酷视

Chapter 14: You are funny and humble, Human Peter

When talking about entrusting her to me... the fox-girl visibly twitched, blushed, and then averted her eyes.

I fought off the desire to clutch at my chest with my hand, forcing my eyes to remain on the massive beast.

"That\'s more or less, correct. As long as you show her more interesting things, make sure she can eat well, and protect her from all harm, I don\'t mind entrusting her to you."

Strangely enough, the caution I\'ve noticed before in the fox\'s voice gave way to an unfamiliar sense of... warmth?

"Then, allow me to explain. This thing that I made appear, is a portal, gate... It\'s a door that connects to my home. Or, to the best of my knowledge, my world. Another world."

As I started to explain, I found myself struggling to find the right words to express my ideas. It felt as if I was unconsciously speaking in a different language and thus struggling to translate idioms directly.

"Another world, you say, human child..." With its eyelids lowering, the massive fox once again reverted its way of referring to me. "And what about it?"

I took a deep breath.

There was no timer on the gate. That meant, while I didn\'t know exactly how much time had passed, the cooldown of using the gate was now over. But when it came to that gate...

"I don\'t know if I can bring anyone through this gate. I\'ve only ever used it once and hardly know anything about where it came from. I don\'t even know if I can bring this golden coin through," I added, pulling out the single golden piece I claimed for the supplies I happily shared. "But if I can bring her to my world, and you wish for me to show her all it has to offer..."

Once again, I hesitated. What I was about to speak of didn\'t sit well... No, it was directly wounding and then insulting my pride as a man.

But between keeping up my pride and failing to pay this lovely fox girl back, I had a pretty easy time choosing.

"The world I come from perfected its ways of letting those with money have fun and bathe in luxury," I admitted. "But on the other side, I\'m the lowest of the low. My inheritance was robbed and I hardly can take care of myself."

"And you wish for me to help you with that?" the massive fox asked, its voice turning annoyed while the face of the silent fox-girl filled with concern.

"No, not at all. Those things, I will deal with myself," I quickly opposed the fox\'s assumption. "What I want to say if I\'m to provide all the best for your child..." I bit down on my lips, struggling to push the following words through my throat. "Then I\'m worried a single gold coin won\'t be enough."

I lowered my head, bracing myself for the lightning to strike me down. Or, conversely, for the paw of this massive fox to rip me in half in response to this audacious request.

Yet, as I remained frozen in place, seconds continued to tick. And no matter how much I waited, no smite came to turn me to smithereens.

"You are funny. And humble, human Peter," the fox spoke in the softest tone I heard him use, nearly as soft as the few times I heard its child speak up in her new, human form. "And that proves I made the right choice to entrust this stupid child to you," the fox added.

Suddenly, a wave of something washed through the plain. For some reason, I didn\'t seem to be influenced by it at all... But the fox-girl wasn\'t.

Pushed from behind, she found herself forced to stand up only to instantly make a few steps forward, struggling to keep up with the suddenly gained momentum... Only to fall right into my arms, proving that this entire thing was orchestrated by some will.

Will the owner of which I could guess pretty easily.

"Go, and take those," the fox added, only for a heavy pouch to come flying and strike me in the side right as my mind went into a panic mode over this insane beauty suddenly pressing herself all over my chest. Then, before I could notice, a new gust of this strange power swept through the area again, forcing me to get closer to the gate.

"Go," the fox\'s voice suddenly turned urgent. Only now did my mind clear enough for me to realize that it was now back up on its slightly bent legs, staring at a fixed point at the wall of trees. "Go, before you will be forced to see things you would rather not, Human Peter."

The fox\'s voice urged me to hurry up. And under its influence, I could only wrap my hands around the fox-girl\'s waist, pulling her closer as I grabbed the pouch before sprinting towards the gate. Then, I leaped forward, ready to face resistance if the timer could only appear from up close...

Only to land on the concrete floor of my so-called apartment... While still holding an otherwordly beauty in my arms!

\'We somehow made it through,\' I thought, breathing heavily as the stress of living on the other side of this gate for the last fifty hours or so finally started to wash off my shoulders. \'But now...\' I then looked down, at the girl happily cuddling up to my chest, ignoring the fact there was no longer a reason for us to hug like that. \'What am I supposed to do with her?\'