“Is this the Divine Beast?”
“Wow, what a divine being.”
So saying, Memoria and Muil-san peeked at the bed, muffling their voices.
In the direction of their gazes was Feri, sleeping in bed with Yukiera and Sachiera, perhaps tired from the battle with me. It was already dinnertime by the time I had a nap.
There was an episode where Himik was dejected because they couldn’t get Feri to eat the fruit she brought, but during that time, Memoria, who had finished her business hours and closed her shop, and Muil-san, who had been handling chores in my stead, arrived.
And then.
“No, you mustn’t. Keiri, calm yourself. That person is a Divine Beast, someone you shouldn’t touch so easily. But oh, that fur! I’m sure it would feel amazing to touch and hug! But I can’t…!”
Keiri-san was also there, desperately suppressing some kind of impulse.
“Keiri, you’re actually a dog lover, aren’t you? And quite a serious one. During breaks, you’ve sometimes been watching dog videos on a certain video site and your expression loosens up uncontrollably, haven’t you?”
“Ah, I think I remember that happening.”
This was what happened when I called her to meet Feri. Memoria and Muil-san were still looking at Feri, who was sleeping on the bed with Yukiera and Sachiera, with expressions of ordinary respect.
Compared to those two, Keiri-san, from the outside, looked like she was in a “sink, my right hand!?” state. When I asked Suella why she was struggling so much, she said she loved dogs and gave a wry smile. Thinking back, I did remember seeing her sometimes look foolishly happy while looking at her phone.
“If you like them that much, don’t you have any dogs?”
“It’s mostly because my work is busy. Keiri said that keeping a living creature is a responsibility.”
“I see.”
As someone who felt responsible for burdening her with work, I secretly apologized, asking her to bear with not getting a dog for a little longer.
“It’s almost dinnertime, should I wake her up?”
Then, Himik, who was preparing dinner, prepared high-quality meat for Feri’s welcome party today. It wasn’t named meat, but good, cheap meat that she’d procured with her keen eye and cooked.
“Woof?”
Hearing that it was dinnertime, Feri perked up her ears, twitched her nose, and raised her head.
Someone nearby who had woken up was letting out a joyful cry, but I ignored them for now.
“You woke up at the perfect timing. Himik made dinner for you.”
“Wan.”
Feri replied with a small bark out of consideration for Yukiera and Sachiera, who were still asleep, but then she let out a pathetic whine, realizing she couldn’t move.
“Oh dear.”
Yukiera and Sachiera were gently holding her fur from both sides, and if she moved, she would wake them up. Suella, understanding this, gently released their hands and freed Feri. Feri smoothly and skillfully moved her body and escaped from the crib.
She stretched her body as if to loosen up her stiff limbs.
“Wan!”
She barked, as if demanding food.
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
If the guest of honor tonight wanted dinner, I would comply. I let out a wry smile and moved to the table set up a little distance from the crib. We do have a larger dining hall, but that’s for when we have outside guests. I felt that using it daily might help her get used to noble etiquette, but I personally value family time. This arrangement naturally came about because I also wanted to pay attention to Yukiera and Sachiera.
Table manners are kept to the bare minimum. Although we sometimes have meals that resemble etiquette classes to ensure she doesn’t forget, this style hasn’t changed since we moved to this mansion. Today, Feri would be joining us at that table.
“Oh no, there’s no chair for Feri.”
A small trouble occurred then. It was good that Feri’s meal was prepared at the table, but the chair was slightly too low, preventing Feri from eating. We don’t have dog chairs here. The spare chairs we have are all for humans.
As I was pondering what to do, Keiri-san, with unusual determination, declared, “F-fine, I’ll cut it up and feed her myself!” She took the seat next to Feri and announced she would cut the steak prepared for today.
“…Is that alright?”
Even if I quickly prepared a chair, the food would get cold in the meantime. That wouldn’t be fair to Himik either. When I confirmed with Feri, she replied, “Woof!” meaning she didn’t mind. She jumped onto the pre-prepared chair and waited in a sit-up position.
“In that case, let’s consider the problem solved and have dinner.”
With the immediate problem resolved, everyone took their usual seats and began their meal.
“…You know, you look so happy.”
“Indeed.”
Keiri-san, who usually had a determined and confident expression, was now wearing a happy smile that was hard to imagine from her usual demeanor. My gaze was drawn to her.
“Ah, here, this is delicious too, you know?”
“Woof!”
Barely touching her own food, she continuously cut up the meat for Feri with a smile that clearly showed she was enjoying feeding Feri. Her gaze never wavered; when the knife returned to the plate with the steak, it was so fast it seemed like a blur, but to an ordinary person, it would have looked like the steak on the plate had been cut up. She cut without looking away from Feri, even for a brief moment. She truly loves dogs.
“Speaking of which, when Jiro-san and the other first-term Dungeon Testers arrived, there was an event where you could interact with animals as part of the local survey. Keiri was really looking forward to participating.”
Seeing her like this, Suella suddenly remembered something from the past and shared it. Keiri-san, the subject of the conversation, was engrossed in feeding Feri and didn’t notice me, but everyone else seemed interested and turned to Suella. Evia, perhaps recalling it, nodded as if to say, “That one.”
“For that reason, she finished her work desperately, making sure she had plenty of time to participate fully in that survey. Bu—t, there was a problem in another department, and Keiri, who had free time at work, was suddenly called in to help, and she couldn’t participate in that event.”
“Ah, I know that feeling all too well. That story.”
I also had a day I absolutely wanted to take off when I was at my previous company. It was a former senpai’s wedding. We were close, and the bride was also a women’s senpai from high school whom I knew. I worked hard to get annual leave, finishing my work ahead of schedule. The result was tragic. My request was submitted and approved, and I finished my work. But… 『We’re short-handed, so do this.』 They didn’t just make me do my own work, but also others’, and the company didn’t consider the circumstances of their employees. In the end, my paid leave was canceled, and I unhappily ended up attending the senpai’s wedding only from the second party, a bitter memory that couldn’t be described as just “unhappy.” I took revenge by working sleeplessly to take away all that person’s work, driving them out of the company, and subtly letting others in the industry know they were incompetent, thereby cornering them into employment difficulties. Well, it could also be said that I was too busy with other work to deal with them.
“Is that so?”
Suella, who didn’t know about my past, tilted her head innocently, seeming genuinely interested. But I felt reluctant to talk about such things during this family gathering.
“Ah, well, I’ll be busy for a while longer, but once things calm down a bit, I might arrange for Keiri-san to take a long vacation and go somewhere she can interact with dogs.”
So, pretending not to notice her curiosity, I gently changed the subject.
“She’ll surely be delighted.”
Right now, things are too busy to grant her a vacation, but once things settle down, I’ll just have to push myself a bit. I realized my corporate slave mentality was still strong as I continued eating.
“Haa, I’m so happy. All my work fatigue has vanished instantly. I feel like I could finish my work three times faster right now.”
After finishing dinner and dessert, we didn’t disperse but gathered in the living room for post-dinner tea. Instead of sitting at a table, we sat on the rather spacious sofas. Keiri-san, who was happily stroking Feri’s back, was at the center, surrounded by the women.
“Ho ho ho, the Divine Beast seems popular with the ladies. Don’t you think, son-in-law?”
“It seems so.”
“Oh? Aren’t you jealous?”
“Not at all.”
Keiri-san had Feri on her lap. Next to her, Memoria looked at Feri with interest. On the other side, Himik was enjoying feeding Feri by gently offering her a strawberry for dessert. Suella had stepped away to feed Yukiera and Sachiera. As for Evia…
“I wish my Divine Beast had that much cuteness.”
She was drinking with me, next to me. I was drinking sake, Muil-san was drinking fruit wine, and Evia was drinking wine.
“What kind of Divine Beast does Evia have?”
“Do you think I can easily share classified information, even if we are of the same rank?”
“Hahaha, that’s true. But don’t you think it’s unfair that you only show me your Divine Beast and I don’t get to know about Evia’s?”
“I don’t. I’m your fiancée and a resident of this mansion. What’s there is your familiar, not a Divine Beast. That’s all.”
“Hahaha! Son-in-law, you got me there!”
Following that conversation, I tried to get Evia to tell me about her Divine Beast, but I was unsuccessful. All I learned was that her Divine Beast was less cute compared to Feri. Evia gracefully sipped her wine, and Muil-san chuckled heartily. That moment of peace was so relaxing that I could forget about work. Just as I was thinking I wanted to forget about work, Evia said, “I think I’m a little drunk,” making an excuse as she leaned closer.
“Oops, it seems I’m also feeling the effects of the alcohol. I think I’ll go get some fresh air.”
Sensing the mood, Muil-san excused himself and moved to a window seat to drink alone while gazing at the scenery. However, Sehas appeared and began pouring him drinks. While I admired the capable servant, I gently put my arm around Evia’s shoulder, and as if she knew I’d respond correctly, I felt her relax.
“Listen carefully, Jiro. I will only say this once.”
Just as things were about to get romantic, Evia’s eyes sharpened, and she whispered to me, so quietly that no one else could hear. Although visually, we were embracing and sitting close, the aura she emanated signaled that this was no ordinary matter.
“Come to my room at midnight tonight, without anyone noticing. There’s something I need to tell you.”
However, that was all she said. She couldn’t tell me here, and she chose not to tell me during work hours. She specified a time and place, calling me to a separate room even though people were around. Not to brag, but the security of our mansion relies heavily on Evia’s dungeon. If she didn’t want to be overheard discussing work matters, she could have spoken in the office in the annex. But Evia specified a time and place, summoning me. What that implied, I would know in a few hours.
“…Understood.”
I would find out in a few hours.
Today’s word: It’s quite difficult to separate public and private life.
Thank you for your continued feedback and error reports. If you find this enjoyable, please leave reviews, ratings, bookmarks, etc.
I am also currently serializing another work: Pandora Pandemic Panic. The Pandora’s Box has been opened again, but we are fighting back with various things in our secret base! I would greatly appreciate it if you would check that out as well!
