When the girls joined the group, the travelers resumed their light conversation. Meanwhile, Kaguya tried to strike up a conversation with the children, which repeatedly provoked bursts of laughter from Catherine, who, with her Sky-Dweller senses, had managed to overhear the neko sisters' whispering.
Cassia, who had also grasped the situation, showed emotion for the first time in a long while and shot her mistress an irritated glare.
[Bless me, Beast God, how embarrassing. What am I supposed to do? I'm a girl too, you know? This is all my lady's fault with her little games! But I can't reveal my true identity. I wish my lady would help me out of this mess. All she does is tease me!] Cassia thought to herself, finding the situation increasingly strange and even a little frightening.
"Boy, how old are you? Why do you look so sad?" Kaguya asked, sitting down beside Catherine.
"I'm three years old," Gray replied after his mother nudged him.
"For a three-year-old, you look quite grown-up. But why are you sad when everyone else is having fun?" the girl pressed on.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" the boy asked in return, earning a pinch from his mother for the odd question.
Kaguya did not know how to answer. [Why would I be afraid of you?] she wondered.
"Don't mind him. He's been through a lot and now he's afraid of scaring strangers away. He's a good child and has nothing against you," Catherine interjected.
And so their small talk continued. Beneath the cover of night, in the shadow of tall trees, the group sat by the fire. Grace laughed from time to time and joined in the adults' chatter. Gray listened in silence, though his gaze occasionally lingered on Kaguya's gray ears.
"Did something happen?" Kaguya suddenly asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Your ears!"
She touched them, then asked again, "My ears?"
"May I?.. May I touch them?" the boy asked, a hint of shyness in his voice.
Kaguya was stunned by Gray's request. No one had ever asked her for such a thing before. If any other man had dared make a request like that, she would have flung him aside with her magic. But this request came from a timid little boy who, for the first time that evening, seemed to be speaking of his own accord. Could she really refuse him?
"Hee-hee-hee!" She heard Aika giggle from the side.
"All right, but just a little, agreed?"
"All right," Gray answered uncertainly. He truly missed Cassia's head pats, though she had not been quite as charming lately. He climbed down from his mother's lap and reached toward the neko girl's head. She tilted it slightly, granting him access to her gray ears.
The girl's white skin flushed faintly, glowing orange in the firelight. Noticing the shy twitch of her ears—so familiar to him—Gray, a little excited and oddly amused, touched the beastwoman's ear. It was soft and fluffy, at once familiar and unfamiliar. Beneath the boy's gentle—and for some reason surprisingly experienced—fingers, Kaguya let out a faint purr.
"Ah~" Kaguya cried out when she realized her position, but she quickly pulled away, clapping her hands over her mouth.
But the damage had already been done.
The boy recoiled sharply, convinced he had frightened her. Confusion and fear filled his eyes—the fear of driving others away with his actions. Somewhere deep inside, he had come to believe that his very existence was dangerous.
He still remembered the village grandmother's warning words. His lips trembled treacherously. Emotions swirled through his mind in a chaotic storm, uncontrollable and illogical. He did not understand that he had merely embarrassed Kaguya a little, not frightened her.
Gray's reaction only threw Kaguya into greater confusion. Just as she was about to explain herself, Chris could no longer hold back his laughter.
"Ahahaha!" He clutched his stomach and burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Chris!" Aika pinched her fiancé when she sensed something was wrong.
"Ahahaha! I'm sorry, dear… I never thought I'd live to see the day when Kaguya would be taken advantage of by a little child… Ha-ha-ha." Chris spoke with great difficulty, struggling to form a full sentence. "Ha-ha… My stomach hurts. The great Kaguya… pampered by a child…"
"Chris!" Aika repeated, and this time there was a clear warning in her voice.
"Sweetheart, don't worry. Kaguya was just a little embarrassed. She actually liked your touch—you didn't scare her. Right, Kaguya?" Catherine tried to soothe the child, desperately signaling the girl to confirm her words.
"Yes, Alex, I… I actually liked it. You just have to understand, beastfolk ears are very sensitive. Don't you feel strange when someone touches your ears?" Kaguya explained, gesturing toward the small ears on the boy and his father.
The boy raised his hands and touched his own ears, whose existence he had nearly forgotten. "I… I… I don't feel anything?.." Gray replied.
Kaguya was deeply upset by his words. She thought she had once again, by accident, struck a sensitive chord in the heart of a child who could not hear through his cat ears.
Sometimes, when one partner was human and the other a beastfolk, a child could be born with minor abnormalities. Such deviations did not lead to serious health issues, as in unions between an angel and a demon or a vampire and a werewolf. Still, these things were considered shameful.
[Does everything I say to Alex only bring him pain? Why does it feel like I'm walking on thin ice whenever I speak to him? What a difficult child. Though he's very beautiful, he clearly has problems. His trauma must not be a light one. I wonder how he got it?] the girl thought to herself, carefully choosing her next words.
"Alex, shall we become friends? We'll swear it on our pinkies. Friends always support and protect each other. They share both the good and the bad. That way you'll know I'm not afraid of you."
The boy's eyes lit up slightly, yet he still hesitated. Mother had taught them to choose their friends carefully. But how was he supposed to do that? There was no certainty that a three-year-old truly understood what that word meant. Everything he knew, he had heard from his mother. He had never had a friend. Perhaps only his sister—but could she be called a friend? And Kaguya? Did she qualify? He took this simple question with utmost seriousness.
Gray was a child far more developed than his years, and his sharp mind, though the source of his strength, was at the same time his curse. He lacked the experience to properly wield his intelligence. The situation he had been thrust into made him react painfully to any careless word or gesture from those around him, turning him into a sensitive and vulnerable boy.
Extending his pinky, Gray decided to take a leap of faith—he would think about it later. "Let's be friends," he said. Catherine did not interrupt him, though the same could not be said of Grace.
"A friend? I want a friend too!" the girl exclaimed, running up to the pair who had linked pinkies.
"Sister, Kaguya is my friend! You can't take her!" Gray replied with utmost seriousness, turning and shielding the cat girl behind his small back.
"Fufufu, dear, Kaguya can be a friend to both you and your sister. Wouldn't that make you even closer?" Catherine finally intervened, having silently observed the scene. She was not opposed to such a development at all.
"Yes, Mother, if you say so…" As always, Gray chose to trust his mother. He was a very obedient child.
"Hooray! Ahahaha, Kaguya, will you be my friend too?" Grace asked, brimming with far more enthusiasm.
Naturally, Kaguya could not refuse—but she did not want to. The longer she looked at the children, the more endearing they seemed. And when she noticed the carefree smile on the face of the man she had been carefully watching the entire time, she felt even more encouraged. She truly was glad to grow closer to Alex and Anna. Perhaps her actions had been driven by her own reasons, but once she accepted their offer, she resolved to do her best to become a good friend to the twins who had placed their trust in her.
"Ahahaha, just look at her! How compliant our sorceress has become after a little petting," Chris could not resist commenting.
"That's it… It's time for your punishment!" Aika shouted, throwing her full weight onto her fiancé in an attempt to tickle him to death.
"Kyyaa!" came a sound next—like the cry of a plucked chicken.
Watching the scene unfold, the twins froze in silence. Strange, slightly disdainful expressions crossed their faces. But before they could fully process what they were seeing, they were already laughing along with everyone else at Chris's pampered antics. By the campfire, beneath the cover of night, a warm and joyful atmosphere reigned.
Cassia produced two recently caught rabbit carcasses from somewhere—already skinned and cleaned—and began roasting them over the fire. She held the meat, skewered on a dagger, close to the flames, and soon a delightful aroma of spices drifted through the air. At the scent, everyone's stomach growled in unison.
"Cassius, are all male neko such good cooks?" Aika asked innocently, finally ceasing her teasing of her husband.
The maid disguised as a man could not find the words to respond and chose to remain silent, offering the girl only a sly smile.
Gray, who had already returned to his place on his mother's lap, was eagerly telling Kaguya about their journey. Whether out of caution, shyness, or simply a lack of vocabulary, he spoke only of his impressions, without going into detail.
He felt his happiness rising in geometric progression despite the grim forest surroundings. Leaning back, he rested his head against his mother's soft "pillows," while she watched their conversation unfold with a gentle smile.
Catherine had already drawn her conclusions while observing the new members of the group.
Kaguya was the brains. She took every measure to ensure her companions' well-being and was willing to set aside her own interests if it benefited her friends. Aika was quiet and rarely spoke, yet she possessed an unusual carefree freedom of thought under her sister's protection. The blond Chris was the troublemaker. Though his manner could seem crude, he became a very responsible man when the situation demanded it. Altogether, they could be described as a tightly knit group with excellent balance—both in their relationships and in their martial prowess.
By the time Gray finished his monologue, which had brought endless delight to his mother and sister, the meat was ready. Cassius thoughtfully shared it with everyone. The rabbit had been cut into small cubes and roasted to a crisp. All were excited for the meal. Fat dripped down their chins as they savored the taste of campfire fare.
Chris passed around a small flask of wine taken from the bandits. Each adult drank a little, shouting "Hooray!" or "To your health!" Gray and Grace had to make do with water.
Having eaten their fill and surrendered to the peaceful atmosphere, the children soon fell asleep in their mother's embrace.