After those outrageous declarations, anyone might have expected some change in the adorable creature's life. Instead, the opposite happened. The master continued to miss his feeding times, although the intervals were never long enough to starve or dehydrate him to death.
The sudden fasting, lack of water, and prolonged isolation sent the adorable creature into continuous cycles of delirium and extended dreams. Eventually, the weakness of his body reached his mind, making him increasingly prone to slipping into a state not unlike that brought on by a high fever.
These cycles repeated themselves over and over, without respite, for three years.
And, as though to keep up the habit, the period of starvation, dehydration, and solitude had come around again today. This time, however, nearly four days had passed without food, in complete isolation.
His litter box was filthy. His water supply had run dry. Hungry, thirsty, and smeared with his own excrement, the adorable creature finally lost all restraint.
Why? he thought.
His sudden mood swings had turned repeating that question into an addiction.
Why? Why has no one come for me?! I've tried so hard. I've loved them so much. I always did as I was told. Why has no one come for me?!
Desperate, he whimpered:
"Hum! Huuum!"
Being forced to stare at the same ceiling day after day did little to help.
Seriously, don't they care if I die such a pathetic death?
Yes, yes, they never cared, did they? Damn them!...
Huh?... Wait! No, no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... I don't want to be bad... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said. I never thought that way about you, I swear!
So you'll come for me now, right? After all, I've already apologized.
I said I'm sorry!
But amid all those frantic thoughts, a sharp voice cut through the scene.
"Eídal..."
"Mm?!"
How long had it been since someone last called him by that name?
It was so nostalgic.
Along with his whimper, the adorable creature's heart suddenly began racing. When he lifted his face in search of the voice's source, his breath caught in his throat.
---
The unexpected visitor had long white hair that brushed against his shoulders. The most striking feature of his pale face was his inquisitive golden eyes. And although his clothes were simple, resembling those worn by any human farmer, the elegant aura he carried was enough to take anyone's breath away.
Kneeling down, the middle-aged man approached him and sighed.
"Look at you. Your face is filthy again, as always. Haven't I told you that you don't need to help the other villagers with their chores?"
Blinking several times, the adorable creature could not help but cry out in his mind:
...Dad!
He simply could not help it.
Though if the man in question could hear him, he would surely scold him for calling him that.
Despite being an orphan, the adorable creature had always been under the care of a guardian: Albert Granier. And though he had done so without permission, it was from him that he had taken his surname.
Upon realizing that Albert was so close, the adorable creature crawled toward him and leaned against him. For the first time in a long while, all the feelings he had kept bottled up moistened the corners of his eyes.
And yet...
"Hmph. Weren't you going to become a great man?"
Another voice scolded him.
The pulse that had already been racing finally exploded.
...Ingrid!
She was a girl with a sharp gaze. Her cream-colored hair and peach-colored lips only served to accentuate the beauty of her amber irises. Her dress, shaded in gradients of red, fell to her knees, while long stockings covered her legs and thighs.
Are... are you really here?
The adorable creature could hardly believe it.
It was not merely the shock of seeing her. A warmth spread through him as well—a warmth he had not felt in a very long time.
And thanks to that very warmth, the forgotten promise returned to him with renewed force.
"Did you forget? You said you wouldn't cry."
C-cry?
The adorable creature's mind went blank for a moment. Then, an expression of remorse gnawed at him.
That's right! I was about to.
How could I have forgotten?
His mouth was still gagged, so all he could convey with his eyes was a silent I'm sorry.
"It doesn't matter. You haven't cried so far, have you?"
What Ingrid said was true.
Despite having forgotten her, the pendant that still hung around his neck, and the promise he had made, somehow the adorable creature had not shed a single tear.
Maybe I'm not so pathetic after all, he reassured himself.
For the first time in a long while, he smiled sincerely behind the gag.
More importantly... How did you get here?! This... this... and—and you're both okay, right?!
Unable to speak, the adorable creature conveyed his concern by repeatedly examining both Ingrid and his guardian from head to toe.
Ignoring his unease, Ingrid spoke anxiously:
"This is bad! You look absolutely terrible!"
The behavior of his old friend warmed the adorable creature's heart, but precisely because it was Ingrid, he tried to hold his feelings back.
"It's all right," his guardian, Albert, reassured him. "Eídal's a tough boy, after all."
It was the same strict regimen as always.
When they carefully removed his gag, the adorable creature could not hold it in and stammered:
"...Th-thank..."
"Wait. Speak more carefully."
Ignoring the burning in his throat, he forced his voice out.
"...Thank you. Thank you for coming."
His voice came out hoarse, but he tried to make up for it with a smile.
It had been so long since he had last used the muscles in his face that even smiling hurt.
But that doesn't matter. In the end, someone came for me.
It was not the soldiers.
It was not the heroes.
It was not the villagers.
It was two of the three people who mattered most to him.
And then the adorable creature remembered the outrageous declarations he had made as a child.
Huh?! Someone really did come for me?!
I... I matter to someone?
Th-that's love, right? Yes, it is.
Wait... if they love me, th-that means they're...
My family?!
The family he had longed for.
But in the midst of all that excitement, both his guardian Albert and Ingrid answered in unison:
"You seem awfully lively now that you've seen us. Ah~! What a shame you don't have a tail to wag."
The adorable creature froze for a moment.
Then, after shaking his head several times, he decided not to think too much about it.
...He did not want to see the master.
For the first time in a long while, even if it was only a brief delirium, he was genuinely happy.
After all, the salvation he had longed for had finally come.
The initial contempt.
The need for love.
The loneliness.
The hunger.
The thirst.
The weakness.
The fever.
The overpowering stench.
The monotony.
They were all to blame.
Being great? Becoming a legend?
None of that made sense anymore.
The adorable creature accepted that someone as pathetic as him could never become a great man. He could never become the protagonist of a story.
And then a revelation shook him:
The love of strangers was not nearly as substantial as he had imagined.
What mattered most had always been his family.