Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

Chapter 6: Two cans of tuna for a chance to fluff

If my thoughts were guided by reason, then this adorable ball of white fur should be considered a danger. It was a wild animal, a predator, that only the endless boredom of humans made into a potential pet.

In this world, this white and relatively small fox was likely one of the craftier hunters within the woods. And right now, it was baring its fangs on me.

But that was only an approach a reasonable man would take. As someone who grew up in a friendless world, I always had a soft spot for animals.

'You can fool a human, but you can never fool a dog,' I thought, recalling a saying from back home.

And what else were foxes if not a weird mix of canine and feline traits?

'I know this is stupid but...'

The animal lover in me took control of my actions, forcing my hands to slowly move up as I gradually retreated three steps. Then, under the constant scrutiny of the fox's wary yet curious eyes, I moved my backpack to my chest before lowering it down to the ground.

"Slowly, I just want to pull out some food for you," I chanted in a near-singing tone.

It was less about the words and more about the tone of my voice.

'Wait, I remember there was this one trick...' I thought, scouring my mind for the details.

Then, I raised my eyes and met with the fox's stare. There was no point entering a contest of snares. But by slowly closing my eyes before lazily opening them back up, I hoped to pass on the simple message.

Bit by bit, my hands moved the zippers on my backpack down, opening up the main pocket filled to the brim with supplies. The problematic part was... that all the stuff I could imagine a fox would like was sealed in the tin containers!

I moved my eyes down, hoping it was the right move.

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The white cloud of fur didn't make a move yet, so I took it for a good sign. But was it really that smart? To avert my eyes from a predator that while much smaller than me, triumphed over me in agility by so much, I was nothing more but prey in its eyes?

My nerves strained to the limit when I put on a calm, relaxed face and slowly pulled out a can of tuna. Amidst all of the packaged food I brought along, this one was one of the higher-shelf, more expensive cans.

A conserved food that I wouldn't shy away from selling to a noble or something. And now, I closed my eyes and grabbed at the hook at the top of the tin can, before pulling out the lid in one, sharp move.

Ting!

The metal of the can creaked, alerting the fox in an instant. It's fur stood up, it's eyes widened. The fox raised its lips even further, fully barring its fangs at me and ready to pounce.

I dared not to look away from the ground... Where I soon placed the opened can down before slowly, carefully pulling my hands away.

"No more scary noises, it's all good, you just look," I continued my calming chant, keeping as much of my body still as I could while moving my hands to gather some of the bigger leaves I could reach.

Soon, a small, makeshift bowl of nature formed within my hands, an easy job for someone who saved up what little I had before a recent shopping spree by painting figurines for some small, hermetic workshop.

'It wouldn't be good if it cut itself on the edges,' I thought, risking greatly now to stave off a much bigger danger in the future.

For now, the fox's curiosity still triumphed over its wariness... Yet, regardless of how much I wanted to hurry up, I dared not to make a single, swift, or sharp move. Thankfully, I already put the worst behind me.

"Just a little bit more..." I muttered in my singing voice while dumping all the wet tuna onto the leaf bowl.

"Done..." I breathed out along with a sigh of relief.

Then, rather than bringing the food to the fox, I slowly raised up and grabbed my backpack before steadily retreating five steps and pointing my hands at the bowl I left on the ground.

The fox... Was clearly at least as smart as I hoped it would be. Seeing my absolute focus and absolute lack of hostility in my actions, expressions, or voice, it directed its curiosity toward what I left...

'Maybe it can...'

Before I could even form my thoughts, the fox calmed down a little and lowered itself on its legs. And then, it made its first, careful step towards the bowl. And then another...

'I guess it can smell it,' I managed to finalize my thought right as the fox finally neared the bowl and gave it a short whiff. It raised its eyes on me and scanned for any signs of danger... Before moving its mouth down and taking a first, careful bite of the treat.

Then, the white fox froze over.

'Gulp.'

I could hear my throat move as I swallowed my saliva.

My improved intelligence gave me hope for potentially a peaceful conclusion... But how could I know if my hopes would confer to the reality? Who was to say this tuna was nothing more but an appetizer before a more meaty and bloody meal?

Glomp!

Before I could even sort my thoughts out, the fox freed itself from the lag only to open its mouth wide and hastily start feasting on the snack. From the sheer desperation of its rapid moves, I could tell that I'd struck gold.

A hungry being would always appreciate a free meal more than someone full! And whether or not this cute fox was hungry or not... I didn't have a single doubt about it!

The fox powered through half of the meal... Only to suddenly freeze again. This time, however, once it fixed whatever bug it was stuck on, it raised its head and gave me a long, inquisitive look.

'How come I can read so much from its expressions?' I thought, baffled by my sudden realization.

It felt as if I could somehow... communicate with the fox? Just by guessing the meaning behind its actions and stares?

The fox didn't care about my thoughts, though. It turned its head towards the forest depths and then froze again, clearly on the lookout for something. Then, as if nothing happened, it returned to the meal, quickly devouring every last atom of the tuna it likely never had the chance to taste before.

'So damn cute,' I fought off the desire to clutch at my heart, wary of alerting the fox with any unnecessary movements.

My desire to pet it was great... But I wasn't going to do it carelessly! What would I do if the worst were to happen...

And the fox would escape before I could pet it, scared by me reaching out for its back?

This time, a shrug of fear nearly made me twitch.

And the fox noticed it... No, it's just finished its meal and now looked up, clearly in search of more.

"Not enough?" I dared to smile a little before reaching out to my backpack in the same, steady manner as before and pulling out another can.

Adding the one in my hand, I had a total of four of them left.

"Look," I spoke softly only to tap my fingers against all the sides of the tin can. Then, I turned from tapping to actually patting the can, as if trying to force the insides to come out. Then, I opened up my arms and shook my shoulders in the common gesture of confusion.

For the last step, I brought my hands back together and hooked my finger against the handy opener of the can before tilting them towards the fox and freezing.

"Now, it will snap," I continued to speak as if I was teaching a grade school kid.

Once again, I didn't expect the fox to understand a word I said, but I hoped the tone of my voice would convey my intentions. And with my soul on my shoulder, I pulled at the tin hook, forcing the thinnest part of the can to come apart.

The fox's nose twitched when another portion of tuna revealed itself to the world.

Strangely enough, it felt as if it understood the concept of packaging? When I looked into its eyes... I saw no confusion. And strangely enough, the atmosphere of the moment somehow forced the implication that the lack of confusion... meant understanding!

I put the tuna can down before gathering some leaves to make another bowl. Before I could finish, though, the fox slowly took a step towards me.

"Ah, wait!" I lightly called out, straightening my back a bit. I then quickly dropped the leaves and reached out for the opened can, only to slide my fingers across the part where the metal came apart.

"Ah!" a small cry escaped my lips when a bit of pain marked my finger as I cut it open... Quite a lot deeper than I intended. Surprised by the intensity of the pain, I brought my finger to my lips, sucking out the blood before pulling it out and showing the wound to the fox.

"Open can, bad," I slowly articulated, unreasonably hoping my words would somehow make sense to this wild animal. My hands moved back and finished the bowl... while the fox waited right as it stopped, with one of its front legs raised up for a step.

I quickly poured the tuna into the second makeshift bowl before leaning towards the fox and placing the new portion as far away from myself as I could. This time, however, I didn't retreat.

The fox didn't seem to mind, allured by the smell of the meal before I could even fully pull myself back. Before long, it happily gobbled up another can of the packaged food, clearly minding not the distinct taste of preservatives mixed in with the fish.

'It's time to make the move,' I thought, gulping my saliva down.

The sense of fear somehow had to reflect in my aura or face, alerting the fox and drawing it away from its meal...

Right as I slowly reached out and presented the upper palm of my left hand a small distance away from the fox.