Naofumi played with the bag filled with coins as she left the castle's gates, lightly humming a tune. The fox made no effort to hide her ears, tails, or markings from the public. From what she heard around her, they all knew what she was and what she did. Rumors sure do go around quickly in this world.

What should she do next was the real question.

She held little to no interest with helping fight off the waves, but if she wanted to go back to her own world it was inevitably. Her siblings must be wondering where she was by now. They always were protective over her since she told them the truth. Well, Inari showed them actually. What Naofumi had done to receive a reward from the goddess. No wonder her fur was stained red, it was a reminder.

She often wondered if she had a better upbringing, would any of that had happened?

The fox felt a hand clap onto her shoulder, which made her snap out of her thoughts of the past. Naofumi peeked over her shoulder to see the blacksmith she had bought her chainmail from yesterday. He didn't look too pleased with her. Then again, who is?

The fox turned around, "Is something wrong?" She tilted her head. She noticed the blacksmith's gaze look at her ears for a split second before sighing.

"Follow me." He turned around and walked to his shop with Naofumi trailing after him.

"Forgive me," Naofumi said. "I never caught your name."

The man went behind the counter, "The name's Erhard, kiddo."

"Erhard, huh? Well, it's a pleasure to see you once more." The fox smiled.

The man sighed, "Kid, do you know what I heard about you? Actually, what everyone in the kingdom heard about you?"

Naofumi busied herself by looking at sets of armour. It had been maybe 200 years or so that she covered herself in metal plating. Naofumi spoke, "Are they perhaps talking about how I nearly forced my companion into sexual slavery, went to trial, then proceeded to injure and threaten a room full of people?"

Erhard had a surprised look on his face, "How did you know?

Naofumi pointed at her fox ears on the top of her head, "I have pretty sensitive hearing. I'm honestly shocked how fast word travels here." Naofumi picked up a silver helmet and inspected it. It was too heavy for her liking.

Erhard directed his attention to Naofumi's ears and swishing tails, "You didn't have those yesterday?"

"I was hiding them," Naofumi answered. "Speaking of yesterday, did more people come and visit your shop after I left with my former companion?"

"Yeah, a lot more people than usual. It was a bit surprising. I guess you had something to do with that?" Erhard questioned.

Naofumi nodded, "Yes, I gave you a small blessing to boost your business. I can tell you take a certain pride in your work. I can admire that."

Erhard rubbed his forehead, "Listen kid-"

"I'm not a kid. I'm centuries older than you are." Naofumi cut him off. "You can keep calling me 'kid', but please have my age in mind."

Erhard sighed, "Right. Listen, I appreciate your help with my business, but I don't want it. I rather due my work honestly, and not depend on your magic or whatever you call it."

Naofumi put the helmet she was looking at down, "Really? Usually, humans love when I do that kind of thing."

"Not this human," Erhard scolded her. "But that's not why I brought you here. Do you have any clue what you're going to do now? The king most likely wants your head on a stick for humiliating him like that. You should be careful."

Naofumu couldn't help but smile at the man, "Don't worry. I have my own plans for this country. The king can do what ever he pleases, but all he wants is power over me. I don't plan to give him the luxury."

"Wait, what plans?" Erhard questioned the fox.

Naofumi proceeded towards the exit, but looked back at the blacksmith, "Don't think about it too much. Goodbye for now."

Naofumi closed the shop door's before Erhard could get another word out. The fox started to walk down the paved street. The first thing she should do is explore the world and assest the situation she was in. If it was in poor conditions, the situation would be in her favor. When humans are desperate, they do deperate things. It was common knowledge. Naofumi will have to use that if she plans to get ahead in this world.

Right, she nearly forgotten why she was summoned here. The king wanted her and those three dunces to save this world and defeat these so called 'waves'. Naofumi honestly wasn't thar concerned with it. She had dealt with worse in the past. She could use the waves as a tactic for people to follow her. If people follow her, they also follow Inari. It was a kitsunes duty to bring honor to their goddess, and Naofumi was planning to do the exact same thing. She was one of Inari's twelve suns, even if she gained her position on a technicality.

Naofumi stopped in front of a rather large, red and white striped tent. She tilted her head. Had she taken a wrong turn? She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't pay attention to when she was going. It wouldn't be so bad to see what's inside. Right?

The fox opened the flap of fabric that shielded the inside of the tent from the outside world. She was immediately greeted with a sea of cages. How strange. The fox started to explore the man made labyrinth. There were creatures that squawked and growled at her from behind their bars. Naofumi stared at them with a bored expression. Are these animals pets of some kind?

"A demihuman? What's one doing out of their cage?" A voice said. Naofumi turned around and was faces with two rather burly man staring down at her. "Look at that. She's a beauty. She must be expensive."

Naofumi didn't respond. She only stared at the two men. One of them chuckled, "Good thing she's not a talker! It'll only lower her price!" He let out a boisterous laugh.

"Yeah!" The other agreed and placed a hand on Naofumi's shoulder. "If only we could have some fun with h- AAAHHHH!"

He was cut off by his hand being crushed by Naofumi's. The man was screaming in horror as the other gawked in shock. The fox let go, only to retract her hand and slap him across the face. The slap sent the man flying a few feet, and he landed rather roughly into a creature's cage. The other man, who was still standing, started to slowly back away.

"What's with all this noise? Oh, a demihuman?" A rather round man in extravagantly ridiculous attire approached the fox. He stopped when he saw the shield strapped to her arm with a glowing green gem in the middle, "Wait, it's the shield hero! My, I never thought I would see a hero in my humble establishment." He looked over at his men. One was unconcious with blood gushing from his head and a misshapen hand. The other was trying to stop the bleeding. The man showed off all his teeth when he smiled at the fox.

"Has this whole country heard of me by now? Word travels fast, doesn't it?" Naofumi finally spoke.

The man kept grinning, "It does, but it's easy to recognize one of the four cardinal weapons from a mile away. What brings you to my business today?"

Naofumi went back to staring at the monsters trapped in cages, "What kind of business do you have? Is this like a pet store?"

The man let out a laugh, "You're so funny! No, this is a slavery business. This is a place where I see slaves and other kind of beasties. Though, I never would have imagined the shield hero would be a demihuman."

Naofumi rolled her eyes, "There we go with that word again. I can assure you I'm not a demihuman."

"If you're not a demihuman, what are you?" The man asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but I know I'm not that." Naofumi responded.

The man started to rub his hands together, "Why don't I give you a tour? You may see something you like."

Naofumi shrugged, "Why not? I have some time to kill."

"Well then," The man started. "Follow me."

Naofumi trailed after the short, round man as he showed her his 'merchandise'. Beasts were hunched over in csges too small for them. More humanlike creatures had injuries, showing years of abuse. All of them would snarl as the pair passed them. Some of them would grab the cage's bars and shake them furiously, a poor attempt at attention. The fox learned a long time a go that you couldn't help everyone. She had to be selective in who she picked to follow her. At least for the time being...

Naofumi was zoning the man out and he continued to talk about his inventory. There was nothing here that peaked her interest at all. Naofumi let out a yawn. The fox turned around and was about to leave the man who was still bragging. The fox heard a few violent coughs. It sounded like the person was trying to hack their lung out.

She followed the source and arrived at a rather large cage that was covered with a sheet. Naofumi rather quickly grapped it and whipped it back, allowing her to see who or what was inside.

There were four children. They didn't look like much at first glance. Their clothes were basically worn out sacks with holes for their limbs. Their visible body parts held numerous cuts, lashes, and even burns scattered in random places. The four children broke off into two pairs. One with a pair of similarly looking kids, both had hair with white and black streaks, not to mention the rounded ears on the top of their heads. Were they tigers? The boy held the similar looking girl close to his body, and he glared and Naofumi. The girl he was holding looked frail. At the other side of the cage, there were two little girls. One looked like a tanuki, Naofumi could recognize those ears anywhere. The girl most likely wasn't a tanuki that Naofumi was used to. The girl wouldn't be in this situation if she was. The other girl was blonde, and her hair was much shorter compared to the tanuki girl. Both of them clung to eachother, as if it would be their last time together.

The children looked pathetic. Unbearably pathetic like a couple of worms trying to wiggle around in the summer sun Naofumi hated the sight. She wondered why. The fox thought about it for a quick second. Yes, that's right. They remind her of when she was human. A small bug ready to be squashed. A sniveling, dirty child with no hope. Death would be merciful for them.

Naofumi pondered. She didn't feel like getting any blood on her clothes today, especially not some crying child's blood. The fox looked over the trembling forms in front of her. Their eyes held no hope for the future like a dim light. She wanted nothing more than to take those eyes out. She wanted no reminder of the useless, little girl she used to be. As long as it's quick-

"Pretty..."

Naofumi stared at the source of the raspy voice. The words came out so quietly, the fox wondered if she imagined them. The source of the words was a little girl with short blonde hair. Her ears were small and rounded. She looked battered and beaten, but she stared at Naofumi with curious eyes.

"Are you an angel?" The girl questioned.

How amusing. Naofumi spoke, "Do you think I'm an angel?"

The child stayed silent. Maybe she thought she had passed on, and the Naofumi's figure was greeting her to the afterlife. What a sick joke...

"Unfortunately, you're not dead yet." Naofumi smiled down at the girl. "Do you want to die?"

This caused the tanuki girl to flinch and clutch the blonde child closer to her. It was a sad attempt to quiet her friend, but Naofumi paid no mind to that, "What if I kill you? You'll see an angel then."

The blonde girl's eyes widened and tears began to leak out from her eyes, "N-n-no... I don't want to die...". She started to become a sniffling mess. She let her face get buried into the auburn hair of the trembling tanuki. Where had Naofumi heard such cries before.

"Nee-chan..."A voice called out in the back of Naofumi's head. The voice was holding back sobs, but that didn't the tears from falling from the child's eyes, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Because of me, Nee-chan is-"

That's right. It was her siblings. It was back when they were human before they had died. Who gave them permission to die so suddenly during that life? Nevermind that. What did Naofumi do again to comfort those two children? What did she say end the crying?

"It's fine. As long as you're fine, I don't mind if they beat me like this."

Naofumi remembered hugging the shivering children close to her like it was the last time they would ever be together. "I'm your older sister. I'll protect you no matter, so don't worry about me."

She was such a fool back then. She let herself by led by emotions. Naofumi had no reason to protect those children, so why did she-

It's because she loved them.

No, she shouldn't have cared for them. She could have led a life without so much trouble.

She didn't regret it.

It was all their fault for being so weak.

That's why she protected her siblings.

They were too pathetic.

Their smile was Naofumi's only joy.

She should have just left them to die.

Naofumi would sacrifice anything to see them happy again.

That's why, she had to become a monster.

These children reminded Naofumi too much of her past self. The weakness she possessed. She wanted to burn it down to ashes. Naofumi wanted no reminded of it. That's right, every single reminder of her past self should die.

"I see you found our more questionable merchandise," the slave trader approached Naofumi by behind. "Sadly, I don't think they'll last very long. The tanuki and weasel had a previous master who was less than forgiving. They're going to succumb to their infections within two weeks. The hakuko girl is extremely sick from the moment I got her. The only good part in her brother is extremely protective over her, but he started having this awful cough. I think any of them will last until the next month."

Naofumi didn't turn back to face him, "I'll give you 2500 silvers for all four of them."

The slave trader's grin grew even wider, "I should warn you, that is much more than what they're worth. I'm not one to complain though, but it hardly seems like a fair deal."

Naofumi turned back to him, "Don't worry. They'll be worth every coin." The fox turned back to the cage to fsce the shaking children and gave them a smirk, "From now on, you four will be my maidens."

The slave trader ordered some of his own men to get the children and bring them to his 'office' to finish the transaction. The children fought and struggled when the men reached out and grabbed them. The tiger boy even biting the hand of one. Maybe Naofumi was wrong? Maybe their eyes weren't so dim after all.

"We'll have to put slave crests on them." The slave trader spoke as they walked.

"Slave crests? What are those?" The fox asked.

"It's a mark that allows you to have total control over your new slaves. They won't be able to disobey you." The man said.

Naofumi narrowed her eyes, "Is that really necessary?"

The man nodded, "If you want to leave with them it is."

When the arrived at the 'office', children being dragged behind them, the slave trader asked Naofumi to put so of her own blood into a small dish. Naofumi sliced the palm of her hand with a knife, letting blood spill into a circular disk below her palm. The wound instantly healed afterwards, but it didn't stop the fox from licking the would be cut. Naofumi looked over at the group of children curled in the corner. The boy baring his fangs at the slave trader. Hm, had has a lot of energy despite looking so worn down. The girls were trembling in fear. They seemed to lack confidence and their own will. If Naofumi would ever make use of them, she'll have to fix that. A maiden was no good if they didn't have a strong will to match their master.

How was her master doing anyway? It had been maybe a year since Naofumi had visited Inari. She didn't make a habit of stopping by Inari's palace. Naofumi supposed if she ever left this world, she would have to apologize to her goddess for skipping her duties for so long. Surely, Inari knew she was in another world? Who was Naofumi kidding? That wouldn't stop the goddess from increasing Naofumi's work load for the next 50 years.

Naofumi's thoughts were cut off by a hiss of pain and the slight smell of burning flesh. The weasel girl clutched at her chest, as she bit back a scream. The tanuki girl held her friend close for comfort.

"Are you sure that is really needed?" The fox said, crossing her arms under her chest.

The slave trader didn't stop his actions and proceeded to repeat the action with the other girl. "But of course, Lady Shield Hero. You want them to be obediant don't you?"

Naofumi tapped her chin, "It's no fun if they obey my every command out of fear, boy."

The slave trader let out a boisterous laugh, "Boy? I'm in my mid-60s, young lady."

Naofumi let out a yawn, "Exactly, you are a boy to me. There's at least a 450 year gap between us. Hurry up. I don't have all day."

The grinning man chuckled and moved to the next child, "Yes, of course."

It was a bit of a struggle to finish the slave crest on the two tiger children. The boy kept struggling and shouting, making the process even more difficult. Once everything was done, Naofumi handed over the money for her new slaves. The slave trader was eagerly counting the money he just received. Naofumi took this chance to approach the children who were still in pain by the looks of it. Naofumi crouches by the similar looking tigers children. The boy tried to hide the much smaller girl behind him, using his body as a shield. Naofumi inspected her body. She looked much weaker than the rest of them.

"Boy, what's wrong with her?" Naofumi asked.

The boy hugged the boy closer to his body, "None of your business! Stop looking at Atla!"

Naofumi hummed, "How am I going to heal her if I don't know what's wrong with her?"

The boy tensed and glared at Naofumi, but her reluctantly spoke, "She's blind, and she can't walk."

"She can't walk? Sounds easy enough to fix." Naofumi reached out to 'Atla'. Immediately, the boy became defensive. Naofumi admired his protectiveness, he'll make a good guard. Though, if this 'Atla' was ever going to be useful to Naofumi, the fox would have to heal her legs. Naofumi directed her attention to the growling boy,"I didn't catch your name. Why don't you tell me?"

The boy stayed silent and looked away. Naofumi inched closer until her face was mere inches from him. Before the child could retract, Naofumi put her hand on the back of his head to keep him still. "Judging by your looks, Atla and you are related? She's so weak, I don't know how long she'll last. I understand you care about her, but if you impede on me treating her, she'll only die faster. Understand? Now hand her over."

The boy was stiff, but his grip on Atla loosened enough for Naofumi to take the girl into her own arms. Naofumi looked down at the girl. Atla was letting out harsh, short pants with sharp intakes of arm. The girl felt to warm, too warm for a child. She would probably die in a few days if she was left untreated. Naofumi moved the girl's bangs out of the way and pressed her lips to her forehead. A faint green glow illuminated from the kiss as transparent vines sprouted and seemed to wrap themselves around the girl's figure. When Naofumi backed her head away, the vines disappeared into the air. Atla's breathing was starting to get better, it didn't seem like she was struggling to breath anymore. "There, she should be able to walk in the next week or so. We'll need to work on the muscles in her legs though." Naofumi looked down at the girl. The fox moved to place the Atla onto her feet. The frail child fumbled for a bit, but could stand when she grabbed onto Naofumi for balance.

Atla started to speak, "I feel so much lighter..."

"Oh, so you can speak," Naofumi spoke. "I was able to heal your legs, but you'll need to take it easy. You won't be able to walk just yet. We'll have to get you medicine to treat your other ailments."

The boy blinked in shock, "What did you do?"

Naofumi looked over to him, "I healed her legs. Were you not paying attention?"

"B-but how?" The boy was confused. "Atla could never even stand before! How did you do that?"

Naofumi stood up and picked Atla up into her arms. The fox smiled down at the boy, "What is your name, little boy?"

The boy blinked, "Fohl..."

"Fohl, what a cute name you have," Naofumi turned away from Fohl towards the other two girls in the corner who were staring with her in amazement. "And you two, what are your names?"

The tanuki girl looked up at the fox, "I'm Raphtalia..."

"My name is Rifana," the weasel girl said.

Naofumi hummed, "Rifana, Raphtalia, Fohl, and Atla, huh? My, what weak children you all are. Come, we have much to do."

Naofumi handed Atla to Fohl and handed the bag of coins to Rifana, before turning her heel and proceeded to leave. Fohl placed his sister on his back. The four children caught up to the fox, who didn't bother looking back at them. She only looked straight ahead. The slave trader called out to the group, hoping for future business. Naofumi didn't bother to respond to him.

Once they were outside, the children trailed behind Naofumi. It was hard not to notice how people moved out of their way for the fox to walk. The children had never seen humans act this way to a demihuman. The fox held herself with confidence, yet she was graceful at the same time. Her hair would flow with the gentle breeze. Her emerald green eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Even the way she smiled at the children before was stunning. It was like she was the personification of beauty. There was one thing Rifana couldn't get over though. The fox's voice sounded so distant like she wasn't even fully there. The fox spoke softly, but her voice held anger and contempt. Her smiling face betrayed the sweet sounding words coming from her mouth. It frightened Rifana.

"We're here," the fox stopped in front of a shop. The fox opened the door, "Well, go inside. We don't have all day, silly."

The children entered the shop and were greeted with multiple weapons and sets of armour. There was a bald man behind the counter who had a confused look on his face. He was obviously wondering why these children were here in a weapons shop.

"Hello again, Erhard. Do you mind providing my companions with some clothes? As you can tell their current outfits are a bit...tattered currently." Naofumi entered the shop after the demihuman children. She waved at the blacksmith. Erhard looked back and forth between the fox and the children a couple of time.

"What do you think you're doing, kid?" He finally let out. He put his head in his hands. He peaked through his fingers to look at the scheming fox.

"Well," Naofumi began and clapped her hands onto Raphtalia's shoulders. "You said I needed people to join me, so I got some. Aren't they just adorable?"

Erhard looked visibly tired, "Kid, I can see their slave crests. Did you seriously get slaves?"

Naofumi hummed, "The slave trader told me it was the only way for them to come with me. I felt horrible seeing these poor children in cages. I just had to help."

Erhard sighed, "Some how I doubt that. You want to get them armour, huh? Why not get them regular clothes?"

Naofumi let go of Raphtalia and approached the blacksmith, "I need something now. Besides, I would havr to custom order clothing that looks like mine. I believe that would take too long. I also want to equip them with a weapon."

"A weapon?" Erhard said, "You're not going to make them fight, are you?"

The children jumped back a bit, staring at the fox. Was she going to force them to battle for her? Is this what she bought them for? Fohl bit his lip. He shouldn't get his hopes up. She's the same as any other master-

"No, they don't have to." The fox spoke.

Fohl's eyes widened and looked up at her, "What?"

Naofumi looked down at him, "If you want to fight go ahead. It's your choice." The fox shrugged and approached Erhard's counter. "I'm thinking of giving them daggers. It's light enough that they can easily carry without much hassle."

"Wait a minute, kid. Why do they need weapons if they don't need to fight?" Erhard said.

Naofumi put her hand under her chin, "It's good to have a weapon. You never know what's going to happen. Now, they'll need an outfit that'll be functional for travel. I'm willing to pay about 1000 silver coins, maybe? Also, we'll need a bag to carry our things too. Do you have anything like that?"

Erhard sigh, "Yeah, I have what ever you need."

After a hour of Naofumi looking at armour, she finally deemed some equipment suitable for her younger companions. The fox apparently knew a lot about armour and weaponry. Raphatlia and Rifana were in similar sets of clothing. A dark grey sweater under a red and grey top with chunky brown boots. The only difference was thst Rifana was wearing black leggings underneath. Fohl was dressed in a shoulderless blue shirt underneath a sleevless black top. He had rather puffy white pants on and a blue scarf around his waist with short black boots. Atla was simply wearing a white and blue dress with the same boots as her brother.

"Erhard, don't they look perfect!" The fox smiled at the man. "Come here. Erhard has a lot of daggers for you all to use."

The children walked over and looked at the weapons before picking one up. Fohl was stopped by Naofumi who gave him a pair of leather gloves instead. "Your hands look much better with these gauntlets compared to a knife."

Once the children had everything and Erhard was paid, the group left. The next stop was a medicine shop. Naofumi wanted a couple of books about the medicinal herbs in this world as well as medicine to treat the various ailments each child had. The fox also managed to get some tools from the shopkeeper.

After getting the medicine and tools, the last stop was a inn. It was a similar inn to the one Naofumi was in her first day exploring the streets of Melromarc with that liar. Maybe Naofumi should have taken her eye as a lesson. There was no point to think if it now. If the girl kept annoying her, Naofumi will just have to do something much worse. But just watching seems to be enouvh fun for her. To know a human fell from the their status because of their own ego is very interesting to watch. Naofumi's thoughts were cut off by Raphtalia's stomach loudly growling. The tanuki girl's face become flushed with embarrassment at the sound. That's right, mortals needed food regularly to survive. These children looked thin, too thin to be considered healthy. Naofumi made her way inside the inn's resturant. The fox noticed the children she had with her were stopped at the door.

"What are you four doing? It's getting late," Naofumi called out to them.

Rifana jumped a bit, "This sign says demihumans aren't allowed..." Naofumi saw the girl dig her fists into the fabric of her sweater.

"I don't care what a sign says," Naofumi sighed. "Now hurry inside. Mortals get sick if they are left out in the cold of night, no?"

"But-" Rifana started.

"No 'buts', come sit down." Naofumi sat at an empty table, not to far from the entrance.

The children were hesitant, but went over and sat by the fox anyway. The children couldn't help but pick up what the other patrons of the inn's restaurant were saying. Most of them were whispering in nearly hushed tones about the shield hero. The rumors spoke about her threatening the king of the country, a notion that usually ended with death. Rifana looked at the fox who was sitting acroos from her. Rifana noticed that Naofumi's eyes had a far away look to them like she wasn't completely there in the present.

"What's wrong?" Naofumi spoke up. Her gaze direct at Rifana.

Rifana tensed, "N-nothing..."

The fox stared at the girl for a second before calling over a scared waiter and ordering, "I'll have the best tea you have here. Do you have a meal for children? Something a child would enjoy?"

"Y-yes, we do," the waiter didn't dare look into the fox's sharp eyes.

"Hmm, we'll take four of those as well. Also if you can bring a plate of fruits and vegetables on a small platter for the whole table, that would be great." Naofumi said.

The waiter nodded his head and left. The children all stared at Naofumi. Raphtalia was the one to speak up, "Why?"

Naofumi looked over to the small tanuki child, "Why what?"

Raphtalia lowered her head, "Why order food for us?"

Naofumi blinked, "Your stomach was growling madly before, so I got food for you. You're a growing child. You'll need all the food you can get."

The waiter soon placed the food down in front of each individual demihuman. The children had stars in their eyes looking down at the meal. It had been so long since they were given a proper meal. Usually, their food was just scraps found in the bottom of a bucket. The aroma coming out of the meal was utterly mouth watering. Raphtalia reached out to grab of fist full of rice that was mounted on the plate.

"Hold it," Naofumi said.

Raphtalia halted her actions and looked over at the fox. She knew it. She did something bad. Her master was going to punish her, wasn't she?

"You were given utensils for a reason," Naofumi lightly scolded. "I suggest you use them."

Raphtalia blinked at the fox's words. Was she not going to throw the food on the ground? Was she not going to shove Raphtalia's face in it and call her disgusting? Raphtalia picked up her fork in her tiny fist, and started eating.

As the children ate, they couldn't help but tense up when Naofumi directed her stare at one of them between sips of her tea. The fox let out a sigh and put her tea cup down, "Your manners are terrible. Tomorrow, we'll work on your posture."

"Posture?" Rifana said in between bites of food.

"Yes," Naofumi spoke. "You are going to learn proper etiquette from me. You all are going to represent me in the future. I rather you not do it with food on your face." Naofumi took out a napkin and wiped Rifana's face.

After the meal was done, the group headed to their room. It was a relatively big room with four single beds. There was a small table and chair by the large window attached to the wall. Naofumi placed down their belonging and took out the herbs she had bought. She also took out her mortar and pestle.

"I suggest you four get some sleep," Naofumi said. "I plan to start teaching you all early tomorrow morning." None of the children seemed to move. All of them were staring at the fox. Fohl had Atla in his arms, while Raphtalia and Rifana were holding each other's hands in a tight grip, looking down at the floor.

"I don't get it," Fohl started. He glared at the fox, "Why are you being so nice? What are you planning to do with us?"

"Didn't I say you four will become my maidens? It only seems fitting I treat you kindly." The fox didn't bother to look back. Instead, she opted to look in the book she had received. She will need to study hard to underdstand this world's language.

Fohl growled, "I'm a boy! Isn't a maiden suppose to be a girl?"

"Sex doesn't matter when someone becomes a maiden. It's simply a title for someone that serves a divine spirit or deity." Naofumi explained. She placed some herbs in the marble bowl and started to crush them.

"Deity?" Rifana questioned.

"Before you think I'm a god. I'm not. Kitsunes blur the lines between deity and spirit depending on our rank. I suppose I am close to becoming a god but unless I gain another tail, I'm nowhere near a godly status." Naofumi looked over the book. The symbols were lettering, maybe?

"It sounds like being a maiden is important," Rifana looked down. "Why pick us?"

"I wonder why I picked you four too," Naofumi hummed, and sat down on the wooden chair. "You all remind me of when I was human."

Rifana mumbled, "When you were human?"

Naofumi smiled, "Yes, you all are so tragically pathetic just like how I was. It made me want to kill you the moment I laid eyes on you. Out of pity, of course. You see, I loathe any reminder of my past self." Naofumi rested her head on her hand. "I've decided to rid you of that."

Fohl, who was hugging Atla close, asked, "What do you mean by that?" The tiger growled at the grinning fox. "You just said you wanted to kill us!"

Naofumi stood up from her chair, "I did say that, but I changed my mind. Listen carefully to this, okay? In this world, you can be a predator or you can be a prey. One often thinks that because they were born a prey, they stay that way until the moment they die. That's simply a misconception. The truth is, they choose to stay a prey waiting to be picked off. They never think once in their life can they become a predator. I was like that once. Just like you, I thought if I was obediant then everything would get better. The big, scary predators would pity me. That's sadly not how the world works. Predators will always play with their prey, until there is nothing left. Until that prey is broken. Do you wish to stay a prey forever?"

Raphtalia lowered her head and clutched the back of Rifana's shirt, "How? How can you say that?"

Naofumi approached the pair and kneeled down to their height, "It's the unfortunate truth. Surely, you have realized it by now. You are merely prey in this world, but I'm giving you a chance to become a predator. You can take it or you can leave it. It doesn't effect me at all if you choose to leave. If you stay, I'll make sure you go higher than anyone before you. All I ask is your loyalty, and in return I'll protect you."

"Loyalty?" Rifana asked.

Naofumi stood back up, "If I say jump, you four say how high. You shall serve me not as a slave, but as a my maidens. My most trusted and respected advisors that I will raise to be the greatest there ever was. That is the contract between us. You can take it or you can leave." Naofumi sat back down and crossed her legs, "The choice is all yours. I won't stop you."

The children in the room were silent. They were all thinking about what Naofumi had said. She was offering to raise them, so they could be greater than anyone else. The fox promised them her respect as well, something all of them thought they would never gain again. Scenes from their lives flashed through their heads. All of them were bittersweet and fleeting. Those brief moments of happiness were gone and replaced with memories of pain and grief. The shield hero was promising them a better life. She was going to make them into apex predators.

"Well?" The fox grinned, "What do you say? Will you stay as a herd ready for the slaughter? Or will you change your weak self?"

Surprisingly, Atla was the first to do anything. On her shakey legs she stood up and fumbled her way in front of the fox. It took all her energy, but she did it. "You promise never to break that oath you made. If we stay by your side, you'll stay be ours."

Naofumi reached out and patted the girl between her ears, "Of course, you have my word. I'll never betray you."

Raphtalia joined the frail girl, "I-I'll join you too."

Rifana closed in as well, "Me too. As long as Raphtalia is with me."

Naofumi smiled and looked over at Fohl who was standing quite a bit away, "And you, my sweet little Fohl?"

Fohl clenched his fists, "If Atla follows you, then I will too."

Naofumi smirked. This was going better than she expected. Sorry children, you can't fully trust Naofumi just yet.

"From now on the only one who can kill you four is me, understand?"