The Dog

Liyana had gotten herself into trouble again.

After getting drunk last night, she had slipped outside while Luo Lun wasn’t looking…

The result was only to be expected. Apparently, she had sneaked into someone else’s yard and dragged their dog into a dance.

In the middle of it all, she had even gone home, grabbed a few sausages, and told Mo Lini that she was taking them to give to a new good buddy she’d made.

Early the next morning, the dog’s owner found the idiot elf fast asleep in the doghouse, hugging the dog. The dog itself wore an utterly world-weary expression.

“I’m truly, terribly sorry!” Liyana pressed her palms together and apologized to the girl standing before her.

They were currently in the reception room of the girl’s home.

The girl was named Ailan. She was an ordinary young woman from a well-to-do family living in the western district of Dawn City.

Both of her parents were scholars and professors at the academy in Dawn City. It wasn’t a magic academy, but an ordinary university, though being a professor there was still a highly respectable occupation.

The girl looked to be around sixteen or seventeen. She wore an exquisite pale-yellow dress, its collar and cuffs decorated with fine white lace. Her soft brown curls fell obediently over her shoulders, and her entire person radiated the charm and liveliness of youth.

Mo Lini had accompanied Liyana here. If she hadn’t seen the genuine remorse on Liyana’s face, she might have thought this was merely Liyana’s way of getting close to Miss Ailan.

“Ah, Lini should be fine. She just looks a little tired. But since you want to apologize, you should apologize to her too,” Ailan told Liyana.

“Apologize to the dog?” Mo Lini couldn’t help blinking, clearly confused.

Would a dog even understand an apology?

“Lini’s very smart. She understands everything people say to her,” Miss Ailan explained, having seen through Mo Lini’s thoughts.

“Okay! Then I’ll go apologize to her.” Liyana’s response was crisp and decisive. Other people might have thought apologizing to a dog was embarrassing, but Liyana didn’t care in the slightest.

“Lini! Come here!”

Ailan called toward the outside.

A large golden retriever dashed in like a gust of wind. It skillfully ran over to the sofa, bent its hind legs, and settled into a steady sit. Its pink tongue lolled from its mouth as it panted, its pair of brown eyes warm and bright.

“What is it, Ailan?”

“Miss Liyana would like to apologize to you,” Ailan said to the golden retriever.

“Apologize?” Lini tilted her head, a humanlike look of confusion appearing on her face. “Why does Miss Liyana need to apologize to me? She kept me company while we danced last night, and we had a great time. She even fed me several sausages.”

Mo Lini’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her mouth fell slightly open as she cried out, “It… it can talk!”

“So you really can talk! Lini! I thought I’d just been hearing things because I was drunk last night!” Liyana looked just as shocked, staring intently at the golden retriever before her.

“What else could I do? The moment you came in, you tried to make me drink alcohol… I’m a dog! Drinking alcohol could have killed me!” Lini rolled her eyes at Liyana with some exasperation. “I barked at you several times, but you couldn’t understand me… If I hadn’t told you outright that I couldn’t drink, I might not have survived!”

“Sorry, sorry. I really couldn’t think straight at the time.” Liyana scratched her somewhat messy golden hair in embarrassment.

As expected of Liyana. She had actually driven a dog to start talking…

Mo Lini gave Liyana a suspicious look, mentally adding several new labels to the woman.

“I told you Lini was very smart.” Miss Ailan looked rather pleased with herself. She reached out and rubbed the top of Lini’s head, and Lini narrowed her eyes in bliss.

Mo Lini felt that this was no longer a question of whether the dog was smart or not.

“Lini… is Lini a monster?” Unable to contain her curiosity, Mo Lini asked in a soft voice. She naturally knew that some high-level monsters possessed intelligence and could even transform into human form.

“No. I’m just an ordinary golden retriever who happens to be relatively clever and learned the human language.” Lini gave a lazy yawn, shifted into a more comfortable position, and sprawled across the soft sofa cushion.

“Lini has magical power inside her, and she knows several spells too!” Ailan introduced her enthusiastically.

“Ailan!” Lini immediately sprang to her feet. She looked rather anxious, her tail wagging nonstop. “You can’t tell them that!”

“Huh? Why not? They already know you can talk. What’s the harm in telling them that you can use magic too?” Ailan stuck out her tongue, clearly unconcerned. “I know Miss Liyana is a good person. She’s an adventurer, and she’s an elf, too. An ordinary person wouldn’t go to such lengths to apologize for disturbing a dog.”

Ailan’s gaze toward Liyana and Mo Lini was filled with trust.

“Don’t worry. I swear I won’t tell anyone about Lini!” Liyana immediately raised her hand and promised, her expression unusually serious and sincere.

“Well… all right, then…” Lini studied Liyana for a moment, seemingly satisfied that she was sincere. Only then did she relax somewhat and lie back down, her tail gently thumping against the sofa cushion every now and then.

“So Lini really is a monster?” Mo Lini seemed particularly concerned about the matter.

A dog that could both speak and use magic was clearly not something the word “ordinary” could explain.

“I don’t know,” Lini said slowly, a hint of confusion entering her voice. “Ailan and I have investigated for a long time, but we’ve never heard of any kind of monster called a golden retriever… From my appearance to my habits, I’m no different from an ordinary golden retriever, except for what’s in here.”

Lini tapped her own head with a paw.

“Even you don’t know, Liyana?” Mo Lini glanced at Liyana. Having lived for more than a thousand years, Liyana should have seen and heard quite a lot.

“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of anything like it…” Liyana spread her hands helplessly. “The only person who might be able to figure it out is probably Aina. And if even she doesn’t know, then Lini’s identity might truly be an unsolved mystery.”

“There’s really someone who can figure out what I am?” Lini stood up again, her eyes shining with a mixture of hope and unease. “As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been a golden retriever… Later, someone caught me and I was put up for sale at a pet market, where Ailan bought me…”

“If you’re willing to go meet her,” Liyana said with a shrug. “Don’t worry. Aina’s a very good person. If she knows anything, she’ll definitely tell you.”

“Will she tell anyone else? Right now, only we know Lini’s secret.” Ailan hesitated. “Even my parents don’t know that Lini can talk.”

“Don’t worry.” Liyana patted her chest. “Leave it to me. I guarantee everything will be handled properly!”