Vol 3 Chapter 38 – You’re Torte’s Precious Master!【Vol 3: Torte the Dog-Eared Girl Ar】

“Ugh… Sorry for being a pervert… Sorry for being so loud… Nngh, nngh…”

Muttering delirious things like that, Eclair developed a fever and collapsed.

After putting the self-loathing girl to bed, I quietly left the bedroom to find Torte looking up at me with a worried face.

“Master… Will Eclair-onee-chan be okay?”

“Hmm, well, she’ll be fine after some sleep.”

“I’m sorry… I don’t really understand, but it’s because Torte said weird things, right…?”

“No, it’s not Torte’s fault! Don’t make that face, okay?”

I hurriedly called out to Torte as she drooped her dog ears dejectedly.

Her innocence really stabs my chest right now…

“A-Anyway, let’s clean up after breakfast! I’ll wash the dishes.”

“Ah, yes! Torte will help too!”

“Yeah, thanks.”

We returned to the kitchen and cleaned the dirty dishes side by side.

At about a head lower than me, Torte’s round chocolate-brown dog ears flapped energetically.

“Hmm-hmm, woof-woof♪”

Torte hummed while efficiently wiping the dishes.

Her dejected mood from earlier had vanished completely.

“Good, looks like you cheered up.”

“Ehehe. When Torte does housework, gloomy feelings just go away♪”

“Ah, I kind of get that. It’s like becoming absorbed in something.”

“Yes!”

Torte smiled happily.

Really, just being with this girl was healing.

(Still, she really does seem normal…)

Looking at her profile, she didn’t seem like someone under an arousal curse at all.

From what happened earlier, being clueless about “those things” was probably a big factor too.

Still, as Eclair said, something might trigger her arousal.

I need to stay alert.

“Sniff, sniff…”

“Hm?”

I glanced over to find Torte bringing her nose close to my body.

She moved her small, well-shaped nose, sniffing at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“—Ah! S-Sorry! I just couldn’t help being curious about Master’s scent…”

“…Do I smell that bad?”

“N-No! It’s the complete opposite—you smell really good, like my body’s drawn to you automatically… Aww, sorry for being weird…”

Torte looked down dejectedly again.

I wiped my wet hands and gently patted her milk-tea-colored hair.

“Hawa…?”

“Don’t make that face. I was a little surprised, but I’m happy you said I smell good.”

“Ah… Ehehe.”

Torte blushed and smiled bashfully.

“You’re sensitive to scents, aren’t you, Torte?”

“Yes! All beast-kin have good noses, but dog-ears especially.”

The dog-eared girl pointed at her own nose.

“Even when I woke up in the hospital, it was because of Master’s scent~”

“Really?”

“Yes! In my dream, there was this amazing smell, and I felt like someone said ‘wake up.’ When I opened my eyes, Master was there♪”

I see…

Now that she mentioned it, she was twitching her nose before she woke up.

The sleep spell’s effect was apparently wearing off anyway, but my presence as a stimulus must’ve hastened it.

“It was my first time meeting Master, but the moment I saw your face, I thought, ‘Ah, this person is Torte’s destined person!'”

“D-Destined person?”

My voice cracked at the dramatic phrase.

But Torte continued with complete seriousness, her emerald-green eyes sparkling.

“Yes! Dog-ears search for someone to serve for their whole lives. To meet the person they’ll dedicate their life to following.”

“You mean, like a marriage partner?”

“No, different. I mean someone to serve. Someone who makes Torte happy by serving them lots and lots.”

“Huh…”

I’d heard dog-ears had strong loyalty, but should this be called romantic…?

“You can tell who your master is by their scent. Torte never met anyone like that before, and I was a little worried I never would… but when I met Master, I knew. This person is Torte’s precious master!”

“A-Ahaha… That makes me happy.”

I responded with an awkward laugh to Torte’s passionate speech.

(But—)

Torte felt this way because of the sleep spell’s side effect.

The phenomenon where you fall for the first person of the opposite sex you see after waking.

So I shouldn’t take the affection she’s showing me at face value.

(Telling Torte that now would be… too cruel, though.)