Chapter 57 - His Name's Oliver

Yin had awoken in the middle of the night.

His stomach growled with hunger.

As he rose up from where he slept, he looked around.

"Ugh, what happened?"

Yin thought heavily to himself.

Something was weighing him down.

His nose was kind of itchy for some reason.

He let out a deafening sneeze.

Just as he felt that the thing weighing him down was on his stomach, he stared at it.

It was the baby panda.

Yin was startled.

"W-What the heck is this thing?"

He asked.

After looking around, he had noticed he was outside.

He contemplated several reasons as to why he was outside, yet nothing stuck with him.

All he knew was that he was hungry right now, so hungry and famished that could devour a whole horse if need be!

Yin's disoriented eyes then fixed on the table right beside him.

"Why am I even here?"

There was a plate with a note.

'If you do not eat what I've spent hours cooking, I'm going to unknowingly feed you poison next time.'

Yin turned white.

"Man, there is no doubt, this is from Zach. I would be better off remembering back what happened with a full stomach rather than an empty one, right? Since Zach cooked it, and not Suna, it is bound to be tasty!"

Yin was salivating.

The pangs of hunger were invading his thought process.

He  opened the plate's covers and saw something which would make him lose his mind even more.

Leaves.

Leaves were placed on the plate.

There was a faint smell of roasted pork, but where was it?

"That scum, did Zachary trick me!?"

Yin exclaimed.

His anger was cut short by a sound.

It was the baby panda.

The baby panda had burped out something, it was bones, pig bones, in fact.

Yin was curious as to what it had in its backpack.

His hands were careful and concise, careful not to try and awaken the panda.

There it was, a half eaten pork belly, sitting comfortably with a pile of leaves.

"Gahh! How dare you sleep on me while you ate my dinner you damned furball!"

Yin tried to get up from the seat he was laying on, but he was far too fatigued to do that.

His stomach continued to grumble into the night.

"This is the worst."

Yin scratched his head.

He was trying to figure out just what happened.

All he could remember was that he was doing his daily quest.

Yin did about two hundred pullups from a low hanging branch from a stunted tree.

"So, it is not possible that I fell down that hard and hit my head, right?"

He placed his right hand on his chin.

"I mean I am probably here because Suna and Zach brought me, but why did they not just wake me up? That is the part that I do not understand. If they had just woken me up, maybe then I could have eaten my dinner at least."

Yin sighed.

"And I still have no idea who this little guy is. Do we even have pandas in this forest? I am sure I have not seen any panda for over a month of staying in the hideout, what is this thing's deal? And why does my head hurt so much? As if someone or something was smacking it."

He said as he rubbed his head slowly.

"Oh well, this seems to be the type of problem for the 'Yin' of tomorrow, not today!"

Yin said as he continued on with his sleep.

Thinking as it was far too futile to move back to his room, he just resumed it the way he woke up.

The sun's rays invited itself to everyone's day.

It was now morning.

Suna and Zachary opened the door from the inside of the hideout and got out.

"Hey, Suna. Go check on Yin."

Zach said.

"Alright."

Suna was still groggy from waking up, but she nodded and followed.

Yin had drool coming out of the right side of his mouth.

"Wow, Yin, you still drool while sleeping after all this time?"

She was amazed.

Suna remembered back when they were kids, Yin was made to sleep on a different bed because of his drooling tendencies, other kids would not want to sleep near him.

A little droplet was running from his mouth.

The droplet was going to fall downwards.

"Oh, here it comes!"

She exclaimed.

Suna lifted Yin's head lightly, enough to change the trajectory of it.

When the drool finally dropped, it hit the baby panda on the head.

To which the creature got up and grinded its head on the ground below.

Suna laughed. "Sorry, little guy."

The baby panda had a worried expression on its face.

Suna approached it.

Its collar had a note, this was something they did not notice last night, seeing as it was too dark.

But because of the morning's bright light, the note made itself visible.

"Hey, what is this, little guy?"

Suna asked him.

The panda merely removed the note from its collar and gave it to her.

"Do you want me to read it for you?"

A nod gave Suna the affirmation that the panda did in fact want her to read it.

"Alright, no problem."

Suna smiled at him.

She opened the note and began reading it.

'Greetings, if you are currently reading this note, it means I have long since passed away. I was a Summoner under the Slayer Corps for quite a bit, but I had to forcibly retire due to having lost my left and right leg from an Angel's blast. I am now spending my time as a lowly farmer from the northern parts of Niflheim, my identity does not really matter, trust me. This baby panda is a summoned creature, but there is something special about him. Since summoned creatures typically go back to their worlds after a time limit or after their Summoners have deemed them having done their jobs already, this panda should be long gone now, but his return to his world has been long overdue. For about thirty years now, I was adamant that one day he would up and vanish, having returned from where he came. But it never happened. 

Oliver is very picky; he hates people and only chooses to be with those he likes. That is what I named him, Oliver the baby panda. I instructed him to travel Niflheim and find owners who will love him and cherish him after my death, he has been through a lot. Although he is a summoned creature, thirty years has been a long time, perhaps his soul and its essence have acclimated to this world of ours? Who knows. What I should tell you first and foremost is that Oliver always tries to smack wounded people with his bamboo shoot, contrary to the pain of being smacked by it, it actually heals the person, albeit slowly, so it would take plenty of smacks, and Oliver gets tired easily. He eats leaves, but he also is able to consume regular human food. I did not inform the Grand Castle about his existence because he might be branded a monster, and even worse, be executed by the High Council. Please, take care of Oliver, because you are reading this, it means he has chosen you. He means the world to me, and even if he might not mean the world to you, please take care of him wholeheartedly."

Suna had tears rolling down her cheeks.

She hugged Oliver and lifted him up the air.

"You have been through a lot, haven't you? Oliver, we are going to take care of you, buddy. Don't worry."

She sniffled as tears continued to run down her face.

Oliver had tears on his face as well. 

It was as if he understood what she said.

This warm hug was broken up by Zachary shouting at Yin.

"Wake up, you damn freeloader!"

He shouted.

Yin groaned for a bit.

"I said wake up you useless imbecile!"

Zach continued on.

The white-haired Yin finally got up.

He was still groaning in pain though.

"What the hell is your problem?!"

He responded back.

"It is your turn to cook breakfast today, you idiot! Get up and go cook for freak's sake!"

Yin knew he was right.

"Could you not have said it in a quieter way?! Seriously, it is early in the morning and you're out here scolding me like you're my mom or something, do you have some kind of brain problem?!"

Yin still retorted back.

Suna walked up to them, still carrying Oliver in her chest.

"Would you both shut up? You're scaring Oliver!"

She said.

Zachary had a puzzled look engraved in his face.

"Wait, who is Oliver?"

"Yeah, Suna, I do not see anyone else here."

Suna sighed heavily.

"I'm talking about the panda, you mongrels!"

"Wait, did you name him already?"

Zach asked.

Suna showed both of them the letter that the Summoner who turned to farming had dangling around Oliver's collar.