I held on to Ruru's waist before she fell, her delicate frame falling into my arms like a feather. 

"...Ruru..." I slid my fingers down her cheek sorrowfully.

Ultimately, this girl couldn't change herself like I did. Ruru would choose to hurt herself than to hurt others. She wanted to be restrained, and remain a slave. Of course, I should have understood it. As someone who've been there, I should have known that it was difficult for Ruru to change so easily. It was my fault for underestimating the weight of the insecurities that she carried inside. 

Fortunately after settling her down on the bed, Ruru seemed to fall asleep just as quickly. When I saw that there weren't any abnormalities in her status anymore, I finally had time to look at the unfamiliar Status Window before me,

This was the first time I’d seen another person’s status ever since I came into this world. I could immediately tell that Ruru's status was slightly different from mine. It had a deep purple palette, and it also displayed several unfamiliar information that was at variance.

"What the hell...?"

I realized that these were the states of her primary emotions made transparent through the slave collar.

From how all three states were at their peaks, it was apparent how much of herself Ruru was willing to entrust to me. For some reason, having the numbers displayed as-a-matter-of-factly before me, made me feel a strange sense of comfort. While I felt uncomfortable prying into Ruru's mind like this without her permission, it also assuage the dregs of distrust left in my subconscious. Besides her mental state, Ruru’s stats were also unbelievably high, it gave me a better idea of just how strong she really was. 

I found the prompt that opened her Skill Tree, and the interface widened before me like a web. Ruru had already unlocked [Shaman] skills; an elementary subclass of Mage. Shamans primarily specializes in hexes, spiritual divination and healing as a support.

Apparently, Ruru’s attribution of her skill points was very conservative. Additionally, Beast-kins receive higher point attribution to their stats than humans, thus explaining the amount of unspent SP she had.

I briefly thought that Ruru was also an SP hoarder like me, so I got curious and looked at how she distributed them.

Ruru had invested in most of the basic [Mage] passives and spells, but apart from recovery-based spells she had not learnt any of the protection or attack spells. Even the only Shaman skill the girl had learnt:「Life Stream」was also a healing spell. 

I was befuddled by this strange inclination towards this disproportionate way of raising her skill levels, so I decided to look at skills found outside of her Skill Tree. As Passive Skills were accrued from experience and familiarity, it gave insight on one’s personalities that were forged from their environment. And it turned out that Ruru’s list of passive skills she had accrued was incredibly comprehensive. 

[Passive Skills]

Just like how I had pictured Ruru before she turned into a slave, the wolf-girl lived a life surrounded by nature, learning various skills that showed her years of living in the wild. She also had a rather docile and feminine character that made her good at housework. I could almost imagine a domestically-cultured Ruru wearing an apron in the kitchen, as her tail flops from left to right while she hums at work.

...And on the other end of her gentle side, another grim and disturbing picture was conceived in my head from the resistances she had gained over the years; Just like how a passive skill could tell you about what someone was good at, passive resistances were also indicators of how much one had endured in their lives.

This world was molded and regimented by a game system, making things simple... and sometimes, insidious.

I lied down beside Ruru, and took her hand. I saw a few wrinkles that I had not noticed before, one of her fingers also had a long scar like it was cut before. Having seen enough, I placed it back down, and spread out my own palm.

I could almost faintly hear the words of Rebecca echoing in my head again.

"... ...I am... privileged... huh."

The silver ring on my finger shone faintly. It was an item that contained the other half of the slave contract; the [Proof of Ownership].

Feeling a little irritated inside, I closed my eyes hoping to drive away the noise in my head. The faint sound of Ruru’s soft breathing gradually calmed me down. While laying down beside Ruru, I mulled over some subjects that my mind previously deemed low priority.

In the meantime, I decided to look through the items I pocketed off Amos while waiting for her to wake up.

A fountain pen, a pocketwatch with a steampunk design, and a rectangular case which had a number of gold coins inside, all of which were wrapped in a silk cloth. I could surely sell these for a high price. However, I had to be cautious about where I go to sell the items. I couldn't be careless since being as wealthy as he was, there is a high chance that Amos was acquainted with most, if not all of the merchants in Halvan.

If a merchant recognizes his belongings, I'd be busted for sure. Moreover at a time like this when authorities are extra vigilant due to the monster attacks, I'd just asking for unnecessary trouble by taking the risk of getting caught. At present, it seems like I could only make use of the flat currency. After counting all of it, the sum amounted to a total of 14 gold coins which converts to 700 silver coins.

That's a whopping 35,000 copper coins! My forehead was covered in a cold sweat. This is 10 years' worth of salary as an iron-ranked adventurer! I honestly didn't expect to attain this much money in such a short time...

...Looks like my worries about whether or not I would be able to house another person in this apartment were for naught. My money situation would definitely be stable for a long time.

Some time passed before she finally did. Ruru rubs her eyes groggily and turns towards me.

“...Fue… Master?”  When Ruru noticed me lying down with her on the bed, her tail which was hidden beneath the bedsheets began to wag again. 

“...You’re awake. Did you sleep well?”

“...Un! Ruru sleeps, well! Ruru always sleeps well, if Master, here with me.” Her fingers sought out mine, and they clasped together tightly.

...She didn't seem to have changed in the slightest.

“Ehehe… Master’s hands… warm.” Ruru’s giggles brought a faint smile to my face, and I casually brought my hand over to her head and stroked it again. Seeing the blissful expression on her face, I thought that my worries were fleeting. 

A moment passed like this as we cuddled together.

“...You don’t regret it?” I suddenly spoke.

Ruru smiles at my words. She brought her face closer to my chest, “...Ruru… regrets many, things. But Master… not one of them. Master is, best thing, that happened in, Ruru’s life.”

!! I wasn't expecting her to reply so truthfully, I was completely caught off guard.

Without giving Ruru a reply, I averted my face away with a red face, and I could almost hear her giggling behind my back.

“...Master.” I felt her arms wrap around from behind me. Her mounds pressed against my back transmitting the faint beating of her heart.

“Can Master, see it now? Ruru’s… ...heart.”

She must be talking about her status window. 

I turned my body around facing her, and flowed my fingers down her silky, azure hair. 

"...Yes. I can see it. Ruru is a good girl." 

"Ehehe... so Ruru... reward?"

I knew what she wanted, but I decided to try a different way of pacifying her desires.

Pretending to mull over her words, I brought Ruru towards me, and breathed in the scent of shampoo on her body. Ruru's body shivered slightly, and her eyes closed expecting a kiss. But instead, I pecked her on the cheeks and hugged her with a knowing smile. Ruru opens her eyes and looks at me disappointingly, but she didn't move away from my embrace. 

"...Master... tease."

I chuckled at her words. I thought that I was gradually getting used to dealing with this precarious girl. It was easy to give what she wanted, but spoiling her too much would also be bad for her to stand back up on her own two feet. I wanted to cultivate her independence, a little at a time.

Since indulging in coitus together, I had thought over many things including the way forward. I admit that I only felt lust towards Ruru, and I knew that this wasn't right to continue a relationship without love. Just like how her status had separated these emotions, I knew they were two completely different desires. Ruru was my first time and precisely so, I wanted to take my relationship with her seriously. And for me to remain dedicated, I knew I needed time to foster actual feelings for Ruru. For our bond to become stable, we have to build our foundations of trust slowly. And I thought if we continued at a steady pace like this, I would eventually... towards Ruru... ...

My eyes slowly closed, and I thought of falling asleep just like that. Today wasn’t as productive as I had hoped for, but at the very least Ruru and I had finally found equal footing in this strange relationship. I wished that tomorrow... would also—

“—Master, visitors?” Ruru’s ears twitched as she suddenly spoke out.

...Huh? A beat later, I heard knocking on the doorstep. At first it was faint, but the knocking became increasingly louder.

My eyes jolted open, my mind racing through who could possibly...

"...Heinesia-san." 

Of course. The outbreak of monsters. She must have come to check up on me!

"Master?"

Ruru was still cuddled in bed while looking at me lazily, and I realized how precarious this situation was!

Knowing Heinesia's strictness... and this country's collectively hateful culture towards beast-kins, I...

“Hide somewhere quick!” I whispered agitatedly towards Ruru.

Ruru noticed the urgency behind my words, and obediently nodded. The two of us got off the bed and I started wearing my clothes hurriedly. On the other end, Ruru was looking around the room for a place to hide.

"Master... where, to hide?" 

"Ahh.. ehh... g-give me a second, I'll be done changing..." I tried bending over to grab my pants on the floor, but in a fluster I fell down towards Ruru! I ended up in a position where I had pinned her down to the ground.

"A-Auu... M-Master..." Ruru looks at me in concern, not at all worried about herself. 

No... I have to get up quickly...

But before I was even able to do so,

...the front door opened with a click. 

“Pardon my intrusion...” A familiar voice could be heard at the doorstep. 

"Hmm? White-sama? Are you around?"

...No... not good... not good!

I heard her footsteps towards my room.

And when the door began to open, I thought.

I'm royally screwed.