Rahn sat down and looked into Celia’s eyes for a moment before lowering his nose to the jerky and sniffing it.

　　“Well? Is it good?”

　　He began to chew.

　　Celia immediately rose and hurried into the kitchen, looking far more flustered than she ever appeared in her role as captain.

　　She gathered every piece of jerky she had been saving for herself and set the entire pile in front of Rahn.

　　“This one’s pork, this is duck, this is chicken, and this one is rabbit.”

　　She pointed them out one by one, her cheeks flushed with genuine delight.

　　Rahn watched her.

　　“Oh, you might be thirsty too.”

　　Celia hurried back to the kitchen.

　　When she returned, she was carrying a plain bowl filled with clear water.

　　“Here.”

　　She held it out to him as well.

　　Celia had so little interest in possessions that she owned only a single bowl for herself.

　　And now she had brought it out to use as Rahn’s water bowl.

　　She had completely forgotten that she had already bought a separate one for him and left it in the bedroom.

　　“Eat plenty. You’re too skinny. You need to put on some weight.”

　　Rahn simply couldn’t understand her.

　　Why was she so kind to a demon?

　　No one had ever considered Rahn a creature whose good or evil might depend on how he chose to behave. Everyone had decided from the beginning that he was evil.

　　Hadn’t even Schulla recoiled from him simply because he was a demon?

　　Yet this guileless holy knight treated Rahn like a child still learning right from wrong.

　　In everything she did, she believed without question in everything he might yet become.

　　Celia was the first human who had ever looked at Rahn and seen Rahn, rather than a demon.

　　For a nine-tailed fox, meeting someone who could see his true nature was nothing short of a miracle.

　　“You can eat as much of this one as you want. It wasn’t salted, so there’s hardly any salt in it.”

　　The bite marks Rahn had left earlier were still visible on her forearm.

　　Even with her arm aching, Celia explained everything to him patiently.

　　For a very long time, the fox kept stealing glances at her gentle face.

* * *

　　“…Pardon?”

　　The employee at the pet supply store stared blankly up at Celia.

　　The woman before her radiated an intimidating chill, yet she was strikingly beautiful at the same time.

　　When a holy knight who looked as though she had been carved from marble walked through the door, the employee assumed she had entered the wrong shop.

　　“This is a pet supply store,” she had pointed out.

　　The woman had merely asked,

　　“Do you sell shampoo?”

　　“Sh-Shampoo?”

　　At the startled question, Celia’s cheeks slowly reddened.

　　She lowered her light green eyes and murmured,

　　“Shampoo for animals…”

　　“Oh!”

　　A pet craze had recently swept through the Empire.

　　Naturally, stores selling pet supplies had begun springing up everywhere, and this shop was one of them.

　　Apparently even holy knights weren’t immune to the trend.

　　“What kind of pet do you have? A dog?”

　　Celia considered the question with an unusually grave expression.

　　“A canine.”

　　“Aha. A canine…”

　　The employee’s eyes darted briefly as she searched for a response, but she recovered at once and guided Celia toward a shelf.

　　“In that case, what about this one? It has a rich rose fragrance and is very popular with the nobility.”

　　Celia smelled it and immediately frowned.

　　“The scent is too strong.”

　　“Would you prefer a different fragrance?”

　　“Do you have one without any?”

　　“Without any?”

　　The employee blinked.

　　“The animal I’m caring for has a sensitive nose. A strong scent would stress him.”

　　The employee was taken aback by her thoughtfulness.

　　Then she smiled brightly and led Celia farther down the aisle.

　　“Then this should be perfect. It has no added fragrance at all. It doesn’t lather very much, but it’s mild enough that even sensitive animals usually tolerate it well.”

　　Even after hearing the explanation, Celia spent a long time examining the product.

　　She smelled it, checked the texture, then made her way through the entire store, filling her basket with everything else she thought she might need.

　　She added a comb, towels, a bed, toys, treats, and food and water bowls…

　　The employee stared at the overflowing basket, speechless.

　　“You must really love your pet.”

　　“I only bought what the little one needs.”

　　Celia answered stiffly.

　　The employee smiled to herself as she wrapped the purchases.

　　She must be shy.

　　Such a cold face hid such a caring nature. If she smiled a little more often, she would probably be incredibly popular.

　　Ironically, the employee who had met Celia only today had read her more accurately than the knights who spent every day at her side.

　　“Come again!”

　　Wishing Celia and her pet well, the employee tucked in plenty of complimentary extras.

* * *

　　When Celia turned on the living room light, Rahn lifted his head from beneath the table.

　　The instant she saw him, her expression visibly softened.

　　She pulled out a small bone-shaped plush toy.

　　“You spend so much time alone. I thought you might get bored.”

　　Rahn regarded the toy with little interest, then gave it a halfhearted bite.

　　The fabric split immediately, and stuffing bulged through the hole.

　　Celia stared down at the ruined toy.

　　“I should have bought something sturdier.”

　　Rahn gave a dismissive snort.

　　Celia remained completely serious.

　　Next time, she would buy him a wooden toy scented with meat.

　　Leaving the garrison required permission from the Empire. Even visiting the pet supply store today had been difficult, but Celia resolved to try again soon.

　　“There’s a lot I want to show you. Want to come out?”

　　Rahn glanced sidelong at the enormous pile of purchases and approached as though he were doing so reluctantly.

　　“It’s all yours.”

　　He sniffed around the bags.

　　By now, Rahn no longer attacked Celia at every opportunity.

　　His attacks had grown less frequent, though she knew he was still waiting for the perfect opening.

　　Naturally, she had no intention of ever giving him one.

　　“Oh, right. I bought shampoo today.”

　　Rahn looked up in confusion.

　　“You need a bath, Rahn.”

　　And so the war began.

　　Rahn let out a furious shriek and thrashed with all four legs.

　　Apparently this was his first proper bath, because he fought with everything he had.

　　“Rahn, look over here. See the duck? Aw, isn’t it cute?”

　　He shrieked again.

　　Celia bobbed the little duck floating in the tub, desperately trying to distract him.

　　Rahn was far too furious to care about any duck.

　　When that failed, Celia changed tactics and decided it would be better to finish as quickly as possible.

　　She squeezed out some shampoo and briskly worked it through Rahn’s fur.

　　She had assumed his beautiful silver coat was clean.

　　Dirty gray water immediately streamed off him.

　　Rahn whined and struggled furiously.

　　“There, good boy.”

　　He snarled.

　　“Oh, how frightening. Here, take the duck.”

　　Celia tried putting the toy between his open jaws.

　　Rahn jerked his head away and spat it out, his golden eyes blazing.

　　“It can’t be helped. You need to be clean or you’ll get sick.”

　　Rahn squeaked in protest.

　　“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, all right? I’ll be quick.”

　　His soap-covered body was unbelievably slippery.

　　Eventually Rahn squirmed out of her hands like an eel and shot out of the bathroom, completely covered in foam.

　　His white, sudsy body tumbled through the living room like a tuft of cotton caught in a gale, his four paws flying in different directions as he skidded again and again.

　　Celia stood drenched in water and foam from her hair all the way down to her trousers.

　　Then she burst into bright, ringing laughter.

　　“Rahn!”

　　She darted after him.

　　The fox stopped for an instant, glanced back, and gave a derisive snort.

　　Lowly human.

　　His eyes practically said it.

　　“So you’re mocking me now.”

　　At last, Celia broke into a full-speed sprint.

　　Rahn saw her closing the distance at a terrifying rate and bolted.

　　She had only been half-serious in her pursuit when her eyes suddenly widened.

　　“Watch out!”

　　The accident happened in an instant.

　　Rahn’s paws slipped out from under him as he fled.

　　Carried forward by his own momentum, he slammed into an empty display cabinet.

　　The old cabinet stood on four legs worn uneven by age.

　　It rocked, then began to tip forward.

　　Celia lunged.

　　She slid across the soap-slick floor, reached Rahn before the cabinet fell, and shoved him out of its path.

　　The heavy wooden cabinet crashed down onto her shoulder and torso.

　　The blow landed directly on the scarred mark of her curse.

　　That patch of skin was so sensitive that even the lightest brush normally made every fine hair stand on end.

　　Cold sweat broke over Celia’s skin. Her body shuddered on the verge of a convulsion.

　　But she regained control quickly. She had lived with the curse for twenty-three years.

　　It’s okay. This isn’t a seizure. I only took a hard hit. There’s nothing to be afraid of.

　　Celia clenched her teeth, braced the cabinet against her forearm, and dragged herself out from underneath it.

　　The house had gone silent.

　　For a long moment, the only sound was Celia’s ragged breathing. As soon as she had recovered her senses, she hurried to check on Rahn.

　　“Rahn!”

　　The little fox was trembling violently, his ears drooping.

　　Then he fixed his gaze on Celia’s bloodless face and refused to look away.

　　Her heart sank.

　　For some reason, it felt as though he had seen the pain of her curse.

　　Rahn is still young. Even if he noticed something, he won’t understand what it means.

　　Celia pushed the thought aside and checked him first.

　　“Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?”