Chương 141: Not Dogs

June sat on a stool with his elbows pressed against his legs, and his head hung over. Rushing water ran through his hair, making it droop down in front of him and into his eyes. He lifted an arm and placed it on his bicep, running it down slowly until he felt a piece of skin chafe; he looked over to see another patch of burned skin. He winced as he turned a few fingers and pressed them against the patch of burned flesh before tearing a small chunk out. Blood ran down his arm and mingled with the falling water.

To his surprise, the city of waterworks had showers available, though if he looked around, the one meant for him alone was larger than his entire apartment in the mundane realm. It made him feel small. Fortunately, he wasn't alone this time! June pulled a small bucket in front of him to see three Sumeye pups chirping at him. After killing the feral man, he combed through the cannibal's den for any other survivors, and in turn, he found a few cute pups. Or were they kittens?

June wasn't sure what exactly Sumeye would be classified as; they looked like dogs, but acted more feline than doglike. Regardless of what sounds they made, he still felt like a fool for not killing them immediately, but he couldn't muster the heart to do such a thing without proper reason; the pups did nothing to him after all. There were a few more Sumeye pups… though only the three in front of him survived. They seemed to be newly born, considering how quickly they had imprinted on him.

June, of course, had the option to leave them to fend for themselves; he wasn't exactly bound to take care of one of his attacker's offspring, but looking back on it, it seemed like the Sumeye only fought him because the newly born ones were kept by the cannibal.

'I wish I caught onto that before I killed them.' He scratched his head, and then lifted the bucket of pups onto his lap before gently handwashing each of them. He took extra care not to overwash them, so as not to remove the natural oils that kept their coats healthy… at least he believed so; he didn't know how similar they actually were to dogs. After a short time of thoroughly and carefully scrubbing grime off the pups, June went back to finding impurities in his flesh.

His prolonged time spent within the shell left him with a few burns, though not as drastic as his time within the form of burden. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He just needed to pluck a few more impurities and allow new flesh to take place.

June sat in his room with a new dry basket for the pups to sit in while he dried himself. Afterwards, he took his time wiping down the pups, then used a spare brush he had to straighten out any matted fur. He had taken an extended time away from his dog at home. Considering that his dog was his anchor to life before meeting Lilia, June was starting to miss the little troublemaker.

The Sumeye were one of the first proper beasts that June had the pleasure of bumping into amidst his time within the Nightrealm; unlike the few beasts he encountered during his trek through the realm, Sumeye were the first that seemed to carry a bit of crowlike intelligence. They seemed to catch on quickly. As a matter of fact, June started to have an inkling that the young Sumeye were able to understand his words at a rudimentary level.

He patted all three of the pups and gracefully plopped them back into the dry basket. He may have enjoyed their presence, but June understood that his life was chaotic; the responsible thing to do would be to turn the pups over to Mortimer in hopes that he could figure out what to do with them. So, June quickly got himself dressed and beckoned a passing servant in the halls to call Mortimer over.

June sat near the center of his low bed with his legs crossed while he entertained the pups. Mortimer arrived within a few minutes; he truly did fit the unrealistically high expectations of a butler. The old man looked over to June playing with Sumeye pups, and unfittingly threw his head back and let out an exasperated sigh.

'This idiot keeps dredging up more jobs for me!' At least, that's what June assumed Mortimer was thinking. June cleared his throat.

"Hey… Mortimer! What can I do with these pups… other than leaving them to fend for themselves?" Mortimer lowered a finger; it was obvious that the old man was going to interject with the option of abandoning them. June gently lifted the playing pups and placed them into the basket; he then crawled over to the side of the bed before tossing his legs down to the floor. He dragged the basket of pups to the corner of the low bed and looked at the old man.

Mortimer's mouth opened and closed, trying to find something to say. Finally, the elderly man raised a finger and spoke.

"June… Raising Sumeye is a very bothersome task! Give them a couple months, and they'll start disappearing and reappearing randomly! So I'd recommend that yo—" June interjected.

"Yeah, I get it; it's going to get annoying very quickly, but come on! Look at them!" He grabbed one of the pups and shoved it in Mortimer's face, and before the old man could retort, June quickly cut him off.

"Oh, and think of it! If we train them well, Lilia, you, the entire family could have a bodyguard and a companion!" The old butler winced and exhaled, his annoyance quite evident. However, June knew that he and the old man were kindred idiots for cases like these. The old man definitely enjoyed taking care of June's dog in his absence; he didn't even need to smell the old man's emotions; Mortimer's contentment taking care of June's dog was worn on his sleeve. The old man sighed and quietly nodded.

He knew this conversation; he had already lost this conversation. Not to mention, it wasn't like he was particularly averse to raising the Sumeye pups.