~ “There, all done.” Kaname watched as the ointment completely seeped into the skin and withdrew her hand.
Ignoring Eevee’s stiff body, she lightly patted its head with her right hand, her tone calm and brooks no argument.
“Listen.” Kaname pointed to the room’s door, then pointed to Eevee.
“I’ll find a way to get you food, whether it’s Berries or something else.
I definitely won’t let you starve, and I’ll help heal your injuries.” Speaking to this point, Kaname paused, her eyes narrowing slightly, exuding a sense of deterrence.
“In exchange, you must remain absolutely quiet in this room.” “No crying out, no scratching the furniture, and definitely no relieving yourself anywhere in this room…
Even if the sky falls, as long as I haven’t returned, you have to stay put and behave.” If it didn’t listen, would it be thrown out?
Or would it receive an even more terrifying punishment than before?
Eevee shrank its neck.
Although it couldn’t quite understand the complex human language, it keenly read the meaning in Kaname’s eyes.
It was a total warning.
“Ee-vee…” The little fellow let out a timid cry, then nodded vigorously like a pounding pestle, its two long ears flapping up and down with the movement.
“Very good.” Kaname also nodded in satisfaction.
Communicating with Pokémon that possessed a certain level of intelligence was indeed worry-free.
She stood up and looked at her left hand, which was wrapped in thick gauze.
Although that cut earlier was indeed deep and the bleeding was a bit frightening, Kaname didn’t actually take it too seriously in her heart.
After all, this was the Pokémon world.
In this world, not only did Pokémon possess extraordinary vitality, but even human constitutions were ridiculously tough.
Being hit by a Pikachu’s Thunderbolt would only turn one into charcoal, and being hit by a Charizard’s Flamethrower would just result in an afro…
Injuries that would be fatal in her original world weren’t even considered serious injuries here.
A mere cut from a small knife only looked terrifying.
As long as it didn’t get infected, with the body’s self-healing ability, it would scab over and heal in two or three days at most, without even leaving a scar.
Using this small price to trade for Eevee’s life-saving medicine was a worthwhile bargain no matter how you looked at it.
“Let’s sleep then.” After tossing and turning all night, once her tense nerves relaxed, sleepiness surged into her heart.
Kaname bent down and picked up the coat wrapping Eevee along with the little fellow.
“Vee?!” Eevee’s whole body stiffened again.
But Kaname just squatted down and gently pushed it, along with its makeshift little nest, into the deepest part under the bed.
“Hide here.
The teacher might come for room inspections tomorrow morning; don’t get caught.” After saying that.
Kaname patted the dust off her hands, climbed onto the bed herself, pulled over the quilt to cover herself, and before long, the sound of steady breathing could be heard.
…
Silence fell over the room once more.
Under the bed.
Eevee curled up in the dark corner, with only a sliver of moonlight filtering through the gap in the bedsheets barely illuminating a small area in front of it.
Narrow and dark.
But this was the cleanest place it had ever stayed in since it was born.
No smell of mold, no stench of rot, only a faint smell of dust and the pleasant milky scent from the clothes beside it.
“Ee-vee…” Eevee moved its body cautiously.
The original burning, tearing sensation in its abdomen was fading, replaced by a cool, refreshing feeling.
The ointment applied by the terrifying human hatchling was taking effect.
Eevee looked down at its belly, then looked up at the dark bedboard above its head.
Its mood became incredibly complex.
In its original understanding, the world was cruel.
The strong preyed on the weak; the winner had everything, and the loser could only linger on in the gutters.
To get anything, one had to pay a price in blood.
But just now…
That human hatchling clearly could have thrown it away, or like those bad people, locked it in a cage to be sold.
But she didn’t.
She even went as far as hurting herself just to find medicine for it.
Why?
Eevee’s small head was filled with big questions.
It had never been taught how to respond to something called “kindness,” let alone how to deal with the sour, swelling emotion in its chest.
It had made a mess of her room just now and even wanted to bite her…
In the darkness, Eevee lowered its ears and buried its head in its front paws.
Although the way that girl held the knife was terrifying, still…
The wound on its body didn’t hurt anymore.
The sweetness left by that candy in its mouth seemed to flow down its throat and into its heart, making this cold night no longer so hard to endure.
After an unknown amount of time, under the dual effects of the medicine and a sense of security, Eevee finally fell into a deep sleep.
…
Early the next morning.
Ring ring ring— A second before the wake-up bell rang, Kaname opened her eyes on time.
The inertia of her biological clock made her wake up quickly.
She didn’t rush to get up and dress; instead, she immediately rolled over to lie on the edge of the bed and poked her head down to look under the bed.
In the dim shadows, the small brown ball of fur was curled up, sleeping soundly, its body rising and falling rhythmically with its breathing.
[Pokédex scanning…] [Target: Eevee] [Status: Sleeping / Recovering] [Vital Sign Monitoring: Body temperature has returned to normal, wound inflammation is under control, and healing is accelerating.
Mental state is stable.] Seeing the blue words pop up on her retina, Kaname’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.
As long as the inflammation was gone, the rest was just a matter of time and nutrition.
“Count yourself lucky.” Kaname murmured softly.
She didn’t wake it up and moved lightly to get up, wash, and change her clothes.
…
The corridors of the Daycare Center were filled with the sounds of children playing.
Kaname had just walked into the classroom and hadn’t even reached her seat when an energetic figure rushed over.
“Good morning, Kaname—eek!!” Erika originally wanted to give her good friend a big hug, but when she saw the white gauze wrapped around Kaname’s left hand, she let out a sharp, explosive cry.
“Ka-Kaname?!
What happened to your hand?!” Little Erika’s eyes widened, and her face instantly turned pale.
She carefully cupped Kaname’s left hand, looking at the thick gauze.
Her eyes instantly turned red, and tears welled up, ready to fall at any moment.
“Why is it wrapped in so many layers…
Does it hurt?
Did you lose a lot of blood?” Erika’s voice carried a sob.
The other children who were playing around all quieted down, casting curious and worried glances over.
Kaname’s mouth twitched slightly.
While she knew Erika was worried about her, this reaction was a bit too exaggerated.
“It’s nothing.
I accidentally cut it while doing crafts yesterday…” “Liar!
How could a small cut be wrapped like this!” Erika obviously didn’t believe this explanation, convinced that Kaname was just putting on a brave face.
Looking at Kaname’s expressionless face.
Erika sniffled, took a deep breath, and her expression suddenly became serious.
She gently held Kaname’s injured hand with both of hers, lowered her head, leaned in close to the gauze, and puffed out her cheeks.
“Hoo—hoo—” She blew gently, then looked up and recited a spell with a serious face: “Pain, pain—all fly away~!” After saying that, she even waved her hand with great ceremony.
“…” Kaname was momentarily speechless.
“How is it?
Mommy says it won’t hurt anymore if I do this!” Erika blinked her large eyes, looking at Kaname with a face full of expectation.
Faced with such dazzlingly pure concern, Kaname couldn’t bring herself to say anything to spoil the mood.
She sighed, feeling the faint airflow on the gauze and the warmth from Erika’s palms.
“Yeah…
it really doesn’t seem to hurt anymore.” “That’s great!” Erika’s tears turned into a smile.
“To celebrate that Kaname isn’t in pain anymore, I’ll help you eat all your carrots at lunch today!” “…That won’t be necessary.”