At the Northern Fort Chapter 3

Children are the enemy.

I woke up with a start to find that it was morning.

It was great that I set out on a journey to Mother’s side, but I was still too young in this life. My body wasn’t moving the way I wanted and every few hundred metres of plodding along, I would tire out and fall asleep.

Children will sometimes play like crazy and then suddenly fall asleep like their batteries run flat, but my situation was exactly like that. Although, as an adult on the inside, I’m a little embarra.s.sed about this.

I shook my body to fling off the snow that built up while I was sleeping. It had been layered on quite heavily.

And then renewing my determination, I decided that today for sure I would reach the bottom of the mountain.

Although having said that, the distance I took with each step was terrifyingly short.

Even when I ran until I panted wafuwafu, my progress was trifling. Can I cry already?

After all, the scenery has been completely white the whole time, and far from reaching the Capital, I won’t even leave this mountain at this rate. I have to run more frantically.

Wafu, wafu

Wafu, wafu

This is me being frantic you know. I’m trying my best you know.

But because of my appearance, a happy-go-lucky sound effect accompanies me no matter what I do.

Wafu, wafu…

It’s been a year since I was born. Have I ever more keenly realised the shortness of my limbs?

Fifteen days.

The time it took me to descend the mountain and leave the surrounding forest was a total of fifteen days.

…That’s half of Mother’s trip already.

Right now I had left the forest and was walking along a small path that led to a human town. My spirits were a lot lower than when I had triumphantly left home.

The only good thing was that my muscles weren’t hurting at all, despite all the running I did. I did get fatigued each day, but it would reset with a night’s sleep.

Even right this moment, I was only tired from the running I did today. Is this resilience because I’m a spirit?

According to Mother, the mountain we’re living on is at in northernmost part of the country, while the Capital is in the middle. Even in winter, there isn’t much snow there, and it’s a comparatively warmer place.

But right now I’m still in the middle of a snow field. If I’ve only made it this far after fifteen days, maybe it’s impossible to reach the Capital.

Although I was closer and closer to giving up, I continued to walk. And while I did, I finally reached a fork in the road.

To the right spread a human town. It was my first time coming down the mountain to a human settlement, so I was watching the town with great interest.

The place gave the atmosphere of somewhere in ancient Europe, and the townscape was built in a Western style. I heard that the town was large, and there were lots of people too, but it was cold here and there was lots of snow, so it gave me a calm and quiet impression. Everybody was probably holed up in their warm homes.

After having a look over the town, this time I turned to the left.

There was a ma.s.sive building of some sort, but because it was boring and undecorated, I suspected it was a military facility like a base, stronghold or fort of some kind.

Does this country have a military too? I wonder if they’re knights like in fantasy stories.

I stood still at the forked road, unsure of where to do.

Two young children were approaching from town, and when they caught sight of me, they started running this way.

“Wanwa!”

Just who is ‘Wanwa’. So rude.

“Wanwa, Wanwa”

Just as I had registered the girl and boy happily running towards me, in the next moment, gyuuu, they hugged me without hesitation.

Ugwohh… I’m begging you, please be a little gentler. Various things that aren’t supposed to are going to come out of my mouth.

“Wanwaa!”

I get it. Wanwa gets it.

With their Western faces, the two children were as cute as angels, but they were quite strong. They tugged at my fur, and tugged at my tail, and I couldn’t help but let out pathetic kyunkyun noises.

I’ve even lost to children?

But it isn’t as though these children are hurting me on purpose, so I couldn’t even bite at them to resist.

Owowowowow.

While grimacing in the midst of this battlefield──it was easily a battlefield for me──just as I was wondering how to escape, a saviour appeared with wonderful timing.

“Alt, Mine, where are youuu?”

The female voice came from the direction of the town, probably belonging to their mother. The children immediately turned that way and relaxed their hands.

Unwilling to let this chance go, I immediately ran away. In the exact opposite direction of the children.

Like a white bullet, I sped across the snow.

…I’m sorry for lying. The truth is I just toddled and tumbled away.

After hiding in a bush, I turned around to have a look and found that the mother had finally arrived as the children were looking at me in disappointment.

“Time to go home.”

With her children in hand, the mother brought them back to their warm house.

Aahh, how nice. I miss Mother as well.

Who would guess that this spoiled fox was actually almost an adult in her previous life. I think my mind really is being pulled down to my body’s age after all.

I was a little bit more together in my past life… at least, I should have been…

Now then, it’s about time to leave the bush.

Stepping out, I began to think.

Those children are still in town, so I don’t really want to go there. From now on I need to watch out for any children that sprint my way with a smile. Children are cute, innocent, and terrifying beings.

Since I no longer had the option of going into town, I began heading down the left path.

I walked as far as the menacing fortress, and looked for an entrance I could use to enter. This place is probably a division of this country’s knights or military or whatever. I’m sure there’s going to be heaps of people here who know the way to the Capital.

Although the problem is, given that all I can do is make pathetic “kyunkyun” noises, I don’t know how exactly I’m supposed to ask them.

But well, everything in life begins with a try.

For now I was going to head inside, so I slipped through a crack in the surrounding fence.