Prologue: even a tiny butterfly could stir up a storm.
The rainy season had arrived on the Millis Continent.
Within a few days, the relentless downpours arrived right on schedule, shrouding the entire Great Forest in a haze of moisture.
Fat raindrops pattered against the leaves and the treehouses the Beastfolk had built high above the ground.
Rain poured down through the enormous canopy, gathering into countless little streams that formed pools and muddy bogs across the forest floor.
The woodland paths had long since vanished beneath the rainwater, leaving scarcely a trace.
Outside the windows lay a gray sky and trees washed glossy by the rain.
Naturally, traveling any farther in weather like this was out of the question.
And so the members of the Saviors adventuring party began their unplanned "rainy-season vacation" in the Beastfolk's Great Forest.
For Cui Ciyou and Alice, a duo with a particular fondness for furry creatures, this was practically paradise.
With the arrival of the rainy season, the Beastfolk children-
-had to stay in the village most of the time, unable to romp and play in the forest as they normally did.
This gave Cui Ciyou and Alice the perfect opportunity to "get close."
"Mini Tona! Tiru Sena! We're here to play!"
Every morning, during a brief lull in the rain, Alice excitedly dragged Cui Ciyou from house to house to "visit" the Beastfolk girls they had rescued earlier.
Naturally, the first ones they "won over" were the little girls who had shared those life-and-death experiences with them.
Perhaps because she was a girl herself, Alice could indulge in all the "cat petting" she wanted, even with the language barrier.
(Being of the same sex, they were less resistant. Female Beastfolk's ears and tails were relatively sensitive areas.)
(Something like an animal's