Fox Life

Kyro couldn't believe Gale's ability to forget about the obvious and come up with a whole new way for something. His plan was crazy, but also quite likely to succeed. If they proceeded with it and it went well, they would push ahead of schedule by a good margin.

While thinking about it, he sat down at the table and picked up a fork.

The plan was good, but there were still some obvious pitfalls they might fall into. Tomorrow, he would have to call the relevant department heads first thing in the morning and have them check their capacities.

He sliced a piece of the cutlet and put it into his mouth along with some mashed potatoes.

If they gave positive results, they should start by midday. The marketing should start right away as well. This should—

Why were the mashed potatoes so… crunchy? He frowned at his plate, uncertain about what he'd eaten. The meal didn't seem any different from usual, so it was probably just some residue. Yet of what?

While puzzling over this question, he took some salad.

And instantly felt something wrong. That was certainly not a leafy texture, and the crunchiness… With a bad feeling, he spit the food out and saw a half-chewed cricket.

After a moment to grasp what he was seeing, he gagged and ran into the kitchen to wash his mouth. The water cleansed his sense of taste, but moments after, the memory of it resurfaced, and he rinsed his mouth once more.

What—? How—? Was this some sick joke of the caterer? No, that couldn't be… They were professional, that's why he stayed their customer since the start. It didn't make sense for them to alienate him like this.

Then what the hell was this? He remembered the cricket in his plate, and his throat constricted once more. That was fucking disgusting! With a mounting fury, he swept the plate off the table along with the bowl of salad and threw everything straight into the trash bin.

On the side, Iris was rolling around with laughter. She tried her best to keep quiet, silence her merriment, but a few squeaks escaped from time to time. That expression she saw—it was beyond priceless.

One moment, he was sitting lost in thought, thinking about something, and the next, his features froze. His brow furrowed, and he glanced with distrust at his food, but it didn't seem like he instantly understood what was wrong. He took another bite, and from her position, she could see a cricket and a mealworm in what he picked up from the salad bowl.

Then was the moment she'd been waiting for. He realized his mistake and spit out his food, but it was too late, for it had already entered his mouth. His expression alternated for an instant between horror and disgust, the latter winning out in the end, and he rushed away with a green face.

When he jumped over the backrest to crowd in on her, she made a futile attempt at escape—her too full belly got in the way of moving with her usual agility—and backed away into a corner. Kyro was coming closer with murder in his eyes, but even so, she couldn't help chuckling to herself with every other step.

'You feed me insects, so why are you so unhappy to have eaten them in return?'

Her words went unappreciated, however, and she was soon flying in the air by the scruff of her neck. It didn't hurt much, so she showed him her tongue and laughed even harder.

"Are you celebrating your prank now?" he asked, his voice low. It sent a chill down her back, but she looked up at him with innocent eyes, anyway. 'What prank? I didn't do anything.' To make sure he understood, she even whined a bit like a wronged child.

His mouth twisted into a mocking smile. "Don't think that your puppy-eyed expression is going to work this time. I remember there being two cutlets when I took out the meal, yet there was only one now." He then proceeded to poke her overly full tummy. "Do you know anything about it?"

She shook her head violently, whining in full-throttle now. 'I didn't do anything! I swear! Just look at me, could I really do something like that?' Her eyes grew even larger, and tears collected in their corners as she stared at him with folded ears, looking as pitiful as it was possible.

"I thought you were smarter than to steal food from the table, but you thought you could get away with it, didn't you?"

She whined louder, but he poked her tummy, and she quickly quietened. It hurt to be hit like that.

TT.TT

"Time for a lesson then, I guess. You learned your previous one about not biting, so I'll hope you'll quickly catch on here as well."