Chapter 41

"Look! There's a rabbit!"

After crossing the pasture, they discovered a brown rabbit on the bright green expanse of the meadow.

The rabbits in this area change the color of their fur between summer and winter, but now it was the time when they were changing to their summer fur. The white fur remained on their backs and the tips of their ears. If you grabbed and pulled it, it might come out in a fluffy clump.

According to the knowledgeable leader of the squad, the rabbits in this area undergo a bleaching process when changing from their brown summer fur to their white winter fur. I thought they would just shed their fur like when they change to their summer fur, but it was different.

Even though the rabbit was quite far away, it seemed to be aware of our presence.

Foxes and leopards are natural predators to rabbits, so it was standing on its long ears, alert.

"Let's catch it!"

Kugaru's snout, the 'ω' part, was puffed up, and his whiskers were stretched forward.

You must be excited, huh?

Moreover, he lowered his posture as if to crouch and hid in the grass, already in hunting position.

"Don't really bite it. Even if you catch it, we're not going to eat it."

I don't like raw meat, and Kugaru, being a spirit, doesn't eat anything.

However, Kugaru was so focused that he didn't really hear my words.

"Okay, Milfee, you go around from that side."

"Got it."

When I observed the rabbit closely, it was a bit different from the cute, fluffy image of pet rabbits in Japan.

Its face was slightly long and dignified, and it was muscular overall. Especially, its hind legs were well-developed. It looked much stronger than me, who was just a ball of fluff.

I thought there was no way we could catch such a sharp-looking wild rabbit, so I decided to play along with Kugaru's pretend hunt.

The fairy, looking like it wanted to say, "You're dawdling again!" was jumping and getting angry.

If we ran straight at it, it would just run away, so I decided to circle around from the left as Kugaru suggested.

Pretending I wasn't interested in the rabbit, I ran in a wide circle.

It might be a bit silly to try to corner a rabbit while carrying a rabbit backpack.

I moved forward, keeping an eye on the rabbit in the distance and Kugaru, who was slowly closing the distance while staying low.

The rabbit seemed to be distracted by me. It lifted its head and watched where I was going.

After making a wide detour, I was in front of the rabbit, which was still looking at me. Although we were still quite far apart, I kicked off the ground and ran as hard as I could.

The grass in the meadow flew up as it hit my claws, and with each step, the rabbit backpack hit my back.

It's so annoying!

The rabbit turned around in an instant and ran away with surprising agility.

It was so quick, it was hard to keep up with my eyes.

The distance between us was increasing, but that was part of the plan. Kugaru should be waiting where the rabbit would run to.

The ideal scenario was for the rabbit to run straight into the hidden Kugaru, who would then jump out from the grass and catch it without much effort. However, the rabbit didn't move as expected.

Kugaru jumped out when he was closest to the rabbit, but they were still about ten meters apart.

By that time, I was already out of breath, running slowly with my tongue out, but Kugaru was seriously trying to catch the rabbit.

He dug his sharp claws into the ground and moved forward quickly, following the rabbit even when it suddenly changed direction.

Wow, he's so fast. I can see how much he held back during our chases.

However, the rabbit, which had survived in a harsh environment full of predators, was too much for him.

When Kugaru got a bit tired and the rabbit pulled away, he immediately gave up and slowed down.

We stopped and watched the rabbit run away at full speed into the forest.

"Damn it!"

Kugaru scratched the ground with short grass, as if sharpening his claws. I wasn't really upset because it would have been a problem if he had actually caught it.

"I'm tired..."

I lay down on the spot with my tongue out, and Kugaru sat down and started grooming himself. Kugaru is surprisingly neat.

He works hard to groom his fur from tip to tip, and I always think he has high feminine qualities. I wouldn't say it because he'd get angry, though.

On the other hand, I don't groom myself much, so Kugaru always licks me.

He says he can't help it when he sees my messy fur, even though I tell him it's fine because Tiana brushes me.

After grooming himself, he started to carefully straighten the chest hair of me, who was lying on my side.

Kugaru's tongue is rough and makes my fur as neat as if it were combed, but my hair is long, so it's hard for him. He tilts his jaw up and works hard.

"Oh, right."

When Kugaru finished grooming, I suddenly thought of something.

I tried to stop the fairy, who was urging us to leave, and said,

"I'm hungry, let's eat."

It might be a bit early for lunch, but it's fine. We worked hard on the hunt and are tired.

Ignoring my calm thought that it's too early for a break since we haven't gone far from the fortress, I decided to eat the lunch Tiana gave us. I wonder if Kugaru will eat too.

In fox form, it's hard to take off the backpack, so I changed to a human form with fox ears and a tail. It's very difficult to get rid of the ears and tail, and I can only manage a half transformation.

In this form, I'm still a child, and I like my long silver hair, white skin, and round eyes like acorns, but it will take a few more years before I can be called a beautiful girl.

(Really, how could Mother and the one-eyed knights send such a young child on a journey alone?)

While I was angrily opening the backpack, Kugaru had also changed to human form and was peering into it with interest.

Kugaru, dressed in light Arab clothing, might have a slightly slimmer face. He still looks young, and his ears and tail are still visible. As always, he's quite sly.

"What's in there?"

"It's food. And some jerky. It's delicious, so Kugaru, you should try it... Hmm? What's this?"

When I opened the backpack, the first thing I saw was a poisonous purple cloth.

It felt soft, as if something was inside.

I thought the backpack was unusually full because of this object.

I grabbed it with my small hands and tried to pull it out.

However, it was almost the same size as the backpack's opening, so it didn't come out easily. Kugaru held the bottom of the backpack, and I pulled with both hands.

With a "Pon!" sound, the purple object came out of the backpack.

And at the same time, I screamed.

"Aaaaah!?"

The backpack contained a large stuffed animal. The softness inside the cloth was cotton.

It felt like a stuffed animal, at least in texture. Just the texture.

"What is this..."

Kugaru's pupils dilated, and he leaned forward. He seemed to have recognized the stuffed animal as an enemy.

I understand his reaction.

This eerie purple stuffed animal seemed to be based on a mushroom.

Under the cap, there were embroidered eyes and a mouth, which looked exactly like Munch's "The Scream."

Why was such a terrifying thing stuffed into the cute rabbit backpack? Was it a prank?

For a moment, I thought it might be a prank and was startled by the mysterious mushroom character, but when I imagined Tiana's smiling face, everything made sense.

This wasn't a prank. It was Tiana's kindness.

She's just a bit clumsy, her color sense is off, and she doesn't have the artistic talent to create cute characters, so this sad monster was born.

It hurts my heart.

I reassured Kugaru, who was about to punch it with a leopard punch, that it was just a stuffed animal, and calmed the fairy, which was flying around frantically, saying "Let's run."

"I think she put it in there so I wouldn't be lonely."

I feel like her kindness is a bit misguided, but I gratefully moved the stuffed animal out of sight and searched the backpack again.

Inside, there were two packages in addition to the letter from Mother. One was jerky, and the other was lunch.

"Look!"

I directed Kugaru's gaze, still shocked by Tiana's stuffed animal, to the packages.

Inside was my favorite potato crepe. The crepe wasn't filled with potatoes but had grated potatoes mixed into the batter, making it thicker and more satisfying than the crepes I usually see in Japan. The chewy texture is fun. It's fried in oil, so the edges are crispy and fragrant.

I usually eat it with vegetables and bacon, but today it seems to be arranged as a dessert, fried in butter.

One is coated with red berry jam, and the other with honey, rolled into a long, thin shape.

It was probably prepared by the head chef, who must have thought that a sandwich or bento with side dishes would get messy on the journey.

"Kugaru, which one do you want, the jam or the honey?"

"I don't need it. I don't eat human-made things."

"Don't say that. It's delicious. Here, have the honey one."

I pretended to give him the recommended one, but I actually wanted the jam, so I gave him the honey one.

I bit into my potato crepe while Kugaru sniffed it.

It's a simple, rustic dessert with a chewy texture and a hint of sweetness from the potatoes. The butter flavor and the tartness of the berry jam go well together.

Last summer, I had fresh jam made from freshly picked berries with a little sugar. When I bit into the berries that hadn't completely broken down, the juice burst out, and it was delicious.

I chewed happily, thinking about it.

Kugaru, looking hesitant, took a bite, made a "Hmm?" face, and took another bite, and then another... He seemed to like it.

Even though I was full from just one, I couldn't resist the temptation of the delicious jerky and ate a little of that too.

When I gave some to Kugaru, his expression lit up as soon as he put it in his mouth.

It's delicious, I can tell. Meat is better than crepes for a carnivore, after all.

"I'm full..."

I was getting sleepy, and the fairy seemed to read my thoughts, bumping into my forehead. It seemed to be saying, "Wake up, it's time to go!"

However, watching the enthusiastic fairy, I suddenly wanted to try creating a fairy myself.

(Let's try it!)

I raised my hands in front of my chest as if scooping water and imagined my power gathering there.

Then I condensed it into a ball of light.

"Eh? Wow...!"

I didn't think I could do it, but a ball of light was born quite easily.

If the fairy Mother created is a daifuku, this one is about the size of a marble, but it's floating in the air, glowing white.

"I did it! Yay!"

Excited, I stood up, and Kugaru, who had been rummaging through the backpack, stopped and looked at me in surprise—apparently, he hadn't finished eating the jerky.

"My fairy..."

What a lovely sound. It's so whimsical and tickles my girlish heart.

I already felt attached to this tiny fairy I had just created.

However, the cute fairy...

"Whoa, wait a minute."

It started buzzing around me like a bug, flying up and down, left and right, busy and hectic, bumping into the ground, colliding with Mother's fairy, and then hitting Kugaru—making a "Squish" sound as it melted.

"It's not my fault!"

Kugaru defended himself before I could blame him.

I know, I know. Kugaru was just there and didn't do anything.

My restless fairy just flew into him and self-destructed.

Kugaru is a fire spirit, so an inexperienced snow fairy couldn't survive.

My fairy is a bit of a fool...

"Let's try again..."

"I'll make one too."

We both looked at our hands, which we had raised in front of us. Mother's fairy seemed to be saying, "What about the errand?" as it looked at us.

We'll do it after this!

"Yay!"

"Wow!"

Creating a fairy might be easy. Both Kugaru and I succeeded, creating white and red lights.

However, they were both about the size of marbles and incredibly restless.

They were more like the cicada bombs you see on the ground at the end of summer.

They flew this way and that, fell to the ground, and then spun around madly.

Calm down a bit!

While this was happening, my fairy flew up and, just like Kugaru's restless fairy, they collided with a "Pang!" and disappeared again.

"Ugh! Stupid!"

I couldn't help but raise my voice at my fairy's clumsy behavior.

It seems I'm not ready to create fairies yet. No matter how many times I try, I'll probably just create foolish ones.

Moreover, creating a fairy involves sharing your power, so I get tired the more I create.

It might be no problem for Mother, who is powerful, but it's a big burden for me as a child. It's best to stop for today.

"Kugaru, let's get going."

I pushed the eerie stuffed animal Tiana made back into the backpack, put it on, and said, changing back to my fox form.

We can't keep dawdling on the way.