4. Adopting the Demon King
Sitting in front of my door, which I opened slowly, were two canines: a Doberman with the power of a demon, and a Pomeranian, a former Husky with supernatural abilities. They looked at me expectantly, waiting for some reaction on my face as I recognized them.
The three of us remained seated for a moment, exchanging glances, until the Pomeranian broke the uncomfortable silence.
"D-Do you remember me now?"
However, for some reason, I felt uneasy in this moment with these two staring at me.
The last thing I remember is the revelation that my dog, the Pomeranian, was my favorite light novel writer, Fush Naemon. Whereas the Doberman I recognized solely from having him in my memories and his voice resonating in my head.
In a situation like this, being trapped with two dogs staring at you intently, knowing they are much stronger than you and feeling completely unfamiliar with them while they address you, what would you do?
The longer they stare at me, I even start to think they might be demons waiting to devour my soul.
They're scary.
"Don't worry, she remembers you. It just takes a day or two for her nervous system to calm down. For now, knowing that things could get out of control, I made a slight adjustment to her brain to avoid any problems," whispered the Doberman to Finn, my Pomeranian.
"Wait, what did he say?" I asked Finn, feeling a slight shiver seeing two talking dogs in front of me.
"T-That's what I'm wondering. What did you do?" exclaimed the Pomeranian, visibly excited, unable to stop wagging his tail upon hearing me address them.
"It's just a safety protocol. Look... Emma, I think that's your name, your mind is a mess. This one here," pointing at Finn, "erased your memory due to your prejudice. But I went into your mind to fix you up; it was all a mess. I don't know how much you suppress, but it's not right. And as for the protocol..."
"Wait, wait, wait, that's a lot of things. Before you do anything or say anything else, let me ask you some questions first. All of this is making my stomach churn," I told them, trying to calm myself. I had a terrible energy drop and couldn't fully focus on their words.
"[Hound]," barked the Doberman, causing me to fall straight to the ground.
Oh.
I'm... I'm stuck on the ground. Or rather, I can't move. What is this?!
Wait, I can't speak either!
"But what did you do? Emma?! Answer me, are you okay?" Finn asked, standing in front of me, trying to see if I was still breathing.
I'm not okay! I can't move!
Damn, this is not good.
"I used one of the words she had deeply engraved in her mind, like 'Fush,' to cast the spell. Isn't that great?"
"I'll put you back in the jar if you don't return her to normal right now!"
The demon king walked toward Finn, smiling maliciously at him.
"You can't, not anymore. You've returned my freedom, and I've given your owner back to you. There's only one more thing to do because if you try to confine me again..."
I felt the Doberman's paw on my head, seeing Finn growling at him.
"Then I'll destroy her right now. So, listen. I just want to ask for something in return, and I even offer to stay here with both of you if you agree to my terms."
However, by then, Finn had opened a total of 8 portals, pulling out 5 golden swords from each of them, ready to fire at the Doberman.
"Try to eliminate her and I'll eliminate you first," threatened Finn, raising his paw high, ready to give the command for the first attack.
My heart started beating fast, really fast. This was not right, not at all. I'd get hurt in all of this, one way or another.
I looked at the Doberman, who looked incredulously at the weapons aimed at him.
He removed his paw from my head and stepped back.
"I-I just wanted you to adopt me as your dog too, that's all. I-I just didn't know how to ask, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Listening, unable to move, to a Doberman pleading for forgiveness while making such a tender request caused a clash of emotions within me. I watched as Finn put away his weapons back into the portals and then closed them.
"And why freeze her in the first place if she hasn't done anything alarming?" growled Finn, stroking my head to calm me down. I had to admit, that felt nice.
"... It was just part of the show. You can also unfreeze her, just say 'Hound.'"
Woaaah, I can feel my whole body again.
I got up carefully, trying to settle and lean against the ground's wall.
"Both of you, don't play games with me like that. That's an order," I told them with an angry look, breathing somewhat heavily. I could hardly breathe in that state...
The Doberman kept his head down, while Finn sat by my side, somewhat worried about my condition.
I remained pensive for a moment, somewhat confused by everything that had happened.
However, something from all this still echoed strongly in my mind.
"Why do you mention Fush so much? Have you both read his books too?" I asked, with a faint smile, but keeping myself against the wall.
Both dogs looked at each other, and the Doberman pointed to the Pomeranian.
"He is Fush Naemon."
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"W-WHATTTTTTTTTTT?!"
"YOU'RE BACK?!"
"Wait, what?!"
Unaware, I had ended up on top of Finn, who looked at me incredulously with wide-open eyes.
A rush of memories hit me hard, feeling my shoulders tense again.
"Y-You can't be, no, no, no, no, no."
"Is this déjà vu?" the Doberman asked, taking a step back to avoid me.
Finn, on the other hand, barked with joy, placing his paws on my face with a big smile.
"You're back!" he barked while I held him. However, he went quiet when I held him firmly. "E-eh?"
"Don't erase my memory again."
I said sharply, and he swallowed hard, nodding quickly.
I turned to look at the Doberman, who stood to the side hesitating to join the conversation.
"...Well, I guess I'm back to who I am. I felt really strange at first, but I think I'm back to normal. So... thank you."
The Doberman nodded, staying silent. It seems my reaction a moment ago had frightened him.
"Just to confirm..." the Doberman commented, looking at the owner and the dog, both smiling. "How did this Husky defeat me in the past?"
I stayed still, observing the Doberman in front of me.
And after a couple of seconds of thought, I pointed my finger at the demon king.
"You were pierced by a lance that you cursed yourself, ending up looking like a great fool!"
"R-Right... And the last part was unnecessary..."
"How odd, 'ended up looking like a great fool' stayed the same in both the web novel and its physical volumes."
Finn smiled awkwardly, avoiding the Doberman's annoyed gaze.
"What page was that?" Finn asked, wagging his tail happily.
"Depends. If we export your writings in a PDF format in standard margins with font size 13, the one you used for your web novel, then we'd have a total of 30,000 pages. Considering that and noting your defeat in chapter 1350, you'd end up on page 1086. However, if we're counting the light novels that were released for adaptation, we have to consider that many words were reduced in each chapter, and there were modifications. So, you ended up dying in the 27th chapter of the thirty-seventh book, page 358."
Everyone fell silent, and finally, Finn barked happily.
"That's right!"
"Y-You two are insane to know all that..." the Doberman exclaimed, swallowing hard.
"When it comes to Fush Naemon, I know even his greatest fears."
"That's right, my owner is the be—; Wait, w-w-w-what?!"
Likewise, I continued talking with that pair for a while longer until I heard their stomachs growl.
I left the two dogs in the hallway and went to the kitchen. Still, I could hear their conversation.
"So... do you think she'll adopt me?" the Doberman asked in a soft tone.
"...You were some kind of weird human in the other world, and I basically turned you into a dog. Are you bringing up your fetishes with my owner?"
"...I just want to have a peaceful life, that's all. I'm tired... of being the villain. I want to retire, and who better than with the fool who defeated me."
"...When she comes, ask her. It's not my decision anymore. Just promise, on blood oath, that you won't cause any harm. Ever."
I heard the Doberman gulp, and I saw him raise his paw, cutting his pad with a claw, letting a drop of blood fall.
"I promise."
I smiled to suppress a slight laugh and walked back to them with two bowls of dog food, placing them in front of each.
They started eating immediately, and I petted both their heads.
"Did you have any names in the other world?" I asked the Doberman, sitting on my legs in front of both.
"They called me... Nightmare," he commented, lifting his head.
Carefully, I took his head in my hands and stroked his ears, smiling at him.
"So... Do you want me to adopt you, Nightmare?"
Finn also lifted his head, watching both of us face to face.
Without saying anything, the Doberman nodded, and I gently petted his head.
I let both dogs eat peacefully, but the Doberman stayed quiet for a while until he remembered something.
"You wanted to become a writer, right?"
"Eh?"
"Wait, don't tell her that—" I quickly silenced Finn upon seeing that the Doberman had more to say.
"I mean... this morning you got hysterical when you found out that Finn, or rather Fush Naemon, had gone on a date a few days ago with someone named Daisy."
Finn immediately jumped on him, growling and biting his ear.
However, I stayed still, recovering the last memory I felt was missing.
"Right! Bring her here now! Now! Now!"
"You just made her revert!" exclaimed Finn, keeping Nightmare pinned to the ground. "That's partly why I needed to erase her memory; Daisy won't be happy if I bring her here to meet my owner... She'll kill me if someone knows her secret."
However, I grabbed Finn by the neck, staring him in the eyes.
"Bring her. I won't let my Fush date just anyone, especially if she pretends to be my dog's girlfriend," I told him coldly.
"It's not anything like that! She's just a coworker! Nightmare, couldn't you keep your mouth shut?"
Shortly after both finished eating, along with Nightmare, we watched Finn to follow my order.
"I-I really think she won't like coming here... we met before in a café for a reason."
"I remember from my research that she was from a high-class family based on her tweets, so I have an idea. You just call her; I'll tidy up the house for when she arrives."
Without further ado, Finn started typing on his laptop, sending a message to Daisy's Twitter.
"'Hello! How have you been, Daisy? Would you mind meeting up for a moment? I'd like to talk to you about something important.' And... sent."
Immediately, a response came. It hadn't been even two seconds, as if it were an automated reply.
"'We can meet now if you like'..."
"See? She's free. Give her our address, go ahead," I instructed Finn, while Nightmare looked at me.
"Do you really think that girl could be in love with him? I mean, he's a dog," Nightmare mentioned, lying down on the floor.
"I have my suspicions... besides, if they've already been on a date before, and she responds so quickly, it's because she already knows he's a dog and has no problem with it. Such an odd person could be a bad influence on my dear Fush..."
"...I better stay quiet."
After a few minutes, Finn detached from the laptop, letting out a nervous sigh.
"S-She's on her way..."
"...What?" I asked, tilting my head.
"She says she's coming right away... and she sent her GPS location. And she's coming fast!"
I moved as fast as I could, rushing to the living room to tidy up the house as best I could.
"Nightmare, Finn, do something and clean too; S-S-S-Someone's visiting...! Why so quickly? W-Why?"
As I hurried to grab a broom and started sweeping, I began to tremble.
A guest. Someone from high society, here, right now. I hadn't expected it to happen so quickly, and certainly not out of the blue. I thought I would first mentally prepare myself to face another human, but I didn't even have the house clean.
What will they think of me? What will she tell others? No, no, no, no.
Fuuuuuuush
A huge gust of wind accidentally lifted my office uniform, so I turned around with my heart almost racing out of my chest.
To my pleasant surprise, everything was already clean.
"W-What...?"
Finn smiled proudly, while Nightmare coughed out some dust.
"You don't want to know what happened..." he grumbled quietly, coughing a bit.
I nodded confusedly, looking at the living room, seeing how pristine it was.
"...Hey, you both make a great team," I murmured as I went to shower. "If someone comes, act like normal dogs, please. Except you, Finn, if she already knows you speak, acting differently will only make you seem stranger."
Having said that, I rushed into the bathroom and closed the door immediately.
I hurried to clean myself while hearing noises outside in the living room and dining area.
"Nightmare, you hide!"
"Of course not, I want to meet my sister-in-law."
"I'm not your brother!"
Finally, after finishing a quick shower and getting into my room to change, I heard the doorbell.
"She's here!" all three of us said in unison as I hurried to put on another identical office suit I had stored.
... Maybe I should go shopping and not just rely on the office suits my parents bought for me.
B-But that's beside the point!
I quickly made my way to the door and cleared my throat...
"Y-Yes...?" I asked, not hearing a voice.
However, I heard someone knock on the door again, so I had no choice but to open it.
In front of me stood a man in a suit and black glasses, carrying a large pink bag.
"Can I help you with something...?"
Finn approached the door, wagging his tail happily, avoiding looking at the man in front of me. His gaze was fixed on someone else, letting out an excited bark.
I lowered my gaze, seeing a toy poodle jumping joyfully upon recognizing Finn.
I was confused, looking around.
"Here, please take care of Miss Daisy. We'll be back for her in an hour."
"Wait, where is—?" However, the man left without saying another word, and I let the canine in, still looking around for the girl.
"So, why are we here? Who is that lovely human?"
I froze, gripping the door of my house tightly. I had heard a female voice like a bot's coming from behind me.
I quickly turned around to see what it was, seeing the poodle grooming herself elegantly behind me, rubbing against Finn.
"W-Well, you see, Daisy..."
"Just say it, I have alllll the time. It's not like I have to finish a manuscript soon or anything. I finished that as soon as you called me, of course."
I closed the door in silence, feeling like I was losing touch with reality.
That adorable poodle... was my rival.
My love rival—. I mean, just my rival.
Daisy Norbert, the writer who wanted to take my dog away from me.
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