Alone in his bedroom, Larches let out a deep sigh.

He lightly swept the edge of his desk with his palm. The warmth was already gone, but the scent seemed to linger.

“Have I finally gone mad?”

The first time he heard the light footsteps pacing outside his bedroom, Larches was startled.

In the Violentus Castle, there was only one person who could make such feather-light footsteps.

Was it someone passing by in the corridor?

As Larches focused all his attention towards the door, he couldn’t help feeling unnecessarily tense.

Knock, knock.

And when the owner of those small footsteps knocked on his door, he was so surprised that he nearly fell off his chair.

Had he not braced himself on the desk, he probably would have actually fallen.

Though he saved his dignity, a pen on the desk clumsily fell to the floor.

‘Hah.’

Larches involuntarily held his breath and froze, staring at the door.

What would she think if the door opened right now and she saw him in this foolish state?

The pacing footsteps sounded pleasantly like stepping on autumn leaves.

Was someone pacing outside the door supposed to be this tense and exciting?

Knock, knock.

The sound of knocking came again, making Larches’ heart beat in sync.

Just the act of knocking on the door…

[“Hmm.”]

A sound of hesitation came from outside the door, and Larches had to hastily cover his mouth with his palm to stifle a laugh.

The thought that she was alive, ensuring his safety, seemed amusing for some reason.

[“Sweet dreams…”]

And as the continuation of that voice reached him, Larches quickly got up from the desk. The footsteps sounded like they were turning away.

She could just leave, and that would be it.

Yet, impulsively, Larches hurried to the door and opened it.

As expected, there she was, standing with a surprised expression.

“Hah.”

With a sigh, Larches collected his thoughts and repeatedly brushed his dry face.

He noticed the bandage that had fallen under the desk.

Larches bent down to pick up the bandage, which had gotten dirty from falling on the floor and being repeatedly wrapped and unwrapped. However, he just lightly dusted it off and skillfully wrapped it around his arm.

“Can’t even do this.”

In the midst of a battlefield, one couldn’t always find a doctor, so one had to know how to handle minor treatments.

So treating a wound like this was nothing to him.

‘She knew I was contemplating killing her.’

Suddenly, the wary behavior of that woman made sense. Larches thought he should be more careful with his actions in the future as he turned off the lamp on the desk and headed to bed.

The bandage was tightly wrapped around his arm.

There on the bed was the book Larches had thrown earlier. He naturally leaned against the bed’s headboard and opened it.

[…This guardian has physical abilities far superior to ordinary people. With strength, agility, and the ability to sense presence, surpassing any human, they wielded the sword that slayed demons. We call this ‘The Sword of Violentus’.]

Morning arrived.

The confusion of the previous night cleared up, leaving his mind feeling light.

Anyway, the fact that Larches hadn’t yet made a decision wasn’t a bad sign.

Lepherentia could be killed or saved.

If he hadn’t made a choice yet, I would have to force him to make one.

To save myself.

“Did you sleep well?”

I smiled as I patted the head of the hunting dog.

If I wanted to live comfortably in this lukewarm care, I had to create that place myself.

“Now that I think about it, I have to name you.”

I stroked the hunting dog’s fluffy white fur, tilting my head in thought.

I had never raised an animal before, nor had I ever given a name to someone.

“Woof!”
The small puppy, whose belly was so full it seemed like it might burst, charged out ferociously barking.

It playfully treated my hand as a toy, energetically running around.

The hunting dog I had been petting remained still, stretching out its large paws to prevent the puppy from straying too far.

‘Why can’t I read this little dog’s memories? Is it because it’s still young?’

While I could read the memories of the larger hunting dog, I couldn’t sense anything from the puppy, even upon touching it. Was it because it was still a baby and had no memories to read? Or was it because the hunting dog was mixed with demonic blood? It was hard to understand.

‘It’s all strange things in the North.’

First, I couldn’t read Larches’ memories, and now even the puppy’s memories eluded me. Did it inherit this trait from its master?

“Then…”

As I spoke, the hunting dog, which had been calmly lying down with closed eyes, turned its head as if understanding my words.

“You’ll be Cream.”

White and easy to remember. A name that would be easily remembered and loved by many.

“And you’re Cheese.”

The small puppy, referred to as Cheese, barked softly and playfully tumbled around, amusing itself under its mother’s paw.

“Cream and Cheese.”