LIGHT NOVEL
LIGHT NOVEL
— Tisli’s perspective —
Having finished my first meeting with Alde’s parents and Yuinas, I was waiting at the entrance of the Rama house for Alde to come.
The plan was for him to show me around the village, and since he’d also take the family dog, Shiba, along for a walk, Alde was still inside getting ready for that.
So I was waiting for Alde in the shade of a tree growing in the yard, when Shiba came over.
“Huff, huff, huff, huff.”
For some reason, Shiba looked up at me with eyes full of expectation.
Could this one possibly understand that a walk is coming…?
But I’ve never heard of a dog understanding human speech…
Back when I was the princess, the only animals around me were horses, but in my case I used teleportation magic wherever I went, so I had no contact with horses—let alone the stable hands and trainers employed at the royal castle.
Some among the nobility kept cats and dogs, but even when I visited their manors for parties and the like, they never brought their pets near me, lest there be any mishap.
So I’m not well versed in the ways of dogs… but precisely because of that, my interest was piqued, and I crouched down before Shiba.
“Do you understand that a walk is coming?”
“Huff, huff, huff, huff!”
When I spoke to him, Shiba began wagging his straight-up tail furiously. His face looked as if to say, “Let’s go already!”
“Alde’s getting your leash and such ready right now, so please wait just a little longer.”
“Huff, huff, huff, huff?”
I tried explaining why we couldn’t leave yet, but Shiba tilted his head. His face plainly held a question.
It seems he can’t understand once the conversation gets complex, but… still, to convey that he doesn’t understand by tilting his head.
Surely he understands human speech to some degree, don’t you think?
So I tried expressing it simply, in single words.
“A walk, a walk.”
“Ruff-ruff!”
“But wait a little—stay.”
“Whine~… whiiine~…”
“Hm… I see…”
It seems he does understand single words.
I don’t think he truly understands the meaning of the words, but the sound and ring of the words seem to be linked to his past memories.
For instance—
“Walk” → “memory of going out” → “happy.”
“Stay” → “memory of not getting to go out” → “sad.”
—something like that.
I’ve heard that animals communicate through their cries, so to a dog, perhaps our words sound like cries, and their ring evokes emotions.
“In any case… you’re quite remarkable.”
As I said this and stroked Shiba’s head, he narrowed his eyes happily.
Shiba let himself be petted contentedly for a while, but then he suddenly turned his face from me and ran off to the back of the yard.
“……………?”
Not understanding why he’d run off, I followed Shiba’s retreating form with my eyes, and soon Shiba came back holding a fist-sized ball in his mouth.
“Hmf, hmf, hmf, hmf…!”
And then, still holding the ball in his mouth, he held it out to me.
“Does this mean you’re giving it to me?”
When I held out my hand, Shiba dropped the ball into it.
And then he looked at me with eyes full of expectation.
“Um…?”
But I couldn’t quite grasp Shiba’s intent. At me, Shiba—apparently growing impatient—started spinning around, going “Ruff! Ruff!”
“Ah… could it be you want me to throw it?”
Shiba is a hunting hound at heart, so perhaps he has an urge to pounce on moving things. Thinking that, I threw the ball.
At that, Shiba shot off, and the moment he’d picked up the ball, he was back at my side in a flash.
“Amazing. You’re amazing, Shiba. What a clever boy.”
When I praised him for fetching the ball and stroked his body with both hands, Shiba barked happily, “Ruff-ruff!”
“Here it goes again~”
“Ruff-ruff!”
“What a good boy~! Shiba, could you be a genius too?”
“Ruff-ruff!”
“Heeere it goes, one more tiime~”
“Ruff-ruff!”
“Good boy, good boy!”
“Ruff-ruff!”
“Wah. I’ve got makeup on today, so no licking, all right?”
“Ruff-ruff!”
“If you do that, I’ll tickle you, you know? There, there, there, there—”
As I was unwittingly frolicking with Shiba like that.
Standing at the entrance, dumbstruck, was Alde—and he came into my view…!
* * *
— Alde’s perspective —
“Heey, Mom. There’s no leash at the entrance, you know?”
“Oh, I put the leash away in the cupboard in the bathroom.”
“Which cupboard?”
“The cupboard at the right end of the changing room. And not just the leash—take water along too. It’s been getting hot lately, so you’ll need to give Shiba water along the way.”
“Then where’s the flask and the bowl?”
Like that, I got held up preparing for the walk.
When you’ve been away from home for over a year, the places things are kept end up changing, huh.
And so, hurriedly stuffing the things needed for the walk into a knapsack and stepping out the front door—there was Tisli, frolicking with Shiba.
“……………”
Watching Tisli playing with Shiba, an indescribable feeling came over me, and I found myself rooted to the spot.
Because Tisli romping with Shiba was, how to say… like a pure, innocent child…
As someone who’d been on the receiving end of her cold glares plenty, I was so astonished that she could even make such a carefree smile, I forgot myself.
So I forgot even to call out to Tisli, captivated by the sight, but after a while, Tisli noticed me.
“A-Alde…?!”
Crouched and ruffling Shiba all over, Tisli hurriedly stood up.
“Wh-wh-what is it?! Standing there in a daze!”
“Huh? Ah, yeah…”
For some reason Tisli flushed and tucked her slightly mussed hair behind her ear as she spoke. Her earlobe was red, too.
I didn’t know why she was flustered, but to Tisli, who was looking away, I said,
“No, it’s just, you were frolicking so innocently…”
“I-I was not frolicking?!”
“No, you were ruffling Shiba all over going ‘There, there, there, there—!’—you were totally frolicking.”
“I-I-I did no such thing!”
Hmm……………?
I tilted my head for a moment, then it suddenly hit me why Tisli had gone bright red.
“Ah, could it be you’re embarrassed at being seen frolicking like a child?”
“Like I said! I was not behaving like a child?!”
“True, it was a rare sight for you, though.”
“Are you even listening to me?!”
“Well, what’s the harm? Everyone turns into a fool in front of a pup.”
“I did not?!”
“Yeah, yeah, all right. You didn’t, you didn’t.”
Since Tisli stubbornly kept denying it, I decided to just play along, and started clipping the leash onto Shiba, who seemed utterly unconcerned.
Still…
How to put it…
I thought, as I clipped on Shiba’s leash.
Tisli frolicking with Shiba had really made quite a picture, or something.
Like a scene from a painting hung in a church, or something…
Well, but saying that to Tisli would only make her angry.
“Listen here, Alde?! You are to forget what you just saw, utterly and completely?! Is that clear?!”
“You said you weren’t frolicking, so what is it you want me to forget?”
“Th-that’s……………! Just forget it, whatever it is!”
“Yeah, yeah. Got it. I’ll forget, I’ll forget.”
“You’ve got no intention of forgetting, with that tone?!”
Well, for my part too…
I didn’t much want her to know that I’d been captivated by her, after all.
And so, brushing off the squawking Tisli, I set off on Shiba’s walk.
(To be continued—)
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