Chapter 84: Engagement Ceremony

　Sandor and Albert are nervous.

“When we were being chased by the dog-type beastmen, a rotting corpse suddenly appeared near us. Could that have been your magic as well?”

“Yes, it was.”

“I knew it. Albert says that it’s dark magic, is that true?”

“Dark magic?　No, no, no. It’s just a kind of normal magic.”

“That’s right. I thought there was no way Mai-san was a dark wizard. Albert’s grandma told him that “if you get involved with a dark wizard, your life will be sucked out of you,’ and we’ve been hearing that ever since we were kids.”

　I knew I couldn’t hide my magic from the two guys I was working with, so I told them, ‘I can use magic a little, too.” But since I had brought out a walking corpse,  that’s why they suspected me of being a dark magic user.

“it’s a kind of magic that chooses its wielder, but it’s not dark magic. It is a magic that allows you to communicate with people at a distance. But, if people find out that I can use this magic, they might insist, ‘That’s a very useful magic. Come work at the castle,’ so please keep it a secret.”

“I understand. My grandma is superstitious about a lot of things. Lately she’s been saying that the climbing lilies are growing high up, which means a big storm is coming.”

　Sandor, who had been listening to Albert’s story about his grandmother with a wry smile, now asks me a question with a serious face.

“Why are you telling us about magic that you don’t want people to know about, Mai-san?”

“Because I trust you.”

“Don’t you think we might tell someone?”

“I don’t think so. I let you take on the service work because I thought I could trust you, okay?”

　The two young men looked moved,  “Is that so?” They said “I see.” They had been working under threats up until now. They had never been trusted or had any trust in themselves.

“Thank you. I like you guys too. there are all kinds of people in the world. Not everyone is like Riddick.”

　I don’t think I can easily rewrite their impression of the general public, but we have to take even the smallest step to move forward.

　The day of the engagement ceremony arrived.

　Wearing a cherry-pink dress, I was shown into a spacious room gorgeously decorated with many fresh flowers. There, the three members of the Howler family in formal attire and an imposing man of about 40 years old were waiting for me. Is this the Prime Minister?

　Henry-san was wearing his civilian uniform with a cloak draped over one shoulder and a medal. He walked towards me with a slightly flushed face.

“Mai, you’re so beautiful. Very, very beautiful.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

　From there, I took the oath and signed the papers as I was told. It was like a wedding without the reception. The Prime Minister only said, “Please take good care of Henry.” He was a man of few words.

　Henry whispered in my ear so that the others could not hear.

“You’ve finally become my fiancée, Mai. All my efforts up to this point have paid off.”

“I’ll take good care of you, Henry, so that you don’t regret those words.”

“It’s like a dream, Mai.”

　Then the Prime Minister said with a laugh, “You should take your sweet whispers slowly when  it’s just the two of you,” and I found myself blushing. I was so embarrassed. I looked up at Henry, and he had a perfect blank expression. A blank look is a powerful presence in any situation.

　After the engagement ceremony, we all had dinner together. Lady Constance was in tears the whole time.

“Henry had insisted all along that we would never get married.”

　So far, so good. The problem is what comes next.

I was troubled by the fact that he kept repeating, “I can’t believe I got a wonderful woman like Mai.” The words “I’m going to get her” reminded me of what Yataro used to do, and even though we were in such a formal setting, a burst of laughter welled up inside me.

　I recalled one time when Yataro ran away from home and brought back a live rat snake. He placed the snake on the living room floor in front of me and my grandmother as if to say, “Here you go.”

　Grandma and I chased after the fleeing Japanese rat snake, and with both of us screaming, we grabbed it between tongs and tossed it outside. I was such an idiot for remembering that scene. How bad it would be to laugh at such a solemn occasion. It would become a dark memory for the rest of my life. So I kept pinching my right thigh hard under the table.

　When we were leaving the Howler family, the Viscount said to me, “From now on, you are a member of our Howler family. I am so happy to have a lovely daughter,” he told me. When I thought about how I now had a father and a mother, I couldn’t help but burst into tears.

　Henry dropped me off at home and left me alone.

　I decided to use my message magic to talk to my grandmother. I tried not to think of Sky Tree by mistake. I thought of the Buddhist altar on the second floor so that it would not be a problem even if it was a little loud.

　I reduce my magic to about half power so that my voice wouldn’t be broadcasted on all the TVs in the Kanto region. Instead of just having sound speak out, I put out a white spike the size of an apple. I take a deep breath. 

“Grandma, today was my engagement ceremony. I’m going to have a new family. The man is Mr. Henry, the Head Civil Servant. He’s a tall, handsome man. I’m sure you’ll like him, Grandma. I wish you could have seen me in my dress. It was a pale pink dress, like a wedding dress. Hey grandma, this is how I’m slowly becoming a part of this world. You don’t have to worry about me, you know. Take care of yourself, Grandma, and live a long life. And of course…  I still miss you …….”

　I think of the pictures of my parents on the altar and remember the remains of my father and mother, and I can’t stop crying.  Even though it was a happy night, I remembered all the things that had happened to me up to this day and I continue to weep.

　After crying a lot, I took a shower of clouds. My right thigh was covered with pale bruises.

　The next day, Sophia came over and said, “Fee, I’m going to dig a big hole!” And started digging a hole in the backyard in her puppy form. She was extremely quick from the moment she made the declaration until she started digging a hole. The time it takes for him to transform is getting shorter and shorter. This morning, it took about 10 seconds.

　Then, after digging a big hole, she started yawning when still in dog form.

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

　I had planned to have her turn back into a human before Sandor and the others arrived, but she curled up in her hole and started sleeping. Oh no, that’s troubling.

“Wake up!　Sophia, dear!　Your brothers will be here soon!　Oh, Sophia!”

　Sophia was fast asleep within a minute. When I called out to her, she managed to open her eyes, but no matter how hard I tried, her eyes are blank. In another 20 minutes, the two young men were due to arrive for work. I couldn’t let them see my doggie Sophia-chan.

　I give up, pick Sophia-chan up in my arms, and carried her upstairs. Sophia has been getting heavier and heavier. It seemed like she weighed more than 15 kilograms. I carried Sophia, who was groaning and squirming. As I was going up the stairs, I heard Sandor-kun’s voice from behind me.

“Mai-san, is that a dog-type beastman child?”

“Uh?”

　I’d left them a spare key, so of course they’d unlock the door and come in. But I didn’t hear the  doorbell ring, and they must have been thirty minutes earlier than usual.

　While still holding Sophia in my arms on the stairs, I slowly turned just my head around.

“Good morning? You’re here pretty early this morning, Sandor. I don’t think I heard the doorbell.”

“I woke up early, so I came early. I came in through the kitchen door.”

“Um, could you please not tell anyone about Sophia-chan?”

“We monkey-type beastmen don’t have very good noses, but Albert noticed it from the beginning. He said, ‘That child smells like a dog-type beastman.'”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry, she’s heavy so I’ll go put her down upstairs for now and then we’ll talk.”

“I’ll carry her upstairs.”

　Thus, Sophia-chan’s dog-type beast-man identity was now known, but according to Sandor, it was only natural for them to keep it a secret. Albert, who came to work a little later, explained the situation to me.

“We would never tell about this to ordinary people. We’ve been taught that since we were children. If we were to talk about other beastmen to ordinary people, our parents and siblings would get extremely angry with us. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Really? I see. That’s good. My life expectancy has been shortened by three years.”

　Albert laughed and said, “That’s quite a shortening,” and then said something unexpected.

“Mai-san, you like beastmen, don’t you?”

“That’s not true, I don’t like them because they are beastmen. It’s just that the people I like just happen to be beastmen.”

“Wow, that’s cool. I didn’t know there were cool people like this among the general public.”

“I am the Senju alley cat.”

“What is Senju alley cat?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you another time.”

　That story is really a long one.

Tl note:

アオダイショウ-(aodaisho) Japanese rat snake

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