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When I returned to the shop, I needed to warn Timu and the others about what I had heard earlier. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if magic dogs attacked them while they were happily playing.

“Timu, I kind of need to talk to you…”
“Elder sister, I too have something I must speak to you about.”
“Oh, what a coincidence. Well then, won’t you listen to me first?”
“Understood.”
“The truth is, apparently the nearby village Zalgie has been attacked by magic beasts.”
“I too wished to speak about that. It was my blunder. Because of the Demon King Army, they have noticed Gargan’s presence. Rumors have already begun to spread to the neighboring towns.”

U-, Ummm, Gargan? And the Demon King Army?

But I was talking about a pack of magic dogs, not some puppy.

To begin with, what the heck do you mean it’s the Demon King Army’s fault!

I looked at Timu’s face. It’s her usual serious expression. She doesn’t look like she’s messing with me.

…I see. So it’s her usual chuunibyou speak. I could just cut her off here. But chuunibyou needs patience to heal. I won’t ignore her. I should be hearing her out.

“Timu, Gargan is a puppy, isn’t he? He’s unrelated to the topic this time, right?”
“Huhu, Gargan may be a puppy to you, elder sister, but he is a fully-fledged dark dragon, you know. To the rabble, I believe Gargan is like a calamity that overturns heaven and earth.”

Mmn, this isn’t getting anywhere. A dark dragon, you say? Then we’re keeping two of them as pets. That’s amazing. We could make them our shop’s selling point. Hell, maybe I should just start cooking dragon.

“And about this being the Demon King Army’s fault?”

Honestly, I’ve just about given up on trying to advance this conversation, but I’ll ask just in case.

“In order to conceal Gargan, I have been using untraceable mountain bandits and highwaymen as food. If we touched any villagers, naturally this nation would be alerted.”
“Well yeah. The Public Safety Force would come rushing over. And if too many strange stories are told, a scary big sister from the Public Safety Force will come running over to hand out a spanking, okay?”

I was subtly warning Timu about her chuuni speak. But Timu didn’t seem to mind at all. Or rather, she doesn’t even realize I was talking about her?

The conversation went on without her realizing. She talked on and on about the Demon King Army’s movements, or the activities of the organization, or the invasion on the neighboring counties.

And the conclusion…?

Gargan was being fed bandits as pet food. The peace and safety around Beruga town was all safe and good. And then, the more bandits (pet food) Gargan ate, the more often they could bump heads with scouts from the Demon King Army. Those scouts had been attacking Zalgie village with magic beasts that devoured the villagers. That’s when Gargan appeared. All the scouts evacuated in a hurry. The scouts had escaped, and somebody caught a glimpse of Gargan just as Zalgie village had been destroyed.

“Hmm~ Gargan has it rough, huh~ So it was a false accusation, huh~”
“Yes. For the sake of the Evil God Army’s world domination, I had been keeping Gargan prudently, but it has all come to nothing. Had I known this was going to happen, I should have just let him rampage to begin with.”

Timu, I get it. I get it, but just when are you going to recover from your chuunibyou? At this rate, who knows when you’ll be able to make any friends your age.

“Lady Camilla’s anger is most justified. We must exact the appropriate vengeance upon the loathsome Demon King Army.”

Not losing to Timu at all, Pervert (Nielsen)’s chuunibyou jumped right into full throttle.

Hahh. I have to look after you as well? I’m getting a headache. Honestly, just give me a break from all this chuuni please. Let’s move to the real topic. This isn’t the time for nonsense.

“Timu, let’s not speak of the Demon King Army anymore. The real problem is the warning about magic beasts. When you head out to play, stay away from Zalgie Village.”
“Elder sister, of course I already know this. I cannot allow our presence to become any more salient. I will convey your message to all the members of the Household Guard.”
“I-, I see. Well, as long as you stay away, that’s fine I guess.”

It looks like I can finally relax for a bit. Timu and the others were playing in a real danger zone, so I was worried. All we need now is for the subjugation team to take down the magic dogs, and then we’re in the clear.

Wait, hang on. That isn’t simple at all…

It’s the fault of the deadly magic dog pack. But Gargan is being kept free range, so there’s a chance he’ll mess up people’s farms. It wouldn’t be strange for the subjugation team to exterminate Gargan as well. I need to do something about this.

“Also, a subjugation team will be dispatched from the Guild, so what will you be doing about Gargan?”
“That would become a problem, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah, it would, huh.”

I’m sure that those guys will hunt down any magic beast they see. Would they be lenient if it’s just a puppy? Although Gargan is our pet, he’s being raised like a stray.
In my old life, back in lax Japan, stray dogs would be brought to a health center. But in this world there’s no reason to spare them.

Should I try talking to the subjugation team just to try?

But they’d probably say “No way, no way. If we spare one, we’ll end up sparing them all. The orders say to eliminate all magic beasts!”

Can’t be helped. Should we shelter Gargan in the shop then?

No, I don’t think that would work either. We have pride as a restaurant. Even for a few days, we can’t allow a hygiene problem. I feel bad for Timu, but we might have to return Gargan to the wild someplace far away.

“Timu, it’s a shame, but it’s starting to look like we’ll have to let go of Gargan.”
“EH!? G-, Gargan is like my other half that I have braved countless battles together with in the last great war. B-, But if elder sister so desires then I… t-, then I…”

Timu told me that with a heartbroken expression. No good. Timu’s clearly getting depressed.

“AAHHHHHH! I was kidding! Just kidding! Gargan is your precious friend, right? We definitely won’t be doing anything of the sort.”
“No, it is fine. Elder sister is what’s truly important to me. There is nobody more important than you are. If you so order, then I would even kill my other half.”
“I-, It’s fine, I said. You don’t have to do anything like that. I definitely won’t make you do anything that makes you sad, Timu.”
“Elder sister!”

Phew~ Looks like I somehow got it under control. It looks like Timu has gotten really attached to Gargan as a pet. And it looks like we can’t abandon him now.

“In that case, should we not brace ourselves, and play all our cards in an all-out invasion, Lady Tilea?”

Pervert (Nielsen) enthusiastically suggested a battle, in other words, “How about we complain to the subjugation squad?”.

It’s easy to talk about it, huh~

Although it’s just the matter of one puppy, it’s probably going to be crazy hard to convince the Guild.

“Elder sister, Nielsen’s suggestion holds merit. At present, the Demon King Army is presently on the decline. I believe that perhaps now is the best chance for an all-out invasion of the human world.”

Hm~mm, what should I do…

The subjugation squad should comprise magic beast hunting specialists. I’ll bet they’re a bunch with a few quirks here and there.

But well, it doesn’t mean that they’ll be a rowdy bunch just because they’re adventurers. Maybe talking it out really is the best option.

“Yeah. For now let’s try negotiating first.”
“Milady. Can I take that to mean, negotiate first, and if negotiations break down, we commence all-out war?”

If negotiations break down, we commence all-out war, he says…?

If the subjugation team won’t do as we ask, are you planning on punching it out?

This is bad. At this rate, if we don’t see eye-to-eye, Pervert (Nielsen) will end up arrested.

I know. For now I’ll leave this idiot aside. It’s obvious that if I bring this guy along, things will just spiral out of control.

“Yeah. Let’s go with that, then.”
“Understood. Please leave your defense to me.”
“No, you’ll be guarding the house, Niel. I’ll be taking Myuu as my bodyguard.”
“Mühen, you say?”
“That’s right. Problem?”
“…No. Well then, I shall relay your order to him.”
“I’ll leave it to you!”

Ever since our little sword show the other day, Myuu’s stock has been on a sudden rise. We’re going to have a talk with the Guild after all. Obviously we need somebody who can behave like an adult, right?

And also, Myuu is the strongest member of our group. Although we’re just going there to talk, who knows what might happen. I won’t be able to relax without a talented swordsman watching over me.