12. Wolf and Mermaid (5)
“Gah…”
Underneath my head, there was the sensation of something soft. Imagine a luxurious pillow from one of those expensive hotels, but ten times more fluffy.
My head was aching and my eyes felt a bit heavy.
Should I sleep some more? I think so. I’ve been having a hard time lately.
Hm…
But why do I feel like something's off.
A vivid dream came to mind. One where a butt-naked wolf girl suddenly crawled out of the corpse of the puppy I picked up, causing me to have massive internal brain damage and fall unconscious.
What an absurd dream.
A dream…?
…
!!!
My eyes shot open and I jolted upwards immediately, but something heavy was pressed down on my chest, causing me to falter. As my brain began to wake itself up, I realized what position I was in.
I was currently being given a lap pillow.
The silver-haired wolf girl was sitting upright, my head resting squarely on her thighs.
Her posture was perfectly straight, like a statue carved to sit in place for centuries if needed. She wasn’t looking down at me. Her gaze was fixed somewhere ahead, unfocused.
As if guarding against an invisible enemy, her tail lay curled around my side.
This was quite the predicament, to say the least.
[Your Existence has increased.]
[Resistance to mental abnormalities has increased.]
“So it wasn’t a dream…”
I tried to process what had happened so far.
I had been rendered unconscious due to my ‘existence’ being weak, yet I’ve now woken up relatively fine. Thus, it must be due to the fact that my ‘existence’ has increased.
But what is ‘existence’?
[Human beings are useless creatures.]
[They only exist to be dominated and eaten by superior species.]
The mysterious system responded to my question with some questionable racism.
However, since it’s important information, it's better to let it slide.
[Thus, Humans have inherently weak Existence.]
So Existence is just the value assigned to one's life?
Makes sense. That’s why I passed out after making contact with the wolf princess.
But why specifically the wolf princess? Isn’t she under the same category of monster girl as the rest of the other monster girls I had met.
[Not all Monster Girls are equal.]
[Some have higher Existence than others as superior species.]
So it's like that video game where you can capture magical creatures with balls.
Existence was similar to levels. Higher levels beat lower levels, and as a Human, I have pretty much… the lowest level?
[Correct.]
Then why had my Existence increased?
[Your Existence has increased due to the fact that you have been recognized by two superior species.]
[Protozoam Paratism and Canin Lupis Ultimate.]
…
Huh?
[Sigh.]
[Miss Intruder and Jarari Kemonini.]
Ah, I see.
Then to be recognized. Well, if I’m remembering correctly, I had reached the status of ‘in love’ with Miss Irene, so that must be sufficient enough to be considered as recognized.
But the wolf girl?
[Jarari Kemonomimi, Princess of the Wolf Clan]
[Run, run little rabbit. Far, far away from the big bad wolf.]
[Current Favourability: Devoted.]
[Hint: She worries too much.]
My eyes lingered on the favourability she had towards me.
Devoted.
For some reason, I could feel a headache coming on.
[Continue receiving the love of Monster Girls in order to increase your worthless Existence, Womanizer!]
[Perhaps, maybe then you could…]
I ignored the pointless blabbering of the system (it had quite the tendency to do that), and focused on the wolf girl.
Jarari, that was her name.
Her hands were resting lightly on my shoulders without any force or tension. Yet my body refused to disobey her presence.
She didn’t react when I woke up. Not even a blink.
Yet…
[Jarari is relieved that you have opened your eyes.]
[Jarari remains vigilant of any threats against her protector.]
Relief…?
That was unexpected.
I exhaled, then immediately regretted it as my chest protested with a dull ache.
She noticed.
Her fingers twitched, just slightly.
[Jarari Kemonomimi is thinking of one word to describe you.]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[Fragile.]
I froze.
“…Hey.”
A smile appeared on my face.
“I’m a lot stronger than I look, you know.”
While the system stated that Jarari felt relieved, I, myself, felt even more so.
After some brief thought, I was able to piece together the situation relatively quickly. From the moment she had appeared, she was quite intimate, seeing how she had rubbed herself all over my body, and now, where she was giving the service of the legendary lap pillow to me.
In other words, this wolf princess most probably felt some sort of ‘debt’ towards me, leading to this increased affection.
And that debt was taking on the role of her ‘protector’ against the evil assassins.
“Hmmm…”
Not bad.
But is it enough.
[Jarari has noticed the change in your emotions.]
[Concern has increased moderately.]
[Stress has increased greatly.]
“It’s okay–”
I tried again to sit up.
This time, my body moved before being stopped by a white arm.
The wolf girl was still looking ahead, away from me, but her blue eyes were now creased with tension.
[Warning.]
[Jarari is reaching a breaking point because of her stress.]
[It’s best to relieve it.]
Stress?
What’s causing her stress.
I glanced around the room.
No broken walls or blood. The apartment looked mostly intact, aside from a suspicious dent in the door and a bucket overturned in the kitchen.
“…Usavich?”
From somewhere off to the side.
“Kyahahaha!! You’re awake, human!”
The mermaid peeked out from behind the couch, a trembling smile on her face.
“You looked super dead for a bit… I was already thinking about what kind of funeral you’d want! Death by the sea sounds romantic, don’t you think?”
“Good to see you.”
“Kyahaha… haha… err…eep!”
Usavich’s gaze flicked to Jarari, and she immediately shut up.
I tilted my head to observe the wolf girl’s expression.
It had worsened tremendously.
The colour of her face had lowered into a pale blue, and her teeth were bared. A low growl could be heard from her throat as her thin body began to shake. The arm that was holding my body down began to show veins from the sheer tension of her body.
Oh dear.
I was reminded of that time my creepy ex-girlfriend caught me on a date with a new girl. Perhaps, a little worse.
I raised my hand slowly, like how you would approach a wild animal. Carefully and gently with no sudden movements.
“Hey.”
“...”
“Jarari.”
At the mention of her own name, the growl faltered.
Her arm was still firm against my chest, except no longer crushing.
[Jarari Kemonomimi is struggling to suppress her instinct.]
[The presence of a rival is increasing stress.]
…Rival?
I glanced sideways. Usavich had frozen completely, half-hidden behind the couch, trembling like a stick in the wind. She looked less like a smug brat now and more like a kid who’d just realized she poked a sleeping bear. Or wolf.
“Jarari.”
I said her name again.
As a reward, I was able to see the reaction of her ears cutely twitching.
“I’m okay.”
“...”
“I must say, you’ve done an excellent job of protecting me.”
"..."
“Usavich isn’t an enemy, she’s just a bit… annoying.”
Usavich nodded so fast it was almost comical.
“Kyahaha–! I mean… yes. I can be quiet. I will be very quiet.”
“...”
“I can be furniture if needed.”
“That’s enough.”
Slowly, the pressure on my chest began to ease.
Jarari’s arm retreated just enough for me to breathe properly. Her firm shoulders, which had been locked tight, loosened.
Though, her icy facial expression remained stiff.
[Jarari's stress has decreased slightly.]
Good progress.
I shifted slightly, careful not to startle her, and rested my head back down where it had been before. Her thighs were quite squishy, like mochi.
“How nice it is, to have a beautiful girl give me a service like this.”
“...!”
Her tail, which had been rigid along my side, loosened and curled just a bit tighter around me.
Her eyebrows were furrowed ever so slightly.
[Stress has decreased slightly.]
She finally looked down at me.
Those cold blue eyes searched my face with unnerving intensity, yet they also reflected with beauty.
[Jarari is glad.]
Is that so?
[Jarari is unimaginably happy that you’re still here.]
I wouldn't be able to tell by looking at her, haha.
How sweet.
“I won’t leave you.”
…At least, for a month?
Wordlessly, she took back her arm and placed it by her side. I took that as permission and sat up, walking towards the area where Usavich was prostating on the floor.
The wolf girl didn’t stop me, she simply watched.
“Get up, you brat.”
I tapped Usavich lightly on the head with my foot.
“...Wah!! Oi, Human!! Don’t touch me–”
[The coldness of death has entered the room.]
“Nevermind, Human!! What is it that you want this humble servant to do!”
“Go and be friends with Jarari.”
I nodded my head towards the sitting wolf girl.
When I met her expecting gaze, I noticed that the corners of her eyes were creased gently.
From the way the light hit her face, or perhaps it was her true intention all along.
But a soft smile had formed on her previously cold face.
“You're pretty when you smile.”
[Jarari feels embarrassed.]
Yet the smile didn’t leave her face.
Thus, I dragged the squirming mermaid, who I found out actually did not need a water bucket at all to survive, over to Jarari and made them shake hands.
"Together, we'll fend off the assasins!"
"..."
"Ugh..."
As a result, for two days, we prepared for what came next. Whether it be assasins, or just monsters who actually wanted to eat me.
During this time, I came to realize that Jarari was a spiteful girl.
The type of girl who could kill someone without blinking.
"Usavich, clean up the dining table. You spilled your vegetables everywhere."
"Kyahahaha!! No way!!"
"..."
[Jarari's stress has increased.]
"GAHHHHH!! Okay!! Okay Usavich will do it!! Usavich will clean!!"
