Lin and I were still staying at Seira’s house.
Because it was hard to find an inn, Seira had allowed us to stay. Also, there was the reason that leaving Lin with me made her uneasy.
But it was clear that Seira had grown to like Lin despite initially feeling awkward around her.
“Hmm… there are quite a few issues though.”
An uninvited guest.
The influence of misfortune that Lin brought had entered the house.
Morning.
Seira woke up from her sleep, covered her mouth, and let out a small yawn. As she was descending the stairs, she suddenly lost her balance and her body leaned far forward.
“Kyaa?!”
Luckily, Seira landed gently on the floor thanks to her quick reflexes. Upon inspecting the stairs, one side of it was broken.
“The stairs…?”
“It’s an accident. The stairs must have been old.”
As if the stairs would suddenly break.
Clang!
“The dishes…?”
“It’s an accident. The wind must have blown them over.”
As if a well-stacked pile of dishes would slip and break because of the wind.
“This is…”
“Why do you look so troubled?”
Seira, who was preparing breakfast, showed me a frying pan. Inside was only a pure white liquid.
“What is this?”
“It’s an egg.”
There was no yolk in the egg.
Not a double yolk, it was a ghost egg.
“Is this also an accident?”
“…It’s an accident. The chicken must have only liked the whites.”
This sort of thing kept happening.
Luckily, since Lin still only had one tail, the intensity of the misfortune was at a child’s play level.
When her tails grow, there would be more mishaps, but we’ll deal with that when it comes.
The morning filled with various ‘accidents’ came to an end, and breakfast was ready.
The loud sound of chewing broke the peaceful morning. Beside me, food was flying everywhere.
“Lin, you need to eat carefully when having a meal.”
“??”
“…Alright.”
Lin, who could not delicately use utensils, had long since thrown away the cutlery and was eating with her hands.
Efforts were made to prevent her from chewing with full mouth capacity, but it wasn’t easy.
Well, considering she can’t even talk and will often run around on all fours, maybe I was asking too much of her.
Just eat well and grow tall.
“This milk is quite fresh and delicious.”
The milk Seira got somewhere in the morning. It was a bit lukewarm, but still the freshest milk I’ve ever tasted.
It’s like it was just squeezed.
“It was shared by Mrs. Taura from the next door.”
I don’t know who Mrs. Taura is, but I know that there are therianthropes living next door. They also have a newborn.
“I remember her as a very pretty person.”
That day, I drank three glasses of milk.
As the dishes were gradually emptied, the morning meal was about to finish peacefully when Seira, who had finished eating and drinking water, opened her mouth.
“Be careful. Lately, there are quite a few people who don’t look favorably upon you.”
Seira passing on an unexpected warning.
I wiped the corners of Lin’s mouth, smeared with food, and looked at Seira. Seira continued in a calm tone.
“The fact that you are a human, that you are a slave merchant, and that you’re traveling with Hongho are not liked by the therianthropes.”
“Not surprising at all.”
It’s just that there’s Seira and Mr. Bolt next to me; if I stroll around outside, I can often see suspicious glances directed at me.
The gaze Beasts give to humans tends to be a little worse than usual.
Given that we are neighboring nations, we often get intertwined in complications. It’s hard to maintain good relations.
Even just looking at South Korea, all the neighboring countries around are in that state.
Let alone me, I’m a slave merchant. The story that humans treat slaves harshly is widely spread in Beasts, and I’m in the profession of facilitating that.
“Ah, then shouldn’t the ones releasing slaves be considered truly good people?”
“You still haven’t come to your senses. People are definitely not tools.”
This is how the therianthropes in this world think.
Their base mindset is that of pets. The problem isn’t the slave merchants, but the harsh treatment. If they’re coddled, there’s no issue.
As evidence, Volt is quite well-trusted in Beasts. Here, it’s a paradise for peris.
How many people in the world kindly treat their slaves, besides me?
‘Well, me aside.’
“Be that as it may, you should at least think about it. I can’t be with you all day.”
Seira’s expression was rarely this serious. Such a clear warning from her leaves me no choice but to seriously consider it.
‘Hmm… Should I hire a mercenary?’
When we don’t trust slaves but do trust people.
Hmm…
“Burp.”
Lin let out a clear belch. Surprised by the sound herself, her heterochromatic eyes opened wide and blinked a few times.
The tension that Seira had reminded me of so rarely evaporated uselessly.
A giggle escapes me.
So, what mercenary are we talking about? If I raise Lin well, she’ll easily fulfill the role of a hundred mercenaries.
*
For the time being, the plan for the day is the same as yesterday.
Infinite hunting.
And Lin’s spirit power accumulation.
Hence, the two of them headed back to the forest today as well.
SQUEEEEE!
Lin’s nails flashed sharply. As always, with a single move, she tore a kobold to pieces.
Whether it’s slimy slimes or ones smeared with blood, they all seem the same. Lin kept eliminating monsters as soon as they came into view.
Without a break, Lin kicked off the ground and launched her small body. Her pink hair was wildly swept by the wind.
In an instant, Lin caught up with a horned rabbit in the distance and ripped it apart to the left and right.
GAAACK!
A spray of blood and entrails splattered everywhere.
The brutal killing behavior of the predator playing with its prey.
As Lin looked down at what was once a horned rabbit but now an unrecognizable raw piece of meat, she bent down and picked something up.
The hot blood that clung to her skin.
The still-beating crimson heart.
This breathing, lively thing fascinated Lin greatly. She held it out proudly toward Carami as if it were a fun toy.
“A finger? Quickly discard it.”
“Kiing…”
Lin, letting out a feeble cry in response, tossed the heart away carelessly. Instead, she absorbed the essence of the horned rabbit like she always did.
“Only sever the breathing when hunting. If you destroy the body like that, there won’t be anything left to use. And if you keep doing things like that, I won’t feed you.”
“Ca-ang.”
Carami let out a sigh.
The more Lin hunted, the more her cruelty seemed to increase. It was a difficult situation since we couldn’t just stop hunting.
It would probably be best to seek advice from Seira on this. Seira, being a wolf therianthrope, might be able to offer significant help.
“Let’s call it a day at this point. Let’s stop by the valley and clean up before returning.”
Since people were startled yesterday when we walked around covered in blood, our plan was to clean up sufficiently, and then change into the clothes we’d prepared in advance.
The valley wasn’t far away. Anyway, since the clothes had to be discarded, Lin threw herself into the valley to wash away the blood.
“Come on, lift up your arms.”
Lin followed Carami’s instructions well.
Carami wasn’t just seen as a person who feeds her well but had been recognized as someone trustworthy to some degree.
As evidence, Lin didn’t growl at Carami, nor did she run away even when her chains were released.
Lin stretched her arms out long. She peeled off her dress, and Carami helped her into a new dress. The outfit looked much neater and would not cause any issues if worn around people.
Lin also liked the fresh clothes. Lying down on the ground, she stretched out her arms, arched her back, and extended her body. She vigorously wagged her tail.
“Let’s go grab some skewers on our way back.”
Yesterday, it seemed that Seira quite liked skewers. Lin, who liked any kind of meat, nodded vigorously.
We were about to exit the forest and head back to the city, happily holding hands.
Lin perked up her ears and stopped walking. Since Lin stopped, Carami stopped as well. It seemed that Lin had heard something.
Though Carami, with her terrible hearing, didn’t catch any sounds.
“What is it?”
“Keeeng!”
As Lin heard the sound, she darted off and disappeared instantly beyond the forest.
Apparently, we need to reteach her the lesson of listening. With a sigh, Carami ran in the direction Lin had disappeared to.
“KRAAAA!”
After running for a while,
an odd sound began reaching Carami’s ears.
A dissonance that didn’t fit with the forest.
When Carami arrived at the scene, what met her eyes were Beast adventurers facing off against a wood-shaped monster, Treepidian.
Its trunk had a sinister face carved into it, and its branches swayed like leaves, coiling like snakes. One of these branches already had a Beast captured.
Even before Carami could give an order, Lin was already in motion.
Dashing towards the Treepidian with agile movements of her arms and legs, Lin evaded the branches that hissed like snakes and rushed towards the one holding the Beast.
SWISH!
KUUUUUUH!
Lin swung her claws, severing the branch. The Treepidian let out a distorted scream as its expression twisted.
The captive Beast fell to the ground.
“GGGGROWWWWL!”
Lin glared at the Treepidian, snarling ferociously. The Treepidian, exuding sap akin to sweat, moved its root-like legs and fled.
Thanks to this, the Beast adventurer party was able to catch their breath.
“Thank you. I almost became fertilizer for the Treepidian. Without you, it would have been a catastrophe.”
“Kee.”
“…Ah, um. A wild therianthrope?”
The rabbit Beast tilted its head upon seeing Lin, who couldn’t speak. Carami stepped between the two.
“She hasn’t been educated yet, so she can’t speak. However, she understands if you talk to her, so she must have understood your ‘thank you.'”
“Human?”
“Lin’s master.”
The combination of a suddenly appearing mute fox girl and a human left the Beast party confused. At that moment, the eyes of the lizardman, who had been staring at Lin and deep in thought, lit up.
“This, this pink fox! It’s a fox that brings misfortune. There’s no doubt about it!”
At that moment,
the expressions of the Beast party, looking at Lin, completely changed.
