“Don’t you realize that patients like you are the biggest problem?! Your body must have felt sluggish from all that medicine to begin with. I know everyone here is in pain even if you guys don’t show it for some strange reason. But you can’t just hold it in! Please listen to your healer! Do you understand?”

It was difficult to hold his entire hand since it was so huge. I grabbed his index and middle finger instead and pulled him.

Halik awkwardly got up from his position.

“Let’s go to my room for now. That's where I keep the antidotes I use all the time.”

“Kakana, why are you living by yourself?”

The question came out of the blue. Halik gazed at me intensely.

For a while, I didn’t say anything. Then, I questioned him as I opened the door.
“Why are you asking me that?”

“Well, just because. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“There’s no particular reason. I just like being alone.”

“You like being alone?”

I snapped at him.

“What's it to you?”

“Nothing.”

He answered with a chuckle.

“You’re kind-hearted.”

I snorted and walked down the hallway.

It was convenient that his room happened to be beside mine.

“Yeah, right. Have you ever seen someone as selfish as me?”

“Hmm? Is that what you think?”

He said with a sly smile.

He was starting to get on my nerves, so I kicked him in the shin.

However, doing that only hurt my feet.

“It doesn’t hurt, so don’t you dare worry!”

I said in a hurry before Halik could even ask anything. I tried to save face, but it took everything I had.

In my mind, I shouted all sorts of cuss words.

He had unbelievably thick bones.

It was like kicking a pillar of a building with your bare foot.

I tried not to limp as I went to open the door.

Halik stopped goofing off and looked genuinely worried, but I acted like I didn’t notice.

I kept my face straight, pretending to appear fine as I scanned the room.

Besides the pile of record logs lying on my desk, my room looked the same as it did this morning.

It seemed that Chellus had gone back to his room.

I opened the small drawer beside the bed and recovered a white bottle. I took out a pill and handed it over to Halik.

“Chew on this.”

“Ugh, but I don’t like bitter stuff.”

“Are you a kid? Stop complaining and just take it.”

Halik took the pill with an appalled look.

I finally relaxed once I watched him take it.

Suddenly hit with exhaustion, I sat on the edge of my bed and rubbed my shoulders.

I was exhausted.

I felt bad for having Chellus deliver the record logs to the second floor for me, but I needed to take care of the problem with Halik. After that whole ordeal was over, I found it hard to concentrate.

I flopped down on the bed and let out a long sigh.

“I feel like dying...”

If only my body were as strong as his.

“Do you want a massage?”

By now, he had finished chewing the pill with a frown and was carefully approaching me.

With a dazed look, I stared up at him.

“What a perv, saying that with your bottom half wrapped in a blanket.”

I snickered, but Halik seemed unaffected by it and responded with a straight face.

“I am pretty wild in bed.”

“Ahhh! Are you serious, Mr. Galopsa?”

“Hey, you started this. And drop the title.”

“You said you’ve been locked up underground for about 180 years. How could I address you so casually when you’re practically my ancestor’s age?”

“Are you teasing me right now?”

I snickered instead of answering him.

Halik chuckled and sat beside me.

“Anyhow, you can just speak to me casually.”

“Well, then. You better not change your mind later.”

“Stop talking nonsense and sit properly. Your muscles must be cramped. If you don’t treat them, you won't even be able to think clearly.”

“That’s true...”

I said cheerlessly while my words trailed off.

“Doesn’t your neck hurt as well? If your muscles get cramped, it'll disrupt the flow of blood to your head.”

“Massages hurt, though. I don’t like it.”

“I’ll be careful not to hurt you.”

Halik responded as an odd expression suddenly spread across his face.

I could read his thoughts like an open book. I made a teasing face.

“Perv.”

“I told you. I am.”

He again seemed unaffected and answered shamelessly.

Since it was no fun to tease him, I pouted my lips. Seeing my face, Halik broke into a grin.

It was a surprisingly innocent look on him. I stared at him and then said:

“Please massage my shoulders, then.”

“Gently.”

I added as I side glanced at his enormous hands.

His hands looked like they could take down fully grown trees. I wondered if my bones might break if he massaged my shoulders with those hands.

I was feeling quite nervous as Halik brought over a solid wooden chair to the bed.

Wait a second.

Did he just lift that single-handedly?

Like Chellus had?

As though he was holding nothing more than a handful of feathers?

“Wait.”

I made a straight face and stopped him.

“I changed my mind. What if you break my bones?”

“Haha, Kakana! How could I break your bones with my bare hands? I can’t even use mana.”

“You might leave a bruise, though.”

“I’ll do it gently. Really gently, as if I’m taking care of a rabbit.”

“Rabbit? What do you mean, rabbit?!”

Seeing the shock on my face, Halik looked sheepishly at me.

“It’s just a figure of speech. Did I actually hurt your feelings because I compared you to a rabbit?”

“Sheep and rabbits are completely different animals. Humans are so insensitive—gah!”

Halik’s arm slid under my back like a snake and swiftly propped me up.

I shrank back in a hurry. There was no way I could ignore his presence behind me.

Halik was huge.

I felt his weight through the padded bed mattress.

“It’ll cramp more if you don’t relax. I’ll do it gently. Just trust me. Please?”

It was hard to cast aside my doubts, but hearing his kind voice made me relax.

Halik’s thick fingers went up my shoulders.

His fingertips were blunt and hard like the end of a thick, stubby rope.

But each movement was delicate and deliberate like a musician carefully plucking the strings of his instrument.

He knew exactly how much pressure to apply and where.

In general, most mercenaries were rough with their bodies.

Hence, people assumed that mercenaries died early from their injuries. But there was something they forgot to take into consideration.

For mercenaries, their body was their biggest asset.

Since they would take on rough work that others tended avoid, they were even more keen to take care of their health.

That was what I also noticed when I periodically went out to sell medicine.

Halik was no exception.

I zoned out in thought.

‘He’s an expert at loosening up muscles.’

The anxiety and tension that had clung onto me melted away.

That was the turning point. My entire body relaxed and I felt drowsy.

My mind started drifting away like steam from boiling water.

I closed my eyes and let my mouth hang open. Sigh.

It was blissful beyond imagination.

Usually, it was hard for me to get drowsy. Now, my eyelids were pressed down heavily with peaceful, pitch-black darkness.

My consciousness spread out thin like a thread.

“You must be sleepy. Do you want to lie face down while I continue?”

Instead of responding, I flopped down on the bed.

And surprisingly, I fell asleep as soon as my head touched the blanket.

***

Halik watched Kakana who was now sleeping soundly.

Her two fluffy peach-colored pigtails were neatly placed on top of the black cotton blanket.

“What kind of nonsense is that? Even if you don’t die, wouldn’t you feel pain?”

Thinking back to her fierce, unrelenting voice, Halik closed his eyes and grinned.

His head was filled with how pure she was. Her fierce way of speaking and her frowns couldn’t hide it.

She was pure.

“Man, I just can’t help but grow fond of you.”

Halik mumbled as he stroked her hair. He tucked her in with the blanket and stepped out of the room.

When he opened the door, Chellus appeared standing in an orderly position.

With one raised eyebrow, Halik scanned him from top to bottom and then suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hey, what do you take me for?”

“Well, we’re not exactly in the right state of mind right now.”

Chellus smiled softly and answered.

“And you’re not exactly fully dressed, Halik.”

Chellus' soft azure eyes stared at the blanket around Halik’s lower half.

“I was just worried.”

“Kakana should know that you have the same look on your face when you’re cutting someone open with your sword.”

“I’d rather not show her that.”

He answered with a soft smile still on his face.

Halik stretched his body and shook his hand.

“Don’t worry. We’ve already built up a tolerance from the delirium-inducing drugs. Though, I heard it wasn’t as effective on you. Didn’t they used to bring in a bucketful to pour over your mouth every night?”

Chellus winced an eye in annoyance.

“It wasn’t a bucketful.”

“What’s the difference? You could’ve just easily pretended to pass out like Adar. Then you wouldn’t have had to take any more.”

“Well, I couldn’t just let them work in peace.”

“Haha, that’s true. That’s why I like you. Did I tell you that already?”

“Who knows?”

Halik snickered and swung an arm around Chellus' shoulder.

With his neck awkwardly trapped by Halik, Chellus staggered down to the first floor with him.

In the living room, Adar, Snoa, and Almoer were already on the sofa, deep in conversation.

Adar, who had his arm over an armrest like a delinquent would, let out a yawn and waved his hand leisurely.

“Hey, about time.”

“Yeah.”

“What about Kakana?”

“Sleeping.”

Halik shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“She must have been tired.”

“Without a doubt. She’s suddenly surrounded by a lot of people.”

Snoa said and let out a sigh.

“It’s a miracle she even took us in.”

“She must have her own reasons.”

Almoer said as he closed and opened his eyes slowly.

“While we’re at it, it’s not a bad idea to find out a little bit about her background. She’ll have to travel with us anyway.”

Then he opened his mouth and smiled languidly.

Although Almoer was hard to figure out, it was clear that paying back his debts and getting revenge were important to him.

Snoa took a brief moment to mutter a silent prayer for all the people who might’ve hurt Kakana.

Considering Almoer’s ruthless temper, it was highly unlikely that they died peacefully.

“Once we step into the outside world, there’ll be more than just a few people coming after us. So, what’s it gonna be?”

When Adar broke the silence, Snoa slicked his hair back and answered.

“We should come up with a plan on how we can protect her. The Empire will pick up on us soon enough if they haven't already. She’s a genius, after all. There will be people from all corners who would want her.”

“And besides, Kakana isn’t even aware of her skills.”

Adar looked up with his pitch-black eyes and chimed in.

“It seems she regularly goes out to the village to sell her medicine. There must be rumors about the incredible effects of her medicine circulating around. She might unknowingly be a famous herbalist, a genius in fact. I mean, look at this mansion. She must have earned a lot to be able to afford it.”

Halik nodded in agreement, having also experienced living on the streets for a long time like Adar.

“Whatever her reasons are, it looks like her solitary lifestyle has allowed her to survive this long. Don’t you think so?”

“Definitely. If she wasn’t living in hiding, there’s no way the black society would have left her alone. She’s an anthropomorph, after all. There’s no better prey out there to be hunted down.”

Snoa cast down his cold eyes with a sharp gaze.

“She’ll be going down to the village to find some herbs soon. She needs a bodyguard. We can’t let the Empire get to her.”

Snoa looked up with a charming smile. Adar smirked crookedly as though in agreement.