Someone is calling out to me.
"Wof! Hey. Wof!"
This has happened before. When was it, though?
"Woof woof. Woof-woof. Master Wof! Um, woof. Master Wof! Woof. Master Wof!"
Ah, I hear a dog barking. A dog? John? Jesse? Ain? Hanako?
"Na! Na! Na! Na! Na!"
Na? Whatever — the floor is cold. Man, it's cold.
"Young Wof! Young Wof! Hang in there, young Wof! Young Wof! If you can hear me, say something! Young Wof! Wof!"
"…Y-yes… I can… hear you…"
I answered reflexively and slowly cracked my eyes open.
The Witch's tear-streaked face and Dagger's innocent expression.
And Agaro's face, beaming with relief.
"Wof. You're awake."
"Young Wof. Young Wof. Thank goodness, thank goodness. You're awake."
"…Where… am I…?"
I slowly raised my upper body, and the Witch and Dagger naturally stepped back.
In that gap, Jushii came flying in and hugged me tight.
"Woof woof, woof-woof, um um, Master Wof! Master Wof, Master Wof! Master Wof! Master Wof! Master Wof!"
She kept shouting my name over and over, squeezing me with all her might. Soft, and painful.
"W-W-Wof, Wof. Um, I-I'm okay. I'm safe—"
The moment I said that, Jushii pulled her body away from me. She was crying.
My heart skipped a beat.
"Sob, hic, sob, sob, Master Wof..."
"Jushii..."
"...hic, sob, thank goodness. Thank goodness. Thank goodness. Woof. Woof-woof. Woof— woof-woof. Woof, woof, I'm so glad... I'm so glad..."
"I'm sorry. I made you worry."
"Woof. Hic, woof-woof. Sob, sob, um, um, um, Master Wof—"
"What is it, Jushii—"
*Crack.*
A sharp sound rang out.
Jushii had slapped me across the cheek.
My ears were ringing, and I just stood there, stunned.
"...?"
Even Agaro and the witch were surprised by this.
I had no idea what was going on.
Jushii had hit me.
The idea that Jushii would ever strike me had never once crossed my mind.
Jushii, still crying with those sharp, tear-streaked eyes, apologized.
"Um, um, um, Master Wof. I'm sorry for hitting you. But I felt like I had to."
An unusually serious expression.
I gently touched my cheek. My heart ached with a dull throb.
"............"
"Hey. Wof. When I found you, you were in bad shape — I'm talking near death. Your limbs, man... each one was about to be torn off, and there was a hole in your gut too. Honestly, it was hard to believe you were still alive."
"...What?"
The gap between Agaro's casual tone and the content left me speechless.
"Then the witch healed you. Surprisingly, a full recovery. I was so drunk it felt like one of those occasional nightmares, honestly..."
She must have used an elixir.
But a chill ran through me. Was I really in that desperate a situation?
Yeah, Silent Move really was hard to use properly. If I'd been any worse off, I'd have been dead.
It wouldn't have been strange if I'd died.
"Now then, young Wof. Think carefully — why was Jushii angry? Why did she hit you? Really think about it."
The witch said that with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
She was angry too. The air was heavy. I muttered quietly.
"I was angry because I acted on my own."
"Mm-hmm. That's part of it, sure."
"M-my body started moving on its own before I even realized..."
"Yep. I get that."
"I-I know, I know! Woof. I know, but just because you understand doesn't mean it's okay to do it!"
Jushii shouted and let out a fierce growl.
I looked down.
"Y-Yes. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."
That's right. But that doesn't mean I can just rush off on my own.
"My body moved on its own" doesn't work as an excuse, either.
I can't forget that my own unilateral decisions cause huge trouble for everyone.
Team actions, huh.
Hmm. Wait, something's not right. Jushii isn't convinced at all.
She's wearing a genuinely exasperated, furious expression.
"Um, um, Wof. Woof. You still don't get it?"
"Huh?"
"Um, um, Woof! Yes, I'm angry about you acting on your own and putting everyone in danger — that's part of it. But more than anything, the first thing you need to reflect on is that you treat your own life like it's worthless! I hate that Wof doesn't value his own life!"
"............"
"Um, um, Woof. I was thinking about this back at the Junkyard too — why didn't you rely on us? If you're going to do something, at least say a word or two to us first. Um, um, we're on your side. I think things would turn out better if you faced things together rather than going it alone."
"..."
"Um, Woof. My sister Dova used to say: 'If you try to do everything alone, eventually you'll break. And everyone will be sad. Rely on us. That's why we're here.' You're not alone, Wof. I'm here, the Witch is here, and Agaro is here."
"..."
I...
"That's right. You're a kid. It's okay to rely on adults. We're a party. So rely on us."
Agaro said it gently, in his usual gruff way.
"Well, well, I can understand not having built the habit of asking for help when you've been on your own for so long. Kon's the same way."
"......"
"You really are hopeless, you know, a senior-and-junior pair that's no good at opening up. That's why you need to learn to rely on others, young Wof. Together with Kon."
The witch smiled.
"Well, the witch doesn't really need to rely on anyone. But it's not a bad thing."
"Heh heh, heh heh. Kon wants to rely on everyone too, you know. There are times she wants to be spoiled as well."
"Huh? What's this about the witch being spoiled? What kind of joke—ow ow ow ow ow, that's—stop it, you—"
The witch grinned mischievously. Laughing, she slipped a choke sleeper onto Agaro.
It was already off, so it just choked him uselessly. Ha ha ha ha ha.
"Um, um, um, uh, Master Wof."
Juicy. He was looking at me with a sad expression on his face.
I didn't want to make him look like that. I shouldn't have made him look like that... It was my fault.
I was, I am. I am, I... I poured it out.
"......I'm sorry. I, I didn't understand that kind of thing either. I wasn't trying to be reckless with my own life or anything, but when you say it like that, I guess I haven't been thinking of it as all that precious either... And yeah, I should have consulted everyone. Whether I was even allowed to consult them. I never even considered consulting anyone. It's not that I didn't trust or believe in anyone, I just... didn't understand that it was okay to rely on people like that. I didn't know that was something I could do."
All I ever thought about was handling things on my own.
That I'd get shot down before I could even say anything — I just assumed that on my own.
That's right, isn't it? I could have consulted them. At least one word. I could have talked to them.
So why didn't I?
And then... my life. My own life.
It's not that I was throwing it away. But there were times I thought it was okay to toss it aside.
If it meant someone else could be saved, then that was fine. If it meant I could save someone else, then it was okay to be the sacrifice.
I've always had this tendency.
Whether it's because of my memories from a past life, I'm not sure.
"Um, um, Lord Wof. Just as the witch says, woof. All you need to do is learn from here on out."
Juicy gently pets my head and speaks softly.
"Y-yes."
Juicy's hand is gentle and soft, and somehow, it's a little embarrassing.