MTM 81

“Ha, ha…! Go away! Why, why are you following me?!”

Harto scrambled around, desperate to get away from the dog. He tried squeezing himself between pieces of furniture, but hesitated, afraid that something like a huge bug might crawl out from inside. Maybe he should’ve just stayed in that glass bottle instead. But when the dog started licking at the bottle from the inside, that plan went out the window too.

In the end, Harto was stuck playing tag with a dog. He ran as fast as he could, using several tentacles to propel himself, but it was no match for the animal’s quick movements.

“Ahhh… it caught me…”

The dog pounced, and Harto was instantly drenched in slobber. He liked dogs, but that affection only applied when watching them from afar or patting them gently by hand. This was on a whole different level.

“Hey… dog. You’re not, uh, planning to eat me, right…?”

Harto pitifully trembled. The dog tilted its head for a moment, stared at the squishy blob of slime, then suddenly clamped its mouth around him.

“Ah!”

It didn’t hurt, but the feeling of teeth brushing his surface made Harto scream on instinct. However, the dog didn’t seem bothered at all. It carried him away in its mouth, padding slowly toward somewhere under the stairs, where a cushion sat tucked in a cozy little nook.

It must’ve been the dog’s private den. The animal dropped Harto onto the cushion, then curled its large body around him. A wave of warmth spread from the creature’s high body temperature.

“Y-you’re… going to sleep?”

When Harto asked timidly, the dog whined and sniffed him. After a moment, it stuck out its tongue and licked his cheek. The wet, heavy tongue wasn’t rough like a cat’s, but the layer of drool left behind was unpleasant all the same.

‘Zed’s arms were warmer… and he smelled a lot nicer too.’

Thinking of Zed made Harto turn gloomy.

“Fine, fine… I’m tired. I’ll sleep a little too…”

Muttering weakly, he blinked a few times. If someone came, he could always hide. With that thought, Harto slowly drifted off to sleep in the dog’s embrace.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

“Mmm…”

He didn’t know how long he’d slept. Harto opened his eyes, resting comfortably in the warmth that surrounded him. It didn’t feel like much time had passed, but his body felt lighter, his mind clearer.

‘I only slept, but it feels like I’ve recovered. Maybe I can even use my ability again?’

He lifted his hand.

Fwoosh.

A tiny flame flickered to life. The small orb of fire brightened the dim space, making Harto smile.

“Thanks. I got a good rest because of you.”

The dog still had its eyes closed, but one ear twitched slightly. Seeing that, Harto was sure his words had reached it. Maybe the dog had really wanted to give him a bit of peace, even for a short while.

He carefully slipped out of the dog’s nest. When he noticed the water bowl beside the stairs was empty, he filled it to the brim. Just as he was about to crawl away again, his stomach growled loudly.

“Ugh…”

He hadn’t eaten in over a day. His eyes lingered on the dog food for a moment, but he quickly shook his head.

Before looking for a way out, Harto decided to check the kitchen. The house was big and confusing, and after following narrow hallways and weaving through turns, he finally found the kitchen at the far east end of the first floor.

Tick—tock—tick—.

As soon as he stepped inside, the sound of the grandfather clock echoed through the house. From the clock’s hands, it looked like dawn was close.

He rummaged through cupboards and pots until he found half an ear of corn and some stale bread. It wasn’t much, but he tore off a few kernels and chewed them, then took a bite of bread. It barely filled him, but he no longer felt like he was starving.

He felt guilty for stealing someone else’s food, so he filled the cups and bowls on the table with water.

“Squeak!”

A sudden noise made him turn his head. A tiny, fluffy baby mouse was watching him, nose twitching.

“Are you hungry? Want some?”

Harto tore off a small piece of bread and held it out. The baby mouse ran forward and snatched it away.

“Whoa, fast… Huh?”

“Squeak!”

“Squeak squeak!”

In an instant, there were three baby mice. Seeing how desperate they were, Harto felt sorry for them and split half of the bread, offering it to them. The tiny mice clung to the food and gnawed it quickly.

He was about to bring them a bowl of water when,

Creak.

The sound of the kitchen’s back door opening startled the mice. They scattered in every direction, running into dark corners. Harto quickly shrank himself down and slipped into the shadows.

Moments later, a candle flickered to life in the kitchen. In the gentle light stood an older woman holding a candlestick. From the way she washed her hands at the sink and tied on an apron, she seemed to be the lady of the house, likely Reina’s maternal aunt.

She began taking dishes down from the shelves and wiping them clean with a cloth.

“…What a nuisance.”

At the low voice, Harto turned his head. From somewhere beyond the candlelight came a man’s rough, husky voice.

“Just barging in and asking to stay a few days… Neither the mother nor the daughter has any sense of shame.”

Grumbling, the man stepped into the kitchen and dropped himself into a chair at the table.

“I guess she takes after her mother. She grew up pretty, at least.”

“At that age, it’d be strange if she weren’t.”

The two shared a dry laugh. Then the woman bent slightly and asked,

“So, the things you got, did you check them?”

“They say the gold is real.”

“Oh ho, so Reina’s finally good for something. I’ll go to the pawnshop as soon as the sun’s up.”

“Wait. You saw the boy who came with her, right? The way he looked, he’s a rent boy if I ever saw one. Bet everything they gave us as a ‘gift’ was stolen. If those are real noble goods, selling them carelessly could get us in trouble.”

“Oh no… what should we do, then?”

The man rubbed his mustache with a thoughtful expression.

“Well… If we just say we didn’t receive this as a gift, that’s the end of it.”

The man who suggested a rather simple s olution was reluctant to leave Reina in this house.

“Then should I tell them to leave right away in the morning?”

“Tsk. That’d look suspicious. Better idea…”

He leaned close to the woman’s ear and whispered something, then cleared his throat.

“Reina, huh?”

“Yes. I heard the nobles from Regnovar are hosting a secret auction soon… and they’re looking for blondes.”

“Blondes? Wait, you mean the crown prince…”

“Shh! Don’t say that name out loud, even between us. Anyway… I might be able to ask the merchant master to put Reina up for sale at the auction.”

“And if she sells… how much would we get?”

When the woman asked, the man whispered another short answer in her ear. Her eyes went wide, and her face lit up in excitement.

“That’s wonderful…! We could make a fortune, enough for two people!”

“Two?”

“The boy you said looked like a rent boy, he’s blond too.”

“Ah, right, he is.”

The man smacked his lips, already calculating profits in his head.

“Then shouldn’t you go to the merchant master right now?”

“Ah, it’s already this late. Fine, get things ready. I’ll head out.”

“Alright.”

After checking the grandfather clock, the man threw on his coat and hat, opened the back door, and stepped out. The woman smiled and told him to be careful as he left.

‘No… it can’t be…’

Harto’s heart pounded as he listened, holding his breath.

Clack.

After seeing the man off, the woman returned to the kitchen and began putting away the dishes.

“What luck. Hope she fetches more than her mother did. Then we won’t have to worry about money for a while.”

She hummed cheerfully as she worked.

‘No way…’

Harto swallowed in disbelief. If he hadn’t misunderstood, they were planning to sell Reina and Ser to the merchant master for the auction.

“Squeak squeak.”

The baby mice appeared again in front of him. Still dazed, Harto tossed them all the bread he had left, then quietly slipped away from the kitchen.