episode_0009

“Delicious…!”

“It’s been so long since I had such warm food!”

“Big brother is the best!”

The children, covering their cheeks with their hands, melted with delight.

The foxes, chewing their food with full mouths, moved their utensils with happy expressions.

The table was so full it looked like its legs might break.

Starting with warm beef stew, there were stacked steaks, soft tearing baguettes, and more…

It was a feast of splendid dishes at a glance.

“It’s so delicious… I feel like crying.”

“Me, me too.”

“The bad uncles in the basement… they tried to hit us if we said we were hungry.”

“And it was cold. But it’s warm here.”

“Sob…”

The starving children gobbled down their food.

It was the age when they were most hungry. They hadn’t been properly fed, and had spent a long time in that dark prison.

The foxes chewed their food diligently.

Fortunately, they seemed to eat everything without being picky.

It was commendable that they readily picked up vegetables too.

Watching them continue their meal diligently, a strange fondness swelled in my chest.

“Everyone, eat slowly. There’s plenty more food coming.”

I said with a faint smile.

While my gaze was on the table, my hands swiftly moved the kitchen knife.

My cooking skills were expertly displayed.

It seemed everyone found it to their liking.

Even Irene, who was initially wary, wondering if it contained poison, was now diligently emptying her bowl.

“…What are you staring at?”

“Nothing at all.”

Heh heh. I let out a proud laugh.

Irene seemed to glance around for a moment, then turned her attention back to the fragrant stew.

The tail behind her wagged pleasantly.

‘Indeed… the first step to taming is filling their stomachs.’

I muttered to myself so no one could hear.

Just a moment ago, what I had taken out of the drawer was none other than a pink apron.

“As expected, those children are… a bit bothersome.” =Watching the children cry… my heart aches.

“I’ll need to give them a little ‘treatment’.” =I need to lend them a helping hand.

“I didn’t want to go this far… but it’s your fault for bothering me.” =Cooking myself is a bit troublesome… but I’ll do my best for you all.

“Don’t be scared, everyone. It’ll definitely be enjoyable.” =Don’t worry, I’m a good cook. It’ll definitely be delicious.

I, proudly wearing the apron, headed to the kitchen and immediately began making food.

It had been a long time since I’d cooked.

Did my body remember? I quickly whipped them up.

Well, considering who taught me. If I couldn’t even make food of this caliber, that person would cry.

‘Thanks to that, I’m making good use of it.’

As the delicious scent spread throughout the room, the children’s crying also subsided.

The wicked mastermind offered a meal to the starving children.

As the saying goes, a full stomach breaks down caution.

To the hungry foxes, such kindness must have felt like salvation.

The idea of approaching them with food as bait. I thought of it, but it was truly a terrifying stratagem.

“Does everyone like the taste?”

Hiding a sinister smile, I walked towards the table.

There, the small foxes were gathered close together.

When the children noticed me approaching, they swung their tails back and forth with wide smiles.

“It’s delicious!!”

“You’re different from the bad uncles…”

Children are still children, I suppose.

Their fear of me seemed to have quickly disappeared.

I gently reached out my hand and stroked the head of the closest fox.

Very slowly.

*Flinch.*

A frail shoulder trembled for a moment.

Although it seemed to tense up, it soon accepted the touch.

As we shared that gentle interaction, a bewildering reaction soon emerged.

The child’s eyes began to well up with tears.

“…*Sniffle*.”

“Oh. Did you not like being petted? I apologize if I was out of line.”

“N-no…”

The small fox shook its head at my question.

The child wiped away the falling tears, muttering with a choked voice.

“This… it’s been such a long time.”

Many emotions were embedded in that short sentence.

“Tears suddenly started coming out, *hic*, and they won’t stop. The food is so delicious… and that makes me so sad.”

“…”

I waited quietly.

It must have been difficult for them.

Trapped in a cold basement, soothing their empty stomachs, swallowing tears, despairing about the coming future, and repeatedly enduring the agony of resignation.

It was a wound too cruel for a child in their youth to bear.

‘Poor things.’

I silently felt sympathy.

To have served a sentence merely for their fate, how unreasonable this world is.

A single flower blooming from the ugliness of adults.

The name of the memory that took root so shabbily is sorrow.

Just yesterday, the children were confined in cages.

They had given up all hope.

In such a situation, a miracle happened. They were able to escape the cold floor and have a warm meal with their friends.

A sense of disconnect based on deep relief.

Perhaps that was the reason for their flowing tears.

“It’s alright now.”

I offered a simple comfort.

“Because no one will be able to torment you anymore.”

The young fox bowed its head deeply.

I comforted the child, deliberately laughing in a playful tone.

“Now, now! Good children don’t cry. You should stop, okay?”

“*Sniffle*… Okay.”

“The food is getting cold. It’ll be more delicious if you eat it while it’s warm.”

“Mm-hm.”

The small fox, teary-eyed, moved its fork.

Children really do open their hearts easily if you’re just kind to them a few times.

It’s a pity.

They shouldn’t open their hearts so carelessly to a mastermind like me.

I’ll have to make them regret it terribly.

“Everyone, eat plenty. There’s lots of food prepared, you know?”

A mountain of piled-up food.

This was the ultimate move.

-Grandma’s Sincere ‘Eat Just A Little More’ Punch-

Afterwards, I fed the children an enormous amount until they lay down, declaring they couldn’t eat anymore.

***

Crying, laughing, being wary, then feeling relieved.

The children, who had been showing such a spectacular range of emotions, soon fell fast asleep in a group.

It seemed they couldn’t overcome their post-meal drowsiness.

They had truly eaten until their bellies were bursting.

One or two began to close their eyes, and then they all fell asleep in a pile.

‘…They must be tired.’

The fatigue accumulated from their lives at the auction house must still have remained.

It was a sensitive and anxious time for them, but perhaps it was fortunate that most of them seemed to open their hearts.

“How commendable.”

I unconsciously muttered to myself.

The small foxes dozing on the floor. As I carefully moved them one by one to a bed, a voice cut in from beside me.

“I’ll help too.”

It was Irene.

The girl who approached silently helped with the carrying.

Perhaps she still hadn’t shed her suspicion of me, as she would glare at me with menacing eyes every time I lifted a child.

The fox fiercely hissed.

“I haven’t done anything yet.”

“I know.”

“I don’t plan to do anything in the future either.”

“That’s something we don’t know.”

“Is that so?”

Taming is truly difficult, it seems.

With that quiet murmur, I gently laid the last child I was holding in my arms onto the bed.

Carefully, so as not to wake them.

As I covered the foxes with blankets, I felt a faint gaze.

“…”

The girl gazed silently in my direction.

On her cold-featured face, rather complex emotions were evident.

She also looked confused.

‘Did I treat them too well?’

From Irene’s perspective, it would likely be unsettling.

The person she met for the first time yesterday was showing her inexplicable kindness.

Is something wrong?

Such worry would be natural.

‘No… since I’ve been caught by a mastermind, maybe it’s true that something is wrong.’

I chuckled quietly, putting aside the frivolous thought.

As I quietly gazed at the deeply sleeping children, Irene spoke first.

“Unexpected.”

“What is?”

“That you seem to like children. I thought you’d be straight-faced and say they were annoying.”

“Of course not.”

It was closer to liking them.

Because I liked the unique innocence children possessed.

Unlike adults, stained by the world’s grime, their freshness was untouched by a single blemish. I envied that.

It was something I hadn’t had for a long time.

“I just don’t get close to them.”

“…Anyway, I’ll thank you for now. It’s true you took us out of that hellish place.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“And thank you for the meal. It was delicious.”

“I’m glad it suited your taste. I’m pleased to receive such praise.”

A few light exchanges.

I quietly gazed at the girl. Her clear black eyes held only the image of the children.

It was a scene filled with a gentle atmosphere.

-I don’t trust anyone.

As I lost myself in thought for a moment, a scene suddenly flashed before my eyes.

It was a scene from the middle of the original work.

The part where I first uploaded a strategy video.

It was the story that appeared in the first side story [Untamed Fox] episode.

-Sold!

According to the flow of the original work, Irene was sold as a slave at the auction house.

Afterwards, the fox, subjected to cruel torment by nobles, eventually ended up killing her owner and escaping.

Thus, the girl wandered the streets.

During a time filled with despair, a fated encounter occurred.

-Who are you? You’re so pretty.

The First Imperial Princess of the Empire, Charlotte Little von Staufen.

In the story, the girl playing the role of a young prince, Charlotte, discovered the fox.

-Come with me.

Charlotte, recognizing the fox’s talent.

She took Irene in and made her her close attendant.

The young prince cherished the fox. The fox also relied on the young prince. The two became inseparable friends.

It seemed as though only peaceful days would follow, but…

-I heard news today. -The children who were locked up with me… they all died, I heard.

Starting from the news that arrived one day, the story’s atmosphere drastically darkened.

The fox said to the young prince.

-They died in so many different ways, apparently. From abuse to torture, taxidermy, even butchery… -Every single one, miserably.

Tears poured down.

However, what was contained in those tears was not just sorrow. It was closer to bitter self-reproach.

The girl bit back a lament.

-Even what little was left is being taken away.

They were the only hopes I had protected since my master passed away.

-I couldn’t protect them.

-Even in those cold cages, the children who trusted only me withered away miserably…

-But I shamelessly survived.

The part concluded with the despairing fox.

It wasn’t a general storyline, but an extra story, a [Hidden Episode] that could only be seen by taking a specific route.

I was the first one to discover this.

The reactions from when I uploaded the video are still vivid.

‘Half were people admiring how I found it, the other half were people saddened by Irene’s story.’

Irene, who had always seemed so steadfast.

Since it was a scene where such a character broke down, users seemed quite shocked.

I felt a little proud.

It means I prevented that event.

‘The original story will change, but… that’s something to think about later.’

For now, I thought it might be fine to celebrate.

I had prevented Irene’s misfortune, and with this, I had laid the groundwork to get closer to the original protagonist’s party.

A content feeling lingered for a while.

What snapped me out of my thoughts was none other than the fox’s call.

“I don’t get it.”

“Huh… what?”

“You. I just can’t figure you out.”

When I turned my head at the sudden remark, I saw eyes staring intently at me.

The quietly shining pupils resembled stars.

The girl, who seemed to hesitate for a moment, then spoke again.

“…You said you wanted something from me, didn’t you?”

“Hmm?”

“That you’d tame me.”

“Ah, I certainly did say that.”

Realizing it belatedly, I nodded.

She remembered. I thought I had mentioned it in passing and she had simply let it go.

“That’s right. That’s why I brought Miss Irene here.”

“Is it that important?”

“Of course.”

A clear answer. But the girl instead wore a puzzled expression.

She asked in a low voice.

“What does… ‘taming’ mean?”

She questioned the meaning of taming.

At that bold question, I couldn’t help but pause for a moment. I reflected on the meaning internally.

To tame something.

It was a value now forgotten by many.

Yet, despite that, it was still my shining milestone.

I answered without thinking.

“To tame is to… form a relationship.”

“……?”

Silence passed for a moment. Our differing gazes met.

“What?”

“I intend to form a relationship with you. I will tame you to my liking.”

“…”

The definition of taming, recited plainly.

I thought I had conveyed my genuine feelings as they were, but Irene’s reaction was somehow strange.

Her dazed face twisted.

Her brow furrowed, and contempt filled her pupils.

The fox stepped back a few paces, then muttered in a chilling voice.

“…You trashy bastard.”

It was a gaze as if looking at waste.

Irene hugged her own shoulders, tightening her previously loosened guard once more.

I reacted stupidly.

“Oh, my…?”

Did I say something wrong?