“S-seriously?” I asked, looking over at the bunny with amazement.
I had been warned that there were some issues between animalkin and the foxkin variants, but that was something that happened in Dioshin. As for the city of Chalm, which thought of itself as a place that benevolently protected slaves, I was a bit taken aback by this sudden proclamation. I felt a tug on my shirt and looked back to see Miki there with her head lowered.
“It’s okay, Master… I’ll just sleep outside.” She spoke, her voice just a bit shaky.
I gritted my teeth and stood up, putting my hands on the table. “No, if you’re not welcome here, neither am I.”
Miki looked up at me, her fox ears slightly lifting hopefully and her tail wagging just a bit. She wasn’t healthy enough to be sleeping outdoors. What were we going to do?
At that moment, the door was pushed open and the Guild Master walked in. “Deek, I just heard.”
I blinked. “Heard that Chalm is full of prejudiced people?”
The Guild Master looked like he had been slapped, while a couple of others had ugly expressions on their faces. The bunnykin girl was biting her lip, looking back at me with a strangely regretful expression.
“Just bear with us a moment.” The Guild Master bowed, showing me a bit of respect.
The Guild Master walked forward and grabbed the bunnykin girl’s arm, whispering some words into her ear. The two argued back and forth in hushed whispers while I remained standing, my arms folded in front of me, and a displeased expression I couldn’t take off my face. In truth, I had seen Chalm as better than this, so for them to show prejudice against this foxgirl, it really did make me feel sad, angry, and just a bit disappointed.
“Fine.” The bunnykin girl finally said, shooting us one last look and then turning away with a huff.
It was the Guild Master who approached me, lifting his arms with a complicated smile on his face. “Deek, please, sit for a bit. I’ve resolved the issue for now.”
“I doubt that, since she hasn’t apologized,” I said.
The Guild Master winced. “We deserved that. I will apologize in her place. I’m sorry. After hearing you were seen in town with a sickly foxkin, I came immediately. I knew there would be trouble.”
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“What is this about?” I demanded, still feeling anger, even with his apology.
“I’m sure you’ve probably heard. Foxkin variants have a tie to the spiritual world. Other animalkin have a sensitivity to it. They can pick up on the otherworldly aura. I reckon this foxkin has a really strong one. They fear it instinctively, and over the course of time, it became a cultural norm to keep spirit foxes away. They call them bad omens which only bring disaster.”
The foxkin nodded sadly. “My own parents left me. You saw how Lydia was looking at me. She clearly hates me.”
“She doesn’t…” I wanted to say that, but I didn’t really know.
Lydia had been acting a bit weird since I had brought Miki back to life. It was very possible she was feeling this unease just like everyone else. I felt bad about it. There had to be some kind of magical item or ability that would allow me to diminish the effect for her. I’d start looking for something tomorrow.
“What about our stay?” I asked.
“I’ve… convinced her to let the foxgirl stay with you for now. She’s close with that bunnykin that went into the dungeon with us. He’s alive because of you, and she feels she owes you this much. As long as you take responsibility for the foxgirl and don’t flaunt her in public too much, things should be fine. I’m human, so I couldn’t begin to understand how animalkin feel on this issue. However, I hope that perhaps with your friend here, I can finally change the town’s mind on foxkin. Up until now, foxkin are the one type of slave we’ve never freed.”
“But Figuro brought her here hoping to sell her to you.”
The Guild Master sighed. “That guy always has been a bit of an optimist. He may seem like a shrewd guy who is only concerned about money, but as far as slavers go, he really does want the best for his slaves. He won’t sell to nobles who would treat their slaves bad, but he’ll quickly buy from them, even if he takes a loss. He’s that kind of guy.”
The door opened and Lydia came walking in humming to herself. In her arms were several bundles of supplies. When her eyes fell on the three of us, she cocked her head in confusion.
“Master?”
“I’m going to return to the Guild Hall. If anything comes up, send for me immediately.” The Guild Master explained. “Oh, and I’ll stop by the bathhouse on the way and make sure you don’t experience further problems.”
“A bathhouse?” I didn’t even know that was a thing!
The last few nights, we had been taking sponge baths. They gave us a hot bucket of water every night. However, it looked like this world had something called a bathhouse I hadn’t even been aware of.
“M-master…” Lydia suddenly said. “Can we go to the bathhouse?”
Apparently, she had a similar mind as me. “Yes, since Miki is still ashy from her death, it’d be a good idea if we all cleaned up tonight.”
“Master…” Miki, whose mischievousness had been muted since the incident, looked up at me through her lashes. “I am too weak. Master will have to bathe me.”
The packs in Lydia’s arms fell to the gerund. She leapt forward and put her hands on the table.
“M-master will also have to bathe me too!”
Instead of offering to bathe Miki herself, she went the opposite direction, it seemed.