[20.2] Take Me to the Herb Shop ~OOU~

After Felix healed us, we walked the rest of the way into town.

Felix glanced at me, "So why did you really want to come with me so badly? I'm sure it's not because you wanted to help me carry things."

I scratched my cheek awkwardly, "Like I said: I just don't want to go home."

"Why not?"

I let out a sigh, "After the party, the Headmaster has been acting weird…"

Felix blinked innocently, "Why? Because you beat up Susie?"

I forced a smile, "Y-Yeah… That…"

He nodded thoughtfully, "I see… Well, you don't need to worry. I've made sure that Susie won't say anything about what happened."

My eyebrows twitched, "How?"

He grinned at me, "The Duke Newman's influence is very useful for those kinds of things."

My smile turned stiff.

The rich really are a different breed.

I flipped my hair, "I wasn't too concerned to begin with. If they try anything, I can just use magic."

"Reika… Magic can't solve everything."

I stared at him, "Yes it can."

He let out a sigh, "You shouldn't be so confident. There are a lot of underhanded techniques that people use to prevent others from using magic."

I clicked my tongue, "You seem to be knowledgeable despite being so young."

He laughed, "What do you mean? We get taught this as soon as we are old enough to walk. Didn't your mother tell you?"

I flinched, "Oh… Um… I'm not sure."

His eyes widened, "Oh! I'm sorry! I said something I shouldn't have… I forgot that-"

I cut him off, "Don't worry about it. I'm used to not having a mother around anyway. It's nothing new."

"Ah… T-That… I see…"

The atmosphere turned awkward so I changed the subject, "I'm curious about something. Why are you still talking to me despite what I did at your party?"

As I stared at him waiting for his answer, I could see the surprise crossing his face. It was clear that he wasn't expecting that question.

I don't even know why I care to know. It's not like I am particularly attached to this child.

He is such a crybaby that he gets on my nerves. But...

I am a bit curious.

I attacked a child at his birthday party. Why is he even still talking to me?

Shouldn't he be angry that I made a scene and he had to clean it up?

He laughed at my gaze, "I'm still talking to you because you are fun. I've never met such an interesting person before. If you want to chase me away, you'll have to try harder than that."

I raised an eyebrow, "You have weird hobbies."

He looked at me with pitiful eyes, "Perhaps… You don't want me around you?"

Seeing that he was about to cry, I broke down quickly. I shook my head, "No, no! If I didn't, why would I accompany you into town!?"

He perked up immediately, "Really? What a relief!"

Ugh. Is he manipulating me??

Zephyr snickered, "Heh. You're a pushover."

I shoved him in irritation, forcing him to fall into a bush.

He tried to attack me with his claws, "OI! DON'T PUSH ME!!"

I pushed back his forehead to prevent him from scratching me. As we fought, Felix panicked. He raised his voice, "P-Please don't fight!!! I will buy you both food!!"

We stopped immediately and licked our lips simultaneously, "Chicken!"

He was surprised by our sudden change before breaking out in a large grin, "You two are really close to each other."

"Close?!" Zephyr shrieked, "She's my mortal enemy!!!"

I snickered, "Of course we are close. He's my little kitty cat~"

As Zephyr hissed at me in anger, Felix went to a street vendor and bought a few chicken legs. He handed them to us and we ate them ravenously.

Felix smiled softly and reached out to rub the top of Zephyr's head, "I guess foxes really do like chicken."

I nibbled the chicken leg as I watched Felix closely.

Have I ever seen that smile on him before?

Oddly enough, Zephyr didn't swat away Felix's hand.

...Although this was most likely due to his focus being on the greasy chicken.

His fox tail suddenly appeared and began to wag happily as he chowed down on the chicken.

Zephyr glanced at Felix and licked his lips, "You remind me of my older brother. He would always give me chicken and rub my head."

Felix pulled his hand back, "You have a brother?"

Zephyr nodded and took the last chicken leg, "Yeah, but he's not a fox like me."

My eyes lit up, "Is he a cat?"

"He's a-" Zephyr paused and thought back, "Actually… I can't remember what he was. I don't think he ever showed it. He thought his animal form was a sign of weakness so he was always a human. Since he was always in control of his emotions, he never transformed by accident."

I glanced at Zephyr's swishing tail.

I guess that means demons can transform unwillingly based on their emotions.

I tilted my head to look at him, "What happened to him?"

He finished the chicken and instantly turned bitter, "Why would I tell you trashy humans!?"

He threw the chicken bone over his shoulder, hitting a person behind us. They turned with a shriek, "You d*mned kids!!"

We all looked at each other and sprinted away before we could be caught.

After we made sure we lost the angry man, we finally slowed down. Felix stopped next to a herb shop, "This is it… It's not much, but the herbs are good quality."

When he walked inside, the clerks greeted him, "Young Master Felix! How was your birthday party?"

He shot me a wink, "It wasn't as boring as I thought it would be."

They turned their attention to me. The older woman's eyes widened as she shuffled over to me with a large grin, "Who is this?"

I answered while staring at her cautiously, "Reika."

She reached out and pulled on my cheeks, "She's so cute!!! Look at these chubby cheeks!!"

Chubby!?!

The other clerk ran over to Zephyr, "Look!!! This one has a tail!!"

Zephyr ran away, "DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!"

He jumped behind Felix to use him as a shield while Felix laughed wholeheartedly. After another few moments of torture, Felix decided to save us. "Madam. Did my herbs arrive?"

She nodded quickly and released my cheeks. I rubbed them with a pained whine.

What did I do to get tortured like this?

She went into a back room and then came out holding several bags, "Here they all are."

I helped Felix with a few bags and shoved a few onto Zephyr. After the clerks fawned over us some more, we finally left.

As we walked by the stores, everyone stuck their heads out to greet Felix. He grinned and responded genuinely to them.

I looked around in surprise, "You are popular for a crybaby."

His face flushed, "T-Thats not true. Everyone is just very friendly here."

"Mhm." I looked at him in disbelief, "You don't see people saying hello to me."

He shrugged helplessly.