The women I set free are obsessed with me

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We returned to the capital.

Three days had passed since Rin collapsed, but she still hadn't woken up. Until she did, I had nothing to do.

But I had no intention of lazing around all day. There were other things to do.

Even in the wealthiest cities, where there is light, there are shadows, and in those places, there were those who rummaged through trash cans just to survive another day.

Vestia was no exception.

But while human cities had humans, in Vestia, most were…

"Alright everyone, please line up in order. Hey, you in the back, no cutting in line."

Furballs.

Cat beastkin.

From patterns reminiscent of Korean longnose cats, to white, black, and even Hitler-mustache cats, cat people of all varieties lined up neatly before me.

"Black-haired foreigner, if we really make a contract, will you give us fish, nya?"

"Of course. Look over there. The others are already eating their fish, aren't they?"

"You're not gonna make us do hard work and exploit us, nya?"

"Absolutely not. You all just need to live freely as usual and come here at lunchtime every day. Then I'll give you fish, just like today."

"You're an angel, nya!"

One furball took a flopping fish in its mouth and disappeared into an alley.

And so, one by one.

I made master-slave contracts with about ten unsuspecting ones first. When these guys spread the word and bring their friends, the numbers will double in no time.

All the stray cats of Vestia will become my slaves.

Time to rake in those points while I'm in Vestia.

Beastkins were like rice soup.

They were inherently higher tier than the snack food that is humans.

What this meant was that even with minimal care, the points you got when liberating them were much higher compared to humans.

Earning points and saving lives.

It was killing two birds with one stone.

"You've been feeding the street cat people again, haven't you?"

"Haha, I'm just doing what needs to be done. Oh, no need to thank me. It's nothing special."

"Sigh…"

Seira squeezed her eyes shut and covered her forehead with her hand. After sighing deeply as if trying to bore a hole in the ground, she opened her eyes and shot me a sharp glare.

"They don't do any work and cause nothing but trouble whenever they get the chance. They're the city's headache. If you carelessly feed them, they'll just play around even more without working."

"Sounds like they're living the dream."

"While we administrators who have to solve the problems they cause live a hellish life."

Seira's eyes looked particularly exhausted. It was the look of a salaried worker in a black company.

I understood how she felt. I was someone who absolutely hated cat ladies too.

But these were half-human, half-beast. To my eyes, they just looked like cute girls with cat ears and tails.

If I were to see their cold corpses strewn across the streets, I'd feel uncomfortable.

Those who can save lives should do so.

Well, I felt sorry for Seira, but…

I instead decided to give her words of encouragement.

"Good luck."

"Haaah…"

Thump!

Just as Seira let out another sigh, a dull thud came from the inn. It seemed the little fox had woken up.

I immediately went up to the room. I'd even practiced how to talk to foxes in preparation for this day.

"Did you sleep well?"

I opened the door eagerly and—

Whoosh—!

As soon as I opened the door, my vision went dark. Had the sun been covered by clouds? Before I could even process what was happening—

Crash!

"Kyun!"

Whatever had blocked my vision suddenly dropped. Slow to react, I blinked like a sloth and lowered my gaze.

"Grrrr."

Rin was face-down on the floor with Seira on top of her, restraining her movements.

Her claws were sharply extended. If it weren't for Seira, my face might have been torn into six.

"An unaccultured beastkin is no different from a wild beast. Be careful."

I hadn't completely ruled out the possibility of her pouncing, so I had tied her up with sturdy ropes, but the ropes had been shredded to pieces.

I'll need to get metal chains.

For when I take her on walks later and such.

"It's alright now. You can let her go."

"She'll just attack again."

"That won't happen. Please release her."

Seira gave me a dubious look, clearly not trusting my words. But seeing my firm attitude, she finally began to slowly rise, keeping a close eye on Rin.

And, as expected, even after Seira released her, Rin still couldn't move.

I had placed the slave contract on her the moment we first met. In her current juvenile state, she absolutely couldn't rebel.

"Grrrr!"

Rin glared at me with murderous intent, making beast-like growls. She knew who was suppressing her freedom, and looked ready to pounce at any moment.

"What are you going to do? It seems she hasn't been assimilated into society at all."

"We'll start now."

"Beastkin are different from humans. Even among the same species, if it's not their original pack, they won't try to get along. Especially for foxes from White Cloud Valley who have been completely cut off from other races, it's even worse."

It wasn't a strange story.

There was an example in The Jungle Book, a novel based on a true story.

A boy who was human but lived with a wolf pack. Later, when hunters found him and took him to an orphanage, he couldn't adapt to human society despite being human.

Where one is born and raised has a huge impact.

Moreover, beastkin had both human and animal characteristics, so for them, it would be even more severe.

But that was okay.

"Don't worry. I can raise her without any problems."

"Surely you're not planning to use violence…?"

"What do you take me for? That will absolutely not happen, so stop worrying and leave now. You're interfering with our bonding."

I picked up the immobilized Rin, tucked her under my arm, shooed Seira out, and closed the door.

Then opened it again.

"Please go downstairs and bring up some food. The child must be hungry."

"What's with this father act—"

Thunk.

I closed the door. After sitting on the bed, I laid Rin across my thighs horizontally. I'd like to let her move freely, but it was too early for that.

I would have to get chains and tie her to a pillar before I could let her loose.

"Let's see… Your wounds seem to have healed almost completely. Your fur is damaged though, so we'll need to groom it."

I had dressed her in a loose white dress, and I didn't plan on buying her any other clothes for now. She was in her growth phase, so any pretty clothes I bought would quickly become unwearable.

"Grrrr."

"The auntie will bring food soon, so please wait a bit. Until then, shall we play with Master?"

"Kyaang!"

Hmm. Does she not understand what I'm saying?

Well, it was fine. I memorized the fox language for situations like this.1

"Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho."

"Grrrr…"

"Wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow."

"Kyaaang─!"

Emergency.

It seems I'd only angered her more.

Damn, I didn't expect this situation?

What went wrong? I was sure my fox sounds were perfect. Maybe the problem lies with Rin, who hasn't been properly educated.

Still, it was okay. As her master, I should show some generosity.

For now, words didn't seem to be getting through, and Rin's hostility towards me was too high for anything to work. Let's just stroke her tail.

Time seemed to stretch as we waited. Slowly, Rin's cries began to fade, replaced by quiet sniffling. Her nose twitched, catching some unseen scent, and her head swiveled towards the door.

Click.

"I've brought the meal."

Seira appeared, holding plates in both hands. One of her legs was slightly raised, suggesting she had used her foot to turn the doorknob.

"Thank you. Please set them down on the floor."

"…You do realize how low it is to use someone's biological needs to threaten them, right?"

"You should say that to the foxes of White Cloud Valley, not me. Can you really say that looking at these thin arms and legs?"

"…"

Unable to come up with a rebuttal, Seira sighed, set the dishes on the floor, and left.

The smell of meat instantly filled the room. The appetizing aroma made my mouth water. If it affected me this much, how must Rin feel?

Sure enough, her eyes were stuck to the food like glue. Drool literally flowed from her mouth like a waterfall, not just a figure of speech.

If my memory served me right, Rin's treatment in the village was limited to scrounging up a few potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Meat? She'd never even seen such a thing.

While Rin was sent out of the village to lure away yokai, they feasted among themselves.

Even if foxes were omnivores, try eating nothing but potatoes for hundreds of years. Even Jeom Suni would ask, Is there nothing but potatoes at your house?2

Don't worry. Daddy will feed you so much meat today that your belly will burst. Of course, it's not free.

"Do you want to eat?"

Flinch.

Rin wavered. Her eyes which had been fixed on the meat, turned to me.

She wasn't growling anymore.

Her heterochromatic eyes, colors of the sun and moon, sparkled wildly as if the Big Bang was occurring.

She knew exactly without being told—whose permission she needed to eat.

"If you make a promise with me, I will let you eat."

"…!"

"Listen to what I say. That's all. How about it? Seems doable, don't you agree?"

Rin, whose mental age was still barely that of a five-year-old, was driven purely by instinct. She nodded her head frantically.

"Good. I suppose you deserve a reward for being so obedient."

I sat Rin on the bed and brought over the plate. I intended to feed her myself.

Though we made a promise, a verbal contract with a young child might as well be considered invalid. One wrong move and human flesh might be added to the menu.

I stabbed a juicy piece of meat with a fork. As I lifted it, Rin's eyes followed like a magnet. No matter how I moved it, her gaze didn't waver.

That was enough teasing.

When I brought the meat close to Rin's mouth, she opened wide with an "Ahhh!" and bit down.

At that moment, Rin's eyes grew extremely large.

Since Rin couldn't move her hands freely, I slowly pushed the meat into her mouth. Taking advantage of her distraction with the meat, I used my other hand to pat her head.

I wanted her to slowly get used to this sensation, to accept this touch.

"Remember the taste of this meat you're eating now. If you listen to me well, you can eat delicious food like this every day."

"Grrrr!"

"Ah, seriously."

It only lasted until she finished eating.

You're full now, aren't you?

What a sly little fox.