The one who greeted Chloe, who had returned to the Ardos mansion holding Caligo's hand, was Ryan.
Ryan had been staying by his father's side, who was recovering after the magic seal was released, and had only just stepped outside.
Therefore, he had no idea what had happened outdoors.
“Coco is...”
When Ryan asked about Coco's whereabouts, Caligo's already haggard complexion grew even paler.
Unable to continue, he lowered his head.
In Caligo's stead, Chloe whispered softly.
“So, Coco is...”
But Chloe also didn't know how to explain this situation.
Coco had gone, was gone, had disappeared. No matter which verb she used, it was difficult to express the situation.
Only then did a flustered Ryan ask, his eyes darting around.
“Did something happen to Coco?”
“...I'll explain. Come inside.”
Chloe took Ryan's hand and entered the inner chamber of the family.
And she immediately gathered all the direct descendants and her fiancé, Grand Duke Rivera.
“What's going on? And why isn't Coco here?”
Ruth dangled her legs, as if something was missing.
“...Won't she be here soon? It happens to be nap time.”
Theodore maintained an attitude of waiting.
“Has something happened? If something has occurred, you must tell me in detail what happened to my daughter!”
Even Duke Ardos was already prepared to throw a fit in search of Coco.
Chloe gazed at the silent Grand Duke Rivera and the head-bowed Caligo. Everyone was looking for Coco, and Coco had vanished, but Chloe did not despair.
She explained everything that had happened clearly.
“Do you remember the puppy I raised when I was young? Coco.”
“Why suddenly talk about a puppy?”
Gazing at the bewildered Ruth, she murmured quietly.
When she first met Coco.
When she first lost Coco.
And when she met Coco again after she became human.
And now, Coco, who had returned to become a divine beast.
It was painful to announce to the world that she had lost Coco, but...
By the time she finished the story, Ruth whispered hollowly.
“...Coco was a puppy, went back to the stars, and will come back again?”
“What on earth is this...”
Duke Ardos and Ruth stared at each other with their mouths agape before pausing.
“Wha-what. Why are only I and Father surprised?”
“You knew all along!”
“...”
Caligo, who had been bowing his head with his eyes flushed red, nodded.
Then Ruth rubbed her face in frustration.
“No wonder she was so cute.”
“...You brat, is that all you have to say right now? My daughter has gone to a place where we can't even touch her!”
Looking at her hollow-looking father, Ruth shrugged her shoulders.
“You said Coco went bravely. Then we should let her go maturely. Our youngest is a very mature child. She might even be worried about us.”
“...What?”
As everyone looked at Ruth with stunned expressions for saying something unexpectedly mature.
Ruth, who had been mumbling calmly, finally buried her face in her hands and screamed.
“Damn it, even while I'm saying this... but it's still too sad!”
It sounded like the cry of a beast, but surprisingly...
‘That's comforting.’
Chloe smiled faintly.
The fact that those who missed Coco were gathered in one place was a comfort.
At that moment, the hands of Duke Ardos and Theodore touched her shoulders.
“...Endure until the day you meet again, Chloe.”
“Yes.”
Feeling the rough patting of their hands, Chloe thought blankly.
Strangely, her heart felt settled by their clumsy comfort.
It was different from when she had lost the puppy Coco long ago, enduring a death-like trial alone.
Only then did she realize.
‘Our Coco created a family for me before she left.’
Thinking that, her heart ached piercingly.
‘That silly puppy...’
So that Coco in the dog star wouldn't see, she bowed her head and cried just a little.
But it was right then.
Someone suddenly stepped forward and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.
Chloe looked up and paused.
It wasn't Ryan, nor was it Caligo.
It was Grand Duke Rivera.
“I have a duty to take care of you.”
“...Are you acting as a fiancé?”
For a moment, she felt prickly at his attitude of treating her like a child.
“No, Lady Coco told me. She said if her sister cries, I should wipe her tears.”
“What...”
He pulled a piece of paper from the pocket where a pocket square would normally be.
It was a letter filled with Coco's crooked handwriting.
“So, until Coco returns, let's do that for the time being.”
Chloe bit her lip while looking at the letter Coco had written.
...This silly little dog.
Even after deciding to die, she worried that her sister would be in pain.
While she was staring blankly at the letter, Duke Ardos spoke solemnly.
“Stop your tears. This is no time to remain immersed in sadness. It means Empress Hervezette touched my daughter.”
A coldness flickered in his eyes.
“Is it not an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth?”
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