/
It was the first time he had seen the Commander this close, as her atmosphere was usually like an ice cube.
She was born with natural white skin. Her blonde hair that seemed to smell like sunlight when touched was shining warmly in front of his nose. Her surprised, round eyes were so gentle that he wondered if they were the Commander’s.
Although she returned to her expression face right away, Launer had a look on his face that had seen a ghost.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
Viliato asked while stabbing Launer’s side with his elbow.
“W-Was the Commander supposed to look like that? I originally knew that she was beautiful, but……”
“Crazy guy.”
Viliato shook his head and walked away.
“I’ll go by myself, you two can go back.”
Scyllia sternly ordered.
It was said out of concern for both of them. Of course, the two didn’t know what she meant. As expected, they bowed their heads in fear and disappeared.
Eric followed her to the end.
“Priest Shula. Are you there?”
“What happened?”
Fortunately, Shula was at the treatment center.
“I think the Commander was seriously injured. Can you take a look?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you!”
As soon as the permission fell, Eric ran away. There was a heavy silence in the treatment center.
“Why are you standing like that?”
Shula was annoyed.
“Come here and sit down. Why didn’t you come to me until it became like this?”
‘Because it’s uncomfortable.’
Scyllia thought to herself.
“Did you avoid it because it was uncomfortable?”
This time, no matter how much Scyllia had a poker face, she couldn’t help but be surprised.
Shula grinned and grinded the medicine.
As far as Scyllia knew, Shula was a woman of the same age as herself, but she was like an old man who enjoyed telling bad jokes to young people.
“It’s nothing…”
“What do you mean it’s nothing? Your neck is almost cut in half, it wouldn’t be strange if it slipped and your head was hanging around your neck while fluttering in the wind.”
Shula glanced at the wound on Scylia’s neck and casually continued to talk.
“Did the nine-tailed-fox do this?”
“……”
“It must have hurt a lot. You would be dizzy if you bleed this much.”
Scyllia was silent.
As she always did.
“The main armor of the Paladins has a collar in the clothes worn underneath, and they are very sturdy.”
Shula continued her words as she tapped the fingers on her neck.
“So every time you turn your head, the collar would have dug into the wound.”
“……”
“Dozens, thousands of times. It rubbed on the wound again and again, but the Commander put up with the pain.”
“……”
“It seems that our Commander likes to endure pain.”
Shula mixed her medicinal herbs at a speed that Scyllia couldn’t keep up with, wrapped them in a paper in an instant, and then threw them at her. She received a dark green envelope and looked at it. It had a pungent scent.
“You go to subjugation with that body~ just swing a sword~ you are doing a fine job anyway, so you leave it as is, right?”
“…I’m sorry…can you stop getting angry?”
“Come on, sit here.”
Shula pointed to a stool in front of her and commanded with a smiling face. Her mouth is smiling, but if you look closely, you can see a tendon sprouting from her forehead.
“Right now.”
It was a face more terrifying than a monster. Swallowing dry saliva, Scyllia crouched down on a low stool.
“You are scratched all over the place. Don’t be patient in the future and come right away. Do I eat people?”
She still felt half eaten, but Scyllia did not speak. Even if she said it, it seemed that she would not get a positive reaction back.
“Take the medicine I gave you after meals.”
“Yes.”
“If there’s anything else that’s uncomfortable…”
“No.”
Scylia cut off Shula’s words, who was about to strip her from her clothes with resolute force.
Shula didn’t mind.
“Our leader is a lone wolf. You push everyone away while drawing a line. The iron walls are just like an imperial fortress.”
Of course, her always troublesome mouth didn’t stop. Shula’s excellent healing power that was praised in the Holy Kingdom went nowhere. However her mouth wasn’t going to get better and if felt like she would eventually be sent flying to a further isolated outpost at this rate.
“Thank you.”
“From what I can see, the Commander seems to be very shy. Should I say it’s a bit extreme?”
“….What?”
“If you look closely, you’re cute.”
“……?”
“Anyway, you’re going to keep raising it while getting hurt like this? What if something went wrong and the monster killed you?”
“I’m not going to kill that nine-tailed fox. Of course I’m not going to get killed either.”
Scyllia shook her head and put on her coat.
“It would be better to keep him nearby and watch over him.”
“It’s because of your ghost-like intuition, right? That gives you a sense that you can’t kill him.”
“Yes.”
Scyllia’s ‘intuition’.
That feeling has always been a problem.
Maybe it was because Scylia’s intuition sent her a red signal that she went to the old priestess without killing the nine-tailed-fox. Rather than an irrational premonition. It acted as a firm fact binding Scyllia. As long as Scyllia felt that she shouldn’t kill it, there would be no reversal of her actions.
This is because her ‘intuition’ has never gone wrong.
Just like a Saint’s ‘revelation’.
Rather, she was giving a more accurate revelation than the Saint himself, who descended upon the Holy Kingdom.
Shula, who thought that far, shook her head in surprise. This thought was blasphemy and she shouldn’t have them.
She sighed and said.
“Tell me how it’s going sometimes. I’m in charge of treatment, right? I feel relieved when I know what’s going on.”
“Well…….”
“Speaking of which, tell me. What are you doing these days that you get hurt like this?”
Scyllia, who was speechless, pondered for a long time before opening her mouth.
“I’m focused on teaching etiquette, and It became particularly wild.”
Shula had an incredulous face from the words that went in her ears.
“Etiquette? To a nine-tailed fox?”
***
“Little fox.”
Scyllia entered her house and called the fox. Since it didn’t respond, she tried calling the name she had given her this time.
“Ran?”
From afar, an unsatisfied cry was heard. It was a cry mixed with boundaries, as if not to call it by that name.
Scyllia walked to where Ran was. It seems he was sleeping in bed.
Last night, Ran didn’t try to run away for the first time. So Scyllia put a barrier on her house and released Ran as a reward. She laid a soft cushion on the floor, but he eventually gets up on her bed like he’s doing right now.
“You don’t like the cushion?”
Ran growled.
“Come here.”
Strangely, Ran understood her words.
It was said to be a monster born of a heavenly creature, so she expected that he would be different in every way, but Scyllia did not know that he would understand everything.
Isn’t this the western continent?
‘He must have come from the East, did he learn our language this fast? Or is it because he is a child of a heavenly being, it doesn’t matter which language we speak in?’
She shrugged her shoulders and set the cage of chickens down on the floor.
“Come here, Ran. Huh?”
As soon as she urged, Ran slowly crept over.
His silver coat shimmered dimly like the moonlight flowing down in the night sky. He was walking smoothly, but as soon as he came close, he rushed into her arms.
Scyllia tried to defend herself with holy energy, but when she noticed the fox’s front paws were charred, she stopped.
Gnaw.
When he bit her arm, the corners of her eyes were distorted. He didn’t bite too hard though, so she didn’t bleed.
Just a little scratched on the skin.
‘Looking at this, I think he really doesn’t want to hurt me.’
She was puzzled and called the fox.
“Ran. You were trying to get out of the house while I was away.”
“Growl…”
“You touched the barrier and your fur got burnt.”
Ran swung his claws as she poked her head out to examine it. Scyllia lightly dodged his attack before she inspected the affected area.
Fortunately, only the fur got burned. Scyllia was relieved, and put on her stern face.
“Ran. I told you not to bite people.”
“Crowl……”
“What did I say I would do if you keep doing the same thing?”
Ran cried defiantly.
“I am not your prey. Let go.”
Ran stubbornly grabbed her forearm and didn’t let go.
“If you keep doing that, I will have no choice but to push you away with holy power.”
“……”
“Then your beautiful fur will burn. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Scyllia persistently persuaded.
“Let go, Ran.”
She was never angry. No matter how he attacked, she did not respond with violence, and persuaded with words to the end. After about a week, her body was covered with scars. It was an opposite situation than the rebellious little fox, whose wounds would heal just fine by itself.
“Ran. What’s the reason you are getting angry on purpose?”
In an instant, Ran’s small body flinched. Scyllia lowered her head and looked deep into Ran’s golden eyes.
“Huh? Little fox. No matter how angry you are at me or how many times you attack me, I will never hate you.”
“…..”
“So, can you tell me why?”
His golden eyes, which were trembling, were wet with water. There was no way he could speak with a fox’s body. Scyllia wasn’t asking for an answer either. She just wanted Ran to understand her heart.
“I will ask you one last time. Let go.”
The fox released the arm he was biting.
“Good boy.”
She patted Ran’s head carefully, rummaging through the luggage bag she was wearing. Ran looked at what she was doing with moist eyes.
“Ran, do you also eat dead things other than alive ones? I brought this because there was good quality jerky in the supply.”
Scyllia, who was bitten and had a swollen red arm, pulled out this and that. She then pulled out a jerky and held it out, slightly smiling. It was not only once or twice that she was bitten like that, and she smiled so innocently that his heart was uncomfortable. The little fox’s heart was broken in pain.
Strangely, however, he didn’t hate that pain.
The fox did not know that the sensation was due to the prickly joy of tenderness, so for him, it felt painful.
It was a feeling he would come to know only when he gets bigger.