Efficient Way of Helping Animals

After saying that dramatic dialogue...

Kara coughed and began explaining the rules like an official.

"The rules are simple."

"You can't move from your position."

"And you can't throw anything toward that cute doggy."

"If you want to win..."

"Make the doggy come to you."

Katon nodded, finished observing that doggy.

"Simple enough."

Kara immediately began waving his hands.

"Olelele!"

"Guju-buju!"

"Come here, my guju-buju!"

The dog tilted its head, like he just saw an idiot.

Rurouni tried not to laugh, failed successfully.

Meanwhile...

Katon did absolutely nothing.

Like he gave Kara a chance first out of pity.

Then...

He calmly removed his glasses.

Then placed them on the ground.

The dog immediately noticed them.

Its eyes focused on the glasses.

Then it ran straight toward them.

Rurouni and Kara blinked, not idea what's going on.

The dog reached the glasses, having naughty thoughts about destroying it.

Just as it lowered its head toward the glasses...

Katon moved, full force this time.

Not because the situation was serious.

But because the glasses was precious.

In one smooth motion, he caught it.

"I GOT YOU!"

Both Kara and Rurouni froze.

Their mouths hung open.

They felt like reality bent against his will.

"..."

"...How?"

The dog stopped, a bit scared but still acting cute.

Katon calmly picked up his glasses, no other reaction founded.

The entire challenge had ended without him making what could even be called an effort.

After the confusion finally began to fade...

Kara asked while pointing him like a culprit.

"How did you do that?"

Katon was cleaning his glasses.

"It's not about how."

"I have many options."

"I simply chose the most efficient one."

He put his glasses back on.

"It's nothing special."

"Dogs like playing with new things and exploring their depths."

Then Kara began smiling, felt a bit relieved.

"Yeah."

"This is how a leader should be."

He pointed at Katon with extra exaggerated drama.

"Katon is officially the leader of our group!"

Rurouni nodded, no disapprovement in his face.

"Yeah."

"But we don't even have a name for our group."

Kara's expression immediately became serious.

"That's true."

"And we don't have a goal either."

"My mom says having a goal is important in life."

Katon thought for a moment.

"Okay, then."

"Our group name will be KRI."

"Our goal..."

"...Is to enter the Great Academy of the Imperial Capital."

"Getting admitted there would already be enough to secure good jobs in the future."

Both Kara and Rurouni immediately started clapping like a good audience.

"Amazing!"

"That's actually a great goal!"

Rurouni tilted his head, clear confusion in his face.

"But why KRI?"

"Does it have a special meaning?"

Kara nodded, he also had the same doubt.

"Yeah, tell us."

Katon calmly explained.

"'K' is for me coming from my first letter, since I'm the leader."

"'R' is for Kara coming from his third letter, since he's the vice leader."

"'I' is for Rurouni coming from his last letter..."

He paused.

"Since he's pathetic."

Rurouni took emotional damage on the spot.

"Do both of you literally have to remind me every single time?"

Kara smiled with complete satisfaction.

"Do you remember me saying you'd eventually lose count?"

"Do you still know how many times you've been roasted by using that word?"

"Or have you lost count already?"

Rurouni sighed with a helpless smile.

"I lost count a long time ago."

Kara immediately hugged him so warmly that anyone who saw them would have misunderstood that he genuinely cared about Rurouni.

"It's alright."

"Just get used to it."

"Your future is darker than the darkness itself, anyway."

Rurouni smiled weakly, so weakly that no one could see it including Rurouni himself.

"Thank you."

"But you're supposed to comfort me right now instead of roasting me."

Kara waved a hand dismissively.

"Let it go, dude."

"The difference is only nineteen-twenty, so it's alright."

Rurouni frowned, corrected him.

"No, it isn't."

"Roasting someone and motivating someone are two polar opposite things."

Katon agreed with him.

"He is technically correct."

A gentle wind blew past them.

For a brief moment...

None of them said anything.

Then...

Kara started laughing.

Rurouni followed happily.

Even Katon allowed a small smile, very small one.

The laughter carried through the quiet street.

After a while...

Kara suddenly stopped as he realised something.

"Wait."

He looked around, expression changed.

"Where's my bag?"

Rurouni blinked, little confused.

"What? Your bag?"

Wait a minute...

Why did he bring a bag today?

Kara immediately turned around.

"It was right here!"

He began searching around frantically.

Katon quietly looked toward the street behind them.

The yellow-colored dog was walking away.

And somehow...

Kara's bag was hanging from its mouth.

Katon stared at this wonderful scene.

Rurouni followed his suspicious gaze.

His eyes widened, hesitation appeared.

"Is that..."

"...Kara's bag?"

Kara hadn't noticed yet.

"Where did it go?!"

Katon looked at the dog again.

The dog continued walking.

Katon could easily have pointed it out.

But he didn't.

The dog looked hungry.

And somehow...

This felt like a fitting reward.

Kara had always claimed that they should take good care of animals.

Perhaps...

This was simply another form of taking good care of them, but in an efficient way.

Katon quietly turned away, this matter was closed according to him.

Rurouni was still staring in disbelief.

"Hey, should we tell him?"

"No."

"Huh? Why?"

Katon glanced at the dog disappearing around the corner.

"We're helping an animal."

"By letting it steal Kara's bag?"

Katon nodded calmly, no bad intention in his behaviour.

"Efficiently, it's not like he truly cares about the bag anyway."

"He'll most likely say, 'It's a minor detail.'"

Rurouni thought for a moment.

Now that I think about it...

He'll definitely use that dialogue.

"Okay, as you wish, Leader."

Five minutes later...

Kara finally found his bag.

Although, at this point, calling it a bag was being generous.

Rurouni looked at him with genuine concern.

"Hey... Are you alright?"

Kara smiled brightly with full motivation.

"Yep."

"Perfectly fine."

"And feeling awesome."

Rurouni stared at the ruined bag, failed to understand his positive behaviour.

"...Huh?"

I know that he doesn't care, but shouldn't he be even a little bit sad?

"Your bag looks worse than a plastic bag after a storm, and you're acting like it doesn't even belong to you."

Kara finally got the chance to flex her mother, again.

"Yeah."

"But my mom always says not to feel sad when someone who isn't bad becomes happy because of your loss."

He glanced in the direction where the street dog had disappeared.

"Like that cute doggy."

Rurouni slowly looked toward Katon, gave a salute in his mind.

Yep.

Leader.

Looks like you were right after all.

Katon didn't reacted even a little.

As far as he was concerned, the incident wasn't worth considering anymore.

The only one that's worth considering...

Is none other than the one who made him excited after a very long time.

Monika Kagenou.