At the Northern Fort V3C17

At the Northern Fort V3C17: Fox Cubs are Busy

After saying my farewells to Tina-san and Woodbaum, I raced down the hallways of the fort searching for the One-Eyed Knight.

“One-Eyed Knight! One-Eyed Knight!”

When I yelled the name of the person I was searching for, the passing knights would tell me where they were so it was quite convenient.

“If you’re looking for the Vice Cap, I just passed him over there. He’s coming down the stairs.”

“Thanks!”

I headed in the direction that he was pointing in and saw that the One-Eyed Knight was looking in my direction while still descending the stairs. It appeared that he had heard my voice. 

“What’s wrong? Weren’t you headed to Tina’s place?”

“Yup, I just had something I wanted to ask you, One-Eyed Knight. Umm, yesterday, Rekka-san told you that she [wants a single room] right?”

The One-Eyed Knight’s face went blank as he picked me up.

“Why do you know that?”

“Secret. So, why did Rekka-san say she wanted a single room?”

“Is Tina worried about that?”

“Why do you know that-!”

This time it was my turn to say the line.

However, if you thought things through calmly, then it couldn’t be helped that he guessed the reason after seeing that I had come to ask this kind of question after visiting Tina-san. That was careless of me.

“Y-You can’t tell Rekka-san.”

I flusteredly tried to block the One-Eyed Knight’s mouth, but sadly my arms were too short and couldn’t reach him.

“I won’t tell her. Rekka didn’t say why, so I don’t know either. I tried asking, but she evaded the topic. Seems like it’s not a reason she wants to talk about.”

“Is that so?”

“But there are some things I’m a little concerned about with regards to Rekka too. She’s only just transferred here, so I was sure there were some things she’d be anxious about, thus I’ve kept an eye on her. I don’t know if it has anything to do with this matter but……”

It was there that his words trailed off midway.

I tilted my head, but the One-Eyed Knight didn’t seem to be able to find a proper answer inside himself, as he quietly pondered without saying any more than that.

“But, in the end Rekka-san won’t be changing rooms, right?”

“That’s right. Depending on her reasons, we could let her change her rooms, but if she won’t tell us the reason, then we can’t give her permission to do so. Rekka’s not the only knight who’d want a single room after all.”

“I see, thanks.”

As thanks, I licked the One-Eyed Knight’s cheek once, and then decided to return to Mother’s side for the time being to get permission to stay overnight.

Having returned to the nest where Mother was, I explained the sequence of events that led to me wanting to stay overnight in Tina-san’s room and received her permission to stay over.

“Well, I don’t mind. Come back here in the morning.”

Mother transformed into her humanoid form, placed me on her lap and stroked the area underneath my chin as she said that. It tickles a little.

“Why do you think Rekka-san wants a single room?”

I tried asking for Mother’s opinion, but she simply responded, “Well, who knows?” disinterestedly. 

“Don’t say that, think it over together with me.”

I rolled over on her lap and held Mother’s beautiful white hand in my paws, play-biting it and covering it with saliva. 

“I do not understand human emotions well. There are even times when I do not understand why the King thinks a certain way when speaking with him. Their thoughts are complicated.”

“Then, is there anyone amongst spirits who understands human feelings well?”

Truthfully, it would be better to consult someone from the fort who knew Tina-san and Rekka-san well, like Branch Captain-san or the One-Eyed Knight. However, Tina-san probably would be uncomfortable with having someone close to her know about the situation. That is why I thought it would be better to ask a spirit instead.

I also should understand human feelings well, but I wanted an adult opinion on what Rekka-san might be thinking and what I should do for the two of them to repair their relationship. 

“Human feelings, huh. Well, I don’t think there would be any spirits who are knowledgeable about a thing like that.”

“Father’s no good either.”

That was something that even I could understand. Mother also noddled deeply.

“That one has lived for a needlessly long time, but he does not know much about other spirits, let alone humans…….hmm, I do not know if she knows of the feelings of humans, but if you would like to consult someone, how about Daphine? She is rather caring, and other spirits often ask her for advice.”

Daphine-san, huh. She is an adult, and she does seem to look at things objectively, so she might be a good choice.

“Got it! Then, I’ll go to Daphine-san’s place for a bit!”

“My child is a busy one.”

After accepting a kiss from my wryly smiling Mother, I headed for Daphine-san’s place.

It was easier to use the transfer technique to travel to a fellow spirit, but perhaps because this was the first time I was travelling to her side, I seemed to have failed in my technique when I tried it. Daphine-san wasn’t anywhere in sight where I transferred to. 

Instead in her place was—

“Oh! Ain’t this Milfiria!”

Hilg-papa in the form of a large black panther. On the end of his long tail was a flame like Kugalg’s, but it burned far more intensely than the flame on Kugalg’s tail. 

I often met him in his human form, so I still wasn’t accustomed to Hilg-papa’s panther form. When he lumbered over and brought his face closer, it made me jump a little.

“Hilg-papa……and Kugalg too.”

Kugalg soon appeared in the shadow of Hilg-papa. Upon seeing me, his pupils widened and his tail stood up erectly. He looked happy. 

As I received Kugalg’s welcoming headbutt in my chest, I murmured.

“Is this your nest in the volcano?”

This was not my first time coming to Kugalg and his father’s nest. While I said ‘volcano’, it was more accurate to say that right now we were at the base of it, as there was a lush forest spreading around our surroundings. Perhaps they were in the middle of patrolling their domain.

It was possible that when thinking of Daphine-san, I unconsciously ended up thinking of Kugalg, thus I ended up flying here. Daphine-san was technically Kugalg’s mother after all.

“Uuu……”

After being sent tumbling by Kugalg’s headbutt, he started to rub his cheek against mine, giving me the warmest of welcomes. As a result, I was having a hard time getting back up. 

When I tried to stand up, he lied on me, using all his strength to rub cheeks with me, causing me to fall over again. 

Hilg-papa said this in a loud voice.

“It’s quite rare for Milfiria to come here on your own!”

Rather than just laughing, I wished that he’d calm Kugalg down a little.

Then, while he hadn’t heard the voice in my heart, Hilg-papa licked Kugalg’s head and advised him, “Why don’t you leave it at that?”. 

However, after seeing me stagger to my feet, he grew concerned about my messy fur and bit the nape of my neck to drag me over.

“Come now, since you’ve taken the time to come, why don’t I groom you?”

I’m fine, I don’t need to be groomed right now. -is what I tried to convey as I growled, but my thoughts did not reach Hilg-papa.

He sat down, laying his belly against the ground as he held me between his thick forepaws. Then, Hilg-papa started to use his large tongue to lick my head.

Hilg-papa and I were facing each other, so my fur didn’t end up standing on end like it did previously when Kugalg was licking me.

However, his tongue was far rougher than Kugalgs, and caught my soft thin fur much more firmly. Thus, his licks ended up pulling at my skin as well.

When he licked my cheeks, eyes, and forehead, his tongue stretched out my skin, causing me to make a weird face.

It wasn’t that bad in and of itself, as it felt unexpectedly good like a massage, but Hilg-papa’s tongue was incredibly hot, which made it hard for me. The places that he licked felt like they would melt.

I tried to run countless times, but my body was skillfully caught by his forepaws every time, bringing me back again and again.

Ultimately, I was held down like how Kugalg had done last time. On top of that Kulgalg also joined in, and I was forcefully groomed by the two of them.

What’s with this grooming hell?

---

<–Previous Chapter | Next Chapter–>