Raindrops pattered against the roof tiles, producing a crackling sound.
At first listen, this sound could feel very soothing, even making one want to drift off to sleep accompanied by the rain.
But if this sound persisted for several days in a row, it could instead become irritating.
Yet, at such a time, our little tanuki was unusually energetic, more so than ever before.
She clung to the wooden door, carefully peeking through the cracks to survey the situation outside.
"Confirmed, no sign of that man within a ten-mile radius. When the wind rises and the rain falls, it's the perfect time to slip away!"
A backflip, landing steadily on the ground.
Sayu struck a cool pose, her hands already forming a hand seal.
The moment she formed the seal, a whoosh sound tore open above her head.
"...Sigh."
Looking at the crimson beastly eye above her head, all of Sayu's energy drained away.
Forget it. Just end me. Quickly. I'm tired.
After she gave up resisting, a dark figure dropped down accordingly, and a hand instinctively landed on her head.
There was no helping it. When using this move to land, unless the target is in a stealth or untargetable state, an attack is mandatory.
And this head-patting or shoulder-patting motion can substitute for an attack.
Hmm, patting the butt works too.
Heh. Go ahead, pat away. Do whatever. It's not like I'm going to grow taller anyway.
Your little tanuki has completely given up.
"You're actually in the room? How rare. Didn't feel like running away today?"
"Even if I run, you'll just whoosh, thwack, eek— catch me, right? Why should I go looking for trouble?"
Sighing, Sayu walked back to the bed, pulled up the little blanket there, and, using the power of Anemo, leaped up to the roof beam. She wrapped herself up and prepared to doze off.
Wrapped in a blanket on the beam,
Wiping tears inside the dream.
After wiping tears, don't care a bit,
To anyone you meet, just say "Yep, that's it."
"Little tanuki."
"What?"
Sayu, wrapped up until only her head was visible, even overlooked the "tanuki" address and looked warily at Bai Luo below.
Bai Luo didn't speak. Instead, he pulled out a grilled fish wrapped in oiled paper from his pocket and tossed it up to Sayu.
He had specifically asked for this before leaving Sangonomiya Kokomi.
Honestly, Bai Luo really wanted to see how the little ornamental fish would behave the next day after her energy recovered.
But the situation at the resistance army camp didn't permit him to stay there too long, so after arranging the relevant matters with Tatyana, he returned to Sayu's side.
This operation had gone more smoothly than he expected.
For this operation, he had even specifically used his authority as a Harbinger to temporarily transfer Kseniya away.
Otherwise, if she had seen it...
They probably couldn't be friends anymore, only maintaining a superior-subordinate relationship.
"G-grilled fish?!"
Seeing the grilled fish, Sayu's first reaction wasn't surprise, but fright.
Her stomach even spasmed involuntarily, and her face looked somewhat terrible.
Fish, before meeting Bai Luo, was a delicious creature.
But after meeting Bai Luo...
Not only did her hat always carry a faint, elusive fishy smell.
Most importantly, it reminded her of that scene in the small forest that day.
The fish soup was incredibly fresh and delicious, but the fish meat itself was... indescribable.
That sour taste... nearly made her pass out again.
But this man insisted, using the reason that she needed to eat more fish to grow, and forcibly "fed" her the entire pot full of fish.
It gave her a shadow regarding the creature 'fish'. She even dreamed about fish for several nights afterwards.
She dreamed that the fish she had eaten turned into evil spirits and chased her all night.
The next night, she discovered in her dream that her "killed" self had also turned into an evil spirit, and then... she chased the fish all night.
In short, now, seeing fish made her feel unwell.
"Be good. If you want to grow taller, you need to eat more fish, eggs, and milk."
As he spoke, Bai Luo pulled out a bottle of milk and two eggs.
This time, however, he didn't toss them up. Instead, he crooked his finger, gesturing for Sayu to come down.
"The camp... doesn't seem to have milk right now, does it?"
Regarding milk, Sayu had actually asked the soldier who brought her dinner for some.
Because Bai Luo had said back then that Tatyana grew so tall because she often drank milk.
But the soldier explained that the camp happened to be out of milk these past few days. They had to wait until new supplies arrived in a couple of days.
After all, compared to perishable dairy products, food that was easier to store was more popular for military campaigns.
"...I put in some effort just now."
After a moment of silence, Bai Luo revealed an meaningful expression.
"???"
Oh no! This milk... it couldn't be... obtained from the Hilichurls again, could it?
Who knows where this guy picked up such a twisted sense of humor , always liking to 'borrow' Milk from Hilichurls?
Is this milk even legit?
"Alright, I got it from Watatsumi Island. Have you ever seen Hilichurls use glass bottles like this?"
Tapping the glass bottle in his hand, which still had a wooden stopper and a cow emblem, Bai Luo explained helplessly.
Indeed, given the capabilities of Hilichurls, clay pots and large vats were their limit. Such delicate milk bottles didn't seem like their style.
Considering this, Sayu relaxed and jumped down, taking the milk from Bai Luo's hand. She gulped it down in one go.
"This milk tastes pretty good, but the stopper wasn't tight, so the taste was a bit... weird."
Smacking her lips, Sayu gave her review.
"Oh, I'll tighten it more next time."
Bai Luo reached out, wiped the milk stain from the corner of Sayu's mouth, and revealed a simple, honest smile on his face.
Actually, he had intentionally not tightened it that much; he was afraid Sayu wouldn't be able to open it.
Even though she could wield a greatsword with fierce vigor, that didn't mean she could pull out a wooden stopper.
After all, that was just the blessing of her Vision.
"Huh? You tighten it more?"
Sayu, holding the milk bottle, keenly caught the key word in Bai Luo's sentence.
Could it be...?
"Yeah, Hilichurls definitely can't produce glass bottles like this, but I just need to take an empty glass bottle to the Hilichurls, and I can get a full bottle of free milk."
"..."
It hurts...
What hurts isn't just the heart that trusted him, but also her stomach, which had just been soothed by the fresh milk.
Sigh, never mind, never mind. It's not like it's the first time I've drunk it. At least it wasn't from a bowl used by Hilichurls this time.
Placing the empty bottle back on the table, Sayu bent her front legs, straightened her back legs, ready to ride the Anemo power and jump back onto the beam.
But Bai Luo intercepted her mid-leap, grabbing her by the scruff of her neck.
Looking at this little tanuki's face full of resentment, Bai Luo casually tossed her onto the bed.
"You sleep on the bed."
"???"
"I'm afraid you'll be like a certain someone, having nightmares in the middle of the night, whimpering and insisting on squeezing into the bed."