8
Episode 8
* * *
……Shuffle, shuffle, on the way back to the detached house where I stayed with my sister.
I recalled the conversation with my sister.
"Well, there's a condition."
"Huk, what's the condition...?"
"Don't call me 'sister.' It doesn't matter whether you're adopted into our family or not."
"……."
"You're not my sister. I only acknowledge one person as my family."
"……."
"So, even if you come to my detached house, don't bother me. If you do come, disappear quickly."
Until the maid greeted me with an 'I knew it' expression, and I took off my shoes and went onto the bed to lie down quietly.
I kept replaying the meeting with my sister.
'My sister still doesn't recognize me.'
But it's okay.
I expected her not to recognize me anyway.
'I'm just worried that my sister is lonely.'
Today, my sister smelled strongly of loneliness.
With affectionate feelings, I lay down bravely.
But I couldn't fall asleep at all.
"It's all because this bed is so hard!"
I used to sleep on a fluffy bed, next to my sister, snoring softly.
I turned my head and looked at the empty space beside me.
'There's no fluffy bed, no soft sister, nothing…….'
Only then did the reality sink in.
For some reason, my body trembled and I felt cold.
I hugged the blanket tightly, my teeth chattering.
"But, I'm okay."
When I was a stray dog, I often slept alone on the cold ground.
Sometimes people spat at me.
Sometimes wild animals tried to swallow me whole.
So, you know.
The reason I'm shivering now is just because a little bit of cold wind is seeping into my heart.
I buried my face in the pillowcase.
There was a salty smell around my eyes, but I tried hard to hold back.
Because I have to go see my sister again tomorrow.
I tried to think of the good things.
'I haven't been banned from my sister's house, so I can keep seeing her.'
I brought flowers to my sister and let her meet the warm sunlight.
'I really have to cheer up.'
So I can definitely become friends with my sister again, and make her face bloom with happy smiles.
I closed my eyes tightly again.
That's how the whole night passed.
* * *
The next morning.
I had finished preparing to go play at my sister's Seahawk Manor.
Then, I was attacked by a swarm of mice.
"Huk! W-w-where did all these mice come from?"
Among them, a mouse with pure white fur ran towards me.
"I saw you at Seahawk Manor yesterday! Amazing human! H-h-how did you do it! You did something incredibly amazing!"
The mouse's tail tapped on my pajamas.
"Huh? What's so amazing?"
"The owner of that gloomy house let you into the manor!"
"Yeah, she did……."
"How did you win over that terrifying, fearsome mistress who controls the darkness!"
"Win over? You bad mouse! Is my sister a sweet potato?"
"That's not what I mean……. How did you become friends with her!"
I fed the mouse the cheese that came out for breakfast and muttered gloomily.
"No. We're not friends at all yet. My sister told me not to stand out. She told me not to call her 'sister,' and not to bother her……."
"What are you talking about? Anyway, she allowed you to come, right? You're the only kid who's ever entered that gloomy manor!"
"……Oong?"
"Our mouse clan suspects that you're going to cause a stir in the manor!"
My lips turned up at those words.
'Hehet, I'm the best for my sister after all!'
I shook my head as if wagging my tail, and the mouse muttered.
"But, you know, it doesn't look like that mistress is planning to meet you today. She locked the door from the morning."
"Tch……."
"But you should understand. That mistress is pitiful too."
"……Why?"
"The maids are isolating the mistress and stuffing all the money into their own pockets. But your sister doesn't seem to care about that."
I pondered.
Come to think of it, the dress I glimpsed on my sister yesterday was old.
There was a lot of grass stain on the hem of her skirt.
A problem that my sister didn't seem to care about.
But for some reason, I felt upset.
'My sister is the most sparkling person in the world.'
She's not someone who should be treated like that.
I clenched my fist tightly.
"I'm going to punish those maids!"
At that moment, the mouse who glanced at me clenching my fist said.
"How are you going to punish them?"
"That's……."
The current me is a foolish child on the verge of being kicked out.
And is it because I was rejected by my sister?
Or is it because I suddenly became depressed?
Yesterday, I was a sparkling puppy who could spout famous quotes, but today I could only think about sweet potatoes.
Then, the mouse solemnly tapped its tail on the floor.
"That's why I came to help you, that's what I'm saying."
"Huh? You?"
"Actually, this mouse received a mission from the Dog God and came to find you."
"Huk, Dog God! Why didn't you come yourself and sent a mouse……?"
"Well, it's because I'm a great mouse. Anyway, close your eyes. The time has come for the Dog God to show you the future!"
That's right!
Come to think of it, the Dog God said that!
"You who will become a human will need good abilities. ……Secondly, the ability to see the future."
"Woah! Dog God is the best! Showing me the future!"
Even though you promised to make me my sister's sibling, you drove me to the brink of being disowned!
'Dog God is the best after all!'
I raised my forepaw, no, my hand, into the air and said.
"I'm ready!"
Before I knew it, a pure white light was wriggling in front of my eyes.
Thousands, tens of thousands of letters flowed into my head.
It was as if the future was flowing into my head in the form of a book.
After several tens of minutes.
I was able to see all the futures.
And, tears welled up in my eyes.
The mouse tapped its tail and asked anxiously.
"Why, why are you crying? Like a puppy!"
"I am a puppy……."
"……W-w-well, anyway. How was it? The future."
"It's very, very bad."
Theresia is abused by her stepmother, Lucrezia, and her stepsister, Theresia.
Then, she is falsely accused of causing the runaway of Duke Ardos's sick youngest sibling who came to the manor for treatment, and is kicked out of the family.
But Theresia never defended herself.
I try to protect Theresia, but it always fails.
I go through all sorts of difficulties to protect Theresia and get adopted into the family.
But I couldn't save Theresia who was in despair.
Because Theresia chose death by a hair's breadth.
In the countless futures, all I saw was despair.
But when I saw the last future.
The voices of my dog friends brushed through my head.
"Coco, you can change the future! That's what our brave dogs are for!"
"Our Cherry, Cookie, Barbie, Lucky, Happy, and Leo dogs will cheer you on!"
"Live happily with your sister and come back again!"
Yes, that's right.
I shouted bravely.
"I can change the future! I just set a goal!"
In the future I saw, my sister became unhappy because I buttoned the first button wrong, but this time it's different.
I will definitely become friends with my sister. I will protect her so that she can live happily.
'The people who are bothering my sister the most at this point are her stepmother, Lucrezia, and her stepsister Theresia.'
I couldn't do anything about those people right away.
But I could get rid of the nasty guys who were undermining my sister's will to live.
'Those bad guys who make my sister wear old clothes and spread strange rumors.'
I'm talking about the head maid and the maids Lucrezia sent.
"You, after seeing the future, suddenly, your eyes have become very sharp……."
Well, it's because I decided not to be frustrated!
"I'm going to get rid of those rotten sweet potato-like humans!"
Me, the scheming dog Coco.
Whether I'm a dog or a human.
I become very, very smart when it comes to my sister's affairs.
'Those guys definitely have weaknesses.'
That is…….
I clenched my fist tightly.
"Mouse."
"Huh?"
"Hey, should I give you two pieces of cheese?"
The mouse tapped its tail and said solemnly.
"Hehehe, do you need the power of this great 'Emperor of Mice'?"
What is that…….