episode_0036

1.

“Kang!”

A fox barks in the middle of the night.

Below me, Taina is tied up and unable to move.

If it’s obvious, then it’s obvious.

Even if the water race is stronger than humans… they can’t defeat a former warrior.

“Kaaang! Kaaang!”

Taina struggles to get out of this situation, but it’s not enough.

He tried to bite my hand or wrist, baring his long fangs, but his mouth was in no position to do so.

“Keep keep keep! Kang!”

I wish I could talk now…

Last time I saw you, you were really good at speaking clearly.

Now that he has become a beast and is barking so persistently, it is quite uncomfortable.

“Krrr…”

My wind blows, and it growls menacingly with a slight variation.

It’s like watching a cat’s jaws quiver, even though it poses no threat whatsoever.

“Grrr…KANG! KAEUK! KAAEAEONG…”

I can’t see her face very well, but I can hear that she’s sobbing more in sadness than anger.

joy.

That doesn’t mean we can show mercy.

“Kkiiing… kkiiing, kkiiing…”

This time, it’s still flustered.

Just like when a small animal or a dog whines, ‘What should I do…’ comes out automatically.

This groaning, almost agonizing, groan is what elicits the most sympathy.

My heart was breaking, but I made up my mind.

“I’m sorry, Taina. I can’t just let you go like this… I have too many questions. I can’t leave you here. Calm down a little, please…”

He spoke in a tone that could almost be considered a little harsh.

To quote Animal Farm again, after capturing an animal, you don’t put it in a cage and transport it right away.

If you wait until the animal calms down a little, both the rescuer and the animal being rescued will be safe.

I had to suppress my regret and wait until she became docile.

“Kaaa …

Hey, now I’m crying.

…no!

Just a little more.

An impulse immediately comes over me to release the strength in my hands and let go.

However, you must be more careful because your opponent is a fox whose mind you cannot read.

As I was chewing over my pledge, Taina opened her mouth again.

“Kaaa…sorry…kekeke! Kaaa.. ah, it hurts….”

This time I really said it.

But it wasn’t the intelligent voice he’d always had, but a childish, whining voice.

I lowered my head to look closely at Taina’s face, which was so different from the others.

“Ah, ouch… ahhh… ahh, ahh… it hurts… ahhh…”

Blood was gushing out because of the fangs that had pierced his tongue while he was struggling.

“Mi, I’m sorry…! I was too rough… Are you okay, Taina?”

I came to my senses as if I had swallowed the water of the Rukia River in one breath.

Caesar turned Taina’s body around in a hurry and hugged her in an instant.

He shook his body as if he was very surprised.

“Tch, keaaang… Tch… keaaang…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Did it hurt? ”

I didn’t mean to hurt Taina, but it breaks my heart to see her in so much pain.

I feel a pang of regret that I may have treated the child too harshly because of my personal grudge.

And that regret paralyzes my thinking.

Kai’s expression softened in an instant and he began to caress Taina with concern.

“Kaaang…? Kang?”

Taina also barked, questioning whether she could adapt to the quick change in attitude.

Seeing Taina like that makes me feel even more guilty.

Taina’s hair is tangled with branches and leaves.

The dirt and dust that clung to my cheeks and body as I rolled around on the dirt floor.

And the blood from the trout and from my tongue was dyeing her nightgown red.

I headed to the Rukia River while holding Taina in my arms.

“Kang! Kyaeng? What, what…Kyaeaaeng…!?”

Didn’t you know you could move while being held head-on like this?

Lan Taina spoke briefly, but soon calmed down and my body hung on.

I supported her hips with my forearms as if I was hugging a fox, and wrapped my arms around her shoulders to provide stable support.

“Kaehuh…?”

When we got to the riverbank, I laid Taina down on her side.

A position where I cross my legs like I’m washing a baby and hold Taina horizontally on top of me.

It looks like she is holding the baby gently as if she is breastfeeding.

“Kae, kae-ing? Kang! Oh, no. Kae-aeng… What, what… Why, why…”

Taina now seems to be losing her mind and is speaking a mixture of human and animal language.

However, he does not notice the change and calms Taina down by washing her.

Before I know it, dawn has risen and I can hold the sparkling waves in one hand, swaying them with my hand.

And to add a little exaggeration, it’s because the water was held in a hand as big as Taina’s face.

“Ugh! Hey, hey hey! Wait, wait, wait, wait! Nose, nose, water!!!”

The water pours down on Taina’s face as if she was dipping her face in and out of a bathtub.

It literally ‘pours out’.

But in contrast to that large amount of water, his hand was carefully caressing Taina’s round cheek.

“Kya, kyaaang! Kang!”

“Right, hold on for a moment~ Hold your breath and close your eyes.”

When washing your face, you should use gentle pressure and carefully control your strength as if you were washing a baby’s face.

A person with enough strength to grab a pebble and turn it into sand.

“Oh my… The blood is hardened and doesn’t erase well…”

The corner of Taina’s mouth.

So, the bloodstains are the traces of the Demon King that we were desperately looking for.

“Huh.”

…but now that I know that the whole story is that the bloodstains were formed from the hardened blood of Song-eo and Tina, I can only laugh in vain.

Wash away the clotted blood by gently scraping it with water.

“Ugh…”

Just a moment ago, it was so well-behaved that you wouldn’t mind calling it a beast, but now it’s become so docile that you could call it a pet.

He doesn’t even try to bite his teeth, but just obediently observes.

Thanks to that, I was able to comfortably wash my face and finish by blowing my nose.

“Peng! Peng!”

“Kang!”

“Not kangg, but bang!”

“?”

“Peng!”

“…Kya, kyaeng…!”

I put my hand on Taina’s nose and urged her on, but all I got in return was a whining sound.

“Paaeaeng…”

“Oh, properly. You shouldn’t keep rambling.”

“That, that’s a bit… keaaah…”

Taina made a sad face.

And as if he had made up his mind, he closed his eyes tightly as if he was crushing his pride, and his eyebrows also furrowed.

“Paaaa …

I blew my nose hard!

-Whooo…

And a sticky thread is created between my hand and Tyna’s nose.

Like a long, hanging pine sap, the snot reflected in the dawn shone brightly like the Milky Way connecting the stars.

Just kidding.

“Oh my, Dire.”

I let my snot run down the Rukia River.

“…Kaeaaang! Kang! Kang-kang! Bad! Don’t say that! Kang! Kang-kang!”

Ignoring her complaints after washing her face, I helped Taina up.

I looked closely at Taina’s face from our sitting positions facing each other.

“…What, what is it? Caaeng…!?”

Beast transformation.

A symptom in which the Suin tribe loses their reason and remains with their animal instincts.

But Taina’s symptoms were a little different.

Beast transformation can be thought of as similar to the berserk transformation seen in mobile games.

A state where I can’t maintain my reason, like a mad beast.

He destroys his surroundings with his violent spirit.

“Why, keaaang like that, keaaang…. kkieeeeing….don’t look…. keaaang…”

When he becomes a beast, he forgets how to speak human language and is not seen showing a friendly side to anyone.

But Taina speaks to me briefly, and now she seems to trust me a little.

In other words, it is only half similar to the beast we knew.

I don’t know English, but… there’s nothing more I can do.

I’ll have to come back to my senses later and ask Taina about the situation and figure out what the problem is.

Taina in ‘this state’ will later return safely.

It is not a vague belief.

As the day gets brighter, more and more people are mumbling about things.

The number of foxes is also decreasing.

I spin Taina around and place her in my arms, then take out an ivory comb from her bosom.

And then he combs Taina’s hair as usual.

Half hoping Taina would calm down, half wanting to brush her hair out of habit.

-Swish, swish, swish

“…Kaaa…What is it…Kaaaa, kaaa…”

I ignored Taina’s whining and continued brushing.

Just as combing helped calm Yuli down, it seems that Tyna was also effective.

In my arms, Taina cowered, her cheek pressed against her knee, as if embarrassed.

“Hmm.”

As I continued to comb my silky hair, something unconsciously occurred to me.

-Sarak, sarak, sarak

And then, as if possessed by some ghost.

Run your fingers through your hair, holding it between your fingers.

Then, overlap the hair strands that have been divided in this way in order.

It had been quite some time since I had braided my hair, but I found myself moving my hands naturally.

She styled her hair beautifully with simple movements, teasing each soft strand of hair.

“Kaaa …

While holding her head, Taina nods, breathing evenly.

Kai didn’t care about his shaking hair and continued braiding it to the end.

And finally.

She took out the butterfly-shaped headband from her bosom and finished off the tip.

“…Kaaa…Kaaa…Koool……”

Taina fell asleep lying face down.

Moreover, from the fox-like cry, he began to utter human-like snorts.

Kai waited for dawn while holding Taina in his arms for a while, breathing quietly so as not to wake her.

2.

When a sunny morning dawned on me.

Taina woke up blinded by the sunlight pouring in from outside.

“…..ummm……”

First of all, I was sitting.

The river bathed in morning sunlight unfolds like a dream.

And a warm, masculine scent lingers in my nostrils.

There was a calm, whispering sound in the ear.

One by one, the senses awakened, and finally the sense of touch.

I feel the sensation of lumpy muscles embracing me.

to?

Not a blanket?

I turned my head to look at the person holding me, feeling a sense of discomfort in my hazy mind.

Still unable to shake off the hazy feeling, very slowly.

Forcing myself to move my body even though I have no strength.

“…….Huh?”

I made eye contact with the person holding me.

A tear fell pitifully from that eye and ran down my cheek.