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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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Chapter 40 - Becoming a Dog (3)
“Who’s saying I like him! I just…! Ah! I’m just worried about my subordinate’s safety!”
“That guy could be tossed into a horde of goblins and would still manage to get by. Does it make sense that you’re worried about him?”
“Woof! Woof woof woof!”
“Sister, didn’t you come all the way to stop him from tormenting me?”
“Woof woof! Woof woof woof!”
“And…”
“Woof woof woof woof!”
“Ah, seriously! Quiet down!”
Eres grabbed the dog and threw it to the floor.
“Yip, yip!”
Once again, hitting it gave him a strange sense of relief and he found himself getting addicted to the feeling.
He turned to look at Lydis but she was staring at him with wide eyes.
“Huh? …What!”
The dog that had been thrown to the floor was gradually changing.
Its body grew larger and its fur started to fall out.
In no time at all, it had fully transformed into a human.
“Whoa! Clyden’s back!”
“…”
Clyden stood up confidently with a wide grin on his face.
The reaction from those around them was intense.
“AAAHHHHHHH!”
“Woof! Woof! What’s going on, Acko?! Hey! Wait! Ahh!”
Lydis' face turned bright red and she began throwing whatever plates and cups she could find at Clyden before fleeing to her room on the second floor.
Only then did Clyden realize he was completely naked.
“Damn it, what’s going on here!”
In a rush, he tried to cover himself but it was already too late.
“Damn it!”
Eres hurriedly approached Clyden who was grumbling while covering himself with a tablecloth.
“Sergeant! What on earth…?”
“Let’s just go to my room for now!”
With the tablecloth still around him, Clyden followed Eres to their room.
The people in the restaurant simply watched, stunned by the strange turn of events.
Clyden sat on the bed, grinning at Eres.
“Alright, let’s start with a quick bow and then get to it.”
“What?”
“Why? Don’t want to hear a word from a useless guy who only knows how to get on people’s nerves?”
“Gah!”
Eres felt his legs buckle as his world spun around him.
“Bow!”
“Yes, sir!”
Eres perfectly demonstrated the proper stance.
Clyden smirked mischievously.
“Hey, seems like you’ve built up a lot of frustration with me.”
“No, that’s not it!”
“Really? Could it be that the young lord of the Duchy is fed up with getting scolded by a troublesome guy like me?”
Clyden continued to tease, drawing out each word sarcastically.
“No, that’s not it!”
“Oh, my! Is it tough for the esteemed one? Shouldn’t you be taking care of yourself?”
“No, it’s not that!”
“I know a saying, ‘The birds hear the words spoken in the day, and the mice hear the words spoken at night.’ It means you should watch your back before talking behind someone’s back! Got it?”
“….”
Eres muttered to himself inwardly.
Who would have thought that the dirty dog that was chasing him was Clyden?
“I yelled out many times and you dare ignore me and kick me? Am I a soccer ball to you? Kicking me like that?”
“But!”
“But what?”
“All I heard was barking!”
At Eres’ protest, Clyden sighed deeply.
“So you’re saying my words are just barking.”
“Gah! That’s not…!”
“You mean that whenever I talk, all you hear is ‘Woof woof!’ right?”
“No, that’s not what I meant!”
“Of course not! Woof! Woof! Woof!”
“….”
Suddenly Clyden made barking noises.
Eres just glanced at him awkwardly.
“What did I just say?”
“…You barked.”
“See? My words are just barking, right?”
“Gah! But you did bark!”
“Now you’re just openly calling me a dog. When I make noises, you hear ‘Woof!’ And when I try to imitate a dog’s bark, you just think I’m barking! Is that how it works in your twisted mind? You think I’m a dog now?”
“Ugh…”
Eres was frustrated but considering what had already happened, he couldn’t say anything more.
“Listen! When a senior walks by muttering ‘Why are there so many stones in the barracks?’ you should clean them up. You should be worried that your senior will get hurt!”:
”But no, you’re here talking behind the back of the senior who should be treated like a god and all you do is ignore their words and treat them like trash! You also do that?”
“No, I don’t!”
“You don’t? Are you sure about that?”
“Yes, I’m sure!”
“But you’re disrespecting the sacred rank of the Vice Commander, calling their words just barking and kicking them around like a dog? I really didn’t see this coming. I trusted you and you dare pull the strings of betrayal?”
"Ugh..."
Eres now regrets his impulsive actions, wishing he could take back his words.
"You think I'd survive alone in a goblin nest, getting harassed by them? If I'm going in, you're coming with me! I'll make sure the goblins harass you as well!"
Clyden relentlessly mocked him and Eres cursed the alcohol that had brought him to this state.
'If I ever drink again, I'll become a dog! A dog!'
Eres inwardly screamed, vowing never to drink again.
"Now you’re ignoring my words, you don’t want to hear any more barking?"
"No, that’s not it!"
Eres felt his frustration building and for a moment, he longed for an easier target to take his anger out on, someone he could scold freely without facing such torment.
Meanwhile, in the Stonewall Barracks office, Kaysis was enjoying a rare day of peace and not being scolded by anyone, felt a sudden chill creep over him.
He shivered but he had no clue what caused it.
He was too busy relishing his freedom to pay much attention.
At the same time, the rock placed in the middle of the path gradually changed into a human shape with a thud-thud sound.
"So he’s gone. Has the mission failed?"
Clyden’s absence left Rupert muttering darkly to himself.
"Pretty, let's go! Time to return to our lord. Pretty?"
Rupert glanced around when he couldn’t spot her.
Pretty was standing a little further away, just watching him and showing no intent to approach.
"Pretty? What are you doing over there?"
"Nyah! Rupert smells!"
"Smells?"
Rupert furrowed his brows as he sniffed the air.
"What smell?"
"Nya, Clyden peed on Rupert while he was sleeping!"
"That bastard did what to me?"
"Peed on you!"
"Ugh! Clyden, I will kill you!”
Rupert’s voice dripped with murderous intent as he clenched his fists in rage.
At that moment, Clyden felt an inexplicable chill.
He blamed Eres for his discomfort and began mocking him again.
"Nya! I want candy!"
"Where did that come from?"
"Rupert has candy written on his arm!"
"My arm?"
Rupert looks around at his body.
-Lusky.
-I am a person who enjoys fun things. Therefore, I scribble.
-New product from Minor's Food Division!
-Rainbow Candy launched! Sweet candies with various fruit flavors, 7 for just 1 Mega!
"...Kraaaak! Is my body a scribble board? This is why I hate humans! Clyden, you bastard!"
Rupert’s anguished cry echoed while Pretty kept whining that she wanted candy.
"Ugh! Who keeps talking badly about me? Why are my ears itching so much?"
Clyden glanced at Eres and started provoking him again.
"Who keeps badmouthing me? Who do you think it is?"
"I don’t know!"
Eres, who had been in a horse-riding stance due to Clyden’s order finally shifted his position and clenched his legs tightly as he shouted.
"I don’t know? Hmmm... I have a guess."
"I don’t know!"
"Bullshit! Who else would dare talk badly about me? It’s you, isn’t it!"
"No!"
"No? Don’t think I don’t know that you’re badmouthing me in your head?"
"No!"
"Why? Are you upset? Is it unfair? Do you regret joining the army so soon? You should have stayed at home and lived comfortably instead of coming to suffer like this. How does it feel? No regrets, right?"
"No!"
"Really? You regret it?"
"Ugh!"
Eres reflexively blurted out ‘no’ and then tightly closed his eyes.
"That’s right, keep your eyes closed. Whether you open them or not, your remaining army life will be spent regretting in the dark."
As Clyden vented his anger on Eres, there was a knock at the door.
"Sergeant, are you in there?"
"Yes. I am."
With the lingering image of Clyden's naked body still in her mind, Lydis entered the room.
Clyden cleared his throat and covered himself with a blanket, not daring to look at her.
A brief awkward silence filled the room.
Eres desperately shot a look at Lydis for help but she ignored it and spoke to Clyden.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"Well, the thing is..."
Clyden began to explain everything that had happened since he was kidnapped.
"So, you’re saying the rock and the cat turned into those things when the sun rose? And the rock and cat we saw in the capital were...?"
"Exactly! I’ve been saying this but Eres here just ignored it and called it nonsense.”
Clyden glared at Eres but he could only feel wronged.
"Why did you do that?"
“Ugh! Sister, what do you mean! We were together!”
When even Lydis started blaming him, Eres felt like the sky was falling.
“Oh? Isn’t it your responsibility to handle that? Should I have stepped in?”
“Well…It’s useless no matter how much I try.”
He deeply felt the loneliness of having no one in this world to trust.
He just didn’t want to live anymore.
“Anyway, if the change happens in the morning, it’s likely that the sergeant will change too.”
“Probably. That damn necklace won’t come off no matter what.”
“Let’s go to Uncle Chizelrus tomorrow. He should know the details. It seems like some kind of curse magic, We should also ask the mage from the Duke's territory if there's a way to break the curse.”
Lydis stood up and was about to leave the room.
After a moment of hesitation, she spoke in a quiet voice.
“Sergeant…”
“Yes?”
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
Lydis quickly left the room and Clyden stared after her momentarily before turning to Eres.
“What did she say?”
“……”
“You don’t even feel like talking now? Alright, I’m too tired to talk. Just sleep in that position.”
“Ugh! No!”
“Quiet! Do you know how exhausting it’s been running around all day, breathing in the dust from your high-and-mighty behind? If you wake me up again, I’ll charge you double.”
Clyden lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
Watching him sleep, Eres could only shed bitter tears.
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[Translator - Tangrine ]
[Proofreader - Seeker ]
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