Yet again my gaze wandered towards the man sitting on the other side of the table. I had long finished eating, Ofris, however, seemed to fight with every single bite he took. It was obvious something was on his mind, which was me, the weird foxgirl sitting right in front of him.
I didn't even dare to break the silence that had spread between us. This situation was far too awkward for me to handle. I would never have thought there would be a day I would cry myself to sleep while being carried in another guy's arms or even worse, waking up in the same guy's bed the next morning.
«I feel like I lost something important back then ...»
The vixen had been silent since yesterday. There was just this single line saying 「I'm sorry.」 followed by nothing: no jokes, no tricks, no insults and no interjections.
«I'm finally free ...»
"I didn't touch you, don't worry."
«You kissed me!»
I wouldn't let him get away with that. He kissed me! A man kisses me!
"I had a weird dream ..." I began my attack.
"A dream?"
"Somebody kissed me. When I woke up it felt like it really happened."
Ofris expression revealed that I was right. He was already getting anxious.
"Who was it that you dreamed of?"
"It was you."
"M- me!?"
«Wait- what did I just say?!»
"I didn't dream of you! Don't get any weird ideas!"
"Ehm-"
"I don't love you!"
"You gave me a wrong idea then, thinking about how you were behaving yesterday."
"I only knew you for hours! Why would I love you!?"
«What is this- WHY IS MY FACE FEELING HOT?! FUCK! He will totally get the wrong idea!!»
"I must have been mistaken, then."
"I just wanted to know why you kissed me!" It slipped my lips before I could even think about it. "It was my first kiss! I had my first kiss with a man! Do you know what that feels like!?"
Ofris was completely astonished. "But it only was your hand!?"
"What?"
"I only kissed your hand! I'm sorry about that, ok? You just looked so lonely and unprotected, I couldn't resist!"
"But-"
"I just wanted to be there for you! I never touched your lips! It was only a dream!"
I instantly became petrified. Under Ofris gaze, my cheeks were getting hotter and hotter while I desperately struggled to regain my calm.
«I gave him the wrong idea! I totally gave him the wrong idea! He will think I had a wet dream about him or something!»
"We- we should leave it at that." Ofris decided after what felt like half an eternity.
I somehow managed to stammer a weak answer: "That- yes ..."
"Have you decided what you will do from now on?"
"I don't know ..."
"You are free to do whatever you want," he explained. "You aren't listed as a slave. They checked the books and did not find a single word written about you."
"You should have believed me in the first place."
"Sorry about that, but we would have taken you with us in any case. And knowing about your abilities, we made the best decision possible."
"What are your attributes?" I heard myself ask.
"I don't know. The last time I had them checked was five or six years ago. Back then, all of them had been two-hundred and four-hundred."
"F- four-hundred?!"
"If that were intelligence, I would barely be able to become a magician."
"What is her intelligence?" I asked after some hesitation.
"Her?"
"The elven woman."
Ofris could only shrug his shoulders: "It should be around one thousand two hundred, maybe less."
"It's above a thousand!?"
"You shouldn't try to compare yourself to her."
"... I understand."
"Back to the topic: What will you do from now on? Where is your family?"
I felt my expression change and my eyes starting to burn. What could I even say to him? I would probably never see them again, neither my mother nor my father or Mira. They had even buried me, thinking I had ended up killing myself in the filthiest way possible.
"I can't return to them ..."
Ofris hesitated before asking: "Did they try to marry you off?"
"How did you get that idea!?"
"You seem uncomfortable around men."
"That has nothing to do it."
"Then what is it that you ran away from?"
"Ran away from?"
"You were in the midst of nothing with only a pretty dress on you," he explained. "You had no weapon, no backpack and neither food nor water. What is it that made you run away without preparing at least a bit of water?"
My answer was barely louder than a breath: "I died ..."
"You- what?"
"It's nothing," I answered weakly. "I just woke up there. I don't remember anything that happened before that."
"You lost your memory?"
His question made me hesitate, but I couldn't find another way but to lie to him. What could I tell him in the first place?
"Yes ..." I weakly replied.
«Sorry, pal, but I don't think you would believe me even if I told you ...»
The expression on Ofris's face changed immediately. He seemed hopeless and gloomy, almost as if it was his own fate we were talking about.
"That- I am sorry to hear that."
"It isn't your fault ..."
"Don't worry, we will work something out."
"Thank you, Ofris ..."
⊱————- Extra ————-⊰
Rika: Hey! Vixen?!
Rika: Vixen! Come here! Be pervy or something!
Rika: Are are a dog! The goddess of dogs!
???: ...
Rika: There you are!
???: Just a little longer...
Rika: You are sleeping!?