Demon Race (2)
Reed once again asked Leto to gather information about Rosaria.
He carefully went through everything from the place where she was first discovered to see if there was really nothing that could be a clue.
Money was not an issue from the beginning.
Reed made sure Leto couldn't have any other thoughts by offering both threats and generous rewards.
'I wish there was some news, even if no news is good news.'
That way, he could deal with it.
All Reed wanted was for Leto to be loyal to his role.
'I didn't know she had the power to detect demons.'
When Reed played the game, the demon faction itself was completely reduced, so there was no occasion for the saintess to show such power.
'I didn't even care that much in the first place.'
A lingering discomfort that seemed to have been brushed aside.
It was remembered, but it felt like a history that everyone disliked mentioning.
'Considering the scale of the emergency, it's foolish to hope for a glossed-over solution.'
As a tower master, he did his best to bring the weapons owned by the Althea Church.
He tried to focus on that.
Knock, knock, knock.
Heavy knocking sounds.
The door slowly opened like a scene from a horror movie, and someone entered.
"Ahhhh...."
It was Rosaria.
Rosaria walked in, dropping tears like chicken droppings.
Reed got up from his seat and approached her.
Seeing her like that while he was worried, his body instinctively went forward, wondering if something went wrong.
"What's wrong? Huh? Did someone bother you?"
"Sniff, sniff. Well, ummm...."
"Yeah, yeah. Daddy's listening."
"Mungmungburned Lucy."
[T/N: Changing Meowmeow’s name to Mungmung]
Rosaria showed Lucy she was holding in her hand.
"Oh, no...."
He said it as if it was unfortunate, but Reed sighed in relief inside.
Compared to his worries, this incident was a piece of cake.
"I told him Lucy was precious, but he burned Lucy even though he knew."
"I see."
"I don't like the dog. He's a bad boy."
Rosaria wiped her tears with her sleeve and mumbled angrily.
Reed hugged Rosaria.
He secretly lowered his head.
The dog, who had followed her in, hung his head sadly with a gloomy expression.
It seemed as if he was insisting that he didn't do it on purpose.
Reed hugged her and sat down on the sofa.
"So the dog burned Rosaria's precious friend. Yeah, that was bad."
"Yes."
"But the dog probably didn't want to do that. The dog was originally a fire spirit, right?"
"But it's fine when I touch him. It's fine for Daddy and the other sisters and brothers, so why is it only like that with Lucy? I've told the dog several times."
"Do you know why you can touch the dog, Rosaria?"
"…Why?"
"The dog deliberately cools down its hot body, so Rosaria doesn't get hurt. Just like it's cold when you go out in thin clothes in the middle of winter, the dog prepares itself to be in Rosaria's arms."
"…"
"It seems the dog couldn't properly prepare when it was with Lucy."
"I see."
Rosaria, with teary and runny eyes from sadness, lifted her head.
Knowing that the dog didn't do it out of malice, half of her sadness disappeared.
Reed wiped her tears with his thumb and said.
"So, try to talk to the dog well. Let's solve this issue together."
"Yes."
She wiped the remaining tears with her own clothes and swallowed her runny nose with a 'sniff'.
Rosaria stepped out of Reed's arms and stood in front of the dog.
The red salamander.
The salamander with a peculiarly large head had captured Rosaria's heart.
Yes, she could forgive its mischievous behavior.
Rosaria hugged the dog.
"I'm sorry, dog. I'm sorry for calling you a bad boy."
- Meow...
"Rosaria is the bad one. I said harsh words to the dog.
- Meow! Meow!
"…Do you think so too? Was Rosaria bad?"
- Meow!
The dog shook its head with all its strength.
The conversation seemed to be getting through, but it was subtly off.
The dog leaned its head against Rosaria and licked her face with its tongue.
After the warmth of its tongue licked her face several times, the tearful face turned into a smile.
'That's right, there's no way that child is a demon.'
Her bright and altruistic personality was completely different from the demons who sought to destroy humanity.
After the two reconciled, Phoebe entered the room.
"Oh, Miss. You're here~."
"Phoebe, look at this."
"What? Oh my! Why is Lucy like this? Who did this?"
"The dog accidentally burned it. Can you fix it, sister?"
Phoebe smiled and patted Rosaria's head.
"Of course~. Phoebe is a doll doctor. I'll fix it neatly for you."
"Sister is the best!"
- Meow!
Rosaria gave a thumbs up, and the dog chimed in.
* * *
Dream big tl dot com
[Original Source – dreambigtl . com]
* * *
Handing Lucy over to Phoebe, Rosaria picked up the dog.
"…Phoebe."
"Yes, Tower Master!"
Phoebe, who was about to leave, turned her head.
Reed asked her about something that had been bothering him lately.
"…Do salamanders lick people when they're happy?"
"What? Well… do they…? I've never heard of such behavior…"
Phoebe also tilted her head.
Reed couldn't remember seeing a salamander cuddling up to someone and licking them with its tongue.
"It's kind of like a puppy."
"Isn't it?"
The salamander named Mungmung seemed to be more and more like a real dog.
