Chapter 08 …

I couldn’t take my eyes off his appearance and was scolding myself internally when Ain’s voice came from beside me.

“Pervert, Ailette.”

Ain looked at me sulkily and muttered, and I quickly waved my hands in denial.

“What are you talking about!”

“I also have a pretty good body.”

Ain tried to take off his shirt to prove it, but I stopped him. Just then, Seith noticed our presence and turned around, smiling brightly.

“You’re here, teacher. By the way, who is the man next to you?”

“Oh, this is Ain. Apparently, he was actually a fox beastkin.”

“A fox… beastkin?”

Seith looked very surprised. He rubbed his forehead and said,

“As far as I know, beastkin are rare. I heard they undergo extremely harsh training processes and are highly capable individuals.”

Then Ain lifted his chin proudly and said,

“That’s right. I went through all of that. I belong to a special bloodline among foxes.”

“A special bloodline?”

“Yes, something like that.”

I found him cute and scratched under his chin.

“Yes, yes. Good job, Ain.”

“……I’m older than Ailette.”

“How do you even know how old I am?”

“Ailette is nineteen, I’m one year older!”

While we were bickering, Seith coughed awkwardly.

Only then did I realize Seith was feeling a bit left out watching us, so I ran over to him.

Then Seith said without changing his expression at all,

“Please praise me too. I cleaned the house and chopped firewood.”

Praise… seriously?

Ugh. These men, honestly.

“Yes, yes. Good job, Seith. But why did you chop so much firewood? It’s fine though.”

Honestly, it was still summer, so there was no need for firewood, which made me curious. Seith smiled gently and replied,

“We need to prepare little by little before winter comes. Please allow me to help.”

“I’ll help too if needed,” Ain added.

“No, Seith, Ain. Still…”

“Are you burdened by me doing this?”

Seith made a gloomy face and whimpered like a sad puppy.

“I just want to be useful to the teacher.”

Oh my god. A large dog-like man acting cute like this. My face turned bright red and I stepped back.

“N-no! It’s not like that! I’m just grateful!”

“If that’s the case, please let me help. I’m very happy living like this.”

“But you’re a patient. Your body is still…”

As I said that, I checked Seith’s status window—and my mouth fell open.

???

(24 years old): Mostly recovered. Status window will soon disappear (Gauge 90/100)

???

What?

He was that badly injured, and now he’s basically a normal person in just one day? Is this even human?

I let out a dumbfounded laugh.

Then Ain spoke first.

“Seith has almost fully recovered, right?”

“That is correct, fox beastkin.”

“Call me Ain.”

“Alright, Ain. You call me Seith.”

Seith immediately dropped formal speech, and Ain raised an eyebrow.

“It feels annoying when you speak casually.”

“What.”

Seith replied indifferently, and Ain growled back.

Why are these two like this?

When he was a fox, they got along fine, but now as humans, they don’t seem to get along at all.

I stepped between them.

“Seith. Your body must feel very light now that you’ve recovered.”

“Right? Ah.”

Suddenly, Seith looked at me again, hesitated, and said,

“U-um… now that I’ve recovered, you’re not planning to kick me out, right? I still haven’t regained my memory, so if I leave now I’d be in trouble…”

“Kick him out. From now on I’ll handle all the work here, Ailette.”

I calmly stroked Ain’s chin as he fussed.

“Shh.”

“Eek, Ailette.”

“Hm. What should I do?”

“Teacher…”

I narrowed my eyes and smiled, planning to tease Seith. Then suddenly—

Seith dropped to his knees and grabbed onto me.

My eyes widened in shock.

W-what?!

Tears even welled up in his eyes.

“Teacher! Once I regain my memory, I will repay you properly. Please let me stay! I will cook, wash, clean, chop firewood—anything!”

“O-okay! Seith, get up!”

Panicked, I pulled the crying man off me and spent a long time calming him down.

“This is acting, just acting!”

Ain was furious and said it was ridiculous, but to me, Seith looked genuinely sad, so I felt like I had to comfort him.

And honestly, I didn’t mind keeping Seith around.

The ruby brooch he gave me was clearly extremely valuable, so even if I supported him for a year, it wouldn’t be a loss.

Also, living alone as a woman made me uneasy, so having a strong man like Seith felt reassuring.

‘Ain is here too, but two is better than one, right?’

If his memory returned, we could let him go. If not, maybe we could all go to the capital and open a clinic together.

I extended my hand to Seith and Ain.

“Alright. Let’s all get along from now on.”

“Thank you!”

“Sure.”

Seith and Ain smiled brightly.

Their different kinds of handsome smiles made me smile without realizing it.

And so, our cohabitation began.

* * *

Lowell Empire, Capital

Royal Palace of Rowelita

A blonde man sat on the golden throne, resting his chin while receiving reports.

“The Grand Duke is missing?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Emperor Edan frowned and rubbed his chin.

So it failed again.

To eliminate the threat to his throne, he had sent elite assassins to kill his younger brother, Grand Duke Beriat.

Even foreign mercenaries were hired.

But instead of a body, only a report of disappearance came back.

‘I don’t like this at all.’

He slowly closed his eyes.

Edan had always hated his brother.

From childhood, Sevil had been superior in every way, yet had no interest in becoming crown prince.

That lack of ambition made Edan more uneasy.

After the previous emperor’s death, Sevil simply accepted the title of Grand Duke and left the palace to live quietly.

Even worse, people praised him as the ideal royal.

All of that filled Edan with jealousy.

So he decided to kill him. To erase him completely.

But now he had vanished like this.

If he disappeared, there was no way to confirm death.

‘Tch.’

Edan decided to strengthen his influence through public events instead.

“Summon the Saintess.”

“Yes.”

“Prepare an official procession with the Saintess for the people.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He was already adored by the people for his angelic appearance—platinum blonde hair and golden eyes were his weapons.

But that was not enough.

To gain even more support, he needed public appearances with the equally beautiful Saintess.

So he was engaged to Saintess Yurbella.

Even though he did not love her.

He only pretended to.

With cruel beauty, Emperor Edan spoke:

“Make sure to find the Grand Duke’s body. That man is more resilient than expected.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The imperial assassination squad quickly moved out.

They would search the capital thoroughly once again.

The Grand Duke might still be alive somewhere, preparing to strike.

They had to find him quickly.

A month passed.

We became accustomed to our new way of life.

“Seith. This herb can only be cultivated, so could you plow the field? Just 30 meters by 30 meters in front.”

“Of course.”

Seith answered energetically.

With a pickaxe in hand, Seith—now fully recovered—had become a complete farmer.