I definitely underestimated how fast the world moves, I guess it makes sense, even if there is a tragedy, you still have to sell the fish before it spoils, to mention the first example that comes to my mind.
I walk through the surprisingly crowded streets of the city, tensing a little every time I get close to someone else, even though they're not doing anything to me. I try not to let it bother me, but I hate crowds. Mmm, no, I must be overreacting, people probably have more important things to worry about than looking at me.
I concentrate a little on the conversations around me....
"... I want to bury my face in that fluffy tail..." I feel shivers run down my spine, I wanted to shoot a fireball at the idiot who said that. Breathe, Seina, calm down, it must be an exception, a stroke of bad luck and nothing more, let's try again, is there anything else...?
"... I want to lift her tail to see more of that wonderful ass..." 'Turn it off, turn it off!' I clench my hands to extinguish the two fireballs that suddenly appeared. Ugh... I guess this is what I get for gossiping, let's not try this again... um, t-though, they say third time's the charm, all right, j-just one more, one last time and I'm on my way.
"... Look, how unusual, a fox"
"Her ears are so cute~"
"I have to stroke that heavenly fluff on her ears..."
"Mum, I'm hungry"
"Bro, I'm in love"
"With that fox girl?"
"With her tail, look how it swings back and forth to contrast with her hips... do you think if I walk next to her, I might accidentally touch it?"
"Fresh pineapples here! Fresh from Isaac City!"
"Look at that nice cleavage"
"Want to go swimming next weekend?"
"Those legs..."
"He, she's blushing"
"Damn guards, it's really hard to kidnap someone in this city..."
"Why did you take a job like that, you stupid?"
"I was drunk"
"I'm going to ask her out"
"I want to nibble on her ears..."
Y-yeah, j-just as I thought, just hungry kids, vendors and... Huh, wait, didn't I just hear something very dangerous? I look in the direction where I heard the word kidnapping, but there are too many people. Hmm, oh well, the security in this town is supposed to be the best in the country, I'll trust that and hope I don't regret it, but still, I'll tell Nicole later, just in case.
Overwhelmed by the ever-growing crowd, I change direction to a side street and just walk aimlessly for a while, the fewer people the better.
I can still see a few people here and there, but I finally reach an interesting street, I'm still in the city center, but the area has a more rural feel to it, I think I like it. I was attracted by a certain smell that I picked up after walking for maybe forty minutes, it's, uh, mostly some kind of meat I don't know, garlic, spices... finally I find a small restaurant, or is it a bar? As long as they serve food, it's a restaurant for me.
It's in keeping with the area, a small but cozy wooden building that has clearly seen better days, but is still very well maintained.
'I want to go in... but,' normally I avoid going into small buildings because it makes me feel cramped and I don’t like being surrounded by a lot of people... but it seems rather empty, besides it gives that nice and homely impression, like going to eat at your grandmother's house, not to mention the amazing and unusual smell, mmm, okay, instead of standing here I might as well go in before the place gets crowded.
Ohh... it's much bigger inside, or rather longer, with several wooden tables and chairs on either side of the place, leaving a space in the middle, and further back the typical bar with dozens of bottles on the wall. The yellow lighting is pleasant, even more so as it contrasts with a room of unknown purpose, lit in white by a window at the back, which follows a corridor to the right of the bar.
"Good morning." I say as I arrive at the empty bar.
"I'll be right there!"
I hear some small footsteps and a young lady dressed in a pretty waitress's uniform walks through a door, almost unconsciously my eyes are drawn to her impressive chest, not as big as Nicole's but still a size or two bigger than mine. At first glance, she's an elf, with her long blonde hair in a bun and yellow eyes adorning her cute baby face.
After a quick look, this time more discreetly, I notice that even from the front, she clearly has a nice big ass behind... ‘wait, since when do I look at people's bodies at our first meeting? Don't be weird, Seina.’
"Good morning! Would you like something to eat here or to take away?" She has an erotic body, but her voice, face and expressions are adorable.
"Here's fine, thank you." I stop her as she reaches for a menu. "Excuse me, what animal is the meat you're cooking now?"
This makes her stop for a moment, she looks at me a little surprised, but after looking up, I think she sees my ears and smiles. Unbeknownst to me, I couldn't help but sniff and wag my tail a little from side to side, which the elf thought was cute.
"Hehe, it's Crabsnake! A big guy hunted in Isaac's port city, I've heard that the sea is strange lately and weird things are appearing on the shores, how strange isn't it!? Unfortunately, it's a newly discovered species, so we're still experimenting, but it's delicious! I'll serve you quickly, sit wherever you like! I recommend the spot back there!" She says with a big smile.
"Eh..." She goes back to where she came from without letting me answer. Wow, she just blurted out a bunch of information and left me alone, I guess I've already ordered... wait, if it's a new species, shouldn't it be expensive?
Oh well, I always carry a lot of money with me, I hate it when I go shopping with little money, I end up worrying a lot about whether I will have enough money or not, if not, I wouldn't know what to do.
'Enough of these useless thoughts. The room at the back, huh?' I go there and find a large table with comfortable looking sofas instead of chairs, and just as I thought, the room is lit by a large window that... wow, it has a great view! I hadn't noticed, but we were right on the edge of a high-rise area of the city, and from this window you could see down to a park with a big pond, surrounded of course by a lot of houses, a residential area? It's quiet here, how nice...
I plant my bum on the couch, at the front of the corridor I came from, to have the best view of the city and the restaurant... yes, very comfortable, if a little too soft for my taste. While I'm waiting, I have some thoughts...
A day off, everyone needs a break from time to time, no matter how big or small the burden is, at the academy we have a break on the weekend, I usually work or help out at home on one of those two days, as for the other day, although it is my only day really free of obligations, it has been the most stressful day for me in the last few years.
I am almost desperate for something to do, not because I am a workaholic or someone who is hyperactive, on the contrary, I love to sleep, if I had the money I would never go back to working with strangers, where every time someone comes into the bakery, or whatever job I have had so far, I have to mentally beg them to be a normal customer, not to talk to me, not to flirt with me, not to make jokes that I don't understand and make me fake a smile, not to complain about anything, just choose what you want, pay for it and please leave... but even that is sometimes too much to ask.
Cooking, cleaning the house, gardening, knitting, singing, exercising, going out to explore the city, I even went so far as to accept my classmates' invitation to go out and have fun, although fun was the last thing that I felt that day.
The point is, with nothing to do, I have a bad habit of thinking too much, as the hours go by my mind goes to a darker and darker place, so I decided to keep myself busy, as much as I hate it and just want to sleep all day, I don't trust my own mind to leave me alone.
A year ago, I became so ill that I didn't have the strength to do anything, luckily, I was able to go to the toilet by myself, albeit barely, which saved me a lot of embarrassment. I will always be grateful to my saintly cousin who took time off work to look after me.
----- Flashback -----
This week of illness has given me too much time to think, which has made me realize a lot of things, but the one that has hit me the hardest is the death of Liam, my frien- ‘No, I need to tell it like it is, maybe then I can start to stop thinking of the things that hurt me as insurmountable.’
I loved Liam, even though he was a man and I wasn't attracted to his body, I wanted to spend my whole life with him, live together, get married, have his children, everything, I have no significant memories of my childhood until I met him.
He is still my role model, he did everything, blacksmithing, tailoring, farming, carpentry, he was always easy to get along with, kind and helpful to everyone, a capable and reliable young man who lifted spirits wherever he went. He was also a bit handsome, though I didn't really care about that.
"Sei"
I mean, it's not that I felt repulsion towards his body, but I wasn't attracted to it either, it's like... if you put a dildo on a rock, even if you don't feel attraction towards the rock, you don't dislike it either, it's just a rock, but if you're really horny, you can still crave the pleasure that it can potentially give you, or something like that? ‘Wait, why did my mind go off like that?’
But we didn't do any sexual acts, uh, with physical contact, so I don't really know how I would react.
"Seina"
But no, his death wasn't what made me so depressed, of course it hurt more than anything else, but that was just the trigger, without him my goals, dreams, motivations and in general my desire to move forward were gone. I was never interested in doing anything, I had nothing to achieve, nothing to gain, it's not that I was lazy, but I never found anything to hold on to that gave me strength.
Then I had the understanding that it wasn't his absence that was the problem, it was me, I wasn't alive. Still, I eventually understood that I was in an illusion... as much as my past self denies it, we probably wouldn't have lasted long together if we had dated, I know he liked me too, but even if we had become boyfriend and girlfriend, we were still teenagers, I could have left him to chase a girl or he could have left me for someone more interesting and fun, who knows, I think his death made me see him for what I thought he was and not for what he really was.
"Seina, I'm talking to you, are you okay?"
To be able to stay in the same position for hours on end, with my brain barely functioning. Like the time I tripped and fell on the wet grass, I wanted to get up, but... my mind decided to shut down, decided that staying in that uncomfortable position, feeling the cold grass, the wet earth, concentrating on my now dirty skin and clothes, watching the line of countless ants pass nearby, thinking about how long it would take for the mud on my hands to dry, decided that all that was far more important than anything else I could be doing.
"If you don't get up, I'm going to spank your ass"
But that time doesn't matter now, I've lost the few friends I had, although I never really minded that... maybe, at least I have my family, unfortunately I'm not particularly close to anyone, except Nicole.
I've always wanted to be closer to them, my two older sisters, my younger brother and my parents. But I've also noticed that maybe they don't love me very much, although every time this thought crosses my mind, I dismiss it as one of my pessimistic delusions, but at the same time I have to admit that a part of me does think so, to a certain extent.
"Sein- fine, have it your way." Nicole pulls the blanket off me. I don't even notice.
I should definitely hang out with them more, maybe I'll go back after the academy, at least for a while, or should I find a job first? Even though I don't think they'll demand anything from me, they're probably secretly disappointed in me... even more, aren't they? I hope not, but it would be kind of depressing to come back empty-handed after a long time of supposedly preparing for -
SPANK!!!
"AAAHH! W-what?!", a pain in my butt snaps me out of my thoughts, I turn to see Nicole blowing on her hand with a satisfied and mocking look, hey...
"Hehe~"
"Why did you do that!?"
"I couldn't think of a funnie- I mean, more effective way to get you to react." You're not fooling anyone.
"Were you going to say funnier?"
"No?"
"... You could have called me-“
"I have called you many times." She interrupts.
"..."
I look down at my bottom, there's already a red mark on my left cheek in the shape of her hand, damn, she hit right where my underwear doesn't cover, I guess it's my fault for getting too comfortable at home... she follows my gaze.
"Heh, at least you seem to be feeling better already," she says, not taking her eyes off my butt with a proud smile, I sit up quickly before answering.
"I-I think so, please just shake my shoulder or something next time"
"I'll try"
"Do it"
"Do you want to eat here or can you go to the kitchen?" She gets her usual lazy expression when she asks me, looks like she's had enough fun.
I still feel awful, but my body isn't so tired
"I'll go"
I move my arms a little, they're heavy, but at least this time I'm strong enough to lift them above my head.
"Good, also... come sleep with me for a while," she says, wiping away a few small tears I didn't know I had.
----- End of Flashback -----
I think I remembered more details than I needed to, my butt clenches a little in agreement. Anyway, not much has changed since then... but at least I'm sure I'm finally getting better, even my most pessimistic thoughts are now accompanied by little positive notes, I have a dream, small, but a dream nonetheless, the desire to get closer to my family and, maybe, make more friends, how about the cute waitress? ...nah, I don't have much interesting things to talk about with her, I'll just make her bored... 'NO! Don't fall for that again, you know what? I'll try to talk to her, about anything.'
'Oh~? That smells good', I smell... garlic, tomato, pepper and other spices, various cheeses, that strange but appetizing meat and... onion? I don't like onions very much, but depending on the dish, I can even enjoy it. I hear a door open and a few seconds later I see the elven waitress coming towards me with a tray containing a plate of lasagna, a bottle of almost transparent wine and a glass.
"Thank you for waiting! Crabsnake lasagna and white wine recommended! I'd love that- oh?" I raise my hand slightly to interrupt her, normally I'd be too shy to do that, and I've done things I don't like more times than I care to admit for not upsetting someone, stupid of me. But with food it's different, I don't hold anything back.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I don't like the smell of ethanol very much, something else with less of a smell would be much better, please." I say shamelessly, pointing to my ears as I shake them a little.
"Oh... right! Foxes have a good nose, I'm so sorry! I didn't think of that, ok then, would some juice be okay?" This woman wears her emotions on her sleeve, her face is too expressive... but so is mine, from what I've been told.
"Yes, thank you very much"
Good! Let's get started~, it looks wonderful, the little pieces of meat look similar to crab meat, but they smell different, come to think of it, I've only eaten regular meat and some fish... there must be many amazing ingredients out there that I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet, oh well, I'll take the cutlery for now, thanks for the food!
"haam... nom~ nom~"
The texture is soft but not too soft, the filling is good, the ragout has a strong and delicious but not too dominant flavor, it combines well, as a good lasagna should, the combination of several recipes.
I'd add a bit of spice to it, but it's amazing! love it!
And they achieved this by experimenting? I'll definitely be back to try something else, should I bring Nicole?
Unfortunately, a few minutes after I started eating, I hear the sound of breaking glass.
"You better do what I say!"
Eh... sounds annoying, well, I guess I should-
"AHH what are you doing!" I get up and walk over, I see... someone I know unfortunately, Lance, he's a noble who studies at the Academy, in one of the other groups in my year. Despite having many of the vices and addictions imaginable, he has a huge and surprisingly muscular body, which makes it hard to push him out of the way, even at the Academy, where equality is supposed to be respected. I have never really cared about his family, other than to know that his father is a middle-ranking noble.
As I walk towards the main hall of the restaurant, I'm listening.
"You remember our deal, don't you? I'd keep those ruffians away as long as you and your sister agreed to be my servants." He says in the typical condescending tone of many nobles, ugh.
"Our deal? We never agreed to such a thing!"
"Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant, it's already decided, so get on with it already!"
"We're not going anywhere with you!"
"This is your response to my generosity!? After I've been helping you to get rid of the pests?"
"Those guys were clearly following your orders. You're doing us no favors!" I see the huge guy pushing the cute elf waitress against the wall, and a mess of lemon juice and broken glass ruining the nice wooden floor.
SLAP!
"AAGH!"
I flinch a little, "That's no way to talk to your master, b*tch!" Lance just slapped her, as many men enter the place, eh...
"Y-you don't- ah!" Lance's muscular arm forcefully pulls off the elf's uniform skirt, exposing her sexy plump legs and nice blue brief-type panties, oh, wow, her ass is even bigger than Nicol- 'stop being so slow and be on your guard! This is no time to admire the view.'
As if to confirm my thoughts, eleven of the people who have come in start smashing tables and chairs.
"Hey bastard, get off me!"
While the twelfth drags another woman by the arm from the room next to the bar, which I assume is the kitchen, at the same time as one of the guys jumps behind the bar and starts throwing bottles at the floor.
'Aaaah! So many things happening at once! Where do I start?! It doesn't matter where, just hit something fast!'
I move quickly and punch the idiot closest to me, who happens to be Lance, maybe because of my slight panic I didn't think much about my action, I just jumped up to get closer to his face and threw a punch right at his mouth... 'No, I'm more likely to hurt myself, hands are fragile, and his hard teeth must have a lot of infections, quick, hit somewhere else!'
But because my fist was already about to collide, I only managed to tilt it down a little... I hit his throat and, judging by the sound, apparently broke his windpipe... ouch.