Sharlop’s throat gulped.

“Whip!”

Her body felt light. As she blinked, she heard external sounds. She looked under the white blanket and was undressed, wearing a white tunic. There were no other clothes. The tunic covered Sharlop’s thighs.

“Are you awake?”

“Where am I?”

“I came down to the port. The lightning got worse, so I stayed at the inn for now, but it doesn’t seem to be stopping.”

Boom!

Lightning struck the ground.

“I passed out…”

“It’s only been about thirty minutes. Do you remember waking up during the descent from the subjugation front?”

Sharlop vaguely recalled some memories.

“Did I say anything strange?”

He had no suitable answer.

“Not really.”

That was all he said. The awkward silence was short-lived. Boom, lightning struck again. The flash illuminated the sky.

“Don’t need to make unnecessary trouble on this rainy road. We’ll stay here for today.”

Sharlop’s legs got tangled under the blanket, and she rolled over to the side.

“… Ugh.”

“It’s doubtful whether we are the same person.”

Benjamin pushed Sharlop’s side hair back.

“Are we the same person?”

“Like a snail.”

He answered whimsically.

“Slow and. My body feels numb.”

“Ah…”

“Pupil reflex has slowed down, and it seems like you deliberately reduced your strength.”

Her white skin turned blue without a trace of blood.

“Is your energy depleted? Pulse is slow, body temperature is low.”

“…Fortunately, there are no serious injuries.”

“Forgot? Your ankle was bitten by the undead.”

Sharlop felt her ankle. She had bandaged it.

“When bitten by them, consciousness can easily erode.”

He lightly reproached, displeased.

“I was eroded by them in a daze.”

Outside was still dark.

“The subjugation…”

“It’s over. The subjugation front is in a state of pacification. The nuns have been moved to a separate shelter as a protective measure. The mercenary squad checked for monsters, and the report will be coming in soon. Did the check go well?”

“It ended in a short gap.”

“What, you see?”

Sharlop shivered.

“You’re hurt, aren’t you?”

“A little scratched.”

“It’s not a scratch; it’s torn.”

Benjamin wrapped a bandage around her forearm. The white compression bandage covered the forearm, and the crimson bloodstains were soaked into the bandage.

“The healer overdid it.”

The strong scent of herbs peculiar to analgesics wafted through. It was an herb with an anesthetic effect.

“Treatment is over. There’s a resident healer in the inn where mercenaries stay.”

Her body was already accustomed to minor scars from staying on the subjugation front.

“Understand if the place is narrow. It might be dusty.”

“It’s enough to avoid the rain.”

Sharlop shook her tender shoulders. Her knees were trembling.

Why is her throat tight?

It was different from the previous sense of oppression.

She knelt down, and the loose tunic rode up.

“That posture isn’t good.”

The tunic barely covered Sharlop’s thighs.

“Don’t kneel.”

“My clothes…”
“Your undershirt got wet inside. If you left it like that, you would have caught a cold. Is the tunic a bit big? I had my spare tunic, so I put it on you. Don’t underestimate the rain in Port Fufuta. It’s difficult to break through the rain, and we plan to stay here for a day.”

Sharlop squatted down on her knees. The hem of the tunic brushed against her skin. The sleeves were long, covering all the way to her hands. Raising her arms to adjust the sleeves, the tunic stayed in place. The waist width was wide like a kite.

“Don’t stay like that.”

The white tunic kept wrinkling. The tunic that barely covered half of the thighs was his shirt.

“What about the clothes I was wearing?”

“Your undershirt got completely wet, so I kept it separately. Even though Amhaengbok is simple, there were many layers of clothing. I didn’t have a chance to wake you up and change.”

Through the loose tunic, her skin appeared.

“Don’t kneel.”

Sharlop straightened her knees and arched her back.

“Like a newborn calf. The ankle joint is weak, as if it would sprain at any moment, yet you walk and run with these legs.”

“A calf?”

“Weak. Too much. Soon to break, thin.”

The knees were trembling, and it was true that she kept falling forward.

“… Was it sarcasm?”

“It was an appeal not to become a worthless dog to me.”

Her pale skin had no wrinkles and stretched smoothly, but the muscles holding it firmly were lacking.

“If I don’t talk to you like this, it seems like you would lose self-control.”

Sharlop knelt down and pulled the tunic down; an awkward temperature touched her neck.

“Suffering alone, falling over on my own feet.”

What is it?

What are you now? Only such questions arose.

“Do you want to be alone?”

“I want to be with you.”

Sharlop grabbed his wrist.

“Leave everything else aside.”

Just stay like this today.

“It’s too late.”

And then, a short silence followed.

Could it be…

“Understood?”

Benjamin narrowed his eyes. He knows that my father is involved.

“How long haven’t you been?”

“Since the grandfather started looking for my son.”

“You knew early.”