𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟗: 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠’𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐮𝐬
I have obtained permission to go meet The Cerberus safely.
After Demon King-sama’s snack time, we head towards the gate where The Cerberus is said to be.
Tyran-san decides not to eat here and wait until we arrive there to eat leisurely.
The snacks for him and me are packed in a paper bag along with the steamed buns prepared to throw to The Cerberus in case of emergency, and we leave the king’s chamber.
It’s my first time going near the gate. Although I have been living here for a few months, I have never gone towards the entrance area, only to the inside and the back garden of the Demon King’s Castle.
Perhaps to guard against external intruders, important places like living spaces are not located in that direction. It seems that they are maintained to some extent, but most of them are not used.
I have heard stories, but the rooms and decorations in the entrance area are quite flashy. Sometimes there are incomprehensible magical tools placed, or giant pots. There are even rooms filled with inexplicable books.
All of these are the result of incorporating what humans would consider as “Demon King’s Castle-like” elements. If it were before I got to know the people inside, I might have been frightened by these things.
But now, I can enjoy this inexplicability. As I look around curiously, Tyran-san lets out a sigh of exasperation.
“Is it really that interesting?”
“Yes, very much!”
“Don’t touch them because it’s dangerous, okay?”
“Yes.”
I give a half-hearted response and resume the strange sightseeing.
Tyran-san doesn’t say anything more. Instead, when I seem to be about to stop for a moment, he pulls my sleeve.
And so, we arrive near the gate where The Cerberus is.
“It’s kind of. . .small, isn’t it?”
The demon beast’s head, peacefully sleeping, has three heads. But the size is not the extra-large size I imagined. . .it’s more like a medium to large-sized dog. It’s easier to understand if I say it’s a slightly larger Shiba Inu size.
I can understand Meti-chan’s casual desire to get closer and be friends.
“It’s still a young one. But even so, it’s The Cerberus. If you underestimate it, you’ll get hurt. So just observe from a distance. The chains won’t reach this far either.”
“Understood.”
We sit on a nearby protrusion and both enjoy the steamed buns. It feels like a little picnic.
“It would have been nice if we had brought tea too.”
“Yeah, should I go get some?”
As soon as he says that, he disappears.
I’m familiar with Tyran-san’s teleportation magic. While eating alone, I gaze at the sleeping Cerberus.
Then, all three heads wake up at the same time and stretch.
I’m lucky to witness their awakening. They’re so cute. As I watch, one of the heads makes eye contact with me. The other heads also turn towards me, seemingly interested.
Even though they are the same individual, their reactions are different.
One head is baring its fangs at me with hostility, another head is giving me a warm gaze, and the remaining head is still sleepy, about to close its eyes after a big yawn.
Is this how it should be for guard dogs? Aren’t they too free?
I can think calmly because there are chains. There shouldn’t be any danger even if they lock onto me.
Feeling relieved, I toss a piece of steamed bun into my mouth and smoke rises, enveloping The Cerberus. Startled, I stand up. Then, a dog emerges from the smoke.
Even after the smoke disappears, The Cerberus is nowhere to be seen, but there are three identical dogs.
Their reactions are the same as before. No, their freedom has increased due to their bodies being separate.
One head is already in sleep mode, and the other two heads seem like they might pounce on me at any moment. I’m glad there are chains.
It’s a shocking fact that The Cerberus is a collective entity.
But they are so cute that I can’t help but push that fact to the back of my mind. Their fluffiness has doubled. Their cuteness has doubled, no, tripled.
Holding the bag of snacks prepared for emergencies, I approach Cerberus-san, who is sparkling with excitement. Of course, I am careful about the length of the chains. I also remember to keep a distance where they can’t pounce on me.
The most friendly head and the head full of hostility come towards me.
Although the length of the chains is the same, the originally friendly head is on the outer side. In other words, it is closer to me than the head full of hostility.
I tore the steamed bread into strips and tossed it lightly towards a friendly child. It’s just like feeding the carp in the pond. And it was caught beautifully in mid-air.
Chewing with a small mouth, the child dashes towards me again. The short breaths that are exhaled seem to be demanding more.
It’s a child with both hostility and wildness, not inferior to anyone. The sound of the chain rattling has even awakened the child in sleep mode. It seems to be concerned about me.
If you look closely, the mouth is slightly relaxed.
As a test, I throw it towards that child, and it starts heading towards the landing point slowly. It’s incredibly leisurely on its own pace.
But as soon as it realizes the deliciousness of the steamed bread, it quickly lifts its head and runs towards me with a pitter-patter. And it stares intently at my hand. It seems to want more.
・・・
『”𝐀𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.𝐜𝐨𝐦” – 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐠e 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 “𝐝𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬” 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 “𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬”.』
・・・
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