Just as she stepped out the door, Lintis saw a young man in a knight’s uniform and a large dog staring each other down.
Lintis blinked, and the slightly depressed mood she had been in inexplicably vanished, replaced by a smile on her lips.
“Mr. Shilo, Mr. Shilo.”
The girl’s voice was very sweet. Even without turning his head, Shilo knew she was in a good mood.
He glanced back to see the Lady Saintess leaning forward with her hands on her knees, her cute face beaming with a smile. She was looking down at him from the top of the steps with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
‘That smile feels a bit malicious,’ Shilo thought as he silently turned his head back and responded flatly.
“Are you finally finished? In case you didn’t know, I’ve been waiting for a long time. I hope you can pay a little more attention, Lady Lintis…”
Shilo’s words were interrupted before he could finish.
“I know~”
Shilo was confused. He watched as the Lady Saintess, carrying various large and small bags, walked down the steps and sat down beside him of her own accord.
A familiar fragrance slowly drifted into his nose. He frowned slightly, intending to move away, but just as he was about to shift, the Lady Saintess continued.
“It’s very boring to wait for a girl to pick out clothes, right? It’s a lot of trouble, isn’t it? I understand~”
“So, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Shilo. Thank you for waiting so patiently.”
Looking at the cute girl before him, her cheeks slightly flushed as she smiled and thanked him, Shilo’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes uncontrollably lingered on her until the girl began to look a bit uncomfortable under his gaze. Only then did he slowly speak.
“I didn’t expect… that you could make an expression like that.”
“Hmm? What expression?” Lintis tilted her head, not understanding what he meant.
‘Aren’t I just the same as usual?’
“It’s nothing. But since you know it was hard work, please try to come out earlier next time.”
Seeing that Shilo had already turned his head away with no intention of explaining, Lintis pouted to express her dissatisfaction. However, she soon stared at the young man’s profile again, her eyes flashing with cunning and a mischievous grin.
“Hehe… Mr. Shilo, while that may be true, girls are creatures that should receive special treatment~”
“Therefore, for Mr. Shilo to just admit that it was hard work earns you zero points! At this rate, no girl is ever going to like you, Mr. Shilo~”
“Tsk, what’s it to you?” Shilo retorted bluntly. When he turned around, he saw the Lady Saintess pretending to be afraid, though her face was full of mischief as she mockingly stuck out her delicate, pink tongue.
His fist tightened.
“You woman!”
Despite his rude words, Lintis didn’t care at all. The moment Shilo lost his cool, she began to laugh uncontrollably, clutching her stomach. It didn’t look like she would stop anytime soon.
Lines of irritation appeared on Shilo’s face, and the veins on his clenched hands pulsed, highlighting his lack of composure.
After a good while, Lintis finally calmed down. She wiped away the tears squeezed out from laughing so hard and smoothed her slightly messy white hair.
She had intended to tease the dark-faced Shilo a few more times, but she suddenly realized something was staring at her.
‘Hmm?’
Lintis looked over curiously and was stunned. It was that large, gray and white dog. It looked somewhat like a wolf, but for some reason, it had an expression that screamed “I’m not very bright.”
‘Wait!’
‘Isn’t this a Husky?’
No… that wasn’t quite right. It didn’t look that stupid; the big dog felt more like it was just plain goofy.
Searching her brain for dog breeds, Lintis finally found a similar answer.
‘Aha!’
‘Isn’t this just a gray and white version of a *Baka dog*?’
‘But… why hasn’t it left yet? Is this guy not afraid of people?’
Lintis blinked and curiously reached out her hand, wanting to pet the big dog’s head.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the dog saw this, it immediately wagged its tail and pressed its head into her palm.
Lintis was a bit surprised, but the fluffy sensation made her involuntarily start scratching and rubbing it.
She pampered it for a long while before letting go.
In the next second, the big dog shook itself like a whirlwind, snapping its fur back into place. Then, it very naturally huddled at Lintis’s feet, lay down, and closed its eyes. Its ears twitched occasionally, which was quite cute.
Lintis tilted her head and looked at Shilo, who was still sulking. “Little Shilo, is this your relative?”
“Huh? Are you sick? And what kind of name is ‘Little Shilo’? I don’t recall ever agreeing to such a thing!”
“Eh! Is it not okay? It sounds very cute!”
“I beg of you, just shut up. You’re so good-looking, why did you have to be born with a mouth? Are all Saintesses as noisy as you?”
“Hehe, I’m not actually *that* good-looking~”
Lintis rubbed her head and smiled shyly, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“Hah,” Shilo sneered. “So you’re just going to ignore the rest of what I said?”
“Now, now… calm down… why are you always so agitated?”
“Who do you think is the cause?”
“Hmm? I wonder who it is? I’m so curious!”
Looking at the shameless Lady Saintess, Shilo sighed deeply.
He didn’t understand. He was usually such a calm person, so why did this woman always manage to enrage him?
Feeling spiteful, he turned his head away, completely unwilling to acknowledge the Saintess who was still pestering him for an answer.
“Seriously! You meanie! You get someone’s curiosity going and then just leave them hanging!”
Shilo rolled his eyes and chose to ignore her.
Fortunately, after playing for a while, the Lady Saintess seemed to get bored. She propped her head up with one hand while the other petted the big dog at her feet.
Slowly, Lintis’s eyes darted around as an idea came to her.
“Little Shilo, can I keep it?”
Hearing a serious question, Shilo looked over. Realizing the Lady Saintess was talking about the big dog, he thought for a moment and gave a casual answer.
“Suit yourself.”
Having received permission, Lintis was overjoyed.
“Great! Your name will be Xiaobai from now on. Do you hear me, big doggy?”
Called by her and given the name Xiaobai, the big dog stood up and let out a howl as if in response.
That sound reminded Lintis of a scene from not long ago, and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Beside her, Shilo’s face darkened again as he glared at her.
Lintis giggled and blinked, thinking of something funny.
She tucked her hands into small balls, curling her fingers with only the tips showing, imitating a cat tucking its paws. She let out a mockingly cute “Awoo, awoo” sound.
Then, finding it hilarious herself, she laughed again. She was perfectly content entertaining herself.
After a while, she snapped back to reality at Shilo’s urging. Just as she picked up her bags and stood up to leave, she saw a certain someone’s hands were completely empty.
She silently set her things down and took a deep breath as if making a major decision. Beside her, Shilo felt an inexplicable sense of dread.
In the next moment, Lintis blinked her big eyes, which were now brimming with tears. She grabbed Shilo’s hand with both of hers and shook it gently.
“Mr. Shilo~ Mr. Shilo~ Please~ Help a weak, pitiful, and helpless girl carry her things~”
Her voice was sickly sweet, soft and gentle. Every word felt like a tiny paw scratching at one’s heart.
Shilo’s lips twitched. He didn’t want to pay her any mind, but in the end, he picked up the bags.
It wasn’t that he had yielded; it was just that the gazes of the people around them were becoming stranger. There was curiosity, envy, and jealousy—and some were even starting to radiate a hint of murderous intent.
“Hehe~”
Seeing Shilo pick up her things, Lintis put her hands behind her back and smiled shyly.
Then, after a moment’s thought, she picked up Xiaobai. Because she held the dog vertically and it was so large, she ended up forcing Xiaobai to stand on its hind legs.
The dog was almost as tall as she was, and she couldn’t see the road ahead. That wouldn’t work.
After thinking again, she changed her posture and scooped Xiaobai up horizontally. A look of human-like bewilderment appeared on the dog’s face.
A petite and cute beauty, carrying a large dog—which was likely several times heavier than she looked—in a princess carry was an incredibly bizarre and eye-catching sight.
However, seeing this scene and the effortless expression on the Lady Saintess’s face, Shilo let out a cold snort.
“A fine example of ‘weak, pitiful, and helpless.'”