Charlotte’s sharp cry caused the figure hiding among the tomato plants to freeze completely.
The green leaves were roughly pushed aside, revealing a small fox Beastman girl who immediately collapsed onto the ground in fear.
Her body was painfully thin, and her torn clothes were covered in the mud and dirt of the forest.
Seeing the child’s miserable condition, Charlotte’s stern expression instantly softened.
She dropped the vegetable basket in her hand and slowly walked over before kneeling on the ground, bringing herself down to the level of the little fox girl’s frightened eyes.
Charlotte gave her the gentlest smile I had ever seen and whispered in the most soothing voice.
“It’s okay… You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
The little girl, who had been trembling violently, slowly opened her eyes.
She clutched the tomato she had stolen tightly against her chest as her hoarse little voice finally emerged in broken whispers.
“I-I’m sorry… I… I just wanted to take a few vegetables…” she whispered, terrified that her actions would make Charlotte angry.
Charlotte’s heart seemed to ache at the sight of such fragility.
She slowly shook her head before gently stroking the girl’s dull orange hair with affection.
At the same time, the pure magic instinct within Charlotte’s High Elf body activated naturally.
WHOOSH…
The warmth immediately calmed the child, as though all of her fear had simply dissolved into the air.
Hearing a small commotion outside, I stepped through the front door of the cottage.
“What happened, Charlotte?” I asked as I approached them.
After Charlotte explained that the child had been abandoned and was starving, we immediately brought her inside the house and gave her a warm bowl of soup.
At the dining table, the little girl ate so eagerly that soup ended up smeared around her mouth.
Charlotte patiently wiped the mess away with a clean cloth, acting like an older sister, or perhaps even a mother.
As she chewed the last of her food, the little girl’s round eyes began to glisten with tears.
She finally started telling us her story.
Her Beastman village had been destroyed by human soldiers.
Her biological parents had died protecting her, leaving her to wander alone through the Forbidden Forest.
After hearing her tragic story, the dining room fell into a heavy silence.
Charlotte looked at the girl with pity before turning toward me with an unmistakable pleading look in her eyes.
Behind that gaze, I knew exactly what she was seeing. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
A reflection of our own broken past.
“Ryuu… she’s all alone,” Charlotte said softly.
She turned back toward the little fox girl and gave her another warm smile.
“Well then… if you don’t have anywhere else to go, you can stay here with us, okay?”
The little girl stared at her in disbelief, her fox ears suddenly standing upright.
“E-Eh? I can… stay here, Sir?” she asked hesitantly, glancing at me nervously.
I had been quietly listening to everything from the beginning.
All I could do was smile faintly while resting my chin on my hand.
“Of course you can. Just think of this as your home now,” I replied in a calm and reassuring voice.
That very night, a new chapter of our lives began.
Charlotte’s first task was taking the little girl to the bathroom so they could wash her together.
After being rinsed with warm water and gently cleaned, the fur on her fox ears and tail, which had previously been dull and caked with mud, became incredibly soft and fluffy, carrying the fresh fragrance of wild forest flowers.
To be continued.