I woke up with my head feeling fairly heavy, though not enough to stop me from getting up and sitting on the wooden floor in complete confusion.
I traced my hands, along with the parts of my body that were not covered by cloth. I couldn't feel any wounds, and the clothes I was still wearing remained intact.
I wasn't the only one here. There were many others inside this room, and they were all the same as me, fox people.
The moment I realized that only our kind was gathered in this place, I immediately tried to remember why all of us were here.
But before I could remember even a single thing—
AAAHH!
My eyes widened as far as they could. My stomach felt horribly nauseous, and my head suddenly spun out of control, making me unable to remember anything at all.
Even after my condition started to feel a little better, I still couldn't remember many memories. The only thing I could remember was...
Who I was, along with my identity. Other than that, I knew absolutely nothing. My memories were truly gone, as if they had been taken away and only left me with a few small fragments behind.
With nowhere else to turn, I decided to stand up by using the wall not far from where I had been lying down.
With great difficulty, I stood on my trembling legs, though they were not weak enough to make me fall. It was still bothersome, even if I could walk normally by forcing myself.
Because of my condition, I had no choice but to walk while keeping one hand against the wall for support. This was the only option I could rely on.
At the very least, I wanted to meet someone. Somehow, at that moment, I didn't know who that person was or what kind of relationship they had with me.
I wasn't following what my mind was telling me to do. I simply felt that this person held a strong place inside my chest—yes, it was my feelings guiding me.
... I could feel that person's presence. Even though my current self had almost completely forgotten about them, I was still certain that I would be able to meet them again someday, just like in the past.
However, my body wouldn't allow me to meet that person.
Only a few steps after I started walking, my legs suddenly felt so weak that they could no longer support the weight of my entire body.
Before I realized it, I collapsed once more, my whole body lying back down on the floor. My head faced to the side, allowing me to see several people within my line of sight.
None of them were moving either, just like me right now, but I could tell that they were still alive.
Oh... I remember why. It's still very vague, but someone once told me that I possessed a rather special ability.
And because of that ability, I could clearly determine a person's physical condition simply by observing the rhythm of their heartbeat. All I had to do was look at their body, and everything would become visible within a single instant.
But... I couldn't even tell whether my own heart was beating normally or not. I couldn't feel it clearly at all because I was too busy trying to breathe.
As much as possible, the only thing I had to do right now was keep breathing so I could stay conscious—
"Lin? Can you hear me? LIN!"
——
Before Lin lost consciousness again, Kayo rushed toward her and repeatedly called out her name until she responded.
Although, from Kayo's perspective, Lin could still see him, she immediately lost consciousness again afterward.
Seeing her condition, Kayo quickly carried Lin on his back and brought her to the next room where the other awakened fox people had gathered.
Less than two hours later, Lin woke up once more. However, this time, she was already wrapped in a large and incredibly warm blanket.
The delicious aroma of food also chased away her drowsiness, and her sense of smell immediately started working perfectly again, helping her condition recover.
——
T-this smell... Is someone cooking?
Now, I could finally see clearly what was in front of me. I was in a different room now, and I could tell from the people inside it.
A long table stretched across the middle of the room, with people sitting around it while eating their meals.
At the corner of the room, several people were cooking food for those who were starving, ignoring the fact that they themselves should have been eating the same meal as well.
In the middle of this situation that felt completely strange to me, I stopped someone who was standing not too far away from me.
Judging from his movements, he was searching for an empty place to sit while carrying a wooden plate in his right hand.
"E-excuse me!" I shouted with a slightly broken voice, perhaps because it had been such a long time since I last spoke to another person.
He turned toward me, then walked closer while still carrying his plate.
"Oh, you're finally awake? Thank goodness... Once again, Kayo brought someone still alive out of the next room. You should thank him later, alright?"
Before I could ask who Kayo was or why he had brought me here, someone called out to him and told him to hurry over.
"The Prince is cooking together with his companions. If you want to thank him, just head over to where they're cooking. Look, over there in the corner of the room—you can see him, right?"
He immediately left while waving his hand toward the person calling him as a sign that he would be there soon.
... My hand reached out toward him. I wanted to thank him after explaining what had happened to me. But he had already left before I could say anything... I'll repay him later.
For now, I wanted to know why he changed the name "Kayo" into "Prince." It sounded very unfamiliar to me.
—
I approached the five people who were cooking, and all of them looked extremely focused on the task they were handling.
"Excuse me. May I meet Kayo?" I asked while standing a fair distance away from the five of them.
The man standing in the middle immediately nudged the shoulder of the man beside him and gestured that someone was standing behind them.
He turned around while carrying a plate filled with warm porridge, holding it out toward me as though it was meant to be my portion.
"Huh? Lin?"
That's him! The voice I heard before I lost consciousness... He called my name just like before as well...
I must have had a very strong connection with him. I need to speak with him—
"Wait a moment, Lin."
Before I could ask anything, Kayo immediately turned around to check the condition of the food cooking inside a fairly large pot behind him.
...
"Lin, I'll talk to you later. For now, please take this plate first and join the others, okay?"
I accepted the plate and walked away without trying to argue or act selfishly.
There was a possibility that I used to be a good girl, so I didn't want to do anything that might ruin my own image.
I sat at the edge of the table where no one else was sitting. I intentionally distanced myself from the others before I could figure out who I truly was.
I stared at the porridge in front of me for quite a while before finally realizing what I should do in this moment.
... T-this porridge looks very warm... I should eat it so my body can feel warmer too... Thank you for the meal!