When Ignis returned to the Cunning Hares, it was already the afternoon of the next day. He was utterly exhausted, and there was a massive wound on his shoulder.
Fortunately, Nicole was at home at the time. The moment she saw him walking in looking like that, she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"My god! I'm calling the hospital right now!" Nicole pulled out her flip phone to make the call. "After that, you'd better tell me exactly what you were doing to end up looking like this!"
Seeing Nicole panic like that, Ignis felt a pang of guilt. The woman genuinely treated him as family.
But this was something that couldn't be exposed to anyone. The place he had burned must never be known.
Even if, during treatment, he talked in his sleep and accidentally revealed something—it would be disastrous.
The giant reached out, took the phone from the pink-haired woman's trembling hand, and shut it.
"What are you doing? I'm helping you! Give that back!"
Nicole reached to grab it, but Ignis simply made a small motion, and she froze.
"Calm down, Boss Nicole. I'm fine." He held the phone up high, out of her reach.
"You call this fine?" The owner of the Cunning Hares pointed at the wound on Ignis's left shoulder. "Look at yourself—your clothes are soaked in blood!"
"It's already stopped bleeding. The wound will heal on its own." Ignis wanted nothing more than to sleep. His mind was exhausted beyond measure; even thinking was a burden.
"You—" Nicole tried to continue, but Ignis pressed a hand to his forehead, his body swaying as though he might collapse.
She rushed forward to catch the giant, not caring whether her body could bear his weight. Fortunately, Ignis managed to stabilize himself in time, avoiding crushing her.
"What I need most right now is rest." Ignis forced his eyes open. He was so weak that his vision darkened in waves—making it this far was already a miracle.
"As for further treatment, we'll deal with it later. I need to sleep for a while." Ignis handed the phone back to Nicole. "Let's talk when I wake up, alright?"
Through his dimming vision, he saw Nicole's anxious, worried expression. He tried his best to force his facial muscles to form a reassuring smile.
"It's fine. It's not a fatal wound. A bit of rest will fix it."
Seeing how determined he was, Nicole could only comply. The giant looked like he might collapse at any moment; forcing him to go to the hospital now would be pointless. Though she never understood Ignis's aversion to medical treatment, she had heard Anby's explanation about super soldiers.
This giant truly wasn't a normal lifeform of this era—it made sense he had his concerns.
Nicole grabbed Ignis's left hand. "Alright. But when you wake up, you'd better give me a proper explanation."
The owner of the Cunning Hares guided him toward the garage—the doors there were larger, easier to navigate for someone barely able to stand.
"If your condition worsens, you must go to the hospital immediately. Got it?"
Ignis could barely hear her words, nodding instinctively. Darkness swallowed his vision as he kept walking forward, guided only by Nicole's steady hand.
Nicole carefully led the giant through the house, making sure he didn't bump into anything, until they reached the bedside.
He touched the edge of his bed, then collapsed onto it. Luckily, the bed's steel frame held firm under the impact.
He fell unconscious instantly, without another word.
Nicole watched him lying there. She thought about covering him with a blanket, but the giant's sheer weight made it impossible. She gave up with a sigh.
This time, Ignis did not dream.
When he woke again, the outside world was pitch-black—it must have been deep night.
His head no longer hurt, but his whole body still felt weak. He tried to sit up but found he had no strength.
Someone had changed his clothes and covered him with a blanket. Nicole and the others must have worked hard to manage that.
Ignis felt thirsty—and hungry. He must have been unconscious for quite a while.
He pushed himself up with one hand and noticed his left shoulder had been bandaged, with the arm secured to prevent further injury.
As he did, Ignis noticed Nekomiya Mana sleeping by his bedside. She looked peaceful, maybe even drooling a little.
But sitting up even slightly disturbed the space around him, and the cat girl stirred awake, blinking sleepily.
She rubbed her eyes, letting out a lazy yawn, then stretched her arms and back like a drowsy feline.
Seeing her move so much like a cat, Ignis couldn't resist reaching out to pat her head. Nekomata tilted her head, half-asleep, and drifted right back into slumber, her ears twitching contentedly.
Ignis chuckled softly and scratched under her chin; the sneaky cat let out a gentle purr.So Cat Thirens really aren't much different from the real thing, huh?
He had once owned a big white cat for a short while—but unlike Nekomata, that cat had no sense of caution. It always wanted affection, rubbing against anyone it met and demanding to be petted.
One day, it went missing. They'd said it had simply wandered off, but Ignis knew better. A cat that affectionate wouldn't just run away.
He'd never confronted anyone about it, but the loss had always stayed with him.
With practiced ease, Ignis's hand moved from Nekomata's chin to the back of her neck, gently scratching there. Her twin tails stretched out straight in response.
Then he moved to her ears, his thumb brushing in small, rhythmic circles inside. The soft flutter of her twitching ears followed.
"That tickles, stop it," Nekomata murmured, voice low and drawn out. She covered her ears and sat up—then froze when she saw Ignis awake.
"Oh—oh—oh!" She was so startled she couldn't even speak. Just as she was about to shriek, Ignis quickly covered her mouth.
"It's the middle of the night. Keep your voice down—you'll wake the others," Ignis said. When Nekomata nodded, he let go.
"You remember not to wake the others, huh?" she muttered, half annoyed. "Then maybe you should've thought of that before touching me while I was asleep."
"Ah, well, if there's a cat sleeping nearby, anyone would be tempted to pet it," Ignis tried to deflect.
"You say that, but you're pretty good at it," Nekomata replied, stretching with a loud crack of her joints. "You people from your era kept cats too?"
"Of course. Who could say no to a cute cat?" Ignis reached to pat her head again, but she swatted his hand away.
"How's your body feeling? Anything wrong?" Nekomata asked, her eyes glancing at his injured shoulder.
"No major issues—just a bit hungry and thirsty."
Ignis touched his bandaged shoulder. "Who treated this? Did you bring in a doctor?"
Nekomata frowned, crossing her arms. "I wanted to do it, but Anby said she knew how to treat wounds. And, well… I'll admit she did a better job than I could've. Billy's the one who helped change your clothes. Who knew that unreliable robot had so much strength?"
"Nicole said that if you woke up, we had to call her immediately." Nekomata turned toward the door.
"How long was I out?"
Nekomata checked her phone. "Two days and two nights. Nicole was losing her mind. You were lucky—your breathing stayed steady and no fever showed up. But if you hadn't woken up tonight, she was going to call for a special emergency transport and have you sent to the hospital. Her exact words were, 'At least get some glucose into him!'"
At the mention of food, Ignis's stomach growled loudly, making Nekomata burst out laughing.
"Alright, alright, stop laughing. Can you get me some water? I'm dying of thirst here."
"Okay, okay, don't panic," Nekomata said, darting off into the next room.
Soon, her voice echoed down the hall, calling everyone awake—followed by Nicole's and Billy's excited shouts.
Nicole was the first to rush in, eyes full of worry. She bombarded Ignis with questions about how he felt. The pink-haired woman had nearly had a breakdown when Ignis collapsed and didn't move again; if not for the faint breathing, she would've thought he was dead. When the others returned, they'd turned him over, treated his wound, and changed his clothes.
"The wound's healing incredibly fast," Anby said, unwrapping the bandage. The muscle and skin beneath had almost completely regenerated.
"Not sure if this'll be enough!" Billy's voice echoed as he approached carefully. "Watch out, everyone!"
The robot, still wearing pajamas, carried the large iron pot Ignis usually used for stew. Now, it was full of water. Billy walked forward slowly, steady as he could.
Ignis drank deeply, gulping down most of the pot. He hadn't realized just how parched he was until then.
After finishing, he exhaled, satisfied. Seeing the worried faces of his companions gathered around him, he felt he ought to say something.
But before he could, his stomach growled again—loudly enough to make everyone laugh.
Nicole immediately ordered late-night delivery. "Tonight deserves a proper celebration!"
"Then tomorrow, how about that buffet place we talked about before? As an official celebration?" Billy suggested.
For once, everyone agreed—it was certainly a better idea than any of his usual ones involving the Starlight Knight or Sister Monica.