11. Wolf and Mermaid (4)

Since Usavich required water, I had to obtain a large enough bucket to keep her in.

Fortunately, there was one in the storage. After filling it up, I pulled the mermaid up by the armpits and plopped her right in.

“Be more careful, human!”

“Sure.”

Unfortunately, a bucket filled with water and a small girl was actually pretty heavy.

I resorted to dragging it from the bathroom out to the main area, but it was perhaps a little too rough for Usavich.

“I said…”

The space between her eyes and nose began to crinkle as she bared her teeth with an irritated expression.

“Be…!"

I was reminded of a small, angry dog.

“Carefull!!”

Thwack.

My hand was punched.

“Ouch.”

To tell you the truth, it actually didn’t hurt that much. After all, how much damage could a little girl even do? Though, in this case, the little girl isn’t human. But the point still stands.

Thus, I’ll let it slide… for now.

Perhaps, I’ll flick her forehead later as revenge. Her large forehead. Just one flick… hehe.

“Oi!! Human!!”

My train of thought was disrupted by Usavich’s shout.

“Yeah?”

Her finger was pointed at the wolf I had taken in. Somehow, it was still sleeping and hadn't been awakened by the commotion.

“W-What’s this…?!”

“What do you mean?”

“You said… you said it wasn’t here!!”

It seems I’ve underestimated the naivety of the mermaid girl. Actually, it might be stupidity rather than naivety, or perhaps a combination of both.

“Hmm. Yeah, I lied.”

I scratched the inside of my ear and casually spoke.

“How dare a human lie to the great Usavich?!”

“What’s in the past should stay in the past.”

“You!!”

“You shouldn’t hold grudges, it’s bad for your health.”

“Why you!!”

“If you keep creasing your eyebrows like that, you’ll get wrinkles.”

“Apologize right–”

[The Wolf Princess has detected a variable in the scenario.]

All of a sudden, the system began to create a message.

Words that were flashing red filled my vision.

[Warning.]

[It’s in your best interest to resolve the misunderstanding.]

An ominous message. I jerked my head upwards at the sight, but Usavich kept yapping obliviously.

“Human! If we were on my ship, you would be walking on the plank right now!”

“Usavich.”

“You would be fed to the fishies! Alive! Kyahaha!”

“Usavich…?”

“Kyahahahaha!!”

“Usavich…”

Crack, crunch, cruuuuuuunch.

An utterly bizarre sound, beyond words. It was like the sound of shattering cartilage when chewing on pork belly.

The small wolf was changing.

It was writhing and shaking uncontrollably, so much so that it was disturbing. The same feeling of seeing something so unnatural that it moves into the genre of horror.

Crack!

From its spine, a long white arm shot through the flesh and bone.

Crack, crack, crack.

Repeatedly, different limbs shot out from the wolf’s shaking body. First arms, then legs.

I could feel a droplet of sweat falling down my forehead at the sight of the intense scene.

In the corner of my vision, I could see Usavich gawking at the sight as well.

I was suddenly reminded of a saying.

Life is precious!

That people are born with inherent dignity and value. Why? Because when living life, you only have one chance.

“Hey, Usavich.”

An unchanging, immutable truth. The rich, the old farts, and the poor all get the same treatment in the end. Abraham Lincoln made all people free with his declaration, but Samuel Colt, the creator of the pistol, made them equal.

“You should probably hide.”

Without hesitation, I kicked the bucket hard, sending Usavich tumbling into the kitchen area.

[The Princess of the Wolf Clan has awakened.]

[All hail Jarari Kemonomimi.]

In front of me was a naked girl.

Like a beautiful flower blooming in the middle of a sidewalk, she seemed out of place in my messy apartment.

Silver hair that reached to her feet, white skin that gleamed like moonlight, and long limbs like a model. At first glance, one would describe her as simply a peerless beauty. However, after looking closer, the ears and tail of a wolf would be noticed.

“...”

The girl who had emerged from the wolf looked down at me blankly.

Her appearance was eerily similar to the woman I had met before in that strange environment, except her eyes were a cold blue instead of red.

“Ah…”

She took a step closer, the overhead lights dancing on her bare body.

The reason as to why I kicked Usavich away. Well, for one, it was to relieve some anger. But the other reason is that I had a feeling that the wolf girl in front of me would end her life forever in a heartbeat.

“...”

She stepped closer and closer until she was directly in front of me, her movements completely silent. And then, she raised her arms, her fingers stretching outwards as if gesturing to be taken.

[Jarari Kemonomimi wishes to greet her beloved protector.]

Her lips shifted into a soft smile.

I felt an invisible pressure weighing down on me.

She leaned onto me, rubbing her face against my torso. I couldn’t move. Not even a single finger. I can’t move.

I felt like I was choking.

She wrapped her arms around my waist.

[Warning.]

My brain hurts.

She licked my neck, her blue eyes shining ominously.

[Your existence is too weak.]

My nose was wet. Blood was leaking from it.

Her fluffy tail wrapped around my thigh.

My eyes were wet with something. I wasn’t crying.

Oh.

It’s blood.

[Your existence is too weak.]

I couldn’t move. My heart was pounding furiously, but I…

To think that I would die from somebody I was supposed to protect.

[Warning.]

[...]

[Your life is in danger.]

I felt my consciousness fading. My eyelids were so heavy.

I’m… tired.

At that moment, I heard a familiar scream, along with the sound of cannons firing.

“Humaaaaaaan!!!”

But at that point, I had already blacked out.

(Usavich POV)

After meeting the smelly human, life was beautiful.

To the point that the people who think themselves as nihilistic should admit as well that life was so beautiful.

There was no problem even if I rolled around, doing nothing, for days straight.

I didn’t even have to work for food! The human just cooks and feeds me everything.

Kyahahaha!!

I’d like to make a declaration.

Humans are the best!

Humans, hooray!

Here’s to you, humans!

“…Usavich.”

There was a time I had actually thought all that.

I turned my head slowly because of the abrupt voice.

I was currently lying down on a bed that the human gave me. He said it was something called a ‘dog bed’, but when I asked what it was, he immediately shook his head and said it meant premium.

Hehe.

Of course! The least the great Usavich would settle for is premium!

Kyahahahaha!!

Kyahahahahahahahaha!!

…

What was I talking about?

Ah, right. So if I wanted to turn my head, then I had to flip my entire body as well. It was an incredible amount of wasted energy. I looked at the person with an accursed gaze.

“Why are you calling me, human.”

“Like I said, please go answer the door.”

There a human male stood.

Or rather, the human was being carried like a baby by the wolf princess.

The wolf princess looked around the age of a girl who had just reached adulthood. Not matching her outer appearance, her face was incredibly void of emotions. Like a straggler returning from war would often be like, the girl looked as if she had long ago burned off all the fuel that was in the thing called emotions.

Should I call it dry-as-dust?

Kyahahahaha!!

That was this girl’s normal expression. It had been two days since I had first met her, but I had never witnessed something even remotely close to a smile from her. I’m starting to suspect that she has some sort of illness.

Perhaps forever-on-her-period syndrome. That sounded like a sickness that existed.

Kyahahahaha!!

…

Hm. Actually. Now that I think about it.

She does smile when she looks at the human.

Ugh… creepy.

“You promised you would work with me if I gave you the ice-cream, yet here you are lazing around like a bum.”

“I’m saying it again, but Usavich never promised you anything.”

I dug the inside of my ear with my pinky.

“How am I supposed to keep a promise I never made? Kyahahahaha!!”

“Ahh, it seems like I’ll have to tell Jarari to punish you.”

“...Fine.”