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IBP 185
Epilogue 2
......And so, a week passed!
I was achieving the feat of taking down one bad guy every single day. Maybe I'm actually quite smart! Just as I was thinking that......!
“Woof! Woof!”
“Cra-crazy. Why is this dog so fast? Is it using some kind of teleportation art?!”
......I gave a big chomp to the leg of that robber who was saying such mean things!
Then, I went back to the guard house to eat plenty of sweet potatoes and be pampered.......
“Coco!”
“Mung?”
Suddenly, my sister appeared, opening the door to the guard house!
As she brushed off my body, which had turned grey with dust from rolling around on the floor, she spoke sternly.
“Coco, you cute little troublemaker.”
“Mung!”
I am cute Coco.
But I'm not a troublemaker Coco!
To prove I wasn't a troublemaker, I perked up my ears, and sister let out a small chuckle.
“Our Coco, do you like working at the guard house?”
“Woong?”
Sister Chloe gazed at me for a moment and then scooped me up in a tight hug.
On my sturdy legs, which were small but strong compared to her hands, there was a bright yellow, chick-colored armband.
Written on it was [Imperial Animal Patrol Bureau].
“Mung......?”
Wondering what this was, I tapped the armband with my paw, and Sister Chloe spoke.
“I had an audience with His Majesty the Emperor so that our Coco could do whatever she wants.”
“Mung......!”
“When I told him about Coco, he liked the idea very much and said he wanted to entrust the Animal Patrol Bureau to the divine beast, Lady Coco.”
“.......”
“It breaks my heart to make my baby work, but shouldn't there be a legal working environment and fair compensation?”
“Fair compensation......?”
Sister handed me a large piece of paper.
On it were things like appointing me as the lord of a certain territory, transferring most of the jewelry boxes owned by the previous Emperor, and mobilizing all police force personnel in case of emergency......!
‘Isn't this... a bit too much......?’
......I thought so, but I grew frightened when sister muttered gloomily, “It was too lacking because I prepared it in such a rush.”
So, I couldn't possibly stop her.
While I was left blinking in confusion, sister lifted me up.
“Now then, our Coco, let's go!”
In a daze, I was carried by sister toward the area next to the guard house.
The vacant lot next to the guard house, which had certainly been an empty field.
A wonderful house had appeared there. The house, made of modest red bricks, looked very sturdy.
Above all, on the shelf visible upon opening the front door.......
‘Wow! So many sweet potatoes!’
I became incredibly excited seeing the frisbee, a ball perfect for biting, and the sweet potatoes placed on the shelf.
Sister, sensing my heart faster than a ghost, grinned.
“Coco, are you excited?”
“Mung!”
“Sister also brought Coco's friends! You'll be even more excited, right?”
I wondered what she meant, but then......!
Puppies appeared around sister, as if they had come from nowhere.
Ten brave puppy friends stood in pairs in the middle of the living room.
Uniquely, on their left front legs, they wore bright yellow armbands that read [Imperial Animal Patrol Bureau].
“They're Coco's subordinates—no, friends to work with Coco.”
* * *
And so, in a whirlwind, I wore a bright yellow armband on my left front leg.
Full of excitement, I zoomed all over the capital, sister's territory, and every alleyway.
I rescued kidnapped children, caught petty criminals, and gave a good thrashing to those carrying weapons with my own strength!
But it was truly strange.
The harder I worked, the more good things happened.
One evening, while chewing on jerky sent as a thank-you by the parents of a child I had safely rescued.
I was checking the health status of the puppies lined up in formation.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten...... Are all the doggies healthy and doing well?”
“Yes!”
“That is correct-woof!”
“Hehe, then let's head home from work!”
Just as I transformed back into a human and was about to take the puppies home in a carriage.
One puppy ran toward me, wagging its tail.
“Um, Lady Coco.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
A dog with mottled brown and white fur.
A puppy from the puppy den who caught petty criminals more bravely than anyone.
He had told me he had no name and asked to be called 'No-Name'...... but he was now wearing a wonderful name tag dangling from his neck that hadn't been there until a moment ago.
“What's that name tag? Mimi?”
“I think... I'm getting a family.”
“Hmm?”
“The little child I re-rescued earlier. They said they liked how I scolded the bad guys. So they want to adopt me, and they gave me a name.”
......The puppy got a family, and a name, ‘Mimi.’
Just like I went from ‘Arreureu’ to ‘Coco.’
Feeling my heart thumping wildly, I beamed with a wide smile.
“Really? That's so, so wonderful!”
“B-but, what should I do since I'm suddenly leaving? Our Patrol Bureau might be short-handed on puppy paws.”
“Huh? No way! I'm actually really happy! You can just come visit again!”
I smiled brightly and patted No-Name's—no, Mimi's—head.
“Mimi, where is your family?”
At that, Mimi nudged the door open with a front paw.
Outside the door, a five-year-old child appeared, as if they had already been waiting for Mimi.
“Divine Beast! Mimi!”
“Hello, please take good care of Mimi from now on. Be sure to cherish her and give her only love.”
Because our puppies were born unable to do anything but love humans blindly.......
At my words, the small boy nodded vigorously.
Under the sunset, the boy, his parents, and the puppy who was now Mimi ran off laughing.
“This is even happier than I imagined......!”
Instead of attending school like others, I began doing what I wanted to do together with my animal friends.
Twelve years old.
That is how I was growing, little by little.
*
Fifteen Years Old, Coco's Letters
[The first letter sent to Caligo by thirteen-year-old Coco.
Hi, Caligo!
It feels strange to be writing a letter like this.
Caligo, how is the Grand Duke Rivera's territory?
I heard it's incredibly cold; are you riding things like snow sleds?
I miss you!]
She hadn't meant for him to actually come, but at the mere mention of missing him, Caligo arrived at the Duke Ardos's estate.
She heard that he had used a teleport scroll to arrive there instantly. He then stayed for over a week before returning.
Thus began an exchange of letters that spanned every season.
[The tenth letter sent to Caligo by fourteen-year-old Coco.
Hi, Caligo.
I heard the news that you've turned nineteen, reached adulthood, and are boarding a ship.
You're becoming a sailor?
I heard there are no ranks at sea and you can't use supernatural abilities.
That sounds incredibly dangerous.
Caligo, do you really have to become a sailor?
You said you had to become stronger to stay by my side, to become someone fitting for a divine beast.
What on earth does that mean?
Coco just likes Caligo.
Is that not enough?
You said, 'There are no shadows on the sea. That's why I'm going to become truly strong, without the shadow ability I possess.'
To be honest, I don't really understand what that means.
But if Caligo is going, I'll cheer you—
...No, I can't cheer for you.
Can't you just not go?
I heard that once you board a ship, it takes three years to return...
And I heard you get terribly seasick.
Since you're joining the military, I heard you can't even come back in the middle because it would be desertion!
...Does that mean we can't see each other for three whole years?
Do you think you won't miss Coco, Caligo?]
The letter, filled with rambling complaints, was ultimately never sent.
The paper was riddled with holes from where she had scrubbed away the traces of tears.
The sighs she let out over it had now become layers of growth rings in her memories.
[The twenty-first letter sent to Caligo by fourteen-year-old Coco.
Caligo! Are you doing well?
I heard that because of military secrets, I need permission to set coordinates for the ship to teleport...
...And besides, I heard Caligo told me not to come?
Coco is a little disappointed.
But since you said you'd accept letters, I'm going to write a lot.
You have to read it all and reply.
You know, Caligo!
Jjek-jjeki said he would deliver this letter!
Jjek-jjeki is a very cool bird who can fly over the ocean.
Um, um.
There are so many other things I want to ask...
How is it on the ship? Have you seen many octopuses and sharks?
You're stronger than a shark now, right?
Then isn't it about time for you to come back?
You know, Caligo.
My sister and the Grand Duke are finally getting married!
Sister says she doesn't put much meaning into marriage, but the Grand Duke is so funny.
Even though he's the groom, he tried to wear a corsage on his head!
It was so funny I thought my belly button was going to fall out!
Caligo should have seen that!
You know, Caligo.
Still...
You'll come to the wedding, right?]
Even when Chloe and Grand Duke Rivera pledged their lifelong vows, Caligo did not come.
On top of missing her sister's wedding, there was the sad news that she wouldn't be able to see Caligo.
People comforted her, saying it would be awkward to face a Caligo who had gone from having fluffy, puppy-like blonde hair to a buzz cut, and that it would be better to see him later.
But she couldn't help the loneliness in her heart.
Coco had struggled to hold back her tears even while serving as a flower girl for her sister.
[You know, Caligo.
But when we meet again, we can be close friends like before, right?
I want to see Caligo soon.
Oh, and I have something to brag about.
Coco's spelling is really good, right? I'm almost an adult now.
Hmm, you can admire me a lot!]
Letters became a wonderful tool for conveying her heart.
When her sister finished the wedding in a rush and returned to the territory, she wrote letters to both her sister and Caligo.
[You know, Caligo.
Actually, can I tell you something a bit embarrassing?
I cried my eyes out thinking Sister was leaving the Duke Ardos's territory. But she said she wasn't! She said she'd be with me for a long, long time. It made me feel so happy!
But I'm sad again because I can't see Caligo...
Lately, I think about the things Caligo told me before every single day.
Caligo, do you remember what you said before you became a sailor?
You said there are fewer shadows on the sea.
I still don't know what that means.
What does it mean?]
And the reply that took a full month to return read as follows:
[Coco, it's me, Caligo.
Are you doing well?
You still remembered me saying that shadows don't fall on the sea.
...It was a childish thought from my youth; I feel embarrassed that Coco remembers it.
But Coco.
About that... I take it back.
I think I understand now that I've lived a life at sea.
These days, when I look at the ocean from the ship I'm on for reconnaissance, my shadow often falls upon it.
In those moments, the fact that it is a shadow and not you by my side hits me with overwhelming force.
Sometimes I become so piercingly lonely that I find myself talking to that shadow.
...But well, this kind of talk is boring, isn't it?
I just miss you a lot, Coco.
I'll come back after becoming stronger.
So that I can become someone who suits you more than anyone else.]
Passing through the dawns of exchanging letters with Caligo every day...
Finally, I turned seventeen.
The day people in the world call the 'debutante.'
To be more precise, the day I would be recognized as an 'adult' by the age of this world had arrived.
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