「It’s apologizing so much—why not just forgive it?」
『No!』
I checked with Potato, but he turned away in a huff, refusing to forgive the boar.
Come to think of it, none of us had actually seen the boar wrecking the field.
The real culprit here was the doctor, spouting all sorts of inappropriate comments.
「Ohhh, Naokyun, keep raping me with your eyes!」
「Rapping?」
I was about to cover Dori’s ears, but I was too late.
She tugged on the hem of my shirt and looked up at me, asking what rapping meant.
「Uh… It’s… a singing genre.」
「Mmm…don’t get!」
It seemed my explanation didn’t quite land.
I breathed a sigh of relief that I at least managed to dodge the question.
Still, I couldn’t ignore the fact that the doctor was a terrible influence on Dori’s education.
I shot him a glare.
His face flushed red.
I was told by Lady that the best way to handle him was to treat him roughly, but… was this really the right approach?
At least he’d finally quieted down, so I could focus on the boar problem.
「So… did you come here because you wanted to eat potatoes?」
『Oiinnnkk!?』
The boar looked startled.
Was it… a little slow?
I mean, if a boar barges into a potato field, it’s only natural to assume it’s here for the potatoes.
Haruki always said I had a few screws loose, but even I was worried about this guy.
『Haaah…』
Even Potato, who had been fuming moments ago, now looked exasperated.
With a resigned sigh, he dug into the soil and pulled out a few potatoes.
『Woof!』
『Oink…? Oink oink?』
Maybe it was a shared love of potatoes, but something passed between them.
The boar stood up and hesitantly accepted the potato from Potato’s paw.
If they became friends, that would settle this whole mess.
「If you want potatoes, just come to that house over there! We’ve got plenty stocked up!」
The boar seemed thrilled and, in its excitement, popped out one of its tusks and started dancing.
「Wait… do boar tusks come out that easily? And, wow, it looks just like Potato.」
Potato and Chips could both stand on two legs and dance, but I never expected the boar to do the same.
「Shan-Shan too!」
「Yeah, Shan-Shan was carrying lumber on its shoulder the other day.」
The animals around here sure had a human-like quality to them.
Most of them seemed pretty friendly, too.
Now that the boar knew it could get potatoes at our place, it didn’t seem like it would cause any more trouble.
「Alright, we’re heading home. Take care!」
Just as we turned to leave, the boar suddenly lunged at me.
In an instant, the atmosphere grew tense.
Dori and Potato tensed up, ready for battle.
「W-whoa… what’s wrong?」
The boar bobbed its head apologetically while tugging at my hem with its mouth, trying to pull me somewhere.
Seeing this, Dori and Potato relaxed, returning to their usual selves.
At this point, they were practically my bodyguards.
Since the boar wasn’t as dexterous as Potato, maybe this was its way of getting my attention.
It led me to the very edge of the fence.
For some reason, the ground there was damp.
「Did something happen here?」
『Bweeek!』
The boar’s response made it clear—something definitely had.
「Papa… iya…」
All of a sudden, Dori muttered something like she didn’t want me.
No way.
It had to be “papaya,” not “Papa, no.”
TN: Iya means no.
If I didn’t believe that, the emotional damage would be too much to handle.
「Papa loves Dori, you know?」
I crouched down to meet her eyes.
「Mmm? Dori loves Papa too!」
She clung to me tightly, showing no intention of letting go.
At least she still liked me.
But then… what was she trying to say?
I lowered my face closer to the ground to get a better look—then it hit me.
「This smells… chemical?」
There was a sharp, stinging odor that irritated my nose.
『Yuck!』
Potato stepped closer but immediately recoiled, covering his nose with his paws.
「Did you… pee here or something?」
I glanced at the boar.
It shook its head vigorously.
Then, holding its tusks with both front hooves, it made a motion like it was scattering something.
I tilted my head.
What was it trying to say?
「Dori, do you get it?」
Instead of answering, Dori suddenly took off running.
Did she hate the smell that much?
Potato was also keeping his distance.
Boars were supposed to have a sense of smell as strong as a dog’s, yet this one seemed fine.
No—scratch that.
It was shoving its tusks right into the dirt, nostrils flared wide open.
Handy as those tusks were, wouldn’t that make it smell its own breath up close?
A little while later, Dori came sprinting back, holding something.
「Papa, no!」
There it was again.
But this time, she wasn’t rejecting me—she was thrusting something toward me.
I took it from her and turned it over to check the label.
「…Weed killer?」
Dori had brought me a bottle of herbicide.
Come to think of it, the last time I tried to use weed killer, she had reacted strongly against it.
I pointed at the ground.
Dori, Potato, and even the boar all nodded in unison.
So that was it.
Someone had sprayed herbicide all over my potato field.
-0-
[Afterword]
「By the way, what have you guys been staring at all this time?」
「Paps!」
「Paps?」
Dori usually called me Papa.
…Was she cheating on me with another Papa?
I followed her gaze and saw a young man around my age, struggling to keep up with a small child who was running around.
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