851 – Like the Master, Like the Dog – 2

Jenny, who is sagging from exertion. Many of the rice cakes are writhing in Jenny’s arms, unable to even open their eyes properly.

‘There are many.’

I stared blankly at the sight, the number being larger than I had expected.

I knew that when dogs give birth, they usually give birth to several puppies at once. I also knew that large dogs give birth to more puppies than small dogs. Of course, it was a special occasion for our Titi’s puppies to be born, so I wonder if she didn’t know about such basic things.

However, this was far beyond my expectations. I thought that 7 or 8 at a time would be a great result,

’14 horses.’

14. Twice as many as the 7 I had secretly hoped for. Even though Jenny is a large dog, I wonder how that number came from one litter.

Thanks to that, my mind is dizzy. It’s a happy thing, it’s definitely a happy thing, but I feel strange. Did I pray ‘Please let Jenny have many children’ too hard? There are definitely more than one or two gods who are connected to me, so if only one of them had answered, this would have been the result.

Even though I am an adult (to be promoted), an honorary priest, and a benefactor, the prayers are bound to be more effective than those of ordinary believers.

-Wow!

“ah.”

The sound of Titi’s barking brought back my fading consciousness.

Yes, this is nothing to panic about. It is a happy event that you can be purely happy about without any worries. Jenny is healthy, and the 14 puppies were born safely. Let’s not overthink it.

“Congratulations, Titi. Titi is a father now.”

Titi was sitting next to Jenny like a guard captain. When I gently stroked Titi’s head, Titi kept panting and wagging her tail.

Of all of them, the one who is the happiest is of course Titi. He has a special relationship with his first love, Jenny, and now he gets to see so many children.

I never would have imagined that 14 children would appear overnight. Titi has seen more children in one day than this owner has seen in years.

“There were many people who asked me to send them to Titi when she had puppies. Since there are so many, I can send them all.”

At my words, Titi’s tail stopped and she stared at me with her pitch-black eyes.

It’s strange. Weren’t those eyes so bright and clear just a moment ago? Why do they seem strangely moist?

‘Is it because I’m in a good mood?’

Maybe it was just my mood. Or maybe Titi was crying because she was so happy to have a child.

“Then Titi, come and watch your children for a bit─”

– Woof!

The moment I was about to reach out to the Injeolmi, Titi got between me and Jenny and barked loudly.

It was such a loud bark that I flinched. Titi is a large, sturdy dog, so it’s natural for him to bark loudly, but the bark he just gave was clearly different from his usual barking.

It wasn’t his usual bright, gentle, and soft bark. It was a bark that sounded like he was protesting to me.

“Titiya?”

– Woof! Woof!

It’s my first time experiencing this, so I’m embarrassed. It’s been several years since I first met Titi at the place of residence. During that time, Titi has been my faithful pet and family member. He has never barked so fiercely at me, his owner.

…

‘no way.’

I reached out my hand just in case.

– Grrrrrrrr…!

Then, it went beyond barking and entered an even stronger state of alert. It was as if it was warning that if you came any closer, even its gentle self might react in some way.

– Squeak, squeak…

However, when I put my hand on Titi’s head, it turned into a sad whimper.

He’s always on guard but never actually asks. Titi is always Titi no matter what he does, so I almost laughed.

‘This isn’t it.’

But what’s important now is not Titi’s gentleness, but figuring out the source of her wariness. After briefly stroking Titi’s head and then slowly withdrawing my hand, Titi’s expression changed to a calm one and she began to wag her tail again.

And yet Jenny—or rather, the pups—kept down in front of me and was wary of my approaching hand.

– Woof!

It was not the alert barking like before, but a simple, innocent cry like usual.

I instinctively realized that cry. It was a way for her to thank me for letting go, for giving up touching her babies.

“this.”

A sigh mixed with laughter escaped me without me realizing it.

“I don’t want to break up.”

– Woof!

The reason why Titi first rebelled against me, her master.

It was a simple, yet clear and weighty reason. It was simply a fatherly act to not lose his firstborn children, to not send them to other places.

‘What should I do?’

It’s very embarrassing to see Titi sitting in front of her pups in a floating posture.

In fact, if you really want to, you can sneak the pups out of Titi without telling her, but if you do that, Titi will be very upset. She might bark at me for weeks or months. Or she might start a hunger strike. Either way, it’s a terrible future.

“Your Majesty, how about leaving Titi and Jenny with the pups for the time being?”

Luciano’s wife, who had been watching the confrontation between the owner and the dog, cautiously opened her mouth. For now, let’s leave the puppies alone and let Titi and Jenny enjoy this joy.

“I guess so.”

I nodded bitterly, thinking that was true.

These babies were just born today. That means it’s Titi and Jenny’s first time seeing their own children, so it’s not right for them to interfere, even if they’re the owners.

And of course, it would be nonsense to see each other only today and break up tomorrow. As my wife said, it would be right to keep them together as a family for the time being, at least for a few weeks.

I know it too. I know it well, but

‘Because you spoke wrongly.’

It’s bitter. If only he hadn’t said things like “letting all the puppies go” in front of Titi.

No, I didn’t plan on giving them away right away. What good would come from taking the babies away from their mothers when they haven’t even opened their eyes yet?

I just wanted to touch… the newly born Injeolmi…

‘If I try to touch you again, you’ll get mad, right?’

I’m already designated as target number one for Titi. If I reach out to the pups in this situation, things could get awkward between Titi and me.

You’re not trying to steal them, you’re trying to touch them? Titi won’t listen to such a weak defense. If Titi is smart, she’ll think that if she gives me even a little bit of an opening, I’ll take the kids away right away.

It’s a sad problem that arises because Titi is too smart.

Titi used to go to Luciano’s mansion every morning and return in the evening, but for the time being, she decided to stay at the mansion.

Jenny, who just gave birth, and her 14 newly born puppies. Isn’t it hard to leave these precious family members behind and go to work? Instead, Titi has to go to work at our house and come back at Luciano’s mansion.

“Dad! Where is Titi!?”

However, the fact that Titi, the children’s constant favorite, does not return even when evening comes is a shock to the children equivalent to the sky falling and the earth splitting open.

Of course, sometimes Titi goes on vacation to the County of Talgglehen, but in those cases, I tell the children a few days in advance that Titi will be gone for the next few days, so have fun and say hello.

But this time, Titi disappeared without any warning? It wouldn’t be strange if the children cried out loud.

“I went to take a short break. For the time being, I’ll be staying at Helen’s house instead of ours.”

“Huh? Sister Helen’s house?”

“Yeah. Helen’s house.”

Fortunately, the place where Titi stays is a very familiar place to the children. It is within the same system and they have visited there many times.

Perhaps that’s why the children’s agitation subsided in an instant. If Titi is in an unknown or difficult place to get to, it might be fine, but it’s in a place where you can go as soon as tomorrow.

“Why?”

However, it is a separate issue whether Titi is in a place that is easy to get to and whether it is in a place other than our house. No matter how easy it is to get to, if the family that should be at home is staying somewhere else, we cannot help but have questions.

“Jenny gave birth to her babies. Titi has to stay there for a while to take care of them.”

The children’s eyes widened at my words.

Of course, Pedi, who was talking to me on behalf of the children, as well as the children who were huddled together behind Pedi, and the children who were playing with Seongsu.

“Puppy? A little pup?”

“Then, shall I take a look at the Jagun Tittibolssu?”

“Jaganttitti! Jaganttitti!”

“If you’re a little girl… you’re my little brother?”

Soon, I smiled bitterly at the sight of children running towards me.

I wonder how these kids will react when they see the 14 injeolmi.

***

I’m so happy! I’m so so happy!

I love just watching! It makes me happy just to see my babies in Jenny’s arms!

So cute! How can there be such cute kids? This must be a gift from me for being good to the master, ladies, and little masters. The master said that if you live well, a god will give you a gift, so it must be true! This is a gift I received!

So I watched Jenny and her pups all day long! I didn’t have to sleep! I didn’t mind not sleeping at all, just to protect Jenny and her newborn pups who were exhausted!

“Titti!”

As I was guarding Jenny and the pups until the sun rose again, I heard a welcoming voice.

“Titi! We’re here!”

– Woof!

Little masters! Little masters are here!

It was great to watch over Jenny and her pups, but I felt bad that I couldn’t play with the little masters. But these little masters came! I love it!

“Whoa! Jaga! Um, Jaga!”

“Are you a little kid?”

“So cute! So cute!”

And the little owners also thought that Jenny and I’s pups were cute and approached the sleeping pups.

“Titi! Are you going to touch it?”

– Woof!

Little masters are okay! The master is very strong and I can’t stop him, but little masters won’t take the pups!

– Huh?

Ah. Jenny, who was sleeping, also woke up.

What should I do? Did I bark too loudly? I’m sorry! Jenny should be resting well!

“Jenny! Hi!”

“Puppy! I came to see you!”

At the little masters’ words, Jenny looked at them for a moment, then started licking our pups one by one with her tongue.

I think they’re probably trying to make their pups look prettier! They’ll look better to their little owners if they clean them up!

***

I watched the kids playing with the injeolmi while casting a spell to hide the smell. I stayed as far away as possible so that Titi and Jenny wouldn’t notice.

‘You’re playing well.’

I felt proud when I saw the children smiling brightly.

Even though this dad is a target of Titi’s vigilance, please have fun.

‘When can I touch it?’

Envy slowly raised its head. When will I be able to break through Titi’s boundary?

First of all, they need to open their eyes and grow enough to be able to move on their own.