─Renneiga’s side─
Kou is sitting on Captain’s lap while humanized.
And in that state, Captain is feeding him.
I’ve seen this scene many times when Kou looked like his younger version.
However, I only saw it as between a “parent and child”.
But doing this now, it looks more like an interaction between mates.
Many people turned their eyes to Kou, not only because of his appearance but also because there were soldiers who heard the “Return of Erideya” rumor.
Healing a lost arm so cleanly is also one reason, making him look more benevolent.
Kou often makes fun of me, but I know that he’s kind.
He didn’t like seeing me get hurt and would often ask me if it hurts anywhere.
Even though he harassed me by getting on my belly, he’d ask me with a worried look to see if he’s too heavy.
…as expected, I was shocked to see him worry about Captain’s physical condition.
“Impossible, can’t. Kou, don’t wanna.” (T/N: Sorry, even I don’t know when this certain incident happened.)
Saying so, he turned an already crying face to Captain.
Probably only Kou will worry about Captain.
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Kou would chew and eat slowly while Captain ate in between.
I knew that Captain, who’s often looked at, wouldn’t care about those gazes.
However, Kou didn’t seem bothered by it either.
Is Kou used to being observed?
It’s the same when he was in child form, though he looked humanized even as a child, so it shouldn’t be that unusual.
When I’m staring or being noisy, he’d usually ask “what?”, but I don’t think he’s truly interested in why I’m watching.
Was he an eye-catching presence even in the place where he used to be?
After Kou’s relaxed meal, Captain said that Kou was barefoot…though it didn’t seem to be the only cause as Captain hugged him carefully and headed for their room.
They probably went to take a nap since they came back at around dinner time.
…but are they going on night patrol in that state?
It’s easy to pick up Kou with one hand, but it’d be impossible to hold the current Kou to his body with a string.
Or will Kou just subdue the monsters with magic?
…it might be an unnecessary worry since they’re two people who have more than enough power.
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At night.
Captain and Kou went on patrol.
It’s usual to pick him up and move, but its rare for Kou to yawn with a sleepy face.
That slightly lazy appearance gives off a tremendous sex appeal.
“Kou, are you sleepy? Want to sleep more?”
“…no. Ryodo, together, want. Alone, no.” (No. I want to be with Rodo. I don’t want to be alone.)
Even though he has sleepy eyes, he desperately shook his head.
As expected, he’s pretty much like Captain.
Though I thought he wasn’t that sweet at first.
…well, seems like the only target of his spoiling is Captain.
“Ryodo, don’t leave behind. Take me along, pwease?”
“Don’t leave behind. Kou, take along. Together always. No leaving.”
Captain, who is spoiled by Kou, has an even more sloppy face than ever before.
“…Ryodo, likes.”
“Rodo also likes Kou. I love you.”
“”…””
The two of them had a sweet conversation for a long time, and perhaps because Kou grew up, I have trouble looking at it.
Kou, who is being held up by Captain and rubbing his cheeks on his shoulders, is now causing visual violence.
If Kou wasn’t Captain’s mate, it would have been quite dangerous.
… no idiot would fight an Akinist.
They’d certainly be killed.
It’d be good if they could escape but mates have a strong attachment to each other and Captain’s attachment to Kou seemed especially strong.
He’ll find you in any way and kill his opponent.
If it was another person’s mate, the surroundings wouldn’t be so controlled.
I don’t expect anyone to reach out a hand in this situation.
Nowadays, there’s no day in the 3rd Corps and 6th Corps where the topic of Kou is not mentioned.
The number of people who are attracted to Kou increased with each passing day.
Does Kou really understand that?
I wonder if he knew about his appearance.
If so, I want him to be more vigilant.
Captain went out on patrol while holding up the sleepy Kou.
For those two, one person would be more than enough, so it doesn’t matter if one person is incapacitated.
But can he swing his sword while holding Kou?
If he’s in child form, he can fix him to his body, but it’s difficult in this current form.
That’s because the unfixable arms and legs would get in the way.
The arms might be manageable if Kou was clinging to him, but the legs would come off even if they’re wrapped around Captain’s body when moving.
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The two finished their patrol and went back.
Kou, who was sleepy before, seemed to have completely awakened at this time.
Seems like Captain is dazed, so did Kou subdue the monsters again?
But there’s no lightning strike today.
That’s why I thought Captain subdued the monsters.
“How did you subdue it this time?”
When I called out to Kou…Captain glared at me.
As expected, I think Captain’s possessiveness is getting worse.
“Hyokechu did. Bleed, not out. No smell. First, fine.”
I feel bad for Kou, who has teary eyes, but I can’t understand.
What is “hyokechu’?
Maybe, freezing (hyoketsu)?
I knew it didn’t bleed, and it didn’t smell, but…
What kind of attack is it?
If you slash it with a sword, blood will come out, and if you attack it with fire or lightning, it should smell like burning monsters.
“…ice (kori)?”
“No.”
Seems like Captain didn’t understand either.
Captain appeased Kou who turned a dissatisfied face.
I’ve never seen Captain so confused until he became Kou’s guardian.
“…fruit, this morning. Hyokechu, let you see.”
Apparently, he’ll explain it with fruit.
He can’t speak the language completely, so he’d often explain it with things and pictures.
However, being able to do that meant that Kou’s intelligence is that high.
With just a word from Kou, for some reason, everyone brought as many fruits as they have.
Everyone wanted to know what “hyokechu” meant.
Only Kou was surprised by the people who gathered, while Captain’s face became scary.
Would Kou be scared if I show that to him?
“Kou, are these fruits fine?”
“I think the bigger it is, the easier to see, right?”
“No, no, this should be it!”
Kou tilted his head at their words.
Even though they wanted to talk to Kou, I get the feeling that they don’t know what to say to him.
So they could only talk to him at this moment.
…and with very sloppy faces.
Sure, he’s a little young, but Kou is beautiful, and when he laughs, it’s even worse, but can’t you see the scary expression on the person holding Kou?
Seems like Kou’s beauty is better than Captain’s murderous air, but…isn’t this dangerous?
They’ll likely become dead people.
“…uhm, water, lots, understand, know, think.” (Uhm, something with a lot of water, I think.)
“A lot of water…? A lot of juice! Then, this should be fine.”
Captain smiled as soon as Kou talked to him.
──it’s too different.
“Doesn’t matter.”
The juicy fruit had been split in two by magic──schlep.
“Ice.”
One of them was trapped in ice.
Is this “freezing”?
…but, Kou said “ice (koridzuke).”
Is it different?
“Freeze.”
Kou used magic on the other side.
Unlike the one covered with ice, the one he froze changed color a little, but I knew that the juice had solidified.
But, is this an attack?
How did you subdue the monsters with this magic?
“Did the monster freeze?”
“Yes. Monster, blood, freeze. Blood, freeze, die, blood, came out. Burn, smelly, no…*********.” (Yes. I froze the monster’s blood because blood will come out when it dies. Don’t want to burn it because of the smell….*****.)
After a long time, I heard Kou’s native language.
No one could understand those words, but he hadn’t spoken that for a long time, probably because he’s being careful or he gave up because we couldn’t understand him.
(What did he say?)
When we want to talk about something we don’t want Kou to hear, we’d talk quickly, so is this the same for Kou?
…what about Captain?
Impossible. Kou, who noticed the dazed captain, smiled with a somewhat crying face.
What happened now?
“Ryodo, Kou, scary? Hate, don’t, okay?” (Rodo, I’m scary. Don’t hate me, okay?)
“Hate, wrong! Rodo, Kou, likes. Kou, just like this, likes.” (I don’t hate you! I like Kou just like this.)
“…this, magic, person, use, know, but, blood. Kou, person, murder, easy…Kou, scary?” (With this magic, I know I can use it on a person’s blood. I can easily murder someone….am I scary?)
“”…!!””
I was shocked by those words.
In other words, with this magic, Kou’s saying it’s easy to murder people.
“Scary, no. …also, Kou, that magic, person, won’t. Rodo, I know.” (Not scary. Also, Kou won’t use that magic on a person. I know that.)
Even though they couldn’t fully understand each other, only Captain would tell Kou that he has full trust in him.
Certainly, Kou is not willing to kill people.
Kou is not cruel enough to hurt others, that’s why he’s called Erideya’s Return.
Captain and us would sometimes cut others to some extent, and we’re often thought of as cruel.
In particular, Captain is an Akinist and he will not hesitate to kill an opponent whom he recognized as his “enemy”.
But how much power does Kou have?
Only his physical strength is his weakness, right?
“Ryodo, thank you. …Kou, likes, become, let me be, thank you.” (Rodo, thank you. …thank you for accepting me as I am.)
Kou, who is relieved and smiled happily again, increased his number of followers again.
─Renneiga’s side end─
Thank you so much for translating this story