Chapter 259
Chapter 259
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: It'll Be Fine, Right?
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"Mm..."
As usual, I frowned at the piercing sunlight and opened my eyes.
It was a place and time where no sounds should have been heard,
but...
-Flail flail
"Mmph!! Mmmph!!!"
Today, I felt something wriggling in my arms.
It was struggling as if begging to be let go, but who cares.
I just wanted to sleep more right now.
-Squeeze
'Zzz...'
"Mmmph!!!"
I hugged the flailing thing tighter and drifted back to sleep.
I couldn't quite remember when I'd picked up this soft, squishy doll, but whatever—anything here is mine anyway.
It even had a scent that made my mind fuzzy, perfect for hugging while sleeping.
'But do dolls usually move and make noise?'
...Well, in a world where foxes talk like humans, maybe.
I brushed it off and fell asleep again,
waking up about two hours later.
-Gasp... Gasp...
"I... I almost died."
"Well, you didn't die, so that's what matters."
"That's not something to just brush off...!"
-Drip drip
Seeing the kid catching his breath with a flushed face, I inwardly broke out in cold sweat.
'I'm not usually one to make mistakes like this...'
I'm weak to sleep, sure, but I nearly killed the guy I brought here to save.
If I'd done it on purpose, he might not have minded, but suffocating him by hugging too tight in my sleep? Even the gatekeeper of the afterlife would look the other way.
'Why did I think he was a doll?'
At that moment, he really seemed like one.
His small frame was perfect for hugging, soft and squishy, with a nice scent—the satisfaction of sleeping while holding him was top-notch.
The warmth from his body felt oddly good too.
"Anyway, since you woke up safe and sound, let's have a simple meal first and start the treatment. As I said, you don't have much time left."
"...B-but. Why are you helping me?"
"Hm?"
"You don't seem like an ordinary person... I'm just curious why you're going out of your way for me. I don't have anything to offer you."
Was he only now having these doubts?
It was proof he was starting to regain some composure.
Someone facing imminent death doesn't have the leisure to think ahead.
"I-I should say upfront, I'm not confident about selling my body or becoming a slave or anything like that. N-no, I can't do it. If that's what you want, you don't have to treat me..."
"You're turning someone trying to help you into some kind of creep."
-Smack!
"Ow!"
His innocent-looking exterior didn't match his pessimistic imagination.
What kind of life had this little human brat lived to think like that?
'Come to think of it, he said he was an adult?'
He said it himself, so he might be older than he looks.
Still, letting him keep saying stuff like that didn't sit well with me,
so...
"Who would even want to take in a runt like you? You look like fruit that fell off a rooftop."
"F-fruit that fell off a rooftop..."
I decided to go harsh.
It was the only way to stop him from saying that stuff again.
Shocked, he gaped for a while before finally speaking.
"B-back in the alley when I collapsed, that wasn't the first time I got offers like that or kidnapping attempts..."
"Those guys must've been blind. You think street urchins have any sense of beauty?"
"B-but yesterday, you said I was pretty good-looking..."
"Did I say that? I don't remember. Must've been a dream."
"Huh...?"
This should keep him from saying it again.
I have no way to see my own face except reflections in water or mirrors, so if I deny it while right next to him, even he'll get confused.
After all, appearance is more about how others see you than yourself.
'He's not stupid enough to believe it outright... but he won't say it to my face again.'
Truth be told, after washing the dirt off him here, even I had to admit his looks were impressive.
People call devastating beauty "enough to topple kingdoms," but that's usually for women, and to truly shake a nation with looks, the person needs a weak personality too.
"???????"
The kid in front of me, still looking confused, lacked that.
He seemed like the type who'd give his liver and gall to someone he trusted.
'If the chance comes, I should teach him how to pick a good woman.'
History has plenty of beauties with great looks but weak wills who met tragic ends.
If I'm going to pick him up, better to send him off properly, living well until his natural lifespan ends. Might as well teach him that.
Introducing him as a son-in-law to a decent, wealthy family would probably make the bride's side swoon and accept him.
Anyway, I'd think about that later.
For now, time to treat him.
"Ah... Ugh... Eurgh..."
"Bear with the pain. It's your damaged energy expelling from your body."
I'd spoken confidently, but treating him wasn't easy, even for me.
With both dantian and soul wrecked, it required intense focus, stitch by stitch, just to make progress—and that was only if this kid endured the pain.
Crying and thrashing would only worsen things.
'Would've been easier if I could put him to sleep.'
But I needed him conscious to track the energy flow, so no.
I gave him the hem of my skirt to bite on to help him endure, but worried he'd collapse or convulse anytime, I fixed him in place with a spell to limit movement.
After what felt like an eternity, though not that long...
"...Phew. That's enough for today. Good job."
-Pah
"Haa... Haa..."
I watched him tremble and gasp, finally releasing the groans he'd held back, his voice hoarse with moisture.
Tears streamed from his eyes—he'd suffered greatly.
'...He's tough, though.'
-Stroke stroke
I stroked his head for enduring it and wiped the tears from his eyes.
His pained, teary face had its charm, but for a kid like this, a smile was prettiest.
...Don't get the wrong idea. As a fox spirit, craving beauty is instinct; I just prefer pretty faces over ugly ones.
"Haaah..."
-Flop
"Good. Rest for a bit. Sleep if you're tired."
I gently stroked him as he buried his face in my skirt and collapsed, then carefully cleaned up.
The tools needed for tomorrow anyway, so just a quick tidy...
'It's soaked.'
-Drenched
The skirt hem I'd given him to bite had saliva all over it to protect his mouth.
I thought I'd need to wash it at least, when a sweet scent hit my nose naturally.
'...?'
The source seemed to be the saliva-soaked part.
'Not fruit.'
For a second, I thought it was from today's fruit, but it wasn't that kind of sweet.
Something different... like it stirred instincts.
Not hunger, but another desire.
A scent spreading to draw women in, like flowers calling bees and butterflies...
'...'
-Rip
-Fwoosh
A hazy feeling washed over me; I tore the skirt and burned it.
Felt like some weird mental spell had hit me.
If I'd lost control, I'd have licked it myself.
'...What was that?'
No joke.
Good looks can draw fondness, sure, but that went beyond.
Making the mind fuzzy and amplifying specific urges—is that possible just from looks?
Maybe a seasoned courtesan, but not this dying kid.
And they use perfumes and slutty clothes to seduce; he just lay there doing nothing.
'Hallucination?'
Maybe it's been ages since I was this close to a human, making me sensitive.
Thinking about the timing, my heat cycle's due soon too.
So being extra sensitive makes sense.
Usually, heat just heightens senses and emotions since I'm alone, nothing more—but with a male nearby now...
'Well, I won't actually react.'
No real issues would arise.
With my years, I wouldn't slip up now, and if my instincts felt off, I could leave for a few days, absorb natural essence in a cave, done.
Full heat is a week away, so by then he'd manage alone; I could go "get medicine" as an excuse.
'Why worry over nothing? It won't even happen.'
I chided myself for entertaining unlikely scenarios.