Chapter 23: Busted! But then I sniffed!

TL: kizen who wants to sniff Ojou-sama as well
ED: Filip, who now wants to be a dog too

AN: The pinnacle of muttness (´・ω・｀)

「Nya~ nya~ (Routa-sa~n! Please wake up! Please wake up already! Geezー!)」

Somebody is hitting my stomach.

Uーn. So sleepy…
Five more minutes.

「Chuー chuー (Good grief. What a horrible sleeping posture. Snoring while defenselessly showing your belly…… He’s not even showing any trace of urgency from living in the wild)」

「Nyaー (Routa-sa~n. It’s morning already you know~? Cook-san is going to wake up you know~)」

「Chuー (Just give it up already. It’s his fault since he won’t wake up. I should go to sleep as well. Hey, move to your side my dear)」

Huーh? What is itー?
You just want me to lie down on my side~?
Yeah yeah.

Once I turned over, something started squirming in my mane.

「Chuー (We’ve already tried hard enough to wake him up)」

「Nya~n (Don’t blame if you get scolded later okayー?)」

Get scolded?
Whyy?

Nafra’s presence started going away and I could hear Ren sleeping on my back.
Thinking that was odd, I tried opening my eyes but the morning sun was so dazzling that I couldn’t open them properly.

If I remember correctly, yesterday, we drank until it was almost dawn but I can’t really recall what happened after that.
They were talking about it being bad if we don’t clean up soon so………

「Wafuu (That’s right! I forgot to destroy the evidence!)」

When I suddenly got up, in front of my eyes was…

「Yo, Routa. You really enjoyed yourself last night, didn’t you?」

While folding his muscular arms, the old man is taking such an imposing stance.

Because of the sunlight in the backdrop, the shadows define his facial features even more which caused my dread to increase even more.

「Wa-wan (ha, hawawawa……)」

「We’ve been letting you off even though you’ve been sneaking food every day but this is the last straw……」

H-hieeeeee.
I, I’m going to get killed.
Will this be the day of my death anniversary?

「…is what I want to say but,」

The old man unfolded his arms and roughly stroked my head.

「You, you went to the dragon’s nest to fetch the medicinal plant, right? Well, it doesn’t seem like you were useful though. But still, for Ojou-sama’s sake, you took up the courage to go to that dangerous place」

The old man’s not mad.
On the contrary, he’s even in a good mood for some reason.

「The amount of goods we’re going to receive from now on has substantially increased so it won’t be a problem anymore even if you mess around with the food. Because of that, I’ll forgive you for stealing food in the middle of the night」

「Wan wan! (O-old man! What deep pockets you have! Fantastic! Let me cuddle with you!)」

「……and besides, the food you steal’s already nasty so it would be bad if I served it to the master and others, right?」

Hm?
I spaced out there so did you say something?

「Hey, you should probably go back to Ojou-sama’s side soon. She would feel sad if you aren’t there when she wakes up」

Haa. That’s right.
Ever since she had her fever, Ojou-sama has started to become dependent on my affection.
Aside from meals and study time, we’re pretty much together all the time.

There’s nothing more a pet can ask for other than this, right?
I should give her plenty of affection today as well~.

「Wan waーn! (I’m coming right now, Ojou-samaー!)」
†
Ojou-sama’s sleeping face on the bed is also lovely today.
Her flowing golden hair is scattered about on her pillow and she’s sleeping like a baby.
When looking at her calmly sleeping like that, I can’t help but feel like I want to sleep together with her.

I want to just slip into the covers and sleep together with her but it’s about time for maid-san to come and wake her up for morning tea.

「Wafuu (Ojou-samaー. It’s morning already you know~)」

When I poked her cheeks with my nose, Ojou-sama just knitted her eyebrows at first but she immediately woke up afterwards.

「Funya…… Good morning to you, Routa……」

Ojou-sama who just woke up rubbed her sleepy eyes and did a small yawn.

「Wann (Good morning Ojou-sama!)」

「Nnー……」

Giving her an energetic reply, Ojou-sama gave me a tight hug.

Ahh, what a blissful moment.
Ojou-sama smells good today as well.

I want to bury my face in her hair and smell it.
No, I’m going to do it.
スハスハ。 　スハスハ。[TL: Literally just inhale exhale sounds]

「Nn? Routa, you smell like liquor for some reason……」

I separate from Ojou-sama’s body.

「Wafuu (Hawaa. Did I drink too much last night!?)」

「Let’s go to the lake during my afternoon break. You can wash off the smell of liquor there」

「Wan wann (That’s a good idea, isn’t it!)」

I also get to eat the old man’s sandwich that I’ve been wanting to eat for a while now.

「Let’s ask Hecate-sensei to join us as well. Fufuu. I’m looking forward to this afternoon. I’ll do my best at studying so that we can finish quickly so please wait for me, okay?」

Ojou-sama really is a good girl, isn’t she?
I’ll make sure to take enough rest to make up for Ojou-sama who’s doing her best!
Please leave it to me!

Wants to lick Zenovia-chan (´・ω・｀) Wants to smell Ojou-sama