The way back wasn’t anything too extraordinary; Han simply walked alongside her. Burdened by the bag that seemed to weigh more than her, she was understandably struggling. He couldn’t really help her with it as well. He did see her drink a potion of some kind; seeing as how she’s moving it, it had to be a strength one. Though, he wasn’t sure how long it would last, alchemy-bought ones lasted a while, but the found kind, not that long.

  The night breeze really picked up. It really didn’t help that they were fighting against the wind. Though, that sign showed them that they were practically done with the journey. She leaned the bag against the tree and quickly tried to hide the bow. She seemed to forget to remove the quiver that’s wrapped around her shoulders or was just in a hurry.

  “No, you don’t.” Han interjected her, biting into the bow gently but with enough force to make a statement against her jerk.

  “W-Wh… Fine.” Kanade’s surprise fades with fatigue. There wasn’t much gas left in her. Han made a decision; he instantly started running towards the shack. He simply couldn’t understand this self-defeating nature of hers. She has help. He had to trust that the link was enough to reach Li. He carefully sprinted using his full speed.

  “Phuuu!?! Fuck… Fuck!” He underestimated the bow’s length; it was longer than him even. The dimness didn’t help either. The bow was gone, broken in half, but he couldn’t stop. His best wasn’t enough, he couldn’t see anything past the woods’s edge. He couldn’t risk going further into the blurriness; it could very well mean his and Pochirin’s death, as the link between them would shatter. He had to think, what do dogs do.

  Shit, shit, shit!

  “HEY! YOU SLEEPING MAJESTIC BEHEMOTH! WAKE UP! DAMMIT!” His words seamlessly turn into excessive loud barks, barks filled with emotion, emotion that one could infer. Emotion that he wished someone would hear. Every moment he’s here, she might as well be dead; any mob could kill her in that state.

  “Fuck… FUCK!” He had to step forward; there’s nothing else he could do. His snout went first; it instantly became numb. The numbness was painless itself, but the surrounding area was turning cold. Slowly, the icy feeling conquered his eyes. Everything disappeared, and time slowed down.

  That’s… what is that…

  Suddenly, a warm hand pushes him back out of the “abyss.” Before he could reorient himself, the absurd warmth he was feeling calmed him down. He was being carried while Li ran at a speed where his eyes had trouble following the trees she passed.

  “Don’t do that.” Her calm voice made him feel sorrow for some reason. He didn’t understand what he was doing. “Can you run?”

  “Yes…” He says, which Li promptly puts him on the ground. Needless to say, he sprints straight in her direction. Her scent, which wasn’t needed for a familiar, lingered for the hound. Her location was like an antenna, and the signal kept getting stronger.

  “I thought I’d fall asleep.” Kanade said. Leaning against the same tree he left her at. She couldn’t muster another step after. Eyes that embodied tiredness; they barely even moved once they arrived. Han’s call to save his skin paid off. It’s only natural he would be proud. However, something kept annoying him.

  You idiot…

  “…Idiot.” Li whispered unbeknownst to Kanade. She pats her head quite roughly, then gaves a hand to stand up with. Han, since he ran first, noticed that Li was still in her undergarments at night. She didn’t seem to be cold; that’s for the better.

  Li grabbed the bag without much trouble, curling her hand around the bag and putting it under her armpit. That made him question the reason why she didn’t come with them in the first place. Though, he does remember her state when she came back wearing that sarcophagus of heat. The trip already was quite long; the final stretch, compared to that, didn’t matter.

  They got to the woods’s edge that reminded him of that scene. Everything was extremely blurry, but with the experience he got with the “sludge zone” there was someone floating. The small figure seemed to be sleeping since the fetal position is quite prominent. However, what stood out was the aura; the figure just exuded light. In that gray nothingness, it really made him think about the reality of it. He couldn’t make sense of what he thinks he saw. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking; he had to go to sleep, or that’s what he thought they were planning to do.

  Something was off in the distance; they were just about to come from behind the shack and turn into their street. But there was warm light coming from the corner. Beforehand, he didn’t see rune lamps like a mile back, yet there was a clear sign of light.

  “They’re back!” A young boy suddenly shouted. Then four kids started running towards them. They seemed happy, oblivious, yet happy. Their clothes were tattered, their hair unwashed, yet they smiled. They were instantly bombarded with questions like; Whadya get? You shoot arrows? Where’s your armor? And other nonsensical, though innocent, questions that didn’t bother him inherently, until it was his turn to get some of the attention.

  “Good puppy! Good puppy!” They surrounded him in a split second; he could sense their eyes lock onto him one by one. Some kid kept patting his head with so much damn force, he could barely keep his head straight.

  I will… I will bite this fucking kid’s arm off even if it’s the last thing I do.

  “Be patient. Let us rest. Kanade is tired, and Margie will cook the food. Now, go play.” With a segmented short speech, Li got rid of them. And, at least those hoodlums listened. Luckily, he didn’t need to do anything rash as his savior had saved him twice now.

  They reach the dirt path of their street; while it is the same one, it seems completely different. Every single shack had an olden wax lamp, combined with their effort and the sizable campfire right in the middle of the street; it reminded Han of a festival.

  “Good hauls today? Hm?” An older woman watched the street and said while turning to them, “Oh my? Sweetie? Are you injured?” The granny jumped to check up on Kanade, who was barely awake.

  “She’s tired. Can Pary light us a lamp?” Li dismissed her.

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  “Of course, of course.” The granny ran off into the distance. Li dropped the meat bag close to the campfire; Han assumed the granny or someone else would cook it for them. Though the granny didn’t return, a balding man came in her stead.

  “Good evening and thanks for the meal.” He said, trying to avert his eyes from going down below her neck. However, a necessary distraction arrived.

  “Mm.” She handed him a cold lamp that hung near their porch while Kanade unlocked the door. The man grabbed it, opened the little shuttle, and poked his finger near the candle’s wick. With effort that caused his finger to shake, a vein to pop out on his forehead, and his face turn red; a small flame akin to a lighter’s pops out from his fingertip, lighting the lamp. He promptly closed it and hung it for them.

  “That’s the extent I can do on nights like these. See ya, and thank you again, ladies.” He added as he walked away, even gave a little bow at the end. By the time Han turned back, Kanade had been lying in the bed for a bit. Li closed the door; before even putting on clothing, she walked over to Kanade. Her hands fidgeted with the leather chest plate’s straps, giving more comfort for Kanade while she relaxed. Han on the other hand just sat in the corner; not very tired, a tad mentally exhausted though.

  It’s been quite a day.

  And even that was an understatement. He’s completely fine, despite experiencing pseudo-death twice, including his actual death. The variables were absurd and a headache. His mind couldn’t avoid putting himself in Kanade’s shoes; nearly dying to a zombie, the hog encounter, and now. If those were his usual days, it’s beyond likely that he would’ve never gone outside to begin with.

  The time went by quickly, Li; after putting on clothes that were a size too small, she went out into the street. Kanade had been sleeping for maybe an hour or two; it was especially hard for him to tell. The only guide was the night sky that hadn’t reached midnight and the fact that the people outside hadn’t gone to sleep yet.

  Something played with his heartstring. The feeling wasn’t from him; it was Kanade’s. The link kept pushing these somber thoughts for some reason. There was no point in trying to understand. She was as still as one could sleep. Worthy to check up on, though before doing so he sighed.

  Han came out from his usual spot, behind the bed, and jumped on it. The bed smushed under him; without the shallow breathing, he could barely tell there was someone even here. Amidst the two blankets, her cat ears were peeking from under them, Kanade was crying. The tears kept running down her cheeks. Her eyes twitched and eventually opened. Han jumped back, pretending that he didn’t wake her up.

  “…Let’s go eat.” Her sleepy voice yawned the whole way through. Wiping her wet cheeks in the same motion whilst standing up. Since she left with her gear, she got ready quickly, dropping her pouch, the quiver, and other things she had attached to her.

  The people outside had hunkered down by then; the lamps on their porches and windows were like a signal that showed whether they were asleep or not. The street was dimmer than before; the campfire went cold probably right before they arrived. Though there were still some adults around. Li was sitting on their neighbor’s steps eating, and granny was coming right up to them.

  “You’re up. Here you go. I saved the juiciest part for ya.” She gave her a wooden bowl and walked away to eat herself. Leaving them right at their porch’s steps. Promptly Kanade plopped down, her sluggishness still apparent with her slow movements.

  Even though she was given a bowl that seemed quite large in her hands, it wasn’t soup that Han originally guessed. Speaking about eating in general. It wasn’t something he explored; you needed to eat in real life anyhow, so eating in-game was a tad redundant; the cooking-related classes weren’t. Back in the day of his dungeon raids, those buffs were insane, practically raid-turning; the taste was nothing to scoff at as well.

  Since he didn’t need to eat, Han just sat beside her and waited. He was waiting a ton, but at least he wasn’t alone. Something very delicious-smelling brushed past his nose. Since food wasn’t something he needed to think of, and as his mastery of his nose went up, he started instinctively suppressing it but when it’s right in front of his nose, he couldn’t.

  “Here. It’s your haul too.” She hovered a piece of meat that dripped juices of pure flavor. He couldn’t refuse; he still had taste buds, so he might as well try it.

  It… it was worth it…

  The thickness instantly didn’t matter as it was crushed by his tongue; there wasn’t any salt or spices on it, yet it felt somewhat sweet. The oily juices reminded him of butter. Then, she threw something in his mouth, something that felt like edible water with seeds.

  “And for that, say thanks to Margie.” Her head subconsciously pointed at the crappy balcony garden. While she continued eating, it jump-started Han’s thoughts. He had never thought the game, now his reality, was this realistic. He wasn’t dumb to ignore the fact that there wasn’t a better place to die in. There was no point in mulling over it now, he knew he would eventually get a body. Until then.

  Get strong, be prudent, and stay sane.

  “Goodnight. I need to wake up early. When you get to the guild; look for me.” Li rapid-fired a bunch of things that Kanade’s groggy brain could barely keep up with. She walked past them and went presumably to bed. They didn’t stay long either; their porch light happened to be the last one still burning by the time she finished eating. Now, she was just sitting. Han really couldn’t tell what she was going through, but he hoped that him being close is enough.

  There was no sign that she was planning to go back to sleeping until the weather said otherwise. The thick rain appeared out of nowhere, the porch didn’t have a roof, so she was directly forced to head back inside. This time, she undressed before coming to bed. Since everyone went to sleep, might as well try to get some shuteye too. He didn’t know whether he could actually sleep; there was no risk in trying.

  Despite not feeling tired, he, or rather Pochirin, seemed to be. Before he could really snooze, something kept him up, not enough to really mull over it, and so he continued fighting against whatever that was. Until something brushed past his nose, then again, causing him finally to rub his nose with his hand.

  Eh?

  He sat up, he was back in the “sludge zone.” He plopped back down on the foggy ground and assumed something; his and his host’s sleep is separate. If he’s always forced into the—

  Sludge zone’s too much of a mouthful… Phantom Realm…

  That meant that, if he’s correct, every time his host falls asleep he’ll still be able to sleep as well, but in the phantom realm. However, Han instantly caught onto the advantage. He threw up his finger near his temple and started projecting.

  A luscious bed… a very comfortable bed… a bed… a mattress… a fucking stone pillow…

  Nothing worked like that time he created a mirror. Giving up after a couple minutes was probably the right choice; the obscured ground didn’t seem that uncomfortable, barely more comfortable than the floorboards back in the shack. Alas, Han didn’t have fur to cushion his bones.

  Before he could really try fighting sleep again the ground shook. All the fog came up into the air; he was practically blind as the world around him shook, and the shroud covering his eyes turned into actual blindness until he opened his eyes once more.

  —Kapow!

  A loud rumble went through the outside; the continuous rumble faded into the heavy rain that responded to its very call. The sensations of Pochirin returned, and so did everything he felt prior. If his teeth could chatter, they would, but he was frozen. The intense cold fought with the graceful heat that Li provided, and the result was akin to being under a blanket while smothered by snow. He instantly gathered that she nabbed him from the foot of the bed and clutched him.

  His mind couldn’t even comprehend the fact that Li, a beautiful woman, was holding him near her chest; he literally couldn’t, as the coldness prevailed over the thought. Her warmth was something he had never felt in his entire life, yet that short moment passed as he was gently plopped into the bed. And her blanket thrown over him and forced to be there, between a broken cat girl and a too-perfect behemoth. However.

  I… it… it’s nice.

  In mere moments, the supposed unwinnable fight against sleep was won. His last thoughts were on how he could change their lives. A single day was enough for him to at least prefer their presence; he had no chance of understanding them if he wasn’t a vulnerable familiar. At the end of the day, it was for the better; there was no need to rationalize it anymore.