Kousuke wore a troubled smile, pestered by someone.
“Brother, that’s unfair.”
“No, Wanri. It was just a coincidence that Nana followed.”
“Muuu.”
Kousuke hastily made excuses, but Wanri remained sulky, refusing to cheer up.
What Wanri was angry about was that Kousuke had been adventuring with Nana several days in a row, and she was upset about why she hadn’t been invited.
Whether or not Nana noticed Wanri’s mood, she was at Kousuke’s feet, grooming herself like a cat.
Seeing this, Kousuke inwardly thought that she had definitely noticed and was deliberately trying to play dumb.
“—Brother, are you listening?”
“Ah, yes. Sorry. I’m listening properly.”
Wanri, noticing Kousuke’s gaze shifting to Nana for a moment, scolded him sternly. Kousuke bowed his head slightly, showing a repentant attitude.
Silvia, watching the exchange between Wanri and Kousuke from the side, chuckled and intervened.
“Come on, come on. Let’s forgive Wanri for that much, shall we? If you don’t, you might not be taken on the next exploration.”
“I don’t want that!”
Kousuke shook his head with a bitter smile at Wanri’s protesting words.
“No, I won’t do that.”
“Really!?”
“Really, really.”
Seeing Kousuke nod twice while saying this, Wanri finally showed a relieved expression.
Then, Wanri glared at Nana and said,
“Anyway, for the next exploration, Nana is out!”
“Waf!?”
At that declaration, Nana, who had been acting indifferent, looked up in surprise and looked at Kousuke and Wanri alternately.
Even just seeing that gesture made it clear that she had been listening to the entire conversation.
Wanri, looking angry, deliberately averted her gaze from Nana, taking on an attitude of absolute unforgiveness.
Seeing this, Nana tried to appease Wanri by nuzzling against her, whimpering softly.
However, Wanri, upon being treated like that, said,
“I will never forgive you no matter what you do! This is your punishment for not telling me!”
Although Kousuke was also to blame for not telling Wanri in the first place, he had met Nana several times after going on explorations.
Wanri was angry because Nana hadn’t told her properly at that time.
Seeing Nana with her tail tucked and looking troubled, Kousuke almost blurted out an apology for her.
However, he knew that interfering in favor of Nana would only make things worse.
Therefore, Kousuke looked at Silvia, seeking a lifeline.
Silvia, fully understanding the meaning of his gaze, nodded once and said to Wanri,
“Nana is trying so hard, why don’t you forgive her?”
“No! If I forgive her once, she’ll do the same thing next time.”
“Waf!?”
At Wanri’s words, Nana froze for a moment, looking as if she had been caught.
Of course, she was in a wolf form, so her expression should have been unreadable, but her attitude was so clear that everyone present, not just Kousuke, understood.
The others’ astonished gazes gathered at Nana’s reaction.
Sensing that she was at a disadvantage, Nana whined and looked at Kousuke for help.
“…Hmm. Well, I was also at fault regarding the exploration. It’s not just Nana’s fault… although if I had to say, Nana is at fault this time.”
As Kousuke said this with a bitter smile, Nana drooped her head in a sign of repentance.
“Therefore, as Wanri wishes, Nana will not be included in the next exploration. But I will bring her next time. That’s okay, right?”
Hearing Kousuke’s words, Nana finally nodded with a resigned expression.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
The next day, as promised.
Kousuke, keeping his word, took Wanri to the fifth floor for a hunt.
Naturally, Nana was not brought along.
The only other person present was Kouhi.
Then, Kousuke found the prey mentioned in Crown’s request and was about to launch an attack—but stopped.
“Ah, this is no good, is it?”
“It’s no good,” Kouhi replied clearly.
Kousuke let out a sigh of resignation, but Kouhi immediately and definitively agreed.
Kousuke had told Wanri before they went hunting that he would take care of it.
However, whether she hadn’t heard him or had completely forgotten, Wanri, in her fox form, had charged at the prey and defeated it instantly.
It was an obvious overkill, no matter who looked at it.
Seeing how excited Wanri was at that moment, Kousuke and Kouhi judged that saying anything to her now would be futile.
Kousuke also bore some responsibility for Wanri being in that state.
Having no choice, Kousuke (and Kouhi) decided to continue accompanying Wanri on her hunt.
And as a result, a few hours later, Wanri was back in human form, sitting in seiza before Kousuke.
“—I am very sorry.”
Seeing Wanri say this with her head bowed, it was clear she was genuinely sorry.
Unlike Nana from before, she didn’t seem to be deceiving them with her appearance.
She clearly remembered her careless actions, for after a single apology, Wanri said nothing more.
Seeing this, Kousuke patted Wanri’s head with a slight smile.
“Brother…?”
“Yeah, well, strictly speaking, I should be angry, but I was also at fault this time. Let’s call it even.”
Even though he knew he was being too lenient, Kousuke couldn’t say anything else.
Wanri, with her cheeks slightly flushed, nodded and replied, “Yes.”
It feels like it’s been a very long time since I wrote a scene with Nana and Wanri interacting, but it was very easy to write.
(Is it because there’s only one pattern? lol)
