< This is bad. >

< I want to go home. >

< I hate humans. >

< F*ck me. >

These thoughts ran across Gabriel’s mind as he sat in a small pink pool made for washing dogs. Echidna poured a handful of shampoo onto him, then proceeded with cleaning his head, face, and the butler clothes which she mistook for fur.

“Good kitty-kitty!” She babbled while pulling on Gabriel’s face.

Of course, he enjoyed none of it.

< When did I become a kitten?! >

Naomi was just across the room, leaning his back against the wall. A large smirk sat on his face.

Watching Gabriel’s awkward moments was something of a guilty pleasure for him.

“Hey, Miss Echidna! You left a spot on his face.”

“Oh, really? Thank you, my dear! You're so helpful!"

After surviving a throughout bath, Gabriel met something he had never seen before. It was a small black object that best resembled a gun.

< Am I going to get shot? >

Echidna grabbed a crystal from a nearby counter and put it inside the handle of the object.

Naomi observed with curiosity.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but is that a hairdryer?” He asked while pointing at the curious item.

“Oh? Of course, have you never seen one before?”

“No, it’s just… I don’t get why you loaded it with a crystal.”

Echidna blinked twice upon hearing that. Then, she shrugged it off as the vagabond’s lack of knowledge.

She leaned closer to show Naomi the curious gem.

“These are called energy crystals, sweetheart. They are used for a lot of stuff, for example, making lamps and hairdryers work.”

The blue crystal looked like any other gem, if not for the small light emanating from within. It was the electricity trapped inside, brewing with power.

“Is this the work of magic or technology?” Naomi observed.

“One more thing you should be careful about!” Said Echidna while shaking the hairdryer in her hand. “These crystals are very dangerous if not treated right! Breaking them would release all the pent-up energy. That would be more than enough to blow the roof off of this house."

“Oh, that’s, uh… Interesting! Hehe!” Naomi laughed awkwardly, then took a step back.

Now, nothing was between Gabriel and the hairdryer.

He leaned closer to the curious item to better observe it. This item was unlike anything he has met in his previous world.

< How is this thing supposed to dry my hair? >

As he thought of that, the hairdryer turned on and scared the shit out of him.

Gabriel tried to distance himself from the roaring weapon, but Echidna had already prepared for an occasion like that.

As Gabriel tried to pull away, he was stopped. Suddenly, he felt a pull on his neck by a dog collar which he had never seen before.

< What the–– When did she put that around my neck?! >

A pet shop owner has her secrets.

– – –

After a vicious battle with the hairdryer, the demon was given a full-body check. This was, as one might suggest, a complete waste of time, given that the suit covering most of his body was mistaken for fur.

It was only when she observed his throat that her first meaningful comment was made.

"What a strange wound... How did this happen? Oh my!"

Hurrying as fast as her aged joints allowed, she grabbed a bunch of gels and medicines from a nearby counter.

"What's wrong?" Naomi yawned.

"These wounds are horrible! Honestly speaking, I'm surprised your horse is still alive!"

"Did you just say horse?"

"Poor animal... We got to do something about this!"

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She mixed her gels and covered the wounds. Then, she put a bunch of pills into Gabriel's mouth and quickly poured them down with water before Gabriel could have protested.

She was distraught like a panicking mother, dashing left and right as fast as she could, groaning as her old muscles ached from the haste. Despite that, she did not plan to slow down. An animal’s well-being was much more important than her own.

Gabriel was surprised by her change in attitude. Though logically, he might have been the dumb one for treating his wounds so nonchalantly.

Even if he managed to hold back the blood with his hemomantic abilities, Gabriel was still in danger. His wounds could have been infected by the enemy’s blood, the lack of blood circulation in those areas might deny him any chances of recovery, and the possible tragedies go so on.

Was this recklessness a dumb oversight on his part or something more complex?

He was not sure, and that bothered him even more.

While searching for the right medicine, Echidna rushed to a nearby shelf. Her mad dash knocked some medicines off the table and their gels poured out onto the ground.

It was the perfect setup for an accident, that came as fast as Echidna stepped onto the gel.

“Huh?" She muttered confusedly, as her legs slipped off of the ground and her body began to fall forward.

It was not the biggest fall, but enough for such an old woman to break a bone.

Yet, even after her fall stopped, she did not feel any pain.

Just as she would have hit the ground, Gabriel grabbed the back of her dress and stopped the fall. He was able to hold up Echidna with one hand, revealing just how fragile she was.

Echidna put her feet onto the ground and regained her sense of balance. Then, she turned around to look Gabriel in the eye.

He was expecting a simple thank you from the woman.

But that never came.

Her mouth trembled open and close as if she was not sure about what to say. She looked around and observed the room. Her eyes snapped from one place to another, before looking back again at Gabriel.

A smile grew on her face.

“Oh hello, sweetheart!”

She stood there, waiting for a response.

Gabriel stared at her with wide eyes. Did she forget he was a supposed “animal”?

Slowly, he held up one hand and waved.

“Oh! Hello to you too!” Echidna waved.

Then, as if nothing had happened, she walked out of the room.

Gabriel was, quite literally, left confused. He got off the table and carefully approached the door.

He turned around to see what Naomi thought about the woman’s sudden change, but he was about to be disappointed. The mage had dozed off while leaning his back against the wall and waiting for the two to finish.

His loud snoring was an unpleasant choir, singing about how Gabriel was alone on this one.

He followed the nearby sounds and stumbled upon a small kitchen. Echidna was there, standing beside a rusty stove. She appeared to be frustrated.

Her gaze was fixed on an old kettle atop the stove. It was filled with water that bore large leaves inside.

When Echidna realized Gabriel came into the room, her expression changed immediately, and she greeted the man with a warm smile.

“Can I offer you some tea?”

He was hesitant at first, but Gabriel nodded.

“Wonderful! My apologies, but I need to ask for your patience. This stove is fairly new and I’m not used to this kind of technology!”

Gabriel gazed at the rusty cube that stubbornly resisted all attempts to work.

While looking at it, he caught glimpse of something on the side. It was a small hole that resembled the shape of a crystal.

He knew what he had to do.

After the fiftieth failed attempt, Echidna still tried to start the stove. Suddenly, she felt a pat on her back and when she turned around, Gabriel was there with an energy crystal.

“Oh, thank the divines!” She exclaimed. “You’re a life saver!”

After putting it into the hole on the side, the stove lit up with small sparkles of fire.

Despite the rusty stove’s age, the tea was done in no time.

Gabriel sat down at a small table. Echidna poured both of them a warm cup of revitalizing tea and sat down in front of the boy.

She leaned forward to take a sip of her tea, which unsurprisingly, was too hot to drink.

“Teehee!” She chuckled. “These new technologies are hard to get used to. But, at least they can make a sufficient tea!”

Gabriel nodded with a smile.

He knew something was wrong. When he went back to grab the crystal from the counter, he found a dozen others that were already used up.

But why would Echidna lie?

Gabriel felt even more confused. There was no ill-will coming from the woman.

But then why was she acting so strange?

After finishing her tea, Echidna remained at the table. She waited patiently for Gabriel to finish his own.

The tea was alright. Nothing stood out about it, but that was not a bad thing. It was average, possessing just the right amount of every material to be “okay”.

Still, if one were to ask what it tasted like, as in what fruits or plants it was made out of, Gabriel could only say “tea”.

When he finished his cup, Echidna began to speak.

“I feel honored to have you as my guest.”

Gabriel nearly spat out the drink in his mouth. His heart skipped a beat as the woman said those words, and he was ready to charge out of the room.

Echidna continued.

“When I was a little girl, I dreamt about flying every night. I flew next to storks and sparrows in my dreams, high above the clouds with neigh to worry for. Ah… I’m happy little Johnny got to live that dream!”

That was unexpected.

Gabriel sunk back into his chair with a sigh. He was relieved because Echidna had mistaken him for someone.

But still, he was confused about the mention of someone named “Johnny”. But more importantly, he wondered who he was mistaken for.

A single tear ran down Echidna’s smile, quickly wiped off as she laughed quietly.

“He was always such a good boy. His dad wanted him to become a lawyer, but I knew he was destined for something greater.”

Gabriel nodded reassuringly. He had no idea what she was talking about, but he wanted to know more.

Suddenly, Echidna reached through the table and grabbed Gabriel’s hands.

“Captain, please! Tell me he’s alright!”

Gabriel nodded.

“Oh, thank the divines… I was anxious he would get into trouble. My Johnny boy was always keen about getting into trouble. I told him to be careful with the planes, but he just kissed me on the cheeks and said he’ll be alright. I was worried those were nothing more than just words. Thank the divines, that he kept his promise.”

Gabriel felt a bit less confident after hearing those words.

He remembered seeing flying ships back in Rosenburg. Those must have been the so-called “planes” Echidna was talking about.

Who was this Johnny and what happened to him? Gabriel was not sure. Still, looking around and observing the conditions Echidna lived in, he could not help but feel pessimistic about the whole ordeal.

After Echidna put away their mugs, Gabriel was anxious about what comes next. Guards were patrolling outside and leaving this safe haven would have been a sure death sentence for him.

At the same time, he did not want to use force against Echidna. She was kind enough to help them without asking for anything in return.

Hurting her would have been against everything a guardian demon stood for.

Thankfully, he did not have to worry about this for too long.

“Oh, you’re leaving already?” Echidna said with sadness in her voice. “Why not stay the night? After all, you were so kind as to come here from the capital. You could sleep in the guest room!”

Gabriel sighed with relief upon hearing that.

Stealing the façade of a high-ranking captain might have been one of his less respectable deeds. However, he was willing to live with that guilt if that meant not hurting the grandma.

“Let me show you around!” Echidna locked her arm around Gabriel’s. “My Johnny boy is not home right now, so you’ll have plenty of space to rest.”