Chapter 55: The King and the Knight
The road back to the Adventurer’s Guild was surprisingly quiet.
Too quiet.
Kael walked with his hands behind his head, letting out a long yawn.
"At least this mission ended..."
He looked back at the huge lake they had left behind.
"...without destroying a city."
That was already progress.
On his head, the Little Fat King slept deeply.
As always.
Beside him walked Sir Dogerino.
He proudly carried his stick between his teeth.
His small cape fluttered with each step.
He looked like a true knight escorting his lord.
For several minutes, no one said anything.
Until...
Sir Dogerino slowly looked up.
He observed the Fat King.
His eyes began to shine.
"Woof!"
Kael smiled.
"What’s up?"
The little shiba approached slowly.
He wagged his tail so hard he almost walked sideways.
Then he made an elegant bow in front of the cat.
The Fat King opened one eye.
Watched him for barely a second.
Closed it again.
And yawned.
"Meeeow..."
Sir Dogerino seemed to get even more excited.
"Woof!"
He bowed again.
Then another.
And another.
Kael began to suspect.
"..."
"I think he admires you."
Silence.
The Fat King opened one eye again.
Looked at the dog.
Then slowly turned his head to the other side.
As if saying:
"I don’t know him."
Sir Dogerino didn’t seem discouraged.
On the contrary.
He came even closer.
Carefully lifted his stick.
And placed it in front of the cat.
It was exactly the same gesture as a knight offering his sword to a king.
Kael smiled.
"Is he giving it to him?"
The Fat King looked at the stick.
Then at the dog.
Finally...
He pushed the stick with a paw.
It fell to the ground.
Sir Dogerino’s eyes went wide.
He immediately ran.
Picked it up.
Came back.
And placed it in front of the cat again.
The Fat King pushed it again.
Sir Dogerino returned again.
Kael started laughing.
"..."
"This is going to take a while."
For the next ten minutes...
The same ritual repeated.
Stick.
Push.
Stick.
Push.
Stick.
Push.
Until the Fat King began to lose patience.
He opened both eyes completely.
Stared at the little dog.
"Meow."
A short meow.
Dry.
Clearly annoyed.
Sir Dogerino responded with a smile.
He wagged his tail as if he had just received a great compliment.
"Woof!"
Kael began to suspect something.
"..."
"I think you two speak completely different languages."
Sir Dogerino interpreted every serious meow as a compliment.
And every cold stare as a sign of respect.
Meanwhile...
The Fat King seemed to think exactly the opposite.
"Why is this puppy still here?"
The cat sighed.
Very slowly, he raised a paw.
Kael already knew that posture.
"Uh...
That never ends well."
WHAP!
The slap shot out.
But...
Sir Dogerino thought the Fat King had thrown the stick.
He ran off in a completely wrong direction.
Returned ten seconds later...
With a huge branch between his teeth.
Kael could no longer contain his laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!
He thought you were playing!"
The Fat King remained still.
For the first time in a long while...
He looked completely confused.
Sir Dogerino placed the huge branch in front of the cat.
Wagging his tail.
Waiting for approval.
The Fat King looked at the branch.
Then at the dog.
Finally back at the branch.
"..."
"Meow."
It was an incredibly tired meow.
As if he had just accepted that the universe was unfair.
Kael smiled.
"Now I understand you."
Sir Dogerino bowed again.
Then...
He gave a small friendly tap with his snout.
Mistake.
Gigantic mistake.
The Fat King’s eyes shot open.
He immediately jumped off Kael’s head.
Landed in front of the dog.
They stood face to face.
Kael felt a chill.
"No.
Don’t fight."
Sir Dogerino, far from being scared...
Lowered his head again.
Made another bow.
Then took two small steps back.
As if waiting for instructions from a king.
The Little Fat King remained still.
He watched him for several seconds.
Very slowly, he raised a paw.
Kael swallowed.
"..."
"He’s going to fly."
But no.
The cat simply...
Gave him a small tap on the head.
Much softer than any previous slap.
Sir Dogerino’s eyes went wide.
Then he started wagging his tail like crazy.
He jumped around the cat.
Barked happily.
"Woof!"
"Woof!"
"Woof!"
Kael blinked.
"..."
"Was that what you wanted?"
The Fat King sighed again.
Jumped back onto Kael’s head.
Settled into his favorite spot.
And closed his eyes.
As if saying:
"As long as he stops bothering me..."
Sir Dogerino walked proudly beside Kael.
Now he kept a respectful distance.
Like a true knight escorting his king.
Kael smiled.
"Well...
I think I understand the dynamic now."
He looked at the cat.
"You can’t stand him."
He looked at the dog.
"And you admire him a lot."
"Woof!"
"Meow."
"Yeah.
That confirms my theory."
They continued walking calmly.
However...
Five minutes later...
Sir Dogerino approached again.
Very carefully.
He lifted the stick once more.
And placed it in front of the Fat King.
Silence.
Kael slapped his forehead.
"..."
"Here we go again."
The Fat King opened just one eye.
Looked at the stick.
Looked at the dog.
Then...
With absolute calm...
He slapped it.
The stick shot off like a projectile.
Disappeared among the mountains.
Sir Dogerino’s eyes went wide.
He wagged his tail with indescribable happiness.
And ran off after it at full speed.
Kael watched him disappear among the trees.
Then looked at the cat.
The Fat King was smiling.
A tiny smile.
Malicious.
Satisfied.
Kael took a few seconds to understand.
Then burst out laughing.
"..."
"You sent him after the stick just so he’d stop bothering you!"
"Meow."
The cat closed his eyes again.
Went back to sleep.
Kael slowly shook his head.
"So lazy..."
In the distance, an excited bark was heard.
Sir Dogerino had already found the stick.
And was returning happily.
Kael looked up at the sky.
"..."
"I’m going to need a vacation."
And he had a suspicion that, with a lazy king and an overly enthusiastic knight...
...he would never have a peaceful life again.
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