Ask Away, Your Majesty - Chapter 2
Lorienne twirled her finger in the air, and the iron rods moved in accordance, aligning with the man’s figure as if following her command. With another flick of her finger, the iron rods seemed to twitch in mid-air as if ready to fly towards him.
“I-I’m sorry! I-I didn’t mean any harm!”
“Lies.”
Still leaning on one hand, Lorienne raised her hand high, causing the man to scream and dash out.
It was quite comical to see him open the door and then hurriedly close it, probably fearing the iron rods might chase after him. The slamming of the door was followed by a series of metallic clanks. The man who might have envisioned iron rods being embedded in the wooden door in place of himself would probably never return to Loftis again.
“Ah… I’m really exhausted….”
However, inside the shop, there were no iron rods floating in mid-air as there had been moments ago, nor were there any embedded in the door.
“Good thing I’ve mastered illusion magic… Ah, but illusion magic drains me every time I use it.”
Lorienne lowered her arms onto the counter, slumping over it. Even though fatigue was part of her daily life, today seemed particularly draining. She almost been in danger again because she got too greedy for money.
However, she couldn’t afford to give up on the money.
“I wonder if Coco will come today? I hope Coco shows up.”
Lorienne smiled at the thought of Coco, the only one of the visitors to Loftis that she didn’t have to be on guard for. Coco was a stray dog that often visited Lorienne during such late hours.
And then it happened.
Scratch, scratch!
Lorienne jumped to her feet. The scratching on Loftis’s door was the most welcome sound.
“It’s Coco!”
Without bothering to check, Lorienne swung the door wide open. Standing there was a large golden retriever with a rich, golden tail wagging gracefully. With a face that seemed to say, ‘I’ve been waiting for you,’ the dog looked up at Lorienne and barked happily.
“Woof! Woof!”
“Coco! Come on in!”
The retriever, without a trace of wariness, sauntered inside through the open door. Then, as if to display its tail-wagging prowess, it began to spin around in circles. As soon as he saw Lorienne, it became a routine for him to display a variety of affectionate behaviors. The dog stopped bouncing and sat down with his butt on the floor, raising his front paws and huffing.
Lorienne quickly knelt down to sit on the floor and held out her hand. “Shake!”
At the mention of the word, the dog extended one paw, placing it gently in Lorienne’s hand.
Amused by the dog’s precise understanding of words, Lorienne laughed out loud. She shook the paw a couple of times before pulling him into her arms. He was pleasantly warm.
“Our clever Coco. I was just thinking it would be nice if you came, how did you know?!” Lorienne nuzzled her face against the large retriever’s body.
In response, the dog’s tail, which had been wagging happily, started to wag even faster. Now, it rested its front paws on Lorienne’s shoulders and showered her face with eager licks.
Chuckling, Lorienne patted the dog’s flank.
“Alright, alright―Settle down, Coco.”
“Woof!”
“Oh, you, you’re probably the only one in the world who loves me this much.”
For Lorienne, Coco, who didn’t question her magical abilities or didn’t haggle over potions, was simply delightful and heartwarming. The low she’d been feeling just moments ago was gone.
Exuberantly wagging its tail in every direction, the dog dashed back towards Lorienne, clearly bubbling with energy. As Lorienne was being pushed backward by the dog’s sheer force, the dog stood up on its hind legs and hopped from side to side with its front paws. His panting tongue couldn’t conceal its excitement.
Grabbing the dog’s front paws, Lorienne mirrored his playful bouncing. Once again, Lorienne burst out into a bright laugh.
“Coco, you have no idea how happy you make me.” Lorienne hugged the dog tightly, smiling so broadly that her cheeks nearly ached.
The large dog that had been jumping up and down earlier settled into her arms. He closed his eyes, waiting patiently as if savoring Lorienne’s deep inhales and exhales.
A well-mannered, intelligent, and affectionate dog.
Little did Lorienne realize at the time that this large, beautiful, golden-furred dog would be that prickly customer, Kyle Astum, the would-be Emperor of Astum.
