SIAW Vol. 1 Chapter 10 Part 2
It would be embarrassing if someone listened in the village, so I wanted to talk now!
So Misha protested in her mind, and continued.
“I wanted to talk when we’re alone…so let me do it now.”
When we were alone? Was she going to confess!?
Tenma immediately got the wrong idea and blushed slightly.
“W-What is it?”
“Tenma, you’re going to leave the village soon, right? To become an adventurer.”
“Yeah, that’s the plan, why?”
Hmm? This is more normal than I expected.
Tenma felt more relaxed.
On the other hand, Misha was increasingly tense: she wanted to find the right words. Then, with a casual air, she went to the heart of the topic—
“When you do, I’m going to become an adventurer too.”
Misha blushed fiercely.
That didn’t come out right at all!!
Misha felt down, but Tenma didn’t seem to mind much.
“I see. So what did you want to discuss with me?”
Misha, gaining momentum for some reason, confessed her whole intentions.
“I want to become an adventurer with you, and go on adventures together.”
W-What is this girl saying…?
I had a lot of secrets, so I planned to go solo for a while, to gather information and learn about how this world worked…I can’t have people with me at this time!
Tenma was trying to keep his cool.
He breathed deeply, then turned towards Misha.
“Er, I honestly don’t know what made you come up with that…do your parents and Sasha know?”
“I told Sasha about it, so she does. As for my parents, we’ll convince them together.”
Why should I convince them with you!?
Tenma was flabbergasted.
Then, while remembering what had happened a few days before, he continued, an awkward tone in his voice.
“The other day, when there was all that talk about our marriage, you were happy when I refused, weren’t you?”
“Yes, they told me to marry you so you would stay in the village, and I hated it.”
“So why do you want to go on adventures with someone you hate?”
“It’s not like I hate you, I just don’t want to stay in the village.”
Ooh…so she didn’t hate me after all…
Tenma was immensely relieved. Misha too was glad to realize that she could talk better than she thought.
Tenma then reconsidered the situation in his head, and voiced his opinion.
“Hmm, even so…we don’t need to go on adventures together, do we?”
He didn’t get my intentions at all!!
Misha, flustered, continued.
“We have to be together. I asked my parents many times to let me be an adventurer, but they always said no. But if I’m with you, it will be okay!”
…probably.
Misha thought so, but Tenma’s opinion was wildly different.
“We just met some time ago! I hardly think they’ll approve, you know?”
I have to keep pushing!
So thought Misha, and continued.
“It’s fine, my parents trust you. That’s why they tried to have us marry. They will allow me to become an adventurer if I’m with you. Sasha said the same.”
“…but all of this is what you want to do, right? I can understand how you feel, but I plan to stay solo for a while, so we can’t go on adventures together!”
No…I can’t fail…don’t give up, Misha!
Misha mentally psyched herself up.
“That’s why I wanted to discuss it with you. What should I do to go on adventures with you? If you let me go together, we can marry if you want!!”
Misha, surprised by the words coming out of her mouth, wrapped her head in her hands.
Marry!? What am I saying!?
On the other hand, Tenma was surprised too — but then his delusions accelerated.
M-Marriage!? If we married, I could fluff her tail and ears any time I wanted!! N-No, this is no time for weird delusions…adventuring and marriage are two completely different things…a fifteen year old fox girl…who will probably develop like Sasha…
In his confusion, Tenma glanced at Misha’s ears and tail. His eyes then traveled over to her still undeveloped chest.
Misha felt his gaze going up and down, then stopping on her chest, so she hid it, embarrassed.
I guess I should expect he’ll try to do dirty things…
Misha’s thoughts raced ahead, so she whispered…
“I-If you let me go with you…i-it’s OK if you want to do dirty things…a little…”
W-Wow!? Really!?
Tenma, wide-eyed in his joy, swallowed his breath.
N-No! No good, Tenma! You can’t take advantage of an innocent fox girl’s weakness…that’s just wrong! You’re going to adventure solo! You decided already! You have to refuse!
“C-Can I think about it a little?”
It would be bad to refuse immediately, so I should wait a bit…
So thought Tenma, but Misha was of a different mindset.
He refused once, but he said he’ll think about it…I think I worked hard enough for today…when we’re back in the village, I need to ask Sasha for more advice!
Tenma and Misha continued hunting together, despite the awkward atmosphere.
～
Ultimately, they managed to catch six guinea fowls and two Horn Rabbits.
“…if I’m with Tenma, I could eat guinea fowls every day…”
So whispered Misha when Tenma caught the first bird.
Tenma wondered if she had decided she wanted to become an adventurer with him just for the guinea fowl, and felt slightly worried.
At around noon, when the two returned to the village, Misha went immediately to see Sasha.
The elder, learning that the pair had caught six guinea fowls, shed tears of joy.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
I returned from the hunt with Tenma at around noon.
As soon as I was back in the village I went to talk to my sister Sasha.
Sasha listened to me smiling
“I see, Tenma said he will think about it…in that case, we should spread the rumor that you two will become adventurers together, so everyone will treat it as a fact, and we can use it to convince him…hehe.”
Sasha was dependable as usual. When she came up with such schemes, though, her smile was a bit scary…
“You should stay for dinner tonight, Misha. You helped in catching the guinea fowls, after all, and we can work together to bring down Tenma’s defenses!”
More like, very scary!
～
At dinnertime…
Everyone happily feasted on the guinea fowl, and I had a fun time too.
Whenever I glanced in my sister’s direction, she replied with a mischievous smile.
After dinner, Tenma played with Mei a little, but she was sleepy, so he said goodnight and went off to the barn.
Immediately afterwards, Sasha turned towards me.
“Misha, go to see Tenma right now. You just need to talk to him as usual, but make sure he can see your tail, and tempt him into touching it. He’s young, so he might lose control and do lewd things to you, but if he goes overboard just yell, and we’ll come to stop him immediately. Do your best, okay?”
I swallowed my breath. Tenma might…lose control? Go overboard?
If he tries to k-kiss me, I’ll shout…okay…
“O-Okay!!”
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Tenma was back in the barn. Mentally exhausted, he prepared to turn in early, but Misha came to see him.
Because of what happened earlier in the day, he welcomed her with some apprehension.
They sat down together on the straw bed and just chatted, however, no matter how much time passed.
Eventually, Misha made her move. She casually put her tail close to Tenma’s hand, making it stand out more.
Misha’s tail was right next to Tenma’s hand.
It moved as if it was inviting him to touch: Tenma was initially lured in…but then remembered something.
One day, early in his stay in the village, he had been surrounded by the kids when he came back from hunting. They reacted happily when he patted their heads, so he did it to each one of them. There were many Beastkin children too, so he enjoyed touching their ears too, and went for the tails as well. Excited, he tried touching the tail of a slightly older Beatskin child too, but Sasha whacked him over the head and gave him a warning.
“Only family and lovers are allowed to touch a Beastkin’s tail! It’s fine if you do it to a child, but it becomes a problem if you do it to an older child or an adult. Especially if you’re dealing with adults, you might be treated as a pervert or forced to take responsibility!”
～
Tenma had a bad feeling about the situation and checked his Map skill. Sure enough, Sasha and Ranga were close to the barn, apparently watching over it.
(What the *bleep*, this is a *bleep* trap!?)
Tenma, so surprised he became uncharacteristically uncouth for a second, went on to continue resisting the fluffy temptation.
～
On the other hand, Misha was wondering why Tenma was hesitating so much, after he almost touched her tail once.
She felt gradually more restless, but continued tempting him.
However, while Tenma would glance at the tail from time to time, he made no attempt to touch it.
In the end, Misha went back home, dejected. Tenma used the Earreach skill and heard her say the words “operation failed” to Sasha.
Tenma’s mental exhaustion peaked: he went to sleep immediately after.
～
Misha told Sasha that the operation ended badly.
“I thought that Tenma loved Beastkin, though…it’ll be all over if he starts hating you, so we’ll just have to work on him little by little from now.”
Sasha is equal parts dependable, equal parts scary…so thought Misha.