It Started Raining

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While riding on Leo, I thought about what had happened.
The gate would usually have been closed, but it was open.
In general, regardless of the time of day, the gates were kept closed unless they were expecting a visitor.
It was one of the duke’s houses, after all.
Not only that, but there were usually two or three guards posted there, but I had not seen anyone.

Perhaps Sebastian had told them, or they already knew… They left the gate open and moved elsewhere.
I felt gratitude for the extent they went to.
What we were going to do now could be dangerous.
Aside from that, there was also the risk of people finding out about the duke’s involvement.

And yet they had sent me out.
Well, we were far away from the town, so perhaps there was no need to be so cautious…
What I wanted to do, was hurry up and find Deam, capture him, and make sure that no one realizes that the duke is moving behind the scenes.
That was what I hoped, anyway.

“Hahahahah…wuff… Wuff-wuff?”
“Hmm? Ah, that’s right. It is kind of difficult to see… Wait one moment.”

I suddenly heard Leo barking.
Apparently, she was concerned about how dark it was.
You only needed to move in a straight line to reach Ractos, so we didn’t need to worry about crashing into anything. But I suppose it was still dangerous to not be able to see up ahead.
Perhaps Leo didn’t like that she was running but couldn’t see the scenery…

And so I unsheathed the sword on my belt.
Then I raised it into the air and focused.

“Light Elemental Shine.”
“Wuff!”

Leo barked as if she too were chanting, and then the magic was activated.
The magic energy entered the sword and caused the blade to glow.
…Ms. Claire had taught it to me, and it was already proving to be useful.

“While it does not shine too far, it is better than nothing.”
“Wuff-wuff.”

It was blinding if looked at directly, and more than bright enough when it was so dark that you could barely even see the moon.
And like that, we continued our journey to Ractos.
Now that we had light, Leo seemed to be in a much better mood.

“I can’t see the moon… That can happen sometimes.”

The moon in this world was not like the one in my old world. It was more of a bluish, silvery color… Some might say it was just blue.

And as I looked up at the sky, I felt a drop of water fall on my face.
…Water?

“Is it…rain?”
“Wuff…”

And the drops of water continued to fall and increase in number.
I had not been rained on since I came to this world.
Perhaps it was due to the climate, but it did not rain much around the mansion.
And even if it did rain, it was usually during the night.

“…Seems to be getting stronger? Leo. Are you alright?”
“Wuff-wuff. Wou!”
“As long as it’s not hot water? …Well, as long as you are enjoying it…”

It was raining hard enough that she would be drenched soon.
Since she was running faster than a horse, I worried that the rain would get into her eyes… Apparently that was not a problem.
…But I could barely keep my eyes open.

As for the sword, it continued to shine even in the rain.
Had I been holding a torch instead, it would have been extinguished immediately.
It was one of those moments where I was thankful that I could use magic.

“We’ll have to take a bath and warm up when we get back…”
“Wuff!?”
“Leo. You’re soaking wet. And there is a lot of dust in the air, so you’ll have to be cleaned.”
“Wuff…”

I hadn’t brought a raincoat or umbrella.
They probably wouldn’t be much use when moving at this speed anyway.
Now that the rain was getting stronger, we were both drenched.
And Leo was covered in fur, which was all matted down now. She actually looked smaller than usual.

There was a lot to do, and I did not want to catch a cold or get sick. And so I told Leo that we would take a bath later, and she did not look pleased.
Even if she didn’t hate it as much as she did before, she had not been cured entirely.
Leo wasn’t as excited to be running in the rain after that, but I was able to persuade her as we continued on our way.

And I wondered. Was this rain a warning about the danger of what we were doing? Or was it a blessing, that would conceal our presence…

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World