The women I set free are obsessed with me

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"T-This pink fox! It's the fox that brings misfortune. No doubt about it!"

"A pink fox? That cursed fox?"

"That very one!"

The adventurers whispered among themselves in front of Rin.

Rin's face, which had been beaming with pride as she waited for praise, began to stiffen.

Her expression gradually faded, replaced by bewilderment. She never expected to hear such words after saving them.

My brow furrowed in response.

"You're being quite harsh, considering you survived thanks to my slave."

"Survived? What survival? If it weren't for the pink fox, this wouldn't have happened in the first place!"

"Now that you mention it. Treefiddians usually come from deep, dark forests. I wondered why it suddenly appeared. It must have been because of the pink fox's misfortune."

The beastkins nodded as if they had just realized some hidden truth.

They seemed to have already forgotten how Rin had helped them. The atmosphere quickly turned to blaming Rin for the Treefiddian's appearance.

"Because of the pink fox, our hunt was ruined, and our equipment got damaged! You said you're her master, right? Take responsibility!"

"Don't be unreasonable. There's no proof it was Rin's fault."

"What proof? The pink fox is right in front of us, what more proof do you need? Should we go to the city and ask people to judge?"

The lizardman wore a confident expression.

He knew what the result would be.

I knew it too.

A hundred out of a hundred would say it was Rin's fault.

Needless to say, Rin was a yokai that brought misfortune. Just this morning proved it, and even in the game, when you started Rin's story, all sorts of bad luck would unfold.

A storm would blow in and destroy a shop.

All the ingredients would spoil when you needed to cook.

The slaves' conditions would suddenly worsen.

But such days happen in life, and I knew better than anyone the extent of misfortune a one-tailed Rin could bring.

It wasn't enough to harm people yet.

In other words, the Treefiddian was a coincidence, and it happened because of their own weakness. They were projecting their incompetence onto Rin.

This is why misfortune is bullshit.

It wasn't something you could see, so there was no way to prove it. Meanwhile, the other side had an invincible argument just by mentioning Rin's color.

Even Rin herself seemed to believe it was her fault, her tail drooping.

"Ugh, my back and neck are so stiff."

"Really? Must be 'cause of the Treefiddian."

"Yeah. We'll have to go to the temple for treatment. Just give us 3 gold for the treatment, today's ruined hunt, and damaged equipment, and we'll let it slide."

The adventurers grinned slyly, patting each other on the back.

Three gold just for passing by? This was nothing short of insurance fraud.

I had the money. Even with my shortage of points, I had more than enough to spare 3 gold.

"Why should I?"

But why the fuck should I give it to them?

"Why? Because it happened due to your slave, so you should take responsibility."

"I think you're misunderstanding something. What can you do if I don't pay? You who struggled against one Treefiddian, do you think you can win against my slave?"

"What?"

"It's not uncommon for adventurers to never return from their quests. Especially low-ranking adventurers without even a title."

Finally realizing the meaning behind my words, the smiles faded from the adventurers' faces. Some turned pale.

I wiped clean the smiles from their faces.

Those who couldn't appreciate the kindness my Rin showed didn't deserve to live.

"Your misfortune isn't the Treefiddian, but meeting the pink fox itself."

***

We finished our business and returned to the city.

As for those adventurers who didn't know their place and mouthed off~

Of course, that's not what happened.

We let them go.

I didn't care whether they lived or died, but in the end, it would be Rin who had to kill them.

Not wanting Rin to commit murder was the first reason.

Worrying about Rin's fur being left at the scene was the second.

I just fervently prayed that misfortune would follow them for the rest of their lives.

Rin, seemingly deeply shocked, walked with her head down.

Her steps lacked energy.

"You don't need to worry about what just happened, Rin. The world has its share of shameless people like that."

"…"

No response.

It seemed my words weren't comforting at all.

"Hey, look. It's the pink fox."

"The misfortune will spread. Kids, hurry inside. Quick!"

The residents whispered as they looked our way, avoiding us as if we were carrying the plague, taking their children with them.

Was it because of what Seira said this morning?

Or because of what we just went through?

The words I'd often heard before seemed to pierce my eardrums like daggers today.

They must have sounded even clearer to Rin, with her enhanced hearing. Sure enough, Rin walked with her head down, as if crushed by people's glares, like a criminal.

Her ears were drooped, and she hugged her tail in front of her. It looked as if she was trying to hide her pink color from others.

It didn't seem like she'd shake this off easily.

That evening, Rin didn't eat.

As soon as we got home, she shut herself in her room and showed no signs of coming out.

Who would have thought Rin would skip a meal?

She usually ate at least three plates per meal. Even Seira was quite surprised.

"Did something happen?"

"Well…"

I explained what had happened during the day. After hearing the whole story, Seira pondered with a serious expression.

"I see. She must have been quite hurt."

"I suppose so."

She was still a young girl. It was highly likely she'd be crushed by such blatant hostility and rejection from others.

"Go comfort her."

"Of course I plan to… but who's going to comfort me?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm suffering from human discrimination every day too, shouldn't someone comfort me…?"

Seira grabbed a knife.

"Perhaps when you go to hell, the Devil will comfort you?"

"I'll go get the child right away."

I quickly fled to Rin's room.

"Rin, you must be hungry. You should eat. It's especially important to eat well at times like this, but…"

The moment I saw the state of the room, my eyes widened in shock.

The room was a mess. Pink fur was scattered everywhere, and in one corner, Rin was furiously tearing at her clothes.

For a moment, I thought she might be venting her frustrations, but that wasn't it at all. She was trying to wrap the torn fabric around her tail.

Her disheveled tail showed signs of having been pulled at. Unable to pluck out all her fur, she was trying to cover her tail so it wouldn't be visible.

It was heartbreaking. With a small sigh, I sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Rin."

"…"

"Rin."

Even though I was right next to her, Rin didn't look at me at all. She stubbornly ignored me and continued what she was doing.

Left with no choice, I snatched the fabric she was holding. When Rin tried to lunge at me to get it back, I used a command to stop her.

"This is not allowed."

"KYAAANG!!!"

"What's not allowed is not allowed, period."

Covering Rin's tail with something or dyeing it was absolutely forbidden. That would be agreeing that her pink color was a stigma that needed to be hidden.

It was the same reason I didn't give money to those adventurers.

Rin looked utterly miserable.

Her heterochromatic eyes glistened with wetness.

She looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

I sighed once more and pulled Rin to sit between my legs. I gently began combing Rin's tangled tail using the brush Seira had bought.

"My, people have no eye for beauty. This pink color is so pretty and looks so fluffy."

"…"

"Do other people's words bother you that much?"

"…"

"You don't need to listen to what they say. They're the type who will change their tune in a heartbeat once you become beautiful."

Rin showed no reaction.

A single curse often cuts deeper than a hundred words of comfort.

But what else could I do?

If a hundred times wasn't enough, I'd do it a thousand times, ten thousand times.

"Think about it. If Rin wasn't special, why would I keep you around? I'm not an idiot, and no one looks out for their own interests more than a slave trader."

"…"

"It's all because Rin is pretty. I don't know about others, but to my eyes, Rin is just a cute fox I want to look at and touch all day."

Rin's ears twitched slightly.

"Rin, don't worry about others' gazes. Just listen to me. After all, I know you best, better than anyone else."

Finally, her ears fully perked up and turned slightly towards me.

This was why I liked beastkin.

Even without hearing a response or seeing their expression, you could vaguely predict their mental state.

"Someday, Rin will become a beautiful fox that captivates all who lay their eyes on her. I guarantee it."

"…"

"So please don't try to hide your tail. Don't think of it as something shameful that needs to be hidden. I really like Rin's tail, you know."

"…Kyaang."

A short but still audible response came from Rin.

This little one, making her master worry. I roughly ruffled Rin's hair and stood up from the bed.

"Let's go eat. If you don't want to eat, you don't have to. I'll eat it all."

"Kyaaaang!"

Rin ate six plates as if to relieve stress.

It was a new record.

***

Rin had taken to sleeping on top of my stomach ever since the Grim Reaper's attack, curled up in a ball.

According to Seira, it was because she felt safest by my side.

So, the weight I felt on my abdomen now was Rin, but she felt slightly heavier than yesterday. Well, not exactly heavier, but more… substantial somehow.

Did I feed her too much for dinner?

I was worried she might end up rolling around at this rate.

"Hungry. Give food."

A voice reached me in my half-asleep state.

"Just five more minutes…"

"Wake uuuup. Foooood!"

Ugh, why was her voice so loud first thing in the morning? I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, but it felt like my eardrums might burst, so I couldn't hold out and got up.

"Come on, you ate so much for dinner yesterday, and you're already asking for more? At this rate, you'll turn into a pig, not a fox…"

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Rin staring at me with a sulky expression.

She looked ready to pounce at any moment. This much wasn't too different from usual, but behind Rin, her pink tails swayed gently.

Three of them.

"Give fooooooood!"