She Becomes The Hero In Another World 127 She Encounters Fox-Kin

"Hmm? I didn't tell you?" Christian asked.

"I don't believe you have." Robin replied.

"...Oh, I suppose I haven't. I was going to tell you earlier. But, because we were side-tracked, it completely slipped my mind." Christian said with an embarra.s.sed chuckle.

"a.s.suming that running into Quinn was just a coincidence, you must have had one of the other demon protectorates in mind, yes?"

Robin observed the group as she talked. Instead of Robin cooking, the company was having Ponzu cook the dishes she had made earlier for them. Quinn and Sir Drago were with them. But, while Quinn was very chatty and talkative, Sir Drago was very quiet and solemn. But, neither of them was allowing their food to be s.n.a.t.c.hed away anymore.

"Yes. The one we're headed for is Demon Protectorate Argon. He's known for his polite speech and peculiar clothes. He's part of the Nine-tail tribe. Known as the Demon King's Strategist, his is the closest city to Port Oracle."

'Well, duh. Keep the strategist close to the person who sees the future. The synergy between someone who knows the future, and someone who can plan around it, would be able to accomplish many great things.' Robin noticed.

"Visit, get the seal, and move on to the next one. This will be easier than I thought!" Christian nodded.

"What part of strategist did you not understand?" Robin asked, smacking the back of Christian's head.

"Hey! As a strategist, wouldn't he see that it's better to help us get you back home?" Christian asked.

"More like he would see it as something too good to be true. We could be smiling faces with hidden poisonous blades for all he knows." Robin scowled. "Worst case scenario, we end up with a Mexican standoff."

"What's a Mexican standoff?" Christian asked.

"It's something only schemers like that strategist can pull off. The explanation would only become more and more confusing the further things get. I'll need to adjust my mentality to face the challenge." Robin made a face. In some ways, strategizing was similar to politics. Both were equally bothersome.

"A Mexican Standoff!? Do you need my help? " Quinn asked. He had overheard their talk when he approached after finis.h.i.+ng his food.

"Wouldn't that require you to double cross us?" Robin asked.

"I think you'll find that I am a very good actor." Quinn said with a wry smile.

"No thank you. Let's not complicate things. Hopefully, it doesn't need to get to that point at all." Robin sighed, before joining the rest for lunch.

Fairy Elise looked up from the m.u.f.fin top she was sharing with Skye.

"There are five fox-kins approaching from down the road." She said.

"Hmm? How do you know?" Robin asked. Even so, she still quickly put on her mask.

"I'm a wind fairy!" Elise said smugly. "You can't sneak up on a wind fairy!"

Skye's ears twitched. "She's right. I can hear their approach now."

"Ugh. Fox-kin! Why did it have to be fox-kin!?" Quinn hid his face in his hands.

"Oh? Is something wrong with foxkin?" Robin asked.

"They always like to play pranks on unsuspecting folks." Quinn said. "If I didn't have my slime storage I'd be robbed of everything and still help them count the money."

"Mini strategists, eh?" Robin grinned wickedly. "In that case, I have an idea..."

She whispered a few things to the company.

"I have just the things for that! Hohoho! This is going to be brilliant!" Quinn chortled.

----

"Are you sure there's someone over here?" A fox-kin with pink fur asked, skeptically.

"Of course there is! I saw their campfire last night near the border. They should be somewhere along this road. Look, see? Aren't there fairly new wagon tracks here? We should be getting close." The lead fox-kin with golden orange fur a.s.sured them.

"Oh, I see it! I see it! There's a carriage up front!" Another fox-kin with a red coat exclaimed, as it jumped up and down.

"Hus.h.!.+ Do you want them to know we're here ahead of time!" A grey-blue fox-kin hissed.

"Hmmph. And since when has that stopped any of us?" the last foxkin asked. His coat was a s.h.i.+ny obsidian black.

"Easy for you to say, Shadow. You're the best at stealth." The pink foxkin snorted. "We other foxes need the element of surprise in order to work our magic."

"Now-now, don't start arguing again!" The orange leader fox-kin said. "Remember the plan? We're going to scare those humans out of their pants!"

"But what if we run into...one of those?" The Blue-grey foxkin asked, timidly.

"Come on, Misty! You can't seriously expect ghosts to appear in broad daylight! They only come out at night! You're a man, you've gotta buck up a bit!" The orange leader scolded.

"I'm so excited! What's the plan again, Manda?" The red fox-kin asked the orange leader.

"Rin...we've been over this. The plan to scare the humans? We talked about it the whole way here. Didn't you hear it?" Manda sighed.

"Of course he heard it." The pink one rolled her eyes. "In one big ear, and out the other. He never listens to the plan!"

"Sharp-tongued as ever, huh, Piper?" Misty sighed.

"It's not my fault that someone only has half his wits about him. He better not mess things up like last time!" Piper hmmphed.

"Of course he won't! Rin, little bro, you'll just wait until we give you the sign, okay?" Manda asked.

"Okay!" Rin nodded, his tongue lolling out as he gave a happy grin.

But when they approached the camp, the sunlight began to dim as the camp was shrouded in a lingering mist. This caused the fox-kins to pause, but since they could still see the whole camp, they decided to use the mist to their advantage. But as they approached, more and more things,began to feel off.

Instead of a lively camp that they were expecting, there was dead silence. The figures sat still about the campfire, as if they were all in deep though. If it weren't for the fact that the fire was still going, they might have been mistaken for statues.

Then they noticed the figures were all wearing strange masks with grotesque faces on them. This made the fox-kin stop for a few moments. Mask-wearing humans? This was something new.

Already, Misty was starting to s.h.i.+ver as the hair on his back stood up. There was something creepy about this camp. He followed behind at the back, his heart rate beginning to speed up.

The moment the five fox-kin set foot in the camp, they were startled when all of a sudden, the still masked man holding a lyre began playing, strumming loud and hard. Misty jumped with a yip, and almost ran away with his tail between his legs.

It wasn't the usual method of playing. In fact, Robin recognized it as the Spanish music for bull fights. It heightened tensions, and set the mood to be suddenly very provocative, yet mysterious at the same time.

All the masked people suddenly turned their heads to look at the fox-kin group. This startled and frightened all the fox-kin. As they didn't know what to do. Something like this had never happened before.

"Manda, this doesn't feel right." Piper said, here ears flat against her head.

"I agree. These humans are a bit more than just weird." Shadow said, shrinking back. Misty didn't say anything, his heart had already leapt up into his throat. The fox-kin group retreated a bit.

Every time the musician played, the people moved in a jerking tempo. Every time he stopped playing, they stopped. They stood up, and began to approach the fox-kin group.

Finally, Mondo couldn't take it anymore.

"Who's scared of you!" He shouted at them. "You all are just humans wearing weird masks! I'll show you!" He growled at them fiercely, and sent out a wind ball, knocking a mask off the foremost human.

It hit the mask squarely, knocking it flying off the human's head. But the moment they caught a glimpse of the face underneath, the entire group turned tail and ran away as fast as they could.

"Ghosts!!!" They shrieked as they sped away.

Because, under the mask, there was no face.