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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter 39 - Becoming a Dog (2)
"That's it! Now, watch! This is the dragon Alphaid!"
Clyden stretched out his right hand.
This time, Rupert hesitated and took a step back.
A cluster of light rose from his hand, and it began to draw strange symbols in the air.
"Ooh, it's coming out!"
The light gradually formed into a massive magic circle.
Everyone watched in a daze as the circle spun faster, then suddenly the light spread.
Rupert stared with a dubious expression, while Clyden and Pretty looked on with eager anticipation.
The magic circle spun rapidly and emitted a low, humming sound.
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"......"
"Hey, you damn lizard! Stop messing around!"
Amid the silence, Clyden’s desperate voice echoed.
The magic circle vanished.
"......"
"Well... the dragon didn’t appear but the blessing of the dragon is real! See!"
"...Is that all your last words?"
Rupert approached Clyden with a murderous look on his face.
Clyden frantically looked around, searching for a way to escape.
"Ungnya, Rupert, the sun’s coming up. It’s time to sleep."
As soon as Pretty finished speaking, Rupert dashed towards Clyden.
"Ugh!"
Clyden squeezed his eyes shut and raised his arms to block the sword but despite the time passing, he felt no pain.
He cautiously opened his eyes and saw Rupert’s furious gaze right in front of him.
"Ugh!"
Clyden stepped back in fear but Rupert remained frozen in his position.
"What is this? Did I survive?"
Clyden let out a sigh of relief and approached Rupert, playfully tapping him on the cheek.
"Man, you’re really scary. You almost made me pee myself."
"Ugh......"
Rupert’s body was immobile.
He glared at Clyden while holding back his anger but Clyden kept poking and prodding him.
"What? Are you mad? Come at me, you coward! Are you too scared to move? What did you think you were doing, huh?"
"...Pretty."
"Nyah?"
Pretty tilted her head at Rupert’s words.
Rupert’s body continued to stiffen and his mouth struggled to open.
"Say that to that guy."
“Meow? Really?”
“Yep!”
“Kyahaha, that sounds fun.”
“What... what do you mean?”
“Don’t think this is the end. I’ll definitely kill you.”
“You little brat! How dare you threaten me like that! Hah!”
Clyden kicked Rupert repeatedly.
In the meantime, the sun began to rise slowly.
Rupert’s body lost its human form and soon turned into a massive rock.
“What's this? A rock!”
“Nya-hah, Rupert was always a rock!”
“What does that mean… Hah!”
Turning his head towards Pretty’s words, Clyden staggered backward in shock.
Pretty began to grow fur all over her body and shrink down.
“Nya, I need to sleep.”
“What?!”
Pretty quickly placed a collar around his neck in an instant before jumping to the rock where Rupert had transformed.
“What is this! Why can’t I take it off? Hey! What have you done to me?!”
“Nya-hah! See you later!”
Pretty continued to shrink and transformed into a small black cat.
The cat climbed to the top of the rock and began basking in the sunlight while dozing off.
“Hey, what the heck is this? Hah! What is going on!”
Brown fur began to sprout all over Clyden’s body and his body shrank as well.
“Woof! Woof woof! (Hey, what’s going on?! Hah, why does my voice sound like this?)”
“Nyaang, yang (Master's magic!)”
“Woof woof! Woof! Woof woof! (Hey, change me back! Hey!)”
“……”
Pretty ignored him and continued to sleep lazily on top of the rock.
“Woof! Woof woof! (Turning a human into a dog... what the hell is going on? This is a mess!)”
Clyden screamed in desperation, but all that could be heard was the sound of barking.
Meanwhile, Eres and Lydis were riding down the highway toward Ciris’ estate when they suddenly heard strange barking.
“…Is that a dog barking?”
Ignoring the sound at first, Lydis and Eres continued to ride but soon stopped in front of a huge rock in the middle of the path.
At the top of the rock, a black cat lazily swayed its tail while taking a nap.
Below the rock, a dog was barking frantically at the cat.
This strange sight made them halt in their tracks.
They stared at the scene, dumbfounded.
“…What is this? A crazy dog?”
Eres voiced his thoughts honestly.
Then he spotted some clothing lying near the dog.
“Sister! These are the clothes of the deputy commander!”
As soon as they noticed the clothes, the dog started barking and ran toward them.
“What’s this? Sister, be careful! That dog seems insane. Get away!”
Eres waved his hand to shoo the dog away but the dog showed no intention of running off.
The dog circled around them and continued to bark loudly.
With no other choice, he kicked the dog.
The dog yelped as it was sent flying by the kick but quickly got up and glared at Eres, baring its sharp teeth.
“…Hah, now even a dog is ignoring me.”
As Eres moved to approach the dog with hostility, Lydis stopped him.
“Eres! Is this the time to deal with a dog? We need to find the sergeant!”
“Yes, sister!”
“What are all these clothes of the sergeant doing here?”
“Hmm… It seems like…”
“Woof! Woof!”
“To prevent the deputy commander’s escape…”
“Woof woof woof!”
“They probably dragged him off while he was naked…”
“Woof! Woof!”
“Damn, this crazy dog is really something!”
Eres kicked it again with all his strength.
“Yelp yelp!”
For some strange reason, Eres felt a strange sense of satisfaction as if a decade-old grudge had been lifted.
“That's odd…”
As Eres tilted his head, Lydis spoke again as she mounted her horse.
“Eres, let’s go! We’re running out of time!”
“Yes, sister!”
Lydis and Eres mounted their horses and began galloping once again.
The dog tried to chase after them but hesitated and turned toward the rock.
Lifting one leg, the dog shuddered for a moment before grinning slyly.
Then he started running straight down the path they had passed.
After riding for half a day, Lydis and Eres finally arrived at Gosrin City, the duchy of Cyan and the central hub of the western region.
“We’re here.”
Eres clutched his side as if he were in pain from riding a horse all day.
As they moved towards the city gates, a guard approached and saluted.
“Loyalty! From Third Platoon and Gate Guard of Gosrin City, Corporal Dispel. State your name and purpose for visiting.”
“We’re from the Civil Assistance Special Forces. Lieutenant Lydis and Sergeant Eres, here to meet with Duke Cyan.”
At Eres’s words, Dispel gave a peculiar look.
“Civil Assistance Special Force… That’s the mad dog Clyden force right?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
“I’ve heard the rumors. There’s a Level 1 Emergency Alert in the western front and they’re searching for Sergeant Clyden so nothing should go wrong. But… is that dog with you as well?”
“Pardon?”
At Dispel’s question, Eres turned around and saw the dog lying on its back.
“Good heavens! Did it follow us all the way here?”
“It’s definitely with you. It doesn’t look well. Is it from Sergeant Clyden’s team? I hope it won’t cause any trouble.”
“Eh?”
“Well, you can go to the castle. Oh! It seems like it’s getting late, so it would be best to unpack at the inn and leave tomorrow morning.”
“The inns are on the north side, you can choose whichever one you like. Then I’ll leave now!”
“Wait! That’s not…!”
In a fluster, Eres hastily tried to grab Dispel but the guard quickly disappeared into the crowd, likely busy with evening duties.
“Ugh! Sister, what should we do?”
Eres looked at Lydis who seemed uninterested, likely exhausted from the long ride.
“Let’s just go to the inn. I need some rest.”
“Yes.”
Lydis and Eres made their way toward the street full of inns.
The dog was panting with its belly exposed, sluggishly got up and started following them.
“I’m Sorry but we don’t allow pets.”
“No, it’s not our dog!”
“The way it’s following you, you’re just going to leave it behind while you rest? How heartless! We can’t allow people like you in our inn!”
Eres stood there, now labeled as an animal abuser.
He glared at the dog which was casually lying down, letting out a huge yawn.
“Why do you keep following us?”
“Grrr!”
Eres shouted in frustration and the dog immediately bared its teeth and growled at him.
“Ugh! You mutt!”
“Eres! Are you seriously going to fight with the dog right now? I just want to rest!”
“But sister! Because of this dog, no inn will let us stay!”
“Shut up! We need to find a place to rest!”
Eres looked at Lydis, who was beginning to resemble Clyden in her attitude.
Despite the dog not having any expression, Eres couldn’t shake the feeling that it was mocking him.
The dog’s glance only fueled his anger.
“How about we go to the public dormitory instead?”
“No way! You really think I can rest in that terrifying place?”
Lydis shouted at Eres, her face full of fear as she looked at the imposing structure that was the Ghost Castle, a famous and ominous building at the center of the city.
Eres couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of going there.
“Sigh… Let’s just try somewhere else.”
After much trouble and with Lydis's persistence, they finally found an inn that allowed animals.
“Whew… I feel like I’ll survive.”
After unpacking and taking a bath, the weariness of the day seemed to melt away.
Eres headed downstairs to the restaurant for a cold drink.
As he walked in, he saw people gathered and making a fuss.
“What’s going on?”
“Man, if this keeps up we’re going to have to clean up a corpse.”
“Ugh… I’d rather die than lose to a dog in a drinking contest. Life just isn’t worth it.”
“They say even Baskar lost... but is that a dog?”
Eres pushed through the crowd, wondering what was going on.
As he got closer, he saw a red-nosed drunkard shouting about wanting to die.
Some people were trying to calm him down, while a dog sat calmly on a chair, watching the scene.
The dog was casually sipping a beer, chuckling to itself.
The sight felt strangely familiar to Eres.
“Who the heck is that dog?”
As Eres pondered the strange identity of the dog, Lydis descended from upstairs.
With her beauty catching everyone’s attention, she walked over and sat at the same table where the dog was seated.
She looked at the dog with a puzzled expression.
“Hmm? Eres, what are you doing over there? You should get something to eat.”
“…Sister, that’s not our seat.”
“Huh? Oh! Now that you mention it…Whatever, there don’t seem to be any other seats. I’ll just eat here.”
Eres sighed and sat down with no other choice but to order food.
“Do dogs drink alcohol now?”
“Ugh, of course not!”
Eres and Lydis stared curiously at the dog drinking beer in amazement as the waiter brought food.
“Huh? Why three servings?”
“Well, you’re raising quite a unique dog. I’ve seen all kinds of animals while working here, but this is the first time I’ve seen a dog drinking something just like a person.”
Eres sighed again, tired of explaining.
“By the way, do you think Duke Chizelrus knows about the Jeteris Liberation Front?”
While eating, Lydis asked with a worried expression.
“Hm… If they want something from Duke Chizelrus, I’m sure he knows the details.”
The two fell silent as they continued eating.
After finishing their meal, they ordered alcohol.
Lydis chose a light wine but Eres ordered something with a much higher alcohol content.
As they drank in silence, the dog continued to drink beer, letting out its distinctive giggle-like bark.
“Ugh, where could the sergeant be? He should be safe…”
Eres furrowed his brow and muttered in frustration.
“Hah, sister! Seriously, what about Sergeant Clyden… No”
He quickly glanced around, making sure no one was eavesdropping.
“What on earth do you see in that guy, Clyden?”
“Wh… What do you mean, ‘see in him’?”
“Woof woof woof!”
Lydis’s face turned red as she protested, while the dog barked loudly.
“Quiet! Please, tell me sister! I just can’t understand why you like that useless guy with that irritating personality! Ah, wait! He’s good at one thing—getting on other people’s nerves.”
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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