🐅 🐅 🐅
AFTER returning from Yule, Ryuho and Hisame were provided with their own rooms in the North Star Sanctuary. Ryuho was given a room befitting a prince since he could no longer transform into a Flame Tiger. Unlike his last room, it was furnished with human amenities such as a desk, a normal bed, and so forth.
Ryuho and Hisame had been given rooms as a reward for risking their lives for Angelina. In other words, Jinlong was implicitly placing their trust in these two foreign princes.
Hisame had been wounded and exhausted following the fierce battle in Yule. Of course, Angelina was able to mend Hisame’s wounds with her healing magic. Even so, Hisame’s magical energy had been drained since he’d used an enormous amount of sorcery all at once. His stamina had been depleted as well. In the end, Kyril ordered Hisame to rest in the North Star Sanctuary. They couldn’t send Hisame home in his current state, after all.
Angelina sat on the side of Hisame’s bed, diligently caring for him. “Open wide, Hisame.”
Hisame obeyed without complaint despite the blush creeping up his cheeks. A moment later, Angelina brought a spoonful of rice porridge to his wide-open mouth. The scent of ginger wafted from the bowl, and the red wolfberries were as bright as rubies. Best of all, steam rose from the fluffy, pure white rice. All of them whetted Hisame’s appetite.
It’s warm and sweet, he thought.
Warmth spread from his core as he ate the porridge. The chicken had been cooked to tender perfection. Strangely, the porridge fed by Angelina’s hand caused power to well up inside him. Perhaps it was a result of her healing magic. In any case, an entirely new sense of euphoria swelled within his chest.
No one worried about sick people in Anda. Injuries and infirmities were one’s own responsibilities. If a person fell ill, they were often mocked for being weak of mind or body. As a result, Hisame’s heart sang with joy at receiving bedside care for the first time.
“This porridge is so good…” Hisame mumbled.
“Really?” Angelina asked, breaking out into a smile. “I helped make it! Eat as much as you can, okay?”
Still beaming, Angelina brought the next spoonful of porridge to Hisame’s lips. Again, he accepted it without complaint. At that moment, the door slammed open, and Ryuho entered the room.
“Huh?!” he shouted, exploding with discontent from the outset. “What’s going on here?! That’s not fair, Hisame!”
Hisame continued chewing the food, ignoring Ryuho. He opened his mouth like a baby bird to ask for the next spoonful, which Angelina obliged. Fuming, Ryuho stomped over to the bed and slumped down next to Angelina.
“Let’s be quiet, Ryuho,” Angelina chided him. “Okay?”
Ryuho puffed out his cheeks. “Hisame can eat by himself, right?!” he shouted in a huff. “You don’t have to feed him! It’s not fair!”
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Hisame lowered his head and suppressed a laugh, finding Ryuho’s actions rather comical. At the same time, he felt a slight sense of superiority.
“Do you want to feed Hisame too?” Angelina asked, offering the spoon to Ryuho. “Go ahead!”
“Hell no! Why would I ever want to do that?!”
Hisame burst out laughing. Seeing him double over with laughter, Angelina and Ryuho exchanged glances.
“Gah!” Ryuho shouted, bristling with anger. “What’s so funny?!”
“It’s nothing,” Hisame answered, wiping tears of laughter from the outer corners of his eyes. “I’m just happy.”
Angelina held out another spoonful of porridge while cocking her head. “Here you go, Hisame. Say, ‘Aaah.’”
Hisame opened wide again, showing off to Ryuho. “Aaaaah.”
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” Ryuho exclaimed. “Not fair!”
“How is it unfair?” Angelina asked. “You just ate, right? If you want porridge, you can have it for your next meal, okay?”
“I’m not talking about porridge! I want you to feed me, too!”
“Then we can do that another time, all right?”
“That’s still not what I’m talking about…” Ryuho grumbled. His tiger ears probably would have been drooping if he still had them.
“It’s not?” Angelina asked, gazing at Ryuho with her azure eyes.
Ryuho looked away, unsure how to respond. He didn’t want to tell Angelina the truth since he knew he was being selfish. At the same time, he wanted her to understand.
“I mean…” he trailed off.
Hisame tittered as he understood Ryuho’s feelings well. “Ryuho doesn’t like that you’re feeding me.”
“Gah!” Ryuho bellowed. “Don’t spill my secrets when I’m doing my best to be patient, you idiot!”
“Is that what this is about?” Angelina asked. “Sorry, Ryuho, but Hisame used up all his magic energy, remember? I’m doing this to share my energy with him.”
“Really?” Hisame asked.
As Angelina held the spoon with her right hand, the Tianshi’s Protective Seal sparkled on her palm. Both Ryuho and Hisame looked at it, surprised.
“You’re doing this to share your magic?” Hisame pressed.
“Yep!” Angelina responded with a nod. “I want you to get healthy as soon as possible. That way, the three of us can play together again!”
Angelina’s nonchalant smile was enough to make Hisame cry tears of joy. So this is why a single spoonful of porridge filled me with happiness, he thought while squeezing his chest.
“…I see,” Ryuho said. “Yeah, I do want to play together again! And go on adventures! It was super cool when Hisame made everything splodey-spolde! I wanna do that again!”
Angelina smiled. “Let’s keep the splodey-splodes small next time, okay?”
“Yeah, we don’t wanna get hurt!” Laughing, Ryuho turned towards Hisame. “Get well soon, and we’ll do that again!”
“Are you talking about the phreatic explosion?” Hisame asked.
“Yeah, that thing! And start feeding yourself once you’re better!”
“Hmm. I might keep being sick for a little while longer then.”
Ryuho tried to bare his fangs out of habit. “Hell no! Not fair!”
“I agree,” Angelina said with a smile. “We won’t be able to play together if you stay sick. Get well soon, okay?”
She held out another spoonful of warm porridge with her glittering right hand. The wolfberries—said to be an elixir of immortality—shone with a red light.
Hisame nodded while grinning from ear to ear. “Okay!” he exclaimed before opening wide again. The sweet rice melted in his mouth, the tender chicken was pleasantly savory, and the wolfberries popped between his teeth. Altogether, a pleasant warmth spread throughout his body.
Angelina and Ryuho discussed where they would visit next while sitting on Hisame’s bed. The depths of Hisame’s eyes prickled as if he were staring at a bright light. At long last, he’d been accepted into the friend group. Apart from its healing magic, Angelina’s porridge seemed full of love. Soon, Hisame’s nose began to run, perhaps because the porridge had warmed him. After squeezing his eyes shut, he sniffled.