Chapter 48

Three fox tails fell to the ground.

I was the first to notice, and the Fox Girl realized it belatedly.

“…Huh?”

A deep shade of confusion spread across the Fox Girl’s face.

“T-Tails…”

As if her muscles had stiffened, she froze in place, rigid as a board. It was as if she were bound by invisible chains, not moving an inch. Only her pupils trembled slightly.

Of course, this scene was captured by the camera. A quick glance at the chat window revealed that many were mocking the Fox Girl.

【Handsome Licker】─LOL, look at her face. She’s so flustered. *Lick*.

【Qkrnfl892】─Isn’t she supposed to be a nine-tailed fox? (Not a nine-tailed fox) LOL.

【Yoho】─Gasp….

【Maehwa Tree】─It was cosplay. That makes sense.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─F*cking fake fox b*tch LOL. She didn’t even glue her butt properly.

【Jujijoa】─Is she crying?

【Reverse Rape Mania】─But when you cosplay, don’t you stick the tail in your a**? Did her sphincter give out?

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow! The tail is attached to the clothes! Why would you stick it in your stinky a**?

【Reverse Rape Mania】─You’re into scat but pretending you’re not. *Sniff sniff*.

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow… This b*tch isn’t even in character….

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─That fox must’ve been cosplaying. The tail was well-made. Couldn’t tell it was fake.

【Drifting AI】─I’ll say it. I predict the rest of the tails are fake too.

【Min Ji】─Of course they’re fake. Drifting, you don’t seem to know much about cosplay.

The Fox Girl snapped out of it a moment later. With a red face, she started picking up the tails.

But the situation only got worse.

*Thud.*

【Big Girl】─Huh? Another one fell….

The Fox Girl’s tail fell to the ground again. Now she was a three-tailed fox.

“Ugh?”

Making a ridiculous sound, the Fox Girl alternated her gaze between the tail she was picking up and the new one that had fallen.

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow! She’s devolving! LOL.

【Maehwa Tree】─LOL, just rip off the remaining tails. And the ears too.

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─The remaining tails and the ears on her head seem real.

As the Defense Team suggested, the fox ears and remaining tails seemed real. The Fox Girl was flailing her tails and ears frantically, clearly at a loss. It was a movement impossible without a neural connection.

‘…At this point, she looks pitiful.’

Tears welled up in the Fox Girl’s eyes. It seemed quite humiliating. Her hands trembled so much she couldn’t even pick up the tails properly.

‘Sigh. Let’s help her pick them up.’

In the end, I decided to lend a hand and help her pick up the tails.

***

The Fox Girl, now holding a bundle of tails in her arms, bowed her head in gratitude.

“Thank you…”

“Yeah. Go back to your seat now.”

“Okay…”

With her fox ears drooping, she shuffled back to her seat but suddenly stopped. Then she turned around and started walking back toward me.

Why is she coming back? I stared at her, puzzled.

The Fox Girl stopped in front of me, shyly lowering her head and speaking.

“…Um, thank you so much for picking up my tails earlier. So, as a thank you, I’d like to recommend some dishes while we eat together. How about it?”

This girl was crazier than I imagined. I didn’t think she’d still be trying.

【Handsome Licker】─Wow. What a psycho. LOL.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─I really want to punch her.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─Gasp!

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─?

【Jujijoa】─What is she doing? At least change her approach. Has she never met a man before?

【Yoho】─She’s definitely single.

【Min Ji】─Guys hate clingy girls. ㅠ

【Drifting AI】─I’ll say it. I recommend splitting her skull open. I predict there’s no brain inside.

【Maehwa Tree】─LOL.

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─Se-hoon, just call the staff and have her banned.

The viewers also expressed genuine discomfort in the chat.

I politely declined again.

“I said I wanted to eat alone. Just go back to your seat.”

“…Then why did you help me pick up the tails?”

“Huh?”

“You, you helped me because you like me a little, right? If not, why did you help and make me misunderstand?”

I was speechless. What kind of thought process leads to that? It was so absurd I couldn’t even argue.

‘F*ck. I shouldn’t show kindness to just anyone from now on.’

Anyway, harsh words were the only cure for someone like her. It was clear she wouldn’t back down if I was nice.

Just as I was about to unleash a torrent of curses and chase her away—

“That’s enough.”

A woman stepped forward and grabbed the Fox Girl by the scruff of her neck. It was the Plate Armor woman sitting at the right table.

“The guy said he’s not interested.”

“What? Who are you to interfere?”

The Plate Armor woman let out a deep sigh. Then she roughly dragged the Fox Girl and threw her to the ground.

“Ahh!”

“Don’t ruin the restaurant’s atmosphere. Go back to your seat if you don’t want to get hurt.”

“Y-you…!”

The Fox Girl, lying on the floor, glared at the Plate Armor woman as if she wanted to kill her. She bit her lip so hard it looked like it might bleed.

It seemed like a commotion was about to break out.

“What are you glaring at?”

The Plate Armor woman lowered her voice. Her expression grew even more menacing.

The Fox Girl avoided her gaze and muttered.

“…If we lived in the same world, you wouldn’t even dare look at me properly.”

“Stop talking nonsense. A fox like you, acting all high and mighty.”

“Fox? I’m not a fox, I’m a yokai!”

“Yokai? What’s that? Anyway, if you’re so confident, call the staff and get permission to fight.”

“…I’ll let it go this time.”

“I said get permission and fight.”

“I said I’ll let it go.”

“No need to let it go. Let’s fight.”

“We yokai are beings who protect humans, so that’s not possible. Consider yourself lucky.”

Perhaps she was scared. The Fox Girl, tail between her legs, retreated, and the situation ended anticlimactically.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─She chickened out. LOL.

【Handsome Licker】─”I’ll let it go” LOL. So cringe. *Spit*.

【Jujijoa】─Her pride is kinda cute.

【Yoho】─Not cute.

【Maehwa Tree】─LOL. Yokai protecting humans? This b*tch has never met a yokai.

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─Nah, there might be worlds where yokai protect humans. The world is diverse. By the way, in the world I visited, there was no such thing as yokai.

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow. The Defense Team is still holding onto that otherworldly concept?

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─LOL. Don’t believe it.

After briefly checking the chat, I politely thanked the Plate Armor woman.

“Thank you for helping.”

“Not at all. I just did what was right. How could I ignore such a handsome man in distress?”

“Ah, yeah…”

“Then I’ll head back to my seat. If that fox bothers you again, I’ll chase her away. Enjoy your meal.”

With that, the Plate Armor woman returned to her seat.

【Qkrnfl892】─Oh. She’s kinda cool.

【Yoho】─I thought she’d use helping as an excuse to join you. Unexpected.

【Handsome Licker】─For real LOL. Thought she was hitting on you. Turns out she’s just a nice person. *Lick*.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─Wow! Acting all sweet in front of a guy!

【Balloon Gum Collector】─? Don’t copy my shtick. ㅡㅡ

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─LOL.

【Maid】─Oh wow, *lick*.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─But later, she’ll probably try to strike up a conversation and subtly suggest joining you.

【Jujijoa】─Yeah, seems like she’s testing the waters.

【Maehwa Tree】─Possible.

【★Hoon World】─Shut up, you idiots. You can’t say anything nice about someone who helped.

【Big Girl】─?? Why are you talking in the chat?

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─Seems like you’re being cautious. LOL.

【★Hoon World】─Because of what just happened, all the other customers are staring this way. They were already glancing over, but now they’re outright staring.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─Getting visually assaulted?

【Yoho】─Gasp!

【Qkrnfl892】─Tell them to stop staring while cursing. You’re good at that.

【★Hoon World】─Nah, I’ve been visually assaulting other customers too. Can’t do that.

【Yoho】─Gasp….

【Reverse Rape Mania】─Oh, f*ck, assault me too!

【Maehwa Tree】─Chat screenshot.

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow! Getting visually assaulted by a guy is a reward, isn’t it?

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─For real, especially if it’s someone like Gyesekkihoon, I’d be drooling.

【Min Ji】─That’s true.

【Handsome Licker】─If it’s Se-hoon, it’s fine. But if an ugly guy stares at me, it’s gross. *Spit*.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─No one’s looking at you anyway, idiot. LOL.

While trying to ignore the other customers’ stares and communicating with the viewers through chat, it happened.

“Table 10, your order is ready.”

A bunny boy employee approached my table with a large plate.

“…Already?”

Something felt off. I was sure my order was taken last. The other tables were still empty, so it didn’t make sense for my food to come out first.

‘Is my dish the fastest to prepare?’

Or maybe the food meant for another table was mistakenly brought to me.

Just in case, I decided to ask the employee. Since I just asked for the most popular dish, I wasn’t sure if this was actually mine.

“Is this the dish I ordered?”

“Yes, it is! Prepared exactly as you requested, our restaurant’s most popular dish!”

At least it wasn’t a mistake.

“Ah. But I ordered last…”

“Gentlemen first!”

The reason the food came out quickly was simpler than I thought. It was just because I was a man.

‘Seriously. Just serve in order… No need to make it awkward.’

I glanced at the other tables. Thankfully, no one seemed upset. Everyone looked completely unfazed.

“Then, enjoy your meal!”

“…Thank you.”

The bunny boy placed the food on the table and hopped back to the kitchen.

I looked at the “long greenish chunks” on the table and then turned my gaze to the chat.

【Gyeongsaeng Guburi】─What the f*ck is that?

【Maehwa Tree】─Wow, that’s disgusting. Totally kills my appetite.

【Qkrnfl892】─Are they messing with the food?

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow… Can you even eat that?

【Handsome Licker】─*Spit spit* F*ck!

【Yoho】─Is it alive? It’s moving. Is it like live octopus?

【Reverse Rape Mania】─It’s not octopus, it’s squid-sized.

【Jujijoa】─It’s like live octopus contaminated with radiation and mutated.

【Min Ji】─It looks like a tentacle monster….

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─Oh? One’s trying to escape the plate! Catch it!

I turned my gaze back to the table.

“…….”

Green sauce-soaked, intestine-like things were squirming on the plate.

It was worth a try.