Valdo
… Valdo slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing that entered his vision was the flickering glow of firelight swaying against the cave wall. The campfire hadn’t gone out yet, and the soft crackling echoed in his ears.
After blinking a few times, he turned his head and checked outside the cave.
But all he could see from the entrance was a midnight forest with snow pouring down, there wasn’t a single trace of man-made light anywhere.
(… No sign of pursuers for now. But no sign of the Black Iron Claws coming to look for me either. In this snow, guess that’s to be expected…)
He let out a sigh and tried to shift his legs…
… and a sharp pain shot through him.
When he looked down, a deep wound ran from his right shin up to his calf. It had only been crudely wrapped with a strip of cloth after the battle, and blood was slowly seeping through.
“… Tch. Not planning to keel over from something like this.”
He muttered under his breath, and then suddenly noticed something.
On top of his thigh, there was an unfamiliar black fluffball curled up.
“… What is that?”
A low, rumbling voice slipped from his throat.
With killing intent in his eyes, he grabbed the fluffball in one hand and lifted it...
“Minyaa~”
The fluffy little lump let out a cry.
Apparently, what Valdo had grabbed was the scruff of its neck.
Looking closer, he could see that the small fluffball had bright golden eyes and triangular ears.
(A young monster from this forest…? No, but…)
In this world, there existed creatures known as monsters.
They were threats that ravaged villages and fields, and attacked people.
Even small ones possessed strength that easily surpassed humans, their raw power far exceeding that of ordinary animals.
And the larger ones had grotesquely developed fangs and claws, enough to crush even steel armor.
To suppress that violence, mercenary groups like Valdo’s, along with knights and adventurers, hunted monsters across the land.
But this thing in front of him… was completely different from any monster Valdo knew.
No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like a calamity to humanity.
If anything, it just looked like a tiny, fluffy ball of fur.
It had no fangs or claws, and its small, soft body looked like it could be crushed effortlessly if Valdo simply tightened his grip.
“Hmph… perfect. Might at least take the edge off my hunger.”
Valdo’s gray eyes narrowed slightly.
In this snow, rescue wasn’t likely anytime soon.
In that case, if it could fill his stomach even a little, that would be enough.
Thinking that, Valdo reached for the sword at his side…
“Minya~”
But the fluffball just dangled limply by the scruff, letting out a small cry.
It didn’t even try to resist.
No, if anything, its eyelids drooped sleepily, like it was about to fall asleep.
That complete lack of caution left even Valdo stunned.
“Hey… I’m about to eat you, you know. You get that?”
Without thinking, he set the fluffball down on the ground and poked it a few times with his finger.
But the fluffball only let out a small “Unyaa…” and, with unsteady steps, climbed right back up onto Valdo’s thigh.
Then, just like before, it curled up into a tiny ball.
Before long, it started letting out soft, steady breaths, fast asleep.
The sheer absence of any wariness left Valdo dumbfounded.
For a moment, he even thought, Maybe I should just toss it into the fire and roast it whole.
But…
“… Tch. Well, if I hold onto it while I sleep, it’ll at least keep me warm.”
He spat the words out, even as his actions contradicted them.
As if wrapping it up, Valdo carefully reached out and touched the fluffball with his palm.
What he felt was something he had never experienced on the battlefield… warmth, and soft fur.
Furrowing his brow, Valdo still found himself unable to let go of that tiny heartbeat in his hand… and quietly let out a breath.
What do you think about this chapter?
