’Nooo, Holy Tree! Please, no! No! Nooooo!’  

” Lizza, what should we do now? ”

” Why should I know? It's not like this is happening all the time. ” l tried to defend myself, but she was looking at me with suspicion. 

’Stop that. Don't look at me like that.’ Judging by the multitude of reactions she saw thus far, it was fair to be doubtful about that, but I was innocent this time. I didn't live here a lifetime so this was new for me as well. 

” Anyway... We should wake her up before to—

*Thud* 

” M-My daughter... W-What have you done to her? ” a panicked voice came from behind, accompanied by the sound of something dropping on the floor. 

’No... No, no, no, no, no. This isn't right. Why is my luck soooo bad?’

I instinctively took some steps back to make space for the panicked mother. Fiona was already at a safe distance... I didn't even saw how she vanished that fast.

” E-Erin, don't scare me. W-Wake up. ” she said while shaking the fainted girl. The method didn't seem to work too well though...

From all possible moments, she had to come right now. I had to clarify the situation immediately or the situation was going to turn ugly.

” E-Excuse me—

” What did you do to my daughter? ” she said almost yelling and looked at me with an angry expression. 

I had to be careful. That was a really angry mother. 

” We didn't do anything to—

” WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DAUGHTER? ” she repeated the same question visibly running out of patience. She tried to stand up, but a hand grabbed her shoulder, pressing her back down. Judging by how she winced, Fiona put some force in that grip.

” Don't speak like that with Lizza. ” she warned her in the chilliest tone I had ever heard her speak till now. Let alone the poor and confused woman, even I was a bit spooked by that.

” Lizza already said that we didn't do anything to her. ” she continued, and I was happy that she tried to defend me, but it was certain that we would end up being homeless for the night if she continued in that direction.

” Fio, stop! ” 

” But—

” I know, I know... But this is just a huge misunderstanding. It's normal for a mother to react like that for the sake of her children. ” I tried to appease to the woman.

Fiona finally let her stand up, not before glaring one last time at her. Ugh...

” Please listen to us for a moment.  ”

” Alright, I'm listening. ” the woman grumbled, rubbing her shoulder with the opposite hand.

” We didn't do anything to her. When I tried to take off my hood, she got too excited for some reason, took a wrong step and fell on the floor... We really didn't do anything. ” I explained calmly, but the more I spoke, the more ridiculous it became.

” Your hood? I don't understa—

”...”

” Ohh... I see. ”

Her eyes suddenly become round and seemingly lifeless. She was so confused that she didn't even notice it until now. 

I grabbed my rucksack since I didn't want to reveal my ring and made it look like I took a bottle of water from there. 

” Take it. I don't think that she is going to wake up just from a little shaking. ” I said and approached her with the bottle in hand. 

She just grabbed it with her eyes fixated on my face. I had to motion to her to start because she was just staring at me. 

.

.

.

” Ahhh... Wha... No, stop... What... ” Erin was forcefully woken up, startled by the surprise shower. She was frantically looking in all directions. 

” Erin, are you alright? ” her mother asked and embraced her. 

” M-Mother, what are you doing here? What is happening? Ouch... My head hurts. ” 

She carefully touched the little red bump on her forehead and her memories prior to this incident seemed to return to her. She immediately turned her attention to me.

” M-Mother... L-Look there... ” she pointed at me.

” I saw it already. Don't scare me like that again. ” her mother said and hugged her daughter again, before turning around to me.

” I'm really, really sorry for—

” Don't worry about it. ” I cut her off immediately. I wanted to cast away this incident already. ” I'm happy that she isn't hurt. Even so, we should hurry up and take care of that bump before it gets worse. ” 

She just nodded and helped her daughter sit on a chair, grabbed a towel, soaked it with cold water, and presses it on her bump. 

I was genuinely surprised at how smooth the things proceeded after that. We properly made acquaintances and she seemed even more ashamed when she found out that we were friends with Albert. And that he was the one who recommended to us this place. 

Erin was staring at me with sparkling eyes the entire time, which sealed even the slightest possibility to be refused. How could a mother destroy her own child's hopes and dreams?

We still had to pay, of course. To rent a room for a week, we had to pay 7 silver coins. Two lesser silver coins for a person per day. 

She said that we could find places cheaper than that but the conditions left a lot to be desired. I appreciated the sincerity though.

We followed her upstairs. The place wasn't that big so there were just three rooms, one for deposing stuff, one for them to sleep in and another one which wasn't used anymore. 

The parents and children were supposed to sleep in separate rooms but since her husband died, they started to sleep all together in one room. The other one remained unused after that.

” This is the room. ” she said while pushing the door open. 

” I suppose that you are quite tired after the journey so I will not bother you any further. This is the key and if you want to eat something, you can come downstairs in maybe half an hour. ” she said and handed me the key.

” Thank you, Sara. ” I grabbed it and thanked her for the hospitality. 

Meals weren't included in the payment so it was a bonus. In fact, as I was looking at the room, I guessed that even that payment was too low for it. 

The room wasn't too big but it was properly cleaned. There was a bed with clean sheets on it, a table with some chairs, some kind of chest to deposit stuff and so on. It didn't look like a room left unused for who knows how long.

For my standards before coming in this world, it wasn't much. But compared with sleeping on a bed of leaves in the forest, it was a huge improvement. 

I put my rucksack in a corner and jumped on the bed. It was surprisingly soft so I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment. I didn't even know how I managed to survive without one that much time. 

” Huuuuuhh, this is bliss. A real bed after so much time... ” I moaned. ” Fio, come here and try it. ”

” Mm. ” she said and took down her hood before sitting down next to me. 

Looking at her, I couldn't help but notice how easy to spot her collar was. We had to hide it with a safer method. She would be exposed instantly if her hood would fall down. 

” Fio, I will definitely take down that thing from your neck. We need to sell some materials for at least one more time, but we'll get there. You have to endure it at least a few more days. ”

” Mm, I know. Thank you, Lizza. ” she said and tried to shorten the already small distance between us. 

She was clearly expecting something and I knew exactly what. Since there was still time before our free meal was ready, I stood up and placed her head on my lap. She showed a delightful expression, clearly satisfied with how the situation was progressing. 

I didn't want to make her wait too long and started to caress her hair since it was a pleasant feeling for me as well. It was nice to play with other people's hair in general, let alone if the target had extra fluffy animal ears to play with.

” Don't need to thank me, Fio. After all, we are... ” I paused. ” friends!? ”

I didn't know why but it sounded a bit off. 

’Is she just a simple friend?’ 

Now that I noticed it, she was clearly not just a friend. I barely know Albert for two days but I already upgraded him to my friend list since he helped us so much. Some money had been thrown into that equation, but help was help and I was grateful for that.

I didn't know how she saw it, but I liked to believe that our relationship was much deeper than that. Maybe best friends? That didn't sound like it either.

’Maybe... Maybe... I-It could be... No, no...’

It couldn't be that. It wasn't that. I had to admit that looking from a certain perspective, she was quite attractive. No, she was attractive. Even though I wasn't a man anymore, that didn't mean I switched my preferences or something. Dating a man was... out of questions. Thanks to all the Gods and Buddhas and the Holy Tree, I still found myself attracted by women rather than men.

But oddly enough, that didn't seem to be the case either. I wasn't sure if I was attracted to her in that way.

’I'm basically embracing her right now...’

If it were to be my old self, that would have escalated in a very different way by this point, but right now... I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that something to her which was rather confusing. It was more like I was happy to make her happy.

I... wasn't a pedophile either. She was basically 16, right? And I didn't know what her opinion on something like that would be either. It wasn't going to work anyways. She was a full-time woman after all. She should be attracted to males.

” Lizza, something happened? Why did you stop? ” 

I looked down to see that Fiona was staring at me with big, yellow eyes and a curious expression on her face. I smiled at her.

” Nothing. Nothing happened. ” 

” Mm. ” she nodded happily and wrapped her hands around my waist. 

’Maybe a little sister?’

I wasn't sure if that fitted the bill, but looking at her again, that was the safest bet.

’I never had a little sister anyway... I think? Strange... I don't quite... I... Ugh...’

.

.

.

” ...zza. Lizza!? ” 

” Huh? Ah, ugh... W-What is it? ” I looked around. What was I doing? 

” Lizza, you spaced out again. Are you sure you're alright? ”

” I did? ”

” Mm. You did. Are you alright? ”

” Yeah, I think I am. Sorry about that. I don't know what happened... Maybe I'm more tired than I know. ”

” I see. ” she said, stood up from my lap, literally took me like I weighed nothing, and pushed me in hers. ” There. Close your eyes. ”

And she started petting me. It was so nice... and embarrassing.

” I'm not that tired. ” I tried to stand. I failed.

” Stay there. ” she demanded.

” I'm really fine though. See? Nothing wrong—

” Stay there or we won't go down to eat either. ” she advised.

”...”

”...”

” A-Alright. ”