No Beast Girls on the Western Front

This girl usually seems carefree, but Payne knows that it's just a facade of calm.

After all, it was the death of her fellow beast girl, and she was very saddened.

Moreover, those two beasts were originally her responsibility to protect.

She must feel very guilty right now.

Just as Payne had expected, before he could say anything, Ruby spoke up, "I really can't understand how I could not have noticed the explosion right behind me."

Payne continued, "Our artillery was returning fire at the time, and there were all sorts of explosions going off. There was also a corner not far from the landslide site. You should have already turned the corner by then, so the shockwave from the explosions was weakened quite a bit, and it's normal that you didn't notice it."

Ruby said dejectedly, "But... I think I should at least turn around and check if the two of them are still following us..."

Payne added, “But what if you turn back? They’re buried under the earth and rocks, and you won’t be able to find them anytime soon. Even if you realize they’re buried, the battle is still going on, and there won’t be a chance to dig them out.”

"Besides, if you hesitate even for a moment, you might not be able to come back in time to save me..."

"Alright, alright, don't blame yourself too much. It's not your fault, and no one else could have done better than you."

“I…I don’t feel guilty…” Ruby wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Yes, it's good that you're not blaming yourself."

Payne stepped forward and hugged her from behind. She wriggled slightly before settling down, her huge tail brushing against Payne's face and tickling his nose.

A few soldiers chatted casually outside, but they were just passing by, and the sound quickly faded, returning the tent to silence.

After a while, Ruby quietly turned her head to look at Payne's face, and said with some dissatisfaction, "Hmph... You're one to talk! Don't you look guilty too? What did you do wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Payne shook his head as if suddenly waking up. "I... I was mainly thinking about Little Pony."

"What, are you saying you should have noticed her strange behavior sooner?"

"That is indeed one aspect..."

"Then it's even less your fault. You saw her condition; her internal organs ruptured, and she passed away so quickly. No one could have saved her."

Payne rested his chin on Ruby's head and silently browsed the in-game store.

For a patient like Xiao Ma with internal organ rupture, even with Earth's medical technology, there's virtually no chance of survival without immediate emergency surgery.

Naturally, there were no life-saving items in this junk market.

Moreover, even if there really were such a cure-all pill, with penicillin selling for hundreds of thousands, Payne couldn't imagine what kind of exorbitant price such a product would fetch.

If he doesn't trigger a combo critical hit, a top-tier joke is only worth three hundred at most, and he feels that even if he waits until the end of the war, he still won't be able to save enough.

If war ever ends...

Seeing that he didn't speak, Ruby said again, "Right? It's not your fault."

But Payne seemed even more remorseful: "More importantly, on the other hand... I should have realized from the beginning that I shouldn't have let her overexert herself like that just because she wanted to protect the horses... Sigh—"

So Ruby frowned, then turned around and sat on Payne's lap, gently patting his face, and said:

"Alright, stop being so gloomy. New beasts will be coming in a couple of days."

"Your words sound so heartless..."

"What I mean is, you need to adjust yourself and not spread this bad mood to the new beast."

"……All right."

"Besides, I've been too busy these past few days to have any time. Isn't this a good opportunity to get to know Grace better?"

Payne patted her head, forcing an awkward smile. "I was trying to comfort you, but you've ended up comforting me instead..."

"I already said I don't feel guilty..."

"Really? But you seem really down."

"I...I just..."

Seeing Ruby's face flushed slightly and her head tilting to the side, Payne frowned. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Should we go see a doctor? The doctors here seem quite approachable..."

"No...it's not..."

Ruby looked up again, a rare look of unease on her face. She glanced to the side and said, "It's...it's...about me..."

Payne blinked twice, about to ask another question, when a thought suddenly flashed through his mind:

The time has now come to July 1922.

Squirrels branch out between February and March and between July and August.

Ruby's splitter is coming!

Chapter 42 XLII. Just the Early Stage

"Really?! You've reached the brancher?!?!"

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"Oh!"

"Ouch!..."

Payne immediately became so excited that he lifted Ruby up by her armpits, while the startled squirrel girl slammed her knee into his chin.

Although he was lucky enough not to bite his tongue, Payne, in pain, still clutched his chin and fell backward. Ruby, having lost her support, immediately landed on him, sitting hard on his stomach and almost making him vomit his dinner.

"Ah... are you alright?"

Seeing two tears well up in his eyes, Ruby also seemed a little uneasy, but she quickly suppressed her worry. "Hmph... who told you to suddenly go crazy and scare me like that?"

"Um... I'm sorry, it's my fault... Um..."

Payne grimaced and moved his jaw, and after a while, he calmed down and gave a smile that looked more like a grimace. "I... I was just a little excited."

After all, we haven't heard any good news these past few days.

"Oh...is that so? So you were in such a hurry, huh~~"

As Ruby spoke, her face became even redder, and her tail wagged even faster. "Then you have to promise me that you won't blame yourself anymore, okay? You are the leader of all of us beasts. Other beasts can be depressed, but... but you can't."

"If even you waver, if all of us beasts, who can rely on us, waver, then what are we to do?... What can we rely on then?"

“Since you have chosen to be good to us and bring us together, then you have to be responsible for us… and be responsible to the very end.”

As Ruby spoke, the smile on her face gradually disappeared, and even her tail drooped down in disappointment.

Payne smiled helplessly, propped himself up with his hands, and patted her head. "Don't worry, I won't abandon you."

"I know you won't abandon us."

"Besides, even if I fall into a slump for a while, I still have you."

"...?"

Seeing Ruby's puzzled expression, Pine smiled and continued:

"What, so lacking in self-awareness? Several times when I was caught in a dilemma, didn't you step in to cover for me? Like that last time, you helped Troy cut her sausage..."

"

Hey~

The host's depressing jokes were detected.

Depression level: 100%

Funny level: 50%

Freshness: 100%

Note: Meets the reward distribution criteria

Points increased by 250

"

“…Get out of here! You cold-blooded, cruel human!” Ruby raised an eyebrow and angrily shoved him to the ground.

Payne, this human, is indeed quite good to them, but he always likes to tell disgusting jokes that make people uncomfortable—even his former close comrades are not spared.

How did he manage to bring himself to say it?

He also euphemistically called it "depressing jokes," implying that anyone who laughs at such jokes will go to hell. But does that mean the person telling the jokes will escape unscathed?

And he talked about it as if he were a religious person...

Ruby wanted to unleash a torrent of abuse, but then she remembered how many times she had been amused by his lame jokes, and how she herself sometimes enjoyed cracking a few herself, and she felt ashamed to criticize him...

Sigh... What kind of world is this...?

Ruby sighed, only to see Payne sit up with a grin, asking with a shameless attitude, "Look, I'm back to normal now, so... can we...?"

Seeing the lecherous look in his eyes, Ruby felt a little itchy inside, but she still pretended to be disdainful. "No, you're making me angry."

Although Payne's XP had reached a point where even beast girls found it strange, Ruby was initially resistant to the idea of ​​a human helping her resolve the branching device problem.

But after a while, she felt that if the object of her affections was Payne... at least she wouldn't dislike him.

Ruby is now a sexually mature beast girl, and she hopes that someone can appreciate her charm.

In a world where beast girls are generally used only as tools, it is truly fortunate to be able to entrust oneself to a human like Payne who has such a high level of affection for beast girls.

Sometimes, she can even gain the upper hand in the relationship.

Seeing that Payne was about to take advantage of her tail again, Ruby slapped the groping pig's hand with her tail. "No way. You've ruined my mood."

"Huh? No way! Just one touch, just one touch!"

So, just a second ago, the tough guy Payne immediately turned into a whiny whiner, and Ruby couldn't help but get goosebumps all over.

Humans are truly a kind of creature that beasts can't understand.jpg

But no matter what, with the help of the splitter, Payne's appearance gave Ruby a genuine sense of accomplishment—look! I've successfully won over a human!

Although she wasn't as composed as she appeared, the intense sense of accomplishment still brought out a "I can't do anything with you" smile, and she said, "Oh? ~~Just want to touch my tail? ~~"

"Oh? So you mean... you want to do something else?"

"……Eh?"

Just as Ruby realized that her words could be interpreted in multiple ways, the tide of battle turned instantly. Payne pushed her down, and this sudden change startled the little squirrel, who immediately placed his large tail between them as a buffer.