Chapter 23

My heart was restless.

I had a bad feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen.

After the one-eyed knight and the squad leader left for the altar, I waited in the fortress with Tina and the others. Tina was reading a difficult-looking book in the parlor while keeping an eye on my anxious state.

“Mil, it’s okay. The blizzard outside is as bad as ever, but the deputy leader isn’t the type to take unnecessary risks, and the squad leader is with him. They’re both capable of making calm judgments. They’ll turn back if they sense any danger.”

Tina closed the thick book and caught me as I was wandering around, then gently placed me on her lap.

I wonder if the one-eyed knights are really okay. I hope they’re not buried in the snow. And most of all, if they actually meet my mother at the altar... what will happen? My mother must be angry with me, but I hope she’s not taking it out on the one-eyed knights.

I jumped off Tina’s lap and started pacing around the room again, unable to stay still due to my anxiety.

“Quin!”

I squeezed my throat, pursed my lips, and let out a high, thin, weak voice. It’s the voice I use to call my mother.

When I was on the mountain, no matter how far away I was, my mother would come to pick me up when I made this sound. But it seems that even if I make this sound here, it won’t reach her. I’m inside a building, and the sound is drowned out by the fierce wind outside.

“Mil, it’s okay.”

Tina spoke to me in a gentle voice, but my heart was still unsettled. I felt I had to go to the one-eyed knight. That’s what I felt.

Tina looked at me with a pained expression, as if she were looking at a child who had been left behind by their parents, full of pity.

“Mil, you really like the deputy leader, don’t you? If you’re that worried, why don’t you go outside? They might be coming back soon... But just peek outside the door, okay?”

“Kyaa!”

Yeah, that’s fine! Take me outside!

I stood on my hind legs and moved my front paws as if inviting Tina. When I get excited, I tend to walk on two legs.

“Aww, that pose is so cute~”

I know, I know! I’m cute, so please pick me up quickly. ——Tina is always gentle with me, and when we move together, she always carries me. By the way, the one-eyed knight wants to return me to the wild, so his educational policy is “walk on your own to strengthen your legs,” and he has never carried me. Tina also thinks I shouldn’t be spoiled, but she can’t seem to stick to it. Well, it’s my fault for being so cute.

“Going outside is not a good idea.”

Just as Tina finally picked me up and we were about to go out into the corridor, the door to the parlor opened, and the gatekeeper, who had snow on his head and shoulders, came in. Was he standing guard outside even in this blizzard?

“The blizzard is getting worse.”

“What!? It was bad enough already, and it’s getting worse?”

Tina let out a scream.

“Yes, it’s like a typhoon with snow is approaching... If you’re outside, you’ll freeze in no time.”

Saying that, the gatekeeper took off his coat. However, the coat didn’t collapse as it should have due to gravity; it remained somewhat in the shape of his body, frozen. The snow that had stuck to the coat had frozen in place. If you put a wet towel outside now, it would probably turn rock hard instantly.

“Uu, so cold!”

“Die!”

Knights who had been busy clearing snow came back to the parlor one after another. The tough guys were there too.

They all took turns petting my head, which I guess is a habit of the knights here when they see my face. They gathered around the fireplace and melted the snow that had accumulated and frozen on their bodies.

But if the blizzard has gotten even worse...

“Is the squad leader okay?”

Someone muttered worriedly, as if voicing the words that had come to my mind.

“It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t worry about any human enemy, no matter how fierce... But even the deputy leader and the squad leader can’t stand up to nature.”

“Should we go to their rescue?”

“No, it’s better to wait a little longer. The squad leader and the others took equipment and emergency food for climbing a snowy mountain—”

Everyone continued talking, but I stopped hearing them halfway through.

Is it really better for us—“I” to wait here?

The one-eyed knights, drained of strength by the cold, collapsing on the white ground. And the snow falling mercilessly on their bodies, covering and hiding them.

Such a scene flashed through my mind, and my spine froze.

The one-eyed knights are very strong, but I am stronger against snow and cold.

In my previous life, I was just a human, but not in this life. I am a spirit. I have to protect everyone.

Especially since the one-eyed knight has helped me so much, I want to repay that kindness now!

—That’s what I strongly felt at that moment.

“...Mil!?”

I heard Tina’s surprised voice from above.

“What!?”

“...Snow!”

The knights who were gathered around the fireplace also looked at me with shocked faces.

I realized that a small blizzard had formed around my body. Wow, what is this!

Tina was desperately holding me, even as the wind made her squint one eye, but my body was gradually turning into snow and rising on the wind.

W, w, w, my body is, d, d, disappearing...!?

“Mil!”

“Mil!”

Tina called out again, and the tough guys and the gatekeeper ran over, reaching out their hands towards me.

With that scene as the last thing I saw, all my senses faded away.

My eyes, ears, hands, feet, and head—all turned into snow and melted into the warm air of the parlor.

I died.

I died! I don’t know what happened, but I suddenly died!

Is this what it’s like for a spirit to die? Why did I suddenly die? Was I sick?

I was thinking about helping the one-eyed knight, and suddenly I felt like I was floating, and when I realized it, a wind had started, and my body had turned into snow...

While I was thinking about all this, I had the sensation that my body, which had scattered, was forming again.

I couldn’t see anything, but I could feel that I had eyes and eyelids, so I cautiously lifted them.

“...”

I opened one eye and slowly looked around. I thought maybe I was in heaven, but the weather was too stormy. It was a fierce blizzard.

Huh? Maybe I didn’t die? I just instantly moved from inside the building to outside?

When I calmed down and thought about it, I remembered that when my mother went to the capital, she would disappear from the spot, causing wind and snow to swirl around her body. Maybe I did the same thing?

If so, where did I end up? Before I moved, I was thinking about the one-eyed knight...

I looked up to the side again.

Ah, there he is.

The one-eyed knight is here.

And right in front of the one-eyed knight, my mother was also there.

To make matters worse, the two of them were in a tense standoff.

Did my mother really take it out on the one-eyed knight? This is bad! I have to stop them!

But before I could make a sound, my mother noticed my presence.

“...Milfia?”

She whispered, her tear-streaked eyes wide open. Her thin voice made my chest tighten. Why is my mother crying?

The one-eyed knight also noticed me at his feet and looked surprised.

“Why are you here...”

“Mil!?”

Kicks’ voice also came from behind. When I turned around, the squad leader and the others were standing a little away, all looking at me with stunned expressions.

Ah, good. Everyone is alive.

“Milfia!”

I checked the faces of the knights to make sure no one was missing, and suddenly my mother, who had been kneeling on the ground, hugged me tightly.

“You’re safe...! I was so worried...!”

Ah, right. I have to apologize to my mother first.

I made a quin-quin sound and licked my mother’s cheek several times to wipe away her tears. I’m sorry for worrying you. The tears of a snow spirit are not salty at all, but they are so cold that my tongue went numb.

“Oh, thank goodness...”

My mother sighed with genuine relief.

I’m really sorry. I won’t leave our home without permission anymore, so please don’t cry.

“What’s going on?”

“Mil... is a spirit’s child?”

Kicks and the others seemed confused. I’m sorry if I startled them. But I can’t speak, so I don’t have a way to explain...

I couldn’t hear the one-eyed knight and the squad leader’s voices, but I could feel that they were looking at me, who was being hugged by my mother, with disbelief. I could feel a strong gaze.

“You escaped on your own, didn’t you? Well done, Milfia. You made it back to your mother.”

My mother stroked my head with a loving, beautiful smile, but when she suddenly turned her gaze to the one-eyed knight, her beautiful face twisted in anger, and her voice became harsh.

“And as I suspected, it was you who kidnapped my child!”

Kidnapped? Me? By the one-eyed knight?

I was taken aback by the unexpected words from my mother. Why did it come to this? Wasn’t my mother angry at me for leaving without permission and causing the blizzard?

“Wait, Mil—”

“Silence! I won’t listen to your excuses!”

My mother was mistaken. The one-eyed knights did nothing wrong.

“Kyaa, kyaa!”

I tried to explain to my mother in a panic, but only simple, inarticulate sounds came out of my throat. My mother was also agitated and didn’t react to my sounds.

With her eyes burning with anger, she pierced the one-eyed knight with a cold, terrifying voice.

“I will kill you and all the knights left in the fortress.”

I could feel the invisible power in my mother’s body becoming more concentrated. When it was released, I was sure that no one in this place would be left alive. Everyone would freeze instantly, turning white and solid in their current positions. I had that premonition.

My beloved mother was about to take the lives of the beloved one-eyed knights.

Such a sad thing must not happen.

I raised my voice to stop my mother. I couldn’t speak, but even a bark or anything would do. I just wanted to stop the attack.

But what came out of my mouth was not a bark—

“—Stop it!”

It was a high, lovely voice, somewhat clumsy, like a child’s.

“...Milfia?”

My mother stopped her attack and stared at me with her mouth open.

“Was that you?”

The one-eyed knight also looked down at me with the same expression. And I must have looked pretty stunned myself. I was surprised too.

I looked around just in case, but there was no human child around.

So it was really me? My body is still a fox cub, but my mother used to speak human language in her fox form.

I took a deep breath to calm down and tried to form words again before I forgot the feeling.

“...I... can speak... words.”

It was broken, like an alien’s. I had learned the language of this world quite well in a year, and especially in the two weeks since I came to the fortress, I had absorbed many words. Before that, I had only heard my mother’s words—so this was the first time I had spoken on my own.

Pronunciation is so hard!

My tongue doesn’t move well!

It’s probably because my vocal cords are different from a normal fox’s, but speaking with this mouth is really difficult.

“I—”

“That’s not valid!”

My mother suddenly interrupted me, knelt in front of me with a slightly anxious look, and said,

“Your first word should be ‘Mother.’ So that doesn’t count. Come on, say it, ‘ha, ha, u, e.’”

Mother...

I sighed a little but remembered the pronunciation and spoke.

“Ha, ha, u, e...”

“Yes, Milfia!”

My mother, delighted, continued.

“Mother, you’re mistaken. I wasn’t kidnapped. I left on my own.”

“...What?”

My mother raised an eyebrow.

Speaking is tiring and uses a lot of brainpower, but I had to explain and clear up the misunderstanding. It was my fault, and the one-eyed knights had done nothing wrong.

“Mother, you were going to leave. I was lonely, so I came down the mountain. But it was too hard to go all the way to the ‘capital’...”

What do they call the one-eyed knight? No one ever called him that, so I don’t know.

Well, it’s fine. Just the knights.

“...The knights helped me. They are good people. They helped me. I’m the one who did something wrong by leaving the mountain on my own.”

I lowered my ears, waiting for my mother’s anger to fall on me.

I thought she would yell at me, but for some reason—

“Amazing, Milfia!”

—she was incredibly happy.

She stroked my head, looking moved.

“I thought you were still a baby, but to come down the mountain alone with those little legs...! I didn’t know you had such determination. I’m so proud. You can speak and use teleportation now!”

The one-eyed knights were left behind.

Mother, calm down.

“But I’m happy about your growth, yet a little sad... You don’t have to grow up so quickly. Stay my cute Milfia for a little longer.”

She picked me up and rubbed her cheek against mine.

Snow spirits might seem cool, but my mother is surprisingly not. I just found out. Her emotions swing wildly and intensely. She’s cute, though.

“Mother, I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

“Of course. I wasn’t angry in the first place.”

“Then, you won’t be angry at the knights, right?”

When I said that, my mother finally seemed to remember the one-eyed knights. She held me and shifted her gaze.

“Yes, I was wrong. It seems I misunderstood.”

Contrary to her earlier attitude, my mother apologized to the one-eyed knight with a look of regret.

“But I couldn’t stay calm when it came to my child. I apologize for trying to attack... Please forgive me.”

She softened the atmosphere and pleaded for forgiveness in a way that seemed like a grown woman’s technique.

However, the one-eyed knight’s expression didn’t change, even though even Kicks, who was standing a distance away, looked dazed. That’s the one-eyed knight for you.

“Well, it’s fine as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up.”

The one-eyed knight relaxed and said, his shoulders dropping. His words were definitely directed at my mother, but his gaze was still on me. He looked like he had a lot to say...

I tried to speak to the “one-eyed knight” but stopped because I didn’t know the word for “one-eyed.” Then, while I was hesitating, my mother, who was in a good mood, continued talking.

“To make up for it, if you ever have any trouble, come to this altar. I’ll lend you my power. And apologize to the townspeople for this blizzard. I’ll make sure not to let it snow again this winter until the current snow melts.”

I realized that the blizzard had stopped at some point. The ground was calm, but the clouds in the sky were moving quickly, and the sun was peeking through. The first sunlight in three days!

“And I thank you for protecting my child. Milfia seems to have been quite taken care of. What can I do to thank you...? Would a kiss from me be enough?”

My mother said jokingly with a smile. It’s a spirit joke.

However, all the men except the one-eyed knight and the squad leader were showing slack, expectant faces. They were all drooling. They were just about to be killed, and they’re okay with this? Do they forgive anything if it’s a beautiful woman!?

Well, I’ll interpret it as being broad-minded. It was reassuring that no one, including the one-eyed knight and the squad leader, was angry at my mistaken mother.

But what about me...? I was the root cause of this incident, so I’d be sad if they hated me.

“Then, I will return to our home with Milfia.”

“Eh... wait, Mother.”

“A child grows quickly. We need to cherish our time alone. You should return to the fortress before nightfall. Farewell.”

“W... Mother!”

Wind swirled around my mother and me, who was in her arms. She was going to teleport back to our home on the mountain. I still hadn’t apologized to the one-eyed knights or thanked them for their help! Not to mention, I wasn’t even prepared to say goodbye—

“Mil!”

The one-eyed knight reached out his hand.

But as I was caught in his hand, my body turned into snow and scattered in the air. Before my throat and mouth disappeared, I quickly said goodbye.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble! Thank you for everything! It was fun! I love everyone in the fortress. See you—”

But before I could finish what I wanted to say, the one-eyed knights disappeared from my sight.

No, I was the one who disappeared from their sight.