The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed

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.”

Her sudden warning caught me off guard.

While wiping the food from Rin's messy mouth, I looked at Seyra as she continued in a calm tone.

“Being a human, a slave trader, and traveling with a red fox doesn’t sit well with the beastfolk.”

“That's not surprising.”

With Seyra and Bolt around, I could ignore it, but the looks I received in public were often hostile.

Bestia’s opinion of humans was worse than average.

Given the proximity of our nations, it's inevitable. Relations can’t be friendly.

Even in Korea, neighboring countries were always problematic.

And I was a slave trader. The rumor that humans treat slaves cruelly was widespread in Bestia, and I facilitated the trade.

“But isn’t freeing slaves an act of kindness?”

“You’re still clueless. People don’t change easily.”

Bestia’s beastfolk think differently.

To them, the issue isn’t slavery but mistreatment. As long as slaves are treated well, there’s no problem. Bolt, after all, was highly respected in Bestia. This is a paradise for furries.

There aren’t many people who treat slaves well, though.

‘Except me.’

“Just keep it in mind. I can’t be around to protect you all the time.”

For once, Seyra’s expression was serious. It was hard not to take her warning to heart.

‘Maybe I should hire a mercenary.’

I trust my slaves, but not people.

Hmm...

“Blergh.”

Rin let out a loud burp, her heterochromatic eyes wide with surprise.

The tension Seyra had worked so hard to build evaporated.

I let out a laugh.

Forget about mercenaries. If I raise Rin well, she’ll be worth a hundred mercenaries.

For now, our tasks remained unchanged from the previous day.

Endless hunting. Rin’s spiritual power training.

And so, we headed back to the forest.

Slash!

Rin’s claws gleamed as she effortlessly tore through a kobold.

Covered in slime one moment and blood the next, she cut down every monster in sight.

Barely pausing, she sprang forward, her pink hair whipping wildly as she charged a horned rabbit, ripping it apart.

Splat!

Blood sprayed, and the predator’s brutal carnage spread its remains.

Rin crouched over the unrecognizable carcass, picking up something hot and red.

The still-beating heart pulsed in her hand, and she looked at it curiously before showing it to me like a trophy.

“Gross. Throw it away.”

“Eek...”

Rin whimpered, discarding the heart and instead absorbed the horned rabbit’s essence as she usually did.

“When hunting, just sever the windpipe. When you butcher them like that, there's nothing left to use. Keep doing that, and you won’t get any food.”

“Ack.”

I sighed.

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.