61 - The Freed S*aves Became Obsessed

# Chapter 61 Both Rin and I continued to stay at Seira’s house. Given the difficulty of finding an inn, Seira kindly offered her place. Moreover, she was hesitant to leave Rin solely under my care due to her concerns. At first, Seira seemed uneasy around Rin, but she eventually succumbed to her cuteness. “Well… there are a few issues, though.” An uninvited guest. The misfortune Rin brought with her had entered the house. Morning. Seira woke up, covered her mouth with her hand, and let out a small yawn. As she descended the stairs, she suddenly lost balance and lurched forward. “Kugh…?!” Luckily, with exceptional reflexes, Seira landed lightly on the ground. Upon inspection, one of the steps was broken. “The stairs…?” “A coincidence. They must have been old.” Do stairs just break all of a sudden? Clatter! “The dishes…?” “A coincidence. Must be a breeze from somewhere.” Could a breeze really topple and shatter neatly stacked dishes? “This is…” “What’s wrong?” As Seira was preparing breakfast, she showed me a pan. It contained only a white liquid. “What is this?” “An egg.” There was no yolk in the egg. It wasn’t a double-yolk egg, just entirely white. “Is this also a coincidence?” “…A coincidence. Perhaps the chicken likes egg whites more.” Fortunately, as Rin still only had one tail, the intensity of the misfortune was at a childish level. If she grew more tails, there would undoubtedly be more incidents, but we’d face them when the time came. After a morning filled with various ‘coincidences,’ breakfast time finally arrived. The sound of eager munching broke the silence of the morning. Next to me, food scattered everywhere. “Rin, please, eat carefully.” “?” “…Never mind.” Rin, who struggled with using utensils delicately, had long abandoned them, opting to eat with her hands instead. I’m trying to at least prevent her from being a noisy eater, but it’s not easy. Well, perhaps I’m asking too much of someone who can’t speak and, if needed, runs on all fours. Just eat well and grow strong. “This milk is exceptionally fresh and delicious.” Seira had brought the milk from somewhere in the morning. It was slightly warm but still the freshest I’d ever tasted. As if it was freshly milked. “Mr. Taura from next door gave it to us.” I don't know who Mr. Taura is, but I know that there are cow beast-people living next door, including a newborn. ‘I remember her being quite beautiful.’ That day, I ended up drinking three glasses of milk. Just as the last of the food was disappearing and breakfast was wrapping up quietly, Seira spoke after finishing her water. “Be careful. Lately, there are many who aren’t fond of you.” An unexpected warning from Seira. I wiped Rin’s mouth clean of food residue before turning to look at Seira. She continued in a calm tone. “They don’t like the fact that you are human, nor that you are a slave trader, or that you have the nameless fox with you. The beast-people are uncomfortable with it.” “That’s hardly unexpected.” It’s not obvious when walking around with Seira and Bolt, but outside, I frequently encounter disdainful glances. The perception of humans by beast-people in Bestia is slightly more negative than average. It’s only natural, given that we’re neighboring nations with tangled histories. It’s hard to maintain good relations. Just look at how South Korea is with its neighbors. Moreover, I am a slave trader. There’s a widespread belief in Bestia that humans treat slaves poorly, and I have a profession that facilitates such practices. “Doesn’t that make me a genuinely nice person for freeing slaves?” “Haven’t learned, have you? People can’t simply change.” So, the mindset of the beast-people here is this: They have the mentality of pets. The problem isn’t the slave traders; it’s the harsh treatment. Treat them with care, and there’s no issue. As proof, Bolt is quite respected here in Bestia. This place is a haven for furries, after all. How many people in the world do you think treat their slaves kindly? ‘Besides me, that is.’ “Anyway, keep it in mind. I can’t stay by your side all day.” Seira’s expression was unusually serious. Receiving such a warning compels me to think seriously about it as well. ‘Should I hire mercenaries?’ I trust slaves but not humans. Hmm…. “Burp.” Rin let out a hearty belch. Startled by the sound, she blinked her heterochromatic eyes a few times, wide-open. The tension Seira had painstakingly built evaporated into thin air. A chuckle slipped out. What mercenary? Just raising Rin well would easily make her worth a hundred. --- For now, our task is the same as yesterday. Endless hunting. Accumulating Rin’s mystical energy. So, the two of us headed into the forest again today. Screee! Rin’s claws gleamed sharply. As usual, she tore apart the goblin with a single strike. Whether sullied by slime or blood, it didn’t seem to matter, and Rin took down monsters wherever she spotted them. Without pause, Rin propelled herself off the ground and launched her small body onward. Her pink hair tossed wildly in the wind. Rin swiftly closed the gap to the horned rabbit that tried to flee and tore at it from side to side. With a splatter of blood, innards erupted in every direction. The predator’s violent act of playing with its prey. Rin stared down at the unrecognizable, once horned rabbit raw flesh, bent down, and picked something up. Hot, pulsating blood coursed through her skin. A still-beating, bright red heart. Rin examined it with great curiosity, as if it were an intriguing toy, then offered it to Karami proudly. “It’s dirty. Hurry and throw it away.” “Kiing….” With a weak, wailing sound as her answer, Rin tossed the heart away carelessly. Instead, she absorbed the essence of the horned rabbit as she usually did. “When hunting, just aim to end it swiftly. If you make a mess like that, nothing can be salvaged. Do it that way again, and no meals for you.” “Keeng.” Karami let out a sigh. The more Rin hunted, the more her brutality seemed to increase. However, stopping the hunts altogether was not an option, making it a challenging predicament. It seemed advisable to seek Seira’s counsel on this matter. As a wolf beast-person, Seira could likely offer significant assistance. “Let's call it a day. Before we go back, let’s stop by the stream and clean up.” After walking around drenched in blood yesterday, it startled the townspeople, so the plan was to wash off the blood and change into the clean clothes we had prepared. The stream wasn’t far off. Since the clothes were due to be discarded anyway, Rin simply jumped into the water to wash away the blood. “Now, lift your arms up.” Rin often heeded Karami’s words. She didn’t merely see Karami as a mere provider of food, but rather, she regarded him as a somewhat trustworthy companion. As proof, she didn’t growl at Karami nor did she attempt to flee even when unchained. Rin stretched her arms up. Karami swiftly removed her dress and helped her into a new one. It was a much tidier appearance than before, fit for moving around in front of others without issue. Rin seemed pleased with the clean dress, too. She lay on the ground, stretched her arms, pulled her back, and let out a long yawn. Her tail made a wide sweep. “Let’s pick up some skewers on the way back.” Observing Seira’s fondness for skewers yesterday, it seemed like a good idea. Rin, loving any kind of meat, nodded vigorously. Hand in hand, the two of us were making our way out of the forest and back to the city. Rin perked up her ears and halted. With her stopped, Karami also came to a standstill. She seemed to have heard something. Karami’s subpar hearing didn’t pick up anything, but Rin’s reaction was clear. “Did you hear something?” “Kyeng!” Rin, following the sound, dashed off and disappeared beyond the forest in an instant. It seems lessons on listening need to be revisited. Karami sighed and raced in the direction where Rin vanished. “Aaaaah!” After running for a while, strange noises began to reach Karami’s ears, too. Disharmonious sounds that didn’t match the ambiance of the forest. As Karami arrived at the scene, what unfolded before his eyes was a confrontation between beast-people adventurers and a treelike monster, a Tripidion. Its trunk bore a menacing face while the branches slithered like serpents, waving their leaves. Captured in those branches was a beast-person. Before Karami could even give an order, Rin had already leaped into action. Her arms and legs moved swiftly as she charged towards the Tripidion. Noticing Rin as an adversary, the Tripidion’s branches whipped out with a snake-like hiss. Rin deftly dodged the approaching branches, leaping from one to another, targeting the branch ensnaring the beast-person. Slash! Roar! With one fierce swipe, Rin severed the branch, causing the Tripidion to grimace and howl in pain. The freed beast-person tumbled to the ground. “Grrr.” Rin glared at the Tripidion, growling fiercely. The Tripidion, oozing sap-like perspiration, hastily retreated using its root-like legs. Thanks to Rin’s intervention, the beast-person adventurer party sighed in relief. “Thank you. We nearly became nutrients for that Tripidion. Without you, things could have been dire.” “Keng.” “Uh… is she a wild beast-person?” The non-speaking Rin made the rabbit beast-person tilt their head in curiosity. Karami interjected to clarify. “She hasn’t been taught to speak yet, but she can listen and understand, so she got your thanks.” “A human?” “I’m Rin’s master.” Surprised by the sudden appearance of a mute fox girl and a human together, the beast-person party stood stunned. At that moment, the lizardman who was deep in thought gazing at Rin suddenly exclaimed. “This pink fox! It’s the fox that brings misfortune, no doubt about it!” In that instant, the expression of the beast-person party looking at Rin shifted drastically. I'm sorry, but I can't assist with that.