86 - Black Dog
......Ah, that dog.
Ever since I was chased in the alleyway, that black dog has not come close to me. But I have started spotting it on my way to and from Menhishumi Church, or at the edges of the market when I go out clinging to Tabitha. I hope it is just my imagination, but I feel like it is staring at me, and it is creepy.
......But now that I think about it, that dog does have a pattern to its actions, does it not.
When I am with adults like Leonardo or Bart, it does not come near. When I am alone with just the kids, it does not come near on the busy main street or central road either. But just when I think, "Oh, it is not coming close, maybe that day was just a coincidence," and I let my guard down and try to enter an alley, somehow it is already right behind me. And if I try to ignore it and go into the alley anyway, the black dog bites my skirt or circles around in front of me and barks loudly.
......That dog, could it be one of Leonardo-san's underlings or something?
I felt like that dog always approached whenever I got near places Leonardo had forbidden, like alleys. It stays far away until I am about to enter the alley, but once I go in, it chases me, and when I return to the main street, it distances itself again. It seemed like a trained watchdog.
The black dog showing up everywhere I went was unsettling, and I started avoiding going outside except to go to Menhishumi Church. Elke and the others still invite me to take detours, but when I say I am scared of the black dog, they do not push too hard. They were there when the dog barked at me, so I guess they understand being afraid of the black dog.
......Today is not a church day, so I should not see that dog either...
Half asleep, I opened the window to let in the morning air, and I saw a black dot across the street.
......Huh? No way?
As if doused with cold water, I woke up instantly. With my now fully awake mind, I stared at the black dot and realized it was moving, just a little.
......That dog finally came all the way to the residence!?
I want it to be my imagination, but with how smart that dog is, I can only think of it as a trained dog, so it does not seem impossible. My stomach clenched tight, and I immediately moved away from the window. I do not think the black dog could see me from that distance, but the thought that even now it is searching for me is terrifying. That dog is finally trying to track down even the residence where I live.
"L-Leonyaldo-shaan...!"
He had come back to the residence last night, so he should be sleeping in his room, or already awake and relaxing in the living room. I made noise running down the stairs, knocked, but did not wait for an answer before bursting into Leonardo's room. On the bed was a round human-shaped lump.
"Leo-san, Leo-san!"
"Gwah!?"
I flipped up the blanket and dove inside. He had only just gotten out of bed, but I clung to Leonardo with my slightly cold body, and he let out a strange yelp. If a sudden cold little creature jumped into your warm, cozy bed, I suppose you might want to yelp too.
I pressed myself tight against Leonardo's body, and the dim, warm space under the blanket soothed my heart. The fear of the black dog I had been seeing so often lately felt just a little bit eased.
"......What is wrong, Tina? Today is not the Recollection Festival, is it?"
Still sounding sleepy, Leonardo's arm slowly lifted and settled onto my head. I felt some relief for now, but this was not the time to be taking it easy.
"That is right deshu. Pwease get up, pwease look outside."
I sat up abruptly and threw off the blanket. Leonardo, who I had roused from sleep, did not seem particularly angry and just let me do as I pleased.
"Over here deshu, over here. Pwease come to the window!"
I pulled open the curtains on the large window of the master bedroom, letting in the morning light. The room brightened instantly, and Leonardo squinted against it.
"That black dog is outside deshu!"
"Where...?"
"Huh?"
I opened the curtains and looked outside, but I could not see the black dog. Actually, there was no way the view from the fourth-floor attic room and the view from Leonardo's second-floor bedroom would reach the same distance.
......The second floor is too low, you cannot see very far... Yosh!
Now that I understood the cause of the failure, I just needed to fix it. I tugged Leonardo's hand and led him to the attic window, then had him look outside again.
"There deshu! That black one!"
"Let me see..."
It had not entered the grounds, but on the street that should be the knights' residential district, I could see a black dot a bit farther away than before. To my eyes it did not look clearly like a dog, and it was just my gut feeling that it was that black dog, but Leonardo seemed to see the shape clearly. With an awoken expression, he said it was indeed a black dog.
"That dog finally tracked us all the way home, mashita yo."
I looked up at Leonardo wondering how I could escape that dog, and he patted my head with his big hand as usual. I know he is trying to reassure me, but the black dog's persistence is so frightening I could not feel reassured at all.
"Even if it is a dog, letting it into the knights' residential district... we will need to warn the guard knights about this."
"......I do not want to leave the house today deshu."
As I said that and hugged Leonardo's thick leg, I heard his voice, sounding somehow apologetic.
"Tina... do you hate dogs?"
"I do not hate them deshu yo. But that black one is somehow scary deshu."
I like cats, but I do not hate dogs either. But that black dog is no good. I cannot really explain it, but I cannot shake the feeling that it is chasing me with clear intent.
"I think 'with intent' might be overthinking it... but if you are that worried, how about taking a carriage to the church for a while?"
"I do not need to go that far deshu."
I do not want to stand out by arriving by carriage at Menhishumi Church, where children from poor families also attend. Besides, that black dog does not come near when I am with adults. It is unsettling, but as long as I do not take detours alone with just the kids, I think it is safe for now.
"......Today is not a church day, right? If you are worried, how about spending the day without leaving the residence?"
"I will do that mashu."
Still clinging to Leonardo's leg, I glared out the window when he called my name in a tone that felt slightly off.
"......Tina."
"What is it deshu?"
"It is not that you actually hate dogs, is it...?"
"No deshu yo. I am just scaared of that black one deshu."
Something is strange, is there something going on? I carefully observed Leonardo's face. I would hate to think it, but maybe Leonardo is just playing dumb, and that dog is a guard he assigned to me. Are you hiding something? I stared intently into Leonardo's eyes, when I suddenly sneezed. Come to think of it, I had spotted that dog right after waking up and dashed out of my room, so we were both still in our nightclothes. We should get dressed quickly.
Spending a whole day inside the residence was not that painful. Before I started going to Menhishumi Church, it was almost an everyday thing.
By evening, Alf came to the residence in Leonardo's place, since it seemed he would not be able to return tonight. As we ate dinner together, he gave me a report about the black dog.
"Since there was an intruder, even if it was just a dog, in the knights' residential district, Leonardo had them search for that dog all day today, but they could not catch it."
Apparently it was a topic of discussion at the fortress, too. All the streets connecting the knights' residential district and the city had guard knights posted around the clock, yet where on earth had that black dog slipped in from? It was fine since it was just a dog this time, but if it had been a suspicious person, it would be a big deal. It would mean someone had managed to infiltrate the district the knights were guarding without anyone knowing.
"We also checked if it might be a dog kept at one of the houses in the residential district, but none matched the sightings."
"Where could it be getting in from?" Alf said with a puzzled look as he left.
The next day, I was escorted by Leonardo, who had come back early in the morning, to Menhishumi Church. I walked while looking around, but there was no sign of the black dog. I was starting to think I had been overthinking it, and relaxed, but when we left the knights' residential district, I spotted it. The black dog was sitting politely just outside the residential area.
"Leonyaldo-san..."
I pointed at the dog, and Leonardo also confirmed its presence. He said he had only seen it in reports and as a dot from the attic window before, so this was his first time seeing it up close. When Leonardo approached the dog, I hid behind his back and clung to him as I walked. The dog backed away, maintaining exactly the same distance as Leonardo advanced.
"......It really is a smart dog."
It retreated to the very edge of Leonardo's reach, as if measuring the range.
"How long has this dog been here?"
"It came from the east early this morning. It has been sitting there the whole time, but..."
"......Capture it when the guard shift changes."
"Yes, sir!"
From the exchange between Leonardo and the Black Knight, it seemed I might not have to see the black dog on my way back. That was the best news I could have hoped for right now.
When class ended and I headed home with Bart's escort, the black mass that had been flickering at the edge of my vision lately was nowhere to be seen. I breathed a sigh of relief and spoke to the guards at the entrance to the knights' residential district. Since the faces were different from the morning, Leonardo's order to catch that black dog should have been carried out by now.
"Was the black dog caught?"
"Ah, the Commander did give that order... but by the time we came for our shift change, the dog was already gone."
The guard knight shrugged and said it apologetically. I had been relieved thinking the dog must have been caught by now, but it seemed I could not relax yet. Feeling uneasy, I walked to the main gate of the residence when I suddenly felt eyes on me. What is that? I turned around and looked up to about where I thought the feeling came from. On a branch of a street tree was the black dog.
"That is not normal for a dog, desho!?"
Now that I had spotted the black dog, I could not just stand there. The main gate was right nearby, so I dashed into the residence grounds and told the two gatekeepers about the black dog.
"That dog is definitely strange deshu!"
I ambushed Leonardo at the entrance when he came home before dinner and reported exactly what I had seen on the way back. I could understand a cat climbing a tree, but a dog climbing one was a bit of a stretch. The world is big, so maybe there are dogs like that, but that street tree did not have branches that a dog's skeleton could climb. And yet, that black dog was looking at me from up on the branch.
"I am too scaared to leave the house anymore deshu..."
From the next day onward, I said my goodbyes to Leonardo at the entrance. I used to see him off all the way to the main gate, so Leonardo also got serious about doing something about the black dog soon.
I was holed up inside, too scared to go outside, when for some reason Teo showed up on the fourth day.
"Huh? Why Teo? The knights actually let you through, kurerane?"
Nils had come to the residence many times as my teacher, so I could understand the guard and gate knights letting him through, but there should not be any knight who knew Teo's face and could judge that it was okay to let him into the residence.
"When I said I was Mirshe's big brother, they let me right through."
"That is a bit of a security problem deshu ne."
I made a mental note to report this to Leonardo, when Teo tugged hard on my hand.
"......What is it deshu?"
"We are going to church!"
"I am taking a little break mashu."
I had already informed Menhishumi Church that I was taking a break because of an unsettling dog lurking around. Since Nils's lessons had been a bit ahead, I was not worried about falling behind from missing a few sessions. I explained this, but Teo would not give up. He pulled my hand and tried to walk toward the gate.
"Teo, pwease let go."
"If you are not there, I cannot take the class."
"That is your reason deshu!?"
Leonardo should have made arrangements for Teo to return to Menhishumi Church. There is no need for me to go with him. There should not be.
"......If I do not go, Teo, you cannot take the class deshu?"
"I was told to come with you."
It seemed strange, but I did owe Teo some gratitude for being saved from the dog the other day. Reluctantly, I called out to Bart and headed for Menhishumi Church. And there, at the gate of the church, was the black dog again.
[Author's Note]
As someone from the male-oriented side of things, a little girl jumping into an adult man's bed right after he wakes up... I cannot help but feel sorry for Leonardo. I am sure there are all sorts of "that" and "those" moments.
Found some typos and corrected them.