Chapter 5. Intrusion

“Approach without waking her.”

The owners of the sounds from outside…

Very carefully and quietly crossed the courtyard and arrived in front of me.

“Something’s here.”

“Take care of it quietly and go.”

These heartless bastards.

They were planning on taking out the guard dog, too.

However.

Very unfortunately for them, I’m not a dog.

I took a moment to catch my breath.

And prepared to jump out in one go.

“Take care of…”

Just then.

When some figure appeared closest…

*Crack!*

“Gah…!”

I launched myself and bit into his throat in an instant.

Then.

*Crunch-*

I twisted his neck, snapping it.

It was a familiar feeling of killing, but because I’d been so peaceful lately, I felt a strange unpleasantness. I sized up the surroundings.

“It’s a person!”

“Subdue it!”

What I could see were Masked Persons, looking like obvious assassins or kidnappers.

…There are a lot of them.

Damn, it’s weird facing these thieves after only facing Gladiators who just brazenly came at me.

More than that, my Intuition tells me there aren't any incredibly strong opponents here.

Of course, it's a 1 vs. many situation, and I can’t even use my Aura.

But because of that, I feel a surge of excitement.

Those gazes and cheers in the Colosseum felt like shit.

*Swish-*

“It’s coming!”

“Get it all at once!”

The intense struggle, where life was on the line, is already imprinted in my mind as pleasure.

*Thud.*

I spread my hand wide and grabbed a Masked Person’s head.

And stabbed him in the neck with the dagger I’d stolen from the first Masked Person I killed.

“Gah!”

Good, two down.

*Whoosh!*

I dodged the dagger swung with a whistling sound.

Then.

*Thump-*

“Monstrous…!”

I threw the Masked Person I was holding to cause confusion,

then rushed towards the nearest Masked Person.

There are a lot of them, so I need to move quickly.

Of course, if I just yelled right now, this situation would be over.

But then my share would decrease, wouldn’t it?

Even in the Colosseum, they gave extra rewards for killing a lot of Monsters in group battles.

Moreover, this place is where a Noble Young Lady, said to be the best in the Kingdom, lives.

Wouldn't there be some kind of benefit, even for a Slave?

*Thud-*

The sound of a sharp dagger piercing flesh rang out.

It was a surprise attack from what appeared to be the leader of the Masked Persons.

“Haa.”

*Whack!*

I briefly pushed the pain away with a breath and struck the Masked Person with my elbow.

Huh, a paralytic poison?

My hand and feet are tingling a bit.

“Now we strike all at once.”

“…My bad.”

It’s a shame, but poison doesn’t really work on me.

Whether it’s a side effect of the medicine I took before or just my natural constitution…

I was unaffected by all kinds of poisons used by the Monsters they prepared in the Colosseum.

Besides. I'm just as used to pain.

*Crack!*

I smashed the head of a charging Masked Person.

“This monster…!”

“There’s no time! Everyone attack!”

It's a good thing that they're the ones in a hurry.

It would have been tiring if they’d tried to hunt me slowly.

And so.

A bloody battle unfolded in the dark Garden, using it as an arena.

***

A little while later.

“Cough, hack! You monstrous bastard…!”

The last remaining Masked Person, their leader, collapsed, spewing blood.

“Haa… haa…”

Was it because I was resting before fighting?

I’m fucking exhausted.

*Thud.*

Thinking of stopping the bleeding from all the holes in my body, I slumped down on the ground.

But then.

*Clap. Clap. Clap.*

The sound of applause came from the darkness.

“You did well.”

“…There was an audience.”

The one approaching while clapping was none other than the Butler of this Mansion.

His name is… right.

“Lowell, right?”

“It seems the Young Lady told you my name. More importantly, why didn’t you call for help?”

…Did he already notice and was watching?

Well, that old man couldn't have not known.

“Well, wouldn’t it have woken the Young Lady if I made a fuss?”

I said, roughly tearing my clothes and wrapping them around the wounds.

This seems like expensive clothing, what a waste. Well, it’s full of holes anyway, so it’s clothes to be thrown away, right?

“The real reason?”

“Why ask if you’re not going to believe me? I was just thinking, maybe you’d spread out a blanket or something.”

The ground is pretty damn hard, you know.

Come to think of it, don’t they also lay out Cushions for dogs?

Since they only do what the Young Lady says, she’s not receiving any unexpected consideration as a child.

“Well, it’s wise of you. The Void Family has clear rewards and punishments.”

“…That’s good to hear.”

That's a relief. If that Butler guarantees it, it must be true.

“For now, follow me. I’ll get you treated.”

“Alright.”

The blood was flowing more than I thought.

And who knows how much poison they used, my hands and feet are getting pretty numb.

“This is…”

“There were intruders.”

“Ah.”

Because this Mansion was so large and had so many Servants, there were simple medical facilities.

I went there, threw off my tattered clothes, and sat in front of the Healer.

“What are all these scars on your body…”

“Yeah, well…”

My body is covered in scars everywhere except my face.

Well, many Gladiators consider them badges of honor, but to me they’re just ugly scars.

“First, let's clean those wounds…”

The Healer wiped my wounds with a hot, wet towel, applied some unknown medicine, stitched them up, and wrapped them in bandages.

Better than that quack at the Colosseum.

“Shouldn’t you be asking something? Like, why the intruders came?”

Lowell asked as I was comfortably receiving treatment.

“...Does a house dog need to know?”

At my response, Lowell, the Butler, stared at me intently.

And then…

“You're surprisingly loyal.”

He turned his back with those cryptic words.

“I'll go and help with the cleanup.”

Help with the cleanup?

…So that means he already called someone without me knowing.

He wouldn't have just left that scene and followed me here anyway.

“...You'll see when you go, but I left the leader of those masked bastards alive.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, though he won't be waking up anytime soon.”

I'm not really one for holding back, so I don't know.

But well, he's not dead.

“Then, rest well.”

Just like that,

Lowell, with a slightly altered gaze towards me, left.

“Haa…”

"Y-You mustn't sleep!"

Perhaps because I’d overexerted myself after so long, I fell asleep, almost like I’d passed out, during the treatment.

***

…I opened my eyes to a familiar ceiling.

The ceiling of the same old doghouse.

“Ugh…”

These bastards, they treated me and then brought me back here?

They even dressed me properly over the bandages.

But…

“Oh…”

The floor is soft.

Looking closely, I see a rather large cushion laid out.

…Fast feedback implementation.

He’s efficient, I'll give him that.

My internal evaluation of Lowell went up a bit, and just then…

“Dog!”

A familiar voice called from outside my doghouse.

The Young Lady’s here.

Like a good dog, I went outside to greet her.

“Young Lady, you’ve arrived.”

“You caught the thieves!”

“...That’s right.”

Thieves? Ah.

They were thieves, just stealing people.

“Aw, good boy!”

*Pat pat.*

Unaware that they were here to steal her,

the Young Lady vigorously patted my head with a bright face.

…It feels weird being praised like this by a kid younger than me, acting so proud.

“Young Lady, you must give him a reward since he did so well.”

The Butler, standing next to her, subtly spoke up.

“Right! A reward.”

‘Nice.’

As expected of an elder. He keeps his word.

“Dog, is there anything you want?”

Something I want…

There’s too much to choose from.

Training equipment, or even just taking this collar off for three hours a day would be nice.

Still, I risked getting stabbed for this, so why not be greedy?

“Well, I…”

Just as I was about to voice my request…

A strange sensation, a feeling of unease, washed over me.

What is it?

Why now?

For a moment, I examined the Young Lady in front of me.

The same one I’d always seen during my time at the mansion.

An innocent appearance with red…

“...Just give me snacks more often.”

…eyes.

Right.

Those eyes, like rubies,

were glowing strangely, just like when she first made me the offer.

“Snacks? Okay!”

Right.

What else would a dog want besides walks and snacks?

A wooden sword, more training time, and so on…

A dog wouldn't wish for those things.

The Butler, Lowell, standing beside her, gave me a strange look, but my intuition screamed that this was the right answer.

My intuition, honed from countless life-or-death situations in the Colosseum, had to be trusted again.

“Then I’ll go get you some snacks!”

The Young Lady skipped away excitedly,

“Slowly, Young Lady!”

and the mansion’s servants followed behind her.

But…

“Aren’t you going?”

The old man, who always followed the Young Lady, was standing there, watching me.

“Why did you throw away your reward like that?”

He seems puzzled by my choice. I don't know the exact reason either, but…

“...I just thought the Young Lady wouldn't like it if I asked for something else.”

That's the best explanation I can give for this gut feeling.

At my answer, Lowell looked at me with disbelief, then…

“Fine.”

*Whoosh.*

He tossed something at me.

It's a key.

And it looks like the key to unlock this dog leash I’m wearing.

“When the Young Lady isn't around, you can take off the leash.”

“Huh?”

“And starting tomorrow, come to me during the Young Lady's lessons.”

Come to him tomorrow?

I stared at Lowell, confused, and then…

“Aren't you bored to death? I'll let you stretch those muscles a bit.”

Unexpectedly,

he said exactly what I wanted to hear.