Chapter 82

"Count on you, Mil."

"Okay! This way, Reika-san!"

I called out to Reika and stepped into the hallway. Reika responded politely.

"Yes, my lady."

"Call me Mil. I like my name."

"Yes, Mil-sama."

The one-eyed knight seemed to have some business with the squad leader and stayed in the room.

After Reika, who had her bag on her shoulder, came out into the hallway, I moved my short legs busily and started forward again.

While walking down the long hallway, I didn't forget to occasionally look back to make sure Reika was following.

Reika didn't know the fort yet, so it would be a problem if she got lost.

"Am I walking too fast? Should I go more slowly?"

I asked because it looked like her bag was heavy,

"No, it's fine. Thank you for your concern."

Reika chuckled and answered politely. I wondered why she was laughing. Maybe it was because she was being worried about her pace by a much smaller and shorter fox child.

As we turned a corner and were about to go down a stone staircase, I saw Tina standing on the landing.

It seemed that Tina had also been waiting to guide Reika to her room.

"Ah, Mil. Reika. Are you done talking?"

After asking, Tina introduced herself, and Reika also gave her name and extended her right hand with a "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too!"

Tina's cheeks turned slightly red as she took Reika's hand with both of hers and shook it vigorously. It was a bit too intense for a handshake.

She seemed nervous in front of someone she admired, and her movements were a bit off.

"The dormitory is this way. It's a double room, and you'll be my roommate."

She pointed awkwardly and started walking robotically.

"Roommate, huh... I see."

"Um, I've already taken the top bunk, but is the bottom one okay? If you prefer the top, I can move right away."

I wondered what Tina was worried about, but Reika also smiled faintly and replied, "It doesn't matter to me."

Tina's face turned even redder at Reika's mature smile, and she suddenly picked me up from the floor.

"What?"

"Just trying to calm down."

While walking, she buried her nose in my head and took a deep breath. I had never known that my body odor had a calming effect. Maybe it only worked on Tina.

"Maybe I'm scary to Tina? She seems quite nervous."

"No, not at all! It's different."

Tina stopped sniffing me and hurriedly defended herself. She explained that I had helped her before,

"Since then, Reika has been my idol and my goal as a knight."

She confessed honestly.

"An idol... me?"

Reika blinked once, and her eyes shone with happiness. However,

"Yes! I want to be a reliable knight like Reika."

"Like me... Thank you. It's an honor."

She smiled hesitantly, but to me, her expression seemed stiff. The brief shine in her eyes was genuine and happy, but there seemed to be other emotions as well.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have such a complex look on her face.

Tina didn't seem to notice the subtle expressions and continued toward the dormitory.

Soon, several knights walked toward us from ahead. I could feel Reika tense up slightly behind me.

Even though there was no such rule, all the knights who approached first petted me, who was in Tina's arms.

Then, when they suddenly noticed Reika, they all widened their eyes in the same way.

"Wow, a woman!"

"There's a woman other than Tina!"

"A woman in the Northern Fort!"

"Be quiet."

They cheered at the presence of a woman and were scolded by Tina.

Stop being so rowdy in front of Reika; it's embarrassing.

"Ah, I remember, they said a new female knight was coming. Are you her?"

"I'm Reika Seriade."

I tilted my head in confusion. Reika's attitude toward me and Tina was different, more matter-of-fact.

Her voice wasn't cold, but it was a bit brusque. However, she didn't seem to dislike the knights in front of her. I thought maybe she was just wary of men, but then I remembered.

Reika had been teased by her colleagues in the main unit, so she might be cautious around new men.

"Still, you came at a bad time. Winter will come soon, and you'll have to get used to the fort. Don't complain like Tina did in her first year, shoveling snow and all."

"‘The snow fell overnight, and everything was back to how it was! What was the point of yesterday's effort!’"

One of the knights mimicked Tina's voice in a high pitch. It was completely unlike her and sounded creepy, so I barked at him.

"Stop it."

Tina puffed out her cheeks but started laughing, remembering her past self.

However, Reika didn't laugh at all. She seemed a bit uncomfortable, thinking Tina was being teased.

The knights sensed the atmosphere and, after petting my head again, quickly left with a "See you later."

I hurried to clear up Reika's misunderstanding.

"You know, it's not just Tina who gets teased. Kicks and Jild get teased too, but they don't really mind—"

"Hey, Mil!"

As if on cue, the next person we ran into was Kicks. He was a jokester, the complete opposite of serious Reika.

Kicks tried to give me a kiss on the head, but Tina stopped him with a "No." Kicks pouted and, instead of kissing, took me from Tina and held me, then finally noticed Reika and widened his eyes.

"Wow, a woman. You scared me. Who are you?"

"I'm Reika Seriade. I'll be staying here from today."

Reika didn't seem to mind the repeated reactions from the men and introduced herself in the same dry manner.

"Ah, so you're the reason Tina has been so fidgety lately. Nice to meet you, Lady Knight. I'm Kicks...—Mmm!"

Kicks playfully called her "Lady Knight," so I quickly covered his mouth with my paws. Even such a small joke might bother Reika.

"What, Mil?"

Kicks grabbed my front paws and restrained me, then kissed me on the nose in return.

Reika's eyebrows twitched when she saw this.

"Kicks, right? You've been treating Mil-sama rather rudely. You should show respect to a noble spirit. You should change your attitude."

"Huh?"

Kicks widened his eyes and looked at Reika as if she were an unknown creature.

"Noble spirit...?"

"It's me!"

I couldn't help but exclaim.

"Just because Mil-sama allows it, don't be too disrespectful."

Reika gave Kicks a stern look, and Kicks stared back at her with a "Is this guy for real?" expression.

Isn't that rude to me too?