The moonlight was cold and clear. Bell and the fair-haired, blue-eyed fox-person clung tightly together. The girl's lips seed to have been touched by dewdrops, carrying the soft warmth and sweetness of blooming cherry blossoms.
Haruhi felt as if she had drunk a potent liquor called forbidden fruit. Warmth and passion spread across her lips, yet her chest burned with an unusual heat, her heart pounding unbearably. The lingering kiss painted crimson flushes across her cheeks. For the first ti, the fox girl tasted the flavor of love.
"Cranel-sama... I..." Haruhi faltered, flustered. Her tail swayed back and forth like a lost child, panicked and uncertain. All her prior knowledge seed shattered and vanished by this kiss.
Bell murmured softly, "No need for words. Leave it to ." He tenderly stroked Haruhi's cheek, slowly undressing them both amidst their fiery kiss.
"C... Cranel-sama... you... I..." The next mont, Haruhi saw Bell's collarbone and instantly lost consciousness.
Bell gazed at this uniquely captivating girl and smiled softly. He gently smoothed Haruhi's golden hair, kissed her forehead lightly, then covered her with the quilt. This was enough.
Haruhi believed she was no longer pure, yet Bell knew the truth. He could never exploit this information gap to take her innocence. Only a blazing passion could save Haruhi's heart, teetering on the brink of shattering.
A prostitute symbolizes ruin. Since Haruhi held this belief as truth, what Bell needed to do was not make promises as a hero, but speak of passion as a lover. That was enough.
Let the fox girl cling to her misunderstanding until the appointed day, when he would reveal the truth. For the tide ford by her tears, love was Haruhi's sole solace within her prison.
Bell gazed at the fox girl's sweet sleeping form, waiting quietly for her to awaken. Her cheeks were flushed, her tail twitching slightly. What kind of dream was she experiencing?
…
Haruhi had always dread of heroes. Since she was a child, that dream had never wavered. She was confined within the vast mansion, the high walls cutting off her yearning for knowledge. Haruhi's greatest joy was reading all kinds of fairy tales. Stories of foreign knights seeking the Holy Grail, adventuring through labyrinths. Stories of mages who helped spirits sealed in magical lamps, journeying into the maze. Stories of a small warrior who saved a girl from demons. Heroic tales, fairy tales, scenic illustrations...
Unable to see the world beyond, Haruhi found her longing and solace in these illustrated books. Once, a few friends secretly snuck into the estate, carrying her over the high walls, letting her play freely. They were like heroes, allowing the young Haruhi to experience freedom and friendship. But those happy tis were fleeting. When misfortune struck, Haruhi found herself trapped in a cage called Orario. She had once dread of this place. The labyrinth city in Tales of the Labyrinth Hero was thrilling beyond words. Yet when she found herself within it, all Haruhi saw was harsh reality. The cage was unbreakable, its chains burrowing deep into her heart.
Since becoming a prostitute, Haruhi had lost the ability to dream of heroes. Even though Aisha and the others often took care of her, no one told her stories of heroes. Everyone knew that such naive thoughts had no place here. To voice them would only invite ridicule. Besides, as a prostitute, Haruhi had no right to yearn for heroes. Her prison-like existence continued. Gradually, her spirit began to sink into an abyss.
Until one day.
Aisha, the warrior prostitute, often ventured into the Dungeon to train. Haruhi, due to her unique magic, only accompanied her occasionally. No matter how curious Haruhi was, Aisha never shared her solo adventures. After all, one involved perilous combat, and the other was Haruhi—utterly powerless. The gap between them was vast. But that day, Aisha surprisingly began sharing her experiences.
"On my way back, I bumped into a white-haired boy. He got knocked out by Goblins—just like you."
Goblins couldn't kill anyone. Aisha, acting out of kindness, brought the unconscious boy back to the Guild. Her tone wasn't mocking. It was more like she had encountered a strange person, as unique as Haruhi herself, and found it intriguing.
"And then... what happened to him?"
Though Haruhi didn't know his na, she found herself concerned about the boy she had never t.
"He woke up and went back to the Dungeon. The kid's got good eyes. I'll keep an eye on his movents for you when I get the chance."
Aisha scratched her head and replied slowly.
"Really? Thank you, Aisha-san!"
Haruhi didn't understand why she felt so excited. Perhaps it was the first ti in a long while she had sothing to talk about that wasn't related to the brothel, sothing that relaxed the tension in her heart.
"Ugh, you're hopeless..."
Aisha chuckled softly at the childlike curiosity in her eyes.
From that day on, the boy beca the main topic of their conversations.
"The weakest Adventurer?! That's just too much..."
Haruhi felt sympathy for the boy. Soone so determined and strong shouldn't be the subject of mockery.
"I've got so good news today—soone invited that kid to join their familia."
"Seems he actually managed to defeat so Goblins."
"I didn't run into him today."
"I spotted him at the tavern tonight, laughing and talking with that cute waitress."
"He really does have a man's eyes... Hey, silly fox, you're not jealous, are you?"
"He seems to have gotten involved in that Dungeon incident. I don't know the details, but the kid's safe and sound."
Aisha always had news about the boy. Haruhi listened, like she was hearing a tale from the past—sotis happy, sotis sad, sotis full of worry for the boy. She would feel jealous when the girls seed to slow his pace. She would fantasize about whether she could experience such a fateful encounter if she ever gained her freedom. But it seed that fate had no intention of sparing Haruhi.
And then, one day, the tragic news arrived.
"Silly fox, I don't want to keep this from you, so calm down and listen. That kid was attacked by sothing... Now rumors of his death are spreading all over the city..."
Haruhi's heart skipped a beat. She froze in place, utterly speechless. Though he was a stranger she'd never t, an unstoppable wave of sorrow washed over her.
"Hey... that kid had real guts. I don't think it's as simple as they're making it out to be." Aisha voiced her suspicion.
"Hmm..."
Haruhi couldn't recall how she responded. All she knew was that for the next few days, she felt utterly lost and disoriented. Haruhi had thought it felt like when she was young and soone snatched her storybook away. But after tossing and turning sleeplessly, she realized. She was being drawn to the boy. Even though they'd never t, Haruhi, who heard about his daily life, had already co to regard him as a friend. After all, he was a precious treasure she'd gained while trapped in her cage.
"That kid really didn't die! I saw him on the street! I knew it—he's not the type to just fall over like that." Aisha stord back to the brothel, bringing the good news.
Haruhi nearly wept with joy. The weight on her heart finally lifted, and the days that followed brought nothing but good tidings.
"That boy was surrounded by so many beautiful girls..."
"Seems he and the tavern girl beca lovers."
"He was strolling around town on dates—oddly enough, always with three people together."
Aisha recounted her observations with casual indifference. Yet Haruhi's heart was torn.
"It's only natural for that nobleman to experience a fateful encounter with love..." After all, that's how hero tales were always depicted. Even she, who had never t him, yearned to be near the young man.
"Lovers? So... so soon?!" The picture books she read as a child always glossed over the blossoming of romance until the very end. Amazed by this swift developnt, Haruhi felt a pang of lancholy amidst her astonishnt.
"A threeso date?! That's so impure!" Completely forgetting her own situation, Haruhi delivered her criticism as if addressing the young man himself, without a shred of rcy. Yet as the words faded, what lingered in her heart was deeper sorrow and helplessness. Though she was happy for the boy, this was ultimately a story between him and another girl...
What followed was news that even shocked Aisha.
"They say that kid defeated the Minotaur... and leveled up..."
"The naming ceremony concluded, and his title is Little Rookie. The rumor about him leveling up in just over half a month... it's actually true..."
"That kid's gone on a honeymoon trip with the Thousand Elf from Loki Familia."
"His relationship with the tavern girl doesn't seem to have ended either. From what others say, he's pursuing a harem..."
Whenever Aisha relayed these updates, she would gaze at the collar around Haruhi's neck, her expression turning pensive. Perhaps she was weighing sothing. But Haruhi remained oblivious. Her thoughts were entirely consud by the youth.
Even as others in the brothel laughed it off, saying, "Leveled up in just over half a month? That's gotta be fake!" Haruhi still trusted that youth.
Cradling the pillow in her arms as if grasping the flutter in her heart, she welcod her dreams amidst excitent and joy. When the youth's title was announced, Haruhi wagged her tail, softly murmuring his na. Beyond 'Little Rookie,' she cherished his nickna: [World's Fastest Rabbit]. For it mirrored her own nature. Both rabbits and foxes possess tails. Though this was an unrelated fantasy, Haruhi felt it drew her closer to the youth.
When rumors swirled about the harem affair, Haruhi was torn. When a girl in the brothel called the young man scum, Haruhi imdiately found the courage to argue with her. Yet when alone, she would always let her tail droop, fearing the young man had abandoned his fateful encounter.
No, that nobleman would surely protect the girls' smiles. At this thought, loneliness and sorrow washed over Haruhi once more.
I am but a prostitute. Even if the young man seeks a harem, he will never have a chance with Haruhi. He is like a hero. Haruhi cannot defile him with her filthy body. No redemption, no miracles—not even a fateful encounter is permitted.
Yet, Haruhi still harbors a thought.
If only I could see that noble one, I would have no regrets...
This thought lingered relentlessly in her heart. Finally, the fate that had toyed with Haruhi seed, for the first ti, to stand on her side.
On a night when the full moon rose, Haruhi encountered the young man. It was but a fleeting mont. Pure white hair, crimson eyes.
Gazing at the face beyond the window, Haruhi knew with certainty that this youth was the one who had haunted her dreams.
Ah...
This is enough...
This is enough...
In that mont when their gazes t, Haruhi smiled.
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