With a basket hanging down my neck, I smell the plant near the road.

“This seems to be the one aunt Lisa told me to get... I think?”

I tear out the plant and put it in the basket. I haven't come out to the forest in a while, so I'm remembering what the pleasant smell of the forest is.

Long and elegant legs, round nose and the abundant orange fur covering my whole body!

The one possessing these splendid features is no one else than myself. On top of that, the three tails that I possess are the proof that I have an outstanding talent that it is no stretch to call myself the future of the Tail Fox tribe.

In fact, our tribe has this particularity of growing more tails the more powerful one becomes, thus earning the name “Tail Fox Tribe”. And having three tails already at my age is simply amazing, yep.

As the daughter of the tribe's chief, I have been pampered by everyone. But I have one thing that has been worrying me recently.

It is the fact that my mother seems to be rather weary recently.

She pretends to be okay, but I know that she is putting up an act as the chief.

My mother who has nine beautiful tails has always been protecting the village without a flinch, so I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her weak side. Seeing how she still acts strong in front of everyone, I wanted to do something to help her regain her energy.

That is why I asked auntie Lisa to make me a medicine to regain her vigor, and I am currently looking for the ingredients in this forest.

There are monsters in the forest, but as long as I don't enter too deep, they are no match for me who is a three tailed fox.

“There are so many herbs! My mother should become vigorous again for years!”

It seems I was rather lucky. Auntie Lisa told me those are rather hard to find after all. Or maybe my nose is that amazing. That is probably the case.

“I'm getting rather hungry.. and thirsty. I think there was a lake nearby.”

I don't remember its exact location, but it is not a problem since I can just use my amazing nose to trace the smell of water. I throw in some more herbs in the basket and head towards the lake elegantly.

…

As if the sunlight that couldn't enter the forest is gathered in this place, the lake's surface is shining brilliantly.

It is a fantastic sight that makes me want to keep staring at the clear water, but I am aware of one fact.

The lake is a dangerous place.

It is not because I might fall into it and get drawn. At the first place, our tribe members are naturally good at swimming and it is not a risk.

It is because there are monsters living inside the water.

It is not that they are particularly strong compared to those in the forest.

It is because those living on the surface are not good at fighting underwater. As if they know this fact, those monsters will do their best to keep their opponent underwater. If I get dragged in, it is most likely that it will become a death match that won't end until one side perishes. I might be able to win against a few small fries. But if other monsters gather because of the scent of blood, then I don't even want to think about it.

What makes it worse is that I can't smell nor hear those approaching from under water. I can only rely on my vision, and that is also limited.

It is truly the worst place to fight.

Being fully cautious, I approach the lake to drink some water.

And when I reached the shore, a turbulence at the surface of the water appears.

Something is coming out.

Fortunately, it is at a decent distance from where I am, so I should be able to run away.

However, I didn't do so.

I can't divert my sight from the form that just came out from the surface of water.

Surrounded by the water particles shining under the sunlight, there it was. The form of something green was different from any monster I have seen.

With small but slightly flabby legs and arms, there was no fur on the flesh colored skin, and there was no ear nor tail in sight.

“A human?”

If I remember correctly, it has to be a female child. Since the last human settlement has disappeared from this land a long time ago, it is rare to meet a human. Especially if it is a young one that should be unable to survive in a forest.

My sight reaches her face. Round cheeks and reddish lips, overall round features makes her look somewhat chubby but definitely not fat. On the contrary, the well balanced features make her look like a doll.

'Cute.'

I have heard of demons that keep humans as pets. I didn't think much about it back then, but with this kind of appearance, I understand them for wanting to keep them.

Under the light green hair, there are a pair of emerald green eyes. They are facing my way, but there is no focus, as if she is seeing something without looking at anything.

'Maybe she is blind? Or could it be...'

And I realized. She must be scared. She is with no doubt frozen stiff and is about to pass out from the fear. My mind that was too focused on the girl in front of my eyes made me realize what I must look like to her. My current form is that of a fox bigger than an adult human. It would not be weird if she thinks that I am a dangerous predator.

'It hurts me a bit to think that she is afraid of my cute self.'

Well it can't be helped. Such is the difference between races.

I quickly prepare to use the magic. It is the transformation spell that the Tail Fox tribe is proud of. The image after transformation is that of a human I saw in a picture, a bit different from the demi-human form I have practiced. As for the accurate image and small adjustments, there is a good example in front of me.

My body gets smaller and the limbs change. The face becomes that of a human, and I get to stand on two feet. The fur covering the whole body become so short that they are almost invisible. A clothe similar to what I have seen in the picture also gets created and wraps around my body.

Ah, but if I transform right in front of her eyes, wouldn't that be surprising on its own?

I guess it's too late, though. The transformation has ended already.

I carefully raise my head and check her reaction.

The focus has returned in her eyes. On top of that, she is looking at me with her eyes wide open. It doesn't seem like she is scared anymore. I think?

I might not look like it, but I am rather confident in my transformation magic. I'm not only from the Tail Fox tribe, but also am the only daughter of the tribe chief, and possess three tails. You could call me a genius. So it is normal that she admires my form.

Is what I thought, but something is weird. As I follow her wandering eyesight, I notice it. Oops, my tail...

Since I based it off the demi-human form that I had practiced, I forgot about them. Humans don't have tails, so I have to remove them.

One... two.. while I am removing the second tail, I notice that something is wrong with the girl. She seems to be uneasy about something as she repeatedly closes and opens her hand.

I remove the second tail, and start removing the third tail. She seems to be about to cry now.

“... Don't remove it?”

Nod, nod.

Seeing her nodding so vigorously, I unconsciously hand her my tail. She hurriedly grasp it and starts caressing it.

I don't like getting my furs wet, though.

…

“By the way, why are you in such a place alone? Since it is dangerous under water, you should not go swimming!”

I ask a few questions once she got out at the shore, but she doesn't respond. She is just staring at me. Especially the tails and the ears.

My ears are still that of a fox, but it couldn't be helped. I haven't seen human ears, and they were hidden in the picture books as well.

I didn't forget about them.

Really!

Apparently, just like how she stopped me from removing the tail, she likes the way it is with my ears.

Thinking back on how she was so afraid of me before I transformed, it makes me think she is truly a weird child.

I can feel the wind blowing with my skin. It was pleasant in my fox form, but probably because I am in the human form now, it seems to be a bit cold. It wasn't like this in the demi-human transformation neither, so could it be that it is a specific problem of humans? Then it has to be because humans have no furs. So that is why humans I saw in the picture wear clothes like this.

With a new discovery, I nod in satisfaction, and inspect the girl that is looking at me. Her hair is still wet, and I can see water drops on her naked skin.

She must be cold.

On top of that, I remember being taught that human girls shouldn't be naked. Since I am knowledgeable, I should help in a situation like this.

“You can wear this.”

Noticing that the clothes created during the transformation has multiple layers, I give her the outerwear.

However, I can feel the cool wind once I take it off. It seems like being a human is rather inconvenient.

“It must have been hard for you..”

My mouth trembles as I say that.

To have been in this state so far, I have pity for the little human girl in front of me. It is okay now, though. That clothe shall keep you warm.

But why are you giving it back to me?

No, I'm okay?

I wrap my tail around my body and show her. I make the two other tails I removed earlier and wrap them as well. Yep, it's warm.

The girl gives me a frustrated look. Why is that?

…

“... That is why I came to gather herbs. I came here to drink some water and rest a little bit, and that is when you appeared. I was surprised, since it is dangerous around here, especially under water.”

Even though I talk to her in the common tongue that all the demi-humans use, she doesn't respond. The races that are able to communicate with humans all use this language, so she must be able to understand, but she only listens intently without responding.

I have many questions, but since she doesn't respond, I just keep telling her my stories. It seems that she is mute, but not deaf.

“This herb is material for the medicine that boosts one's vigor. I'm not too sure, but it has to be effective. Look at this, doesn't it look kind of pretty?”

I show her the herbs I have gathered in the basket and brag about them. When I hand her over one of them, she grabs on it with her little hand, and tilts her head. So cute!

My hand reaches the box that is buried under the herbs at the bottom of the basket. It is the lunchbox that I brought from home. I remember I came here to take a lunch break as well, so I take it out.

The menu is roasted wild boar's meat and fruits cultivated from the village.

I take out a strawberry which is my favorite fruit and put it in my mouth. The tribe has been improving the breed for generations, and therefore the ones grown in the village are much more delicious than those growing in the nature. While enjoying the sweet juice coming out when I take a bite, I feel a gaze.

I'm surprised by the intensity of her gaze. It feels like from those wide open eyes, she will start shooting lasers if I don't do anything.

I unconsciously hide the lunch.

No, it is like a wild instinct. It felt like it would be dangerous to leave it alone.

Once I do that, she also hurriedly diverts her eyes. Is what I thought, but then she starts peeking over here again.

“... Do you want to eat as well?”

“... Can I?”

What? Were you not a mute?

Since I brought enough food to be eaten for my fox body that is rather big compared to hers, I thought there would be enough sharing with her. This small girl shouldn't be able to eat that much anyways.

That was what I thought, but I have to admit that I was mistaken. As she keeps eating, I start wondering where all the food goes. Since it was surprising, I forget about eating and just stare at her. Noticing my gaze, she curls herself up a little.

“I'm sorry.”

No, you don't need to be sorry. I was just curious..

“I don't mind, keep eating.”

There is still a lot more.

Is what I wanted to say, but I had to stop.

I should also eat a little before they all disappear. Even though I transformed to a human form, the amount I need eat doesn't change. I should at least eat half of it.

I want to keep looking at her moving her small mouth to eat, but I decide to stop since she doesn't seem to like it.

I heard stories of pets disliking it when they get stared on when they are eating.

…

“So, why are you in such place alone?”

“That is.. I was traveling, and lost my way in a cave. When I finally got out, it was around here.”

Traveling alone! Did she runaway from home? Or she might be an escaped slave. About a cave.. ah, she must have been enslaved in a cave and escaped! Even though she is so small and cute!

“You poor little thing... It's fine now, I am here for you!”

“?”

She has a facial expression saying 'What do you mean?'. It is okay though. I will protect you from here on, so you have no worries. For that, I will first need to get her to follow me. Hmm... I remember that in order to tame animals, using food is the best method.

“Did you like the lunch earlier? There are plenty more in the village, do you wanna come with me?”

“Sure!”

Looking at her responding without a second thought, I make a smile of victory.

I think I got myself a human pet!