[#CreativeAwards2025 #FantasyNovelCategory] Maaaaaam! Episode 17
Episode 16 is here
"Yuta, shall I hold you?"
"No!"
Yuta refuses Saku's offer with a smile.
"I'll lift you up high."
"No! I want Peth!"
Saying that, Yuta drops his smile and clings to Peth's back. Peth answers with a "Woof!" and looks proud.
"If you cling on like that, it'll hurt Peth, you know?"
As Saku says this and reaches his arms toward Yuta, Peth growls, "Grrr!" Saku flinches. Although still a puppy, Peth has grown large enough to carry a toddler, and he has a certain presence. Without changing his expression, Saku quietly moves away from Peth and Yuta.
"Please, don't be so reserved."
Bon speaks up gently.
"Well, I just thought Yuta had never been held by his father."
"That's true. Agu left for the front just before Yuta was born."
Bon wears a lonely expression. She must be remembering the morning Agu left for the front.
"Bon, until you meet Agu, please feel free to use me as a father figure for the children."
Saying this, Saku turns around toward the cart and calls out to Sato.
"Sato... shall I lift you up..."
Before he can finish, Sato hides inside the dried Oyachai.
"Hahaha... Sato is a shy one, isn't he?"
Saku smiles, but Zou and Yuki don't miss the twitch in his expression. Saku speaks to Bon as if to avoid Zou and Yuki's gaze.
"That's it! That village over there is near the hospital."
"We're saved by having you here, Saku."
Bon thanks Saku with a smile.
......
The village was somehow strange. As soon as they saw Bon and the others, the villagers would scurry into their homes as if frightened. They had stayed in many villages before, and the villagers had always been kind to Bon and her mother traveling together. They were treated as fellow survivors of the insane war, and the villagers were always happy when Bon and her mother had dried oyachai or dried ochakana to share.
After meeting Saku, they had encountered herds of wild oyachai and ochakana, so their cart was full of food. Yet, no one came near them. Bon felt a somewhat fearful atmosphere hanging in the air.
The village chief said a quick "Thank you for your hard work," handed some medical supplies to Saku, and hurried away.
"I wonder if Sato will be like that when he grows up?"
Zou teased, and Sato made a sour face. Yuki listened with a bitter smile, but she felt that the village chief's social awkwardness was somehow different from Sato's. Zou probably sensed that too, which is why he tried to lighten the mood with a joke.
"Bon-san, over here!"
Saku, who said he had been to this village many times, led Bon and the others to a house as if he knew the place perfectly.
"I can't believe there's such a fine house here."
Bon said in surprise.
"This area didn't suffer any air raids."
Saku explained that because of that, the village was well-stocked and necessary for the hospital. Yuki wore a complicated expression, remembering that their own home had been completely burned down.
"Well, let's go inside and rest."
It was just as Bon urged them to enter.
A wail was heard: "Gyaaaaa!"
Startled, they turned around to see Yuta clinging to Peth and crying.
"What's wrong?"
Bon rushed over in a panic.
"I told him that dogs have to stay outside the house."
Saku explained to Bon, looking sympathetic.
"Peth is family!"
Bon spoke gently to Yuta, who insisted he wouldn't go inside the house unless they were together.
"You're going to be staying here, so you have to be patient. We've been sleeping outdoors until now, but once Dad comes back and rebuilds the house, Peth will be kept outside. Big dogs sleep outside to guard the family."
"Is that so?"
Yuta looked up, a single tear still clinging to his round cheek. Peth licked Yuta's cheek. Bon felt as if the dog were wagging its tail to tell Yuta that everything would be alright.
"Sorry about that, Peth."
"Whimper."
Tying the leash attached to Peth's collar to a post in front of the house, Bon and the others went inside.
"Maaaaaaam!"
The next morning, Yuta's heartbreaking scream echoed through the house, and Bon threw open the front door. What met her eyes was Peth lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth, and Yuta with his face soaked in tears.
Episode 18 continues