Chapter 32: Mr. Dion’s Story

　I have to take home little Sophia who has fallen asleep.

　First, I prepared the cart. I laid a blanket on the back of the cart, laid Sophia down, and folded the blanket in half before covering her.

　I also changed into warmer clothes and wrapped myself and the whole cart in a ward before going outside.

“Shall we go?”

　The road has returned to its original bumpy state due to the heavy rain, but I'll give up on paving it tonight. Thanks to the barrier, it's not cold. I walk along the pitch-dark night streets with a cart in tow. The reality, which was unimaginable when I lived in downtown Tokyo, brought a loose laugh to my face.

(Grandma, I’m pulling a cart with a dog-beast child on it. What a surprise.)

　Many houses had already turned off their lights and the streets were dark. (I miss the moon!), I thought to myself as I pulled the cart.

　I don’t know where Sophia’s house is, but I continue down the street toward the river. I asked around where she lived. I must have walked for about 30 minutes. On the quiet night road, I hear the sound of light footsteps approaching me. There were several of them.

(Who?　How many are coming?)

　As expected, walking the streets at night in a district where I don't know anyone is scary. I concentrate my magical power in order to cast a water spell.

“Sophia!　Answer me!　Sophia!”

“Mr. Dion?　Is that Mr. Deon?　This way!”

　The sound of multiple footsteps gathered. Dion-san with a drawn look on his face, Karin-san half crying, and a middle-aged man I was seeing for the first time, is he her grandfather? I turned off the wards and waved my hand.

“Mai-san!　Sophia!　Oh, thank God!　She was safe, I thought I’d never see Sophia again. ……”

“Mai-san, you protected Sophia, right? Thank you!”

　Karin-san, who was thanking me, started crying as she looked at Sophia.

“She walked all the way to my store by herself.”

　Mr. Dion collapsed. It was as if his knees had given way. Grandpa bowed his head to me, then deflated and looked up at the starry sky.

“I was also startled when I saw her standing outside the door. She must have been tired from walking, she fell asleep as soon as she got to my home. Is your house still far away?”

　Mr. Dion wiped his eyes with the back of his hand with a swipe before looking at me.

“It’s nearby. It’s a dirty house, but please come and have a cup of tea.”

“No, no, I’ll just go home.”

“Mai-san, Sophia, well… Sophia…”

　They're asking me. They're asking if she’s transformed. Absolutely yes.

　Karin-san and the old man are staring at me. I’m not sure what to do, but I decide to answer honestly.

“Sophia-chan changed her appearance for a short time. But I will pretend I didn’t see it. I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

　There was a short silence. Then the old man, who seemed to be in his forties, picked up Sophia-chan and spoke in a deep voice.

"Thank you for taking care of my granddaughter, Sophia. Dion, please send the young lady home. We will take Sophia back home with us.”

“Yes, father.”

　Oh. Grandpa seems to be the leader of the pack.

“Miss, I’ll thank you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Mai-san.”

"Please your kind words are enough. Karin-san, please leave Sophia with me again. It’ll be all right."

　There was no reply to that. Grandpa and Karin saw me off and I headed home with Dion-san. I decided to leave the cart to Mr. Dion as he gently put his hand on it.

　The two of us walked in silence for a while. With the muscular Dion by my side, I felt safe even on the  dark night road. After walking for a while, Mr. Dion spoke to me while facing forward.

“Sophia, did she say something?”

“Yes. Yes, she said you would get angry at her if she became a dog. She said she wasn’t doing it on purpose. So I told her, ‘you’re not angry, just worried about her,’ but I don’t know if that got through to her.”

　Silence again. Maybe it would have been better not to be honest. But I’m a terrible liar.

“You were surprised, weren’t you?　Were you scared?”

“Of Sophia?　No, of course not. She was so cute and lovely. I thought I was dreaming.”

“Cute?”

“Her thick legs, her big head, her chubby tummy, and her tiny ears,  - everything about her was adorable. Even her brown eyebrows were super adorable. But when she turned back into a human, she was naked. It would be extremely dangerous if she transforms in the city.”

“That’s right. Usually a child that young wouldn’t transform, but the day before the heavy rain, she had a frightening experience. That seemed to be the trigger for the transformation.”

　Can I ask what happened? I shouldn’t ask just out of curiosity.

“Mai-san, you didn’t ask me what happened.”

"I'll listen to what you have to say, Mr. Dion. If I ask too many questions, it'll just be out of curiosity, right? If Sophia-chan had a scary experience, I don't want to hear about it out of curiosity."

　Mr. Dion was silent for a while before he began to tell me what happened.

"I've repeatedly told Sophia, 'Don't go near a tied-up dog, don't look into its eyes. A dog that can’t escape may bite to protect itself.' But she's only three years old..."

　Oh, this is going to be a scary story.

"In the evening, my mother took Sophia out to pick wild herbs. At that time, a group of people returning from boar hunting passed by nearby. Before my mother could stop her, Sophia ran over to the group and stared intently at their dog in front of them. She wasn't right next to them, but rather at quite a distance, but to the dog, it must have seemed like she was approaching in a cheeky, provocative manner."

　“Hah,” Dion let out a shaky breath.

“The lead dog was a young dog, a hot-blooded leader of the pack. He shook off the nobleman’s servant who tried to calm him down and jumped on Sophia while still on the leash, knocking her down.”

“Wow. ……. It must have been a bigger hound than Sophia-chan.”

“The dog was twice her size. Fortunately the dog was muzzled, but it tried to bite Sophia several times. My mother ran over and chased the hound away. ……”

　Poor Sophia had a horrifying experience where she almost got killed. How frightening it must have been.

“Sophia had a nightmare that night and transformed. From then on, the smallest thing would cause her to change form.”

　Mr. Dion looks solemn.

“Normally, dogs don’t attack dog-type beastmen. If we turn into beasts, the dogs are no match for us. But Sophia in her human form must have been perceived as a lower-ranking dog.”

“Sophia-chan……”

"We were worried about what would happen if she transformed in a crowded place. My mother and I were so worried that we ended up telling her in a harsh tone, 'Never go near a leashed dog again,' and 'If she turns into a dog in the city, she’ll be in big trouble.' It's my fault that she ran away from home."

　It's a story that no one would know what to do about.

"Dion-san, would you mind leaving Sophia with me again? Although I’m in the customer service business, I’ll try to find a way to keep you out of the eyes of the customers."

“But if the customers find out, it will cause trouble for you, Mai-san.”

“But it’s more public with you piggybacking her. I want to be useful to someone. If I can be of help by taking care of little Sophia, I will be happy.”

　Mr. Dion thought for a moment before replying.

“In Sophia’s current state, I can’t make a decision on my own. Let me discuss it with my parents.”

“Of course.”

　We reached my house and Mr. Dion left. I lit the fireplace. I had just gotten out of the bath, so even though I had put up a barrier, my body was still cold. I realized that the reason Dion was working in short sleeves in the middle of winter, and that Sophia had come all the way here in light clothing without showing any sign of being cold, was because they were dog-type beastmen. A human child would never be able to walk for miles at night in winter wearing such light clothes.

"I'm so excited, and exhausted..."

　I think I was so excited and had a huge adrenaline rush when Sophia-chan’s tail appeared. I thought she was too heavy to pick up, but I ran while holding her under my arm  like she was a feather pillow or something.

"Were my pupils wide open at that time? Hehe. Ah, I'm tired. I know it’s before bedtime, but I need to eat something. I don't think I'll be able to sleep."

　I cut potatoes in fours with the skin on and boiled it over the fireplace. I dipped the boiled potatoes in butter and herb salt and ate them. Potatoes are one of the important staple foods in this country.

“I wonder if I can convert these potatoes. If possible, I would like to plant them in my backyard and secretly grow more for myself. These potatoes are not bad, but Japanese potatoes are definitely better.”

　I can convert acorns into coffee beans, so I probably can.

　Once I was satisfied with that idea, I finally fell asleep.

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