NOVEL WEB Chapter 9: Bargaining with a truck-sized fox
When I saw the fox the size of a truck, I knew that my common sense didn't apply to this world in the slightest. Yet, when I saw the very same fox happily snack on the small pile of canned beef that I'd prepared for it, only for its wounds to start closing as if by a touch of some sort of a magic wand…
I've lost it.
This picture was simply too damn ridiculous for me to believe in it. Because how come, a simple canned beef, something that people of earth would hardly be willing to stomach, turns into a magical treasure capable of healing wounds even in a beast as massive as the fox before my eyes?
'Nothing makes sense anymore,' I thought as I took a deep breath and forcibly removed logic from the equation, opting to just accept things as they are.
"I should have a few more kinds of meat if you are interested in trying it out," I muttered, instantly attracting the eyes of the smaller of the two foxes…
Wait, since when has yet another fox appeared on the scene?
Baffled by the third adorable ball of fur, I gulped my saliva down.
'Okay, now there are three of them,' I thought, suddenly worried about the number of supplies I had left.
Still, the female fox that I cuddled before appeared to be the only one interested in my words, with her partner? Brother? Cousin? With the other normal-sized fox too fixated on the content of the leaf bowl to care about me in the slightest.
"You interested?" I asked a bit louder, not really expecting any sort of answer.
What kind of answer could a mere fox, even as massive as the ones before my eyes, give?
"Human child…"
A voice appeared in my head, filling my thoughts despite not reaching my ears at all.
"Is what you speak off, true?"
'Throw your common sense away, it's of no use here,' I thought to myself before putting on the best salesman face I could come up with.
"It is true," I spoke out loud, not exactly sure which of the foxes I was talking to… Assuming it was one of the foxes that somehow spoke directly to my mind. "But to be frank, I planned to sell them off. I don't mean to be rude, but those cans are the last of what I could afford with all the money I had left…"
My words appeared to knock some sense into the mind of the fox I was talking with, regardless of which one it was that talked to me.
I've fed the small one out of the kindness of my heart, taking ample payment in the form of prolonged sessions of petting. I offered canned beef to the big one out of curiosity, eager to learn why the first one I'd met was so interested in it.
But what kind of reason would I have to share even more of my supplies for nothing?
'I guess not having them jump and kill me is a kind of profit…' I thought, once again recalling the reality of the situation I was in. And judging by how there were no other monsters anywhere in the clearing, I was likely stuck in the very nest of those foxes…
I swallowed the saliva that gathered in my mouth, once again reminded of the possibility that the canned food was a mere appetizer for a stupid prey that was gullible enough to follow the smaller fox into its lair.
"If it's the payment you are looking for…"
The strange voice, so neutral it sounded incredibly fake, sounded in my head again. This time, however, the big fox finally raised its mouth from the leaf bowl. And from the looks of things, it just finished licking all the last remaining droplets of the meat sauce off the makeshift bowl.
It even went as far as licking its lips clean!
"Tell me, human child, what payment do you seek for this…" the voice hesitated for the very first time as the massive fox turned its eyes from the cleaned-up bowl to the pile of remaining tin cans. "For this meat?"
'So it doesn't know the concept of packaged food,' I took notice, grasping at the straws to learn something potentially vital about this world.
But whether or not a beast like that knew about preservatives or sealed packages didn't really mean much in the larger scheme. After all, how could it know whether or not humans of this world came up with this idea if it resided in the forest and interacted with humans on a relatively rare basis?
Still, the fox asked a question. And given the type of question it was, I felt it would be pretty stupid to be greedy. But at the same time, I really had to find something that I could recuperate my costs with once I went back to earth, otherwise, I would simply starve!
So, rather than being greedy or humble, I decided to be honest.
"To be frank, I have no idea how I should price this food. But there are several things I'm in need of, so how about I list them out and you decide what would be the fitting price?" I requested.
I wouldn't be able to ask for too much if I gave the fox the ability to decide the worth of the food I provided.
"Go on, human child."
For some reason, being called a 'human child' like that struck my nerve.
"I'm Peter, by the way," I muttered.
And for but the shortest of moments, I could swear I saw the big fox part in its mouth and give me a small, amused grin.
"Go on, Peter," the fox changed its wording according to my unvoiced request.
"First, I'm weak. Weaker than an average human for sure. But for the next day and a half, I'm pretty much stuck in this…" I hesitated for a second when I realized I was about to reveal my true origin. And as much as I hated the trope of hiding one's identity in the novels' I've read… Haphazardly admitting to coming from another world might not be the brightest idea.
"I'm weak and I cannot leave. So, until I am able to leave, I would love it if I could enjoy the safety of this nest," I spoke while spreading my arms open to indicate I had the clearing we were in on my mind.
"That's not a big thing. Peter," the fox replied while yawning. "It can hardly pay what this precious meat had to cost, so do go on."
'Oh?'
Even though I was aware of how shitty my approach to this negotiation was from a proper merchant's point of view… I just realized that opting to go with the honest route might not be that bad of an idea after all.
Not when this beast would consider its honor to be stained if it didn't pay me back what it considered my beef to be worth.
"Then… This is more of a personal request and if it's insulting in any way, please, forgive me for I'm ignorant of your ways," I spoke, setting up the proper foundations for one of the very few things I could request that I considered more important than getting my money's worth back.
"I…" Before the fox could even encourage me to keep going, I spoke… Only to turn silent as doubts filled my mind. So, bringing all the courage I could gather, I lowered my head and whispered, "I would like to pet you guys for a little longer…"
My cheeks turned bright red. Strangely enough, I asked a fox if I could cuddle it…
'Wait, wouldn't it be the same as asking a human if I can hug them or something?'
Suddenly scared, I sharply raised my eyes… Only to see the warmth in the eyes of the big fox and feel the softness of the fur of the smaller one as it snuggled up to my thigh, rubbing its fur on my clothes.
"I don't really mind, human chi… Peter," the fox yawned again, its formerly flat voice now gaining hints of amusement. "I can't consider it a payment, still."
I gulped my saliva down.
No matter how much I wanted to put it for later, I just ran out of topics that I could divert both the foxes' and my own attention to. And now that I've dealt with all the other priorities…
I had to bring up the topic of money.
"Lastly, even a tiny piece of gold or silver would suffice. Four, five grams should suffice."
In all the books I've read in the past, gold was as valued in other worlds as it was back on Earth if not even more. That's why, before I entered the gate, I made sure to remember the exchange rates.
Of course, exchanging gold coins from another world would pose another challenge… But it was a problem that the foxes had absolutely nothing to do with.
"What are the grams that you speak of?" the fox asked, its tail flailing a little as if to showcase its curiosity.
"It's a unit of weight," I replied, only now realizing my mistake. Then, after throwing a quick look around, my eyes locked on the emptied-out cans. "One of those cans held about four hundred grams of meat," I explained.
"I see…" the fox's voice appeared like a whisper even though it was still directly appearing in my thoughts. "Come with me, human Peter," clearly used to calling me 'human child,' the fox now started to mix both this strange form and my name. "I don't know those grams that you speak of, so I will let you see what gold I can offer you."
The massive fox stood up, the wound near its hind leg seemingly vanishing into thin air, leaving only some dried-out blood behind.
"If I do recall, the group of warriors who foolishly tried to challenge me had something bright and flashy attached to their belts," the fox spoke as it rose up before heading towards one of the sides of the clearing. "Come with me, and you shall see if that's the gold you are looking for."