Liza was carried by Leo

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“…Water is amazing, huh?”
“Yes. And when there is a lot of it, it can be dangerous. So you have to be careful. Let me see… Hey, Leo?”
“Wuff? Wou!?”
“…Kyu…kyu…”

As I wanted Leo to help Liza, I turned and called to her while she was swimming.
Leo immediately turned and barked in reply.
Only, she had been holding Sherry in her mouth, and so she dropped her into the water. And then she started drowning again…
And while Leo picked Sherry up, she was whimpering sadly as she hung there.
I doubted she wanted to go into the river again…

“Can you come over here? You don’t have to reply, or you might drop Sherry!”

Leo nodded and stood up out of the water and rang back towards us.

“Kyau…kyau…”
“Good, good.”
“Wuff?”

Sherry was released on dry land, and she sat there weakly and caught her breath.
Liza was worried, and petted her wet fur gently in order to calm her down.
After putting Sherry down in a safe place, Leo turned to me questioningly with a tilt of her head.

“It’s about Liza. She wants to go in the river, but is scared, because this is her first time seeing one. So, can you look after her, Leo?”
“Wuff! Wuff-wuff. Wou?”
“You’ll be with me mama? Then I won’t be scared!”

When I asked her, Leo nodded immediately and moved her face close to Liza.
Liza looked up and smiled. All of the anxiety about going into the river had vanished from her face now.
Yes, having someone with you would be quite a relief.
While I could have gone with her, I did not want to get wet right now.

Besides, I had to help with preparations at the campsite, as well as other duties.
I could not just play with Liza and Leo and leave everything to the others.

“Alright, I’ll leave her to you, Leo.”
“Wuff! Wuff!”
“What!?”

And so I left them, and started to walk towards Sebastian and the others.
Leo nodded and barked towards Liza.
And then Liza let out a gasp, and so I turned around to see…that she was hanging, while Leo held her up by the collar.
…So that’s how she would protect Liza.

I wasn’t so sure, and paused for a moment.
However, Liza seemed like she was having fun, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Leo wouldn’t do anything dangerous, and I could hear Liza laughing.
She had only looked startled at first, because Leo had picked her up so suddenly.

“Mr. Takumi, are you sure that you don’t need to be with them?”
“Ms. Claire. Yes, they should be fine with Leo. Though, I was surprised that Sherry cannot swim. But I’m not worried, at least, compared to Ms. Anne…”
“Well, I carry Sherry when using the bathtub… So she has not had the chance to learn. As for Anne…she is much too tired.”
“Hah…hah… You may say that…Ms. Claire… But it’s…hah…not my fault…”

While I was talking to Ms. Claire, I heard someone panting. It was Ms. Anne, who was sitting limply behind her.
She was sitting on a large rock and leaning forward. She did not even have the strength to raise her head.

As she could hear our conversation, she did her best to protest while trying to catch her breath.
Ms. Claire had been tired the previous time we came here. But it wasn’t to this degree.
Ms. Anne…clearly needed to exercise more often… As she was practically a shut-in, she did not leave the house or walk around much.
If we were in the town, she could take breaks, and it would be easier to walk on roads. But I suppose the forest was quite rough for her.
There were no paved roads in the forest, and she had probably stumbled over rocks numerous times.

“Sebastian. Is there anything I can do to help?”

I left Ms. Anne and Ms. Claire, and called out to Sebastian.
While Ms. Claire had wanted to help as well, she was told to look after Ms. Anne, who might faint at any moment.
Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it did seem best to keep an eye on her.
Sebastian gave some orders to Nicholas and then turned towards me.

“Ah, Mr. Takumi. What about Leo and the others?”
“Yes. Leo is taking care of them. And so I thought I would help here, if you need? I can’t just let you and the others do everything…”

If there was something that I could do to help, then I wanted to do it. That was just my personality, and it helped me calm down.

“You said that last time, and volunteered to keep watch. Hmm… Indeed… In that case, could you gather some tree branches to make a fire? As we need more than usual, it is taking some time.”
“Yes, I understand. ….What are they doing over there?”
“Ah, there was a rock that was in the way, and so they are moving it. I was actually going to ask Phillip to help, but His Grace insisted on doing it. Well, at least he has some help.”
“Oh…I see…”

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World