Heh. The puppy, as if answering Leon’s question, let out a clear snort once again. Leon was shocked by the fact that the puppy could express its intentions so clearly and widened his mouth.
“Well… I thought you were following me well.”
The puppy turned its head sharply and, with a silent gesture, flicked its tongue again. A sarcastic voice, saying, ‘Have I ever followed well?’ echoed as if it were a mocking hallucination.
“You understand everything I say, huh? Huh? You know everything.”
Leon, glaring at the puppy with squinted eyes, soon relaxed his shoulders and began to affectionately pat the puppy’s head. As the fur got messy, the puppy barked happily.
“I must have lived here for a long time. Having conversations with a puppy and all. Okay, if you don’t want to talk, I can’t help it.”
Exhaling a sigh, Leon tapped his thigh, stood up from the chair, and muttered to himself.
“If you listened well, I was going to give you a bit more.”
The puppy’s ears perked up. Leon pretended not to notice and rummaged through his pocket, pulling out a cloth-wrapped bit of something. It was slightly crumpled, but the sweet and sour scent was still there. Surely, it would taste good.
“Want some? Huh? Do you want to eat it?”
Bark!
“Then sit.”
Bark, bark!
“Sit. Oh well. No sitting, no treat.”
The puppy rolled its front paws, eyeing the persimmon that Leon was shaking left and right. It seemed like it was about to jump and snatch it, raising its front paw and even placing it on Leon’s thigh.
The soft, stick-like legs scratched at Leon’s thigh as if it’s resentful. However, instead of giving the persimmon, Leon squatted in front of the puppy.
“Come on. If you want to eat, sit.”
The obediently standing puppy opened its mouth and panted happily. With its shining blue eyes and a contemplative expression, it seemed to understand Leon’s request. The puppy wiggled its tail and perked its ears after rolling its front paws a few more times.
Creak.
With a reasonably convincing howl, the puppy abruptly turned away.
“Huh?”
Leon awkwardly looked at the puppy, still in a squatting position.
As if clearly indicating that it had no intention of sitting for just one persimmon, the puppy sat near the distant fence, yawning and sprawling out. Then, realizing that Leon was still watching, it huffed and let out a snort.
“Oh my. Look at that personality. Is this what you have pride in? Then should I eat this myself?”
Leon shook the persimmon held between his thumb and forefinger, then popped it into his mouth. Not stopping there, he emptied the remaining persimmons on the cloth, leaving not a single piece.
“…What kind of puppy is so stubborn?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Weren’t puppies supposed to be well-behaved when given food? Frustrated, failed trainer Leon scratched the back of his head and headed into the cabin, making sure to leave the door slightly open for the puppy to enter.
***
“Leave it alone.”
While having dinner, when the conversation turned to the failed ‘sit’ training, Grandma shook her head. Leon looked at Grandma, scooping potato soup into his mouth.
“Why? You told me to train it.”
“You idiot, it was just passing talk. We’ll have to send him back to the woods soon. What’s the use of teaching him that? It’ll only make it harder to let him go.”
“Is that so…”
Leon mumbled with a spoonful of soup in his mouth. Seeing the peacefully sleeping puppy with its chin on his paws, he couldn’t help but feel that Grandma might be right.
At that moment, Grandma ladled another spoonful of soup. As the thin soup dripped down, Leon looked at Grandma. Her wrinkled face looked quite stern.
“Don’t even think about keeping him.”
“I know. It’s not an easy decision to take responsibility for a lifetime.”
“The wound seems to have healed. After a few days, we can let him go.”
“But Grandma. His teeth are so weak like this. How is he going to eat outside? He doesn’t seem capable of hunting.”
“He’ll survive on persimmons.”
‘Well, then I should be careful not to pick too many persimmons in the future. Even now, and leaving some for the birds.’
“Once he’s gone, the house will be quiet again.”
“…”
It would be better if it were quiet. He thought she would say something like that, but she didn’t answer at all.
The puppy, deeply asleep after playing in the yard all afternoon, didn’t hear the conversation between the two people. For a while, the only sound in the living room was the clinking of the spoon against the wooden bowl.
***
Three days later, in the evening.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the cabin door. Leon, with his chin resting on the puppy’s paw, slightly moved his foot to prevent the puppy from getting startled and stood up.
“Hello, sir.”
Standing outside the door was the blonde doctor with a royal fee who had visited last time. He, wearing a white gown, habitually pushed up his glasses.
“Hello.”
“Thank you for coming.”
“Not at all. Shall I take a look at the puppy again?”
“Yes. We’re planning to send him back to the woods, so we don’t want any issues.”
The drowsy furball suddenly perked up, raising its fur. As the doctor’s leather boots touched the wooden floor, a creaking sound echoed, seemingly making the puppy more sensitive. Leon reached out his hand, worried that the puppy might get too excited.
“Come here. Do you remember the doctor we saw before?”
Bark! Bark!
It seemed like the puppy remembered very well.
The puppy growled much more fiercely than before, showing its teeth. It pounded the ground with its thick front paws, then lowered its upper body as if ready to pounce. It wasn’t particularly threatening, but it was definitely not an ideal state for an examination.
“Why is he like this? He wasn’t like this before.”
Feeling like a sinner, Leon reached out to the puppy. Fortunately, the puppy didn’t threaten Leon directly, but it kept growling incessantly even when embraced. It was an awkward moment for both Leon, the doctor, and Grandma who were all watching.
“I’m sorry. Could you take a look even from a distance?”
“Yes. If it’s okay, I can gently touch the place where he was injured…”
Bark!
As soon as the doctor reached out, the puppy made a sudden movement. He quickly withdrew his hand, narrowly avoiding a bite.
“Enough. He seems fine just by looking at how energetic he is. We don’t need an examination.”
Grandma, who had been sewing, intervened from her chair. Although the color was a bit faded, her eyes, still sharp and black, pierced through the doctor.
“Leon, please pay the royal fee.”
“But it might be better to have him take a look just once…”
“Just pay it! What if the doctor gets bitten by its fingers?”
“But I went through all the trouble to bring him.”
Reluctantly, Leon, at Grandma’s urging, had no choice but to take out a coin. Meanwhile, the puppy nestled in his arms snorted and growled energetically. Even just locking eyes with the doctor made the puppy growl, so it seemed that the examination was out of the question, just as Grandma predicted.
“I’m sorry…”
The doctor, counting the coins, chuckled and picked up the bag lying on the floor.
“No need to apologize. I received the royal fee as well.”
“I’ll see you off.”
“It’s okay. Please calm the puppy down. Are you sending him back to the woods today?”
“Yes.”
“I see… I understand.”
The doctor, readjusting his gown, greeted Leon and Grandma respectively before turning away. Leon could only put down the puppy after he was completely gone, just to be cautious.
As the doctor disappeared from sight, the puppy’s silvery fur settled down gently. It looked like a completely different creature from the one that had threatened people by baring its gums just a moment ago.
“Why is he like this?”
“Leave him alone.”
As Grandma resumed her sewing, the old needle reflected the sunset, glowing orange.
“Could he be sensitive because he’s in pain somewhere? He usually doesn’t act like this when he’s with us.”
“Maybe he doesn’t like that doctor. Animals tend to be cautious around people they sense are particularly guarded.”
At the significant words, Leon turned to Grandma. However, Grandma was focused on sewing, seemingly uninterested in the conversation.
“…Really?”
“It’s better to send him off tomorrow, not today. When it’s daylight.”
Grandma put down the fabric and rubbed her tired eyes. Then, she met eyes with Leon, who had a faint smile.
“What’s the matter?”
“Grandma… are you worried about the puppy?”
“Worried? Not at all!”
“You don’t have to pretend. Grandma, you have a warm heart… like a bowl of potato soup…”
“You little rascal!”
Due to Grandma waving the needle around, Leon had to quickly retreat to his bedroom. Up until that moment, he had been holding the puppy, so he carefully placed the puppy on the well-made bed.
Until now, he hadn’t been able to put the puppy on the bed because Grandma strongly disliked it. But since tomorrow would be the day to part with the puppy…
“Want to sleep with me tonight?”
Bark, bark!
The puppy happily barked and, acting as if it were a person, claimed Leon’s pillow and settled into the spot first. Seeing this, Leon burst into laughter. As they lay down together on the bed, warmth spread, much like a warm water bag placed next to you.
Have they grown attached to each other? It might be regrettable to part ways.
As Leon lay down to look at the puppy, he playfully poked the round black nose with his fingertip. The touch tickled, causing its nose to twitch.
“When we meet again in the woods, don’t eat me, okay?”
The puppy just looked at Leon with shining blue eyes, not making a sound.
Could there be something wrong with the doctor? 🤔 Is he maybe planning to hurt the puppy or grab him for himself?
Also, I somehow don’t think this puppy will let himself be left in the woods without his Leon 😂 We’ll see how that goes, I guess 👀
Thank you for the translation 💖
😝💛
Right? I’m thinking the same thing. what if the pup is some sort of rare breed etc etc