Pauline tended to Veronica all night long in the Kobold burrow.
“Ah, I see. I was worried, you know. But thanks to you, I’m alive.”
Veronica leaned against the cave wall, looking as if nothing had happened, and puffed on her tobacco.
“So, what exactly happened? You were… well, very violent.”
“It was nothing major, sorry for the trouble.”
Is that all? Does nothing major make one that ferocious? I couldn’t quite accept it. And I wondered if her condition had already recovered.
“How are you feeling? Shall we rest a bit longer?”
“Leave me here.”
She blew out the words with the smoke. It was so sudden that my throat momentarily tightened.
“B-but that’s impossible. I mean, it must be hard with different waking hours. At least let’s get you to somewhere safe from a place like this.”
“Honestly, I’m pretty worn out. I was masking the pain with sake, but it wasn’t medicine. In the end, it was just a temporary fix.”
So, Veronica had been enduring the pain ever since they left Zetsuky. Why hadn’t she consulted me about it? Well, considering her personality, she wasn’t the type to make a fuss about pain or injuries. I wanted to continue traveling with her, but it would be cruel to bring an injured person in this condition. Just then, Karubene arrived, having overheard the conversation. He was usually the last one to wake up, but he was sharp when it counted.
“Oh, Older Sister is revived! Great, great. Wow, it was worth offering my precious sake. My uncle used to say sake cures all illnesses, you know. Ah, he was your cousin, was he? Well, whatever.”
Karubene had a joyful expression as he reunited with Veronica after so long. These two seemed to get along well.
“Well then, now that Older Sister has revived, shall we depart?”
“No, wait. We can’t leave yet.”
She looked at me with a puzzled expression as I grabbed her shoulder. To her, Veronica conveyed that she was gravely wounded.
“Ah, right. Well, it’ll heal after a while, right? Or what, are you planning to travel without Older Sister? No, no, impossible. Our combat strength would drop significantly.”
Karubene had a point there. I slowly turned back to Veronica. She was still smoking, her expression unchanged. Just then, Pauline poked her head out from the cave entrance. As soon as she saw Veronica, she rushed over.
“Veronica-san, oh, I’m so glad. You’ve recovered. I was so worried about what might happen. Ah, I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
As Pauline was about to say that, Veronica extinguished her cigarette and sat down in the shade of a tree.
“What’s with the nagging? Someone get rid of this fly for me. I need to rest a bit.”
“Wha—! How rude! Please don’t try to trick me by sleeping!”
Pauline, small as she was, shook Veronica’s shoulder as she lay on the ground.
“Hahaha, Brother, let’s rest a bit. In two or three days, the wound will heal a little. Then we can travel together again, right?”
It felt strange when Karubene said something sensible. But he was right, so we decided to rest a bit and discuss our future route.
