Chapter 79: King NemuNemu ②

After Raiden left, I had no idea where to go.

I could head back to the university for now, but before that, I needed to make sure my freeloaders were safe.

Was Ironclad still on the run?
D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. should be fine—he’s the kind of guy who can blow himself up over and over and still not die.
The one I was most worried about was Sudama. If she’d been inside the house, there was a good chance she’d gotten hurt.

That hug from Raiden helped me pull myself together a little, but I was still shaken. I couldn’t decide what to do first.

Then, out of nowhere, Mio casually dropped a suggestion.

"Want me to buy you a house?"

While I was still worried about whether my freeloaders were safe, Mio was already thinking one step ahead—to housing. That’s a former villain with life experience for you. He always sees one move further than I do.

"Uh… no, that’s… ugh… that’s not a good idea…"

It felt like I was coughing up blood just to turn him down. Money owned by a former villain? Definitely shady. He claimed he’d laundered it already, but that just made it sound even worse.

Seeing me struggle, Mio touched his cheek with a hand.

"Guess I should’ve saved some of the money I earned back in my Public Security days."

"Wouldn’t that cash be just as sketchy?"

"Oh my. If you put it that way, wouldn’t that make every last Japanese banknote filthy?"

"Whoa, Public Security’s darkness runs deep."

Yeah, I’d better not push him any further.

Delta’s already after my life. If I start digging into state secrets I shouldn’t know, more people will come gunning for me.

Anyway, I needed to deal with the problem right in front of me.

"To be honest, I’ve got plenty of friends. Crashing at someone’s place for a few days isn’t a big deal. If I rotate around a bit, I could stretch that for months easy."

"Heehee. If some people heard you say that, they’d probably stab you out of jealousy."

What the hell kind of logic is that?

Feeling misunderstood, I tried to clear things up.

"They’re not hookups, okay?"

"There are plenty of people out there who just want a regular friend too, you know."

"Really? I could be that friend."

"You’d get stabbed."

"Why though?"

Mio just shrugged without explaining.

If there’s really a chance I’d get stabbed, I’d like to fix whatever causes it—but apparently Mio had no answers.

Maybe it’s my face.
Too pretty for my own good—people might get jealous and stab me.

Anyway, back to the topic.

"But I can’t just abandon my freeloaders, you know? I don’t even know where they are right now."

"If it’s D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., couldn’t you just stuff him in a locker at the university or something?"

So he thought D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. was alive too. Instead of worrying about how to find him, he was already suggesting where to stash him. Always one step ahead.

"…Worst case, yeah, we’ll go with that."

"Didn’t think you’d actually take that seriously."

If I could lock him in an unused locker properly, that might work. …Well, it’s technically imprisonment, but this is D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. If he wants out, he’ll just blow his way free. Shouldn’t be a problem. So in the absolute worst case, that’s our plan.

"Damn, I forgot to ask Raiden. You think Jin’s still alive?"

"If Raiden had killed him, he’d be way more depressed, don’t you think?"

"Good point."

So Jin probably failed to kill Raiden and is now pissed beyond belief. Hopefully he hasn’t destroyed anyone’s house. Mine included.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out and checked the screen—an incoming call from Sudama.

Relieved she was alive, I answered.

"‘Mosu mosu,’ Inori?"

"…Yeah, it’s me. You hurt at all, Sudama?"

She always said "mosu mosu" instead of "moshi moshi" when picking up. I’d heard it plenty of times before, found it funny, and just let it stick. Still funny now.

『Mm. Raiden handled himself well. Not a single one of us is hurt.』

"Well, that’s a relief. Where are you now?"

『At Nemunemu Land.』

"Nemunemu Land!?"

Nemunemu Land—the amusement park run by Nemunemu, the fluffy guardian herself.

I couldn’t help blurting out in shock at the completely unexpected name that came through the phone.

Sure, I’d gone there once with D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E., but still—why there of all places!?

"And the others?"

『We’re all here together.』

"D.E.T.O.N.A.T.E. and Jin too!? At Nemunemu Land!?"

That’s way too out of place!

Are they okay!? Just being inside the park has to be wrecking the whole Nemunemu Land concept!

Aren’t they making kids cry!? Maybe even adults too!? Now I’m worried!

『My ears are ringing… how do you adjust the volume again…?』

"Sorry, the one who needs to adjust his volume is me."

I’d yelled too loud in my surprise.

After taking a deep breath, I spoke to Sudama again.

"Alright… anyway, Mio and I will head over to Nemunemu Land. Can you wait for us there?"

『Mm. I’ll come pick you up. I’ll be waiting at the entrance.』

Sudama tends to get lost, but if she’s already inside Nemunemu Land, we should be able to find her quickly.

And if she does wander off, they can just make an announcement like, “If anyone has spotted a fox-eared loli speaking in archaic tones, please report to the information desk”—that would do the trick.

As we started walking toward Nemunemu Land, Mio suddenly said, "Stop."

I turned to ask what was going on—only to see a dog standing there.

At some point, Mio had shifted into his Flux form. With his liquid tendrils, he’d wrapped the dog up tight.

"Whoa! That’s animal abuse!"

"Oh please, it’s just a stray mutt with no collar."

I had no idea where it came from, but it was a huge dog. If it pounced on me, I’d be crushed—that’s probably why Mio grabbed it.

"Rabies is a risk, you know. I’m actually showing mercy by putting it on a leash."

Even though it was bound by Mio’s water, the dog wagged its tail furiously, tongue lolling as it panted—huff, huff.

Its fur was black, its eyes a sharp yellow… no, golden.

The black dog was staring straight at me.

Staring with overflowing excitement.

If Mio hadn’t stopped it, it would’ve leapt right at me—not out of hostility, but to play.

"Do I smell like dog food or something?"

"No. You just charm everything. I’m not surprised even a dog fell for you at first sight."

"I like dogs and cats. That actually makes me happy."

"It shouldn’t. This isn’t an ordinary dog."

――Once again, I took a good look at the black dog.

It was a big one—large enough that a small child could probably ride its back.
I couldn’t place the breed. A mutt, maybe, or some mix I’d never seen before.

Its fur was long and fluffy, its tail thick and bushy. Its ears stood straight up.
The face leaned more wolf than dog, but right now it had gone soft as it looked at me.

Like a black Samoyed. Or a giant Pomeranian. Yeah, I’ll admit it—pretty cute.

I studied it carefully, but no matter how I looked, it was still just a dog.

"You look pretty certain."

"Of course. With my abilities, I can read things an ordinary person can’t—like the body’s water content."

"…So what, it’s a water-balloon dog?"

"Not that extreme, but if someone told me it was gooey inside, I’d believe it. It may look like a dog, but it definitely isn’t. Whether this thing is an ability user itself or someone else made it like this, I can’t say."

It wasn’t impossible for non-humans to have powers.
Naname-san, and probably Sudama too, fell into that category.
Or maybe it had once been human and changed later. Either way, the order didn’t seem to matter much.

A weird dog showing up in the city? Felt about right.

"I’ve been away from Public Security long enough that I don’t know every villain they had in custody. If someone told me this was one of them, I’d probably just say, ‘Yeah, sounds about right.’"

The Public Security facility had been attacked, and plenty of villains had escaped.
A strange dog showing up right after? No wonder Mio was cautious.

"Guess I’ll try some communication. C’mere, good boy, good boy."

I stepped closer, reaching to pat its head—only to get my face drenched in slobber before I could.

Yikes. If I wore makeup, it would’ve just licked off something toxic.

At least it didn’t seem to see me as food.
Mio pinched his brow, watching me get slobbered on, and let out a long sigh.

"Not many places allow pets, you know."

"Hey, I didn’t say anything."

"I figured you’d bring it up. Especially since we need to find a new place anyway."

Mio was always one step ahead.

If this dog really had powers, maybe we should hand it over to Public Security. …Though that probably meant cruel experiments, and that thought stung.

I grabbed the dog’s face, pulling it away so it couldn’t keep licking me.

"…Listen, mutt. I’m busy right now. I don’t have time to play with you. We’ll talk later, got it?"

I didn’t know if it understood, but I said it with a straight face.
The black dog panted for a while, then gradually calmed and let out a soft whine—"Whimper…"

"Looks like it understood, right?"

"I don’t speak dog. Whether it’s got human-level intelligence or not, it’s still a problem either way."

"Fair enough. Alright then—see you later."

I ruffled the dog’s head, and its tail wagged even faster.
Even after Mio released it, the dog didn’t leap at me.
Instead, it sat down right there and barked once—Woof! Almost like it understood what I’d said.

Turning my back on the black dog, I started walking toward Nemunemu Land.
I made a point not to look back. At my side, Mio spoke up.

"Red or blue for the doghouse roof?"

"Knock it off. We’re not playing house here."

Trying to act like a family with this lineup? Way too dangerous a cast.