episode_0037

Amelia, who had put her hand on her shoulder, was startled and took her hand away.

“That’s right, because the water was cold?”

And he seemed even more surprised by my answer.

“Come on, let’s go to the room quickly!”

And he quickly pushed my back and said that.

… … First of all, although they are the same age, Amelia is much smaller than me, so I wouldn’t be able to push her if I had to push her that much.

Actually, Amelia was also a guest here. There was no way she could have completely known what the inside of the castle looked like. In the end, the hunter who followed Amelia pushing my back guided us, and we entered a nearby room.

“Sit here!”

Unable to wait for the hunter to light a fire in the fireplace, Amelia quickly sat me down on a chair.

“… … Grand Duchess?”

“Now that the fire has been lit, your body will warm up in a little while. Don’t worry too much.”

No, I think that’s what I’m more worried about.

“I’m okay.”

“Washing your body with cold water in this weather is okay!”

“Originally, people in Delki City often wash with cold water. It is a hassle to heat the water.”

However, this does not mean that you should only wash with cold water.

There is also a sauna in Del Chi city. First, sweat off your sweat in the sauna, then go into the cold water, and then go back into the sauna… … Repeating this is the standard of Delki City bathing. And of course, Gratton Mount will do the same.

But right now, I didn’t have enough time to prepare for the sauna, and even so, my body was a little too tired to go into the sauna. … Because it was extremely dirty. It was already covered in blood and oil, but it was so scary to think that my sweat was mixed in with it.

“… … .”

And at my words, Amelia stiffened with her mouth open blankly.

“… … But, I… … .I washed it in warm water.”

“Because the Grand Duchess is a guest.”

And, the people of Delquish also know that southerners can take a big toll on their bodies if they just wash with cold water in this weather. It would be troublesome to do that to a guest.

Amelia, who heard my answer, kept her mouth shut. As if she didn’t understand, she paced around in front of the fireplace for a while, then sat down on the chair prepared next to me as if saying, ‘I don’t know.’

Then, I tapped my fingers on the armrest and got lost in thought.

I’m sorry to say this to Amelia, but honestly, it was a bit funny. The people of Delki City also knew that their bodies were much bigger than the bodies of the guests who visited here, so of course they had furniture tailored to the guests’ bodies in the guest rooms.

However, children’s furniture is somewhat lacking. Even children from Delki City grow at an incredible rate, so in fact, children’s furniture is almost useless unless it is for newborn babies, so they endure the discomfort for several years, and this same problem is also evident in guest furniture. In fact, the chair Amelia was sitting on was much bigger than her body.

In order to put my arms on the armrests, I had to spread them as wide as possible, and it looked like a child forcing himself to imitate the actions of an adult.

Of course, the soul inside was the same as that of an adult, so he would say it was his usual behavior.

The sight was so cute that it made me feel a little like what I had just experienced.

“Take.”

The momentary silence was broken by an alien sound.

For a moment, I thought there was a rat in the castle, but it wasn’t until I saw the creature crawling up Amelia’s waist and shoulder that I realized it was a squirrel.

The last time Amelia saved me was a squirrel.

“… … Huh?”

Amelia didn’t seem to have thought that the squirrel would come all the way here.

“It’s the time when we’re in the middle of winter hibernation, so it’s amazing.”

I said that while looking at the squirrel.

Besides, Amelia’s room was a bit far from here. Well, it’s not that it was a distance that squirrels couldn’t come to, but it was surprising that they bothered to come all the way here to look for Amelia.

No, did he move before that? It wouldn’t be surprising if Amelia got into his clothes after washing and before he changed them, or that he was already near him and moved along with him.

A hunter might have seen it. However, it was a squirrel that Amelia had promised to raise herself. If it was the only squirrel alive in this castle, she would not have bothered to catch it.

In fact, when I looked back, the hunter didn’t look surprised. Rather, he looked as if it was a little strange that we were surprised now. Did he think that Amelia had brought him?

“Apparently, the last time I saw him, he was sleeping in the embankment.”

hmm.

“Maybe… … It might have been broken because it wasn’t inside the tree. If it’s inside a tree or in the ground, if you close the hole, it’ll look like everything is blocked, but it’s not a basket.”

“But this is inside the castle.”

“To a squirrel, it is a place with open space in all directions.”

Because it’s much bigger than a squirrel’s body.

And, regardless of body size, the concept of ‘space’ that animals feel is completely different from that of humans. There are animals that feel stable only when the area around their bodies is almost tight, and there are animals that feel narrow even when it is quite wide. .Knowing the difference is an advantage in hunting, so most hunters in Del Kishi knew it as common sense.

“Then why did you come my way?”

I know.

After all, I am the druid. There was a high possibility that the reason the squirrel did not leave Amelia Thorn was because of my abilities.

“Maybe it’s because I passed it on.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Because my ability has allowed me to feel close to people, I may show friendliness to people I trust. And since I handed over the child in my hands directly to the Grand Duchess.”

Maybe you think that an incredibly powerful being is protecting you. It is one thing to believe that ‘no harm can come to you’ and another to continue to trust that being. Although the wolves trust you, you have to work hard to take the lead among them. Likewise, my behavior may have influenced the squirrel’s judgment.

Well, it’s a small animal that can’t communicate directly, so I can’t say for sure.

“But I still have doubts. Winter sleep is different from the sleep you sleep every night, so it won’t be easy to come to your senses unless you intentionally shake it to wake it up.”

“Then why is this child here?”

“Hmm… … .”

I was lost in thought for a moment, and then something suddenly occurred to me.

“Uncle.”

“Yes, lady.”

When I called him that as I always called him, Mr. Hunter answered.

“Can you tell how the animals move at night?”

“Are you talking about beasts?”

“Yes… … The animals around the territory.”

First of all, the wolves are excluded. After hearing Amelia’s words, I spread them out throughout the castle. As long as they think of me as the leader, there is no way those children left for any reason. Gray and Snow were also near me.

However, what might have happened to the smaller animals and animals around the territory.

I heard that the barbarians are moving south, aiming for warmer places with more resources. If that’s the case, then maybe that’s why they came down and used magic like this.

Even though we came all the way inside Delkish Castle, there are still quite a lot of animals around here. What would have happened if it were outside Delkish? Wouldn’t there be some animals that were hunted?

“Okay, I’ll pass it on.”

The hunter turned and went out the door. He would probably be back soon.

“Does something come to mind?”

“Yes. If there was someone who woke that child up, it means that the target was animals.”

The people of Delkisi eat squirrels, and there is no reason for barbarians to refuse.

“If you were trying to take that child but lost it, it’s easy to remember why you came all the way here.”

“… … .”

Amelia’s expression suddenly hardened after hearing my words.

Yes, whatever the people of Delkish eat, the barbarians will eat similar things, for the north is barren and food is scarce.

However, the people of Madele Kishi have no reason to starve because they receive food support from the south, but what about the north, where there is no such support and is much more barren?

… … And, if the people of Delkisi did not treat the barbarians as human beings, then the barbarians had no reason to treat humans as beings similar to them.

I heard that the child went missing last night.

The reason Amelia’s expression suddenly hardened was probably because she had come to a similar conclusion to me.

“Is that really true?”

Amelia asked in a low voice, as if she was afraid that someone else would hear that she had such thoughts.

It seems as if the missing child’s parents are right next to them.

“… … I hope that doesn’t happen.”

I said so.

I don’t know what to pray for, though.