We Comforted Liza

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“Getting angry was no use. So was crying or apologizing. They just found it funny… And so I didn’t cry. I didn’t want my grandfather to worry about me… So I tried not to…”
“Liza…”

When she still had her grandfather, Liza was mostly protected.
However, once he passed away, there was no one to defend her, and she stuck out for being a beastkin.
I didn’t know when he had died, but regardless, the time she had suffered must have felt very long indeed.
Even now, she held back her tears with gritted teeth and forced a smile.

Ms. Claire, Ms. Lyra and Leo also seemed like they were at a loss for words.
Just what had been done to her… I could imagine, thinking back on the time we had rescued her.
Regardless, she had been covered in mud and scratches.

“…Little Liza!”
“Kya! …Sister Claire?”

Ms. Claire seemed to be full of emotion as she imagined Liza’s past, and so she suddenly threw her arms around her.
Liza looked surprised at first, but didn’t seem to mind.

“You were very strong. But we won’t let anyone hurt you from now on! You can be proud and tell your grandfather that you really did do your best!”
“Sister…Claire. I did? Do you think he would be proud of me?”
“Of course! And if anyone says otherwise, I will be very angry with them! Now, there is no need for you to bear anything. From now on, you should only laugh!”
“Heh… Really? I did well then. While it hurt, I did do my best. Waahh…!”
“Yes, yes. It’s okay to cry now. Since you did so well. Cry as much as you want, and then you can laugh later.
“Sniff…yes. I would rather laugh… I want to have fun… Waaaahhh!”

Ms. Claire embraced Liza and patted her on the head gently.
Everything that Liza had been holding back until now was unleashed, and tears were flowing from her eyes.

While I could only imagine what she had experienced up until now. There was no reason for a child to have to bear such things. I knew that clearly.
And so I would have to think of ways to ensure that her life would be fun and full of smiles from now on.

“Sniff…”
“Have you calmed down?”
“Yes… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. You should cry when you want to, and laugh when you want to. You don’t have to hold back your emotions any more.”
“…Yes. Thank you, sister Claire.”

Liza had been crying loudly for some time.
And Ms. Claire didn’t mind that her clothes were getting wet, and she continued to hold Liza.
Ms. Lyra and I also occasionally patted her on the head comfortingly, until she finally calmed down.
Leo was still on her back in the surrendering pose…
I suppose she could not move, because Liza was clutching onto her fur with one hand.

“Papa, I’m sorry. The new clothes you bought…got dirty…”
“You don’t have to worry about that. If you can’t wear them anymore, then we will just buy new ones! Besides, we’ll have to do that anyway, since you will continue to grow.”

After she stopped crying, Liza let go of Ms. Claire and turned to me to apologize about the clothes.
There was some blood on them, and since they had dried, they would probably stain.
However, it’s not like it was her fault.
While it might be difficult to remove the stains, if it was too bad, we could buy more… Thankfully, I had plenty of money.

If anything, if she did get muddy after playing with Tilura, then I would just laugh and maybe join them.
And then we would both apologize to the person who had to wash them.

“Yes… Thank you, papa and mama and sister Claire and Lyra.”
“Hehe. Mr. Takumi, you will have to buy her lots of pretty clothes now.”
“And I will help you choose them.”
“Yes!”

While it wasn’t everything that I wished to say, Liza nodded understandingly and smiled as she thanked everyone.
Ms. Claire and Ms. Lyra smiled back at her.

“Wuff. Wuff-wuff.”
“Kyaha! Mama!”
“Hehe. I think good Leo is trying to reassure her as well.”
“Yes, indeed.”

Liza finally let go of her fur, and so Leo turned over onto her stomach.
And then she pressed her face against Liza and licked her cheek.
While it was nice that everyone was smiling amidst this peaceful atmosphere…
I was reminded of what a mess Leo made when she licked someone’s face…

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World