Chapter 99

That night, I came to the fortress to stay in Tina's room.

However, it was a bit too early to go to bed, so I relaxed in the common room with everyone. Since I had taken a nap for about an hour at Grandma Heidlin's, I wasn't sleepy even though it was past eight.

Kugaru had followed me, so I also invited Woodbaum to sit in a corner of the common room.

We spread out a picture book on the floor, and Woodbaum, in the form of a deer, read it to Kugaru and me.

"And the prince proposed to the princess, and she happily accepted."

Woodbaum skillfully turned the pages with his nose.

I sat and listened, but Kugaru lay sprawled out on the floor, looking bored.

From behind, I could hear the knights whispering.

"A deer is reading a picture book to a fox and a leopard cub..."

"Who even brought a picture book?"

"It must be the leader."

Everyone seemed to glance to the right. The leader was sitting on the farthest sofa, reading a book with his jacket off.

It was rare for the leader to be in the common room, but since he was pretending to read a book and looking at us, he might have been targeting us.

Woodbaum continued reading the picture book, ignoring the intense gaze from the leader.

"The two returned to the castle, got married, and lived happily ever after. The end."

With a snap, Woodbaum closed the picture book and started to open the next one. I wondered how many picture books the leader had brought.

Kugaru had already closed his eyes, and I was getting bored with the picture books. So I sat on the open book, ending the storytime.

"Milfuria, I can't read it. What a bother."

I rolled onto my back, showing my belly, and playfully poked Woodbaum with my four legs while observing the common room.

Jild was playing a guitar-like instrument as usual, but this time Kicks was singing along with a random song. When the two got carried away and started making noise, Gregorio, who was nearby, gave them a rather harsh warning, "Shut up!" and the other knights laughed.

The one-eyed knight was chatting leisurely with the gatekeeper, and the leader was still looking at us intently.

Rekka and Tina were chatting together, but Tina's smile seemed a bit forced, as if she was worried about being disliked.

Lying on my back on the picture book, I hugged Woodbaum's face, restraining him while watching the two.

"Milfuria, I can't move..."

I wanted Tina to resolve her issues quickly, so if I couldn't find the cause during this sleepover, I might ask Rekka directly. I wasn't sure if she would be honest, though.

"Milfuria..."

"Oh, right!"

I jumped up, letting go of Woodbaum's face.

I realized that the mouse hole in the common room hadn't been sealed yet.

I thought I should ask the one-eyed knight, who didn't seem to be drunk today, but then another idea came to mind.

The wall with the mouse hole was made of wood, unlike the fortress walls. The hole was gnawed through, but the board that had been used to seal it was also wooden.

"Hey, Woodbaum, can you seal that hole?"

I asked, pointing my nose at the small mouse hole.

"Hmm, maybe I can use thin wooden vines to cover it. It might not look good, though."

Woodbaum stood up and approached the wall with the hole, making a clattering sound with his hooves. I followed him.

"Okay, I'll try it."

"Please do."

The moment Woodbaum focused on the hole—

"Ah!"

Brown vines sprouted from the floor, wrapping around my front legs, making me yelp.

The vines stopped growing when they reached my chest, but my front legs were stuck to the floor, unable to move. I squeaked for help, unable to do anything.

Kugaru, who had been sleeping, woke up, and the knights noticed the commotion and stood up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Milfuria! What should I do!?"

Woodbaum panicked, clattering his hooves and pacing around me.

However, as long as Woodbaum was confused, the damage wasn't limited to me.

"Ah, my feet!"

"Oh no! The table!"

Vines sprouted from the floor in about seven or eight places in the common room.

Some were thinner than a finger, while others were thicker than an arm, entangling the knights' feet and tables, immobilizing them.

"I'm really sorry, everyone, I'm so sorry..."

Woodbaum apologized, seeing the mess in the common room.

"It's okay, no one is hurt."

I said immediately.

"Besides, I'm sorry too. Woodbaum is still learning to control his power."

"No, I thought I could seal a small hole. But it seems I shouldn't use my power yet."

The knights also encouraged the dejected Woodbaum.

"Don't worry about us."

"It's just that our feet can't move."

"Thank you. Even though it looks scary, everyone is so kind."

Woodbaum said, sounding touched. Apparently, he had thought the knights of the fortress looked scary.

The knights who weren't restrained went out to get saws. The thinner vines could be loosened by hand, but it was difficult to tear them off. The thicker ones couldn't be cut without a saw.

"Ouch, ouch."

Kugaru tried to bite through the vines on my legs, but he was also biting my front legs, so I wanted him to stop.

"Mil."

In the end, the one-eyed knight and the leader came to help, and I was freed from the vines. Because my legs were small, I could easily slip out once the vines were loosened a bit, without getting caught on the top of my feet or heels.

When the saws were brought in, the knights divided the work to cut the vines entangled around their immobilized comrades' feet.

However, Jild screamed in terror.

"Kicks! Stop! I don't want it!"

Jild, who was also caught by thick vines, turned pale when Kicks picked up a saw.

"Rekka or Tina! I want Rekka or Tina!"

"Don't be shy."

"I'm not being shy! You'll definitely cut my foot too!"

"I'll stop just in time."

"No, stop, you idiot!"

Kicks isn't very trustworthy.

In the end, Jild had Rekka cut the vines. Tina, who was skilled in sewing from making stuffed animals, was rejected because Jild thought she was clumsy and scary. Even with someone he liked, there were things he couldn't compromise on.

The knights who were caught by the vines seemed worried about their comrades' roughness, and the popular choices for cutting the vines were the leader, the one-eyed knight, Rekka, the gatekeeper, and the intimidating Rhodes.

"It's rude to refuse when we're trying to help."

"Exactly."

The rough ones who were rejected were indignant, but if they were in the same situation, they would probably have relied on the one-eyed knights too.

Woodbaum apologized to the knights restrained by the vines, but everyone managed to get free without getting their feet cut by the saws.

While thinking that I should ask the one-eyed knight to seal the mouse hole, I turned around and saw that the hole was already covered by several thin wooden vines.

"Woodbaum! Look, it's done! Thank you!"

"Huh? Really?"

It seemed Woodbaum hadn't noticed, but the mouse hole was properly sealed.

Now I wouldn't have to worry about curious mice biting my feet, and I could relax and sleep in the common room, which made me feel relieved.