"...You... said..."
"...Found in the desert..."
"...In the desert? She doesn’t seem like a bug... Hmm? She's awake."
A girl with golden hair streaked with bck, whose eyes, despite being gold, were dull and lifeless, y on the bed. She had nht arm and her body was covered in tattered baained with dried blood. Standing nearby were two figures: a cat-eared girl in a white tank top and hot pants, and a fox-eared girl in a white shrine maiden’s outfit.
"Hello, what's your name?"
"..."
"Well... unwilling to answer? How painful, meow!"
"Alright, regardless of who she is, waking up in an unfamiliar paturally makes one cautious. Let me introduce myself. I'm Shirone, one of the shrine maidens here."
"A few days ago, I was ordered by the high priestess to iigate the Mirage I Desert. There, I discovered that the desert had undergone a signifit ge, and found you unscious in the core area. I then brought you back to the shrine. By the way, this was also found in the desert and seems tnize you."
Shirone pced a tattered bag on the bedside in front of the girl.
"Pupu!"
A small tentacle emerged from the bag, brimming with vitality but emitting a sound of .
"..."
"Do you... remember anything from before?"
"..."
"...If you need anything, don't hesitate. Just e to me directly."
After a slight bow, Shirone grabbed the cat-eared girl by the back of her ned led her out.
"Pupu..."
The small tentacle gently brushed against the girl's face, caressing it tenderly. Yet, the girl remained as lifeless as a doll, unrespoo her surroundings. Despite Shirone's attempts at versation, she showed ion. It was as if, since waking, she was oblivious to everything around her.
She y there, spending the night in silence.
"Good m. Are you feeling a bit better?"
"..."
"You must be hungry. Here's breakfast."
Shirone pced a bowl of white rid a grilled fish in front of the girl.
"If you do, I’ll—"
Before Shirone could finish, the girl had already begun dev the rid fish, quickly finishing both. It was the first proactive response she had shown since waking up.
"Well... you didn't use chopsticks..."
Shiroched the girl eat with nard for table manners, like a wild animal, and quickly grabbed a napkin to the girl's soiled face.
"Holy, such a cute girl, yet so iive to her appearance."
It felt as though she was taking care of a small animal.
Upon closer iion, the girl seemed to be of very noble in, but Shirone could sense she had also endured immense suffering.
bining these thoughts, Shirone cluded: "She robably a noble young dy whose family was destroyed in a catastrophe. She fled to the desert and survived through various twists of fate."
As for the small tentacle, it was likely her pet or something simir.
"Such experiences must have been incredibly painful. Fetting them might be a blessing."
Thinking this, Shirone's as grew eveler.
"How's today... eh, she’s eating?"
A cat-eared girl entered and saw the dishes and Shirone wiping the girl’s face.
"Well... she seems like a child... meow!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Shirone had already swiftly grabbed the cat-eared girl’s tail from behind.
"Don’t you dare say that. She must have gohrough unimaginable suffering to end up like this."
"Meow... Ah... Let go... I 't take it..."
For the cat-eared girl, her tail was the most sensitive part of her body. Being grasped by Shirone’s hand in an unguarded mome aric shock of sensation through her body, leaving her limp. With Shirone whispering softly near her seost sensitive area—her ears—her face flushed red, and her eyes rolled back.
"No, you haven’t said you ua."
"I... Hah... I uand... I won’t do it again... meow..."
"Good."
Shirone released the tail, and the cat-eared girl promptly colpsed into a sitting position on the floor, drooling untrolbly.
"...Pupu pupu."
"Hmm?"
The sudden sound drew Shirone's attention to the small creature that had emerged from uhe b and was making noises.
"Oh! Sorry, I fot to prepare breakfast for you. What would you like to eat?"
"Pupu... pupu!"
The small tentacle waved around, as if trying to vey something. Shirone looked on in fusion.
"Huh? What?"
"Pupu... pupu!"
A small tentacle dang, a fused fox, a cat sitting on the floor twitg, and a girl sitting expressionlessly on the bed created a rather peculiar se.
"...Blood."
"What?"
Shirone heard a third voice. The cat-eared girl was still lost in her own world, so it couldn't have been her.
There was only one possible source...
"You spoke!?"
Shirourned her gaze to the girl on the bed. The girl turned her head towards Shirohough her expression remained bnk, her eyes still dull.
"Wait... blood..."
Shirone reflected on the word the girl had just said.
"Could it be that her pet feeds on blood?"
Before she could react further, the girl's hand split open by itself, red blood flowing from the wound.
"Pupu!"
The small tentacle eagerly absorbed the blood, even climbing up the girl's arm.
"...Wait, I'll use healing magic right now. I’ll get someo more blood..."
Shirone's hands glowed with healing magic, ready to apply it to the girl’s arm when the small tentacle jumped down.
"Huh? What happened?"
Even ating for the time the tentacle took to jump off, it was less than five seds. The teimeter-long wound had healed instantly, leaving no scar!
"...Meow!"
"hat!?"
The cat-eared girl suddenly screamed, startling Shirone.
"I remember what I was supposed to do!"
"What?"
"That persohere, e with me."
The cat-eared girl rushed to the girl's bedside and grabbed her left hand.
"Wait! Her dition is still very dangerous, isn’t it?"
Shirone moved forward and grabbed the cat-eared girl’s hand, which was holding the girl's hand.
"Well... but this is an order from the high priestess..."
"The high priestess? Why would she... But the high priestess must have her reasons..."
"...So you don't trust me..."
The cat-eared girl muttered softly.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing... nothing! I’ll take her over there now!"
To cover up her previous words, the cat-eared girl hurriedly pulled the girl along, rag out of the room.
