Han turned to Sesshomaru, who was gazing into the distance, only to discover that beneath his indifferent appearance, he was listening without realizing it. Rarely did Sesshomaru hear his father's subordinates speak of him, and their assessment was entirely different from the father he knew. To him, his father was a powerful figure seen from behind, a summit he had to surpass in life. Thus, his father was something of an unspoken enemy, someone he had to defeat, even if it meant a fight to the death. As for his father's deep love for his mother, his attachment to Izayoi, and the way he treated his subordinates-his excessive tolerance of Myoga's fleeing, for instance, or the freedom he allowed the carefree Totosai, who hated restraint-none of that mattered to him...
"Sesshomaru, you're so much like the Dog General..." the girl beside him suddenly said.
"What?!" Sesshomaru looked at Han with surprise he could barely conceal. On his face, that much astonishment almost counted as a loss of composure.
"Gentle and strong, tolerant of your subordinates, and toward..." The last point made the girl shy, and she stopped. Unconsciously skipping past it, she continued, "Aren't you like that too, Sesshomaru? That's the Sesshomaru I see. Always gentle beneath an aloof exterior, pursuing your own strength, steadfast on your own path, never hesitating or losing your way. You're so tolerant of Jaken and the other monsters."
"Tolerant..." Sesshomaru murmured.
"Yes." Han nodded without hesitation. Just as in the battle against the Leopard Cat Tribe, even when some monsters had fled or surrendered out of fear, Sesshomaru had not held it against them. To her, it was not that he did not care. He simply understood.
That understanding was tolerance.
Han gave a little wave behind her back, signaling Yunai to drag away