The human cub's gaze moved away from it.
But Si didn't hear the human cub leave.
Instead, the rustling sound seemed to...
Unable to resist its curiosity, it tilted its head slightly and glanced over.
The human cub had taken the folded umbrella and sat down beside it again.
Had it really heard right?!
But why?
This human cub was strange.
It had clearly been frightened by Si. It was clearly afraid of it.
The human cub's terrified expression was still fresh in its memory.
So why... hadn't the cub left?
Still, the human cub's approach had been inexplicable from the very beginning.
Thinking of that, Si felt that the human cub's actions now weren't so strange after all.
"Thank you."
The voice was so soft that Si almost thought it had imagined it.
Its ears twitched, and it froze.
It instinctively started to turn around.
Then it remembered that such a sudden movement might frighten the human cub.
It took a deep breath and slowly turned its head.
The human cub was still staring at the river, lips pressed tightly together.
There didn't seem to be the slightest difference from before.
But Si slowly broke into a grin.
Si was happy.
It finally had a human friend.
Its tail swished unconsciously as it basked in its good mood.
The human cub didn't come again for three days.
But Si wasn't as worried as before.
That was because, the last time the human cub left, he had said goodbye to it.
Goodbye.
Si couldn't help grinning.
Its ferocious face took on a somewhat silly look.
Sure enough, on the fourth day, the human cub came.
He even brought it a present.
The human cub sat on the grass, just as he had each time they'd spent