.jpg)
IBP 156
Chloe sighed as she looked at a pug sitting near the pub, tied to a leash.
‘It couldn't have returned as that dog.’
It seemed to be kept by the pub owner; it had a bright yellow body, a squashed nose, and sharp teeth.
But more than its appearance, there was something else...
None of the behaviors Coco always showed were present.
Like the way she would instinctively curl up like a bean and bark when seeing a stranger.
Or the way she would show the whites of her eyes as if the leash were uncomfortable.
It was while she was staring blankly at the dog.
“What a windfall. I didn't expect a lady from a noble house to be so easily lured here.”
It was the man who had told her to come this way earlier.
The thug beside him, who carried a knife, smirked while twirling a rifle in his hand.
“I don't know where you're from, lady, but if you just hand over a few coins quietly...”
“Hand over what?”
“Money.”
Chloe lightly snapped her fingers.
Immediately, the thugs spouting cheap lines let out screams. Darkness was strangling their necks.
“Guh, ack!”
It was almost laughable to see such nobodies rolling on the ground after trying to threaten her.
Chloe spoke with an indifferent expression.
“Don't be noisy. I'm already annoyed enough.”
As she walked out of the alley with a blank face, wondering where she should look for Coco, she noticed someone.
Her fiancé, who had been standing at the entrance of the alley since who knows when, chuckled and asked.
“It seems an escort wasn't necessary from the start. I enjoyed the show. The Lady's abilities are impressive.”
“...I'll leave the cleanup to my fiancé. Oh, and.”
Chloe thought of the docile pug in front of the pub, which couldn't even growl at a stranger while tied to its leash.
“That dog at the pub too. Please send it somewhere nice.”
Even if it wasn't Coco, she had no intention of ignoring a pitiful puppy that had caught her eye.
“I shall. I didn't know the Lady was such a kind person.”
“It's not particularly that.”
It wasn't because she was kind.
It was because she kept thinking of little Coco, fearing she might be suffering a similar fate.
However, even after scouring every single alleyway in the Empire since that day, and despite doing such good deeds frequently...
Coco was nowhere to be found.
* * *
It had been a week since I got stuck in a small gap in an alley, believing only the cat's words that I had a ‘terminal illness.’
“Why on earth do I have to hide here!”
...Of course, I know I have a terminal illness. But still!
I let out a deep sigh.
Then, the cat spoke solemnly.
“I told the other fellows that you were just a bit sick as a cover.”
“Huh?”
“Actually, you aren't sick.”
“Then what is it?”
I tilted my head while looking at the cat, who looked incredibly intelligent.
The cat then opened its mouth grandly.
“So, you are—”
...Then, it suddenly washed its face vigorously with its paws and said,
“S-so, you are...!”
“So what am I?”
I pricked up my ears at the tension, which felt like the cat's front paws were sweating. But then...
“I think you possess a strong power.”
“Gasp.”
Everyone told me I was just a foolish puppy who dropped from the sky!
As I wagged my tail proudly, the cat spoke with conviction.
“No, that is definitely a ‘strong power.’ I know well because I was a cat living in the magic tower!”
“...Whoa. I see.”
I had no idea what a magic tower was.
But seeing the cat's determined expression, I felt like I had to follow its words.
“However, you must hide it.”
“Eh?”
“You must hide your body. You have to stay very, very hidden. If you have a ‘strong power,’ someone might target and use you. It could be dangerous.”
“...Dangerous?”
The cat's eyes were very sharp as it spoke.
‘But...’
It's strange.
My feet keep wanting to move somewhere.
* * *
After that day, the cat monitored me and silenced the mice wandering the alley.
Thanks to that, I was able to spend my days in the back alley eating only the bottled preserves the cat brought me.
The bottled preserves the cat brought every time had different colored jars.
‘But.’
I widened my eyes as I looked at the picture drawn on the surface.
‘It's a different shape from the puppy drawn last time!’
But no matter how I looked at it...
“Hey. The puppy here! It looks exactly, exactly like me. Right?”
When I spoke while looking at the picture on the lid of the preserve, the cat looked at its front paws and said,
“That's not important at all. Your physical condition is more important. The light at the tips of your paws is growing larger. At this rate, we won't be able to hide it. Bad guys will use it.”
The cat, who spoke rapidly like a machine gun, thought deeply for a while and then looked at me with bright yellow eyes. It was a gaze filled with worry.
“It can't be helped. We have no choice but to take special measures.”
The cat opened the lid of the preserve with its paw and spoke solemnly.
“Wait here.”
“Okay. Hmph. I'm sleepy.”
“Right. Get some sleep. Puppies are supposed to sleep more than 20 hours a day. Got it?”
After hearing those words, for some reason, a certain memory kept flickering in and out of my mind.
Strange.
I feel like something similar happened before...
“Coco, eat a lot and go to sleep. Sleepy-sleep.”
“Zzzzz...”
...I think that touch was very warm.
But thanks to the cat gently rubbing my belly with its cold front paw, my consciousness faded again.
As I fell into a deep sleep, I heard the cat whispering softly.
“I'll have to take special measures so that dangerous fellows cannot approach.”
* * *
There is a saying that misfortunes never come singly.
In front of Chloe, who was searching every single alley in the Empire, some slouching thugs appeared.
“Lady, you've been quite famous lately.”
“What.”
She wondered if they were bothering her again.
The alley thugs, appearing before the highly sensitive Chloe, raised their hands and spoke.
“We have no intention of attacking. We're the kind of thugs who submit to the strong.”
“...Is that something to be proud of?”
“This is advice I'm giving because you're a Lady of a noble house. Don't go toward Bella Alley. I heard a plague is spreading among the alley dogs lately.”
“Yeah. Most of the stories are about them dying of the disease.”
“I heard it can spread to humans too.”
“...”
“That's why no one dares go near there these days.”
Perhaps wanting to get on the good side of Chloe, the daughter of a noble house, the thugs poured out information she hadn't even asked for.
As soon as she heard that, Chloe rushed toward Bella Alley without hesitation.
But she was one step too late.
Caligo and Grand Duke Rivera, who had already heard the rumors, had visited the alley and were searching every corner.
“Where is the puppy? Treat it immediately upon discovery.”
Chloe looked at the empty alley with trembling eyes.
...He told them to treat them all, but there must be dogs that had already died.
Yet, strangely, not a single dog caught their sight.
“There are stories that they either hid somewhere because they were sick, or they died.”
“...”
Staring into Chloe's trembling eyes, Grand Duke Rivera spoke.
“Lady, if Coco truly returned as a divine beast, she wouldn't have died.”
“...”
“She won't die.”
But Chloe had seen Coco die twice.
“Lady, how about you eat something and then move again? Caligo, you too.”
“Brother, but Coco is...”
She didn't even care that her eyes were bloodshot from not sleeping for a whole week.
It was the same for Caligo.
The two looked at each other.
They had to keep searching for Coco.
* * *
Jjek-jjeki, the guild leader of the <Day-Speech Bird> information guild, was also searching for Coco.
Especially since the health of <The Father of Emperor of Mice>, to whom he had grown particularly fond, was poor, his pace could only quicken.
“How is the mouse?”
“Still about the same. He's in a state of delirium.”
“...The divine beast must be brought back soon.”
At that moment, a mouse tending to the Emperor of Mouse muttered softly.
“By the way, if it's true that they really returned as a divine beast...”
...Then it paused.
‘He's using a tactic that drives a curious bird crazy.’
Jjek-jjeki, who was about to leave to find Coco again, immediately stopped and asked back.
“If it's true?”
“Divine beasts are beings blessed by God, aren't they?”
Jjek-jjeki, listening to the words of the shabbily dressed sewer rat, looked puzzled.
“That's right.”
“So don't worry, Mr. Information Bird.”
“What?”
“Destined encounters always happen. Even more so if the partner is a divine beast. Usually, divine prophecies or divine beings descend at the ‘most needed time,’ don't they?”
“...”
Yes, that seemed to be the case.
The bird looked at the sewer rat with a blank expression.
“The real sage was here.”
“So if you really want to meet the divine beast, it would be best to wait. Calm your heart and be patient. Then they will come to you like an unexpected stroke of luck.”
Strange.
Just now, Jjek-jjeki felt as if he had been hit in the head with a blunt object.
“So... just like now?”
“Now?”
At the suggestion subtly offered by the wise sewer rat, Jjek-jjeki wore an expression as if he had attained enlightenment.
“Yes. Just like now, when I unexpectedly discovered you.”
“...?”
“To exaggerate a bit, I feel like this is more helpful than the sage turtle.”
Perhaps because too much information was swirling in his head, he had missed a thought that even a sewer rat could have.
He put strength into his wings.
There was someone he had to deliver this information to.
* * *
From the prophecy that Coco was in the darkest place to the story of the plague circulating in the Empire's back alleys.
Despite hearing a series of bad news, Chloe did not lose heart or give up.
However...
“Lady, are you alright?”
“Hey, Chloe! You collapsed!”
...It seemed that wandering the back alleys 24 hours a day was more physically draining than she thought.
She stiffly pushed away Ruth's spoon, which had come right up to her lips.
“I told you I wouldn't eat the preserves you made.”
“Wow, damn. This is a popular product. You're not eating this?”
“Enough, I have to go out.”
“Hey, calm down. You're a patient.”
“...Our Coco was more sick.”
“...”
“How can I pretend to be weak over something like this?”
Ruth's eyes wavered for a moment.
His face showed a conflict of emotions between the desire to find Coco quickly and the desire to make Chloe healthy.
She thought he was transparent as always, but Ruth unexpectedly spoke.
“...There's something important to tell you. Grand Duke Caligo came to visit. He left a note saying he heard something from a spirit beast.”
.jpg)