The Little Companion Of The Beast

Episode 4.

I don’t know what the circumstances were, but for now, I had to get off ‘that person’s’ boat.

Staria racked her brain hard.

Several solutions came to mind. The most plausible one was to pretend to sleep and let it fall naturally.

“Hmm~.”

Staria pretended to regain her appetite and rolled over to the side… … . She felt her body floating.

I opened my eyes slightly and saw that I was being lifted up by his front paw.

“Stop getting up.”

My mother used to say that children with good manners are loved wherever they go.

Staria smiled brightly as she had learned and greeted him.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“Do you think you were okay?”

“well?”

“What kind of annoying rat-bell is that? Not only did he beat me, he also made me his bed.”

Haska put her down, which he was holding.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Staria lowered her upper body and placed her forehead on the ground.

“Okay, I was wrong!”

“You’re quick to grasp the situation.”

Haska stretched out his front legs to relieve the muscles that were sore from the night’s toil. He then lowered his hind legs and hit the ground hard with his tail. The cave hummed with every movement he made.

Haska, who had finished stretching, looked at the troublemaker lying face down.

“name.”

Staria, who had been thinking about something else, raised her forehead slightly and asked back.

“yes?”

“Don’t make me say it twice. Name.”

“It’s Clash Staria.”

“Yes, Clash Staria. This forest is not a place for humans to live. So go back.”

Go? Where?

The village where I lived with my family would have burned down and disappeared. There was no place to return to.

Staria, who was lying down awkwardly, grabbed Haska’s tail as he turned around as if he had nothing to say.

“Let go.”

His tail was a sensitive area like his stomach, so he trembled and became serious, but Staria could not let go as he was ordered.

Rather, he held on tightly as if it were a lifeline.

Nothing came to mind. All I could think of was that I had to live. When I was lying unconscious, I vaguely saw an overwhelming power that could instantly destroy armored knights.

At that moment, I realized that no matter how much I searched the entire world, there would be no place as safe as this forest. Even if this place was not a place for humans to live, it was better than the outside world where monsters were trying to destroy me.

I couldn’t be kicked out. I had to belong here, even if it meant holding on to my trouser legs, or rather my tail. There was only one way to do that.

“I want to be Haska’s bride. Please let me do it.”

“… …Will you be my companion?”

“Yes! I’m confident I can do it.”

Blue eyes fell on her as she clenched her fists and shouted confidently. Staria’s hair stood on end at the gaze that swept over her from top to bottom, but she did not avoid it.

“no.”

The small heart that had been pounding grew cold at the firm rejection.

Where did you get the courage from, she asked questioningly.

“why?”

“Because they are too young and small to mate.”

I don’t know what he means by ‘copulation’, but

“I’ll eat well, sleep well, and grow up diligently. I’ll grow up quickly. So… … .”

A ten-year-old girl proposed to a beast.

“Please wait and don’t get married. Yes?”

***

“Pheh heh.”

Staria, who had found the lake again after going around and around, was out of breath. Once her breathing had calmed down, exclamations came out automatically.

“Wow.”

At the beginning of the emerald lake, a horseshoe-shaped cliff stood out in all its majesty, and the waterfall flowed down coolly. The rainbow that appeared in the spray of water was nothing short of fantastic.

This wonderful sight would not end in one place, because the forest seemed endless no matter how far you went.

This was the conclusion I came to after running around frantically from the morning breeze trying to memorize the geography. The forest, which was as complex as a maze, was impossible to become familiar with.

“It’s so big.”

Looking back, it seemed like we had come too far. Staria decided to end the exploration and shook off the dust from her legs.

I marked the route so I wouldn’t get lost, and the return trip was easy.

I was almost at the cabin. I had been moving around since before sunrise and I was starting to feel hungry.

Staria looked around, clutching her slim lower abdomen.

“hungry.”

I had to pick up a spoon if there was a meat dish, but the environment also corrected my picky eating habits. Since I didn’t know how to hunt, I had no choice but to eat only vegetables.

Fortunately, there were many strange fruits in the forest. The apple-like fruit I ate yesterday was half green and half red, and one side was sour and the other was sweet.

I guess it’s fun to try out different flavors.

The yellowish fruit caught her eye as she circled around and chose the menu.

“It’s hanging on the top?”

You can’t give up without even trying.

I tried knocking on it, and I even picked up a long branch and poked it, but the fruit tree wouldn’t budge.

“Cheese.”

No matter how hard I tried, the tree would just stay silent, so I kicked it with my foot because I was annoyed by it…

What the heck, yellow berries are falling down.

“Tree… … You, you’re weaker than you look?”

Not knowing that the sturdy tree was amazed, Staria opened her arms and hugged the tree tightly.

“Thank you for giving so generously. I will enjoy it.”

He walked diligently, carrying the fruits neatly wrapped in leaves.

When we almost reached the cabin.

“hi.”

Staria’s lips parted at the unexpected visitor.

Cherry lips, crescent-shaped eyes, a nose as high as a veil, and flowing red hair like billowing waves, the woman had an air of impassability. It was horrible to even think about, but she was incomparable to Nancy, the most beautiful woman in town.

“You’re looking straight at my face. Is it because your liver is not fully ripe yet?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You’re so pretty… … I can’t help but look at you even when I try not to.”

“Haha, if I had such poor judgment I would have tried to eat my eyeballs out. I passed. I passed.”

Even though I know it’s rude, I keep glancing at it and before I know it, a question comes out.

“Are you a fairy?”

“They say that Morgana is a fox more charming than a fairy.”

fox?

Even if you look at the cooking and that, you’re still human?

As she tilted her head, Morgana kindly explained.

“Our species can freely change their appearance when they become adults. However, we usually stay in human form. It’s easier to live in. I, however, changed because I love this form that allows me to display my superior beauty.”

“I think you would be very pretty even as a fox. I’ve never seen anyone so dazzling. I almost went blind.”

“Oh my, my tail almost sticks out! I don’t even associate with people who are younger and prettier than me, but you are different?”

Morgana was clearly the type that was weak to praise. If her tail was out, it would wag it so happily that it looked like it was in a good mood.

The second person I met after coming to the forest was not only beautiful, but also affectionate. If it had been Staria the day before yesterday, I might have wanted to become close to her. However, today’s Staria could only stand on end and be on guard.

Of course, I didn’t show it. There was no need to buy it and arouse dislike when I didn’t know when I would be kicked out.

You never know. If you show her well, she might take your side when you get kicked out. All a ten-year-old with nothing can do is give up eating.

“I’ll give you this.”

“This is the first time I’ve received such a worthless fruit, I’m touched.”

Morgana, who had been shyly biting into the fruit that had been offered to her, only then discovered the hut on the verge of collapse.

“Haska, how did that idiot give us a place like this? A club is an instant hit on a mindless beast. I’ll go and beat him up right away.”

Staria quickly stopped Morgana.

“No! Don’t do that. Please.”

“Don’t scold me?”

“After much begging, I was given permission to stay for a while. So… … .”

If you offend him any further, you will be kicked out immediately.

Staria’s shoulders trembled in fear. A gentle voice came down to her head.

“Do you think you care enough?”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t notice, there’s nothing you can do.”

Morgana simply tapped her cheek and smiled meaningfully.