Pochi turned out to be surprisingly mature.
I returned to the Rosenberg family home to meet Pochi.
“Well, you’ve really gone and caused a commotion this time…”
“Hehe.”
I had been causing a ruckus, breaking trees and creating craters... I should probably erase the evidence, though it feels a bit late for that.
“Wahahaha! If you want to pass, defeat me first!”
“Hihi.”
“Hehe.”
“Rosariiin.”
The Fake-rin bowed. My siblings seem to be apologizing, I feel like.
What is this déjà vu?
I feel like I had this exact same conversation yesterday. But this time, Dirk is here. With Dirk around, we can do anything!
“I’m doing it, Dirk!”
“Huh?”
And we won easily.
Dirk is so strong! He handled both Geraldin-san and the Fake-rin at the same time!
First, we tied up the twins, then Geraldin-san, and then the Fake-rin.
“Geraldin-san and the Fake-rin both have their quirks, you know? Once you get used to it, they’re easy to catch.”
I think Dirk is the strongest in close combat. By the way, according to Dirk, the real ones tend to make unexpected moves, and he says it's only thanks to my support that he manages. I think I could’ve done it without support, though.
“… What are you doing?”
A sleepy-eyed Pochi... no, wait.
“I’m tying them up. Who are you?”
“… Why are you tying them up? It’s Pochi.”
“Pochi?”
I looked at the young man in front of me. He had a nice body, muscular like Geraldin-san.
And his sharp features resembled a Siberian Husky, with a mix of black and brown.
“Pochiiiii!!??”
“Yip!?”
“I’ve heard about it, but you’re like a completely different person! You could totally be the mascot of the Muscle Rosarin Church or something!”
“Calm down, Oneechan! What’s this Muscle Church? I don’t understand!”
I was in confusion. My… my cute Pochi is all muscle now!!
“… Do you think I shouldn’t have grown up this much?”
Pochi’s drooping ears and tail. Even a beastman could tell. Pochi was feeling down!
“No matter what form you’re in, Pochi is still my cute Pochi! I was wrong, Oneechan was wrong!”
“Oneechan…”
“Pochi!!”
“… Is this a good story?”
Later, Dirk told me that from the outside, it probably looked like I was attacking him. Pochi’s current face definitely looks like a bad guy...
Now, since this concerns the Rosenberg family too, I asked my father, mother, and brother to join us, and we discussed the earlier conversation.
“What do you think, Rosarin?”
“My personal opinion is… Bernard can be trusted as an individual. But what the ‘country’ decides to do is what worries me.”
“I see.”
“While it hasn’t been confirmed that Pochi is the crown prince, it seems Bernard may have transferred the prince’s appearance to himself. Bernard looked very similar to the old Pochi. With the timing of the curse being lifted, the possibility seems high.”
“… I see. So, what does Pochi want?”
Pochi was quietly thinking.
“I… I want to stay as Pochi. My parents are… Papa and Mama. My family is Rosarin Oneechan, Ru Oniichan, Martha-san, Jend, and everyone else. I don’t need anything else.”
Pochi looked at us with steady eyes. There was no hesitation in those eyes.
“But if I stay like this, I’ll be a burden on Oneechan and the Rosenbergs. I’m going to see my real parents. And I want them to accept me for who I am.”
“… I see. You’ve really grown up, Pochi.”
Father gently patted Pochi. He’s slightly bigger than Father now, but still wagging his tail—he’s definitely still Pochi.
“Nevertheless, we need to investigate the situation. Looks like we’re going to be busy again. Hehe, I’ll make sure to look into it properly.”
“Thank you, Mama!”
“… I’ll help too. Honestly, our little siblings are quite a handful.”
Pochi wagged his tail as Mama and Niisama patted him. Even though he’s all muscular, he’s still so cute depending on his personality...
“Of course, I’ll go with you, Pochi! If it comes down to it, I’ll destroy a country just to make sure you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to!”
“You don’t have to destroy anything!”
“Calm down, Rosarin!”
Pochi and Dirk rushed to stop me. I’m perfectly calm, really? Hehehehe.
“Since I’m worried about you, I’ll go with you too.”
“Niisama…”
“If things get really bad, our vegetable warriors will fight too!”
“Niisama, you’re wonderful!!”
“Hey!! Ru, don’t egg Rosarin on!”
“See, I told you we don’t have to destroy anything!!”
To keep me and Niisama from going too far, Dirk and Gator decided to join us as well. I probably won’t go overboard, right? It’ll depend on what they do, though.
What do you think about this chapter?
