Chapter 5- Foxendom Outskirts

Two people were moving fast through a forest filled with tall and thick-trunked trees on the outskirts of the kingdom, trying not to stumble on the roots covered with moss.

The sky in the east had already started to brighten, and little patches of sunlight were seeping through the foliage.

I was dragged over her shoulder like a rice bag, and a series of my heartbeats were mixed in since this embarrassed me a lot.

Hold on to yourself, hold on to yourself.

We were on the main highway towards the gate of the kingdom, the home of the foxes.

In this world that I was dropped into, I was given the body of a special kind of fox, and as I went about in a dizzy, I somehow wound up being carried by this fox woman.

Yet, I had not even an ounce of regret for my actions. It's only natural for a person to get carried away in the tense of danger in this world.

Probably.

She stopped running, squatted, and let me down.

"Urgh. My legs felt numbed... Wait ",

"She turned around and whispered in my right ear.

My apologies, Fox Lady. Your legs are healed, aren't they? "

"!!!"

Now I remember that moment, a few seconds ago, that cracking sound I felt.

"Y-you, you're making me disabled! How violent! "

"Hm..."

She cast her eyes downward, as if there was nothing wrong.

"Seems you walk properly well, young fox lady. Let's go before it's too late. "

This woman walking in front of me said she was a silver fox. She had smooth porcelain skin and hard, long silvery hair, and her ears were shorter than those of normal foxes we encountered on the way. Her tall frame was wrapped in a kind of Japanese-style clothing over somber clothes, and her limbs overflowed with enough appeal to attract the eyes of any man or woman.

Her name was Arxes Fracess. She was one of this kingdom's warriors, which was the capital of the Foxendom. A thin sword hung at her waist, and she also possessed a powerful physique and more speed than I could imagine.

Perhaps the process inside my brain halted out of fear that, from my viewpoint, time was speeding up.

Who knows?

All of a sudden, Arxes stopped and focused her brilliant golden eyes on me.

Somehow, she seemed to have noticed my quietness.

I'm quite amazed at how I'm adept at making less than zero noise since that heavenly girl grew up in such an environment.

As I said, the body I got when I came to this world was the same one as that girl's constitution, but mysteriously not.

My whole body was covered in detailed black, full of pink-red flowers, intricate on each square section and at accurate intervals that wouldn't be unusual for a common fox citizen to wear.

But how did she get this clothing out in the secluded woods?

I feel stupid for wearing a lame cosplay.

While thinking about such things, Arxes raised her voice.

"Soon we'll reach the majestic rivers. Once we reach the major one, we'll take a break. Afterward, our destination will be only a few walks upstream. "

When Arxes turned around to inform me, I was able to see the tall cliff that overlooked the riverbed that I had passed by before.

Seems like a better natural defense against invasions, huh?

As the wide river came into view, the tree line receded and the surroundings became brighter.

The daylight was getting weaker, with the sun concealing the huge forest kingdom as it sunk, and the level of sunlight that penetrated the foliage was gradually decreasing.

Not to mention these towering, huge trees that minimize the sun's heat, making the surroundings cooler, and wooden houses installed at high altitudes and bridges for interconnections.

It was as if these trees served them, and the construction of these houses was natural.

Even more mysterious is the abundance of fruits and vegetables everywhere, which are mostly unknown to me. I want to grab one but...

While Arxes had found her place to sit and rest, I lowered my whole being on a suitable rock and placed leaf cushions.

We reached the foxendom domain but not the actual kingdom, she said.

Even on the outskirts, it truly was a pleasant and lively place for ordinary fox folks.

Perhaps only the higher stratum of fox society lives inside the kingdom?

All the foxes I saw differed only in hair color and the number of tails they had.

Well, this is a common misunderstanding, maybe.

As I walk beside Arxes, these fox people fix their eyes on me, and it makes me suffocate.

I'm a fairly observant person, you know? And I hate crowds.

I asked Arxes everything I could think of with appropriateness since I didn't want to get on her bad side, and Arxes answered me about this and that.

According to Arxes, those knights failed to capture even one victim, even on the outskirts. There are also some kinds of authorities, like birds, surveying each place from time to time. And countless patrols in each corner.

These patrol fox men saluted before us and so forth.

The wind blew across the bank of the main river, whose crystal clear waters caused the leaves to rustle. The cheeping of birds and the occasional cry of people were mixed in; we spent our time here calmly as we walked.

I'll say it again: this place gives you fantastical vibes.

Arxes, who had been walking up until this point, jumped down to take a drink of water... wait...

"You are not supposed to drink that!"

I warned her since microbes could make her sick.

"That's undrinkable..."

She flinched and stared up at me.

"Did I hear you correctly, young fox lady, that our waters are filthy?"

Her gloomy aura has turned into an explosion of hatred! Terrifying!

"No! No way! No way! That was my mistake, ma'am! Spare my life, please! "

To my shock, Arxes turned around and suddenly grabbed my neck!

Too fast!

"Urg...", "urg... "urg!"

"Make yourself lucky today, young fox lady. If you aren't a foxkin of ours, I'll slay you right here and now. "

After she said that, Arxes released me and urged me to follow her.

"I don't know where you came from. Just a warning and some advice to you: disrespecting the forest you stand in right now is tantamount to disrespecting the whole foxendom. Understood?"

She continued on her walk while I struggled to relieve the pain.

This is the most unbearable pain I have ever felt in this body.

What a powerful fox.

And what a dreadful thing to say!

Of course, this world isn't as extremely polluted as that on Earth!

Are the kinds of people we encounter along the way similarly sensitive and prideful?

Well, I need to be careful with my words now.

Arxes was a silver fox person that was about six-seven feet in height. Though she had the face of a human, her multiple bushy tails made up half of her body and were the same shape as a cotton ball.

However, the form of her legs gave her the impression of a magnanimous, strict teacher. Her soft fur was shiny silver on her back and was pure white if you looked closely.

Well, for now, let's walk and follow her silently.

Are you still there, my listener?

Oh, I forgot. Besides me and Arxes, we met two female foxes on the way. It seems they were saved by Arxes from slavers from the nearest human settlement.

They're quite the silent type like me and pretty common in appearance, yet they have beautiful feminine curves and look younger, which are perhaps the reasons they are kidnapped.

I don't know exactly what happened to them since I only heard their conversation earlier.

And now, these fox women never raised a word and barely managed to follow us.

Furthermore, I can't imagine their situation-multiple wounds and bruises all over their bodies.

Humans are cruel even in this world, huh. Torturing these poor souls

I began to hate humans.

Of course, confirmations are needed to come to conclusions.

I could tell their innocent hearts experienced sudden horrors.

It was evident in their gloomy eyes until they saw Arxes and me. At least Arxes somehow alleviates their hopelessness, and as for myself, till now, they ignore me behind my back.

"Miss Shiensa, you could use this if you like."

Since Arxes was already completely equipped thanks to her terrifying sword, she offered the other normal-looking sheathed sword to her. Miss Shiensa widely opened her eyes when she received the sword.

Is it okay, great Miss Arxes? This is a very good sword.

"I don't mind. I discovered it along the way when I rescued you two, and it is also a rarity of its kind. Since Miss Shiensa is pretty adept at swordplay, I will give this to you to protect yourself and your friend. Besides, I already have this... "

Saying so, Arxes held up her one-meter-long thin sword. What she was displaying was the highest grade weapon known as "Magnimi Csion." As she explains it to us,

Miss Shiensa looked surprised for a moment before she wordlessly unsheathed the sword in her hand to inspect the grip and blade, and once she was finished, she nodded before sheathing it again.

"Thank you, great Miss Arxes. This will be helpful.

Her full lips lifted into a smile as she thanked Arxes and put the sword on her waist.

"Oh, it looks suitable for you, Miss."

"Umm... uh, thanks."

She turns her back against me. It seems socializing isn't my thing.

"We'll end our break soon and continue our trek upstream."

It didn't take that long before we arrived at a river fork.

Coming from the Maryland Mountain Ranges, my homeland, the river split into two at this location.

It appears that the river splitting off is called the Yagaya river.

It was very wide, and judging by the color of the water, it was quite deep as well. Since the current seemed to be very strong, you'd normally have to cross it further upstream than this.

The reason we were here was to meet up with the ten other foxes and their guide before setting out to the nearby village.

I was wrong that perhaps a kilometer or two would be enough to reach the kingdom's gate.

These behemoth trees are perhaps the reason.

Even so, I could certainly see the gigantic gate up here.

While looking around, I saw the silhouettes of people emerging from the trees near the riverbank.

A fox man in a beige cloak walked out while being cautious of his surroundings, especially the people they encounter, and when they saw us, four fox girls ran straight to us.

varying hair colors of black, gold, silver, and, uh, grey? No white-furs like me?

Well,

Since the girls were running at me and twice shorter, I bent down on one knee to receive them.

"Uh."

At that moment, the silent girl, accompanied by Miss Shensia, jumped from joy, ran through me, and sat on the ground in front of them, blocking me from their view. The Fox girls surrounded her at once.

I think her name is Sammia, if I heard it correctly.

... It seems like Miss Sammia, which is why I thought an introvert like me had all of the popularity and cheerfulness.

Well, she's in a pretty mood. That's good.

"You're earlier than expected. I take it that we're bringing this foreign fox lady along with us? "

The fox man named Loriem asked Arxes the question in a low voice in passing, once he saw me pretending to take a break to cover up my whole picture.

"Thanks to this lassie's pitiful presence, I failed to capture them. Some other circumstances require her to meet with the Grand Elder.",

"That's a long and troublesome story, huh? Don't bother the old man too much. "

Loriem gave that simple reply to Arxes before he closed his eyes and mouth.

Arxes faced the ravaging river and simply said, "I know."

"This young lady is no ordinary Arxes. Besides, that pure, bright white color of hers is the first in Foxendom history, I presume. Not to mention the bloody eyes of a warrior. Well then, since there's no time, let's proceed. "

With the pat on the shoulder that accompanied the question, I rose to my feet.

It shocked me to the core! Who was that person who touched me? I never felt a presence at all and if that's the case, I will dodge instinctively and confront this molester.

I will never let anyone abuse this body! Never!

Just where are you?

I gritted my teeth in anger and searched the surroundings, but found nobody in the vicinity.

Perhaps I was hallucinating.

Whatever, I must be cautious here and now.

"Hey, young fox lady! Testing my patience, aren't you?

"Coming! Ma'am! "

I rushed over to her side for the better.

When the sky was dyed a deep red and the forest's shadows thickened, we finally arrived at our destination.