Quinlan made up his mind. Although he was unsure what would happen in the future, he decided to act at the moment and help Xiyadie out of her misery.
"Xiyadie, I'll relieve you now," Quinlan muttered as he moved closer to her.
He crawled to the top of Xiyadie's head before inching closer to her. Xiyadie was lighter than her build would suggest, making Quinlan feel incongruous with her figure and mass as he let her head lean against his chest.
"Y-Yinuo..."
Even with her blurry consciousness, Xiyadie recognized who was holding her in an embrace. Quinlan flinched for a moment before showing her a sweet, reassuring smile and patting her head lightly. "It's alright. The pain will fade soon enough."
His hand gently moved down, caressing her hair, her ears, and her cheeks, and finally touching her chin, holding it firmly.
'I am... just helping her.' Quinlan muttered this phrase repeatedly inside his head as if hypnotizing himself into believing so.
