"Ruth! I was worried!"

Taro shouts, hugging me tightly. I just walked out of the forest when suddenly he appeared, running into me.

"Mistress, is that one hostile?" Rowan asked from the "storage" he was currently in.

((No, he is fine. So don't attack!)) I said in my mind to Rowan. I made sure that Taro couldn't hear me. But even if I said that it's fine, Taro is hugging me so tightly that it became hard to breathe. Geez, how strong is he?

((It's Ok Taro, I was right around the corner. Now please let me go before I pass out!))

Taro realesed his iron grip on me and looked shyly into the ground. Wawawawawawa! So cute!

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to, I was just worried that you had..." Taro turns silent midsentence. His cheeks becomes red and his ears starts to glow. He really is easy to read.

He was worried that I had runned away...

I put my wing against his forehead. He looks up in shock.

((Hey, you are getting really tall ya know? You will be taller than Julia-sama if it continues like this.))

Taro gets a confused look on his face.

"But you are taller than me Ruth" he said, dumbfounded.

((Yeah, but you will outgrow me in no time at all! You have grown at least 5 centimeters since the first time we met!))

Taro starts to smile, remembering.

"Haha, yeah, you were so tiny back then! I could hold you in my hands and I had to carry you everywhere! Back then, before we could communicate, you sounded so cute when you chirped!" He squeels a little, thinking of my old form.

Hehehe, mission Make Taro Happy; accomplished! And I got to see him squeel too as a bonus... I AM NOT A SHOTACON I SWEAR, TARO IS JUST SUPER CUTE!

((But hey Taro, can you tell me now what you and Julia-sama were buying in the village???))

Taro stops squeeling and shuts his mouth. He shakes his head and... Runs away.

((HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!)) Well he can't escape me! He had a headstart but that wont help him against... RUTH THE LIGHTNING LEG!

I take a huge leap, dig my claws into the ground and runs after him, like a predator hunting prey. I have cathched up to him in 2 seconds and tackle him. I pin Taro to the ground with my claws surrounding his hands. I bend down, looking Taro straight in the eyes while smiling.

((Now Taro... How about you tell me what you and Julia-sama bought, hmmm?))

Taro starts sweating but he refuses to say anything, keeping his mouth shut... He does know we can speak telepathic, right? But he can refuse to talk to me...

Wait a second, I can always use THAT! I'm sorry Taro, but if you resist I gotta do what I gotta do...

I start singing, or more like humming if you are picky. Taros eyes get drowsy.

Hypnotising Song really is scary. To work on humans this well. That doesn't feel right... Meh! Let's spare the moral dilemmas till later! For now... Hehehehe, let the questioning begin! Mwuahahahahaha-Ha?

A screen appears before me.

//The goddess Chreshna have cancelled the use of your skill Hypnotising Song over Lentaro Blizt. As a punishment for attempting to hypnotise said person you have been temporary cursed with a debuff causing -50% of all your stats for 24 hours.//

... Damn you Chreshna! Why must you always spoil my grandiose plan!?

Taros eyes gets clearer and he stands up, completely ignoring my grip on his hands, causing me to fall over. So the curses effect was immediate huh!?

Wait, if my stats is half right now then my strength is only 8 right now and if I remember correctly, the last (and first) time I checked Taros status his strenght was 23, AND HE IS PROBABLY STRONGER NOW! That means that he is about 3 times as strong as I am now. Man, I need to shape up...

Taro looks around, with a dazed expression on his face.

"W-what h-happened?" he stutters. It seems he have no recollection of my hypnosis attempt. That's good, I wouldn't want him to bear a grudge against me.

((Oh, after I tackled you, you hit your head pretty hard)) I lie, pulling my best pokerface ever.

Another screen appeared.

//Your title Bad Liar have been evolved to Mediocre Liar! Your lies are now more believable! You have gained one level!//

Shusshhh... Not a word. I close the screen.

"Oh, so that's it... Ow, my head does hurt" Taro says while rubbing his head. Sorry Taro... But it's your fault for not telling me! Probably...

"But Ruth, I really can't tell you what we bought. I promise I would say it otherwise. Please belive me Ruth" Taro says, staring into my eyes. I can see he is telling the truth.

((Hmph! Ok, I guess I will believe you for now)) I say while making a pouty face. I jump up on my feet and start walking around Taro. While he wont tell me md everything they bought I can see that he's got new clothes. Julia-sama decided not to torture Taro this time it seems!

He is wearing a white shirt made out of thin cotton, sturdy leather pants and boots and a long, blue coat. The coat had some kind of emblem, looking like a dragon biting its own tail, surrounded by a cirkle of flames.

Around his neck is a black tie (they have those here?) and on his feet is rough leather shoes.. C-cool!

But why the sudden change of cloth?

I am about to ask him when suddenly another screen pops up in front of me.

//Rowan have leveled up to level 4! He have also learned the title Earth Combatant!//

Huh? How can this be? Rowan is still in the "storage", how can he level up?

"While in the storage this one can still use ones skills and move around. This allows one to what you call level up while still in the storage" Rowan says.

((Wow, I didn't know that. But what is this storage thing really?))

"The storage is an dimension inside the soul of mistress. It reflects the personality and thoughts of mistress."

((Ohhhhh, kinda like in B*each! Then what does my storage look like?))

"Mistress storage looks like a desert."

...

((A desert?))

"Yes."

((Why???))

"This one does not know. Only mistress can tell."

((Oh, Ok... What kind of desert?))

"This one does not understand the question, please repeat."

((I mean is it always sunny, what color is the sand and stuff like that!))

"This one understands and begs for forgiveness. It is currently day but this one does not know i it becomes night later on. Please let this one answer when this one knows."

((Yeah, yeah but please continue!))

"As mistress wants. The sand is pure white and the sky is read, without any clouds. There is three suns in the sky and there is blue trees with black leaves growing out of the sand. Nothing other than desert from what this one can see and no living beings except the trees. This one hopes that this report was helpful for mistress."

((Ahh, yes thank you Rowan, I get it now)). But why a desert??????? Why not a forest or something like that? And three suns? A red sky? My soul is really messed up.

"Ruth? Is something wrong?" Taro suddenly asks, looking confused.

((Ehem, yes, I am just really hungry.)) That is kind of true, my stomach is rumbling.

"Ahh but mom should be done with the food soon, she said we would just eat something light. Let's go help her out!"

((Ah yes! Let's do that!))

But I have the feeling that I have forgotten to ask something. What was it?

Meh, it was probably nothing. I wonder if Ansgar is awake now?