My Beloved Puppy
As I drag my weary body into the academy dormitory, a familiar sight greets me.
"Hoo..."
Kania's neatly made bed, the black cat doll she gifted me. The puppy love tree sapling that Irina placed here, now starting to bloom. The bag holding my precious items, the ostentatious decorations designed to make me look like a wasteful spendthrift. Documents detailing scandals that could upend the Empire for a month if revealed, prepared for emergencies, and bribes soon to fund the charity foundation.
Though they're sights I see every day, today—after such an exhausting ordeal—they feel especially welcoming for some reason.
"...It's piled up quite a bit."
As I take in the room's scenery bit by bit, my gaze lands on the overflowing mailbox.
"F-Frey. Hold on a sec."
"...Yeah?"
Curiosity bubbling up about what fresh outrageous requests might be waiting today, I head toward the mailbox when Irina steps in front of me.
"What's up, Irina?"
"Just wait a moment, wait."
Wondering what it could be, I tilt my head, and Irina starts rummaging through the mailbox.
"Okay. You can look now."
After a brief moment, she pulls out a pink envelope adorned with heart patterns and points to the mailbox with a composed expression.
"........."
"Frey?"
At first, the letter in Irina's hand catches my attention, but as I look at her, my focus shifts elsewhere.
"W-Why are you looking at me like that?"
To her tattered clothes and body, ravaged from the fight with the Secret Party Leader.
"Sit down."
"...Huh?"
I gently guide the bewildered Irina to sit on the bed.
"You need to say it hurts if it hurts. What good is pretending it's nothing?"
Grabbing the healing potion and bandages from the bedside, I speak, and Irina quietly lowers her head.
"...You don't need to be nice to a useless person like me."
"What?"
And then she starts saying something bizarre.
Irina, useless? The Empire's mages would faint in shock if they heard that.
"I depleted my mana trying to cast the Death Curse, couldn't take the penalty for you, couldn't even catch the Secret Party Leader..."
"No, that's not..."
"No matter how I think about it, I'm so incompetent... Eek!"
Poking her side as she mumbles dejectedly with her head down, she starts trembling.
"The wound's serious. Not fatal, but definitely a major injury."
"I-It's fine. Compared to the wounds I got on the battlefield, this is nothing... Eek!"
I poke her side again as she keeps insisting it's fine, sighing as she shivers.
"Let me check the wound for a sec."
"I-It's okay...!"
"You'd just wrap it sloppily and call it a day without checking. Think I don't know you?"
Having spent decades on the battlefield, Irina is remarkably insensitive to wounds. She'd wrap even major injuries a few times and move on.
"...Ha."
Slightly forcing the issue, I lift her clothes, and the wound is worse than I thought.
No, far worse.
Her side is literally shredded.
Was the Secret Party Leader that strong? No, it's impressive that Irina, fighting desperately with only magic scrolls, held her own. Especially after that raid where the Leader displayed terrifying power.
"F-Frey. I'll get treated, so please fix my clothes first..."
"Hold on."
"...Eek!"
As I carefully apply the ointment to the wound—originally prepared for my own injuries—she winces.
The top-grade recovery potion should ease the pain before professional treatment.
Supreme Recovery Potion applied. Pain alleviated. Mix with life force for enhanced healing.
—Shooo...
And if I infuse a bit of my life force, it'll help even more.
"Aaaahhh!"
"Whoa."
But Irina grimaces and lets out a pained groan.
Of course—even with top-grade potion, a wound like this would sting.
"Just bear with it a little, Irina. Once this is treated..."
I try to soothe her softly since I can't leave the wound untreated, but then...
"...This."
I fall silent upon discovering equally severe wounds scattered across her body.
"Irina, how the hell did you endure this pain?"
"Th-This is... nothing..."
Staring blankly at her body for a long while before murmuring, she blushes as she replies.
"No, Frey. It's embarrassing, so clothes first..."
"No choice."
She's making excuses despite wounds this bad. Irina can be so frustrating.
Having spent decades on the battlefield, she's numb to this. She thinks it's no big deal, assuming I wouldn't know?
—Rustle...
"F...rey? This is..."
"Sleep for a bit. It'll be quick."
With that thought, I grab the sleeping herbs Kania prepared and hold them to her nose. They help my insomnia too, so she'll pass out soon.
Where does Kania even get such potent sleeping herbs?
"Mm, mmm..."
With her clothes undone, Irina groans with a dazed look.
"Cl-Clothes... put them back on..."
"You want me to apply potion over clothes? It'll get worse if left like this. No clinics open this late."
"N-Nooo..."
As she resists, I shove a handful under her nose, and her eyes finally close.
"I... don't know..."
"Irina."
Stroking her hair as she drifts off, I whisper softly.
"Thank you so much for fighting today."
With that, Irina falls fully asleep.
Did she hear me?
"...Hm."
Seeing her faint smile with eyes closed, she probably did. Good.
—Rustle...
"...Hng."
But as I place my hand on her body, her smile stiffens slightly.
...My imagination?
"Hoo."
By the time I've applied ointment to every corner of Irina's body, dawn is nearly over.
"Ha-ut, ugh..."
"Hope she's okay."
As I apply to the last wounds, she lets out a faint groan.
"Face hot, body shivering... what a sight."
Even deep asleep, she's like this—shows how much pain she's been in.
—Rustle, swish.
Applying more gently and carefully, I suddenly tilt my head and look around.
"What?"
I sense a presence in the room.
Kania said she'd be late tonight.
Serena asked for a strange favor and vanished. She left without answering my questions, so probably urgent. Wonder what's up?
Perloché returned to the Church with her people, Clana should be in her dorm...
So why the presence?
"Meow."
"...Aha."
As I scan around, the cat doll curls up beside Irina.
"You, huh?"
I'd tensed thinking it was an assassin, but just the doll. Relief...
—Flutter!
".....?"
Wingbeats from the window draw my gaze, revealing a sigh-worthy scene.
"What are you guys...?"
Serena's white owl, Perloché's pigeon, and Clana's canary.
The canary hangs back warily from the other two, but all three huddle on the windowsill.
Wasn't the canary unbound since Clana's wasn't bonded? No, I destroyed it last time... bond probably broken.
"This isn't a pet farm."
Still feels off. Huddled like that, watching me—feels like being bugged.
I like animals, but this is too much.
Right now, I want to focus on Irina's serious wounds.
"Shoo, go away. Can't play now."
I wave them off from my seat, but they don't budge.
The canary flinches and wobbles back a bit, though.
".....Sigh."
Thinking I need to train their owners, I lower the blinds.
"Haaah..."
Carefully moving the cat doll from the bed, I finish applying potion to Irina's wounds.
"Hoo..."
Using up the last of the potion on her wounds, I sigh and lie beside her.
"Now it'll be leisurely for a while."
Third main quest done, so until second year starts, plenty of free time.
Storm before the even crazier second-year difficulty, but rest is good.
Short vacation? Or use Deception Robe for good deeds?
Need to prepare for major second-year events, visit West Continent too.
But recharge time is essential.
Can't sprint a marathon full speed from start or you'll crash midway.
"Guess I'll nap..."
So, nap now.
Slave market cleanup, Serena's weird incident, Secret Party Leader stuff to handle.
A bit late, but need shut-eye now...
There is a notice!
"...?"
As I think that, a system window pops up suddenly.
What? What's going...
Ah.
The system's third trial has begun!
Fucking Demon God bastard.
"Mm..."
Irina, eyes closed for a while, quietly opens them.
"Frey."
Rising, she looks at Frey sleeping like the dead beside her.
"Sleeping?"
She pokes his cheek with her finger, but he shows no sign of waking.
Seems he's out deep.
"Haa..."
Gazing down at him, Irina mutters.
"I told you sleeping herbs don't work on me."
Having brewed potions with herbs since childhood, sleeping herbs were just bitter grass to her.
Yet, under Frey's stern gaze, she unwittingly—or with a touch of ulterior motive—pretended to sleep.
"You idiot."
She couldn't help but feel every gentle touch as he tended her body.
"...Idiot."
Hand over her pounding heart, gazing at him with trembling eyes, Irina.
"Why are you so good to someone like me..."
Finally, she reaches out tentatively and mutters.
"How am I supposed to repay this kindness."
Interlocking fingers with the sleeping Frey, she closes her eyes tightly and squeezes.
—Shooo...
After a moment, a bead forms in their clasped hands. Irina carefully picks it up and examines it.
"...Crunch."
The Soul Orb is heavily clouded.
His silver and her red should be all, but other colors have invaded.
"Why only me..."
At first, she thought one other had contracted first.
But closer inspection reveals multiple souls offered before hers.
And the black that wasn't there initially—probably Kania did something when transferring Frey's soul fragment back.
"Am I always the last...?"
She thought a Blood Oath would at least show her sincerity.
But turns out that's baseline for everyone.
"Why..."
At this rate, she can't even repay, let alone atone.
She bypassed one penalty with a trick, but his lifespan is only two years left.
How to repay in that time? How...
"......Ah."
Desperately racking her brain, one answer flashes in Irina's mind.
What completes the 'Blood Oath'.
What would delight the utterly exhausted him.
And.
"Ah, no one's offered their purity to Frey yet...?"
Crucially, what no one has done for Frey.
"...Eut."
Irina's hand, interlocked with Frey's, starts to twitch.