A Former Police Officer Who Died And Get A Second Life!-Chapter 61: Welcome Home

If she said that, then they must have been married.

"Yes. Because I didn’t give up and kept pressing him. When he finally gave in and nodded, I was so happy, so happy that I felt like I might start dancing."

Perhaps recalling that moment, her face that was now covered in wrinkles, softened into a smile like that of a young girl.

Even in death, her feelings for him had surely never changed.

"He must have been a very wonderful person."

"Of course. To me, he was my most beloved husband."

Beastman or human, it didn’t matter.

The difference in lifespan wasn’t an issue.

What mattered was how deeply she loved him and how deeply she was loved by him.

Even if the time they spent together was short, the happiness he gave her was beyond comparison to the time she had spent as a slave and she loved him for that.

"But before he died, you know, he told me something. He said that after he was gone, he wanted me to find someone else."

"But you didn’t?"

"No. I did look, because it was a promise I made to him. But I couldn’t find anyone. There was simply no one better than him."

As she smiled while saying that, she looked incredibly beautiful and with a faintly proud expression, Qiong Xing found himself thinking of his own two mates.

"Do you regret it?"

Joa who had been silently listening until then looked at her with a serious gaze.

"Regret? What would I regret? Just meeting him made me happy. And on top of that, being made his wife, there’s no greater happiness than that."

"...I see."

She watched Joa who lowered his head as if deep in thought with an extremely gentle expression.

"I’m sorry for keeping you with an old woman’s long story. It’s already getting dark, do you know the way back?"

"Ah, no..."

"Yeah, it’s fine."

!?

As Qiong Xing desperately tried to figure out the way back, a surprising truth came to light!

"You knew the way!?"

"More or less."

"Fufufu, it really might be better if you stop walking around alone from now on."

"Yeah."

Having both of them say that, Qiong Xing had no words to offer in response.

They were given plenty of vegetables as souvenirs and when Qiong Xing asked if it would be all right to visit again, the woman said that he must be accompanied by Joa next time as well.

With that, they took their leave of her home.

"More importantly, where’s Mayo?"

When Joa pointed out that Snow hadn’t been seen for a while, Mayo suddenly poked his head out from the neckline of Qiong Xing’s shirt.

"It seems he hid himself because he didn’t want to startle her. He’s a smart one, isn’t he?"

"That’s fine and all, but if you think you’re in danger, don’t hesitate, bite their throat out. Got it?"

"Mayo~"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

How could he teach such things to their cute little one!?

When Qiong Xing protested angrily, he was instead lectured for lacking a sense of danger.

"This time, she might’ve been a good person, but that won’t always be the case. If you can’t do it, then the one beside you has to. That’s just how it is."

"Mayo~"

"No, Mayo, why are you agreeing too? Even I, would fight back if I thought I was in danger."

When Joa replied that it would be fine as long as he made it in time, Qiong Xing who is lacking confidence couldn’t argue back.

Just how was one supposed to train a sense of danger, anyway?

"Ah, I forgot to ask her name."

"You really are..."

Qiong Xing was gradually getting used to the exasperated way Joa looked at him.

After safely returning to the hideout, Qiong Xing was once again met with Leander and the others’ intense embraces.

"I’m sorry I’m back so late."

"As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. Welcome home."

"Welcome back!"

Thinking the hands reaching for him were just to make sure he was unharmed, Qiong Xing tried to head toward the dining hall only to hastily swat them away when their movements started to feel a little suspicious.

At that moment, something white leapt at him from the side.

"W–wait, what... Cari?"

"...."

"Cari?"

When Qiong Xing lifted Cari who was clinging to him without a word, Cari tightened his arms around his neck.

When Qiong Xing looking at him closer, he noticed what looked like a few scratch marks.

"Looks like he got into a fight," someone said.

"A fight?"

Cari?

It was hard to imagine the shy and clingy Cari fighting with anyone.

"Apparently someone said something about you. You know... that it was weird for a man to be called ’Mama.’"

I see. So that was why Cari had talked back.

Fighting wasn’t always a good thing, but knowing that Cari had gotten angry on his behalf made him feel a little happy.

"He cried and went looking for you, but when he found out you weren’t here, the other brats started making a fuss. Saying stuff like you ran away because you’re a man, or that you abandoned him. So he stayed shut up in his room until just now."

That made Qiong Xing feel awful.

To think that Cari had gone through all that because of him.

"Of course, I punched the brats who were saying that."

Leander. What exactly do you think you’re doing?

No matter how angry he was, an adult hitting children was absolutely not okay.

"Well, when their parents heard about it, they beat their own kids too."

Was that some kind of disciplinary guidance in the beastmen’s world?

If that ever happened to him, he felt like his neck would be snapped clean off.

"Cari? It seems people said a lot of things because of me. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay by your side... Did you come to hate me?"

Even while clinging to his neck, Cari shook his head vigorously from side to side.