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IBP 99
Caligo looked at me with a steady gaze.
How should I say this now?
‘I-If I tell him a person became a puppy, he’s going to look at me really weirdly.’
“I, I mean....... Hic. Hiccup.”
Oh no, I started hiccuping right away.......
Caligo’s gaze was still fixed straight on me.
I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them. The only way to get out of this situation was.......
“That’s right. I’m actually a doggy!”
......Yes. It was simply a matter of being honest.
I, the brave puppy Coco, can never tell a lie to a kitten.
Especially not to Caligo, who moved his shadows for my sake.
However, if Caligo hates me because he finds out I’m an animal, that can’t be helped.
According to Choco, there are many humans who hate animals.
So.......
I squared my shoulders to show that I wasn't nervous at all.
“It’s okay. If you hate me, Caligo, we don’t have to be close. I still like you, though.......”
I gave an awkward smile, as if it were fine even if Caligo disliked me.
But Caligo’s reaction was quite different from what I expected.
His earlobes turned red, and he averted his eyes.
“You... l-like me.......”
“Hmm?”
That’s not the important part.
Caligo—well, he just nodded with a strangely accepting expression.
“......Ah, anyway, I get it.”
“......Huh?”
“So you were a puppy. A puppy who is also human.”
That ended way too anticlimactically.......
Feeling puzzled instead, I tilted my head and looked at him.
“Caligo, why aren’t you asking me anything?”
“Actually, I am curious...... but I have no intention of asking things you don’t want to tell me.”
Then, with a stiff expression, Caligo added:
“......And being a puppy suits you well.”
“Huh?”
“Because you’re fast, nimble, kind, and warm, just like a puppy.”
I tilted my head back and forth.
“Our Coco is the cutest in the whole world.”
“Woof!”
“Our baby is the prettiest and most lovely in the whole world.”
Since I wasn't hearing any bad hallucinations right now, I really was a puppy with incredibly high self-esteem.
Like a puppy proudly holding its tail high, I thrust my chin up.
“You like puppies too, Caligo!”
At that moment, Caligo muttered softly.
“......Yeah.”
“How amazing!”
As I beamed with a wide smile, Caligo continued.
“So from now on, I’ll protect you. You see, I’m good at handling shadows and I can use a sword.”
Caligo reached out his hand.
I was about to grab his hand when I paused.
Did he practice or train hard during the short time I was unconscious?
His knuckles were red.
“Caligo, wait. Is your hand okay? It looks like it hurts.......”
“......Whatever, don’t look at it like that. It’s definitely not because I was heartbroken that you became like that and practiced swordsmanship.”
“Huh?”
“Wounds like this are nothing. If it feels too rough, you don’t have to shake hands.......”
“No! I was just worried it might hurt.”
I gently held Caligo’s hand so as not to hurt him and happily shook it.
“I look forward to being friends! Kitty!”
“......Just so you know, I don’t have the ability to turn into a cat.”
His expression still seemed somewhat prickly, but.
I just smiled brightly.
I must absolutely keep it a secret that on the day I first met Caligo, he looked like a kitten.
I grinned and waved his hand.
Caligo turned his gaze away and asked.
“So, is your body okay? Is there anything I can help with?”
My eyes sparkled.
“Hmm? Help?”
There was something.
Dealing with Dahlia Melomande, who keeps bullying my sister.
And giving Marquis Gillen Amadeus a piece of my mind.
To do that.......
“First, I have a piece of wood.”
“......A piece of wood?”
“Yeah, and here is what I’m going to do with it.......”
* * *
The next morning.
After waking up feeling refreshed for the first time in a while, I ran straight to my sister’s Aster House.
Then, I slammed down the piece of wood I had prepared with Caligo yesterday.
‘I’m so glad I’m human now. I could never have moved this when I was a puppy.’
Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I once again plopped the wooden sign down in front of my "grave."
“What are you doing there, Coco?”
Gasp, it’s sister’s voice.
I perked up my ears and looked at her.
Then, sister ran quickly toward me and hugged me tightly.
“Our baby, sleeping alone again yesterday.”
“Yup! We’ll sleep together today!”
As a scheming puppy, I let my eyes sparkle to secure my spot in sister’s bed tonight.
Sister nodded and whispered to me.
“Yes, yes. Our baby has wood on her hands, shall we go wash them quickly?”
“There’s no wood on me. Wood isn’t something that gets ‘on’ you in the first place.”
“How can you be so smart? Our baby is like a genius dog.”
“I’m a person now.......”
“Our baby is like a genius.”
While held in sister’s arms, I dangled my feet and pointed to the sign.
“Sister, then look at the sign!”
I showed her the sign I had worked so hard on and grinned.
[ BEWARE OF DOG !
If you touch (Sissy)
I BITE!]
It meant that I would give anyone a hard time if they bullied my sister from now on.
Standing there with my shoulders squared in a confident and proud expression, I suddenly tilted my head.
‘Wait, why is the spelling like this?’
I definitely spent last night carving the wood with Caligo and practicing really hard.
I had written ‘Beware of Dog. I will bite if you touch my sister’ in a very cool and dignified font.
‘A-And what are those teeth next to it?’
There were puppy teeth drawn next to ‘touch’!
This can't be. I didn't draw a single thing because I wanted to look very dignified.
I heard a giggling sound from beside me.
I could hear the maids whispering, “Oh my, she’s too cute. She must really love Lady Chloe.”
Do they think I’ll like being called cute?
I do like it. But.......
‘It feels like everyone is laughing at me!’
With my face flushing red, I stared blankly at the sign.
Who on earth is the culprit who changed the spelling to be so weird?
Come to think of it, last night.
I remembered the conversation I had with the Emperor of Mouse inside the bed.
“What a fool puppy who doesn't even know spelling!”
“Muuu......?”
“I shall fix it for you. Hehehe.”
While I was yawning and rubbing my eyes in bed, feeling sleepy.
He had moved his hands all over the place, saying he would fix it for me......!
“G-Grrr.......”
That brat, it’s definitely him! You stupid mouse!
But if it’s like this, I look like a fool puppy who doesn't know a single thing about spelling!
Just like the proverb ‘Even an Academy puppy can write after three years,’ I know how to spell everything correctly.
Just as my eyes were beginning to well up from the unfairness.
I saw that the corners of sister’s eyes had turned red.
‘Gasp. Is sister upset?’
I felt as if my non-existent tail had dropped flat to the floor.
Is it because the sign lacks dignity?
What do I do.
Sister must hate my sign.......
But right then.
Sister hugged me tight and whispered.
“Our Coco. Did you make this for me? I’m truly so touched.......”
Thank goodness! She doesn't hate it!
I nodded my head vigorously.
“Yup! I made it to punish everyone who bullies you!”
Looking at the crookedly written sign, sister’s eyes instantly turned red.
I tilted my head.
“Sissy?”
“To even put up a sign like this. Our baby.......”
“.......”
“How can you be so smart? Hmm? With these tiny hands. Wasn't it hard to bring it here?”
“Nope! I’m totally fine! So sister, if anyone bullies you, tell me!”
“Our Coco is protecting me; I really have no regrets even if I die now.”
At those words, my eyes grew incredibly wide.
“Sister, you absolutely cannot die!”
“Yes. With our Coco here, I can never die. I’ll even crawl back from hell.”
“Uhhh.......”
I paused, seeing the madness in sister’s eyes.
“Even if I go to the demon realm, I’ll tear into some magical beast meat and survive to come back.......”
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