Chapter 93

And the next day, I headed to the fort and told the one-eyed knight that I had something to do with Tina before leaving the office.

However, while searching for Tina, I was caught by a brown-haired knight carrying a large box—Gild.

"Hey, it's Mil. You're in the right place."

"Wh-what?"

Gild put the box down in the hallway, captured me with one hand, and placed me inside the box without a lid.

Then, he lifted the box again and opened the door to a nearby room.

This was a small room where letters and packages delivered to the fort were collected.

Inside, a large desk that took up half the room was piled high with large packages, brown parcels, and letters.

"Wow, there are a lot today."

Gild made a face of displeasure.

The packages delivered to the fort were taken by the gatekeeper, and those that were not urgent were stored in this room, to be distributed by Gild.

However, this job of delivering packages was monotonous and uninteresting, so it was often assigned as a punishment to knights who yawned during work or slacked off during training. Usually, Gild, Kicks, and Jets took turns doing this job.

If they didn't like delivering packages, they should have been more serious, but the fact that they never changed their attitude was what made them so amazing. I didn't respect them, though.

It seemed that Gild had caught me to help with this troublesome job. Although not every day, I had actually been helping with tasks like delivering letters before.

Since I was getting delicious meals at the fort, I thought I should work to pay my way.

"There are a lot of large packages too. It must be getting colder, so they've probably sent blankets, hand-knitted sweaters, and other cold-weather gear."

Families were worried about the knights spending the winter in the cold northern fort and sent these items.

"Oh, there's mine. It's from my mother."

Gild ripped open the brown paper package addressed to him.

Inside were a pair of navy blue wool gloves and five pairs of warm-looking socks.

"They said we'd be given proper gloves and socks."

Despite saying this, Gild looked a bit embarrassed and happy.

"You can wear the socks over the issued ones. I realized last year that wearing two pairs makes it warmer."

It's nice to see packages sent from home, worrying about their children. Just watching makes me feel warm.

Gild put his package aside and started sorting the others.

"This is a letter for the battalion commander. It's from home, so it's the usual thick one. It's always so thick."

The battalion commander's father seemed to value communication with his son, as a thick letter that bulged the envelope arrived every month. According to the battalion commander, the content was all trivial, and Gild, knowing this, put the letter back on the desk with a look of exasperation.

Then, he dragged a heavy, square package over.

"Heavy! What's inside? ...Oh, it's for Bounts, so it must be the monthly food delivery."

The chubby Bounts from the tough squad received food from his mother in the countryside every month. She must be worried that her son might be hungry, but I want to tell her that Bounts is not only not losing weight but is growing bigger and bigger.

"Oh, this one is for Tina."

Gild's voice perked up.

"I'll bring it to her later."

It seems Gild finds Tina cute. However, Tina is closer to Kicks, and she doesn't seem to be aware of Gild at all, so it's questionable when this love will bear fruit.

While thinking that I want to support Gild's love, I put my front paws on the small package addressed to Tina.

"I'll bring it to Tina. I was just about to go to her place."

"Is that so?"

Gild seemed to think for a moment, weighing the advantage of talking to Tina against the advantage of reducing his workload, and chose the latter.

"Then, I'll leave it to Mil."

I thought that because he didn't choose the former, his relationship with Tina would never progress, but I kept that to myself. Gild, like Kicks, is still a grade school boy inside, so it can't be helped.

Unaware that he was being analyzed by a young fox, Gild took out a white rabbit backpack from the shelf. It was the one he used when he went on errands to the capital. Since he often helped with deliveries, he kept it in this room.

Gild packed the small package for Tina into the rabbit backpack.

"Take this and the letter for the battalion commander. And... "

He looked around the desk, but today there were only large packages, and nothing else that would fit in the rabbit backpack.

Gild said, disappointed,

"Mil can only carry these two. I thought you could help with half of the work."

After taking me out of the box, Gild started putting the delivered packages inside. He usually gathered letters and packages in this box and delivered them, but today only two could fit because they were all large.

While grumbling, Gild then put the rabbit backpack on me.

"Ouch."

"Sorry."

Gild and Kicks are not very good at putting the backpack on me. I wish they would get better, but they always try to bend my legs in the wrong direction.

Gild patted my head apologetically.

"Is it too heavy?"

"No, it's okay."

We left the room with the packages. Gild still had a few more trips to make.

"Thanks, then."

"Leave it to me."

We parted ways at the door and headed in opposite directions. I first aimed for the battalion commander's office.

While thinking about the shortest route to the office, I walked down the hallway. The only sounds were the swaying of the rabbit backpack and my footsteps, making it very quiet.

I saw the back door at the end of the hallway. I remembered that Reika had burst out from there the other day and suddenly realized:

This must be the hallway where the ghost is rumored to appear.

I stopped in my tracks and looked back.

The dim, cold hallway was empty except for me.

I had never been afraid to walk here alone before, but the more I thought about Reika possibly seeing a ghost, the more scared I became.

There was no bright Tina or the one-eyed knight to protect me from ghosts.

(I remember hearing that there were cases of people freezing to death in this fort in the past.)

Sweat started to seep from my paw pads.

What if that person hasn't been able to rest in peace? What if they resent the snow spirit that brings heavy snow?

Thinking about it made my spine chill.

My fur stood on end, and I puffed up like a balloon, awkwardly moving my frozen legs forward.

I had to get out of this dim hallway as quickly as possible!

I started walking faster, then jogging, and finally sprinting down the hallway.

Without slowing down, I ran up the stairs and headed for the battalion commander's office. Strangely, no one was walking in the hallway at this moment.

Is the fort usually this quiet?

I couldn't hear any voices. Is no one training outside today?

The feeling of being the only one in the fort made me uneasy.

When I reached the office, I scratched at the heavy wooden door to call the battalion commander.

As I chirped impatiently, the door slowly opened from the inside.

"Mil? What is it?"

The battalion commander looked at me with his usual happy face.

Thank goodness! The battalion commander is here! I clung to his leg and was let into the room.

He sat down in a chair and placed me on his lap, then said, looking at my puffed-up fur,

"You're even rounder than usual. Did you step on a mushroom in the hallway?"

The office was bright with a large window, and as I calmed down, I felt embarrassed about being afraid of ghosts. "Not really..." I mumbled, trying to cover it up.

"Anyway, you have a letter."

I turned the rabbit backpack toward the battalion commander, who frowned and muttered, "Ah, from my father."

He took the letter reluctantly and threw it on the desk.

"Aren't you going to read it?"

"Even if I do, it's probably the same as last month's. 'It's getting colder,' 'Don't catch a cold,' 'Make sure to stay warm at night.'"

"But he took the time to write it."

The battalion commander, though looking bothered, opened the envelope and started reading the letter.

He flipped through the many pages with one hand, petting me, but stopped at the last page.

"Tooth brushing... "

The battalion commander muttered, looking at the letter.

Tooth brushing? What about tooth brushing?

Without answering my unspoken question, the battalion commander moved on to the next topic.

"'When you get a break next time, please bring the snow child home.'"

After reading the sentence from his father, he looked at me.

"What do you think? Do you want to stay at my place? Going home is a hassle, but if I can sleep with Mil, it's fine."

The battalion commander said, looking excited.

"Sure, I'd love to. Your place sounds fun."

"Really? That means we can have meals together, take baths together, sleep in the same bed, and—"

His eyes sparkled as he counted off the list. He seemed to have many dreams. But when will the busy battalion commander get a break?

I thought about this but didn't want to ruin his dreams, so I kept quiet.