The Meeting

"Stupid dog, you embarrassed me to death..."

Outside Bogle Town, along a tree-lined path.

The veins on Isaac's forehead bulged. "Because of your stupidity, that lady nearly took me for a swindler... As a police dog, an active one at that, you can't just focus on eating all the time!"

"I liked that little boy, really... The honey-flavored cookies he hid tasted pretty good."

Harlock replied bluntly.

"Enough..."

Isaac rubbed his forehead, deciding not to discuss similar matters with it again. "Did you memorize the scent?"

"I did. One little boy, two little girls..."

Setting aside everything else, Erha, having been enhanced, was still trustworthy when it came to scent recognition.

"But Master... can you beat that 'Pied Piper'?"

Harlock offered its opinion.

"Of course. I'm very strong... Besides, it might not be the Pied Piper from Bogle's legends... You've heard that story too, right? This town was once plagued by venomous snakes. One day, a piper was invited here and used his flute to lead all the snakes away. But the townsfolk refused to pay him, so the enraged piper cursed all their children, turning them into new venomous snakes..."

As though discussing matters with an assistant, Isaac voiced his thoughts. "That may just be a legend, or it may be true. Even if it is, the mysterious individual involved should have died long ago... This incident, though, I think it was caused by some organization that worships an Evil God. You know... children have stronger Inspiration. They're more likely to see things they shouldn't see and hear voices they shouldn't hear... They're quite useful in certain rituals."

"Then their fate will be rather pitiful..." Harlock said seriously for once.

"And so... this is when the great Isaac makes his dazzling entrance."

Isaac struck a rather flamboyant pose.

But