I walked to Yuel’s barn.
It was far too large to be a barn for just one Moon Deer.
It was spacious enough for several families to use.
The dogs lowered their stances and sniffed around, exploring the unfamiliar place.
“Yuel!”
Yuel hesitated as she ran towards Judas and Eliya.
She seemed startled by the appearance of a creature she had never seen before.
Judas approached first and scratched her face.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. They’re not bad. You don’t have to be on guard.”
The mother dog, surveying the surroundings, noticed Yuel first.
She tilted her head slowly.
Once to the left, once to the right.
Then, she cautiously approached.
Yuel looked down at the dog, lightly bringing her nose close.
“Oh, you’re nice.”
She didn’t seem to be on guard.
The mother dog felt the same.
“That’s right, good girl. You’re doing great.”
The little puppies, struggling to crawl, were embraced in Eliya’s arms as she came closer.
The puppies, still squinting, looked as if they weren’t sure if they could see Yuel.
Eliya showed the puppies to Yuel and said,
“What do you think? Can we live together in the future?”
An intelligent creature that seemed to understand the words.
She must be considering Eliya’s words.
One of the puppies squirmed in Eliya’s arms and whined.
“Okay, okay, sorry, I’ll put you down.”
As Eliya carefully set her down, the puppy crawled slowly back to the mother.
Yuel lowered herself to the ground and watched them intently.
“Looks like Yuel isn’t against it.”
“Yeah. She seems to like them. We can live together.”
Others couldn’t interpret it, but Judas and Eliya, who had often looked after Yuel up close, could understand her reactions.
Mei adjusted her glasses and asked,
“So… can we stay here?”
“Yep. Yuel gave her permission.”
“That’s great.”
Mei immediately gathered some dry straw and created a spot in the corner for the dog to sleep.
It would be a cozy nest for the mother dog and her four puppies moving forward.
Just then, Maria, who had caught wind of the news, arrived at the barn.
“Eli? You brought dogs?”
“Yep, come see.”
Eliya proudly lifted the puppy, supporting its little bottom.
The puppy looked around in confusion.
“Aren’t they cute?”
Maria gasped, covering her mouth.
“Oh my, no, oh my goodness… how can it be this cute?”
With trembling fingers, she tentatively touched the puppy Eliya was holding.
It was so small and delicate that she was afraid to pet or hold it carelessly.
So she just poked it gently with the tips of her fingers.
The soft fur and warm flesh was simply incredible.
The puppy sniffed her finger curiously.
“Um, where did you find such an adorable creature?”
“I found her by chance at Jericho. The mother dog was one that used to follow Judas long ago. She must have needed some help.”
“Judas must be destined for greatness, huh… even doing something like this…”
Maria’s head spun in disbelief.
It was overwhelming cuteness that made her dizzy.
Judas looked around the bustling barn.
Eliya, proudly holding the puppy, Maria in a daze in front of her,
Mei checking on the state of the puppies.
Yuel sitting on the floor and greeting her new family.
Bradley, who had returned from cleaning behind the barn, was surprised.
And beside him was the mother dog.
It was a relationship that began casually at Jericho.
Just an unnamed dog wandering the neighborhood, yet that connection had brought them to this place.
Judas knelt down and stroked the dog’s head.
“Let’s get along from now on.”
The mother dog barked cheerfully as if in response.
“Bark!”
*
Eliya was busy.
That’s what being an Emperor is all about.
She was swamped with papers that needed decisions made at every turn.
Moreover, Eliya was the Emperor who unified the continent.
That means she had a mountain of work.
Additionally, being the great wizard known as the reincarnation of the mythic age, she also had to head into battle.
Most of the fights for the conquest of the Demon Realm were her responsibility, and every step humanity had advanced so far was all thanks to Eliya.
So it was only natural that she was busy.
Following her, Judas was also busy in his own right, though not as much as her.
Yet there were no shadows of fatigue on their faces.
They loved being together, which was always enough, but recently there was another reason added to that.
“Bark!”
“Arf! Arf!”
“Yap yap yap!”
Every time they returned from finishing work, the greeting of the puppies made it all worthwhile.
Originally, after finishing work, they would come to the barn to greet Yuel, but now there were puppies!
In just a few weeks, they had grown quickly, and their once pitiful gazes had now turned bright and lively.
Due to differences in growth rates, one still bore a pitiful expression, with half-closed eyes, but it was just as adorable nonetheless.
They were still young, so their running form was a bit inexperienced.
Sometimes they would trip or run at quirky angles.
But they were so cute that it was irrelevant.
“Ah, how’ve you been?”
Judas knelt down to receive the puppies rushing at him with their tails wagging like crazy.
While he enthusiastically greeted them, Eliya remained quiet.
She simply squatted next to Judas, stroking the puppies that rubbed against her feet one by one.
Her face was filled with a blissful smile.
“So cute.”
The fluffy fur of these immature beasts.
Soft, warm flesh.
Their clumsy movements.
Before such a sight, Eliya was sure there wasn’t a soul whose heart wouldn’t melt.
“Looks like they just finished nursing, their bellies are all round.”
Judas examined the puppies.
These endlessly tiny creatures with their bellies sticking out were nothing short of adorable.
He felt a little absurdity at it.
Just nursed and they’re already getting all this cuteness!
“Maybe this is similar to how Eliya feels…”
Just being next to Eliya made him feel happy, and he couldn’t help but think she was cute.
There had to be some similarities.
They had decided to settle in together.
When Judas leaned against the wall, Eliya sat back against him.
In that position, they enjoyed playing with the puppies or Yuel while engaging in casual conversations—this was their daily life now.
Eliya lifted one of the puppies into the air.
“This one seems like it still can’t open its eyes well.”
Of the four puppies, this one looked particularly wronged.
“Is this okay, though?”
Judas offered his hand for the puppies to nibble on and said,
“Mei said there’s nothing wrong with its health, so you shouldn’t worry. …Unless its eyes are just small?”
“I guess so.”
The lifted puppy squirmed and whined.
“Okay, I’ll put you down.”
Eliya carefully set the puppy down.
It started crawling around on the floor.
It wasn’t disappointing at all.
The next puppy had already begun to climb into Eliya’s arms.
Eliya smiled warmly as she cradled it.
The mother dog was comfortably lying down next to them, resting.
It was a languid and peaceful moment.
These days, when they returned home to rest, it was always like this.
They would lounge around, sometimes dozing off before dinner, or have their daily chats.
Sometimes Maria would come over to play with the dogs too.
As Eliya gently petted the puppy, she spoke.
“I think we might go to the beach this summer.”
“The beach?”
“Yeah. By then, the construction of the important large ship for this campaign will be completed. I’m planning to test it out and check the supply routes. I think I need to personally confirm the opening of those blockaded sea trade routes too.”
“…You really never run out of things to do.”
“I have to prepare early so I can play with Judas longer later!”
“That’s a very wise thought.”
Eliya chuckled lightly.
“And there’s something I want to see.”
“Something you want to see?”
“Yeah, that…”
She was about to finish her sentence when Yuel trudged over to them.
There was a rough step, almost like a grumble.
Judas and Eliya looked up at her.
Yuel rested her chin on the ground in front of them and tapped Eliya’s shoulder with her horn.
“Yuel? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
Eliya gently stroked Yuel’s horn as she asked.
Yuel glanced discontentedly at Eliya and the puppy in her arms.
“What’s up with her?”
“Hmm, I think I might have a guess.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I think she might be sulking.”
“…Sulking?”
Yuel nodded, affirmatively.
“Why…?”
“Well, you didn’t show her this much affection when you first brought her, right?”
At that time, Eliya hadn’t cared about Yuel nearly as much as she did now.
It was a time when the colors of her emotions were much duller.
In contrast, Judas would visit Yuel at every opportunity.
It was fun to play with Yuel after training, receiving mana through her horn as well.
But now.
As soon as the puppies arrived, Eliya was pouring all her attention on them.
It was only natural for Yuel to feel a little left out.
“Ah… um…”
Eliya looked flustered and didn’t know what to do.
“Uh, what should we do…?”
It was rare to see someone so composed and at ease like her in such a predicament, so Judas enjoyed watching her, feeling amused.
“Hmm… Yuel?”
The clear-eyed Moon Deer looked at her for a moment.
“I didn’t know you would feel this way. I’m sorry.”
Eliya touched Yuel’s chin as she sincerely apologized.
Since she was a creature that understood everything, this approach was entirely plausible.
“I’ll pay more attention from now on, so will you forgive me?”
Yuel, with her ears fluttering, lowered her chin next to Eliya.
It was a posture she only did when she felt relaxed.
“Looks like she’s come around, thank goodness.”
Eliya seemed relieved and smiled.
“…So this must have been how I felt when Judas got jealous.”
“Probably similar, I’d say.”
“I see… it’s not so bad.”
“Hmm…?”
Seeing her playful smile made Judas laugh.
As he kissed the top of her head, a sudden curiosity struck him.
“By the way, I’m suddenly curious. What does Yuel’s name mean?”
“…Huh?”
Eliya raised her head.
Since she was still in his arms, if she looked up, she could see Judas’ face.
“You really don’t know?”
“Um, um… how would I have known…?”
“If I give you a hint, it’s a combination of letters taken from certain names.”
“…!”
That clue struck Judas with a revelation that felt profoundly significant.
Judas’ “Ju.”
Eliya’s “El.”
“…Did our names inspire hers?!”
“Yep. I never thought you wouldn’t know.”
“My goodness.”
It was shocking.
How had he never known until now?
He could’ve found it out easily enough, yet was surprisingly blindsided by this revelation.
It wasn’t supposed to be such a big twist.
“Wait, but Yuel’s name was given quite a while ago.”
Back when they had neither confirmed their affections for each other nor even dared to speculate about them, they had given that name.
Of course, Judas had been shaken even back then.
Eliya responded nonchalantly.
“I liked you even back then. I didn’t know it at the time.”
Looking back, he realized that was indeed a feeling of fondness.
You wouldn’t name someone after yourself and a loved one if you didn’t feel anything for them.
With Eliya’s confident response, Judas smiled and kissed the top of her head.
And without thinking, he said,
“You’re cute.”
“…….”
But Eliya didn’t respond.
In fact, there was nothing—she had gone completely quiet.
Her body seemed to have stiffened suddenly.
The tips of her ears began to slowly turn bright red.
“Eli?”
“…Oh, huh? Me, me?”
She reacted as if she had just woken from a long daze.
‘What’s with that?’
Judas found this reaction utterly unfamiliar.
He had never seen Eliya like this before.
After some pondering, he realized.
This was an intense and brilliant realization that felt even stronger than when he learned about the origin of Yuel’s name.
‘This is the first time I’ve ever called Eliya cute…!’
He knew all too well how he found her endlessly adorable at all times.
But he had never actually voiced it out loud.
He always just smiled to himself with his heart warmed.
It wasn’t that he purposely didn’t say it.
It just ended up happening that way.
And today was the first time he had spoken those words aloud.
Eliya was blushing like crazy; she was experiencing something she had never heard before.
‘Oh… this is going to be fun to tease.’
He could sense her unease and nervousness practically radiating from her.
“Eli.”
At that moment, Judas lowered his voice.
“W-what? Huh…?”
Judas held her chin with one hand to make her look at him.
Her face felt extremely hot to the touch.
Her eyes trembled without control, and the way she shyly reacted to being called cute was even more adorable and endearing.
So what he said now wasn’t merely to tease, but a pure, sincere truth as well.
Judas looked directly at her face, smiled, and said,
“You’re cute.”
“…….”
As he watched Eliya, who seemed as though steam might burst from her head, Judas couldn’t help but laugh mischievously.
“Eli, you’re incredibly cute.”
“Uh, uh, uh…”
Eliya felt the urge to escape.
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