The Main Heroines are Trying to Kill Me
Chapter 486: Side Story - The Social Gathering (10)

Chapter 486: Side Story - The Social Gathering (10)

0% After parting ways with Aishi, I thought everything would go smoothly from then on.

“Hey, human. Don’t abandon me. Please.”

“Ugh...”

But that hope was quickly shattered by one fox.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch.”

“Don’t leave me... Don’t leave meee...”

I tried to head toward the accommodation near the ballroom as fast as I could, but Miho clung to my arm, biting down and hanging from it as if her life depended on it, stopping me from moving.

“Stop. Let go.”

“Owww.”

I shook my arm around, but since she wouldn’t let go, I gave her a light flick on the forehead.

Miho, who fell on her backside, looked up at me with wide, teary eyes.

“Ugh...”

Her eyes soon filled with tears.

“You... You ate my fox bead.”

“...”

“You... You’ve eaten my life.”

Her words shook my resolve for a moment.

“I can’t have my coming-of-age ceremony without it... I can’t even get married...”

“Can’t you just make another one?”

“It’ll take 20 years to make another one...”

If what she said was true, it meant I’d ruined Miho’s life.

I couldn’t just leave things like that.

“Hmm... Then...”

“Huh.”

But my concern turned out to be unnecessary.

“...?”

“Blergh.”

“What’s wrong?”

In the middle of our conversation, Miho suddenly started sweating and covered her mouth.

“Is something wrong?”

She shook her head furiously.

Seeing her discomfort, I tried to approach her, but Miho kept shaking her head and backing away.

“Oh my.”

“Eek.”

As I watched her suspiciously, someone suddenly appeared behind her.

“There you are.”

“...! ......!!!”

The woman, who looked similar to Miho but was taller and more mature, began pulling on Miho’s cheek without mercy.

“And you are...?”

“Nice to meet you.”

“No, we’ve met before, haven’t we?”

Although she claimed we were meeting for the first time, she looked exactly like the nurse who had advised me during Serena and Ruby’s childbirth.

“Anyway, nice to meet you.”

“...”

But her voice gave off a strong vibe of wanting me to play along, so I just scratched my head and tilted it slightly.

“I’m Miho’s older sister.”

“Oh, you’re her sister.”

“Miho ran off from home again, so I’ve been keeping an eye on her.”

If what she said was true, then it confirmed that the nurse who helped with Serena and Ruby’s childbirth was indeed Miho.

I had assumed she specialized in internal medicine, but it seemed she was much more versatile.

Well, considering Miho is known for her medical skills among the fox tribe, it wasn’t too surprising.

“Mmph! Mm!”

“Miho, enough.”

“...Blergh.”

Miho’s sister pressed down on her belly, and Miho, who had been covering her mouth, finally stuck out her tongue with a defeated look.

“...It’s the fox bead.”

“Indeed it is.”

On Miho’s tongue was the shiny fox bead.

“Our tribe has been slowly gathering life force to restore the bead for a long time now.”

“Oh...”

It all made sense.

“It must have just finished restoring, which is why it popped out.”

“B-Big sis!”

I had nearly been conned into a marriage scam.

.

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“So, uh...”

“...?”

“Want to eat it?”

After being exposed, Miho seemed to have decided to go all out.

“Why would I...?”

“Well, you look a bit weak...”

She held the still-warm, glowing fox bead in her hands and offered it to me.

“It’s a proposal. It’s an old custom of our tribe. A female offers the fox bead to the male she fancies...”

“Big sisss!!”

I wasn’t planning to eat it anyway, but after hearing her sister’s explanation, I was even more certain.

“Just go home already.”

“No! I’ve already got a job!”

It seemed like she had given up on hiding her identity at this point.

“Can’t you take care of me? I’ll clean and cook for you.”

“...”

So now she didn’t care anymore?

- Gripp.

“...Owowow!”

As I looked at her, unsure of what to do, Miho’s sister suddenly grabbed her tail tightly.

“Stop making him uncomfortable, Miho.”

“But...!”

“From what I can see, he’s already at his limit.”

What did she mean by that?

“You know better than anyone how much life force a male loses when mating with a fox from our tribe.”

“Ugh...”

“If you mate in his current state... how much of his life do you think will be drained?”

Now, that’s getting scary.

“...”

Miho, unable to refute her sister’s words, lowered her head.

“Am I really in that much danger?”

“For now, you’re fine, but you’re on the edge of it.”

When I cautiously asked Miho’s sister, she kindly smiled and answered.

“Luckily, there seem to be many people here who are well-versed in medicine, so emergency measures are in place.”

“Oh...”

“Though it would be dangerous if a fox tribe member were involved. Since when we mate, we absorb a lot of life force from our mate and thus reduce their lifespan.”

After hearing that, I sighed quietly and looked at Miho.

“Ugh...”

“If you don’t want to drain the life of someone you care about, you’d better give up for today.”

Miho, who had been staring at me with teary eyes, suddenly pointed at me and started crying as she spoke.

“Listen up!”

She wiped her tears and began to shout.

“I’m Miho, daughter of the Fox Tribe chief!”

“........”

“And one day...”

She lowered her voice, cleared her throat, and then shouted with all her might.

“I will become the world’s greatest doctor!!”

“Hmm.”

“So wait for me!”

As I silently watched her, Miho wiped her tears and continued.

“I’ll find a solution to the fox tribe’s life force problem... and I’ll come back to see you again!”

I nodded quietly, and Miho smiled faintly as she wiped away the last of her tears.

“...Will you wait for me?”

“Stop being dramatic and just follow your sister.”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch... Big sis!”

And so, on that particularly bright moonlit night...

“Wait for meeeeee...!”

“Sigh. Dad’s going to be furious when he finds out.”

“If you want to see me, just visit the hospital... I’ll even give you a free checkup...”

The fox who had come to me was dragged out of the garden by her earlobe.

“Well, I guess that wraps things up.”

And so ended my long and tense day.

“...Teacher?”

“Oh.”

Aside from the incident where I handed Eurelia over to her servants.

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“So, you’re saying the young lady drank alone, made a scene in front of Lord Frey, and stumbled here all by herself?”

“As unbelievable as it sounds, yes.”

“Hmm...”

“Anyway, please take care of her.”

After finally handing Eurelia over to her servants, I walked down the hallway with a much lighter heart.

Could it be that Mother planned all this?

I suddenly had that thought.

Maybe her actions today were to help me sort out my feelings.

As much as Father is pushed around, he wouldn’t have been completely unable to tell her anything.

“Ugh...”

Or... maybe not?

Why was I seeing Father wandering the halls like a zombie?

“Father? What are you doing there?”

“Oh, Frey... it’s you.”

I approached my father, who looked like he might collapse any second, and asked, to which he widened his eyes and spoke.

“I just met with the Magic Tower Master...”

“Did you? But why do you look so drained?”

“Well, I tried to meet her apprentice, but... she wasn’t there.”

“What?”

What was he talking about?

Glare wasn’t there?

She sent a letter saying she’d visit with the Magic Tower Master.

“She said something urgent came up, so she left... She might not even attend the coronation.”

“...Really.”

That’s strange.

She promised to attend the coronation no matter what.

If it was that urgent, could something have happened to her sibling?

I was starting to feel worried.

“Go check on Glare.”

“...Meow.”

I whispered quietly to my silver cat, who had been sleeping in my arms.

“I hope nothing’s wrong...”

“By the way, Frey. I have a favor to ask.”

“...?”

“Could you tell Floria that I’ve been caught up in something for a bit?”

As I watched my cat dash across the corridor, my father whispered softly.

“...You should just stand your ground.”

“Watch your tone.”

“You and I are no different.”

“...Aha.”

For a moment, a solemn mood settled between my father and me.

“...Oh.”

We continued walking in silence down the hallway when we stopped in front of a particular door.

“This is...”

“This is where the young ladies making their debut today are gathered.”

Peeking through the door, we could see inside, where a tea party was taking place.

“Hmm, it looks like she’s doing well.”

“Surrounded by young ladies and young men...”

“...What?”

Among them, we saw Aria leading the conversation.

“Young men?”

“...”

It wasn’t just the ladies; several young men seemed to be... getting quite friendly with Aria.

“Frey... remember their faces.”

“...I already have.”

It seemed I’d need to look into those young men a little more closely.

“What are you two doing here?”

“...Oh.”

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“Honey, I was wondering where you’d gone all day.”

“Wait, wait... Floria?”

“Young Master, you’re here as well.”

“...Kania.”

Frey and Abraham were caught spying on Aria’s tea party by Floria and Kania.

“Come on, this way. The accommodation is over there, you know?”

“Ugh...”

“Our rooms are this way, Young Master.”

“...Right.”

Thinking their luck couldn’t get any worse, they were dragged away by their respective wives.

“By the way, Abraham, don’t you feel like you’re being watched?”

“...?”

Had they known about the unprecedented event that was about to unfold the next day...

“Young Master, have you regained your stellar mana?”

“Huh?”

“My black mana has been reacting to something for a while now...”

“...???”

They would have thought today was a very lucky day indeed.