Chapter 401: Gathering
I 【Teleport】back to the『House』. Riche sniffed me all over, the corners of his mouth tugged down somehow..
「Do I smell strange? 」
Is it the scent of pine resin?
He continued sniffing me suspiciously, but he dropped to the ground, raised his upper body, stretched his forepaws and wagged his tail. I passed Riche’s check, it seemed. Look at that grin, he’s asking me to play with him; it’s a complete 180 from his earlier demeanor. Doggies sure are expressive creatures, huh.
We played tag among the grapevine trellis for a while. He would madly zoom forward and when we’re quite far from each other, he’d stop and stare at me. That’s the signal that I should charge at him with great gusto. He’d bound forward to avoid my grasp, dash forward again to put a bit of distance between us, and the cycle goes on.
After Riche had enough, I caught him and rubbed him all over, roughing up his soft puppy fur. My fingertips feel a bit chilly when I get too close to his skin, but his fur is still warm and fluffy. It felt quite bizarre.
Today’s the day the guys invited me over for a card game, which is just a ruse; it’s actually a venting session to Butler. The topics will definitely revolve around our trip to Es, so I got a bad feeling about it, so I’m a bit torn since card games are fun.
I prepared Riche’s dinner before teleporting to the Canum house. I peeked inside the innermost room just in case —
There they are. Daifuku was curled up on Zabuton — ah, no, he’s sprawled with his belly up. His toe beans and nose are pink.
Zabuton noticed me, so he raised one corner and waved it. Daifuku ignored me, but his twitching whiskers was a tell-tale sign that he also noticed my presence.
I slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and shook (?) my finger with Zabuton’s corner, before softly stretching my hand in front of Daifuku — Can I pet you?
Daifuku seemed to give the green light since he half-rolled over towards me. I gently stroked him from his throat to his cheeks with my fingers. Seemingly dissatisfied, he nuzzled his head on my hand, urging me to scratch him more.
Doggies love getting pets and don’t really care where you scratch them. Cats, on the other hand, can be quite picky. But after giving Daifuku some pets for a bit, he let me stroke him wherever. Normally, he wouldn’t let a finger near him if he wasn’t in the mood, so I took the chance to pet him as much as I wanted!
Zabuton remained motionless the whole time, with Daifuku still on top of him.
Zabuton realized that I frequently roam around, so he spent most of his time beside Gramps on the island. He would occasionally return to Canum to escape the heat.
He loves having something on top of him, so whenever he’s in Canum, he’d be carrying Daifuku. I’m not sure if this is his real body or if it’s just a mirage, but apparently, he was a cushion meant to carry the『Spirit Bough 』 on top of him. Maybe that’s the reason why he loves doing that?
◇ ◆ ◇
「Ou, pardon the intrusion. 」
「Come in. 」
Dinosso came through the back door and we went up the stairs.
「Am I the last one? 」
Dinosso glanced towards the game room.
Retze, Khan and Hauron were already in the room. They didn’t make a sound, but Dinosso could probably sense their presence.
「Noth isn’t here yet. 」
「He didn’t run away, did he.. 」
Dinosso’s brows creased.
「But Noth is pretty strong in card games, isn’t he? 」
If we’re betting money, then Dinosso and I would probably be the ones to bite the dust. Ah, but I bet Dinosso might be the strongest among us if he went all out, or if something far more important is at stake.
「It’s not about the game. Oh, seems like he’s here. 」
Dinosso stopped on his tracks and turned his gaze downstairs.
I felt drawn to follow his gaze — Butler’s voice greeting us resounded from the entrance hall.
「Alright! 」
Dinosso rushed down the stairs to get Butler, his footsteps rougher than usual.
Uh, what was that? He seemed angry yet happy at the same time, so weird.
There’s no need for two people to welcome the guest, so I made my way upstairs. We can just take it as Dinosso being too agile and I was a step too late.
「Noth came too. 」
「Yeah. Everyone’s here, then. 」
Retze replied, completely unaware that Daifuku was on his lap. Since the guy can’t sense the cat’s presence, he was still sitting casually with his knees apart, so Daifuku was actually sprawled on his knees, with half of his body leaning on his feet and leg.
Zabuton had been trying to lift Khan from his bottom, but he immediately flew to me and poked me with his corners as soon as I came in.
「Wait a bit, I’ll prepare the food. 」
Dinner first before we play.
Zabuton nodded once, then he flew back to Khan, bent his body at around an angle of 30 degrees, and tried lifting Khan again. Why is he trying to carry him, huh?
Lightball can see Zabuton too, right? Hauron’s expression was complicated as he sat beside Khan, but if the latter didn’t ignore them then Retze would notice it for sure.
「Hey, it’s obvious that you’re talking to a spirit, you know. Be careful that you don’t space out and accidentally do that when you’re outside, okay? 」
Retze reminded me.
「Yes, yes. Should we have wine for the alcohol? 」
「Ou, please. 」
「Mm. 」
「Yes. 」
Everyone agreed, so I retrieved the wine bottle.
The gaming table stood right in the middle of the room, and six chairs — it was only four before — surrounded it. I added side tables in between the chairs and placed snacks and wine on them instead of putting the food on the gaming table.
Sometimes I also lounge on the three-seater sofa at the end of the room on my own. The shelves were lined with game boards that I collected from different places, trinkets and knick nacks that I picked up because I fancy them, alcohol and cups — this room had become a cozy hideout, kinda like a secret base where you hang out with friends.
Best thing is I really did call my friends over here!
NEXT CHAPTER
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I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
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