Chapter 13

I froze for a moment before quickly replying.

“No, Knox if we’re both not hurt, we should keep staying that way.”

He nodded his head.

It was only midday but it’d be better if he went to sleep now instead of moving around anymore, right?

Knox obediently laid on his bed. However, his fingers clasped my hand and instead of removing them I just sat next to him, beside the bed.

“I’ll stay here till you fall asleep.”

“Okay. By the way, Amy.”

“Yes?”

“If I sleep now, can I not sleep at night?” 1

What? My eyes widened as I looked at Knox.

After he spoke, he looked at me with eyes filled with fear and stubbornly sealed his mouth. He looked restless, probably because he was afraid that he would not be allowed to do so.

“Why?”

I replied with a question.

“So that I can be with you, even at night.”

I couldn’t possibly give him a reply to that.

‘… But aren’t we already together?’

“Can I not sleep?”

“No, it’s not that you can’t… No, it’s probably not possible.”

“Why?”

“At night… I still have things to do at night.”

I couldn’t just say, ‘I already see you at night when your adult form.’

Although it wouldn’t change much even if I told him, I couldn’t tell a child who had a boiling fever such a shocking truth. Even if I do tell him, I have to say it when he is in good health.

I scratched my cheek. Knox held onto me tightly, as if I would throw him away before saying carefully

“Who are you seeing at night?” 1

“H-huh? O-oh. You’ll see when you see.”

In a daze, I almost said the truth.

Knox’s eyes stared straight at me.

“Who do you go to see at night?”

‘You.’

Dusk arrived and the sun dyed all the furniture scarlet. The light reached as far as Knox’s bed, as he laid there sleeping.

It dawned on me that I was really going to be feeding him once I placed the bowl of porridge and spoons in front of him.

“Uhm, Knox, was it a joke…”

“No.”

“Of course not. Yes, there’s no way that’d be a joke. Uhm.”

I may have agreed to do this, but it was easier said than done. In a flash, Knox lifted me once again and placed me on top of the table. I could only blink confusedly as I sat on the table.

“We weren’t at eye level.”

“Ah…”

I wanted to ask if I could sit on the chair instead, but I thought about our size differences. I realised that even this table was too small for Knox to use.

Although the position was a bit awkward, I picked up a spoonful and gave it a big blow. All the while Knox was staring at me, giving me cold sweat.

Knox opened his mouth and slurped a spoonful. I didn’t know how the action of him swallowing and the movement of his Adam’s apple could be so weird. It was probably because he was half-naked. 1

My word. I can’t believe this man who had two fine arms by his sides needed me to feed him. I couldn’t find a place for my eyes to look, so I just swallowed my breath.

“… Does it taste good?”

“It’s tasty.”

Hoping time would pass faster and this would be over soon. I just scooped up whatever from the spoon and fed it to him.

“N-Now that I think about it, I think my sister will be back tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’m sure she’ll bring back a lot of delicious food. Sometimes, she might even bring back new clothes. She usually brings a lot of stuff… Oh, she’s like Santa Claus.”

As I continued talking more about my sister, I felt less awkward about feeding him.

I think it would be better if my sister could hurry back. I would prefer it to staying alone with Knox who would throw curved balls suddenly.

“I hope my sister comes back soon.”

“I’m not sure about that. Your opinion is different from mine.”

“Huh?”

Instead of answering, Knox just stared at me. What’s wrong? I looked at what he was looking at and then, looked at the sky.

I think my sister will be back by tomorrow. She would never come home straight back from the village since she would detour to hunt for food. But when she returns with luggage, she would always head straight back. +

Would she have left the village by now?

***

“Diana!”

When Diana turned her head around, she was met by a panting man, Hans.

“What’s going on?”