A small bowl was standing in front of me, filled with delicious smelling pieces of meat. In all other situations, I wouldn't have hesitated a second before eating it all, this time, however, I couldn't even get myself to touch the meal.

I felt hungry, that wasn't the issue, and not even the dozens of pairs of eyes weighing down on me would hinder me, but the position of the bowl itself made me back off. It wasn't placed on the table, like their own meals and drinks, but on the floor, between feet, table legs and chairs.

 

«They really think I am a dog or something ...»

 

"What is it, Ahri," the despicable hero asked, "you aren't hungry?"

「Who would like to eat right beside your smelly feet?!」

"Maybe she is too young to eat like this," Myra suggested, before picking me up from the ground and placing me on her lap.

 

There was no reason for me to fight back, especially since I knew she would fill my growling stomach without forcing me to step as low as eating from the floor. Being treated like a child was much better!

Like she had done before, Myra fed me small pieces of meat. They looked and smelled just like those that still waited in the bowl, but these ones obviously tasted much better thanks to the hero's hurt expression.

 

"I want to feed her, too ..."

"She is still afraid of you," Myra decided, "You can't feed her!"

 

Naturally, I wasn't the least afraid of him. It was quite the contrary, as the series of deafening yelps Myra had interpreted as signs of fear and insecurity were, in reality, dozens of insults and curses I would hurl at him whenever I was sure of his attention.

 

"I will make her love me," his sudden decision ringed in my ears.

「That will never happen!」

"And how are you planning on doing that?" Myra asked doubtfully. "She won't just let you touch you just like that."

"She will sleep in my room, then! That way she will get accustomed to my smell and voice."

「What?!」

Myra seemed rather insecure about this idea of his: "Do you really think that will work?"

"I have read once that it would work with kittens. So why wouldn't it work with a fox pup?"

"She isn't a kitten."

"You are right!" The hero turned towards me, a wide smile growing on his lips. "Her purring is even cuter!"

「Stop trying to get into my pants! You make me feel sick! Weirdo! Pervert!」

"See?! Look how happy she is!"

「Happy?! I will show you how happy I am! Just give me a sharp blade and I will end you here and now!」

"I don't thank that she does look happy, Masaru ..."

"It will be fine, don't worry! Just give her a week and she will sit on my lap, purring like a little kitty."

 

Hearing his announcement, I felt like puking all over the floor, but he didn't even give me the chance to do so. After emptying his mug of strong smelling alcohol, he just picked me by the scruff of my neck, shove his arm under my belly and lifted me up. I couldn't even struggle against this attack.

My body was like petrified. Even though I wanted to scream at him, wanted to scratch and bite him, I couldn't do a single thing.

 

"So it is the same for foxes."

 

«Why can't I- what did he do to me?!»

 

"You are hurting her!"

"It isn't hurting her. Her mother would do the same to carry her around."

 

An almost inaudible whimper left my lips. «You are not my mother! Do you want to insult me?!»

 

"But you will scare her!"

"It will be fine! Don't worry so much. Give me a few nights and she will eat out of my hands!"

 

«Do you even hear yourself talk!? Do you want to tame or fuck me!? You are a pervert, a white-skinned goblin!»

 

My protests remained silent. The hero just carried me away like a bag of flour, leaving me little to no chance to even make him understand how much I despised him for this retarded idea of his. Within a minute, he had already wished the girls a good night, had walked up the stairs towards the third floor of the inn an made his way to the door on the end of the hallway.

 

When we reached it, the hero freed one of his hands and pulled forth a key. He opened up the door, entered and placed me down on a table, before hurriedly closing off my sole escape route. Before I could even speak up, or at least bite him, he had already locked it up. I was trapped.

The hero came closer, forcing me to back off, but the edge of the tabletop soon ended my retreat. It wasn't an especially high fall, but I couldn't even guess what would happen if I decided to jump down with this weak, little body of mine. I had no chance but growling at him.

 

"Don't worry, Ahri," he said with a somehow sad expression on his face, "I won't hurt you."

「But I will hurt you if you get any nearer! You are creepy! You are beyond creepy!」

The hero sighed, before saying a single word: 『Inspect』

 

Suddenly, hundreds of yellowish glowing symbols appeared in between us, as if covering an invisible wall. They looked like some kind of script, although it was obviously far more complex than the one I was used to.

 

「What is this!? What are you doing to me?! What are those weird letters!? I will bite you if you touch me! I will scratch out your eyes!」

 

The hero didn't even pay attention. His eyes were already glued to the text he had summoned. He was so focused on the weird symbols that he didn't even try to catch me when I fled to the other side of the table, were another chair was just waiting for me to jump down onto.

I ran under the bed, pushed myself against the wall and growled at him with all my might. The hero didn't even react to it.