Lei Zi?
The old man abruptly turned his head.
What?!
He looked down at the black dog.
Then looked up at the young man.
"...What?"
The old man's voice was hoarse.
As if he hadn't spoken in a long time.
What did this young man mean?
The old man was deeply confused.
I couldn't understand what those few sounds meant at all.
I left him hanging. "You'll find out soon enough."
Steady as ever.
Come to think of it...
"We're here."
Who knew if that was true...
The old man was startled.
The old man immediately forgot what he had been about to say.
"...Where's your friend?"
I rubbed my temples hard.
"...You can understand what it's saying?"
"Is that right, Lei Zi?"
Xiao Xiao's eyes curved into a smile. "Take him to see the gift you want to give him."
That's right.
There were bits of grass all over him.
Any thief who came to his house would probably call him a pauper.
The old man's brow furrowed even more.
But surely, what he wanted to know most right now...
He hadn't expected the young man to ask first.
Lei Zi's friend?
How would I know?
Xiao Xiao stopped moving.
I hadn't seen the black dog this lively in a long time...
The old man nodded.
I didn't answer the old man's question. Instead, I told him we'd be turning right up ahead.
Xiao Xiao was very frank.
To me, the black dog had only barked a few times.
The old man's voice suddenly grew louder.
The old man's expression relaxed. "Here it comes."
The old man looked somewhat dazed.
I carefully bent down and set the black dog on the ground.
He'd