Blanket
I headed for the house where Carion was resting.
As I stepped along the snow-blanketed path and drew near the building, suddenly, carried on the wind, a faint voice reached my ears.
Someone was talking.
I perked up my ears and quietly crept toward the sound.
Before long, I rounded to the back of the house and saw two men working at something.
One of them was the same member who’d spotted me sneaking inside earlier. From what I’d heard, he was one of Carion’s direct subordinates and had fought monsters alongside him. He’d gotten off relatively lightly compared to the others, so it seemed he’d taken it upon himself to look after the vice-commander now.
… Maybe he feels responsible for Carion’s injury.
Looking closer, the two of them had set a log on top of a stump and were swinging their axes down, splitting it with force and cutting it into firewood.
In the cold air, only the dry crack of wood splitting echoed.
Both of their faces were heavy, sunken.
“… Is that true?”
The other member set down his axe and asked in a low voice.
The one arranging the firewood slowly opened his mouth, his expression pained.
“Yeah. I realized it when I rewrapped the bandages earlier. The tendon in Vice-Commander Carion’s dominant arm… it’s completely severed. At that point… he won’t be able to hold a sword anymore.”
“No way…!”
I gasped without thinking.
I strained my ears, hardly believing what I was hearing.
“I-isn’t there something we can do? The vice-commander not being able to wield a sword… that’s…”
“… If there was a way, I’d do it. If I could take his injury in his place, I’d gladly do it.”
The man bit his lip and clenched his fist tight.
His fingers were so tense they’d turned white.
The other member noticed and quietly stepped closer.
Then he gently reached out and patted his back.
“Sorry… yeah. You’ve got it rougher, don’t you.”
The man with the clenched fist shook his head slightly.
His voice came out hoarse.
“… The one who has it the worst is Vice-Commander Carion. He protected everyone and kept the monsters’ attention on himself until the very end. Because of that…”
His voice trailed off, unable to form words.
The other man said nothing, just gently rubbed his back.
After hearing their conversation, I quietly left the spot.
But my heart was pounding hard in my chest.
What I’d just heard… I couldn’t believe it.
No way…
I knew Carion’s injuries were serious, but… that serious…?
When he’d been talking with Valdo earlier, yeah, he’d looked battered all over.
Even so, he’d sat himself up in bed and spoken clearly… so I’d just assumed he was going to be okay.
But I was wrong…
Behind that calm expression, how much pain had he been enduring?
… Carion probably doesn’t know about this yet.
If he finds out… how much of a shock will it be?
Just imagining it made my chest tighten painfully.
Still reeling, I wandered aimlessly across the snow, when I noticed a small window at the back of the house. And as luck would have it, it was half open.
From there, I could probably slip inside.
… But is it really okay for me to go see Carion like this?
It’s not like a tiny little kitten like me can actually do anything.
Even so, before I knew it, I’d kicked off the snow and leapt up, lightly landing on a nearby fence. From there, I twisted my body and jumped onto the window frame.
At the very least, I want to see how Carion’s doing, with my own eyes.
And so, I slipped back inside the house.
As I slid in through the window, the inside felt a bit warmer than when I’d first come.
Looks like they’d lit the fireplace.
Probably those two members from outside who’d been splitting firewood.
Maybe because they’d just lit it after a while, there was a faint burnt smell lingering in the air.
That might be why they’d opened the window to ventilate.
Thanks to that, I’d been able to sneak in like this.
Carefully listening, I padded toward the bedroom where Carion was.
It seemed no one else was inside right now.
In the still, silent air, the only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat.
When I reached the bedroom where Carion should be, the door was fortunately open.
I suppressed my presence and quietly slipped inside.
At that moment, a low groan reached my ears.
Startled, I looked up, and there was Carion on the bed, writhing in pain.
“Meow!?”
Forgetting I was supposed to stay hidden, I cried out.
W-what do I do!? I need to go call someone…!
That’s what I thought, but right then, bang, the bedroom door behind me slammed shut, pushed by the wind.
… C-crap!
I hurried over to the door and started jumping up and down on the floor, but with this tiny body, I couldn’t reach the handle.
Next, I stood on my hind legs and scratched at the door with my claws.
Maybe someone would notice the noise, but it didn’t seem like anyone had come back yet.
Not knowing what to do, I paced restlessly around the room.
Meanwhile, Carion’s groans were growing stronger.
I couldn’t just stand there, I jumped onto the bed.
The strong smell of blood hit my nose.
“Ugh… ah…”
“Miya…”
Carion’s brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes squeezed shut in pain.
His golden hair, damp with sweat, clung to his forehead. The blanket had slipped halfway off, leaving his chest exposed.
His body trembled, and all color had drained from his lips.
Is he… cold?
At the very least, I want to warm him up a little.
I grabbed the edge of the blanket with my mouth.
Then, heave, I put all my strength into it and tried to pull.
But, it’s heavy, it won’t budge at all!
Even so, I couldn’t give up.
Right now, Carion was still groaning in pain.
At least… I wanted to do something for him.
I poured all my strength into it, tugging again and again.
It was still heavy, but I braced my front paws and pulled with everything I had.
Biting down again and again, I dragged my whole body backward. Then… scrape, scrape, little by little, the blanket started to move.
I strained so hard my teeth creaked, inching the blanket along bit by bit… and finally managed to pull one side up over Carion’s chest.
A sigh slipped out.
I did it…!
My whiskers twitched with a sense of accomplishment.
Alright! Now if I fix the other side the same way, it’ll be perfect!
Thinking that, I grabbed the other side of the blanket in my mouth…
… and then.
Suddenly, I felt a presence and looked up.
An ice-blue gaze, cold as frost, was staring straight at me.
“You’re…Valdo’s, aren’t you…?”
At some point, Carion had woken up and was staring at me with a suspicious expression.
The blanket slipped from my mouth and dropped to the floor.
What do you think about this chapter?
