Chapter 5

The window creaked open with a rattle, and I perked up my ears. But I was still so sleepy that my eyelids wouldn't open.

In my half-asleep state, I thought, "The windows in this world don't open as smoothly as they did in the world where my previous self lived." Were the window frames made of wood?

Rattle, rattle.

Maybe I should oil it.

It's so noisy, I thought, and opened one eye. There was a figure in the window of the dormitory across from the hut where I was sleeping. He was staring at me intently through the open window.

—Staring at me.

"…!?"

I was instantly wide awake. I jumped up and stared back at him. I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up in shock.

The figure on the other side of the window was the one-eyed knight. …Could this be his room?

The room was lit by a lamp, and the light leaking through the window illuminated my figure.

Oh my.

Who said that when the sun sets and it gets dark, my figure wouldn't be visible anymore? I can clearly see you.

The one-eyed knight seemed to have been relaxing in his room, as he had taken off his jacket and was dressed lightly. Hmm, indeed, he has good muscles.

The one-eyed knight and I, who were in the hut and the room respectively, stared at each other without moving, gauging each other's next move. The air was tense, and I could feel sweat beads forming on my paws.

Suddenly, the one-eyed knight put his foot on the window frame and lightly jumped down to the ground. He stared at me with his one eye and quietly walked over, his boots crunching the snow.

I panicked, my escape route blocked by the entrance, and was flustered by his proximity. The distance between the one-eyed knight and me was less than a meter.

He was illuminated from behind by the light from the window, making his face dark and even more terrifying. To be honest, this person's face is scary to begin with.

After a moment of silence, I screamed in my head as his hand stretched out toward me. I kicked the floor reflexively to escape his hand and jumped backward.

However, this was a small hut. As I jumped, I collided spectacularly with a shovel leaning against the wall. A real "thud" sound echoed.

The loud noise made me even more startled and panicked. The shovel collapsed with a clatter, and I couldn't tell what was happening. Which way was up, which way was down? I flailed around, stepped on my own tail, and fell again.

"Hey."

The palm of his hand, which had stretched out again, was as large as my face, with small scars and sword calluses. This person must be very strong.

In contrast, I was weak. My mother can cause blizzards and freeze enemies, but I can't do that yet.

What if the one-eyed knight tries to kill me? Is this hand trying to strangle my neck?

If I get caught, it's over.

At that thought, a fighting instinct I didn't think I had began to boil up inside me.

I won't be caught.

I'll attack first before he does.

Before I knew it, I was baring my teeth and biting the one-eyed knight's hand, growling low in my throat.

I thought he would retaliate, but he didn't move, and his expression didn't change as I bit him.

Gradually, I calmed down with his lack of reaction. I stopped growling and hurriedly let go of his hand. A slight taste of blood spread on my tongue.

I flinched as the knight slowly stood up, but he only said,

"Sorry. I scared you."

And walked away from the hut.

With an escape route now available, I quickly went outside and kept a safe distance from him. I stared at the knight, ready to run at any moment, my four paws firmly planted on the ground.

My heart was pounding, but I gradually calmed down.

What should I do? I bit his hand. I didn't know I had such a wild side.

The finger I bit on his right hand was bleeding slightly.

My canines are small and thin, and my bite isn't very strong, so it looked like the one-eyed knight's injury was minor.

However, the fact that I had hurt someone was shocking. My tail and ears drooped.

I wanted to ask if it hurt, but I only whined.

"What's wrong? Suddenly acting so meek."

The one-eyed knight smiled loosely at the change in my attitude from growling just a moment ago. He walked toward me without checking his bitten finger.

"Kyaa!"

Oh no, don't come closer! I ran again. When I had put enough distance between us, I stopped and turned around.

The one-eyed knight frowned and came closer, and I ran again. We repeated this several times, maintaining a distance where we were neither too close nor too far.

"What's going on..."

The one-eyed knight muttered.

I feel the same way. I'm sorry for biting you, and I want to apologize, but I'm still scared and tense when you come closer.

My calm human side and my timid fox side are struggling inside me.

My human side judges that the one-eyed knight is not a bad person. He looks scary, but he isn't showing any malice. He might be trying to protect me.

But my fox side continues to be wary, thinking, "I can't trust so easily." I need to keep my distance and observe until I'm completely sure it's safe.

While I was thinking this and watching his movements, the knight turned on his heel and went back to his room.

I sat down and watched him go. Has he lost interest in me? I felt both relieved and a bit lonely.

After he returned to his room, he didn't show his face outside for a while. He might be treating the bite.

I don't think he has any strange diseases because he's a spirit, but he probably thinks I'm a wild animal and is disinfecting the wound thoroughly.

If I could speak, I could apologize and say, "I'm sorry."

After about 15 minutes with no movement, I cautiously approached his room. The window was still open.

Hiding in the shadows of the trees, I watched. The one-eyed knight appeared at the window with a plate in his hand.

"?"

Curious about the contents of the plate, I stretched my neck.

The smell of meat wafted over, making my stomach growl. I shouldn't have an appetite as a spirit, but my human side knew this food would be delicious. Just imagining the taste made me hungry.

Mother sometimes drank alcohol and ate human food, so it should be fine, right?

Drawn by the smell of the food, I wandered over to the window.

Oh, it looks delicious.

It smells so good.

I looked at the meatballs the one-eyed knight was holding and swallowed hard.

Mother used to say, "Spirits don't need to eat," but she sometimes brought me "snacks" like mice.

However, I have human thoughts. I couldn't think, "Wow, that looks delicious!" when I saw a mouse with its eyes rolled back. I always shook my head and let Mother have it.

We lived on a mountain, so the "snacks" Mother brought were always nearly dead wild animals. Maybe I had mistaken the lack of appetite for not having one. I had never seen human food until now.

But when I saw the food, I couldn't resist. My appetite grew, and a long string of drool dripped from my half-open mouth.

I forgot my fear of the one-eyed knight and wagged my tail, running over to him.

However, the window was higher than my height, and I couldn't reach the food. Damn, so close. I put my front paws on the wall and stood on my hind legs, whining pitifully.

The one-eyed knight watched me for a moment, then went into the room and brought out three wooden boxes. I took a few steps back, wondering what he was going to do.

He leaned out of the window and dropped the boxes outside, forming a two-step staircase with three boxes.

He placed the plate with the meatballs on the second step, closer to the window.

I eagerly jumped onto the first box. Just as I was about to eat the food, I looked up.

There was the window, and the one-eyed knight was looking down at me. His right eye was the same gray as his hair, and it had an intimidating presence. Maybe because of his eyes, I felt like he was glaring at me.

Our eyes met at close range, and I shrank back. The smell of the food tempted me, but I stepped down from the box and moved away from him.

I want to eat, but I'm scared to get close to the one-eyed knight.

I paced around the box with the food, my sensitive nose picking up the juicy meat and savory sauce.

I approached the food, then was scared by the knight's gaze and backed away. I did this several times until he chuckled and said,

"Got it. I'll go away so you can eat in peace."

He really disappeared into the room, so after a minute, I quickly jumped onto the box. I greedily ate the food, my first meal since my previous life. It was delicious.

The five bite-sized meatballs disappeared in no time, but my small stomach was satisfied.

I licked the plate clean of the sauce, then carefully stepped over it to the second box and stood on my hind legs to peek into the room.

In the simple, undecorated room, the one-eyed knight was sitting on the bed, polishing his sword. I carefully observed the wound on the hand I had bitten.

It seemed he had washed his hand, and all that was visible were two red dots—my canine marks. Even though it was a small wound, I was worried he should at least put a band-aid on it.

I made a soft sound to let the knight know I had finished eating.

"Did you eat it all?"

The one-eyed knight put down his sword and stood up. As I jumped down from the box to the ground, his arm reached out through the window.

"You licked the plate pretty clean."

He said, holding the spotless plate.

"Where are you going to sleep tonight?"

His tone was gentle and kind. His low voice was soothing. Is he worried about me?

I answered his question by going into the hut where the shovels were scattered. I thought about it, but there was no better place.

"Tomorrow, I'll move those shovels for you."

He smiled at me, lying between the shovels.

"See you."

The window closed, and the quiet night returned. But if I listened carefully, I could hear the sound of doors opening and closing and the creaking of the floor from inside the room.

I was scared when he got too close, but knowing the one-eyed knight was nearby made me feel safe.

I could also sense other knights living in the dormitory, which helped distract me from the loneliness of not having Mother. In the nest on the mountain, there were no signs of animals, and I felt very alone, like I was the only one in the world.

With my memories from my previous life, I am neither a complete wild animal nor a solitary spirit.

I feel more at ease being near people.

I rested my chin on the handle of a fallen shovel and drifted into a deep sleep.