Inako, The Fox

She was starving. She hadn't had any decent food in her stomach for days and it was clouding her reasoning, numbing her mind. She had already gone hungry when she was little during the epidemic that spread throughout the country where she lived, but never like now.

I'm starving. I need to eat something, anything will do!

She spotted a handful of mushrooms growing in the shade of a tree. With white, fleshy caps dotted with pink, they seemed succulent to her at first glance.

"Ah! Mushrooms! A little bit of them! The gods haven't left me alone!" She exclaimed as she clapped her hands together and gave thanks with her eyes closed.

The hunger she felt couldn't wait any longer than that. She picked up all the mushrooms just as they were and ate them voraciously, stuffing her mouth with them.

"Mmmph, th' tasht... ish bitterrr, GULP... but it's better than nothing.”

She ate it all and even licked her fingers , but despite their appearance, those mushrooms were far from enough to satisfy her hunger.

“Awww, it's over. I wonder if I can find more around here?”

She searched all the nearby trees, but found nothing. She was already feeling discouraged again, when something caught her attention,

“Uhhh, not a single one. If it goes on like this, I'll run out of strength and my ki will... what's that?”

She saw something moving in the distance. As she got closer, saw that it was an orange and black chicken that was crouching in the shade of a tree.

I must be dreaming! A chicken here in the forest? It's one blessing after another! Thank you, my Gods!

She looked for something that could be used to kill it, then she saw a piece of tree branch that looked quite hard. Armed with her weapon, slowly approached from behind the tree, raised her arm and brought it down without delay.

NOW!

THUD!

The chicken didn't stand a chance. It fell to the side, knocked unconscious by the direct blow to the head. She jumped for joy, even forgetting that it was almost out of strength.

“I DID IT! I DID IT! Today's lunch will be chicken!”

Not far away, in the city of Bordeaux, the Coeur de Lion group of adventurers was having a brief meeting with the city's guild leader.

“So, Henri. To what do I owe this visit?”

Henri, the young Knight who was being questioned, sat on the sofa in front of the table and carefully placed his sword on the table and began to speak:

“Chief Ferdinand, we came here to report that something strange happened in the Forêt Alvernac earlier today.

The guild leader raised an eyebrow and sat down in his chair.

“Very well, continue.”

“On the way here, Jean and Axel asked to get off the wagon we hitched a ride in, saying that… well, they wanted to urinate. But when they entered the forest, they were attacked by something they described as… a chicken.”

“Huh? Could you repeat that?”

“A chicken, sir.”

“And you expect me to believe such nonsense?”

“Well, sir, aside from that crazy description, it is a fact that something attacked them with some kind of explosion.”

“Mr. Ferdinand, if you'll allow me to interrupt, I can give you a little more detail about it.”

“Very well, Claire, you are allowed to speak.”

“Thank you. From my brief examination, everything leads me to believe that these two were hit by high-powered wind magic. The creature hid in a wooden trunk and from there fired the magic that had a strong impact due to the reduced space.”

“Is it some kind of monster? Please don't tell me it's a chicken.”

“No, sir, I don't believe it's a f...” - At that moment Claire choked on the word - “... a chicken. A domestic bird would never be able to use mana, especially at that intensity.”

“But it was a chicken! We're not lying! That damn bird!” - Jean said, getting up from the couch, then putting his hands on his head and furiously rubbing his fingers through his shaved hair.

Axel, who had been silent until then, decided to speak in defense of his friend.

“Chief Ferdinand, we're not crazy. That” - he stopped for a moment to look at Claire with a furious look, remembering what she had promised earlier - “that bird was really there. But I admit that I've never seen a bird run as fast as that one, it almost left me bitting the dust!”

“It really is a very strange situation and I trust your abilities, young man. Did that creature leave any clues behind?”

“Actually, Chief Ferdinand, we have nothing. Jean and Axel had been injured and were in a state of confusion after being healed by Amélie. We thought it best to bring them back with us and report to you. Forgive us.”

After a brief moment of staring into everyone's eyes, Ferdinand sighed deeply and then spoke again.

“Okay. I can't and won't let this creature go unnoticed, it could be some kind of monster we don't know about yet. I'll send soldiers into the forest to look for clues about this creature. But…”

“But?”

“This is a rather bizarre situation, so I recommend that this matter not leave this room under any circumstances. The reputation of Coeur de Lion cannot be tarnished by such nonsense. Am I clear?”

“YES, SIR!” - The group responded in a single tone without fail.

“Very well, you are dismissed for today. Go and rest.”

After the group left the room, Ferdinand went to the window and observe the city.

“A chicken that uses magic. That's all I needed.”

Knock, knock.

“Come in.”

A young woman wearing the guild uniform enters the room with a letter in her hands.

“Mr. Ferdinand. Sorry to interrupt you, but this letter came from DuPont. I took the liberty of opening it.”

“Oh, Lucille, it's you. If I don't trust my personal secretary, who else would I trust? What does the letter say?”

“Thank you for your trust, as always. It's a letter from the informant Rémy. It seems that that group of illegal slave traders was there with a cargo. All Demi-Human girls.”

“And to whom were they sold?”

“He doesn't know. But it's likely that they're planning a Black Fair soon.”

“A Black Fair? It makes sense, after all, it brings together the perverted and weird nobles from all over the place on this occasion.”

“Should we intervene?”

“We will intervene. We'll send adventurers as soon as we get more details about the girls' location. Tell Rémy.”

‘Understood, Sir.”

Returning to the forest, Rikko finally regains consciousness. His eyes open and after his vision adjusts he realizes that he's not alone.

“Hmm... who is this person?”

The person he saw was a girl with snow-white ears and tail. Her clothes looked like a mix of Eastern and Western clothes and she was crouched down, manipulating a fire. She seemed to be humming something happily.

Today is a happy day,
Light the fire without delay!

I’m feeling joy, it’s true —
My belly will be full, too.

Potatoes, tomatoes… what else is in sight?
Carrots, cabbage — oh, what a delight!

The night looks bright.
Want more? Take another bite!

Later I’ll sleep, warm and tight…
But the feast? I won’t forget tonight!

“She can sing, but this song sounds like a Hob- WHOA! WHO TIED ME UP?”

Rikko hadn't realized yet that he was tied up with ropes made of rancid straw that held his feet and wings together.

“Huh? I could have sworn I heard someone scream.”

The girl put one of her hands to her ear on top of her head to hear better, but Riko had remained silent to try to cut the ropes with his beak and try to free herself.

“Hmm, I guess it was my imagination. Well, I think the fire is strong enough, now I'll find a way to pull out the feathers and- HEY!”

When she turned around, Riko was almost able to break the rope around his chest. She dropped the sharp stone she intended to use as a knife and ran to hold the escaped bird.

“Hey, you're my lunch! Where do you think you're going?”

“I'm no one's lunch, let me go now!”

“…?”

“…”

“...What?”

“Are you deaf by any chance?”

“WAAAAAAAHHH!!! THE CHICKEN SPOKE!!!”

In her fright, the girl threw Rikko, still tied up, into the air and ran to hide behind a tree. He crashed to the ground, letting out a scream of pain.

“OUCH! THAT HURTS!”

“She's really talking!”

“Yes, I do! And just to make it clear, I'm a ROOSTER! Don't you know the difference?”

“Yes, I do! But for me, everything is the same in the pan!”

“DID YOU INTEND TO EAT ME?”

“Oh, yes, but just a little!”

“ARE YOU TRYING TO SCREW ME ? It only takes a little to make a mess!”

“I don't know what screw is!”

_”IT'S A JOKE! AND LET ME GO RIGHT AWAY!”

“I CAN'T!”

“WHY CAN'T YOU?”

“IT'S BECAUSE I'M HUNGRY!!!”

RRROOOOOOOOONNNNC!!!

It was at that moment that her stomach growled so loudly that it sounded like a ferocious animal.

“…”

“SEE? I TOLD YOU!”

“OK! LET ME GO AND I'LL GIVE YOU FOOD!”

“...SERIOUSLY?”

“I GIVE YOU MY WORD!”

“…”

“…”

“Okay.”

Using the sharp stone, the ropes fell and finally Rikko was free. He looked at his body to see if there were any marks from the ropes as she stared at him.

“What's wrong? What are you looking at?”

“I'm waiting for you to lay it.”

“Lay what?”

“The egg, huh.”

“I already told you I'm a rooster!”

“Oh, yeah. But where are you going to get the food from? That's not a lie, right?”

“That's not a lie. Wait a minute. Item Box!”

“WAHHHH! WHAT'S THAT?”

‘It's an item box. Have you never seen it?”

‘I haven't.”

“So not just anyone has it, after all.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Here, prepare this for us.”

With a flap of wings, fish and fruits fell to the ground, along with the water skin. The girl was amazed by so much food and a trickle of drool ran down the corner of her mouth.

“WOW! So much stuff! Can I really?”

“As long as you share it with me. I'm dying to eat baked fish”.

“Okay! Let me pre-”

GRRRRUUUUULLLLL…

“Ugh.”

“But what was that?”

“So… I ate… some mushrooms earlier…”

“So this is…?”

“OOOUGH, YES!!!”

In an act of desperation, the girl ran into a bush and soon heard the characteristic sounds of a violent diarrhea with moans in the background.

“Wow… are you okay in there?”

“Uuuughhh…”

“Yeah, you're not.”

Rikko opened his item box once more. Before leaving, he had made good use of his appraisal skill and this made he discover that there was a kind of medicinal herb in the forest, so just in case he have that too.

- Chamomille de Pierre x15

Aromatic herb with a relaxing effect. It can be prepared as a tea or chewed directly. It helps to relieve nerves and digestive problems.

“Hmm, this will do. Hey, you there! Do you have any pots or pans I can use?”

“Uuuuugh… no, I… uuuuugh… I don’t.”

“I have an herb here that should help you. If you can’t make tea, you’ll have to eat it plain.”

“I hate... herbs.

“Would you rather stay there?”

“NO! I’LL EAT IT! I’LL EAT IT!”

“Wait a minute.”

Rikko used the water from his waterskin to wash the herbs and then, trying to ignore the foul smell coming from the bush, approached and offered them with her beak. The girl stuck her head out of the bush to bite the branch of herbs, chewed and swallowed it in one go and then pulled her head back into the bush.

“Ugh. How bitter…”

“Good medicine is bitter medicine, that's what my mother used to say.”

“Did your mother… ugh… speak too?”

“Let's say yes. Are you feeling better?”

“Not yet, ugh. But I'm going to try something.”

“Try what?”

O glorious mother who gives us the land and a plentiful table. Give your faithful servant the cure and take away the scourge.

A white glow grew in the bush from the inside out, lasting a few seconds. Then there was only silence.

“...Girl? Are you okay there?”

The girl came out of the bush. Her eyes still expressed pain and she was sweating heavily on her forehead, but she seemed much better.

“Now I'm much better.”

“What did you do?”

“I'm a priestess. I used a magic prayer to heal myself.”

“Wouldn't it have been better to do this from the beginning?”

“That's not how it works. It's a healing prayer, but it only works when combined with medicine.”

“Ah, I see.”

“You saved me from a worse one, thank you very much!” - She thanks him with a bow - “Do you have a name?”

“My name is Rikko. And you?”

“Nice to meet you, Rikko. I'm Inako.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Inako. And... can I ask you a question?”

“Sure! What do you want to know?”

“How do you shit without getting your tail dirty?”