Kuro had set off on his journey.
It seemed he was finally getting serious about his diet. To ensure he couldn’t just give up and come home right away, he used the teleportation gate to travel to the hot spring area, planning to walk all the way back to the Village of the Great Tree from there. Furthermore, he intended to procure all his meals along the way by hunting for himself. Seeing him firmly refuse any traveling companions, I could truly feel his determination.
Perhaps he really would succeed with his diet this time. Of course, I was worried he might run into danger, but I trusted that Kuro was smart enough not to force a fight if he encountered a truly dangerous opponent. I had faith in him in that regard.
...
By the way, Ann. It was rare to see you participating in the gambling ring run by Kuro’s pups. I didn’t think you had any interest in things like gambling.
"The outcome is already decided, so it is not gambling," she replied.
Decided? By betting on his failure, did she mean he was guaranteed to fail?
"Yes."
That seemed a bit harsh, didn't it? Kuro was genuinely motivated this time. I was sure of it.
"Kuro-san stopped by the kitchen before he departed," Ann noted.
...Eh?
"And he took some miso with him."
Miso? As in the seasoning?
"Yes. A small barrel’s worth."
Well, wasn't there a possibility he took the miso as a sort of emergency ration in case he couldn't catch any prey?
"Do you really believe that?"
...
If it was Kuro, he could produce fire and water with magic. He also knew how to stone-grill. I could easily imagine him digging a hole, filling it with water and ingredients, adding the miso, and then dropping in heated stones to cook a hearty meal.
Oh, Kuro. Was this "diet" just an excuse because you wanted to enjoy a taste of the bachelor life? How sly. I wished you had taken me along too.
At any rate, I decided to place my own bet on his failure.
Kuro’s pups grew up so fast. They reached adult size in the blink of an eye. However, even if their bodies were large, their spirits were still very much those of children. Their curiosity was irrepressible, and they lacked self-control. Because of this, it was easy to distinguish the younger ones.
As a High Ogre maid was walking along with a basket full of laundry, one of Kuro’s pups suddenly pounced at her from the front. It likely intended to surprise her, but the maid was well-accustomed to such antics. Without panicking, she remained crouched while holding the basket and performed a swift, spinning sidestep. She caught the pup’s thigh with her hip as she turned, sending the little wolf tumbling.
The pup wasn't hurt by the fall and, thinking this was a new game, was about to try again when the maid cut him off with a single word.
"Sit!"
At that command, the pup froze and obediently sat down.
"I have told you that you must not do that when I am carrying laundry," she scolded. "No dinner for you tonight."
The pup became agitated to an almost comical degree. When he looked around for help, the others nearby slunk away, wanting no part of his trouble. Then he spotted me and came running with all his might. Even though he let out those piteous, mournful whimpers, there wasn't much I could do.
I tried my best, but I told him not to expect much. I managed to get the "no dinner" punishment retracted, but the maid only provided him with raw meat that hadn't been cooked. Forgive my powerlessness. I didn't mind if he grilled it himself, but I insisted he do it outside. If he tried to cook inside the mansion, he’d start a fire.
I also warned him that he had to stop with the mischief, though I supposed it couldn't be helped since he was still young. Kuroichi, Kuroni, Kurosan, and Kuroyon had all been just as mischievous. They used to bump into me from behind constantly while I was working. I think Kuroichi did it the most. Urza and the others talked about how calm and cool Kuroichi was, but in my mind, the image of him as a rambunctious pup never quite faded. He used to be so full of curiosity and naughtiness.
Oops, Kuroichi was looking this way, so I decided to end that train of thought there. I just hoped the little one would reflect on his behavior properly.
Later, the loud cry of an older sister cat echoed through the mansion. It was an unnaturally loud, angry wail. It seemed something had truly upset her. When I headed toward the sound to see what was wrong, the phoenix chick, Aegis, came flying toward me. Upon seeing me, it looked relieved and immediately landed on my head.
...Were you the culprit here?
Before Aegis could answer, Miel arrived. I could tell by her posture that she was absolutely furious. Her eyes pleaded with me, signaling that she didn't care about my side of the story and that I should just hand over the chick on my head immediately.
Yeah, this was bad. I understood perfectly that Aegis was at fault, but if I handed him over now, he would face a terrible fate. For the time being, I needed to confirm the reason. What had Aegis done?
Miel led me to the site of the trouble: Sougetsu’s room. Rael, Uel, and Gael were already there. They were in a room that was normally off-limits, comforting the prone Sougetsu—it was clearly no ordinary incident. Had Aegis done something to him?
Miel gestured toward Sougetsu’s thigh with her chin. A portion of the fur there was missing, leaving the skin visible.
...Judging by the amount of missing fur, I could piece together what happened. Aegis had taken a nap on that spot on Sougetsu's thigh. Then, he had sleep-ignited. He must have burned Sougetsu’s fur off. The Eagle arrived right then with a World Tree leaf in its beak, which seemed to confirm my theory.
First, I treated Sougetsu with the World Tree leaf. There didn't seem to be any actual burns, but I used it just in case. As for the fur... I hoped the leaf would help it grow back. I really hoped so.
Next, I had Aegis apologize to Sougetsu. He apologized properly, which was a good start. I told Miel and the others that while I wouldn't ask them to forgive him just for that, I would appreciate it if they refrained from any violent retaliation.
They demanded a ban on contact between Aegis and Sougetsu. Fine, Aegis would be banned from contacting him until next spring. Of course, entry into Sougetsu’s room was also prohibited.
They seemed to think a time-limited ban was too soft and demanded an indefinite one. I told them I understood their feelings, but unless Sougetsu himself asked for it, this was as far as I would go. Besides, I reminded them that if they ever caused trouble, they wouldn't want me to slap them with an indefinite ban on seeing Sougetsu, right? It was better for everyone to keep things reasonable, though it was best not to cause trouble in the first place.
I was glad they understood.
Next, I had to give Aegis his punishment. Yes, even if it happened while he was sleeping, I couldn't ignore it. This time only Sougetsu was affected, but depending on the circumstances, it could have started a fire. I told him that if he didn't learn to control it, I couldn't let him live in the mansion anymore. I decided to leave the actual training to the Eagle, who was currently bowing and apologizing profusely.
As punishment, I assigned Aegis to heat the bathwater for the duration of the summer. I warned him that "heating" didn't just mean making it boiling hot; he had to keep it at a temperature comfortable for people to soak in. I knew he probably wasn't good at fine-tuning it, but he had to accept it as part of his training in fire control.
Aegis seemed to have actually reflected on his actions, as he began boiling the bathwater quite seriously. We had a string of days where the water was a bit too hot, but... we would just have to endure it.
As I felt the summer night breeze, I felt a twinge of loneliness because Kuro wasn't in his usual spot. But Yuki was there to keep me company in his stead. Hahaha. It seemed that with Kuro away, Yuki had become quite clingy herself.
There, there. If it turns out Kuro failed his diet, let's laugh at him together.
Demon King: "An Inferno Wolf is being rolled by a maid?" Beezel: "Please pretend you did not see that."