The sun had only just risen, and its light was already slipping insistently through the shutters of the room, revealing the shadows and pointing straight toward the bed where Violet was peacefully resting.
Thump.
"Mmhh?" A strange sound, like heavy footsteps.
Thump-thump.
"What is that noise…?"
Violet pulled the thin sheet over her head, trying to block out the strange sound and drift back to sleep.
Thumpthumpthumpthump… sniff sniff.
"Stop it… let me sleep!"
Sniff sniff… thump-thump.
Violet grabbed her pillow, folding it over to cover both ears in the hope of muffling that awful racket.
There was a moment of silence.
"Oh good, finally…"
Relaxing, she focused on the quiet, letting herself sink back into sleep.
Then—an incredibly loud noise of wooden planks being torn apart.
"Ahaaa! Found you!"
Violet's eyes shot open and she bolted upright in bed.
We're under attack???
Silence fell over the room once more. And then, again, the sound of wooden boards being ripped away.
The noise was coming from the roof.
Right above Violet's room, someone was making an enormous ruckus.
That morning, after finishing her usual chores, Mela had resumed her hunt for the troublesome tenant who had been sleeping inside her inn for over a month.
She had followed the scent, sniffing all around the inn without finding anything. Then she'd remembered the loud snoring of the dormouse—much more audible from Violet's room.
So she had slipped inside quietly, careful not to wake her friend as she searched for traces of the loudly snoring rodent, but found nothing. Until she had an idea.
If the noise came from above, it had to be hiding between the beams of the attic.
So, entering a nearby room with a small skylight leading out onto the roof, she climbed up, following the noise and the scent, eventually tracking it down.
"Ahaaaaaa! Found you!!!"
After removing a good number of tiles and rummaging deep inside the opening, her hand finally brushed something warm and soft, wrapped in fur—she grabbed it at once.
The little rodent, still fast asleep, now rested between Mela's hands as she glared down at it with clear irritation.
"Hey you! Wake up!"
No answer.
"Hey, stop sleeping!"
Mela began poking him lightly with a finger.
Still no reaction.
Mela lost her patience—her tail shot straight up, her fur standing on end.
"Grrrrrrrr!"
The dormouse, feeling itself touched and startled by that strange growl, slowly began to open its eyes.
The scene before it was that of a dog-girl with a furious expression, mouth wide open, sharp fangs exposed. Her eyes were bloodshot.
There was a brief exchange of glances.
"A…A…Aaaahhhh!!!"
The terrified dormouse shrieked in panic, trying desperately to escape the girl—who caught it mid-air by the scruff of the neck.
"Help! Help!!! Please don't kill me!"
Mela lifted it up by the scruff and stared straight into its eyes.
"Tik-tak, little rodent… the rent for the room expired yesterday. What exactly do you intend to do about it?"
The dormouse froze, staring at the girl's open jaws.
"…Expired?"
"Yes, exactly. The coin you gave me covered the stay only until yesterday. So unless you plan on renewing your board, you'd better pack up and leave!"
"…Ah!!!"
Regaining his composure and clarity, the dormouse processed her words.
"Oh well, certainly! Here you go!"
He rummaged in his pockets, took out a large coin, and placed it in the girl's hand.
Mela nearly choked on her own saliva when she saw it.
It was a full, gleaming gold coin.
"I believe this should be enough to cover lodging for another whole month. Would you agree?"
Mela immediately placed the dormouse gently onto her palm, her eyes sparkling.
"Yes… I'd say the payment is more than adequate…"
"Good! Then… if you'll excuse me, miss…"
The dormouse hinted that he would like to return to his little hideout and resume his activities exactly where he left off.
Mela hurried to place him back into the gap in the ceiling, carefully replacing the planks and tiles to close the opening.
"There! I'm sorry for bothering you… If you need anything, please don't hesitate to let me know!"
She stared at the coin for a moment longer, examining it—then bit into it to check.
It was a real gold coin.
"Good, that's taken care of!"
Tucking the coin into the pocket of her apron, Mela retraced her steps across the roof, slipped back through the small window, closed it behind her, and headed downstairs.
Violet, now fully awake, had listened to the entire scene with wide eyes and a heart still pounding like a drum.
…Unbelievable.
Getting back to sleep was impossible. All that racket had yanked her out of her rest, taking with it any hope of relaxing again.
She pushed herself up in bed and cautiously placed her feet on the floor.
It had been around ten days since her return to the inn, and during that time Violet had rested—sometimes sleeping entire days without getting up, overwhelmed by the pain that coursed through her body.
Little by little, the aches had eased, thanks also to Mela's care: every day the dog-girl had fed her, washed her, and changed her clothes and bedding.
Nainai, too, had been constantly present, always sitting on the chair beside the bed, watching her in silence to keep her company.
Violet stood up, struggling to keep her balance and staggering for a moment.
Over the last few days, she had managed to walk again on her own, and even though she still couldn't cover long distances, she was able to move around inside the inn without too much trouble.
She slipped into her clothes with effort, feeling pain in her abdomen and arms, and once ready she headed toward the door.
As soon as she stepped into the hallway, she heard an unusual sound coming from downstairs—many voices overlapping one another.
It had been like that for days.
News of the demon commander's defeat had sparked a wave of curiosity throughout Ostelria, and crowds had begun gathering at the inn, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Heroes who had brought her down.
For the first few days Violet had done nothing but sleep, staying shut inside her room, but Mela had told her that every day a large number of people—citizens, adventurers, and even simple onlookers—filled the place until late at night.
Reaching the stairs leading to the ground floor, Violet paused to listen.
The thought of finding herself at the center of attention made her uneasy—after all, the real hero was Nainai, not her.
She took a breath.
She couldn't spend the rest of her life locked in a room.
Placing her hand on the railing, she started down the steps, which creaked under her feet, carefully keeping her balance.
Once she reached the bottom, she stopped to observe.
Even though it was still early morning, about a dozen people were already gathered around a table, surrounding a small figure seated with his back to her.
…Nainai?
The dwarf sat quietly while the people around him talked over each other, discussing what had happened.
"Violet!"
Mela—busy serving customers—had spotted her and froze.
"Come on, don't just stand there!"
The dog-girl beamed at her, tail wagging.
Everyone turned to look at her; for a moment, the room fell silent.
"Here, let me help you."
Mela hurried over and helped Violet down the last few steps.
"…Good morning."
In the hush that followed, Violet—leaning on Mela—made her way through the room under the gaze of everyone present, heading toward her companion, who had already turned to look at her with a warm smile.
"Hi, Nainai…"
Once she reached the table, she sat down, pretending not to notice all the eyes on her. Instinctively, she leaned closer to the dwarf for courage.
"I'll bring you something to eat!"
Noticing her friend's embarrassment, Mela rushed behind the counter and began bustling about.
"Well then, Miss Violet—why don't you tell us what really happened?"
Really?
A man with feline features had stepped forward confidently, breaking the silence and tension that hung over the room.
Every eye turned to Violet, waiting.
"Well, uh… I…"
Violet had no idea what to say.
"Is it true that Thelvaria is three meters tall?"
Another man, human, had stepped forward.
"They say the wolf woman had enormous breasts—is that true, Miss Violet?"
"How did you defeat her? Did you use some special technique?"
Voices piled on top of one another.
"You were amazing! Not even the king's knights ever dared so much!!!"
In no time, that awkward silence turned into a noisy, festive uproar.
"How are your injuries?"
And then again:
"What's your next move? Will you fight the Demon King?"
Violet answered every question with short, clipped replies while the barrage went on relentlessly.
"That's enough!"
Mela had returned to the table, placing Violet's breakfast in front of her—stew and fried eggs.
"She's still recovering, stop bothering her. She needs to rest… Here, Violet, eat as much as you want!"
The portion was enormous—three people would have struggled to finish it.
With the chatter swelling around her, Violet focused on her food, listening to how the story had grown wilder with each rumor that bounced around the city. Every now and then she glanced at Nainai, who seemed to enjoy the attention.
"Well, actually I… uh, it was Nainai who defeated her."
"Yes, but you were the one who faced her first!"
Are they… not listening?
"And what was she like? I heard she was beautiful and terrifying."
"Well… yeah… if you like that sort of thing…"
Pressed by their enthusiasm, Violet let herself be swept along and began recounting the fight, earning wide-eyed stares of amazement.
"…If it hadn't been for Nainai, I'd definitely be dead by now!"
"You were incredibly brave, Miss Violet—truly heroic!"
"Good job, Nainai!"
The dwarf received slaps on the back and loud cheers.