The atmosphere around the captain was usually so frigid that this was the first time Rauner had ever seen her up close.

　　Her naturally fair skin and golden hair, which seemed to carry the scent of sunlight, gleamed warmly before him. Her eyes had widened in surprise, their softness making Rauner wonder whether they truly belonged to the same captain he knew.

　　Her face quickly returned to its usual impassive expression, but Rauner stared at her as though he had seen a ghost.

　　“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

　　Biliato jabbed him in the side.

　　“W-Was the captain always like that? I knew she was beautiful, but…”

　　“You’re insane.”

　　Biliato shook his head and moved away.

　　“I’ll walk there myself. You two return to your posts.”

　　Celia gave the order stiffly.

　　She only said it because she was worried about them.

　　Naturally, neither knight understood what she meant. Just as she expected, they bowed their heads in alarm and hurried off.

　　Eric followed her all the way.

　　“Sister Schulla? Are you here?”

　　“What is it?”

　　Fortunately, Schulla was at the infirmary.

　　“The captain appears to be badly injured. Could you take a look at her?”

　　“Of course.”

　　“Thank you!”

　　The moment Schulla agreed, Eric fled.

　　A heavy silence settled over the infirmary.

　　“Why are you just standing there?”

　　Schulla sounded irritated.

　　“Come sit down. Why were you stubborn enough not to come see me until you got this bad?”

　　Because it’s awkward.

　　That was Celia’s answer, though she kept it to herself.

　　“You’ve been avoiding me because you feel awkward, haven’t you?”

　　Even Celia couldn’t keep from flinching.

　　Schulla snickered as she ground medicinal herbs.

　　Celia knew they were around the same age, but at times like this, Schulla seemed more like some ill-tempered old woman who enjoyed tormenting children with nasty jokes.

　　“It’s nothing serious…”

　　“Nothing serious? Your neck looks as though it’s been half torn off and left dangling.”

　　Schulla glanced at the wound and continued in an almost indifferent tone.

　　“The nine-tailed fox did this, didn’t he?”

　　Celia said nothing.

　　“It must have hurt. You probably got dizzy from losing blood too.”

　　As always, Celia remained silent.

　　“You know how stiff the high collars are on the garments we wear beneath our holy knight armor?”

　　Schulla tapped her own neck with one finger.

　　“Every time you turned your head, that collar must have dug right into the wound.”

　　Celia still said nothing.

　　“Dozens of times. Thousands of times. Digging into the cut over and over again. And you just endured it.”

　　Celia met her words with silence.

　　“Our captain must really love putting up with pain.”

　　Schulla mixed the herbs faster than any ordinary eye could follow, wrapped them in paper in the blink of an eye, and tossed the packet to Celia.

　　Celia caught the dark green packet and examined it.

　　A sharp medicinal scent rose from it.

　　“And in that condition, you still went on subjugation missions, swung your sword around, and left a perfectly good healing priestess sitting here unused. Right?”

　　“…I’m sorry. Would you stop being angry now?”

　　“Sit here.”

　　Smiling, Schulla pointed to the stool directly in front of her.

　　Her lips were curved pleasantly, but a vein stood out at her temple.

　　“Now.”

　　She looked more frightening than a monster.

　　Celia swallowed and lowered herself onto the low stool.

　　“He scratched you up from head to toe. From now on, stop enduring everything and come straight to me. What, do you think I’m going to eat you?”

　　Celia already felt half-devoured, but wisely kept that to herself.

　　Saying so would only make things worse.

　　“Take the medicine I gave you after meals.”

　　“I will.”

　　“Is there anywhere else bothering you?”

　　“No.”

　　Celia firmly pushed Schulla’s hand away when she tried to pull aside her clothes, cutting the examination short.

　　Schulla didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

　　“Our captain really is a lone wolf. Pushes everyone away. Draws a line around herself every chance she gets. Those walls of yours might as well be an imperial fortress.”

　　Schulla’s troublesome tongue, of course, never rested.

　　But her healing abilities were every bit as impressive as the reputation she had earned in the Holy Nation.

　　By the time Schulla was done, Celia felt not merely recovered but almost light enough to fly.

　　“Thank you.”

　　“You know what I think? I think you’re actually extremely shy, Captain. Almost excessively so.”

　　“…What?”

　　“I’m saying you’re rather cute when you look closely.”

　　Celia stared at her.

　　“Anyway, are you really going to keep raising him if all he does is injure you? What if something goes wrong and that demon kills you?”

　　“I’m not going to kill that nine-tailed fox. And I’m certainly not going to let him kill me.”

　　Celia shook her head as she put on her coat.

　　“That’s why it’s better to keep him close where I can watch him.”

　　“It’s because of those uncanny instincts of yours, isn’t it? The ones telling you not to kill him.”

　　“Yes.”

　　Celia’s instincts.

　　They were always causing trouble.

　　Hadn’t those same instincts warned her against killing the troublesome nine-tailed fox and driven her to seek out the priestess in the first place?

　　They were less irrational premonitions than absolute certainties that governed Celia’s actions.

　　Once her instincts told her that a creature must not be killed, she would never reverse that decision.

　　Her instincts had never been wrong.

　　They were almost like the Saint’s revelations.

　　If anything, Celia’s instincts seemed more accurate than the revelations of the Saint who had appeared in the Holy Nation of Gaiyana.

　　Schulla was startled by her own thought and quickly shook her head.

　　That was blasphemous.

　　She shouldn’t even think it.

　　With a sigh, Schulla said,

　　“Tell me how things are going once in a while. I’m responsible for your treatment, Captain. I need to know how matters stand if I’m to have any peace of mind.”

　　“Mm…”

　　“And since we’re already talking about it, tell me. What have you been doing lately to end up this injured?”

　　Celia had never been good with words.

　　After thinking for a long moment, she finally answered.

　　“I’ve been focusing on teaching him some manners. He’s been especially aggressive lately.”

　　Schulla looked as though she couldn’t believe her ears.

　　“Teaching manners? To a nine-tailed fox?”

* * *

　　“Little fox.”

　　Celia called out as she entered the house.

　　There was no response, so this time she tried the name she had given him.

　　“Rahn?”

　　A disgruntled growl came from somewhere farther inside, wary enough to sound like a warning not to call him that.

　　Celia walked toward the sound.

　　Apparently, Rahn had been sleeping on the bed.

　　The previous night had been the first since Rahn’s arrival in which he made no attempt to escape. As a reward, Celia had placed a barrier around the house and allowed him to roam freely inside.

　　She had even laid a soft cushion on the floor for him.

　　He had ignored it and taken over her bed instead.

　　“Don’t you like the cushion?”

　　Rahn growled.

　　“Come here.”

　　Curiously, Rahn understood what she said.

　　She had known that a demon born from a sacred beast would be unusual in every respect, but she hadn’t expected him to understand human speech.

　　Especially here in the Western Continent.

　　Had he somehow learned the language since leaving the East?

　　Or perhaps language simply didn’t matter to the offspring of a sacred beast.

　　Celia shrugged and set the cage containing a chicken on the floor.

　　“Come here, Rahn. Hmm?”

　　Only after some coaxing did Rahn finally creep toward her.

　　His silver coat, luminous as moonlight spilling across a dark sky, shimmered faintly.

　　For a moment, Celia thought he was actually coming obediently.

　　Then, the instant he got close, he lunged at her arm.

　　Celia moved to defend herself, then stopped when she noticed that the fur on his front paws was scorched black.

　　His teeth closed around her arm.

　　Pain pinched the corners of her eyes.

　　Still, he hadn’t bitten hard enough to draw blood. Her skin was only slightly scraped.

　　Moments like this suggested that he did not truly want to hurt her.

　　“Rahn. You tried to leave the house while I was gone, didn’t you?”

　　He growled.

　　“You touched the barrier. That’s why your fur is burned.”

　　When Celia leaned closer to inspect his paws, Rahn swiped at her with his claws.

　　She easily avoided the attack and examined the injured area.

　　Fortunately, only the fur had been singed.

　　Relieved, Celia gave him a stern look.

　　“Rahn. I told you not to bite people.”

　　He growled again.

　　“And what did I tell you would happen if you kept doing the same thing?”

　　Rahn let out a defiant cry.

　　“I’m not your food. Let go.”

　　Rahn stubbornly kept his teeth clamped around her forearm.

　　“If you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to push you away with sacred power.”

　　He didn’t budge.

　　“And then that beautiful fur of yours will get burned. I don’t want to hurt you.”

　　Celia persisted, her voice patient.

　　“Let go, Rahn.”

　　She never became angry.

　　No matter how he attacked her, she never responded with violence. To the very end, she tried to reach him with words instead.

　　After roughly a week of this, Celia’s body was covered in wounds.

　　Rahn, meanwhile, had healed completely and was now in perfect health.

　　“Rahn. Why are you getting angry with me on purpose?”

　　His small body flinched.

　　Celia lowered her head and met his golden gaze.

　　“Hmm? Little fox. No matter how angry you get or how much you attack me, I’m never going to hate you.”

　　Rahn went still.

　　“So will you tell me why?”

　　His wavering golden eyes slowly filled with moisture.

　　There was no way he could speak while trapped in a fox’s body, and Celia hadn’t actually expected an answer.

　　She only wanted Rahn to understand how she felt.

　　“One last time. Please let go.”

　　The fox released her arm.

　　“Good boy.”

　　Celia stroked his head with tender care, then began rummaging through the supply bag slung over her shoulder.

　　Rahn watched her with damp eyes.

　　“Rahn, can you eat meat that’s already dead, or does it have to be alive? There was some good jerky in this batch of supplies, so I brought some home for you.”

　　With the arm he had bitten still swollen an angry red, Celia pulled out one item after another.

　　At last, she found the jerky and held it toward him with a faint smile.

　　He had bitten her so many times already.

　　And yet her smile remained so guileless that something in the young fox’s chest tightened painfully.

　　Strangely, he didn’t dislike the pain.

　　He didn’t yet understand that it came from the aching joy of being treated with tenderness.

　　That was an emotion Rahn would understand only much later, once he had grown.