Chapter 219: A Blanket on the Beam
Rain pattered against the roof tiles, creating a rhythmic "pitter-patter" sound.
At first, this kind of sound made people feel safe and cozy, even sleepy. But after several days in a row, it only served to make people feel restless.
Except—our little tanuki was more energetic than ever.
She clung to the wooden door, peeking cautiously through the cracks, carefully scanning the situation outside.
"Area secured! No sign of that man within a ten-mile radius. When the wind rises and rain falls, that's the perfect time to escape!"
With a backflip, she landed steadily on the floor.
Sayu struck a cool pose, forming a hand seal in her palm.
But the very moment she finished forming the seal—swish—a gash tore open above her head.
"...Sigh."
Looking up into the crimson beast-like eye glaring down at her, all of Sayu's energy and excitement instantly deflated.
Forget it. Just destroy me already. I'm tired.
She stopped resisting. A dark figure immediately dropped down in response, instinctively placing a hand on her head.
This was simply the way that move worked—unless the opponent was invisible or untrackable, a hit was mandatory upon landing.
A pat on the head, a tap on the shoulder—even a butt smack—would count.
Heh, touch all you want. Whatever. I'm not growing any taller anyway.
Your little tanuki has officially given up on life.
"You are still inside the room? How rare. You're not trying to escape today?"
"Even if I ran, you'd just go whoosh, snap, hiyaah—and catch me, right? Why bother making myself suffer?"
Sayu sighed, walked back to the bed, pulled up her little blanket, and used her Anemo powers to leap up to the ceiling beam, curling up to go back to sleep.
Wrapped in a blanket on the beam,
Tears fall silently in the dream.
When the tears are wiped away,
To the world, it's just 'yeah, okay.'
"Little tanuki."
"What?"
Sayu, now wrapped up with only her head sticking out, didn't even react to being called "tanuki." She just looked down cautiously at Bai Luo.
He didn't speak right away. Instead, he reached into his pocket and tossed up a grilled fish wrapped in oil paper.
He had specially requested it from Kokomi before he left.
Truth be told, Bai Luo really wanted to see what the little ornamental fish would do once she'd fully recovered her energy the next day.
But due to urgent matters in the resistance camp, he couldn't linger, so after leaving the follow-up arrangements to Sveta, he returned to check in on Sayu.
This mission had gone even smoother than expected.
To make sure of it, he'd even used his Harbinger authority to temporarily reassign Ksenia, or else... if she had seen what happened...
They probably wouldn't be friends anymore—only superior and subordinate.
"Grilled... grilled fish?!"
Sayu's first reaction wasn't joy—it was terror.
Her stomach twisted, and her face turned pale.
Fish, before Bai Luo came into her life, had been a delicacy.
But after meeting him...
Her hat always smelled faintly fishy.
And worse, it reminded her of that day in the woods...
That fish soup was rich and flavorful—but the fish meat itself? Unbearably sour. Nearly made her faint again.
But the man insisted she eat the whole pot of fish—because it was good for her growth.
Since then, she'd developed a trauma. She dreamed of vengeful ghost fish chasing her every night.
One night, she dreamt the fish caught her.
The next night, she dreamt that she, now a ghost herself, was chasing the fish in return.
In short: She can't handle fish anymore.
"Be good. If you want to grow taller, you need more fish, eggs, and milk."
As he spoke, Bai Luo pulled out a bottle of milk and two eggs.
However, this time, Bai Luo didn't throw it up to her. Instead, he curled a finger, gesturing for Sayu to come down.
"Isn't milk... kind of rare in the camp right now?"
Sayu had actually asked the soldiers delivering her meals about milk a few nights ago. After all, Bai Luo had once told her that Sveta grew so tall because she drank milk regularly.
But the soldier explained that the camp had no milk these past few days, and it would only be available after the next supply shipment arrived. In the context of military life, perishable items like dairy weren't as practical as long-lasting dry goods.
"...I put in some effort just now."
After a moment of silence, Bai Luo gave a cryptic smile.
"???"
Oh no.
This milk… don't tell me it came from hilichurls again?!
No one really knew where his strange hobbies came from, but for some reason, Bai Luo had an odd habit of borrowing milk from hilichurls.
Could this milk even be trusted?
"Relax. I got this from Watatsumi Island. You ever seen hilichurls use glass bottles with cow logos?"
He tapped on the glass bottle in his hand, which had a wooden cork and a cow insignia, and explained patiently.
Indeed, considering hilichurl craftsmanship, clay jars and giant pots were about their limit. Something as refined as this bottle definitely didn't fit their aesthetic.
Reassured by that, Sayu finally jumped down, took the milk, and gulped it down in one go.
"Tastes pretty good... but… the cork wasn't sealed tight. There's a bit of a... weird aftertaste."
She smacked her lips and gave her honest review.
"Oh, then I'll seal it tighter next time."
Bai Luo reached out and wiped the milk off the corner of her mouth, smiling with a goofy expression.
Truthfully, he hadn't sealed it on purpose—he'd been afraid Sayu wouldn't be able to pull the cork out on her own.
Sure, she could wield a greatsword with wild force, but that was all thanks to her Vision—not actual upper body strength.
"Hmm? 'Seal it tighter'?"
Sayu's expression changed. She'd caught a critical keyword in his sentence.
Wait a second...
"That's right. Hilichurls can't make bottles like this. But all I need to do is bring an empty glass bottle to them, and I can get a full bottle of milk for free."
"..."
That hurt.
Not just her stomach, which had just been healed by what she thought was fresh milk.
But also her fragile trust in him, which now lay shattered.
Sigh... whatever.
It wasn't the first time.
At least this time it wasn't in a bowl previously used by hilichurls.
She placed the empty bottle back on the table, crouched forward, tensed her legs, and prepared to leap back up to the ceiling beam using her Anemo powers.
But—Bai Luo intercepted her midair, grabbing her by the collar.
He looked at the resentful little tanuki and casually tossed her onto the bed.
"You're sleeping in the bed tonight."
"???"
"I'm worried you'll be like a certain someone... Who wakes up in the middle of the night crying, 'Waaah! Waaah!' And tries to sneak into the bed."
. . . . .
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