When Lil woke up in the morning, she realized that Ian was not beside her. Last night, she had fallen asleep between Ian and Louis. While stroking Louis’s fluffy fur as he slept, Lil wondered where Ian could be. Just then, she heard some sounds from the garden that resembled a practice session. Now that she thought about it, she remembered hearing something about knight training in the morning.

Lil quickly changed her clothes, washed her face, and headed to the garden with Louis, who had just woken up. There, knights were sparring with wooden swords. Ian noticed Lil and greeted her with a “Good morning.” Lil cheerfully returned the greeting. Even though she was already wearing shoes, Ian picked her up in his arms. From there, Lil watched the training. She thought everyone looked really cool. One day, she wanted to learn the sword too.

Just then, something flew across the sky above the base. Looking up, she saw a large dragon soaring through the air. Ian and the others tensed up, but Lil was excited. It was her first time seeing a dragon, and she thought it was big and cool.

The dragon landed near the base’s entrance. Everyone hurried to the front door. Even for knights who guarded the forest, this was a first.

The dragon sat quietly in front of the entrance. Next to it was a Silver Wolf.

“Is the ‘interpreter’ here?”

Hearing the dragon speak, Lil responded. Ian set Lil down on the ground.

“I am a dragon who lives deep within the forest. I heard the ‘interpreter’ had appeared, so I came to greet you. I was also entrusted with the interpreter’s guardian by the Silver Wolf Tribe.”

“Nice to meet you, my name is Lil. Thank you for coming to greet me.”

After introducing herself, Lil looked at the Silver Wolf.

“Are you going to be my guardian?”

The Silver Wolf wagged its tail vigorously in response.

“Nice to meet you, Lil. I’ll be in your care from today.”

Lil was overjoyed and petted the Silver Wolf. They would be friends who would stay together from now on. She decided to get along well.

“Hmm, it seems like you two get along well. I’m relieved to see that she doesn’t seem like a bad person. Now that I’ve greeted you, I’ll be heading back.”

“You’re leaving already?”

Lil had wanted to talk with the dragon a little more.

“It’s not good for me to stay in a human dwelling for too long. I’ll come visit occasionally.”

“Yes! Please make sure you come!”

Lil stroked the dragon’s scales. They felt smooth and pleasant.

The dragon soared into the sky. Everyone thought it looked incredibly cool.

“Lil, what was the dragon here for?”

When Ian asked, Lil explained that it was just to greet her and deliver her guardian. Ian was relieved. If the dragon had been an enemy, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Louis approached Lil’s guardian.

“Quite a young one came. Was that to match Lil’s age?”

“Yes, the chieftain thought a younger one would be better.”

“I see… Lil, give this one a name.”

Lil was surprised. Did Silver Wolves not have names?

The Silver Wolf looked at Lil with hopeful, amber-colored eyes.

“How about Kohaku? Does Kohaku sound good?”

The Silver Wolf wagged its tail joyfully. Lil introduced Kohaku to everyone.

With yet another new friend, Lil was thrilled.

As Lil guided Kohaku around the base, she remembered something from the earlier conversation.

“Hey, Kohaku, they said you were young. How long do Silver Wolves live?”

“Let’s see… about 300 years, I suppose. I’ve lived for nearly 200 years, and our chieftain is over 300.”

“I’m only about 40,” Kohaku added.

Lil was astonished. Maybe divine beasts all lived long lives.

“What about the squirrels?”

“I think they live for about 100 years.”

A hundred years! Lil wondered if she could live that long too. It seemed unlikely.

“What about dragons?”

“They’re special. They can live for thousands of years! The dragon you saw earlier is the very one who made a contract with the founding king.”

Lil realized just how amazing that dragon had been and suddenly felt nervous. She hoped she hadn’t done anything rude. She believed she had been polite enough.

“If things go in order, the Silver Wolf Tribe will probably come to greet you tomorrow.”

“Yes, that’s what everyone expects.”

“Really? That’s exciting! How is the order decided?”

“If I had to say, it’s probably based on territory size. The Silver Wolf Tribe patrols the entire forest.”

Apparently, patrolling the forest was the Silver Wolves’ duty.

Lil talked about many things with Kohaku and the others. While recounting her past, Louis suddenly noticed something.

“The mouse you said was your friend… wasn’t it a divine beast?”

That was shocking news to Lil.

“Now that you mention it, Lil can’t talk to regular animals.”

Lil remembered she couldn’t talk to the knights’ horses either.

“Living in human territory must have been an unusual divine beast.”

That mouse—whom she had named Marron—was probably still doing well. Since she had disappeared without saying goodbye, Marron was probably worried.

Lil missed Marron terribly.

Noticing Lil’s sadness, Kohaku and the others nuzzled against her to comfort her. Lil prayed that Marron was safe and well.

That afternoon, Ian and Louis went on their forest patrol.

Today’s babysitter was Vice Commander Hayden.

“Lil, let’s play until the captain and the others get back!”

Was it okay to play? Lil felt worried.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. For those of us staying behind, it’s practically a half-day break.”

Saying that, Hayden picked Lil up and put her on his shoulders. Lil’s suddenly elevated view was fun.

They went out to the garden. Hayden took out some wooden paddles and feathered objects from what looked like a storage shed. Michiru-chan called it “hanetsuki.”

“You hit this feathered thing back and forth without letting it touch the ground. Got it?”

Lil nodded. This was her first time playing like this, and she worried if she could do it well.

Hayden lightly hit the feathered object. Surprisingly, Lil managed to hit it back cleanly.

“Oh, nice one! Keep it up, Lil!”

After a while of playing, Lil ran out of energy.

“Alright, now it’s Kohaku’s turn!”

Saying that, Hayden brought out a disc-like object. Michiru-chan called it a frisbee.

Hayden threw the frisbee with all his might. Kohaku ran after it and caught it mid-air.

Lil clapped without thinking.

Next, Lil tried throwing the frisbee herself. She couldn’t throw it far, but it was still a lot of fun.

Kohaku wagged his tail happily.

Exhausted from playing, Lil eventually fell asleep.

Hayden carried the sleeping Lil to her bed.

When the tired Lil woke up, it was dinnertime.