Catato Patch 

“ヾ(≧O≦)〃Grrr~~~”  

 

After that battle with the Abaddon Rodents, the hellhounds number less than a 100. Even so, they didn’t show any intention of retreating even in the face of the devil army several times their size. Instead, they fearlessly bared their claws as they growled menacingly at us.

 

However, their growls merely seemed foolish to me.

 

“I suggest that you get a better understanding of your situation before you growl at us.” One-eye readied his shield before aggressively smacking his giant spike mace into the ground.

 

In his typical display of showboating, he taunted them with his nose pointing at the sky: “If it’s a fight you’re looking for, we’re more than willing to accept.”

 

“Grrr grrr~~~”

 

The hellhounds ignored his provocations and merely stood there, neither retreating or advancing as they maintained their conspicuously defensive formation.

 

Upon seeing them not take the bait, Nine-finger and One-eye turned towards me with an inquiring gaze in their eyes. Their intentions were clear, they wanted to attack these uncommunicative dogs who they felt were going to be our enemy.

 

It was at this moment that No.5 stepped in. He interrupted One-eye with a wave of his hand and flashed him a roguish smile before swaggering towards the hellhounds, not caring whether One-eye understood his message or not.

 

He put on what was, in his opinion, a winning smile and slowly approached the dogs, all the while waving his empty hands to show his peaceful intent.

 

As he approached them, the hellhounds didn’t attack him but simply maintained their vigilant stare. Their inaction seemed to have given No.5 the answer he was looking for. He turned around to face One-eye and Nine-finger and gave them a smug toothy grin.

 

Turning back to face the hellhounds, he reached out to pat one of the heads like a “master” would do for his pet.

 

And then, the conceited little scamp got the fright of his life…

 

Just as he was about to pat that dog, the hellhound suddenly opened his mouth, displaying his razor sharp fangs for the world to see before giving him a warning chomp.

 

While it clearly wasn’t an attempt at hurting No.5, the displeasure was transmitted loud and clear through the bite.

 

As the scorching breath of hot air left the hellhound’s mouth and licked No.5’s hand, he immediately withdrew it in panic before running away with his tail between his leg. He scampered all the way back to us and cowered behind my legs.

 

“Idiot,” his previous indignation completely vented as he scolded No.5.

 

At the side, Nine-finger danced and sang around No.5. While the song was pretty horrible, No. 5 deserved that little bit of punishment.

 

Based on their low growls, it was clear that they didn’t want us to approach them and given their circular formation, they must be protecting something in the middle.

 

“Master, I feel that we should just wipe them out.” He threw them an incensed look as he said so. He must’ve been really annoyed that his grandstanding was so thoroughly ignored. It was, after all, an insult to his self-esteem.

 

“Master, I agree with One-eye as well.” As expected of his little brother, he was the first one to declare his support. “They’ve clearly rejected our attempts at communication, this is a challenge towards us!”

 

“Master, I second that opinion.” No. 5 stood by the side, innocently fanning the flames.

 

“Is that what you guys are really thinking?” Regarding their little schemes, I had seen through them since the very beginning...bunch of potatoes…

 

“...” With their inciting behavior exposed, the three potatoes smartly kept their mouths shut.

 

“Sigh, I’ll have a look myself.” Their pea-brains were basically beyond saving by now. Having said that, I began to approach the hellhounds.

 

“Master, please reconsider your decision. There might be danger ahead.” No. 3 immediately stepped forward to block me with Big 4 joining in the very next second.

 

“It’s fine, the little doggies are all good kids.” I calmly weaved through the two imps and continued onwards with a faint smile on my lips. Because the grimoire and egg in my hands were obviously not a weapon, the dogs didn’t express much hostile intent as I neared them.

 

As I slowly closed in on them, the front few hellhounds started sniffing the air before visibly letting down their guard. If I had to hazard a guess, my unique fragrance was at work once more. Soon, they stopped growling and seemed to even welcome me.

 

*scratch scratch*

 

I reached out to the nearest hellhound and lightly scratched him on the underside of his chin. As my fingers gently raked through his fur, the hellhound slowly relaxed his mouth and eyes, clearly enjoying my petting.

 

Seeing their comrade so happy, made the other hellhounds want to approach me as well. Soon they were all leaning in on me with their heads, their longing puppy dog eyes staring right at me.

 

“You want some attention too?” I gently petted him without waiting for him to reply. Judging from the way he rubbed himself against my hand, he clearly didn’t mind that bit of haste.

 

“Woof woof woof~~”

 

To them, I was a harmless petting machine. They jostled their way towards me, each of them eager for their turn at being petted. With each rub, they would give out a light woof to express their delight.

 

“Master...Master…is so formidable...”

 

The imps stared at me, slack jawed; they couldn’t believe what they had just seen.

 

As the dogs moved in for their petting session, their formation began to fell apart, revealing what they were previously guarding closely. It was a snowy white puppy...puppy?

 

She looked like a newborn who had just weaned herself off her mother's milk. She had a lustrous snowy white coat of fur that had a slight purplish sheen on it. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of gold that had the natural beauty of amber. With such an adorable appearance, she would've sent scores of women on Earth, squealing in delight.

 

At least it would have, if not for the extremely dissatisfied look on her face right now. Don’t ask me how I knew that she was upset, all you have to know is that her displeasure could be smelled from a mile away.

 

“Hello there.” While I didn't know if she understood me, I still greeted her out of habit.

 

The little puppy ignored my greeting and continued glaring at me.

 

“...” Truth be told, I'm starting to feel a little pressured. Ever since that little puppy appeared, the dogs quieted down, Their affectionate behaviour noticeably growing colder as they began to distance themselves from me.

 

I had intended to recruit these hellhounds which was why I took the initiative to approach them but the appearance of this puppy had thrown my plans into disarray. Perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that she complicated matters.

 

Ever since the day I was born in the Blood Sea, devils had been inexplicably attracted to me. This was how I recruited One-eye and the now dead, Big 1.

 

They were both the bosses of their own little troop and were much stronger than me at that time. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that, if they wanted to capture me then, I wouldn’t have been able to live as freely as I did now.

 

Ever since that time, I’ve been wondering why they offered to serve me. The answer soon revealed itself during my subsequent evolution. My body began to emit a strange fragrance which, in my opinion, was the main reason why they agreed to serve me.

 

Which means to say that, my body was able to emit a strange scent that was able to mesmerize these devils, or should I say, it was a scent that they loved. It was also this scent that made them treat me like a high level devil.

 

Exactly what kind of existence am I to these devils?

 

It was an important question but one that should be put aside for now.

 

Was there a subspecies of hellhounds that had white fur? Or was it an albino? A mutant?

 

The white puppy calmly trotted over to me, as she did so, the hellhounds would make way for her, prostrating themselves as they did so. They tilted up their hind legs and lowered their chins with their paws stretched out in front in a pose that reminded me of people paying homage to an emperor.

 

Coupled with the way the Abbadon Rodents seemed to attack them in a purposeful manner, it was clear for all to see that this puppy had a lofty status within the hellhounds.

 

As the little puppy got closer, I began to feel slightly suppressed by her aura. I subconsciously gulped, all this while, my brain seemed to want me to retreat. However, I forcefully suppressed this desire. No matter what, I had my own dignity and this dignity wouldn’t allow me to retreat in the face of a little puppy.

 

If that’s the case, I need to do something to change this atmosphere…AH!

 

Didn’t I just learn how to craft a bone spear?

 

In order not to be seen as a threat, I summoned a half finished spear and slowly rounded out the already blunt edges. A few seconds later, a tiny toy bone laid in my hands, similar to those toys used by little puppies.

 

I gave the toy bone a light toss over the white puppy’s head. The cute little bone spun around as it arced over the white puppy and landed softly behind her tail. I lowered my back slightly, clapped my hands and said with a gentle smile on my face: “Go on, fetch.”

 

“...” The white puppy ignored the toy and continued trotting up to me and with a gentle tilt of her head, she gave me a look that seemed to scream “ Are you an idiot?”...

 

“...” I’ve been spurned by a dog...T_T.

 

“Don’t act in a way that only an idiot would, aren’t you here to negotiate with us?” Even now, her eyes kept saying to me “Retard…”

 

“You...you can talk?” It had never occurred to me that they were able to talk, in fact, it had never occurred to me that hellhounds had such a subspecies either.

 

The white puppy replied in a deadpan voice: “Is it strange for devils to know the language of devils?”

 

“No...it’s not strange at all…” So hellhounds are devils as well...wait, so this white puppy is a devil as well?

 

Somehow, that little puppy feels kinda domineering, if she was a human, she should be the queen type…

 

I didn’t really take to that kind of woman so I decided to steer the conversation in a different direction, “Err, I’m Mo Ke, what about you?”

 

“Violet Snow.” She had a melodious and slightly mellow voice that was pleasing to the ear. Unfortunately, this pleasing voice was owned by a dominatrix that had an overbearing aura of pressure.

 

“Violet Snow huh. It’s a really nice name.” I nodded my head, casually praising her name after which I continued: “Do you mind me asking if you are a boy or a girl?”

 

“...” Why did she give me that look again…