As I approached, I found Serdin struggling with a dog that had bitten his pants behind a tree.
Serdin was so flustered that his face turned red, and he tried to step back, but the dog clinging to him wouldn’t let go.
“What are you doing?”
“You… you…!”
Serdin stammered when he saw me. After hesitating for a moment, he hurriedly spoke up,
“Run away now! I’ll hold this damn… this dog, so run before it chases after you!”
“Huh?”
“It’s dangerous, so hurry!”
But it looked like you were the one in danger.
“Woof woof!”
But wait, is there a dog in the palace?
It didn’t look familiar… Wait, what?
“You are…?”
As I carefully observed the dog that seemed strangely familiar, Serdin shouted,
“What are you doing? Go!”
The dog that had been biting Serdin’s pants suddenly turned its head towards me and fixed its gaze on me.
“Grrr…”
“………”
“Grrr…”
The dog, which had been staring at me endlessly, suddenly lunged towards me.
“No!”
Serdin reached out to stop the dog, but it was no use. The dog ran towards me as if to attack… and then it furiously licked my cheek.
“…Huh?”
Serdin, who had lost his balance, sat down with a bewildered expression.
But the dog didn’t seem to care and continued to playfully rub its face against mine.
It really is you.
“Do you recognize me?”
I whispered quietly into the dog’s ear.
This wasn’t just any ordinary dog in front of me.
It was Hiel, the wolfdog who used to play in the mountains where Delight and I lived.
And somehow, it had recognized me and knew my identity.
Sure enough, Hiel, still in its wolfdog form, grinned and nodded.
“Are… are you okay?”
Serdin asked cautiously as he approached, only for the dog to growl at him aggressively again.
“Does it only act like this towards me?”
Serdin asked, looking upset.
The dog seemed ready to pounce on him the moment I let go of its leash.
“I’ll take it with me.”
“Take it? Where?”
“Um, to my room!”
I tried to pick up the dog to take it with me, but… it was impossible. I couldn’t carry such a large dog by myself.
“Let’s go,”
I said, deciding to walk back together.
As we started walking side by side, Serdin grabbed my arm and asked,
“Wait a minute. What were you looking for just now? I’ll help you find it.”
“You know what I was looking for?”
“…Yes. I saw you crouched down searching for something earlier. You need it, right?”
I see now.
I finally understood why Hiel had been barking at Serdin.
It was because he seemed suspicious, like he was keeping an eye on me, so Hiel was being protective.
It made sense since Serdin probably hadn’t just bumped into me by chance while taking a walk.
Hmm, what should I do?
“I’m looking for a weed that looks like this.”
Even though Serdin might know the use of the weed, it didn’t seem like he had any other motives.
So, I decided to trust him and showed him the drawing of the weed that I had sketched beforehand.
I had drawn it in case I needed to ask Monia or someone else for help later, but I didn’t expect to show it to Serdin.
“A weed? That… I see. I’ll find it for sure.”
Serdin carefully studied the drawing of the weed, looking curious, but he didn’t ask any more questions and just nodded.
“I’m really good at finding four-leaf clovers too.”
So, Serdin gave a sly smile and said, ‘Just trust me this once.’
***
“Why isn’t he waking up?”
Zaire asked worriedly as he checked on Delight’s condition. Someone then placed a hand on Zaire’s shoulder.
“It’s been a while, Zaire.”
“…Huh?”
Luciel had returned.
“How severe is Delight’s condition?”
Luciel asked.
“…Lord Luciel?”
Zaire couldn’t believe his eyes and rubbed them repeatedly as if to confirm what he was seeing.
“There’s no way he would have fallen to an ambush, so is it that?”
Luciel already knew about Delight’s condition.
The magic stone mixed with Delight’s blood would change when his life was in danger, alerting Luciel to the situation.
Of course, it was a secret that he possessed this stone.
If anyone knew, they would not only try to kill him but would also do anything to take it from him.
“Of course, I kept it safe.”
This was the only way he could continuously check on Delight’s life and death.
Watching over how Delight was doing, and stepping in to help when things got really dangerous, was a promise he had made to his friend.
Luciel was diligently keeping that promise even now.
“She should appreciate my hard work.”
But where is my friend?
“I really miss her,”
Luciel murmured as he looked at the unconscious Delight.
***
I brought Hiel to my room.
Before closing the door, I told Monia not to let anyone in and cast a soundproofing spell so no one outside could hear any noise from inside the room.
As soon as we were alone, Hiel, who had been wagging his tail excitedly like a dog, changed shape and became a person.
“Master!”
Sure enough, it was the Hiel I knew.
“Oh my gosh. I had a feeling, but it really is you, Master!”
“How did you recognize me?”
“I knew the moment I saw you.”
Hiel smiled as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“I guess I’m just that attuned to my instincts. Even though your body is completely different, the scent is exactly the same.”
“Huh?”
“I recognized you at first glance. I’m so happy to see you again.”
Hiel hugged me tightly, feeling the joy of reuniting after so long.
“…Me too.”
It was a surprisingly comforting feeling to meet someone who remembered me.
The timing of this encounter was astonishing and a little mysterious.
“Did you come here alone?”
“I came with Luciel. Delight’s condition isn’t good, right? So Luciel went to check on him.”
“…You knew about that before coming?”
“Haha, yes.”
This timing wasn’t just a coincidence.
“Hehe. Luciel will be here soon. He knows I’m here.”
“Hm.”
“If you have any questions, ask Luciel!”
Hiel avoided my tricky questions.
“But more than anything, I really missed you.”
Hiel hugged me tightly again, but then suddenly tilted his head slightly.
“But it feels different now that you’re so small. Should I carry you on my back and play?”
“No need!”
Are you teasing me because I’ve turned into a child?
When is Luciel going to get here?
Just as I turned my head away from Hiel’s annoyingly cheerful smile, I noticed that Luciel was already standing by the door.
Our eyes met.
Luciel’s lips curled into a smile, and his eyes narrowed mischievously.
“I knew it was you!”
“……..”
“Haha! I had a hunch, but I couldn’t believe it!”
Luciel laughed so hard that he was clutching his stomach.
He laughed so much that he was almost out of breath.
“Haha! Who would’ve thought you’d be reincarnated as Delight’s daughter! If I had known, I wouldn’t have left—I would’ve stuck around just to watch!”
This is exactly why I didn’t reveal my identity to Luciel when I was just a baby!
At least I can walk now, but if he had known my identity back then…
Ugh, the thought alone is terrifying. Even now, I just want to find a place to hide.
Luciel’s eyes gleamed.
“So, how’s life as Delight’s daughter?”
“…Ugh.”
“I heard Delight dotes on you like crazy.”
Luciel showed no signs of stopping his teasing.
Damn it. Maybe I should have continued pretending I didn’t know him.
As my clenched fists trembled with frustration, Hiel, who had been watching quietly, stepped in and pushed Luciel away.
“Please stop. Master is already dying of embarrassment—why do you have to bring it up?”
Hiel scolded Luciel, who was mocking him.
“Can you imagine how embarrassing it is for Master to call her disciple ‘Dad’?”
Hiel’s smug expression as he tried to calm Luciel down was so annoying that I felt like smacking him.
“It’s really funny, isn’t it? Haha! It’s hilarious!”
Luciel’s laughter echoed through the room.
“Go ahead and laugh all you want. But after that, we have a lot to talk about.”
“I’m just glad I got to meet you again.”
“…Huh?”
Luciel, who had been on the verge of collapsing with laughter, suddenly turned serious.
“I’ve been searching for you all this time, but I couldn’t find you anywhere. I was worried.”
Now that I think about it, it’s surprising that Luciel believed I would be reincarnated.
I hadn’t even considered it when I was facing death, so how did Luciel know, and how did he know to search for me all this time?
“…How did you know I’d be reincarnated?”
“I wasn’t sure. But I once saw a grand mage who had surpassed the limits of magic reincarnate. So I thought you might have a high chance of doing the same.”
In any case, it was a good thing that I met Luciel and that he learned my true identity.
He was someone who could tell me about the past twenty years that I didn’t know about.
“So now, tell me everything. What’s been happening all this time?”
