Chapter 49: Isabel, you’re not emergency food

Time continues to flow.

Lunari’s days were the same.

Spending her time volunteering at the orphanage.

With the girl named “Mania”…

No, the girl Lunari named “Honeygrain.”

She spent her time with her.

Has it been over a fortnight? A month, perhaps?

Lunari’s smiles no longer seemed forced.

“Big Sis! Are you leaving?”
“Yes, it’s time to go.”
“Can’t you stay a little longer?”

The way Lunari looks at her…

It’s different now.

To be honest…

At first, Lunari looked at people like they were animals.

But now, it’s different. That look is gone.

A look of compassion.

I could sense her sincerity.

“Heh, Honeygrain. You make me want to devour you when you say things like that.”

She playfully pinched the girl’s cheek.

The girl said with a smile, despite the pinch,

“Geez…Big Sis, you always say things like that. You’re not even a beastkin…”

Sharp…

I was momentarily taken aback by the girl’s words.

Lunari laughed and asked playfully,

“…Hmm? Would you hate me if I were a beastkin?”

“No!”

“Oh…why?”

At Lunari’s question, the girl stared intently at her.

She looked at Lunari as if peering into her soul, then gave a pure, childlike smile.

“I heard there are no bad beastkin. Only humans are bad…If there are beastkin, I want to be friends with them!”

Lunari’s eyes wavered at the girl’s words.

Is she happy that someone genuinely likes her?

Lunari looked at the girl, crouched down, and stroked her head.

“…Heh, that’s a touching thing to say, little one.”
“Huh? What is? Big Sis, are you a beastkin?”

Lunari closed her eyes and shook her head at the girl’s question.

She smiled softly and murmured,

“If you ever meet a beastkin, treat them like that.”

“Hehe, okay! I definitely will!”

Lunari waved and said,

“See you next time.”

Then she left the orphanage.

I quietly followed her and removed my Invisibility Robe.

“Good work today, Lunari.”
“…Tch, Isabel, where were you hiding?”
“Haha, hiding? I’m always by your side.”
“…Sigh, I’m the only one doing the hard work.”

Lunari sighed softly and looked at the evening sunset.

“The sunset is beautiful today…”

She murmured and then asked me,

“Shall we take a walk?”

“…Ah, Han said to come back quickly.”

“Eh…? Why that baldy?”

“Haha, well…he said he made something delicious…”

“Something delicious…?”

What Han made…

Was takoyaki.

He’s obsessed with things that resemble octopuses…ahem. Anyway…

It was incredibly delicious.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Heh. Okay.”

So Lunari and I walked side by side, watching the sunset.

Then Lunari gently took my hand.

“…Lunari?”

“Hmm…So this is Isabel’s hand. This is the hand that gave me my name, took me on walks, and fed me…”

Lunari was smiling…

But she was also lost in thought, staring straight ahead.

Something about her gaze has changed since her change of heart.

A much softer nuance…

Has her value system really changed?

From a villain who devours humans…to someone who coexists with them…

Ah, Han should have opened a takoyaki shop.

How can he make takoyaki so well?

Every time I eat it, I’m amazed.

Even Lunari praised it, saying it was more delicious than any meat.

Han’s takoyaki skills are truly top-notch.

He would have been successful if he had been a takoyaki shop owner instead of a Thief Guild Leader…

“Hey, hey, Isabel? Han…! That human is amazing.”

“What is?”

“I’ve never had such delicious bread! It’s as good as the bread Isabel gave me!”

Indeed…

“Delicious! Churu” level…

Of course, I haven’t eaten that item, so I don’t know…

But if Lunari says so…

It must be truly amazing bread.

“And besides the taste, I felt a strange feeling…”

“A strange feeling?”
“Yes.”

Lunari nodded at my question, looking at me.

What kind of feeling…?

I’m intrigued.

I sat down next to Lunari on the bed.

“What kind of feeling was it?”

“…”

Lunari stared at the ceiling and hummed for a while.

Then, as if she had finished thinking, she exclaimed, “Ah!” and raised her index finger.

“It’s like…the feeling of seeing that delicious girl at the orphanage!”

“Honeygrain?”

“Yes! The feeling of seeing Honeygrain.”

Honeygrain…

I quietly stared at Lunari.

Lunari lowered her head slightly and chuckled.

“Strange, isn’t it? I used to see them as food…that child, the baldy, and that elf Big Sis…But I don’t see them that way anymore.”

Lunari looked up at me and asked,

“Isabel, do you know why I feel this way?”

…Finally.

Has she started to develop human emotions?

It seems human emotions are starting to emerge in Lunari.

Even though she has childhood trauma and didn’t receive a proper education…

She must have vaguely remembered, physically.

The hatred for humans and the resentment towards beastkin…

Hunted by humans because Yoho blood is said to be an elixir of immortality…

And nearly killed by her own kind, labeled as a symbol of misfortune.

For her to feel this way…

Means the hatred for living beings is gradually fading.

The fleeting preciousness of life.

For her to redeem herself, she has to feel compassion for others.

In other words, Lunari Evergrace is nearing redemption.

I felt proud of her…

But I maintained a neutral expression and replied, meeting her gaze,

“Well…Lunari.”
“Yes?”
“Then, let’s explore your feelings.”
“…?”

Lunari gazed intently at me.

I smiled softly and asked,

“What do you think of me?”
“…Isabel?”
“Yes. Did you see me as food too? You called me emergency rations before.”

“Emergency rations.”

Whether jokingly or seriously, she called me food.

I wanted to ask how she sees me now, on equal footing.

If she still sees me as food…

She’s still far from redemption.

But if she truly recognizes me as a person…

She becomes a heroine worthy of redemption.

Lunari answered my lightly-veiled question,

“Well…to be honest, Isabel. I saw you as food.”

Lunari looked at me seriously.

I momentarily thought, ‘That was close…’

I really thought I might be eaten…

A-Anyway…

I wasn’t eaten, was I?

Since I wasn’t eaten, it’s fine!

I tried to reassure myself.

“…I-Is that so?”

“But…it’s different now.”

“Different…?”

“…I feel a warmth…when I look at you.”

Lunari quietly looked up at me.

Her moist eyes…

Her gaze wasn’t demanding.

It was a feeling of longing…

As if a beautiful topaz was looking at me.

“At first…I thought it was…the feeling of a pet looking at its owner.”

“…Haha, what are you talking about…?”

“Well, if I think about it…I did treat you like a pet.”

“But…it wasn’t that. Emergency rations? I wondered if it was that kind of concept. But…”

“…?”

“…It wasn’t that either.”

Lunari continued with a serious expression.

“When I interacted with Honeygrain at the orphanage…it was the same. Honeygrain looked at me…no, she saw me as more than a master…almost like a parent…”

“Lunari…”

“So, I thought it wasn’t emergency rations, but…a parental feeling…”

Lunari smiled wryly and looked straight ahead again.

“…But it wasn’t that either.”

She muttered softly and paused.

As if lost in thought…

I quietly waited for her to continue.

After a brief silence…about 10 seconds…

She suddenly spoke,

“…I might recognize you as a male.”

“Yes? Recognize me as a male…?”

“Like…the way the elf Big Sis looks at the baldy…Yes. It’s like…the feeling of love…”

Love…?

I wondered what to say in this situation.

She clearly means romantic love…

What should I say?

…It was difficult to answer right away.

As I was struggling with my thoughts…

Lunari suddenly turned to me and asked with a blank expression,

“Isabel. What do you think of me…?”

“Yes? Ah, well…”

“No…thinking about it…it doesn’t matter what you answer…”

“—…?”

Suddenly, Lunari grabbed my shoulders.

She pushed me down forcefully…

And straddled me.

“…Lunari?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore…Isabel, you can’t go anywhere now. You’re Lunari’s…Lunari is now Isabel’s female…”

Lunari slowly started to undress.

As I watched her, a CG from “Lilith Tycoon” played out in my mind.

One of the hidden CGs that costs a fortune to obtain…

“Lunari Evergrace Gives Her All” Ver.

It was that scene.

Unbuttoning her clothes, blushing…

With moist eyes, ready to engage in…adult activities…

It was exactly that scene.

I wanted to enjoy this moment with Lunari…

But I couldn’t.

If I do this…Lunari will never be redeemed.

Therefore…

I reluctantly grabbed her arm.

“Isabel…?”

“Lunari. This is wrong.”

“…What? I’m not doing anything wrong. I won’t devour you anymore…You, you…are my precious male…”

“No. Not now. You have something important to do, Lunari.”

I looked at her firmly and spoke.

Lunari stopped what she was doing and murmured,

“…Something…to do?”

“Yes, something you have to do.”

“…What is it?”

“You…still have revenge to take.”

“Revenge…?”

I gently pushed Lunari aside and sat her down.

Then I stood up and said to her,

“To show everyone how amazing you are. And to complete your revenge against the beastkin. That’s what you have to do.”

“…Isabel.”

“The day you complete your revenge…when you become an amazing woman, I’ll steal your heart. But…not now. So…after everything is over. I’ll accept your feelings then.”

Lunari turned away with a bitter expression.

“But…”

“Then…it’s late, so let’s go back.”

I said that and clenched my fists, crying inwardly.

Waaah…I want to do it too…Waaah…

I want to do uhh-uhh with such a beautiful, open-shouldered fox beastkin!

But…it’s for her redemption, so I have no choice.

As I was about to leave…

She suddenly called my name.

“Isabel.”

“…?”

“So, you’ll accept me after I complete my revenge?”

“…Yes?”

“I understand…As expected of Isabel. You’re a strong male.”

Lunari suddenly nodded, as if she had made up her mind.

“Good…I’ll become stronger than you, Isabel, and I’ll steal you…”

“Eh?”

“Heh, as expected, Isabel likes strong females! I’ll become one! You’ll wait, right!?”

“Uh, uh…?”

Th-This isn’t what I meant…