Chapter 30 - Burgers and cuddles

"Purrr… Purrr…"

The slight trembling of Fay's sleeping murmuring served as the perfect white noise to help me sleep. The vibration of her voice was just strong enough to transmit over to my body, making me feel as if it was just a cat happily sleeping in my embrace…

But it was no cat. It was a fox-girl.

This distinction was quite obvious to me. But not so much for Fay herself, given how she cuddled herself into a ball covered with her long, lush hair… and then snuggled up to my chest, causing her mouth to utter her purring directly into my chest, right at the height of my heart.

'I do recall hearing about cat's purring being actually therapeutic,' I thought, struggling to keep my thoughts clear with such an otherworldly beauty snuggled up to my chest.

I peeled my eyes away from the lovely shape bulging below the thin cover of the sheets we were sharing. And with how risky it would be for me to look anywhere near the bed, I directed my eyes to the soothing uniformness of the concrete roof.

'It's been all nice and fun, but I shouldn't get too relaxed,' I thought before heaving a deep sigh.

For now, I could easily entertain Fay with the money I got from the mob. But rather than a gift or simple exchange of goods, this money was actually an investment.

And with how the local mob was the only barrier that currently shielded me from all those who bullied me in the past and would like to bully me in the future… I couldn't take this relationship lightly.

'I will have to find something they would be extremely interested in. Something they could make insane money from…'

Just this thought alone was enough to create a picture of what exactly could fill these simple criteria.

Something relatively small that could be sold for a lot of money, not because of the singular use of the item but due to what one could do with it by ramping up the scale of sales.

And as much as I detested the thought, the answer to my question was simple.

'Am I going to find some funny herbs on the other side and bring them here?' I thought, gritting my teeth at the mere thought of doing something like this. 'I guess I could try to sell them some more coins from the bag that Big Fox gave me… But how long would they last me? And how long will it take before those mobsters start asking questions I can't really answer?'

As great of an idea as I initially believed this coin business to be… It was not sustainable in the long run. And once the coins I've got on my hand right now were to run out… How many more of them could I find in that forest?

"Things would be a lot easier if I could find a human settlement in that world," I muttered to myself.

If only I could trade with humans, the problem of shortage of coins would be solved. And with nearly free access to the goods only a modern world could produce, I was sure I could easily obtain a small fortune just by selling random sundries.

'Still, can I actually find a human settlement? And what's even more important, will I be able to bring Fay in there?'

Diving deep into my thoughts, I failed to notice when Fay woke up. And by the time I did, she moved on from just cuddling up to my chest to actually holding her hands behind my throat as she pulled herself into a deep hug.

"Peter, good morning," she muttered in a lovely, sleepy voice while rubbing her cheek against my own.

"Good morning, Fay," I replied with a soft smile, already melting under the influence of Fay's adorableness.

Normally, that kind of interaction alone would be more than enough to fill me with happiness. But Fay clearly didn't get her dose of teasing the shit out of me. And so, Fay slipped out from under the sheets, only to then stretch her body, giving me a show of how lovely her curves were. And as she relaxed and sat down, I was subjected to the terror of her curious gaze.

"Peter, worried. What about?" Fay asked while clearly making it her goal to give me a heart attack as she leaned her head over her shoulder and gave me a small, affectionate smile.

"I'm trying to figure out how to… How to make things more fun for you," I replied after taking some time to figure out the best possible answer. And while I had a whole lot to say about the necessary steps to take to let Fay enjoy this world even more…

This topic wasn't something I wanted to tackle unprepared.

'She will need to learn how to act around other people without revealing too much about herself, especially with how she's bound to attract a whole lot of attention the second she shows herself to the world.'

This was the one thing that I was worried the most about when it came to Fay. That her beauty would attract attention would, in turn, lead to some people learning about some of Fay's secrets.

And that meant, if I wanted Fay to truly enjoy the modern world, I either had to come up with some believable story that would explain her antics… Or turn her into a modern person herself!

"Fay's ready!" she said with such an utmost doze of honest confidence, that I could only comment on it with a smile.

  "Are you ready to spend hours upon hours studying how humans act and behave in this world?" I asked, already picturing the mountains of books I could throw at her, only to wait a short while before she would seek my company to stave off her boredom.

"Fay's ready!" she replied in an instant. Her hesitation only came later when she realized the potential weight of my words. Fay lowered her head and looked up, allowing me to realize just how powerful those upturned eyes of hers were. "Will… Will Peter groom Fay and feed Fay burgers?"

I closed my eyes and, with a small, coping smile stuck in my mouth, I took a deep breath.

I made some serious progress, given how I survived Fay's surprise attack without clutching my hand at my chest.

"I will feed you all the burgers you want," I laughed a little, unable to handle all the adorableness Fay was showering me with. Then, without giving it a second thought, I reached out and caressed her cheek. "And I will groom you as many times as you desire."