The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
“Kuuh…!”
When I cautiously moved closer, the fox bristled its tail and threatened me.
It seemed to have become aggressive due to its injury.
“Calm down, we’re not your enemies.”
I crouched down to meet its eye level.
Then I slowly extended my hand, gently bringing it closer to the fox’s nose.
“Not… scary, okay?”
“Offu.”
Maybe copying me, Nina crouched down too and held out her hand.
Sakura did something similar as well.
“Kuuh…”
After a moment, the fox relaxed the fur on its puffed-up tail.
It sniffed lightly, smelling the tips of our fingers.
It still seemed wary, but at least it recognized that we weren’t enemies.
Alright.
If we keep this up and ease its guard further, we should be able to treat it—
“Bofun!”
“!?”
Sakura sneezed, and the startled fox leapt back.
In an instant, it retreated.
Then once again, its tail bristled up.
“…Sakura…”
“Kyuun…”
Looking apologetic, Sakura lowered her head.
It wasn’t on purpose, so I couldn’t get mad…
But this is troublesome.
Now the fox’s wariness has increased even more.
Maybe using food would be better.
“Hey, so—”
As I was wondering what to do, Nina stepped forward.
She spread her arms and gave a gentle smile.
“It’s… okay.”
“Kuuh…!”
“I won’t do anything, okay?”
“Ku…”
“It’s alright… okay?”
“…Kon!”
Apparently letting its guard down completely, the fox jumped into Nina’s arms and began to cling to her.
It was probably thanks to Nina’s gentle smile.
“Good girl.”
“Kon.”
Nina looked very happy as she petted the fox’s head.
Watching them, it felt like Nina and the fox had always been together…
Honestly, it was impressive.
“Or rather, this makes me look bad as a beast tamer…”
Sighing lightly, I approached them.
The fox seemed a little tense, but it didn’t run away or threaten me.
“Nina, hold her like that.”
“Okay.”
“Alright… here goes—Heal.”
I used magic to treat the fox’s injury.
The fox blinked a few times, then—
“Kon!”
This time, it jumped onto me and started licking my cheek.
“Alright, alright.”
“Ku!”
The fox climbed onto my shoulder, then onto my head.
From there, it jumped again, landing on Nina’s lap.
“That’s a relief.”
“On!”
Nina and Sakura were happy to see the fox regain its energy.
But I frowned slightly and carefully observed the fox.
“What’s… wrong?”
“Well…”
I kept watching.
“…Something’s a little off.”
“Huh?”
“I should have healed its injuries, but its movements are still a bit awkward.”
At first glance, the fox looked lively, jumping around energetically.
But if you looked closely, its body paused slightly during jumps.
As if its body didn’t quite feel like its own… it seemed hesitant.
“What do you mean?”
“The injury might be pretty old. And because of that… it might have gotten sick.”
“That can’t be…”
Nina’s ears drooped down.
Sakura’s ears drooped as well.
Holding the fox, Nina gently looked into its face.
“Will this child… be okay?”
“There’s no need to worry too much. It’s moving this much, so it shouldn’t be in immediate danger.”
But if left alone, who knows what might happen.
“Rein… let’s take this child… home?”
“Hmm. Taking a wild animal home isn’t really a good idea…”
Temporary taming is one thing, but bringing it home to protect it is another matter.
There’s the issue of taking care of it…
And more importantly, whether it can safely return to the wild afterward.
Nina might say she wants to keep it…
But the fox might have a family somewhere.
“…That said, we can’t just leave it here.”
There’s a high chance the fox is suffering from some kind of illness, so I can’t just ignore it.
I can’t save every animal.
But abandoning a life right in front of me that I can save—that’s not right.
“For now, let’s take it with us.”
“Okay.”
Nina smiled happily.
…By the way.
When we brought the fox back, Kanade and the others made a fuss saying, “Rein picked up another girl again!”
—but that’s a story for another time.
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