A Stimulating Night

“Woof.

Woof woof.

Woof woof woof.”

The “dog” in the room was barking.

It sounded quite happy, its yaps full of unrestrained joy.

But at this moment, Ewan’s heart was a solid block of ice.

Why does this dog have so little fur?

Why are its hind legs so long, dragging on the floor from the knees down in a way that is deeply, anatomically incorrect for a canine?

Why does this dog have neither long, pointed ears nor sharp, menacing canine teeth?

Why…

…does this dog look so much like a person?

No, wait. This was a person.

A completely, utterly naked man, with a thick leather collar and leash around his neck, was crawling on all fours on the floor.

The room was dim, and due to the awkward angle, Ewan couldn’t see the man’s face. But the man was barking like a dog, and from the sound of it, he was having the absolute time of his life.

Seeing this, Ewan’s heart didn’t just sink; it plummeted into the deepest, darkest, coldest depths of his stomach.

Oh my god. Don’t tell me that the man currently impersonating a dog with such gusto is Elka’s “husband”?

He didn’t go out on business at all. He’s been kept here by Elka, like a common pet dog, this whole time?

No wonder she didn’t want me to see him.

Wait a minute. If that’s the case…

Is Elka a yandere too?!

Ewan shivered, a cold, terrifying sweat breaking out on his skin.

Damn it, what is with me and yanderes? Do I have some kind of yandere-attracting constitution? Wasn’t one Anne enough? Now there’s another one?!

“What should I do, what should I do? Should I save him?”

“But what if he’s doing this willingly? It’s a pretty kinky hobby, I’ll admit, but I don’t have the right to tell other people how to live their lives.”

“What if he’s into this, and I just barge in and ruin their fun? Wouldn’t that be incredibly awkward?”

After all, from the sound of his barking, he was really, really enjoying himself. It was so convincing that even Ewan, a devoted dog lover, couldn’t tell the difference. That wasn’t a skill an ordinary person could master. It must have taken serious, dedicated study and arduous, back-breaking training.

“Darling, you’re being a little naughty.”

Elka was in the room as well. She was crouching in front of the man, gently stroking his chin, just as one would pet a beloved, and perhaps slightly misbehaving, dog.

“It seems it’s only been a short time, so there are many things you haven’t gotten used to yet.”

“I’ll have to make you remember… my love for you.”

Elka suddenly picked up a familiar-looking bag—the same one she had been carrying when Ewan first met her. From it, she began to take out, one by one, what appeared to be her new, freshly purchased… “toys.”

The Rich Woman’s Happy Whip.

The Rich Woman’s Happy Balls.

The Rich Woman’s Happy Candle.

The Rich Woman’s Happy…

Looking at the full, comprehensive set of “Rich Woman’s Happy” items, things he had only ever seen in certain hardcore, and frankly disturbing, doujinshi, Ewan couldn’t help but feel his eyelid twitch uncontrollably.

“Hiss— This is a little too stimulating for my eyes.”

If they play this rough, won’t something go seriously, horribly wrong?

After a moment of silent, horrified contemplation, Ewan, taking advantage of the fact that Elka hadn’t noticed him, decisively and quietly closed the door.

He would pretend he hadn’t seen a thing.

Sorry, brother. I can’t save you. You two are playing on a level that’s way too advanced for me. I’m scared.

I’m out of here.

“Thankfully, the Anne I knew didn’t have any of this stuff. She was… relatively pure. Otherwise, I would have been in real, deep trouble.”

With a wistful sigh, Ewan tiptoed away, preparing to go back to his room and pretend nothing had ever happened.

Groooowl—

But just then, his traitorous, uncooperative stomach let out another low, incriminating growl. This time, it wasn’t from hunger, but from having eaten far too much.

“Can’t you be a little more considerate with your timing?! I’m starting to think you’re doing this on purpose!”

Ewan silently cursed his own digestive system, then quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and held his breath, trying to will himself into non-existence.

“Who—”

From inside the room, Elka’s sharp, alert voice cut through the silence like a knife.

“Is someone out there?”

She put down her “toys,” gestured for the man on the floor to be quiet, and then, clutching her wand tightly, slowly, silently, walked toward the door.

One step. Another step. And another.

“Mr. Ewan, is that you?” she called out tentatively.

No answer.

Her expression darkened. She gripped the doorknob and, with a sudden, violent motion, yanked it open.

With a loud creak, the door swung open, revealing…

Nothing.

The corridor was dim and quiet. The only movement was the wind chime in the entryway, tinkling softly in the gentle night breeze.

“Did I hear wrong?”

Elka looked left and right, her brow furrowed in suspicion. Confirming that no one was there, she was about to go back into the room. But then, as if remembering something, she quickly walked across the hall to the guest room door.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she threw it open.

Creek.

As the door swung open, a cool breeze from the lake swept in, rustling a few strands of her long hair. The window opposite the door was wide open, the curtains billowing like ghostly, ethereal shadows.

And the bed was empty.

“Oh, my. Mr. Ewan, really. Leaving without even saying goodbye to your host?”

Elka tucked her messy hair behind her ear and stepped into the room. She scanned her surroundings and then, silently, came to a stop in front of the only place a person could possibly hide: the wardrobe.

Through a crack in the door, she could vaguely see something moving, a shadow shifting in the darkness.

“Did he think my hospitality was lacking? Does he dislike me now?”

Elka suddenly threw open the wardrobe doors.

Inside… was also empty.

“To leave without a word… it really hurts my feelings.”

Casually swatting a cockroach that was scurrying around inside, Elka scanned the room one last time, making sure she hadn’t missed any corners. Her eyes narrowed. She glanced at the space under the bed, which was only about a hand’s-width high, then suddenly dropped to the floor and looked.

—Of course, there was nothing there. Not even a baby could hide in a space that small, let alone a grown man.

“It seems he really is gone.”

Elka walked to the window and gazed out at the quiet, sleeping village and the distant, moonlit lake. Confirming that there were no signs of movement, she closed the window and drew the curtains.

“To leave in such a hurry… I suppose he saw, didn’t he?”

She walked back into the corridor, gently closing the guest room door behind her. She let out a soft, regretful sigh. “It’s a bit of a shame. I was hoping to share… my love with him. We had become friends, after all. Just like everyone else in the village, it’s only natural to share my love with him.”

“But, if he wanted to leave, then it can’t be helped. I can’t force him, after all.”

“But thankfully…”

Elka turned her head and looked at another door at the far end of the corridor, one that Ewan, in his haste, had completely missed.

“He didn’t find what’s in here.”

“Otherwise,” she whispered to the empty hallway, a chillingly sweet smile on her face, “I would have had to make him stay with me forever—”

“Heehee.”

…

“I love you.”

…

“Crap, that was way too close.”

Outside the guest room window, just below the sill, Ewan was curled up in a tight ball, pressing himself so tightly against the wall that he felt as if he were trying to merge with the very stone. That was how Elka hadn’t seen him when she had looked out.

“The yanderes in this world are too terrifying…”

They all seemed to have their perception skills maxed out to a god-like level. If it weren’t for the fact that he wasn’t the object of Elka’s twisted ‘love,’ he probably would have never escaped her pursuit.

“Sorry, my friend. You’re on your own now. Your wife is way too much for me.”

After offering a silent, heartfelt prayer for the man whose name he didn’t even know, Ewan expertly and quietly slipped away, quickly and completely disappearing into the night.

He didn’t know that, not long after he had left, the quiet little village would receive a new, and very unwelcome, visitor.