By Zephyria 
Until now, Aska’s reactions were something I had intended and acted upon, so even though it hurt my heart, it was something I could anticipate. But now, I hadn’t done anything, so I was just bewildered.
“Theodore?”
Zero called out to me when I suddenly stopped talking. I stared blankly at Aska before reflexively turning my head. Zero was looking at me with a puzzled expression.
“It seems there are specific conditions required to enter the Ruins, but I don’t know what they are.”
My head was so full of Aska that I blurted out words without even knowing what I was saying.
“I had a hunch, but were you inside the Ruins this whole time? I knew it! I was suspicious because you were clearly with us just a moment ago, and then suddenly you disappeared!”
Zero raised his voice, excited by my words.
“Were you in danger inside? When you said you summoned your sword, was that also…”
“You couldn’t have met anyone, so did you perhaps encounter a Magical creature? That would mean Magical creatures have been independently surviving inside. It must have been at least thousands of years.”
Abyss and Zero kept talking, but I couldn’t hear a word they were saying. I didn’t have the courage to look at Aska’s face again, so I just stared blankly ahead with a dumb expression.
Just then, I felt Aska’s arm move beside me. When I turned my head, Aska was pulling up his hood, saying,
“I will be outside.”
“……?”
I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the stiff, cold voice. Suddenly using honorifics? Aska? To me? He never did that even when we were in the Imperial Castle, did he?
“Ah, I will escort you.”
The moment Aska turned his back, Abyss tried to follow him. Then, a roar erupted from inside the hood.
“Get lost!”
“……”
The voice, which had shown no emotion just a moment ago, was now full of irritation. Abyss, startled by the sudden shout, took a step back and lowered his head with a pale face.
“I apologize.”
I couldn’t tell exactly what expression Aska was making because he was hidden by the hood. But I could tell that he was looking down at Abyss, who had lowered his head.
Aska looked back and forth between the pale-faced Abyss and the fidgeting Zero, then turned his back and went out of the tent. He didn’t even give me a glance until the end.
“……”
I couldn’t help but be shocked by the fact that he used honorifics with me as if we were strangers, but spoke informally to Abyss like a friend.
I was so dazed that I just stared blankly at the direction Aska had left, when Abyss muttered with a pale face.
“I think I didn’t recognize him at first and acted too presumptuously. Should I apologize to him formally? I think he’s very upset, what should I do…”
“No, it must be because I said the Sky Inn was tacky last time… It’s all my fault. What should I do…”
The two were blaming each other, but I didn’t care about any of that. It wasn’t that surprising that Aska was friendly with someone other than me, as that had never happened before anyway.
But him acting like that towards me was an unprecedented event. Had he ever ignored me this much? Except for when I was very young and he said he would let me out if I got a perfect score on a test, there hadn’t been.
Even then, Aska didn’t look at me or say anything and just endured it, until eventually, he fed me blood…
Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind, and I jumped up from my seat.
“Anyway, get ready, because I’m going to send a letter to my brother.”
“Where… Theodore!”
I went outside, but Aska was nowhere to be seen. He definitely couldn’t have gone far. Maybe he was watching me from afar.
“Aska.”
I went into the forest, calling Aska repeatedly. No matter how hard I listened, I couldn’t hear any sign of him…
Rustle.
I quickly turned my head at the sudden small sound. There, I saw a familiar cat with three tails, not Aska.
—Meow.
“……”
Was his name Chichi? I sighed, brushed the snow off the rock that was sticking out, and sat down there. Chichi came closer with light steps and jumped onto my lap.
“Do you know where Aska is?”
—Weong.
“You can’t write, can you? Try writing it here with your claws.”
I thought he might be able to since he understood human speech, but as expected, he couldn’t write. I stared blankly at Chichi, who was tapping the snow-covered rock with his small claws, and said,
“Where’s Pipi? You and Pipi are both carnivores, right?”
At the sudden thought, I spoke, and Chichi tilted his head and looked at me. I grabbed Chichi by both armpits and lifted him to my eye level.
“Didn’t you eat cake before? Then you’re an omnivore? Anyway, I think you eat meat, so I’m telling you in advance, you can’t eat people.”
—Myaang?
“I’ll say it again when I meet Pipi, but if you want to live with Aska and me in the future, you have to follow this rule. You can never hunt livestock raised by people either.”
—Myung……
Chichi made a strange sound with a somehow gloomy face. I hugged the warm fur ball in my arms and stroked the back of his head, continuing to speak.
“Have you ever eaten people too? If you have, raise your left paw.”
At my words, Chichi quietly raised and lowered his left paw. I was curious about what his main diet was exactly, but I decided to ask Aska about that later.
“Where on earth could Aska be?”
—Nyaaang.
“Just tell me roughly which direction he is in. Point with your left paw.”
—Nyang……
Chichi seemed to be in trouble, panicking with a troubled face, then suddenly buried his face between my side and burrowed in. He didn’t tell me, but with that action, I knew that Aska was still nearby.
He must be watching me somewhere like a pervert, right? Maybe he sent Chichi because he didn’t want to come himself when I kept calling him.
I remembered that he eventually opened his tightly closed mouth after drinking blood when he was young. The last time he drank blood was in the underground cave… It’s been at least a week.
Isn’t it about time he got hungry? Should I draw some blood to lure him out? Or should I just climb to a high place and throw myself down so that Aska would have no choice but to show himself to catch me.
I was seriously considering which method to use when I paused. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be beneficial if Aska voluntarily avoided me? After all, I had decided to only like him about 80%.
“……”
Thinking that way, this was a very good opportunity. But I had no intention of using this golden opportunity efficiently. Because it didn’t matter if I avoided him, but it was absolutely unacceptable for Aska to avoid me.
When I jumped up from my seat, Chichi rolled off my lap. Chichi rolled his body in the air and landed lightly, looking up at me.
—Nyang?
I slowly went to a place where there was a lot of snow and clutched my chest. And then I collapsed onto it with a thud.
—Nyaang!
“……”
—Myang……
“……”
—Weoong.
I pretended to be in pain and collapsed, but Aska didn’t come, and only Chichi kept poking my cheek with his small paws.
Did I collapse too quietly? Should I have made a “ugh” sound too? But it would be strange to get up and collapse again as if nothing had happened.
“Theodore!”
Then, Abyss’s voice was heard in the distance. I sighed with a tired face and got up. Before I knew it, Chichi had disappeared without leaving a trace.
“……”
I pretended to collapse to lure Aska out, but everyone except Aska was coming.
I looked at Abyss with cold eyes, and then frowned when I confirmed that his expression was unusual.
“What’s wrong?”
“You should come and take a look.”
When I went to the place where the tents were gathered, wearing my hood, I could see that it had become chaotic in the short time I had been away. There were also some unfamiliar people, all dressed as hunters.
I followed Abyss into the tent, looking around at the surroundings, which were filled with tension. The moment I took a step inside, the smell of blood stung my nose.
“They all say they were attacked by Magical creatures near here.”
“……”
Five men with blood-stained bandages were lying side by side on makeshift beds, injured.
Two of them seemed to have lost consciousness, and the other two were conscious but unable to speak. They seemed to be in a lot of pain, as they kept groaning and writhing with distorted faces.
The remaining one was not in a normal state either, but he seemed to be able to talk, so I went to him.
“Who are you?”
The man flinched, startled when a person wearing a dark hood suddenly approached. I wondered what to do, but then I remembered that there were quite a few Actan people in the investigation team, so I just took off my hood.
“I’m a doctor affiliated with the investigation team.”
“A doctor? If you’re a doctor, one already came by earlier…”
“He’s my assistant.”
I lied without batting an eye and closely examined the extent of their injuries from closer.