Esty was indeed waiting outside. Her hood was pulled deep over her eyes, so I could only see the lower half of her face, but she was carrying a large basket full of goods on her back. No mistake.
"Good morning, Esty-san."
"Yes, yes. Good morning~ Oh? What's this?"
Shepa trotted over to Esty and brought her nose close to the exposed skin under the hood, sniffing intently.
Sniff sniff, sniff sniff.
She does that to me all the time too.
Hm?
But her tail isn't wagging right now. When she sniffs or licks me, it spins like it's about to fly off.
It might be normal dog-girl behavior, but sniffing a stranger on first meeting is probably rude, so I grabbed Shepa's shoulders and pulled her back.
"Come on. You have something to say first, right?"
"Good morning!"
"Correct, but close. A little off."
"Ehh?"
Shepa twitched her nose and ears, raised her gaze, and thought for a moment.
She seemed to figure it out instantly — her ears perked straight up.
"Hello!"
