The Emperor's Dog Chapter 4

Translator: s.h.i.+ko
Proofreader: asuramaru

“Aaaaaaah!”

“Are you done yet?”

“What do you mean? Not even a little bit done! Aaaah!”

“Why on earth are you complaining, puppy? Haven't you been fed with Bonita's milk since you were born?”

Duuun. I froze. That's right. I did… 

I used to drink that breast milk. But I never thought it was a dog's breast milk. I just wondered why it tasted fishy.

I didn't know because, instead of sucking it, I was fed with a spoon. If I'd known that I was born as a dog, I would've never drank it. 

For a moment, I felt like I was going to throw up and my heartbeat quickened.

“Waaaaah…”

“Doggy!”

I didn't puke, but while I was in pain, the Emperor hurriedly lifted me up. I cried and buried my face into his arms.

“I'm a human being… Don't treat me like a dog..!”

“…I won.”

The Emperor clicked his tongue and called the stableman again to take Bonita back. Before they left, Bonita looked at me and whined. I felt a little guilty but it was none of my business. 

Whenever I looked at the dog, I was reminded that I'd been forced to drink her milk… a dog's milk. It made me feel conflicted. Although this body was that of a puppy, I was actually a 24-year-old human named Joo Hari.

After returning to the room, the Emperor shoved more food towards me. But when I checked the plate, I couldn't stop a sigh from escaping.

“Ha…”

I nudged the bowl with my front feet, which rolled a few times before stopping abruptly. I laid down on my stomach with no energy left. 

What he put down in front of me was none other than water-soaked animal feed. Animal feed… animal feed… right after dog milk.

“Do you not like this too?”

No, you idiot! Would you want to eat dog food? Huh?

“Huuuu…”

I buried my face in my paws and remained silent. I didn't have the energy to get angry.

Am I really going to die? I was born as a dog and was barely able to overcome the danger of getting killed, which has now led to death-by-dog-food. They say that, if you starve to death, you'll die with many grudges… and I don't want to become a ghost.

Sob, life is despair.

[T/N: monok.u.ma sweetie gtfo]

[PR/N: bet £5 the author played danganronpa.]

This life is meaningless..! The Emperor suddenly lifted me up. My legs and back paws shook in the air.

The Emperor raised me to his level and his eyes met mine. His bright red eyes stared me down.

“What on earth do you want to eat?”

I was so hungry that I didn't have the energy to respond properly. Tears dripped down from my eyes.

“Meaat…” 

“Meat?”

“Steak… Chicken… Bulgogi…” [1]

There were so many things I wanted to eat… if I continued talking, I could definitely have gone on for another ten minutes. The Emperor frowned, largely unaware of the foods I listed. But, considering my irrational mental state, I didn't think that through!

“Are you saying that you want to eat meat?”

“…Yeah!”

I finally got the response I wanted. I felt the energy… No, I just nodded vigorously. The Emperor looked at me and laughed confusedly. Why, why are you laughing? What's this bad feeling…?

“But you don't have teeth yet.”

"…d.a.m.n it!"

I didn't think of that!

I guess I'm toothless. I hadn't even noticed that I didn't have teeth. On the other hand, the Emperor knew it all along.

“It's all over now… I'm going to starve to death…”

I recoiled, muttering helplessly again. The Emperor laid me down on the floor. 

I glanced up to see the Emperor. He was holding onto the door handle. I raised my paw and put it on the front of his shoe, blinking a few times. 

“Where are you going..?”

“I'll be right back. Just wait.”

It'll only take a little bit of time, right? Something was strange… perhaps it was because of that one time when I was neglected. I nodded silently.

I looked at the closed door and waited for the Emperor to return. I was expecting to wait for at least half an hour, but the door opened quickly.

“It'll be here soon.”

"What will be here soon?"

"Food."

"Fooood…?"

My eyes sparkled. I'm sure I'll have something to eat this time! Give me some milk, you idiot! My heart was hammering as I waited for the door to open.

As the Emperor had said, almost immediately, there was a sign of people outside the door. Tok tok. A knock was heard, and upon the Emperor's permission, the door opened. 

"It's your food."

Food was thrust in front of the Emperor and I by a terrified priest. The boy stammered and shouted with courage.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-Your Highness, I'm here to obey your orders. I'll do anything you want!"

I opened my mouth wide.

Are you kidding me?

I don't know what that means. A dog eating a person? Uh, what is this? I'm afraid this is something I can't do.

I cast a silent glance at the Emperor, asking for an explanation. What the h.e.l.l am I supposed to do?

“I didn't say I was hungry.” [Hari]

"That's right…" [Emperor]

As I nodded and answered, I heard an 'eek!' next to the Emperor, as well as heavy breathing. As I turned my head, the boy, whom the Emperor had called 'food', softened his expression and patted my head.

“The puppy talks!”

"……"

What's this? I was speechless because there was nothing to say. The boy looked down at me with his mouth wide open. It was ridiculous, but on the other hand, I was kind of enjoying it. I smiled, raised my paws, and shouted.

"Wow! It's talking!" [Priest]

"Ahhhhhhhh!" [Hari]

I got scared for a moment.

I was surprised to see the boy giggling and tumbled. Unlike the Emperor and Abel, who acted as if they saw nothing, it was fun because of the refres.h.i.+ng response. Well, that's to be expected if you were to see a talking dog.

"What, never seen a talking dog before?"

"Y-Your Majesty?"

The boy ignored me asking questions and called out to the Emperor. It doesn't feel good to have someone lose interest in you in front of your eyes. Tch, we were playing.

"From today onwards, he will restore your energy during every meal."

"…Yes?"

The boy questioned him again, looking like he was trying to understand what the Emperor meant. But you're being asked by the royal family, right? He was lucky to be in such a position.

“Your Majesty, I beg of you, could you explain that again?”

The boy was very calm, unlike before. He was more eloquent now than when he was embarra.s.sed. I simply listened to their conversation, since I was sure that I'd be ignored again if I stepped in anyway.

“It opened its eyes today.”

“A talking…”

“Yes, a talking dog.”

“But how can you subst.i.tute a meal with magical energy?"

“It doesn't like the mother's milk or the food."

The Emperor looked down at me calmly.

It must've been just my imagination, but it looked like he was belittling me. At that moment, I felt like I was in trouble.

“Is that what I have to do?”

“Yes.”

“…Okay. I'll take care of it.”

Why do you look so unhappy? Do you hate the idea of feeding me that much?

I wanted to argue with the new boy, but I was completely powerless. I laid down again and sighed.

I have to go look for food. I have to go…

"It's dying."

The new boy faltered as he came over to me and laid his hand on my body in fear, unable to disobey the Emperor's order.

My body glowed as I felt the magical energy spread all over my body. My frustration disappeared as if he'd extracted it from me. And to my surprise, the hunger that had been bothering me began to slowly go away.

The warm feeling vanished the moment he took his hands off me. I jumped up in amazement. 

“Wow! What is this?”

"Eek!"

The boy freaked out and fell down. What the heck, am I a c.o.c.kroach? I stared at the boy before trudging toward the Emperor.

"It's called strength.”

“This is amazing …. I'm not hungry anymore!”

"That's good."

I nodded pa.s.sionately. I wasn't hungry at all now. Plus, I felt br.i.m.m.i.n.g with energy. I was so excited that I ran around the room. But, now that I had my sanity back, I was curious about one thing. 

"But where is that guy?"

"Guy? Who are you talking about?"

"That… Guy, that unlucky guy." [2]

"Sir Abel?"

I knew that, Emperor. You'd understand if you were talked to as if you were a dog.

"Sir Abel is in his office, by the order of the knights."

"I see…"

Somehow, I felt strange. That's right. He's the head of the knights. Two weeks after my birth, Abel said he was called the Emperor's most powerful sword.

My curiosity quickly disappeared; I made a teasing expression at the Emperor. Surprisingly, he looked down at me with a happy face. But his expression was quickly wiped away. I took a step closer and tilted my head.

“What's wrong?”

“It's time to go.”

"Yes, go!"

I shook my left foot gently and said goodbye. I'll have dinner now. I had no regrets involving myself with the Emperor.

“Don't forget to come again later!”

I didn't forget to add that part in order to avoid being abandoned again. 

After the Emperor left, there was only the mysterious boy and me left in the room. To our surprise, neither of us had spoken yet. The boy was still sitting in a corner, too scared to get close to me. I burst into a laughing fit.

Oh, my. From a puppy's point of view, you're much scarier.

A talking dog vs a 15-year-old human boy.

Of course the human boy was much stronger. Haa, it's exhausting and unpleasant, but I'll try to be nice. I trudged towards the boy in order to improve our relations.h.i.+p.

"Excuse me."

"Ack!"

“Don't you know something called adaptation…?"

I sighed. It was hard to say anything because every time I opened my mouth, he was left hysterical… and I would lose my temper. But I couldn't simply ignore the man who was gonna be my meal.

“Let's introduce ourselves.”

"I-I-Introduce ourselves?"

"Don't you know what introducing yourself is? It means giving each other your names."

He looked young, but I never thought he wouldn't know what introducing himself was… I waited for the priest boy's answer, preparing myself to deal with his response. As I stood still and stared at him, the boy's complexion gradually improved.

"Bo-Boris…"

"Boboris? That's a strange name, cool!"

"No, Boris…"

"Then you should have said that from the beginning! Sorry, Boris."

I thought it was Boboris. Boris nodded vaguely at my apology.

Humhum, now it's my turn. I cleared my throat and prepared to say my name. I opened my mouth with a great force.

"My name is…!"

"…Doggy?"

"I'm going to kill you!"

At that moment, I ran towards Boris in anger.

"Euuwaaak!"

"If you get caught I'll kill you!"

Boris ran away from me in fright, but I'd already piled up enough stress from the Emperor calling me 'doggy' and 'puppy'.

However, I could not beat the human boy due to our size difference… even though I'd made fun of him. It was my first time trying to walk properly so I was a bit off. I stared at Boris with a whimper.

"I'm not 'doggy', you idiot! Ju! Ha! Ri! Call me Hari!"

"B-But His Majesty called you…"

"Are you His Majesty?"

If so, then I'll allow it.

Of course Boris was not the Emperor, so he had to obey me. I laughed triumphantly and fell back onto the floor.

So I acquired a priest, aka barley rice. [3]

[1] this is bulgogi

[2] referencing to when abel called her unlucky/bad luck

[3] barley rice aka bori rice aka boris + rice/food (same word)