Chapter 54

My father's dwelling is a tranquil lake in a deep forest in the neighboring country.

The emerald lake is vast, and since it is usually shrouded in mist, the opposite shore is not visible. It is even more so now that the sun has set and it is dark.

"Father!"

I wiped away my tears and called out loudly.

When I inhaled the humid air, it felt as if my lungs were being moistened.

Father was immersed in the lake in the form of a giant snake, with only his head above the shore. I seemed to have moved right above his head.

However, Father appeared to be asleep and did not seem to notice my arrival.

"Father, wake up! Father!"

Jumping on his head yielded no response. I couldn’t shout in his ear because I didn’t know where his ears were, and I couldn’t bite him to wake him up because his skin was too smooth.

Thinking about where Father’s other weak points might be, the only thing that came to mind was his "eyes."

I stretched my arms as far as I could from atop his head and tapped his giant, closed eyes.

Ordinary snakes apparently don’t have eyelids like humans, but Father had created them because he disliked bright light.

"Father! Please! Wake up!"

As I tapped as hard as I could, I lost my balance and rolled off his head.

Despite hitting the soft grass, I stumbled to my feet and clung to Father.

"Father! ...Please help me! The one-eyed knight... ugh..."

Even though I shouldn’t be crying, tears kept streaming down my face. Every second I spent here, the one-eyed knight was surely suffering in pain.

In the end, I could only make a desperate "kyunkyun" sound for help.

But perhaps that emergency call worked, as Father finally lifted his eyelids.

"Da...Da...Da..."

Seeing the various fluids streaming from my eyes and nose, Father blinked once.

"...What’s wrong?"

"Da...Da! The one-eyed knight is badly injured! I don’t know why, but he can’t even go to Mother’s place...!"

I hiccupped and tried to convey the urgency of the situation, and even though Father is usually laid-back and a bit air-headed, he seemed to realize that I was in a serious situation.

For a moment, he was enveloped in a faint light, and a splash of water was heard. Father had transformed into a human.

His pale blue hair reached down to his knees, and he wore a white ancient Greek-style outfit with modest silver accessories.

His face was handsome, but like when he was a snake, his facial muscles were lifeless, making him look like a beautiful marble sculpture.

But now, even in his glass-like emerald eyes, I could see a hint of concern.

"What... happened...?"

"Come with me!"

There was no time to match Father’s slow pace, so I jumped into his arms and decided to use a teleportation spell to return to the one-eyed knight. We had never teleported together before, but I didn’t think about it and just activated the spell.

As a result, when my body turned into a blizzard, it enveloped Father as well, and we flew together.

"Mil...Mil!"

When Father and I returned to the forest of Aridora, Tina and the captain opened their eyes wide in surprise at the sight of the water spirit.

But they quickly focused on tending to the one-eyed knight. The deputy captain and Kicks continued to fend off the birds.

"The wind here... is... quite strong..."

Father said this without even trying to fix his disheveled hair. I jumped out of his arms and rushed to the one-eyed knight.

He was conscious but clearly in pain. The bleeding wasn’t stopping properly.

"One-eyed knight!"

I licked the one-eyed knight’s cheek a few times to encourage him, then turned back to Father.

"Father! What should I do? Can spirits heal injuries? What can I do?"

"Do you want to help...? But humans bleed when cut... and will eventually die..."

"That’s true, but I don’t want him to die now!"

Unlike Father, who is philosophical, I am selfish.

I want to heal the one-eyed knight’s injuries and prevent him from dying, even if it means bending the laws of nature. I will use any power, whether mine or Father’s, to save the one-eyed knight.

"Father, please! I want to save the one-eyed knight! He got badly hurt because he saved me..."

My voice trembled and I started crying again.

I thought Father would lecture me, but he didn’t seem to be following the natural laws this time.

"I see... If that’s what you wish... I must help this human."

As Father said this and placed his hand, clear water began to rise from the ground around the one-eyed knight, who was lying face down.

The water bubbled and defied gravity, forming a dome around the one-eyed knight’s body. At that moment, the one-eyed knight closed his eyes as if falling asleep.

"This is..."

Tina and the captain took a step back and stared at the one-eyed knight, now encased in the clear water.

The blood from the wound on the one-eyed knight’s back spread and dissolved in the water, but then slowly returned to his body.

All the blood that had soaked into his clothes and dripped onto the ground returned as well.

"The wound is deep... It will take some time to heal completely..."

Father said this in his usual calm tone, but my voice was filled with relief.

"He will recover!? The one-eyed knight will be okay!?"

"Yes... He will recover. Just as this human saved you... I will save this human."

Seeing Father nod, even my tail perked up.

I felt warmth return to my frozen heart and almost cried with relief.

"One-eyed knight...! Oh, thank goodness...!"

I didn’t know Father could heal injuries. Perhaps it was better that I didn’t call Mother.

"Good job, deputy!"

Kicks said this while deflecting the birds’ attacks.

Father turned his head slightly to look at the birds that Kicks and the deputy captain were fighting.

"Wind spirits... or fairies. ...They are quite bothersome."