After a long series of events, we finally returned to the inn, but the situation was a disaster.

One side of the inn had been reduced to rubble, looking like neatly cut fruit cubes, all thanks to the havoc wreaked by the Reaper. To make matters worse, it was a stormy night, turning the place into a complete mess.

The innkeeper, a rhino beastman, sat on the floor in disbelief, having been awoken by the commotion.

As soon as he saw me enter the inn, his eyes locked onto mine. He stomped towards me, his horn lowered in a threatening manner, demanding I pay for the damage, claiming it was all my fault.

“This is unfair.”

If my slave had caused the damage, I would, of course, take responsibility. That’s the master’s duty.

But Mirabel wasn’t my slave anymore, was she? He should take this up with Mirabel or her guardian, Naredi, not with me.

Moreover, the innkeeper didn’t even know about the Reaper's involvement. He couldn’t put all the blame on me.

I had a pretty good idea of what was going on.

“Discrimination against humans, plain and simple.”

He had been like that from the start, displeased by my human status and Rin’s red fox beastfolk heritage, only allowing us to stay because I’d paid him enough to keep quiet.

Now that there was monetary damage, he wanted to pin the blame on me.

Of course, he had no interest in hearing my side of the story. Just as I resigned myself to paying for the repairs, Seyra intervened.

“I’m Seyra, the team leader of the Immigration Department. For today’s incident, you can receive financial assistance from the Disaster Management Office. I suggest you visit them after sunrise. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“Well, if Seyra says so…”

Reluctantly, the rhino beastman backed down.

Thanks to her, I avoided the financial loss, but staying in the destroyed inn was impossible. We needed to find shelter from the rain.

It was hard enough to find an inn that would accept a pink fox like Rin, and wandering around in the storm wasn’t an option.

“For now, why don’t you come to my house?”

Once again, it was Seyra who offered a helping hand.

“I appreciate it, but are you sure?”

“If there’s a problem, I’ll just send you the bill. Honestly, I don’t think this is the time for you to be worrying about my situation.”

Seyra glanced at Rin, who was shivering in my arms.

Even though I had covered her with a coat, Rin was still trembling. She was already soaked from the rain, and her wounds needed treating again.

There was no room for hesitation.

“I’ll gladly accept your offer, then.”

 

Seyra’s house was located on the outskirts of the city. It took quite a bit of walking to get there.

It was a modest two-story house. The furniture inside was sparse, and if anything stood out, it was the mess. The place was closer to a pigsty than a wolf’s den.

A person’s inner world is often reflected in their living space. By looking at how someone maintains their home, you can learn a lot about them. From this, it was clear that Seyra was lazy.

“I’ve been too busy to clean. It’s your fault I’ve been pulling all-nighters lately.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Seyra hurriedly tried to explain, tossing items aside and kicking things into less visible corners.

On the surface, the house looked tidier. I lit a fire in the fireplace and laid Rin down nearby.

First, I wiped her down. Using a towel, I carefully dried the wet spots on her body and gently wrung out her soaked tail fur.

“She’s surprisingly docile.”

Even though I hadn’t given any commands, Rin didn’t resist. She simply stared quietly at my hands. Well, after all the running she’d done, she probably didn’t have the energy to fight back.

It made things easier for me. After applying medicine to her wounds and wrapping them in bandages, the emergency treatment was complete.

“I need to report the situation to my superiors. Feel free to use the house, just don’t go upstairs.”

“Thank you.”

With Seyra’s permission, I searched through the house for useful items. I gathered several dry blankets and laid them on the floor, creating a soft bed for Rin. Then I covered her with a thick blanket.

After taking care of Rin, I lay down on the sofa to catch my breath. I had something to think about.

“That thing earlier…”

It was Mirabel’s Reaper, no doubt about it.

But why had it appeared here?

Reapers could travel freely. I’d seen them zip between cities in an instant when they came to exact Harold’s revenge.

The fact that a Reaper had shown up in Bestia…

“Is it here for revenge against me?”

It must be seeking retribution for how I’d treated her as a slave.

Sure, I might’ve hugged her, poked her belly, squeezed her cheeks, and maybe sniffed her hair once or twice!

But still, sending a Reaper to kill me? That’s overkill!

What if something had happened to Rin? If we hadn’t escaped in the dead of night... just thinking about it sent chills down my spine.

Turning kindness into revenge… Some people are just hopeless. I won’t let that happen to Rin.

“Yawn…”

A deep yawn escaped me. All that running after waking up had worn me out.

As much as I wanted to sleep, tonight wasn’t the night for that. The Reaper might return.

Just for tonight, I had to stay awake.

 

Tic, tic.

The sound of crackling embers filled the quiet living room. Time passed, and eventually, Rin poked her head out from under the blankets.

Having run around all night, Karamir’s resolution not to sleep had succumbed to drowsiness, and he was now snoring softly on the sofa.

Rin glanced at the bandages wrapped around her body and the blankets covering her. She then turned her gaze back to Karamir.

“...”

Quietly, Rin got up. She tiptoed over to the sofa on all fours, then hopped up.

She stared at Karamir’s sleeping face from up close. There was a small scratch on his cheek, probably from rolling over while trying to catch her.

Rin licked the scratch, covering his face with saliva, before pulling her tongue back.

Then, she settled on Karamir’s stomach, curling her body into a ball.

Sniff, sniff. She smelled the air. The fresh scent of the forest lingered, but underneath it, Karamir’s scent was calming, comforting.

Rin buried her head deeper into his chest and soon closed her eyes.

 

“Ah!”

Karamir’s eyes snapped open. Realizing he had fallen asleep, he immediately jolted upright.

He had sworn not to sleep tonight, yet here he was, waking up with sunlight streaming in through the windows.

Frantically, Karamir checked to see if Rin was okay. Thankfully, the house was in the same state as last night, but Rin was nowhere to be seen near the fireplace.

“Did she run away?”

He hadn’t placed any binding spells on her, nor had he chained her. He hadn’t expected to fall asleep, and it wasn’t feasible to find chains in the middle of the night.

Now wasn’t the time to hesitate.

He needed to find Rin as soon as possible. With the help of the catfolk scattered around the city, it shouldn’t be hard to locate her pink fur.

“Are you awake?”

“Seyra?”

Seyra walked out of the kitchen, holding a steaming mug of coffee. She was still in the same office clothes as yesterday, with dark circles under her eyes.

She looked like she had pulled an all-nighter.

“When did you get back?”

“Not too long ago. Why do you seem so flustered?”

“Rin is gone.”

Seyra took a sip of her coffee, her expression remaining unchanged. She licked her lips, then spoke calmly.

“What’s that on top of you, then?”

“Huh?”

Only after Seyra pointed it out did Karamir glance down. There, curled up on his stomach, was Rin, sleeping soundly like a small fox cub.

Realizing Rin was there, Karamir became acutely aware of the tiny weight on his body.

“Why is she here…?”

Even when invited onto the bed, Rin had stubbornly stuck to the hard floor, wary of humans. Karamir had never forced her to move.

Now, she had climbed onto his stomach of her own accord. It was ironic.

“Looks like she’s had a change of heart.”

A change of heart.

Karamir pondered Seyra’s words as he looked at Rin.

Maybe all the food he’d given her was finally paying off. Perhaps his [Generous Master] skill had worked its magic. He stroked her head gently, careful not to wake her.

“There’s something more important we need to talk about. It’s about the Reaper.”

“Did something happen elsewhere?”

“Yes. I thought it left quietly, but it caused quite a bit of chaos. And… there’s something strange about its target.”

Something strange? Karamir remained silent, waiting for Seyra to explain further. She shared the information she had gathered during the night.

“The ones attacked were all street catfolk.”

“Street catfolk…?”

Seyra nodded, confirming Karamir’s suspicion.

“All of them had slave contracts with you. Fortunately, no one was killed.”

“No one was killed?”

“According to witnesses, they were struck down by the Reaper’s scythe but got up shortly after, completely unscathed. They didn’t even experience any aftereffects. But…”

Seyra trailed off.

“Why do you look like that?”

Karamir’s expression was strange, his eyes wide with shock, as if he had just seen a ghost.

Seyra hadn’t known him long, but this was the first time she had seen him so startled.

“You…?”

Karamir didn’t respond, staring blankly into space. Even calling his name didn’t snap him out of it, leaving Seyra feeling uneasy.

Karamir wasn’t looking at the air. No, something else was occupying his vision—something only he could see.

A system window.

It floated before his eyes.

[Free all of your main slaves. Current count: 2/5]

[Free all of your main slaves. Current count: 1/5]