Chapter 2 – Home of the stuffed animals

It opened and we went through a fog that obscured the interior. It was a tunnel 5 meters long and 3 meters wide, the walls and ceiling were made up of plates, ending in an arch; The floor inside was still covered in snow.

At the end of it, another fog prevented us from seeing the outside. As I crossed, a light blinded me; my feet warmed up and I regained my vision.

The season was opposite, it was spring and I was surrounded by high mountains. A dirt road went down a meadow that led to a rustic two-story house; every certain distance, the sides of the road were decorated with apple trees. Behind the house there was a pristine lake.

Looking back, the mist was positioned between two apple trees and, behind, there was a forest between mountains.

The air was pure, I didn't feel dead. I looked at my hands, then at the sky and into the distance; it was not isolated by plates, and clouds floated across the beautiful blue sky.

I stopped to contemplate, but my goddess didn't stop.

"Don't stop," she ordered me when she realized; I followed she a few meters away.

"I don't want to be annoying, but is this another universe?"

"Yeah; stuffed animals with powers."

There were no signs of stuffed animals, and a yellow bird flew through the air.

"Is that a bird with four wings? Didn't only intelligent life reincarnate?" I curious.

"Ask Nugu… when we get there." She skipped the explanation out of laziness.

I did not ask she who she was referring to, but I deduced that he was the god of these domains. Having that name, I imagined he would be a living stuffed animal.

We were closer; It had several windows, but I couldn't see the inside. The entrance had a porch with wooden railings, adorned with hanging pots of white flowers.

Upon arriving, my goddess rang the bell next to the door; There was a lantern on it.

…I never imagined visiting a god in his own home.

The door was made of good quality wooden planks and, on one side, a reflective glass window: I had light brown hair, short and straight, and black eyes. I didn't see anything strange, or scars.

I wondered why she was so agitated, I wasn't ugly enough to be scared. I didn't even ask for her name, I didn't care either.

"W-Who is it?" A girl asked on the other side, she sounded scared as if some assailants were going to ambush her. I assimilated that it would be Nugu.

"It's me…"

"Chi!" She said happily and, without delay, opened it wide.

…Nugu, you can't trust someone who says a simple "It's me."

It was a girl of about ten years old who was holding, in her left hand, a stuffed white long-eared hedgehog.

"I didn't think you'd come back so quickly!" —She exclaimed smiling, rushing towards her; at first she seemed outgoing.

Now I knew the name of my goddess who, expressionless, stroked the girl's hair.

When I looked closely, it had cat ears and a tail: there was no trace of human ears.

Her wavy, well-groomed hair fell to her shoulder, her bangs did not cover her eyes; both his hair, ears and tail were striking and peculiar: the right half of she was brown and the left half red; and her eyes were light blue.

She was wearing a white short-sleeved blouse, a high-waisted tan skirt with straps, and long white and brown striped stockings that matched her tiny boots.

In my world she would be considered the cutest girl ever. She reached up to Chi's navel; if she was hugging me, it would be considered a crime.

"If you are here… Does that mean that you leave your first soul in my care!? I promise to take good care of him!" she exalted with radiant eyes that were difficult to reject.

It felt like they treated me like a pet.

On the other hand, I had nothing to comment, nor did I want to interrupt. I was looking forward to starting an interesting life, or one without the presence of humans.

"Wait, Nugu. He just wants to find out."

"Eh!…" She separated and lowered his head sadly.

"Convincing him is our job… right? I'll give it to you," she reminded her, stroking his head.

"Yes, trust me! Chi," she was happy and shook her tail with happiness.

It seemed easy to manipulate, although its title should not be forgotten.

"I have to go… I have chores…"

Hearing it, she became sad.

…Sounds like a cheap excuse…

"Good luck, come back whenever you feel alone!"

Chi turned and left, stopping several times to wave goodbye, and each time she left, Nugu lowered his tail sadly. Suddenly, she became nervous when she was alone:

"Fol-me!" She ordered awkwardly, but I understood that she meant: "Follow me!" I did so and saw that behind her skirt there was a pocket with a bulging rectangular object.

The interior was clean and sparse of furniture, which made mobility easier. The walls were white and the floor was elegant refined wood.

To the right of the entrance was a dining room; to the left, a living room with devices that I did not identify; in front, there was a staircase to the right with a hallway next to it and a door to its left; to finish, in the background, a kitchen.

The windows were open, adorned with white curtains that swayed in the breeze.

On some furniture and on the window ledge, there were pots with the same flowers from the porch. On the dining table and shelves, white stuffed animals decorated the rooms.

It was a relaxing landscape that I liked in which you could breathe well, but it conveyed loneliness.

She walked to the stairs and we ascended them.

"You live alone?"

"Y-Yes…" she responded late as if his life was at stake.

Going up, there was a hallway with four doors: two on each side and a window at the back.

"Then I'll eat you!" I joked to break the ice.

"Ah!!!" She turned to me and fell in fear, she closed her eyes, hugging the hedgehog tightly.

"Just kidding."

"D-Don't do it again, human!"

I was shocked: his words grated on me; but I immediately recovered.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to have fun, because I'm human," I stressed, annoyed.

"Having fun?" she repeated angrily.

I forced a smile to calm her and offered my hand to help. She rejected it and stood up for herself.

…Was it that bad?…

We went to the back door on the right; she opened it, we went through and she closed it.

It was his room, full of various stuffed animals: from terrestrial to aquatic animals. The walls were pink: it gave the real feeling of being a girl's room.

She grabbed the desk chair and placed it in front of the bed:

"Sit there," she ordered, pointing to the bed.

"No."

"Eh!!?" She was scared again by the sudden rejection, thinking that I was planning something.

"I prefer that you be so that you can get comfortable."

"Ah! T-Thank you!… I didn't expect that from you…" she thanked happily, sitting us down.

"Do you mean by my soul? They tell me that a lot. You can't judge a novel by the color of the cover."

"T-That can't be, Chi never transferred a soul! No one could tell you that many times!"

"I was kidding, you take everything very seriously."

"I-I'm sorry…" She sighed.

She was exhausted from being teased, and immediately opened her eyes wide as if she had thought: why am I the one apologizing?

I caressed she head like my goddess did to gain her trust. As with Chi, she regained her spirits by happily wagging her tail.

It was addictive, his fur and ears were fluffy and soft. I couldn't stop, it was like petting a cat until she was satisfied.

Without rhyme or reason, she shuddered, making gentle meows.

…Will that be comparable to a purr?

I had to stop, the situation made me uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to cheer you up…"

It was a relief that there were no police, they would have arrested me even if it was accidental.

"It's okay… It feels too good… when they do it…"

…But with Chi you didn't get to that point of being exhausted!!

"Now that I look, you're also barefoot! You do not have cold?" She asked when caught her breath.

"Yes, when she gave me a body, I showed up with this."

"After all, it's her first time, she's not good at creating clothes. Although why wouldn't I try?"

…So there are gods without talent?

She closed his eyes and hugged the stuffed animal. Out of nowhere, some brown socks and boots appeared.

"Use them, you will be more comfortable."

"Thank you." I thanked she by stroking her head, but this time for a few seconds.

"Why doesn't Chi use it?" I asked in the face of uncertainty.

"She says it's more comfortable for she, although it hurts me just to see her."

I remembered the pending questions:

"Why are…?" Someone interrupted me opening the door.