The First Step of Taming

The fox cubs melted in delight, their chubby cheeks cupped in their hands.

"Mmm... so good...!"

"It's been so long since I've had warm food like this!"

"Big brother is the best!"

The little foxes stuffed their mouths full, happily working their utensils with expressions of pure bliss. The table was so loaded it looked ready to snap under the weight. It began with a rich, steaming beef stew, followed by towering stacks of steak and soft, tearable baguettes... A feast of luxurious dishes that looked magnificent at first glance.

"It's so good... I think I'm gonna cry."

"M-me too."

"The bad uncles in the basement... if we said we were hungry, they'd just... just hit us."

"And it was so cold. But here... it's warm."

"Hng..."

The children, starved for so long, devoured the food with desperate speed. They were at an age when they should have been growing the most, yet they had been denied proper meals and left to rot in that dark prison for who knew how long. The little foxes chewed with earnest determination. Thankfully, they didn't seem picky and ate everything evenly. It was especially admirable how readily they reached for the vegetables.

Watching them eat so diligently stirred a strange, tender ache in my chest.

"Everyone, eat slowly. There's plenty more coming," I said with a gentle smile.

My eyes stayed on the table, but my hands moved swiftly with the kitchen knife. My cooking skills flowed naturally, honed by experience. It seemed everything suited their tastes. Even Irene, who had initially eyed the food with suspicion, wondering if it might be poisoned, was now diligently emptying her bowl.

"...What are you staring at?"

"Nothing at all."

Heh. A satisfied chuckle slipped out. Irene glanced at me warily for a moment before turning her attention back to the fragrant stew. Her tail behind her swayed contentedly.

Of course... The first step of taming is always filling their bellies.

I muttered it silently so no one could hear.

A little while ago, what I had pulled from the drawer was none other than a pink apron.

With the apron tied around me in a dignified manner, I headed to the kitchen and began preparing the dishes right away. It had been a while since I'd cooked, but my body seemed to remember. Everything came together in no time. After all, I had learned from someone who would throw a fit if I couldn't manage even this much.

Thanks to that, I'm putting it to good use now.

As the delicious aroma filled the entire room, the children's crying gradually subsided. The wicked mastermind offered a meal to the starving fox cubs. After all, a full stomach has a way of breaking down barriers. To those hungry little foxes, such kindness must have felt like salvation.

Approaching them with food as bait. Even though it was my own idea, it was a truly terrifying scheme.

"Does it suit everyone's taste?" I asked, hiding my sly smile as I approached the table.

There, the small foxes were huddled together. When they noticed me coming, their faces bloomed into bright smiles and their tails wagged furiously.

"It's delicious!!"

"You're different from the bad uncles..."

Maybe kids really were just kids. The fear they had held toward me seemed to have vanished in an instant. I gently reached out and stroked the head of the nearest fox cub. Very slowly.

Flinch.

For a moment, the frail shoulders trembled. They seemed tense at first, but soon accepted my touch. As we shared that soft connection, it didn't take long for a surprising reaction to emerge. The child began to tear up.

"...Sniff."

"Oh? Did you not like being petted? If I was rude, I apologize."

"N-no, it's not that..."

The small fox shook her head at my question. Wiping away the falling teardrops, she murmured through her sobs.

"Something like this... it's been way too long."

So much emotion was packed into those short words.

"The tears just suddenly came, and hic, they won't stop. The food is so good... but that makes me so sad."

"..."

I waited quietly. It must have been so hard. Trapped in that cold basement, soothing an empty stomach, swallowing tears, despairing over the future that approached, and repeating the torment of resignation. It was far too cruel a wound for children in their early years to bear.

Poor things.

I offered my sympathy in silence. Punished simply for the crime of their fate—how unfair the world could be. A single flower blooming from the ugliness of adults. The name of the memory that had taken root so pitifully was sorrow.

Just yesterday, these children had been locked in iron cages. They had given up, believing there was no hope left. And then a miracle happened. They escaped the cold floor and could share a warm meal with their friends. The sense of disparity born from deep relief. That was probably why the tears kept flowing.

"It's okay now," I said gently, offering comfort. "No one will ever be able to torment you again."

The young fox hung her head low. I soothed her and deliberately spoke in a playful tone, smiling.

"Come on! Good children don't cry. You have to stop now, okay?"

"Sniff... Okay."

"The food is getting cold. It'll taste best while it's still warm."

"Mmm..."

The little fox sniffled as she moved her fork. As expected, children opened their hearts easily if you were kind to them just a few times. It was a shame, really. They shouldn't be opening up so freely to a mastermind like me. I'd have to make them regret it later.

"Eat as much as you want, everyone. There's plenty of food prepared!"

A mountain of food piled high. This was my ultimate technique.

After that, I kept feeding them until they collapsed, claiming they couldn't eat anymore.

They cried, they laughed, they stayed wary, and then they let themselves relax. The children, who had shown such a spectacular range of emotions, soon all fell fast asleep together. It seemed they couldn't overcome their food coma. After all, they had eaten until their bellies were completely full. One or two closed their eyes, and then they all dozed off in a heap.

...They must be exhausted.

They were probably still carrying fatigue from their time at the auction house. It was a sensitive and anxious period for them, but it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a relief that most of them seemed to have opened their hearts.

"How admirable," I muttered unconsciously.

The small foxes were dozing on the floor. As I carefully carried them one by one to the beds, a voice chimed in from the side.

"I'll help too."

It was Irene. The girl who had approached quietly assisted with the transport. She still hadn't let go of her suspicion toward me; every time I lifted a child, she glared at me with fierce eyes. The fox hissed threateningly.

"I haven't done anything yet."

"I know."

"And I don't plan to in the future."

"That's yet to be seen."

"Is that so?"

Taming really is difficult, isn't it? With that quiet murmur, I laid the last child I was holding onto the bed. Carefully, so as not to wake her. As I tucked the foxes in with blankets, I felt a faint gaze on me.

"..."

The girl stared at me in silence. Her cold-featured face was clouded with complicated emotions. She looked somewhat confused.

Did I spoil them too much?

From Irene's perspective, it must have felt suspicious. After all, the person she had only met yesterday was suddenly showing inexplicable kindness. It was natural for her to wonder if something was off.

Well... since she's been caught by a mastermind, maybe something is off.

Shaking off the silly thought, I let out a small laugh. As I quietly watched the children sleeping soundly, Irene spoke first.

"It's unexpected."

"What is?"

"That you seem to like children. I thought you'd look disgusted and say they were a nuisance."

"Not at all."

I was closer to the side that liked them. I loved the unique purity that children possessed. Unlike the adults stained by the filth of the world, they had not a speck of dirt on their fresh innocence. I envied that. It was something I had never been able to hold onto for long.

"I simply choose not to get too close."

"...For now, I'll say thank you. It's true that you pulled us out of that hellish place."

"Think nothing of it."

"And thank you for the meal. It was delicious."

"I'm glad it suited your taste. It's a pleasure to receive such high praise."

A few light exchanges. I quietly observed the girl. Her clear black eyes reflected only the images of the children. It was a scene filled with a warm atmosphere.

If I let my mind wander for a moment, a scene from the original story suddenly flashed before my eyes. It was the part where I had first uploaded a strategy video. It was a story that appeared in the first side story episode, The Untamed Fox.

Sold!

According to the original flow, Irene was sold as a slave at the auction house. The fox, who suffered vicious torment from the nobles afterward, eventually killed her owner and fled. A girl wandering the streets. During a time filled with despair, a fated encounter occurred.

Who are you?

What a pretty child.

The First Princess of the Empire, Charlotte Little von Staufen. The girl who played the role of the young prince in the story—Charlotte—had discovered the fox.

Come with me.

Charlotte, who recognized the fox's talent, took Irene in and made her her aide. The young prince cherished the fox. The fox relied on the young prince. The two grew into the closest of friends.

Everyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thought only peaceful days would follow, but...

I heard the news today.

About the children who were locked up with me... They said they're all dead.

Starting with that news one day, the story's atmosphere darkened rapidly. The fox spoke to the young prince.

They died in so many different ways.

From abuse to torture, taxidermy, and butchery...

Not a single one was spared from a miserable end.

Tears fell drop by drop. But what filled those teardrops wasn't just sadness. It was closer to agonizing self-reproach. The girl chewed on her lament.

Even the last things I had left are being taken away.

After my master passed away, they were my only remaining hopes.

I couldn't protect them.

The children who believed only in me even inside those cold iron bars have all perished miserably...

Yet here I am, shamelessly surviving.

The episode ended with the despairing fox. It wasn't part of the main story but a hidden side episode that could only be seen by following a specific route. I had been the first to discover it. The reactions when I uploaded the video were still vivid in my mind.

Half the people were amazed, asking how I found it, while the other half were saddened by Irene's story.

Irene had always seemed so steadfast. Seeing a character like that break down must have shocked the users ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quite a bit. I felt a little proud. After all, I had prevented that event.

The original story will change now... but that's something to think about later.

For now, I figured it was fine to celebrate. I had stopped Irene's misfortune, and in doing so, I had created a stepping stone to get closer to the original protagonist's party.

A warm feeling lingered for a while. What pulled me out of my thoughts was the fox's voice.

"I don't get it."

"Huh...? What?"

"You. I really can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠figure out what you're thinking."

At the sudden remark, I turned my head to see eyes staring straight at me. Her calm, shining pupils resembled stars. After a brief pause, the girl spoke again.

"...You said you wanted something from me, right?"

"Hm?"

"That you'd tame me."

"Ah, yes, I did say that."

I nodded, remembering belatedly. So she had remembered. I thought she might have brushed it off since I mentioned it so casually.

"That's correct. That's why I brought you here, Miss Irene."

"Is it that important?"

"Of course."

A clear answer. But the girl only looked more puzzled. She asked in a low voice.

"What does... taming even mean?"

She was asking for the meaning of taming. At that bold question, I couldn't help but freeze for a moment. I reflected on its meaning inwardly.

To tame something. It was a value that many people had now forgotten. But even so, it remained my shining milestone.

I answered without thinking.

"Taming means... forming a relationship."

"...?"

A brief silence passed. Our differing gazes met.

"What?"

"I intend to form a relationship with you. I'll tame you to suit my tastes."

"..."

The straightforward definition of taming. I thought I had conveyed my sincerity as it was, but Irene's reaction was strange. Her blank face twisted. Her brows furrowed, and contempt filled her eyes. The fox took several steps back before murmuring in a chilling voice.

"...You piece of trash."

It was the kind of look one might give to garbage. Irene wrapped her arms around her shoulders, raising her previously loosened guard once more. I responded dumbly.

"Huh...?"

Did I say something wrong?