hotmtlnovel Chapter 60
Chapter 60
We continued staying at Seyra’s house.
Finding an inn was difficult, so Seyra allowed us to stay. Another reason was her unease about leaving Rin with me. Though at first she seemed wary of Rin, it was clear she'd been won over by her cuteness.
“Well... there are some issues, though.”
An uninvited guest accompanied us—the misfortune that Rin brought.
Morning came. Seyra awoke, yawning lightly behind her hand as she descended the stairs. Suddenly, she lost her balance, pitching forward.
“Ugh?!”
With her quick reflexes, she managed to land softly on the floor. A step on the staircase had broken.
“The stairs...?”
“It's just a coincidence. They must be getting old.”
A staircase breaking out of nowhere.
Clatter!
“The plates...?”
“It’s just a coincidence. A breeze must have blown them over.”
Plates that had been neatly stacked slid and shattered.
“What is this...?”
“Is something wrong?”
Seyra held up a pan to show me. Only egg whites filled it.
“What is this?”
“Eggs.”
There was no yolk. Not a double yolk, but none at all.
“Is this another coincidence?”
“...It is. The chickens must favor the whites.”
Fortunately, with only one tail, Rin's misfortune was minor.
If her tails increased, the incidents would too. But we'd cross that bridge when we came to it.
After a morning full of ‘coincidences,’ we finally sat down for breakfast.
The sound of noisy chewing broke the peaceful morning as food sprayed around me.
“Rin, try to eat more carefully.”
“?”
“...Never mind.”
Struggling with utensils, Rin had already discarded them, opting to eat with her hands.
I try to prevent her from being a sloppy eater, but it’s not easy.
It might be unreasonable to expect more from a creature who can't talk and sometimes moves on all fours.
Just eat well and grow up strong.
“This milk is fresh and delicious.”
Seyra had fetched it from somewhere that morning. Though lukewarm, it was the freshest milk I’d tasted, like it had just been squeezed.
“It was a gift from our neighbor, Mrs. Taura.”
I didn't know who Mrs. Taura was, but I knew some cowfolk lived next door, and one of them had recently had a child.
‘I recall she was quite lovely.’
I drank three glasses of milk that day.
As we finished breakfast, Seyra spoke up after finishing her water.
“Be careful. There are many who disapprove of you lately.”
The more Rin hunted, the more savage she became. But stopping wasn’t an option, so it was tricky.
I’d need Seyra’s advice. As a wolf beastfolk, she’d have useful insights.
“Let’s call it a day. We’ll stop by the stream to clean up.”
After yesterday’s bloody escapade, people had been startled. I planned to wash off the blood and change into fresh clothes.
The stream wasn’t far. Rin waded in, washing the blood away.
“Arms up.”
Rin obeyed.
She viewed me as more than a meal ticket; she trusted me as a companion.
The proof was in her behavior. She didn’t growl at me, and she didn’t try to escape, even when unchained.
She raised her arms, and I changed her into a new dress. Now clean, she looked fit to walk among people.
Rin seemed pleased with the fresh clothes, stretching and playfully swirling her tail.
“Let’s grab some skewers on the way back.”
Yesterday, I noticed Seyra seemed fond of skewers. Rin, ever the meat-lover, nodded eagerly.
Holding hands, we left the forest, heading back to town.
Rin perked up, stopping in her tracks. Her sharp ears had caught something.
I, lacking her keen hearing, heard nothing.
“What is it?”
“Yip!”
Rin dashed off, disappearing into the forest.
Looks like I need to work on her obedience training again. I sighed and took off after her.
“Gaaah!”
After a short run, I began to hear strange noises.
A discordant sound that didn’t belong in the forest.
I arrived to see a wooden monster, a Treepidian, holding beastfolk adventurers captive with its serpentine branches.
Rin was already charging.
With agile movements, she dodged the branch’s snake-like strike and leapt onto the branch holding a beastfolk.
Crack!
The Treepidian shrieked as she slashed through its branch, dropping the captive to the ground.
“Grrrr.”
Rin growled, and the Treepidian, oozing sap, fled on its root-like legs.
The beastfolk party, relieved, thanked her.
“Thanks. We nearly became plant food. If not for you, we’d be done for.”
“Yip.”
“Uh... a wild beastfolk?”
The rabbit beastfolk looked at her quizzically. I stepped in between them.
“She can’t talk yet, but she understands you. Your gratitude reached her.”
“A human?”
“I’m Rin’s owner.”
The beastfolk party looked puzzled by the combination of the mute fox girl and me. Then the lizardman’s eyes gleamed with recognition as he stared at Rin.
“This pink fox! She’s the one that brings misfortune!”
Suddenly, the party’s expressions changed as they looked at Rin.