Chapter 136 - Straight From The Fox Girl's Mouth

Mina's POV:

What's gotten into Hotaru-san?

Ever since he went to help the harvesters in the fields, he's been oddly quiet.

I hope they didn't work him TOO hard!

He's a good kid, I think. Just a bit sheltered. Which may be for his own good…

Am I making excuses for my actions?

Maybe. I could be completely at fault, for hiding so much from him. It's just that Noriko-san gave off a completely different vibe than him: like someone who was practically born to fight, and become a hero.

Unlike Hotaru-san…

Who wishes to become a warrior, but seems to lack the true spirit of one.

Is that a mean thing to say?

I just don't want him to get hurt, or killed…

It's a lot more dangerous out there, than what I've led him to believe. So, here's to hoping that taking him to meet with the Orb Hunters will set him straight.

Noriko-san has embarked on a path that he can't follow.

…

It's just past noon, after Mina has finished her cooking tasks for the day.

She is taking Hotaru to see the Orb Hunters, along a twisting path built along the craggy mountainside; beset, now and again, by crumbling, moss-grown statues of slyly grinning foxes.

The mountain air is cool and clear. The surrounding forest, quiet and tranquil.

After hiking nonstop for about an hour, Mina found a spot on a cliff-edge with a nice view, overlooking much of the island, where they could stop for a short rest.

"I brought snacks~," she said, digging into her carry sack as she sat.

Hotaru remained standing, saying nothing.

He'd been in this state—completely silent, with an intensely brooding look—ever since he'd talked with Lu...after what she'd told him…

"What? Notiko-san actually said that…?!" he had said, taken aback.

Lu nodded, with an adamant look.

"Noriko-san said you mustn't follow her; that you'll only get in her way, and make trouble. And if you do go looking for her, she'll never forgive you."

…

"Damn it!"

His sudden outburst surprised Mina, making her pause with a startled gasp; just as she was crouched, producing a pair of cloth-wrapped triangle magic berry sandwiches from her bag.

"Hotaru-san, you're crying."

His head was lowered, hiding his face, yet she could still see the faint glimmers of his falling tears.

"You knew all along...didn't you?"

Mina looked away, in guilt.

"You've known that Noriko-san doesn't want me to follow her."

"Hotaru-san…" she softly said. "She never told me as much, in her own words, but it was the impression I got when she left so suddenly. She set out from the village on the same day she told us you'd be arriving, without a word. So, it seemed clear to me—"

"She spoke to Lu, though!" he snapped, raising his head.

Mina stood, holding a hand to her chest.

Her face was calm, and sincere.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this."

She took a step toward him, reaching out her hand, but he turned his back to her.

"I guess...she never had any intention of being friends with me again," he said to himself bitterly, clenching his fists at his sides. "And I was a total sucker, from the start, to believe that I could ever undo my mistakes." He laughed, wiping his nose off onto his arm. "Just by playing a...a…" He flung his arms. "A STUPID island farming simulator game with her."

Mina's ears shrunk, falling flat against her head as she looked sorrily at him.

"She was probably trying to protect you."

Hotaru turned to her sharply, his voice catching in his throat.

"Protect me...? What else are you hiding?"

It was then Mina closed her eyes, breathing deeply, before donning a serious. "Listen, Hotaru-san: you're welcome to live in our village for as long as you like. You don't have to place yourself in any danger."

Hotaru calmed. "Tell me the truth. I can't be expected to form a reasonable decision, otherwise."

"You would have to see for yourself…"

"Then show me," he said quickly. 

Mina opened her eyes partway, showing a dead-eyed stare. "Come along...the temple of the Orb Hunters is up ahead. But you should eat first, to regain your strength."

She gingerly held the wrapped magic berry sandwich toward him, and he looked at it.

"Sorry," he said, taking it from her as he forced a smile. "I'm truly grateful for all the hospitality you've shown me—i've just been working through some preconceived notions I had, coming into this place."

"So, you CHOSE to come to our world…?" Mina asked, keeping her dead-eyed stare fixed upon him.

"It's uh...a bit hard to explain," Hotaru said, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish look. He'd been wondering whether Mina and the fox girls were avtually fellow players or NPCs, but her question seemed to directly point toward the latter possibility.

"Please, I want to know," Mina said simply.

Hotaru laughed. "Okay! Well, not to freak you out, or anything, but your entire world basically exists inside ours as a computer program."

As he spoke, Mina watched him unwrap the sandwich she'd given him.

"Ah, but I'm no real expert on the subject," Hotaru said, frowning. "My dad is the one who works at the company that created this world..."

Mina's eyes suddenly shot wide open.

"Your father...created this world?!"

Hotaru was just about to bring the sandwich to his mouth but stopped, shutting his mouth with a surprised look, blinking innocently.

"Yeah. Kind of crazy to think about, isn't it? Almost like my father is your God."

Just then, Mina gasped.

"Hotaru-san!'

Faster than Hotaru could react, she slapped the sandwich out of his hand, flinging it off the side of the cliff.

Hotaru sat there in the aftermath, frozen in disbelief; his now sandwich-deprived hand still extended from the unexpected blow, with claw-patterned streaks of ruby red pouring forth along his wrist.

"Oh no!" Mina squealed, rising up slightly with a look of horror when she noticed the wound. "My claws—I didn't mean to!"

"Uhh, it's...fine…" Hotaru murmured, with palpable uncertainty. Glancing over his shoulder as he did, toward the steep drop down which his forsaken food had fallen; confused, more than anything, and thinking it particularly strange how Mina had just been pressuring him so hard to eat her sandwich, only to then go and swat it right out of his hand…

"It's alright, Mina-san. This marks the second time I was assaulted, today, so don't worry about it."

She roughly grabbed his wounded hand, pulling it onto her lap. Then, as he nervously watched, proceeded to bend her neck to lap at the blood and searing claw marks with her tongue—acting as a dog, dilligently attending to its master's pain.

"M-mina-san?!" he exclaimed, unsure of whether this qualified as an indecent act, but feeling the sticky hot rumblings of lust welling within him just the same.

She continued until all the blood was gone, swallowing it down with an uneasy frown.

"There...I hope you'll forgive me."

Hotaru held up his arm, gawking in awe at the incredible results.

"Wow! The wound..it's completely gone!"

Mina nodded meekly, looking as though she was still feeling queasy from the taste of his blood. "I…also have a power, similar to Ceres. Only mine is focused on healing the harm done onto others."

"Wooow! You can heal a person just by licking them?!" he exclaimed. 

"Please, not so loud. It's embarrassing."

Hotaru lowered his voice, suddenly turning red in the face as he continued, "okay, but first tell me, because I'm naturally curious, what would have to be done if the wound is on their private place…?"

Mina made a sound like she was choking, her eyes bulging as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Um…! They would just have to suffer."

"You're incredible, Mina-san!" he said, rising with a cheerful air. "I feel much better, now, too! Could it also be the effects of your magical saliva?!"

After saying this, though, he apruptly became skeptical.

"But Mina-san...I don't understand…"

Mina's POV:

"Why did you slap your sandwich out of my hand in the first place?"

I take a moment to collect my bearings.

My breath is racing, and I can feel my heart is pumping hard in my chest. 

Just like the olden days.

There's still a trace of his blood on my lips…

My God, is it delicious! Mmm…

It's been so long, my senses can't handle the flavor. In just a few licks I've become drunk with pleasure, and an insatiable craving for more. 

However, he's waiting on an answer from me…

If I take too long, he'll be suspicious…

"I thought I saw a piece of mold!" I tell him, putting forth a reassuring smile.

Everything is fine, little dove.

You can trust me. 100%.

Hotaru nodded, seeming to give my answer some thought. "Ah, that's too bad. I guess there isn't much in the way of food preservation around here." Looking to me again, he's smiling. "Good eye, Mina-san."

"Alright. Well, we have to make it to the Orb Hunters and back, before dark."

Just like that, he's following me along like a little lost duckling once again; straight into the wide-open jaws of a trap, little does he know.

Because that sandwich…

Was actually imbued with a powerful poison!

But I had spared him, at last second, only because of what he said: about his father being the creator of this world. Our "God," if anything out of what he had said could even be believed.

Regardless, I'vd decided that I'm no longer abiding by the original plan, at least for now; while we still don't have a clear picture of what these outworlders are.

And what a shame, too…

Because Hotaru-san really is quite adorable.