Chapter 17
17
Chapter 4. No Problem, Right? (2)
"Name?"
"Yeah, a name. We decided to raise it, so we need to give it a name."
"Why do I have to do that?"
I tilted my head. Ah, this big head. It feels like I'll lose my balance with just a slight tilt.
Mother looked quite taken aback.
"So, can I give it a name?"
"Huh?"
"Huuuh?"
We're speaking the same language, right, Mother...?
I thought Mother had misunderstood me, so I quickly added,
"But, doesn't it already have a name?"
It wouldn't be like a newborn baby, as far as I could see. I thought that was very cool, but my parents seemed to think differently.
"I wanna be with it, but just, 'cause it's cute, I just hope it doesn't hurt, and I just wanted to help it..."
"Oh dear, we made a mistake..."
"You can send it back when it's all better. Someone might be waiting for it."
If it has a place to return to, it's better to go back.
I wanted to help the puppy, not confine it.
"Our Shana... you're not greedy? You said you didn't need a knight either."
No, the subject is a person. How can you have a person?
"I wanna be rich, though?"
I'm not without greed.
"Shana is already rich. Dad has a lot of money! I'll give it all to Shana."
"Mom has a lot too. Of course, it's Shana's."
Seeing them confidently say they were rich, they must have a lot of assets. A model daughter might say, "That's your money, not mine! I'll forge my own path!" but...
There's no need to refuse what they're offering, right?
Of course, it would be best if my parents lived with me for a long, long time. It's nice that they're giving me assets, but I don't want it if it's an inheritance.
"I wanna be rich, but it's okay if I have Mom and Dad."
"Shana."
"Shana..."
I firmly told my parents, who were getting teary-eyed and trying to hug me, "No." Too much hugging in our house.
"The puppy seems fine now that Shana has healed it."
"Ah."
"Then we can send it back right away, huh?"
"...Th-that's not true."
Let me smell its cuteness a little longer.
Mother and Father's expressions turned sly. Their faces were full of the intention to tease me, which was very annoying, but I knew their intentions all too well...
'I can't pretend to be strong... I'm sad.'
I want to be with it a little longer.
"Huh? Didn't Shana say we could send the puppy back when it's all better?"
"Did Shana say that?"
"U-uuu, uu..."
These people, really.
"Then we should send it back right away. Should I wake the puppy up?"
"No! No way! It's, it's cold..."
"Puppies have fur, so they don't get as cold as people do. You shouldn't think of Shifters based on human standards."
"...Ugh..."
"And it might be easier for it to move around at night than during the day."
"Ugh..."
I found the puppy at midday when I went out for a walk after lunch. I took a nap and finished dinner.
The winter sun set early, and I was looking at the puppy while spending time with my parents before going to bed.
Surely they weren't going to send it away without even keeping it for one night?
"Since Shana said we should send it back, should we put it near the fence where it can come and go easily? Here, give it to me."
"No! Ugh, seriously! Mom is so mean!"
Is teasing me that fun!
Because I said it myself, I couldn't retract it right away, and I didn't have time to think about what excuse would work better. In the end, I just whined at the teasing that poured out.
At times like this, I feel like my mind is following my body.
If I were an adult, I could have handled it more calmly. I could have said I was just pretending to be strong for a moment, or I could have honestly said I was sad and wanted to be with it a little longer.
More than that, I wouldn't have really gotten angry at such childish teasing...
But just as a young spirit dwells in a young body, a young brain occasionally stirred up my emotions like this.
'Even that is unfair and upsetting...'
Give me back the reason and patience that allowed me to endure even after four years of overwork until I collapsed...
I covered my eyes with my hands and shook my shoulders.
"Waaah, waaaah..."
"Gasp, Shana."
"Were we too harsh?"
Hmph.
"I'm not crying."
"...My daughter is so brave..."
Mother muttered with complex emotions. If I weren't her daughter, she might have punched me.
"But teasing is bad."
"I'm sorry, Shana. It's because Shana is so cute."
Mother apologized readily.
What does that make me?
"Since Mom and Dad were bad, I'm gonna sleep with it today."
"Ah, that's..."
"It's not dangerous."
I put my foot down with Father, who was hesitating.
"Look at it! Look at it lying on its back with its belly full, drooling."
"..."
"What's dangerous about it?"
If it's dangerous, then nothing in the world is safe...
My active persuasion, a little guilt, and the puppy's overly pathetic appearance combined, and my parents decided to back down.
'Okay, Shana. You can't take this off your body.'
'What is it?'
'Yeah, this...'
Mother gave me a necklace before I went to bed. She told me so earnestly that I wondered if it was something magical, so I asked.
'It's nothing special.'
She gave me a very subtle answer.
What is it? It's even more suspicious because she says it's nothing special.
It was a simple necklace with a sparkling blue stone. The chain seemed to be made of gold, and it was short, as if it was made for a young child like me. If it was too long, it could get wrapped around my neck while I was sleeping.
"It's pretty, but..."
It's ordinary?
It was a necklace that could be sold in the downtown area of my previous life.
"Oh my, Lady Shana. What is that?"
Maria asked.
"Yeah, Mom gave it to me."
"May I take a look?"
"Yeah. But I can't take it off..."
I haven't been able to take it off since Mother put it on my neck. Maria skillfully bent down and stared intently at the necklace.
Maria is so flexible.
"This is... As expected of the Duchess..."
"What is it? Is it good?"
"It's not just good. It's a very, very precious item."
Maria used both arms to exaggerate as much as possible.
"It just looks like a stone?"
It's not even a jewel.
"It is a stone, but it's a magic tool with several layers of protection magic on it. You could name your price for it."
"..."
"You could easily buy several castles."
Several castles... are around my neck right now...?
Suddenly, the necklace felt heavy, as if my neck would fall off.
I wanted to take it off right away because it was burdensome, but I couldn't take it off with my own will. Maria smiled slyly at me, who had a tearful face.
"Don't you like it? I guess a few castles aren't enough for a princess?"
"Don't tease me! It's burdensome..."
"What do you mean? If Lady Shana just asks the Duke, he'll buy you anything."
"I don't need it!"
"Haha. How frugal."
I don't need it, really.
"Don't worry about it and go to sleep. You were very tired today, right?"
"Yeah, no..."
"Which one is it?"
"It's true, but no..."
Maria laid me down and placed the cushion next to me where the puppy was lying. How small is it that it fits perfectly inside the cushion and is buried in it...?
'It's still not waking up.'
How tired was it? I feel like I should feed it something more soon, but should I not wake it up?
Maria's soft touch caressed my forehead.
"Oh my, your voice is dripping with sleepiness."
"It's time to sleep..."
Honestly, it was quite a tiring day.
Crying is really an incredibly exhausting thing. Especially since I cried a lot while thinking about Mina for the first time in a long time, I was more tired than I thought.
Even though I took a nap for almost two hours, my fatigue wasn't completely relieved, so after having dinner and arguing with my parents for a while, I almost fainted in the water when I took a bath.
But I! Overcame it!
"Puppy... pet it..."
"Yes, yes. Wake up tomorrow and play with it to your heart's content."
"Puppy..."
The hand that petted the puppy still had the feeling of soft fur, a body temperature warmer than a person's, and a squishy feeling.
The feeling that stuck to my fingertips was so addictive that I wanted to keep touching it.
My first addiction in my three years of life...
"Little one. Wake up."
"...Huh...?"
The voice that seeped into my sleep was low and soft.
"Are you awake?"
"Gasp?!"
I shot up. As soon as I realized it was a voice I had never heard before, goosebumps ran all over my body.
"It's hard to get a glimpse of your face."
"Wh-who..."
"Over here."
It was by the window. I couldn't tell who it was because it was buried in the darkness, but it was definitely a man. I looked around, but the puppy that should have been next to me was gone.
Where's Maria? Ella? Bailey? Where are Mother and Father...?
"It's dark, so you won't be able to see."
"Who are you!"
"You're energetic. You used to barely blink..."
"Huh?"
"Do you know how hard it was to get permission from the Duke and Duchess to come see your face? Even if I said it was to take my colleague, they wouldn't listen..."
When was that?
The man didn't give me a chance to speak and rambled on by himself. Just listening to his low, resonant voice, I thought he would be taciturn, but he was surprisingly talkative.
"You healed a Shifter."
"...Who are you...?"
"Why did you do that?"
Well...
"Because it was hurt."
What other reason do you need besides that?
Isn't that enough?
But who the heck are you?
