Exhausted from his research on magic tools, Kousuke visited the 83rd Floor seeking solace.
This floor, where wolves and foxes coexist, had a history of endless disputes between the two species. However, things had reached a point where they were fine even without Nana or Wanri.
This was a result of Nana and Wanri constantly mediating, and sometimes Kousuke intervening; they had been taught the rule that serious disputes that could lead to death were not allowed. Furthermore, individuals other than Nana and Wanri had emerged who could mediate between the two species.
Of course, it wasn’t that conflicts were entirely absent, but the situation had become manageable enough that the worst-case scenarios wouldn’t occur even without Kousuke, Nana, or Wanri. On the contrary, when Kousuke made an appearance, disputes (playful scuffles?) arose over who would get to dote on him first, indicating a rather peaceful coexistence.
Cecil and Arisa had visited the 83rd Floor once before. Upon seeing wolves and foxes walking around without any signs of conflict, both of them froze. The reason they were able to accept this was their knowledge of the unconventional nature of Amamiya Tower. It was something that defied common sense, or rather, something one wouldn’t even imagine. Despite the exceptionally unusual scene, the individuals who created it were completely unconcerned. In fact, they were innocently delighted to see them living in harmony.
“…Growl.”
Kousuke, who normally didn’t snore, had somehow fallen asleep while lying amongst the wolves and foxes. As he turned over in his sleep, a sound resembling a snore escaped him. A wolf lying to his right twitched its ears and opened its eyes. After a quick glance to confirm that Kousuke showed no further reaction, it immediately closed its eyes again. The fox lying to his left, unlike the wolf, continued to sleep without any particular reaction. However, both the wolf and the fox, accustomed to living in the wild, could immediately enter a state of readiness if something happened around them. Most importantly, with the exception of Nana and Wanri, they were the leaders of their respective species on the 83rd Floor. They possessed the strength to prevent others from approaching them easily. By the way, the privilege of being able to sleep next to Kousuke was granted to them precisely because they stood at the apex of their respective species.
Two figures were observing the state of these three. They were, of course, Kouhi and Mitsuki.
“…Are they tired?” Kouhi asked, a worried expression on her face at Kousuke’s unusual snoring.
“There were no signs of that, so it was probably just a fluke,” Mitsuki replied in a light tone, though her gaze was directed at Kousuke, just like Kouhi’s. Though their words were contradictory, the underlying sentiment was the same. This core sentiment of Kouhi and Mitsuki had remained unchanged since they first met Kousuke.
While they watched, Kousuke suddenly opened his eyes and sat up.
“Hmm…? Was I sleeping? Ah, no, I’m still sleepy.” After muttering this, he lay back down and closed his eyes again. Then, he casually addressed Kouhi and Mitsuki. “Sorry. I’m going to sleep for a while, so you can go hunting in turns or something.” Having said that, Kousuke fell silent again. The wolf and the fox on either side of him had simultaneously opened their eyes when Kousuke sat up, but they closed them again after seeing him close his eyes.
Upon hearing Kousuke’s words, Kouhi and Mitsuki exchanged glances.
“…What should we do?”
“Hmm. It’s true that here, within the barrier, it’s okay to be alone, isn’t it?” Mitsuki answered, and Kouhi nodded in agreement. As long as their familiars were around, it was unlikely that anything would happen to Kousuke. However, since they couldn’t be sure what might occur, the condition that one of them must always stay by Kousuke’s side was non-negotiable. Kousuke understood this, and it was no wonder that he had phrased his words that way, even while half-asleep.
Mitsuki, considerate of the sleeping Kousuke, suddenly clenched her right hand into a fist. Kouhi mirrored her action, clenching her own right hand and bringing it down at the same time. Unlike a previous occasion, this time the contest was decided in one go. Kouhi played scissors, and Mitsuki played rock. Mitsuki, the victor, waved her right hand at Kouhi, indicating, “You go ahead.” Kouhi showed a moment of regretful expression but quickly returned to her usual demeanor, let out a sigh, and began to walk away. While it was true she didn’t want to leave Kousuke’s side, the desire to move her body was also among her secondary desires. Mitsuki, left behind, watched Kouhi depart before quietly approaching Kousuke and settling down in her spot.
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As Kouhi started walking towards the outside of their base, two wolves followed her. “…Do you want to come with me?” she called out to them. The two wolves wagged their tails vigorously from side to side. Kouhi’s lips curled upwards. “I see. Then, let’s go together.” As if understanding her words, the two wolves, still wagging their tails, moved closer to Kouhi. “It might be nice to hunt with wolves once in a while,” she muttered, stroking the head of a wolf that had come close. Then, she left the base.
The two wolves Kouhi brought along performed better than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was due to their familiarity with the hunting grounds, but they found prey before she did. “As expected of the Master’s familiars… No. This is solely the result of their efforts,” she corrected herself. Kousuke disliked it when people attributed everything to him. As Kouhi had just rephrased, if one didn’t acknowledge the strength and effort of individuals (in this case, the wolves) and attributed everything to the gods, they would eventually cease to achieve anything and, in the end, blame the gods for that too. This way of thinking, which Kousuke had taught her before, had been thoroughly instilled in Kouhi and Mitsuki, and Kouhi now based her actions on it. The momentary slip of the tongue to attribute it to Kousuke was merely a charming mistake.
The prey found by the two wolves was quickly dispatched by Kouhi. Watching the prey fall, the wolves looked somewhat unsatisfied, but when Kouhi gave them the discarded parts after butchering the animal, they eagerly began to devour it. The monsters that appeared on the 83rd Floor had usable parts from head to tail, and giving them this amount of meat was actually beneficial. Kouhi and Mitsuki’s Item Boxes already contained a large amount of meat they couldn’t process. While giving too much might be detrimental based on Kousuke’s previous advice, giving a small portion of meat as a reward for the hunt (from Kouhi’s perspective) would be something Kousuke would likely encourage. For Kouhi, her actions were guided by Kousuke.
While Kouhi was butchering the prey, the two wolves finished their meal and headed for the next hunt. After repeating this about three times, Kouhi and the wolves returned to their base. By that time, Kousuke had already finished his nap (?), and Kouhi rushed to apologize upon her return, but that’s another story.
