Chapter 9
"It's delicious...!"
"Such warm food, it's been so long!"
"Big bro is the best!"
The children melt, cupping their cheeks.
The foxes, mouths full of food, move their utensils with happy expressions.
The table was so full it looked like the legs might break.
Starting with warm beef stew, piles of steak, soft tearing baguettes...
A feast of visually stunning dishes.
"It's delicious... I think I might cry."
"Me, me too."
"The bad men underground... they would hit us if we said we were hungry."
"And it was cold. But it's warm here."
"Sniff......"
The starving children devour the food hurriedly.
At an age when they should be constantly hungry. They spent a long time in that dark prison without proper rations.
The foxes chewed diligently.
Fortunately, they seemed to eat everything evenly without being picky.
It was admirable how well they ate their vegetables too.
Watching them eat so earnestly, a strange affection blooms in my chest.
"Everyone eat slowly. I'm still cooking more food."
I say with a bright smile.
While looking towards the table, my hands quickly move the kitchen knife.
Skillfully displaying cooking skills.
It seems everyone is enjoying the taste.
Even Irene, who was initially wary thinking "Is there poison in this?", was now busy emptying her bowl.
"...What are you staring at?"
"It's nothing."
Huhu. I let out a satisfied laugh.
Irene seems to watch me cautiously for a moment, then turns her attention back to the fragrant stew.
The tail behind her back wags happily.
'As expected... the first step in taming is filling their stomachs.'
I mutter inwardly so it can't be heard.
Just now. What I had taken out of the drawer was none other than a pink apron.
"Children like that are, how should I put it... a bit annoying."
=Seeing the children crying... it hurts my heart.
"I think they need to be dealt with a bit."
=I need to lend a helping hand.
"I didn't want to go this far... but it's your fault for annoying me."
=Cooking myself is a bit troublesome... but I'll do my best for you all.
"Don't be scared, everyone. I'm sure it will be fun."
=I'm good at cooking so don't worry. I'm sure it will be delicious.
Donning the apron proudly, I headed to the kitchen and immediately started making food.
It had been a while since I cooked, but.
Does the body remember? It came together quickly.
Well, I learned from someone. If I couldn't make food like this, that person would cry.
'Thanks to that, I'm putting it to good use.'
As the delicious smell spread throughout the room, the children's crying subsided.
The evil villain offered a meal to the hungry children.
Generally, a full stomach breaks down wariness.
For the starving foxes, such kindness was like salvation.
The idea of approaching using food as bait. It was a terrifyingly cunning plan, even if I came up with it myself.
"Is it to everyone's taste?"
Hiding my lecherous smile, I move towards the table.
There, the little foxes are gathered together.
When the children notice me approaching, they wag their tails vigorously with bright smiles.
"It's delicious!!"
"You're, you're different from the bad men......"
Is this how children are?
It seems their fear of me disappeared quickly.
I gently reach out my hand and pat the head of the closest fox.
Very slowly.
Flinch.
The frail shoulders tremble for a moment.
They seem tense at first, but soon accept the touch.
As we share this gentle interaction, before long a surprising reaction emerges.
The child starts tearing up.
"...Sniff."
"Oh. Did you not like being patted? If it was rude, I apologize."
"N-no, that's not it......"
The little fox shakes their head at my question.
The child wipes away the falling dewdrops and mutters in a sobbing voice.
"This... it's been so long."
Many emotions are contained in that short sentence.
"Suddenly tears are coming out, *hic*, and won't stop. The food is so delicious... that makes me so sad."
"......"
I quietly waited.
It must have been hard.
Locked in a cold underground, soothing hungry stomachs, swallowing tears, despairing at the approaching future, repeating the pain of resignation.
It was too cruel a wound for a child in their youth to bear.
'Poor thing.'
I sympathize silently.
How unfair is the world, to serve a sentence with fate as the only crime.
A flower blooming from adults' ugliness.
The name of the memory that took root so pitifully is sorrow.
Just yesterday, the children were still locked in cages.
They had given up, thinking there was no hope at all.
In that situation, a miracle occurred. They were able to leave the cold floor and have a warm meal together with friends.
A sense of dissonance based on deep relief.
That's probably the reason for the falling tears.
"It's okay now."
I offer a simple comfort.
"No one will be able to hurt you anymore."
The young fox bows their head deeply.
I soothe the child and deliberately laugh in a playful tone.
"Come now! Good children don't cry. You should stop, okay?"
"Sniff... okay."
"The food is getting cold. It tastes best when it's warm."
"Mmm."
The little fox moves their fork while sniffling.
As expected, children open their hearts easily if you treat them well a few times.
It's a pity.
They shouldn't open their hearts so easily to a villain like me.
I'll have to make them regret it thoroughly.
"Everyone eat a lot. There's plenty of food prepared, okay?"
A mountain of food piled high.
This is the ultimate move.
-Grandma's Sincere Heart Just Eat A Little More Punch-
Afterwards, I fed them tremendously until the children said they couldn't eat anymore and collapsed.
***
Crying, laughing, being wary, then feeling at ease.
The children who showed such a spectacular range of emotions soon all fell asleep in a group.
It seems they couldn't overcome their food coma.
They really ate until their stomachs were bursting.
One or two started closing their eyes, then they all fell asleep in a pile.
'...They must be tired.'
There was probably still fatigue accumulated from their time at the auction house.
It was a sensitive and anxious time, but I suppose it's fortunate that most of them seem to be opening their hearts.
"How admirable."
A self-talk escapes unconsciously.
Little foxes dozing on the floor. As I'm carefully moving them one by one to the bed, a voice cuts in from the side.
"I'll help too."
It was Irene.
The girl who approached quietly helps with the transport.
Still not having let go of her suspicion towards me, she glared with scary eyes every time I lifted a child.
A fox snarling fiercely.
"I haven't done anything yet."
"I know."
"I don't plan to do anything in the future either."
"That remains to be seen."
"Is that so?"
Taming really is difficult, huh.
With that quiet mutter behind me, I lay down the last child I was holding in my arms on the bed.
Carefully, so as not to wake them.
As I'm covering the foxes with blankets, I feel a vague gaze.
"......"
The girl staring this way silently.
On her face with its cold impression, somewhat complex emotions were contained.
She looked confused.
'Did I treat them too well?'
From Irene's perspective, it would be rather unsettling.
A person she met for the first time yesterday was showing inexplicable kindness.
She might be worried if something had gone wrong.
It would be natural for such concerns to arise.
'No... since they were caught by a villain, something did go wrong.'
I smile faintly, pushing back those idle thoughts.
As I'm quietly looking at the soundly sleeping children, Irene speaks to me first.
"It's unexpected."
"What is?"
"You seem to like children. I thought you'd be annoyed by them."
"How could I be?"
I was closer to liking them.
I liked the unique innocence that children possess.
Unlike adults stained by the world's blemishes, an untainted freshness. I envied that.
It was something I hadn't had for a long time.
"I just don't get close to them, that's all."
"...I'll say thank you for now. It's a fact that you got us out of that hellish place."
"Don't mention it."
"And thanks for the meal too. It was delicious."
"I'm glad it suited your taste. I'm happy to receive such praise."
A few casual exchanges.
I quietly gazed at the girl. Her transparent black eyes contained only the image of the children.
It was a scene flowing with a gentle atmosphere.
-I don't trust anyone.
As I'm spacing out for a moment, a scene suddenly passes before my eyes.
It was a scene from the middle of the original work.
The part where I uploaded my first walkthrough video.
It was the story appearing in the first side story episode [The Untamed Fox].
-Sold!
According to the flow of the original work, Irene is sold as a slave at the auction house.
Afterwards, the fox who receives cruel abuse from nobles eventually reaches the point of killing her master and running away.
The girl wandering the streets like that.
In a time full of despair, a fateful encounter occurs.
-Who are you? You're so pretty.
The Empire's First Imperial Princess, Charlotte Little von Staufen.
In the work, Charlotte, the girl playing the role of the Little Prince, discovers the fox.
-Come with me.
Charlotte, who recognizes the fox's talent.
She takes in Irene and makes her one of her close aides.
The Little Prince cherishes the fox. The fox also relies on the Little Prince. The two advance to become unparalleled friends.
Just when it seemed like only peaceful days would continue...
-I heard the news today.
-About the children who were locked up with me... they say they all died.
From the point when that news arrives one day, the story's atmosphere darkens dramatically.
The fox says to the Little Prince:
-They died in so many ways. Starting with abuse, then torture, taxidermy, even butchering...
-Every single one, miserably.
Tears fall drop by drop.
But what was contained in the dew wasn't just sadness. It was closer to intense self-blame.
The girl chews on lamentations.
-Even the little that remained is taken away.
After Master passed away, they were the only hopes I had been protecting.
-I couldn't protect them.
-The children who believed in me alone even in those cold cages died miserably...
-Yet I shamelessly survived.
The part ends with the fox in despair.
It wasn't a typical story, but a [Hidden Episode] in the form of a side story that could be seen when taking a certain route.
I was the first person to discover this.
The reaction when I uploaded the video is still vivid.
'Half the people marveled at how I found it, the other half were saddened by Irene's story.'
Irene, who had always seemed so steadfast.
As it was a scene of such a character breaking down, the users seemed to receive quite a shock.
I felt a bit proud.
It's not like I prevented such an event, you know.
'The original work will change, but... that's something to think about later.'
For now, I thought it would be okay to congratulate myself.
I prevented Irene's misfortune, and by doing so, I've laid the groundwork to get closer to the original protagonist's group.
A satisfied feeling lingered for a while.
What woke me from my reverie was none other than the fox's call.
"I don't get it."
"Uh... pardon?"
"You. I really can't figure you out."
I turn my head at the sudden words to see eyes staring intently this way.
The calmly shining pupils resemble stars.
The girl who seemed to be pausing for a moment opens her mouth again.
"...You said you wanted something from me, right?"
"Hmm?"
"That you'd tame me."
"Ah, I did say that indeed."
I nod, belatedly remembering.
You remembered that. I thought you had let it slide since I mentioned it in passing.
"That's right. That's why I brought you here, Miss Irene."
"Is it that important?"
"Of course."
A clear answer. But the girl makes a rather puzzled expression instead.
She asks quietly:
"What does it mean... to tame?"
She asks the meaning of taming.
At that bold question, I couldn't help but pause for a moment. I ponder the meaning inwardly.
To tame something.
It was a value now forgotten by many people.
But despite that, it was still my shining guidepost.
I answered unconsciously:
"To tame means... to form a relationship."
"...?"
Silence brushes by for a moment. Our contrasting gazes collide.
"What?"
"I intend to form a relationship with you. I'll tame you to my liking."
"......"
The plainly recited definition of taming.
I thought I had conveyed my sincere feelings as they were, but Irene's reaction was somehow strange.
Her blank face contorts.
Her brow furrows, and contempt settles in her pupils.
The fox took a few paces back, before muttering in a chilly voic
"...You piece of trash."
It was as if she was looking at trash.
Irene hugged her shoulders and sharply raised her loosened guard again.
I respond stupidly,
"Oh my...?"
Did I say something wrong?