A paradisial landscape slowly wandered from one side of the window to the other. Together with the gentle hands that were stroking my fur, it felt as if I was dreaming, but the annoying voice of the hero pulled me back into reality times and times again. I had been confined in this carriage for hours, but still had yet to find any rest thanks to him.

 

“Can I hold her, too?” He asked yet again.

Myra didn’t even waste a single thought on it before denying his wish: “She is still afraid of you, Masaru.”

“But I never did anything to her! I would never hurt such a cutie like her~”

「Cutie?」

“Maybe something bad had happened to her in the past. That would explain why she is afraid of men.”

「It is only him I hate!」

 

It wasn’t true. There were countless humans worthy of my hate, and there had been quite a few of them even before the war had broken out. Thanks to my old body, I had to feed on men or at least women, as demons were allies and thus off limits to me. So I had traveled to the human realms, again and again, only to grow more and more grudges by doing so.

A long sigh slipped my lips, ending up sound far cuter than I had expected. The hero’s party did not leave it uncommented.

 

“Like my granny,” Saenna decided, not wasting a single additional word.

«Who is your granny?!»

“Maybe she is sad that she can’t play?” Azu suggested.

“Don’t worry, Ahri~” The hero’s despicable yet sugar-sweet voice reached me, “I will play with you aaall day long as soon as we arrive in Zandria~”

「Who would want to play with you?!」

 

I growled at the hero who was sitting on the other side of the carriage, but he didn’t care a bit. He continued watching me with as dreamy as creepy eyes. Luckily enough, it wasn’t only him and me in here, but Saenna, Myra and Azu too, with the later one sitting right next to the hero. The other girls shared the small driver’s seat.

Only the orange-haired Faisa couldn’t sit still for longer than maybe half an hour. From time to time, she even climbed the still driving carriage and let her feet dangle from it, right in front of the window, as if trying to remember me that it was her who is free and me who is trapped with the hero. She did it again right now.

 

«...»

 

“What are your plans for today?” Azu asked, after slightly leaning against the hero’s shoulder.

 

«Please do not start flirting now ...»

 

He didn’t even think before answering: “Nothing much. I think we should rest for today. What do you think about having a bbq this evening to celebrate our return?”

“You don’t have to report to the major or the guild?”

“I will do that tomorrow. It isn’t like it is urgent.”

“So you have time today ...”

 

«Stop trying to get into his pants!»

 

Two coughs brought her back to reason. Neither Saenna nor Myra liked to see their man stolen away right in front of their eyes. But instead of judging the hero like anybody who was able to think straight would have done, their focus instead went onto Azu, who faced them with a mischievous smile.

 

«... if only they would get rid of this part of their personality.»

 

I couldn’t understand what it was that they liked in him. He wasn’t ugly but rather nice looking, at least compared to other humans, but not to an extent that would explain six beautiful girls swarming around him and trying to win his heart.

Their behavior was especially weird knowing that the hero didn’t even try to decide on one of them but rather tried to win them all over at once, trying to form a harem of some sort.

 

«Humans are weird.»

 

As we continued our travel, the scenery around us changed from one of trees, rocks, flowers and streams to a sheer endless ocean of crops. We passed by a small windmill, a few barns and farms with herds of cattle. It was only after about an hour of this picture, that I could see the first buildings of the city in the far reach. It was far larger than I had imagined.

A warm hand was gently placed onto my back. I looked up to find Saenna faintly smiling at me.

 

“Your home,” she explained. “You will like it.”