I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 129

CHAPTER 129

‘Ah, I survived.’

I took a deep breath, holding onto the broom I must have picked up from somewhere.

Oh, sandwiched among the little ones, I fought for my life, and now my body aches all over.

‘I have to go back.…’

Raising my head, I looked down the long corridor.

The mansion, which the Terron regional lord had generously provided as my lodging, seemed to have particularly lengthy corridors, perhaps following the fashion of Tasharean style that was popular last season.

Even my assigned room was at the far end of this long corridor.

It was assigned to me because when I first saw the beautiful forest scenery through the large window, I thought it was too lovely to resist.

Looking back now, it was a mistake.

Scenery or whatever.

I should’ve been assigned the room closest to the entrance.

‘Who would’ve known it would turn out like this!’

I swallowed back tears inside.

Today my plan was simply to come comfortably on horseback and have a pleasant conversation!

“Ugh….”

I heaved a sigh as I used the broom as a cane to walk, struggling with each breath.

<Baaaaaah?>

Was it a response to my desperate internal scream?

Shu popped out and wagged his black ears.

“Shu….”

<Wuff!>

Shu’s ear, which responded with a growl to my name, tilted to the side.

It seemed like he was tilting his neck, but his head, body, everything was a precise two-headed entity.

Moreover, his fluffy fur made his head and body seem even more merged, making it even harder to distinguish.

<Bruff?>

Shu checked my dying form from all angles: left, right, up, down.

<Braaaa!!!>

He howled loudly. Why?

<Bra, Braaaa!>

Then, with the front paws that had always existed but I had always questioned, he grabbed a handful of my hair and began to lead me with a whine.

It seemed like he meant to take me to my room…..

‘Although he was of no real help….but it’s cute.’

Really, genuinely cute. I admired Shu, who was whining happily with a satisfied face.

About a minute passed like that.

<Paaaaaah~>

Shu released my hair and took a deep breath. Then he bounced around here and there.

What’s going on?

<Bruff?>

As if confused, Shu rolled around before starting to look around again.

<Brauu?>

Ah, I see.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed Shu’s black eyes, buried in his long fur, were rolling around.

Now that we’ve come this far, he must have thought we arrived at the room and released my hair.

But he realized it was still the same place, hence his confusion.

<Paaaaaah!!!>

Correct.

The confused Shu started bouncing around like a ball.

“Shu, come here.”

As I reached out my hand, Shu’s rolling eyes landed on my palm.

<Bra, Braaa.>

He whimpered while lightly patting my hand with his tiny front paws.

It seemed like he was expressing some sort of disappointment and unfairness in his own way.

Cute.

I poked his nose gently as I moved slowly.

“Oh, I wanted to help you, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

<Bra.>

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

<Braaaa.>

“Thanks to Shu, we made it here, right? Look, we’ve already passed half of the corridor!”

I stopped walking and showed him the surroundings. Shu’s ears shot up.

<Bwa!>

That meant he was feeling good.

“I guess Shu mistook what he saw earlier~.”

As I praised him like that, Shu flew up again and spun around in circles above my head. It truly meant he was very, very happy.

‘So cute.…’

Until just now, I felt like I was being drained to death by the little ones.

But seeing Shu like this made me feel alive.

‘So this is why everyone keeps pets.’

Animals that don’t speak are a hundred times better than humans who do, or even better.

“Shu.”

As I resumed walking, Shu flew down and landed on my hand.

“Since it’s okay to grow slowly, let’s stay together for a long, long time, okay?”

When Elam visited the human world briefly last time, we talked about Shu’s growth.

<He’s growing much faster than when he was in the cradle of water.>

Elam looked at Shu with admiration.

<It seems that experiencing various environments in the human world makes him grow faster. Especially when faced with danger, he seems to grow diligently to confront it.>

“Is there no problem? Last time you said he was faster than the average speed.”

 <Yes.>

Elam shook his head, his gaze fixed on Shu.

<No problem. He’s healthier.>

Pride shimmered on his face.

<At this rate, he’ll be fully grown in a hundred years.>

“A hundred years? So soon?”

Just a hundred years and he’ll be fully grown?

<Yes, that should be enough time. If there’s a big threat, he’ll grow even faster.>

Saying that, Elam leaned against Shu.

<Grow up healthy, my successor.>

“….”

Remembering Elam, who seemed to imply that Shu’s full growth was synonymous with his own demise, I fell silent for a moment.

But soon I smiled.

“Just because you grow up doesn’t mean Elam disappears.”

With that, I lightly tapped his nose.

“You need to grow up healthy, Shu.”

<Bwa?>

Shu wagged his ears again, as if not understanding what I said.

In the meantime, we finally arrived at my room.

“Lady Lottie!”

As soon as I opened the door, Betty, who had followed me, rushed out.

“I heard the story! You caught the most prey in this hunting festival! When I heard that, really, wow! I was so proud.”

Betty’s eyes sparkled.

“Even among the other nobles’ maids, I was so confident!”

“Is that so?”

Oh, dear, she’s unstoppable.

Sitting down on the chair with trembling legs, I chuckled and asked.

“Is there someone bothering you?”

Still talking.

“Yes.”

Betty pouted.

“Pretending not to be~ acting like nothing happened while saying whatever.”

Suddenly, Betty lowered her voice and grabbed the edge of my skirt.

It seemed like she was imitating the maid who had looked down on her earlier.

“Hoho, I have similar cheap tastes as the person serving me, so there won’t be a big problem. Isn’t that right?”

“Oh my, why are you like that? Why are you angry? No, I was just saying that it would be easy to get along because we have similar tastes, right?”

“I spoke kindly to you, right? But wasn’t that the one who twisted it first?”

…I can vividly imagine the situation just by listening to the other person’s words.

Should we put on a play or something, Betty, later?

“So, what did you do?”

Curious, I asked as Betty looked at me silently, then…

Snap!

She grabbed her hair.

Hmm, seems like a sign of approval.

“Did you win?”

Once again, Betty smiled silently and raised her thumb.

No injuries were visible, so she won. Our Betty.

She’s become stronger. Much stronger.

“I’m sure they won’t dare to say anything behind your back now.”

Perfectly handled.

“Well done.”

“I’m just a servant.”

As I praised her with a smile, Betty raised her head proudly. There was pride written all over her face.

“Oh, are you going to take a bath? I’ve prepared the water in advance.”

Betty quickly opened the bathroom door attached to the room. 

Whether she just filled it or not, steam was rising from the wooden tub.

“Wow, a bathtub!”

I missed it! 

After the bed, the bathtub was what I missed the most.

I rushed over and dipped my hand in.

“The temperature is just right!”

“Ahem, I aim to please!”

Betty exclaimed proudly. 

She was even ready to dance if I clapped a few more times.

Meanwhile, I quickly undressed and sank into the bathtub.

Ah, it feels like heaven. My body is melting away.

“Should I put the clothes you’ll change into here?”

“Yeah, just leave them there.”

Beside the door, Betty hung up the clothes I would wear after bathing.

Then, as I reached for the clothes I had taken off, I cocked my head.

“Lady Lottie.”

“Yeah?”

As I relaxed in the warm water, my words came out naturally.

“What’s in your clothes…?”

Betty, rummaging through the clothes with narrowed eyes, finally pulled something out.

“Wow, what’s this? Is it a jewel?”

“A jewel?”

There’s no way something like that would be in my pocket. 

I turned to look at Betty.

In her hand was a brightly shining blue stone.

“What’s that?”

As I reached out my hand, Betty immediately placed the stone in my palm.

Did I bring this?

“…Ah!”

As I peered closely with narrowed eyes, I understood.

This was a part of the statue I picked up earlier.

Until just now, it was an ordinary stone color, but now it had changed to blue.

‘What’s this? Was it some kind of enchanted statue?’

After Betty left, I leaned back in the tub and stared at the statue fragment intently.

But there was no sense of mana flow, and Shu didn’t react either, so there didn’t seem to be any problem.

“Hmm.”

I wiped off the water from my face and chuckled.

 “Kaaaah!”

The world in front of my eyes changed.