Chapter 50 - The Prince of the Beastly Kingdom is Supposed to Have a Harem…15
Although still wary, Ruth finished serving food to the inn's guests without incident. He then took the leftover Boroa stew, which had been made for Wonok, on the plate and returned to the storage room after having a quick meal himself.
"I brought it."
"Grrrr!"
Ruth almost laughed at the sight of the Ocal's tail spinning like a windmill. He placed the pot of Borroa stew, still brimming with food, in front of it. The Ocal, which had been holding Ruth’s cloak, jumped off the sofa and lunged at the steaming stew. Its vigorous tail-wagging and the way it shook the pot while eating heartily made it clear how hungry it had been.
Ruth crouched down next to the hungry Ocal and watched it eat.
(This is kind of soothing...)
The stress of serving breakfast to the guests while worrying about Wonok’s words had left Ruth unusually tired, making the sight of the white Ocal eating somewhat soothing. Normally, he hunted animals for food, but seeing one eat the food he provided right in front of him stirred a desire to keep a pet. Going hunting with a dog—it was a man’s dream. He longed for it greatly.
"If only you didn’t have that slave’s crest, I’d be happy to keep you as my pet..."
The Ocal's ears twitched in response to Ruth’s muttering, but it didn’t stop eating. It seemed it didn’t care.
Ruth gave a bitter smile to the Ocal and took out some bread and dried fruits from the pocket on his waist and placed them next to the plate. As expected, it noticed this and pounced on it before eating. Watching this, Ruth headed towards the sofa where he had slept the night before.
(Thank goodness. The book from Jio is safe.)
He had noticed that the book was next to the Ocal, but because it didn’t move easily from the sofa, he was delayed in checking it. After flipping through the pages, he saw that there didn’t appear to be any damage. It seemed that the Ocal had shown no interest in the book.
(That’s right. It might be a good idea to let Jio know about what happened.)
Ruth sat down on the sofa, took a nearby pen, and turned the pages while looking at the Ocal licking the bottom of the plate. Jio always asked Ruth about the situation in the village. Most of the time, the conversations ended up being trivial, but if Ruth mentioned this recent incident, Jio might offer some advice. With this hope in mind, Ruth considered it. However—
"...Of all times..."
Previously, after sending his message, Ruth received a reply from Jio, saying, "I’m intrigued by the village’s snowstorm, so I’ll be secluding myself for a while. I won’t be able to contact you for some time, but don’t worry about it." Apparently, he became interested when Ruth had told him about the terrible blizzard that occurs in the village and started doing some research. When this happened, he wouldn't get a reply from Jio for a week. It had happened many times before, so it would probably be the same this time.
(The timing couldn’t be worse... But I should still write to him.)
Ruth, who only had a small reservoir for magic power, could only write so much in a day. But by writing a little at a time, he could increase the amount of information he could pass on to Jio.
"...'An incident occurred at the inn during quarantine' and... woah... my magic power was taken away already."
A substantial amount of his magic power was drained away, and fatigue hit him all at once. He relaxed his body and rested himself on the sofa. He closed his eyes loosely as he felt a slight dizziness in his head.
"If only I had a little more magic power, I could have written a lot more in this book..."
But it couldn't be helped since it was something you were born with.
As Ruth tried to reach for the paper he had stored in his pocket and clear his dazed mind, he suddenly felt a gaze from somewhere.
(Hm…?)
However, when he looked around, he saw that there was no one else in the room besides himself and the Ocal, and the door didn’t appear to be open. Considering what had happened with Herald, he reluctantly got up and checked outside the door, but the hallway was empty.
"Is it just me being on edge..."
Perhaps because he was being unusually cautious, he had become overly sensitive. He noticed the Ocal looking up from its plate, so perhaps it had simply been looking at him and he had sensed its gaze and misunderstood. Realizing that his self doubt could be mentally taxing, he returned to the sofa.
(Haa… More importantly, what should I say to Alec...)
It was the landscape letter he received from Alec. He had just put it up on the wall out of admiration for the beautiful city scenery, but now it had been torn to shreds because of the recent incident. There were clearly some parts of the brutally torn apart letter that were missing. He searched the room but couldn't find them, so the rest must have been blown outside due to the wind.
"...Even though you went through so much trouble to give it to me..."
Ruth always treasured the things that Alec and others would give him. He also made sure to wear the silver bracelet he was entrusted with to avoid losing it and kept all his letters in a special wooden box. He cherished everything he had received so far. Even though it was an accident, losing them like this made him feel depressed.
Then, as he was looking at the torn paper in his hand, something jumped out in front of him.
"...Eh, uh, what are..?"
"Guff..."
"...Well, I didn’t expect a burp as a response."
Ruth tilted his head as he looked down at the Ocal, who placed its head on Ruth's lap. Apparently, it had finished eating, and for some reason suddenly put his head on Ruth's lap and lay down on the sofa. The Ocal was like a giant, but this sofa was big enough for Rossa, who was also large, to sit comfortably on, so even though Ruth was there, there should be plenty of room left over.
(Ah... could it be... I'm getting spoiled!?)
The moment Ruth realized this possibility and tried to reach out to touch the soft white fur, the Ocal moved its head as if it was rubbing its face against his lap. At that moment, it was clear what it was doing.
"You... no, you're wiping your face on my clothes, aren't you?"
"...Guff"
The Ocal responded with a burp and rubbed its mouth, which was still stained with Boroa stew, against Ruth's knee-length navy blue jacket. As a result, Ruth's jacket was covered in brown stew.
"Hey, you!"
"Woof!"
"Ah, don't bark at me..! Wait, are you trying to intimidate me…"
At Ruth’s scolding, the Ocal quickly turned away, and as if to say its business was over, lifted its face from Ruth’s knee and turned to lie back down on the sofa, facing the other way. It was as if its task was completed after wiping its face, and it was ready to go to sleep.
(Why did I even start to feel happy...)
Even though he was taken advantage of, it felt empty that he thought he was being affectionately acknowledged.
However, when he looked at the Ocal, who was lying down contentedly with its tail wagging gently, the feeling of emptiness disappeared. In the first place, it was unusual for an animal to remain calm at such close proximity, so if you think about it, the fact that it was lying next to Ruth might be proof that it didn’t dislike Ruth.
(But the Ocal is pretty brazen, or should I say, dignified…)
The Ocal barked at first, but it showed little sign of being wary of Ruth or the situation. Even though there was a high possibility it understood human language, it remained oddly composed and unperturbed, lacking any sense of urgency. It gave off an air of entitlement, as if it naturally expected to be pampered or revered, which somehow reminded Ruth of Wonok.
(Well, it's better than having it rampage like a normal Ocal.)
Ruth sighed and put away the landscape letter from Alec in his pocket. Then, he got up from the sofa, put Jio's book out of the way, and opened the button on the hem of his jacket, which had been rubbed with stew. The buttons extend from the nape of his neck to just above his knees, and when the bottom was opened, it allowed the fabric to spread out more freely like a regular cloth. With his belt removed and jacket held up, he knelt down next to the Ocal, who kept its eyes closed with an innocent expression on its face. He pressed the expanded hem of the jacket against the Ocal's mouth.
"Grrrrrr!"
"Now stay still! There's no way you'll get all the Boroa stew off just by rubbing, right?"
"Grr?"
"I'll clean up around your mouth, so just calm down."
It certainly looked quite uncool with its white fur still covered in brown stew, so Ruth thought he'd better clean it properly since it already got dirty. Ruth was planning to wash his clothes later, so he doesn't mind getting the jacket dirty now.
As he wiped the Ocal’s mouth and removed the food residue that had hardened, the wolf’s mouth came closer and began to lick off the food bits from Ruth’s hand. Ruth was surprised and looked at the wolf, who seemed equally startled by its own actions. The wolf avoided eye contact, looking awkward, as it appeared to be an unexpected behavior even for itself.
"...You may look noble, but you're actually quite the glutton."
"Grrrr"
"Okay, okay, don't get angry. I'll bring you more food next time."
"…Woof."
As Ruth stroked its white fur, the Ocal became visibly restless. Its tail was wagging happily. Apparently, it didn't mind being pet by Ruth. Perhaps he succeeded in winning it over, and it might have warmed up to him just a bit.
(It looks a little like Alec when it’s like this… it’s kind of cute)
Alec was generally honest about his feelings in front of Ruth. Although he wore a thick mask of composure in front of other people, he was so honest in front of Ruth that he couldn't help but feel happy and say, "Okay, okay," generally forgiving most of what Alec would say. Ruth enjoyed being relied upon, so Alex’s honest affection, despite being able to do everything on his own, made him happy. As a result, Ruth was aware that his feelings for Alec might be a bit extreme, but since they’ve had this relationship for over ten years, it was too late to change now. That was why the Ocal, who was similar to Alec in its emotional expressiveness, seemed cute to him.
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