Blushing, Milio heard Noce say in a flat tone:"I have something I want to ask of you.""Yes! Just say the word."Pat, pat.To be patted twice—today had to be an insanely lucky day. Milio couldn’t keep the slack, spreading grin off their face and giggled.Facing the child who wagged their tail like a puppy, Noce, too, spoke on with a rarely gentle look."She’s due to wake soon.""Sorry? Who… Ah, the human in your cabin, Boss?"Milio’s eyes rolled.Five days ago, in the storm, the human woman Noce had pulled from the sea had become fairly well-known aboard. It was startling enough that Noce Mostro himself had saved someone on the brink of death, but more because that someone was a human.Everyone’s uncomfortable with humans.Honestly, Milio found humans scary. They didn’t even want to remember the rough treatment they’d suffered when seized on a slave ship. They knew, too, that the edge in Milena’s nerves lately was because of that human woman.But…"It’s a relief she’ll wake. Should I make something easy to eat—convalescent food?"She was a human that their most favorite person, Noce, had saved. Even as they shrank a little, Milio offered kindness first. Noce, looking a touch surprised at that, smiled faintly."Good kid, Milio.""N—no…"Pat, pat, pat.His voice was still dry, but the touch was clearly different than before, and heat rushed to Milio’s face. Their first time receiving first-class praise from Noce left them at a loss.I’m going to make the tastiest patient meal in the world…!Whether she was human or not no longer mattered. Motivation bubbled up on its own.That was when words Milio hadn’t expected slipped into their ear."I’d like you to take it to her yourself.""Uh, yes? But…"Milio, who’d meant to deliver the food to the Boss or leave it outside the door, hesitated. Glancing down at where their tail had thumped to the floor, they added carefully:"I don’t think the human will like that…"To humans, beastfolk were basically beasts—nothing more or less.Dilettantes collected rare beastfolk slaves, and even humans who kept no slaves found beastfolk creepy or contemptible. If that human woman knew a beastfolk had made the food, wouldn’t she recoil?Noce stroked his jaw as if it were nothing."She won’t care much.""Sir?""Even if she kidnaps you.""Sir?!"Strung-together words that made no sense left Milio’s face blank. Noce, meanwhile, wore a pleased expression, as if amused by his own thoughts."Her condition’s improved a bit, so I’m sure she’ll try to escape. And in the process she’ll probably hurt someone or take a hostage, so I’d prefer she didn’t overdo it.""Uh, um…""Milio, you’re small and light enough she won’t be too burdened.""…""It’s best she recognizes reality with as little pain as possible, right?"Which reality…?Through Noce’s whole speech, Milio’s eyes wobbled. Of course, Milio had known for a while.Their most favorite person, Noce, was strong and cool—and also a little crazy."I want to break her wings—without pain.""R—right…"Anyway, he was going to break them.Maybe not a little crazy… a lot?One thick layer peeled off Milio’s rose-colored glasses. But their gaze soon firmed."Because she’s a patient, you want me to let her know—without pushing her too far—that she can’t run, right?""Good and smart, too, Milio.""Hehe."Milio still had a dozen layers of rose-colored glasses left.Receiving a third pat, Milio smiled, pleased.I lied from the start, so I feel like teasing her a bit, too.Masking that unspoken ulterior motive, Noce added, as if he knew nothing:"Could you let yourself be kidnapped for a moment? You won’t get hurt.""Yes. Because you’ll be there, Boss!""Mm, I probably won’t need to step in at all.""Sir?"To the child peering up in puzzlement, Noce smiled meaningfully."She’s kind to the little ones."***I thought he was just saying that.After the hostage play had run its course, Milio recalled what Noce had told them.It was true.There are plenty of people kind to children—when the child is their own kind.Per Noce’s request, Milio had brought food to the human woman braced for the possibility of being handled rough, within the bounds of not risking their life. That was fine. They trusted Noce; if it helped the Boss, a little pain could be endured.But when they met the human woman with all that bracing—the woman felt a little different from the humans they’d known."Hold still. The more you struggle, the more you’ll choke."The warning tone was threatening, but the hands binding with a blanket were not all that rough. If they tried to move, she’d make it a little hard to breathe, but the moment they stopped resisting, she let the air through.Maybe it was an illusion, but when she slung them up, it felt like she took care not to hurt their belly.Uh… huh…?It was true the human woman took them as a hostage, just as Noce expected… but something felt different. When she noticed the tail between their legs, her reaction was strange, too."…"Even with their face wrapped in a blanket and nothing to see, they could tell. The woman knew Milio was beastfolk and neither flinched nor sneered. Her hands didn’t turn rough.She headed straight out to find a way off. Even as Milio dangled from her, they were confused."She’s kind to the little ones."The Boss’s words, which hadn’t landed then, came back.What on earth is she…? And since when did the Boss know this /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ human? Was that night in the storm really not their first time?While the human woman made for the deck and things grew more urgent, Milio, unlike any proper hostage, drifted along in such thoughts.The first time Milio actually faced the human woman’s expression was when she suddenly threw them."Aaah!"Even a sea-otter beastfolk gets scared if they’re suddenly hurled into the air. But the look they met in that instant stuck like a nail.…That—It wasn’t the face of someone tossing aside a now-useless hostage. On that face, tight with urgency and haste, was clear concern…Unlike the human whose falling body was headed for the sea, Milio, seeing their own body was dropping toward the deck, finally realized:So we wouldn’t fall together… on purpose?Milio was a sea-otter beastfolk whose specialty was swimming. Being thrown into the water wouldn’t kill them.Whether she knew that or not, they had no idea. But the act was almost certainly reflex. Naturally—without a doubt—an ingrained, very gentle act."You won’t get hurt."The human woman had tried to save a beastfolk like them. That much was certain.And with that impression, Milio told the crew the entire truth of what had happened, honestly.The Boss never told me to keep it a secret, anyway.Surrounded by adults on deck with dazed faces, Milio finished."…That’s what happened."Noce had long since slipped away into the cabin with the unconscious woman.Left on deck to hear Milio’s story, the sailors fell into confusion."So… what was it? A staged act?""So she wasn’t a bad human, in the end?""Why do I feel like the bad guy is the Boss…?""When was the Boss ever good.""That’s… true…"Among them, only Milena was quiet. But her eyes drifted without rest, and sweat sheeted down her face.Catching that reaction, Siobhan swallowed a sigh inside.I told her not to get involved.If you tried to match Noce, who was far outside not only the category of “human” but the category of “normal,” the only one who got tired was you.Having spent the longest time at Noce’s side and passed through all the stages of confusion the crew now felt, the Underboss wore a look of release.And that whole night, when Aquila finally woke groaning, her eyes, too, were clouded.…I did get played, didn’t I?***When she opened her eyes, the view was familiar.In the middle of a plush cabin bed, in a hold with a mildly cool body, Aquila woke—and, instead of rising at once, replayed the memories from the moment she’d blacked out.I didn’t think I was fully recovered, but that reaction was abnormal.The pain and heat that had surged up out of nowhere weren’t something that could be chalked up to a gunshot’s aftereffects.It had been as if something held in check had been let go all at once and left her helpless.And this man—he’d expected it.Hoo… She felt pipe smoke drift with a low breath above her crown. Propped against a heap of cushions, his arms around her, his heartbeat was as unhurried as could be.He had no sense of crisis, though he had to know she was awake—and that she could, right now, reach for his throat.As when she fell toward the sea.That’s why he didn’t move.Unlike the other sailors, frantic to get the hostage back, he hid his presence and watched her quietly. Because he knew from the start she would be rendered powerless.No, even that hostage… there’s a good chance he sent them on purpose…"Fifteen minutes."While she ground her teeth, trying to track where his plan began and ended, his voice came out of nowhere.At the sweet tone that slid strangely into her ear, Aquila flinched and shivered her shoulders. As if to ease her, he gently stroked the bandaged length of her back and added softly:"That’s about how long you can move on a single mouthful of blood.""…What?""You figured out as much, didn’t you?"The fingers that had been rubbing her back climbed up along her neck. At the touch threading into her white hair, a ripple of gooseflesh rose.He teased his lips along the bared nape and murmured:"That you’re on the brink of death right now. Young lady."

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