MCBD 28

Chapter 28

“Ah! Sir Aldehyde, please stroke around this puppy’s neck. I’ll try touching its belly—nice and warm.”
“…Okay.”

Aldehyde was being remarkably obedient to Lirier’s words. Ever since he had accidentally brushed against the tips of her fingers, something about him seemed broken.
In contrast, Lirier, who looked perfectly calm, spoke again.

“This won’t be a fundamental solution, but should I try casting a stabilization spell on the puppy? It might make it a little more comfortable.”
“What, so you can cough up blood again?”

At his sharp remark, Lirier replied awkwardly.
“Only weakly—just enough that I won’t cough up blood.”

Aldehyde looked at her with suspicion.
He didn’t know why, but the thought of her getting hurt stirred a sense of danger deep within him, on an instinctive level.
Still, Lirier spoke with an easygoing expression.

“Well, I’ll give it a try. Doing something is better than doing nothing, right? It might help the puppy feel better too.”
“And if you die too?”
“…I won’t die if I keep it very weak.”

“…Fine. Try it, then.”

When Aldehyde reluctantly agreed, Lirier reached out and gently stroked behind the puppy’s ear. Even as it lay dying, the puppy whimpered and licked her fingertips.

A ripple of stabilization magic spread out from Lirier’s hand. Though it was directed at the puppy, Aldehyde could feel it as well.
He instinctively furrowed his brow.

‘It’s completely different from when I held my sister’s hand.’

As that thought crossed his mind, he glanced at the puppy once, then quietly fixed his gaze on the runaway-rate monitor on his wrist.

‘If that stabilization magic were my sister’s power, the runaway rate would drop sharply.’

[85%]

The number didn’t change at all.
Despite his heart pounding instinctively, her stabilization magic had no effect on him whatsoever.

‘As expected, Lirier isn’t my sister.’

Spending time with Lirier was a continuous process of confirming that she was not his sister.
No matter how unpleasantly his stomach fluttered, that fact didn’t change.

After calmly organizing his thoughts, Aldehyde looked at the dying puppy and Lirier.

“Fhuu….”

The puppy let out a deep breath and its body stiffened. Both Aldehyde and Lirier realized that the stabilization magic wasn’t working.

With a crestfallen expression, Lirier pulled the puppy tightly into her arms.
“Where does it hurt? If only you could talk…”
“Kiing…”
“Just whimpering like this—it’s too sad.”

Watching Lirier and the puppy, Aldehyde grew anxious as well. As he smoothed the puppy’s fur, his expression hardened.
“What do you think?”
“…The stabilization magic isn’t working. Its breathing is getting more and more shallow.”

The puppy’s body was growing colder without end. Aldehyde closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Watching someone die—especially a harmless animal—was, after all…

“I don’t like it.”
“……”

Lirier, who had been staring at the puppy with gloomy eyes, spoke carefully.
“If this child… ends up dying…”
“Yeah.”
“If I’d known it would die, I shouldn’t have grown attached.”
“……”
“If it leaves, I think my heart will hurt too much…”

For some reason, Lirier’s profile looked terribly lonely.

‘She’s soft-hearted, so of course she’d be sad if the puppy dies. Still, the one dying is the puppy—who would’ve thought she’d act like it’s herself?’

After gathering his thoughts, Aldehyde muttered gruffly,
“Don’t act so weak.”
“……”
“Then shall we at least go show it the stars one last time?”
“…What?”
“Just waiting here for it to die is a waste of the time it has left.”

Thinking about what his sister would have done made his resolve firm.
If it were his sister—who was weak toward pitiful, fragile things—she would have cared for this little puppy as warmly as possible.

At that moment, Lirier looked straight at him with clear eyes.
“……”
She stayed silent for a long while, making Aldehyde oddly restless.

Then, slowly, she parted her lips.

The sudden appearance of the strongest man, Aldehyde, had seemed extremely suspicious at first.
To be honest, even now I don’t fully understand the mechanism behind his actions. Sometimes he just seems like a madman.

But what’s certain is this: he saved countless people, worried about me coughing up blood, and is kind even to a puppy he’s only seen a few times.
Now he’s even saying we should go show the puppy the stars.

I muttered impulsively.
If that’s the case, then surely…

“You’re a good person.”
“…What? G-go—good what?”
“A good person. You.”

At that moment, Aldehyde’s earlobes flushed bright red. As he touched his ear, he muttered,
“Uh, I hear that I’m nice a lot. But why are you speaking so casually?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”

It slipped out because it was an impulsive remark, and my habitual casual speech showed.
But Aldehyde missed my apology while fiddling with his ear.

‘He has a surprisingly silly side too.’

Despite claiming he heard he was “nice” often, his reddened earlobes blatantly revealed his embarrassment.
Seeing him like this, someone for whom praise like “kind” was clearly unfamiliar, left me a little bewildered.

“…Well, yes. I suppose you do hear that a lot.”
I smiled faintly at him. Then Aldehyde picked up the stiffening puppy and muttered,
“Let’s go. To see the stars.”

The moment he finished speaking, a magic circle formed beneath our feet.
As pitch-black darkness rushed in before our eyes, we found ourselves atop Kesen Mountain, the highest peak near the capital.

It was a dark night, but the stars glittered in the sky—close enough to touch, it seemed.

“You really did bring us to see the stars.”
“Yeah. If it’s going to die, I thought I’d send it off here. Seeing the stars, the moon, feeling the wind.”
“That sounds nice…”

I wanted to die like this too—not in a barren hospital room, but in nature.

As I thought that, Aldehyde held the small puppy close. He never stopped stroking it as he murmured,
“Look closely, puppy. You’re at the very top of a mountain right now. You’re basically ruling over all humans beneath you.”
“Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”
“Kiing…”
“Just listen.”

Aldehyde kept talking to the puppy, offering it affectionate words. The puppy continued to whimper as it nestled into his arms.
“Kiing…”

Two lives were pressed close together without any gap—the puppy and Aldehyde.
Surprisingly, there was affection in the way they looked at each other. As Aldehyde stroked the puppy’s body, which was growing stiffer by the moment, he said,
“Hey, muscle dog. Take in lots of stars. Whether you live or die, let’s enjoy this moment.”

What a strange person. Death ends everything anyway—so how could he speak so passionately, grow attached like this?

From the moment I thought I might die, I had instinctively distanced myself from the things I loved.
Because I didn’t want regrets—no, because I didn’t want to hurt.

I could never be that gentle.

So, as I quietly watched Aldehyde, I suddenly asked,
“Aren’t you scared?”
“Scared of what?”
“Of dying. And… if it dies.”
“…Yeah.”
“Doesn’t it scare you that you’ll grow too attached and feel sad?”

As I spoke, I smoothed the puppy’s fur. It was strange—how honest I’d become in front of him.
I never imagined I’d share feelings this intimate, ones I’d hidden even from Bell.

Maybe it was the magic of this night.
‘No—maybe I’m under some kind of spell that makes me tell the truth.’