"So that's how it is~"
"Exactly. Girls really are better!", Eris nodded in deep agreement.
Seeing this, Roxy couldn't help cutting in, "Why does it have to involve touching someone in the first place? Can't you just not touch them?"
"Good question. Eris, answer that."
He silently gestured toward Eris, and she answered without the slightest hesitation, her expression serious.
"No!"
"You two...", Roxy was dumbfounded. She couldn't help letting out a long sigh, "Should I suggest that the chief isolate you two from each other? That might be for the best."
But Eris seemed not to have heard Roxy at all. She simply lay on the table, quietly turning her head to the side and staring without blinking at Ash, who had buried his head in his book again. She muttered under her breath, almost as if complaining, "Boys are out of the question, but... girls still make me curious, after all."
"What could possibly be wrong with that?"
"They are out of the question too!"
"They are even more out of the question!"
Eris and Roxy spoke almost in unison. Their words were a little different, but either way... neither of them wanted him spending too much time around little kids.
Although Ash felt they were worrying far too much, since he had absolutely no improper intentions, all he wanted right now was to read his book in peace. He didn't want these trivial matters interrupting him either.
So he reluctantly nodded and gave them a perfunctory agreement. Then he immersed himself in the world of books again, paying no further attention to their nagging and concerns.
———
The next morning, Ash had originally planned to take a leisurely stroll through the woods to relax a little, but he hadn't expected to run into the little golden-haired fox from the day before.
At the time, the girl was concentrating on enjoying some fruit. The moment she spotted him, her eyes lit up, and she excitedly wagged her fluffy tail. Her steps were as light as those of a lively little fawn as she ran straight toward him.
The unexpected scene immediately put him in a difficult position.
'What should I do? I just said yesterday that I wouldn't do anything weird. Ah... wait, no? Getting a little closer to her shouldn't count as anything weird.'
"...Big brother, what are you talking about?"
The fox-girl, Nona, had reached his side in a flash. She hadn't heard his muttering, so she tilted her little head and looked at him in confusion. Her two fox ears tilted at different angles along with it.
She looked incredibly cute, and his hand slowly began to rise against his will.
"N-Nothing... I was just thinking about some complicated things."
Since it really wasn't suitable to discuss those issues with her, he silently lowered his hand. Then he crouched down with a smile and naturally reached out to gently rub her soft ears.
"Big brother... that tickles~", Nona twisted her body slightly and said in a coy voice, her tone clear and pleasant, like the sound of a little bell.
"How could it? I'm not ticklish at all."
"Because I'm the one being touched...", Nona muttered softly, looking even more playful and adorable.
'What should I do? I really want to take her home with me?'
Ash felt that he could finally understand King Zhou from Investiture of the Gods. After a moment of troubled thought, he sat down on a fallen tree trunk nearby. Smiling, he promptly forgot yesterday's warning and casually patted his thigh.
"Anyway... why don't you sit down first?"
"Huh? Th-This..."
Nona looked hesitant, a trace of shyness and unease in her eyes.
"The ground beside me is pretty dirty, right? You're a girl, after all, so of course you have to be careful. And I definitely won't do anything weird! If you still don't want to... well, I don't mind either way."
"Ah... n-no! It's just... um... O-okay!"
Since he'd put it that way, Nona found it hard to refuse. Her little face flushed bright red as she shyly glanced at her mother in the distance. Then she gently bit her lip, gathered her courage, carefully held down the back of her skirt, and raised her fluffy tail. With an expression of obvious discomfort and a little panic, she slowly and lightly sat down on his lap.
Ash immediately felt the pleasant weight and soft sensation on his lap.
At the same time, the faint fragrance of Nona's hair drifted toward him. He couldn't help getting absorbed in it, a happy smile spreading across his face as he instinctively reached out to gently stroke her hair and ears. He even let out a heartfelt sigh.
"It feels like... I've come home again."
Nona's body was tense for a moment, but she showed no resistance at all. Her already red cheeks only grew hotter, and she didn't hear Ash's strange remark at all.
She slightly raised the unusual fruit in her hand. It resembled a dragon fruit in shape, but didn't need to be peeled, and she'd already taken two bites out of it. With a trace of shyness and anticipation in her eyes, she carefully asked, "I-If you don't mind, Big Brother... would you like to try some?"
"Oh~ Thanks. But my name is Ash. Just call me by my name."
"Y-Yes... Mr. Ash...", Nona replied softly. Although she'd changed how she addressed him, she still looked like the same shy girl, with an air of awkwardness and unease about her. Yet her movements were gentle and obedient, making it hard not to feel affection for her.
Seeing this, Ash smiled helplessly. He continued gently running his fingers over her fluffy ears and took a small bite of the fruit in his hand.
Its sweet, refreshing juice immediately spread through his mouth, and he couldn't help smiling as he praised it.
"Mmm, it tastes pretty good."
Hearing Ash's praise, Nona's tense little face immediately blossomed into a happy smile. Her fluffy ears trembled slightly too, as if expressing the joy she felt inside.
"I'm glad you like it, Mr. Ash," she replied softly, her voice still carrying a hint of shyness and bashfulness.
It was hard not to tease her a little, so Ash unconsciously continued enjoying the fruit while gently combing through the girl's smooth fur with his fingers, from her ears all the way to the tip of her tail.
Nona simply nestled quietly on Ash's lap, enjoying his touch.
Perhaps she'd gradually grown accustomed to his touch, because her body slowly relaxed, no longer as tense as it had been at first.
Thus, in the woods beneath the sunlight, while enjoying a lovely morning with this little fox-eared girl, Ash also learned something about her. Although she'd screamed so loudly when she'd been captured last time, it was actually only because she'd been so frightened.
After learning the reason, Ash tried wrapping her tail around his hand as he gave her a serious lecture.
"Next time you encounter danger, try to stay calm as much as possible. Those bad people really might kill you if you accidentally provoke them. It's better to be obedient and wait for a chance to seek help."
"I-It's okay! Mr. Ash will definitely come rescue me next time too~!", Nona raised her head slightly and gazed at him with sparkling eyes.
What was he supposed to say to that? He couldn't quite bring himself to refuse her. All he could do was enjoy the fluffy fur and nod.
"Even so... you should still... well, I'll do my best."
After that, in response to the girl's curious questions, he also took the opportunity to tell her about the outside world.
From the Central Continent to the Demon Continent, from castles that towered into the clouds and bustling markets to endless deserts and all kinds of strange demons, Nona listened intently. Her eyes remained fixed on Ash without blinking. Sometimes she opened her mouth wide in surprise, and other times she smiled happily. Her vivid expressions made him feel as though he were admiring a lively and interesting painting.
...The scene of the two getting along so well ought to have been heartwarming no matter how you looked at it. Yet the child's mother, not far away, wore a somewhat troubled expression.
On the walkway built along the tree trunks, Eris happened to notice the scene. She became even more agitated, practically baring her teeth as if she were about to pounce on them at any moment.
Roxy, meanwhile, held Eris back with one hand and pressed the other to her forehead as she gazed up at the sky, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.
"Honestly... we really can't stay here any longer. Otherwise, my disciple is definitely going to be done for, isn't he?"
Although she was sighing, Roxy was actually a little happy.
After all, her disciple had always been so capable and self-sufficient that he never needed her help. Now, at last, he'd developed a troublesome weakness... This was the kind of thing that let a teacher prove her worth, wasn't it?
Even though neither Ash nor the girl seemed unwilling, and both appeared to be having a good time, it somehow felt a little like breaking up a happy couple...
"But precisely because they're mutually attracted to each other, we need to separate them even more!"
As she watched the harmonious pair in the distance, Roxy's sense of duty began to burn fiercely.
———
That evening...
As soon as he'd finished dinner, Ash planned to head outside and pet some foxes as a way to get a little exercise after his meal.
But he'd barely stood up, and hadn't even managed to leave the room, when the two girls blocked the doorway in perfect unison.
He was momentarily dumbfounded, but for the time being, he silently sat back down and obediently resumed reading his book.
Over the following days, however, the two wouldn't give him any opportunities to spend time alone with Nona. When he tried to find the cat-eared girl instead, he still... couldn't even manage a couple of pets before the two scolded him with remarks like, "You're already interested in someone else?" and "As long as there's a girl, is anything acceptable to you?"
It all felt rather unfair.
As a result, he could only spend most of his time quietly reading as usual. Although he could still pull a beast-eared girl over to pet her, he couldn't hold one on his lap and enjoy that warm, home-like feeling.
While he was absorbed in his frustration over being monitored, the tribe remained inexplicably busy.
Apparently, because they had failed to seize this once-a-year opportunity, quite a few criminal organizations had been having a hard time throughout the year. As a result, they'd begun attacking the beastfolk in the Great Forest even more frantically, leaving the village's warrior corps extremely busy.
However, the warrior corps remained resolute, declaring that they absolutely couldn't continue relying too heavily on Ash's power this time.