The atmosphere around the commander was usually so cold and icy that this was the first time Rauner had ever seen her from such close proximity.
Her naturally pale skin and golden hair—hair that looked as though it would smell like sunlight if touched—shimmered warmly right before his eyes.
And those eyes, widened in surprise, looked so gentle that he could hardly believe they belonged to that commander.
Though her expression quickly returned to its usual blankness, Rauner looked as if he had just seen a ghost.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
Biliato jabbed him in the side as he asked.
“W-was the Commander always this beautiful? I already knew she was attractive, but…”
“You lunatic.”
Shaking his head, Biliato moved away.
“I said I’ll walk on my own. The two of you may return.”
Silia gave the order stiffly.
She only meant it out of concern for them.
Of course, neither of them realized her true intention. As expected, they lowered their heads fearfully and vanished at once.
Eric, however, followed her all the way.
“Priest Schula. Are you here?”
“What is it?”
Fortunately, Schula was inside the infirmary.
“I think the Commander has been seriously injured. Could you please take a look at her?”
“Very well.”
“Thank you!”
The moment permission was granted, Eric fled like lightning.
A heavy silence settled over the infirmary.
“Why are you just standing there?”
Schula snapped irritably.
“Come here and sit down. Why foolishly avoid coming here until you ended up in this state?”
‘Because it’s uncomfortable.’
Silia answered inwardly.
“You avoided me because you felt awkward, didn’t you?”
This time, even Silia could not help but flinch in surprise.
Chuckling mischievously, Schula continued grinding medicinal herbs.
Silia knew Schula was around the same age as her, yet whenever she acted like this, she resembled an old woman who delighted in teasing younger people with inappropriate jokes.
“It wasn’t a serious injury…”
“Not serious? Your neck looks like it could practically fall off at any moment.”
Glancing casually at the wound on Silia’s neck, Schula continued speaking.
“The gumiho did this, didn’t it?”
“……”
“It must’ve hurt terribly. And losing that much blood probably made you dizzy too.”
Silia stayed silent.
As always.
“You know how holy knights’ armor and the collars underneath are very stiff, right?”
Schula tapped her own neck lightly with her finger.
“So every time you turned your head, the collar must’ve dug straight into the wound.”
“……”
“Dozens of times. Hundreds. Thousands. Constantly scraping against a sliced-open injury. And yet you endured all of that.”
“……”
“Our Commander really seems to enjoy enduring pain~.”
Mixing the herbs at a speed ordinary people could never follow, Schula wrapped the medicine in paper in an instant and tossed it toward Silia.
Silia caught the dark green medicine packet and examined it.
A sharp herbal scent rose from it.
“And despite being in this condition, you still went on monster subjugations~ swung your sword around~ and left a perfectly healthy healing priest sitting unused~ right?”
“…I’m sorry, so could you stop being angry now?”
“Now then, sit over here.”
Pointing at a stool directly in front of her, Schula gave the order with a smile.
Though she was smiling, veins were visibly bulging on her forehead if one looked closely.
“Immediately.”
Her expression was scarier than a monster’s.
Swallowing dryly, Silia obediently curled herself onto the short stool.
“You’ve been scratched up everywhere. Next time, stop enduring it and come immediately. What, did you think I’d eat you alive?”
Silia already felt half-devoured, but she wisely chose not to say that aloud.
It felt like she would only lose more by speaking.
“Take the medicine I gave you after meals.”
“I will.”
“Is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable—”
“No.”
Silia firmly pushed away Schula’s hand as she tried to pull aside her clothes and abruptly cut off the conversation.
Schula did not care in the slightest.
“Our Commander is a lonely wolf. Pushes everyone away. Draws lines around herself. Your emotional walls are practically as strong as the Empire’s fortress.”
Naturally, her troublesome mouth never stopped moving.
Still, Schula’s healing ability truly deserved the praise it received even within the Holy Kingdom.
Silia felt so restored that it seemed like she could practically fly.
“Thank you.”
“I think our Commander is actually very shy. To an extreme degree, perhaps?”
“…What?”
“Looking closely, you’re actually kind of cute.”
“…?”
“Anyway, are you really going to keep raising it when it keeps injuring you like this? What if something goes wrong and the yokai kills you?”
“I won’t kill that gumiho. And of course, I won’t be killed by it either.”
Shaking her head, Silia slipped on her coat.
“If that’s the case, it’s better to keep it by my side where I can watch over it.”
“Because of that ghost-like intuition of yours, right? That feeling telling you not to kill it.”
“Yes.”
Silia’s “intuition.”
That intuition was always the problem.
Wasn’t the reason she brought the troublesome gumiho to the shrine maiden instead of killing it because her intuition had screamed at her not to?
Rather than some irrational premonition, it functioned like an absolute truth binding Silia’s actions.
Once Silia felt that something must not be killed, she would never reverse that decision.
Because her “intuition” had never once been wrong.
Almost like the “revelations” of a saint.
In fact, it was even more accurate than the revelations of the actual saint who had descended upon the Holy Kingdom of Gaiana.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Schula jolted in alarm and shook her head.
Such thoughts bordered on blasphemy. She should not even think them.
Sighing, Schula spoke again.
“Let me know how things are going from time to time. I’m responsible for treating you, Commander. I need to know something so I can stop worrying.”
“Mm…”
“Since we’re talking about it anyway, tell me this. What exactly have you been doing lately to get injured like this?”
Not particularly eloquent, Silia pondered for a long moment before answering.
“I’ve been focusing on etiquette training. He’s become especially aggressive lately.”
Schula stared at her as though doubting her own ears.
“Etiquette training? For a gumiho?”
“Little fox.”
Entering the house, Silia called out to the fox.
There was no response, so this time she tried using the name she had given it.
“Ran?”
From somewhere in the distance came an irritated little growl.
It sounded like a warning not to call it by that name—a cry mixed with caution and wariness.
Silia walked toward where Ran was.
Apparently, he had been sleeping on the bed.
Last night, for the very first time, Ran had not attempted to escape.
As a reward, Silia had set up a barrier around the house and let him roam freely.
She had even laid out a soft cushion for him on the floor, yet somehow he still ended up sprawled across the bed.
“Don’t you like the cushion?”
Ran growled.
“Come here.”
Strangely enough, Ran understood everything Silia said.
Since he was a yokai born from a sacred spirit, she had expected him to be unusual in many ways, but she never imagined he would even understand human language.
Especially since this was the Western Continent.
‘He must’ve come from the Eastern Continent… Did he already learn the language that quickly? Or does being the child of a sacred spirit mean language doesn’t matter?’
Shrugging lightly, she placed a cage containing chickens onto the floor.
“Come here, Ran. Hmm?”
Only after she urged him again did Ran slowly creep over.
His silvery coat shimmered faintly like moonlight pouring through the night sky.
Though she thought he was approaching obediently for once, the moment he got close enough, he lunged straight at her arm.
Silia was about to defend herself, but then noticed the blackened fur on Ran’s front paw and stopped moving.
Crunch.
As his teeth clamped onto her arm, the corner of her eye twitched.
Still, he did not bite down very hard, so no blood was drawn.
The skin was only slightly scratched.
‘Judging from this, maybe he doesn’t truly want to hurt me.’
Feeling puzzled, Silia spoke gently.
“Ran. You tried to leave the house while I was gone.”
“Grrrrrr….”
“You touched the barrier and burned your fur.”
As she leaned closer to inspect his paw, Ran lashed out with his claws.
Silia lightly dodged the attack and checked the injury anyway.
Fortunately, only the fur had been singed.
Relieved, Silia put on a stern expression.
“Ran. I told you not to bite people.”
“Grrrrr….”
“What did I say would happen if you kept repeating the same behavior?”
Ran growled rebelliously.
“I am not your food. Let go.”
Stubbornly, Ran continued biting her forearm without releasing it.
“If you keep doing this, I’ll have no choice but to push you away with holy power.”
“……”
“Then your beautiful fur will burn. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Silia patiently continued persuading him.
“Please let go, Ran.”
She never became angry.
No matter how often he attacked, she never responded with violence and insisted on persuading him with words until the very end.
After a whole week of this, Silia’s body had become covered in injuries.
The complete opposite of Ran, whose wounds had all healed and who had regained his health.
“Ran. Why are you deliberately trying so hard to act angry?”
At that moment, Ran’s tiny body flinched violently.
Lowering her head, Silia gazed deeply into his golden eyes.
“Hmm? Little fox. No matter how angry you get or how much you attack me, I will never hate you.”
“……”
“So will you tell me why?”
The trembling golden eyes gradually filled with moisture.
There was no way the fox could answer while trapped in a fox’s body.
And Silia had not truly expected a reply.
She only hoped Ran would understand how she felt.
“One last request. Let go.”
The fox released her arm.
“Good boy.”
Tenderly stroking Ran’s head, Silia searched through the bag she had been carrying.
With damp eyes, Ran quietly watched her movements.
“Ran, do you eat dead things too? There was some high-quality jerky among today’s supplies, so I brought some for you.”
Using the arm that had just been bitten red and swollen, Silia rummaged through her belongings.
Then she pulled out the jerky, held it toward him, and smiled faintly.
Even though she had been bitten countless times already, her smile remained painfully sincere and unguarded.
The young fox’s heart tightened painfully.
And strangely enough, it did not hate the feeling.
The fox did not yet realize that the ache came from the heavy warmth of kindness, and that was why it hurt.
It was an emotion the fox would only understand much later, once it had grown older.
