Avoid It, Master!
When the fox beastkin Garam first appeared, the general opinion of her wasn't terrible. A sword-wielding fox girl whose official art had already made everyone lose their minds over her chest. But once players actually started using her, the reviews plummeted. Even in Season 1, which was far more forgiving than Season 2, she would collapse if you so much as looked at her wrong. Her close-range damage output was undeniably top tier, yet her body was so fragile that everyone labeled her a glass cannon. Most players eventually concluded it was smarter to use literally any other hero.
I, however, stubbornly kept faith in Garam. I poured every resource I had into her without hesitation. She was the very first hero I ever pulled, after all. No other close-range dealer could match her damage, and above all else, the simple fact that she was a fox beastkin made her an automatic pass in my book.
'It was brutal getting her to six stars, but it was worth every ounce of effort. And…'
In the game and in this world alike, Garam never once betrayed my expectations. My first disciple had repaid every bit of the care I'd invested in her, both as a student and as a hero.
“Nothing about you has changed at all, huh?”
“You seem to have changed quite a bit. How many years has it been?”
“Five years, two months, three days, three hours, and twenty-one seconds.”
“...You still remember it that precisely?”
“I’ve been counting down every single second until I could return to you, Master.”
I had moved around quite often, but my disciples would have had no trouble tracking me if they truly wanted to. The reason they hadn’t come looking was entirely my own doing. I had told them not to appear before me until they had accomplished feats worthy of the name Hero. So they had scattered across the continent, each raising their own legends.
“Ufufu.”
Garam drew closer with a sly, swaying smile. She looked exactly like a fox that had spotted its prey. Despite being right in front of me, her footsteps made no sound at all.
“You’re not going to get angry that I came to find you, right?”
“Why would I?”
“Because you told us never to look for you.”
“I did say that. But there was a condition attached, wasn’t there?”
“Until we accomplish feats worthy of the name Hero… right?”
“Exactly.”
“Then… is it all right for me to be here now, Master?”
What a silly question. At her current level, Garam should have come to see me long ago. In fact, I had started worrying that something might have happened to her since she hadn’t appeared.
“The Sword Emperor…”
Iris, standing behind me, murmured in clear astonishment. Sword Emperor, that was the title the world now used for Garam. Just hearing her called that was enough to tell me how much she had achieved.
“Oh my. They’re still using that embarrassing nickname? Master, is this girl the youngest?”
“That’s right. Introduce yourselves. Iris, this is your senior disciple, Garam. Garam, this little one is Iris Futurewalker, a fledgling who still hasn’t left her master’s side.”
“I’m not a fledgling! I’m a proper hero now too!”
“If you’re barely hanging onto the title of hero, then shut your mouth.”
At my words, Iris clamped her lips shut. She knew it herself, she still didn’t have the skills to proudly call herself a hero.
“Hehe.”
Garam smiled again as she watched the two of us. Maybe it was because she was a fox beastkin, but that smile of hers always felt strangely seductive.
“Must be nice, my little junior. Still glued to Master’s side all the time.”
“Hmph! I want to become independent as soon as possible! Master hits me every single day!”
“That’s strange. Master isn’t the type to hit a disciple unless they’re seriously lacking.”
“There you have it, Iris. You just confessed with your own mouth that you’re still lacking.”
Iris let out a pathetic little sob. She complained that her senior disciple was supposed to take her side, that as someone who had trained under the same master she should be supporting her junior.
'What nonsense, you brat.'
Why did I think I had run to the Heavenly Demon and become her disciple? It was precisely so that I, not the Heavenly Demon, could take the position of master to these heroes. And not just any master, but one who could also serve as a protector they could trust and rely on. I had done it so that my disciples would believe only in me and follow my words alone.
“By the way, Master~?”
Garam’s voice grew even more coquettish as she held up the ring in her hand.
“Why were you trying to buy this?”
“I was going to buy it as a gift.”
“Oh my. A gift? Don’t tell me you’ve found yourself a wife?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Hmm, I see. That’s a relief. Really, really a relief.”
“What exactly is a relief?”
“Just is. So, can I keep this? I paid for it, so it belongs to me, right?”
I clicked my tongue. Just as she said, it wasn’t me but Garam who had paid the price for that ring. In other words, ownership belonged to her. I had considered buying a different ring, but after looking around, everything else was terrible. They were all covered in scratches and looked cheap. Except for the one I had been aiming for.
That idiot shopkeeper had probably thought it was a fake, but to my eyes it was the real thing, set with genuine gemstones. I had no idea how such an item had ended up in a place like this, but one thing was certain. If I gave it to Master, it would raise her affection, even if only a little.
“I’m asking you, Garam. I’ll buy it back from you at the same price.”
“At the exact same price?”
“...It would be nice if you could give me a little discount. Call it a master’s discount.”
“That’s not difficult. But… I don’t really have much use for money. I can’t accept money for it.”
“Then what do I have to do to get that ring?”
“Let’s see. What would be good, what would be good?”
Suddenly, a fwoosh sounded as a fox tail sprang up from behind Garam’s hips. She usually kept it hidden, but it would pop out whenever her emotions ran high. Whether from overwhelming sadness, anger, joy, or some other form of intense excitement.
“Praise me and tell me I did a good job.”
“...Is that all?”
“No way. Would that be enough? You have to pat my head, give my butt a few taps, and then my chest…”
“Garam.”
“Ahem! My mistake. Anyway, pat my head, and then…”
…Why was she blushing so hard over what she was about to ask for? There was still a child present, so I hoped she wouldn’t make any dangerous requests.
“Do that for me.”
“...That?”
“Yes. That.”
“If I really do that, you’ll give me the ring?”
“Yes. If you do that, I’ll give it to you. This ring.”
I let out a long sigh, and Garam giggled like a little fox. She started creeping toward me again with that same stealthy gait when suddenly—
“Wait a minute! Hold on!”
Iris suddenly wedged herself between us. Her face was filled with fury, but that anger was directed at Garam, not at me.
“Lady Garam? What did you mean by that just now?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m asking what that ‘that’ you mentioned is. Why are you getting closer and closer to Master!”
“Listen, youngest. This is a matter between me and Master.”
“He’s my master too! And you’ve already graduated and left, Senior Garam!”
“Oh dear? Even if I’ve graduated, I am still his disciple forever. I only left because Master said there was nothing more for me to learn and that I should go out into the world to spread my name.”
“Anyway, the disciple currently protecting Master’s side is me! So don’t come any closer!”
Um, Iris? My disciple? I genuinely couldn’t tell who was supposed to be protecting whom here. Even now I could see her watching warily in case Garam decided to discipline her for her rudeness.
“What I do with Master is none of your business, little junior. Move aside. Master has already given permission.”
“Master! What is that ‘that’ you gave permission for?! Why does Senior look like that!”
“...”
Well, looking at Garam’s face, it was understandable that Iris would misunderstand. Her eyes were gleaming with greed, a flush had spread across her cheeks, and her gently swaying tail looked exactly like that of a seductive yokai. No wonder Iris was on guard despite her being a senior.
“Iris.”
But this time, Iris had gotten the wrong idea entirely.
“That’s enough. Move aside.”
“B-but…”
“So becoming a hero has made you arrogant. Not only do you disregard your far senior, now you won’t even listen to your own master? Get out of the way. I won’t say it twice.”
Iris’s face crumpled into a pitiful expression as she reluctantly stepped aside. Even so, she didn’t drop the suspicious glare she kept aimed at Garam.
“The youngest is quite fierce, isn’t she?”
“She’s not nearly as bad as you were back then.”
“Hehe? I told you it’s not nice to bring up a lady’s past.”
“Before she’s a lady, she’s my disciple, so it doesn’t matter.”
“...I suppose that’s true.”
Before Garam could change the subject, I quickly carried out her request. Just like I used to, I slowly stroked her head. And just as I had done on the day the little fox girl who once struggled even to hold a real sword had first cut through a bundle of straw, I told her, “You worked hard.”
Swish, swish. The tail rising from behind Garam’s hips wagged even more vigorously. I knew it was begging me to move on to the next part. At first it had been because she was my first disciple and adorable like a puppy, but now that she had grown into a full-fledged seductive fox, it made me hesitate a little.
“...”
I could feel Iris’s piercing gaze from behind. Honestly, I was suddenly wondering if I really had to do this. But when I looked at the ring still held in Garam’s hand, it seemed I had no choice. She had more than earned this kind of treatment with the reputation she had built. And to be honest, I could never win against this fox.
Chu.
The moment I lightly kissed Garam’s forehead, Iris let out a scream from behind me. It was the shriek of someone who had seen something they shouldn’t have, the cry of someone wondering what on earth they had just witnessed. Even without looking, I could perfectly picture the expression on Iris’s face.
Before Garam could try anything else, I swiftly snatched the ring away. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have any intention of taking it back and demanding something else in return.
“...Ufufu. Ufufu! Ufufufu!”
“...”
However, that meaningful laughter whose reason I couldn’t fathom left me feeling extremely uneasy. At first I thought she was laughing from joy, but the more I listened, the more it sounded like the laugh of a nine-tailed fox right before it rips out someone’s liver.
“Master! Come over here! That person is weird! She’s suspicious!”
For the first time today, I thought Iris’s warning might actually be correct.