Mama Fox

<Zuri>

"Greed, for lack of a better word, is good."

Walking around the place that had become his new home, Zuri ran a hand along the lavishly decorated walls. Every detail, from the soft yet sturdy wooden walls to the baseboard engraved with foxes, was testament to its fine build.

"Greed is right; greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit."

He sat down in the innermost sitting room, letting the expensive and seemingly specially crafted sofa hug his body. A small, tiny smile touching his lips.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind."

Zuri understood those words better than anyone else.

It was his desire, his greed, that pulled him free from the hell of his last life. Born physically disabled in an impoverished family of addicts, Zuri’s future, in most people’s eyes, had been set in stone. He was a ticking time bomb on the priming to explode spectacularly.

Back then, Zuri would give dirty glares and yell profanities at anyone who looked at him a tiny bit too long. He knew what they thought about him, and he hated them so much for it. He hated them because he knew their words, their assumptions, held a damning truth.

He was doomed from the start.

Born in the rural third world, or developing countries as some would call it, he never stood a chance. With no opportunities, no social welfare, and no one to rely on, his chances of any real success were abysmal. To live a somewhat decent life was already going to be hard; real success wasn’t even on the table. Zuri knew this. He knew this well, but he still dreamed.

And it was that dream that set him free.

All this to say, Zuri knew hardship.

He knew humiliation.

And yet… waking up and remembering what happened, made him want to drive a stake in his head. It was bad enough that he cried, but to do it in front of her was a tragedy. That wasn’t part of the plan. The grand plan to turn her into his loyal dog. At this rate Zuri was going, he was going to end up as her actual wife.

Covering his mouth, Zuri felt the terrible memory accost his mind.

She was increasingly becoming bolder.

The desire behind those… kisses of hers, weren’t hidden at all.

‘Never again!’

Zuri needed to rein in control before things got too out of hand.

Forcing himself off the couch, he searched the house until he found cleaning supplies.

From today forward, he was going to be the master of this house.

She will not have her way.

Soft power.

That was what Zuri was aiming for. The ability to get others to act without the explicit use of force but persuasion. In the case of him and Cleodora, it was the only option he realistically had to get her to bend to his whims. He wasn’t nearly as strong as her, and his best attacks wouldn’t even leave a mark. Bullying her into submission wasn’t just off the table; it was buried deep in the earth.

The path forward wasn’t found in violence but subtle threats.

Like when a rich country gives aid and investor monies to a poor country in order to sway its opinion on certain issues; Zuri planned to do favours around the house to get Cleodora to listen to him. Gods know she doesn’t have the capacity to do these basic stuff. She was a war manic, not a civilian. This was the plan: a mini-debt trap Zuri would force Cleodora into. If she had any sense of duty as the hero, she wouldn’t be able to look past his deeds for her.

‘Did they walk in with their shoes on!?’

Sweeping the floor, Zuri bit back a curse. He hadn’t noticed this before due to being carried in, but the entire house’s floor leading up from the front door to the pantry was caked in dirt.

‘Mannerless peasants!’

Throwing the dirt out, he returned the cleaning tools back to their original place before collapsing on the couch.

He stared at the ceiling for a minute before sighing.

‘God damn it…’

Zuri was no stranger to work, given his last life, but it had been so long since he had actually done it.

The tail end of his last life was a nonstop party, while all twenty-five here were the same.

Thirty-plus years have passed since he had done any sort of work.

‘This won’t last, remember. Bear with it’

Chanting the mantra in his head, Zuri reinforced his position.

He only needed to keep doing these little works around the house until Cleodora felt impossibly indebted to him. Once in his submission, getting her to take over the work would only be natural. It was pain now for a lifetime of freedom.

“I’m back!” (C)

The front door burst open, causing an abnormal amount of light to pour in.

“You… you cleaned?” (C)

Zuri sat up and squinted at the intruder.

“Yes, I cleaned. Now take off those dirty shoes or forget entering.” (Z)

“O-Oh, alright!” (C)

It was already working.

Watching her take off the shoes, Zuri inspected the comically large green sack on her back.

Were those supposed to be the ingredients?

‘Couldn’t be more hygienic, could you?’

“Bring that here.” (Z)

“Yes, dear!” (C)

Walking to the spacious kitchen, Zuri directed Cleodora over to the island at its centre.

“Wanna guess what I got?” (C)

“No.” (Z)

“Are you sureeee? It could be fun!” (C)

She wiggled her eyebrows at him.

“Open the damn thing.” (C)

Cleodora sulked a little before complying.

The green sheet spread out, and a large assortment of expertly packed goods was revealed.

Picking up one of the items wrapped in a clear material, Zuri stared back at Cleodora.

She smiled at him.

He looked away.

‘How on earth!?’

Examining the other packages, he was quick to discover something that should be impossible.

This food, all of it, was stuff that could only be grown in the palace gardens.

The palace gardens that his family owns. The ones at the capital.

Zuri paused.

It took them three weeks of constant movement on the fastest available carriage to get here. The terrain had been terribly hilly, and they had to stop on occasion to let the horses rest. Adding to that time were the random inns they stayed at and that moment they travelled in the completely wrong direction. Logically, it shouldn’t be possible for anyone, especially a human, to make such a trip in an evening.

…Yet.

Here he was.

‘Stupid, busted idiot heroes!’

“Get out of my kitchen.” (Z)

“H-Huh? Why?” (C)

“I don’t need a useless distraction.” (Z)

Zuri shoved Cleodora out of the room, and luckily, she complied with his attempt.

“…You find me distracting?” (C)

“Don’t flatter yourself.” (Z)

He slammed the door shut in her face.

It was time to work… again.

In this world, no, in both worlds, one would struggle to find a chef better than Zuri.

Taking a bite of his meal, he gave a small smile.

Yes, truly, there were none better than him.

“Uh, helllllo? Are you listening?” (C)

Unfortunately, an annoying downside to his meal sat opposite him on the long, fancy wooden table.

Repeatedly trying to engage in conversation when he was clearly disinterested.

Wasn’t his silence enough?

Eventually, after a period of his silence, Cleodora gave up and laid her head on the table.

“Can’t you be even a little sweet?” (C)

Zuri set his spoon down, food done.

“Why would I?” (Z)

“It would be cute.” (C)

Zuri rolled his eyes.

If her plan to make him yield involved excessive compliments, then it was doomed to fail.

“…You acted sweet to the kids earlier.” (C)

“Are you a child?” (Z)

“I just think it would be nice. Once the kids come, we won’t be able to get… intimate as much.” (C)

Zuri frowned.

“Keep talking like that and you’ll need to find someone else to cook your meals.” (Z)

Seeing those words managed to silence her; he pressed on.

“Have you been able to find a job?” (Z)

With her skills famously being only monster subjugation, he doubted in this peaceful little village work would come easily.

“…Yeah, sort of. I’ll start tomorrow.” (C)

‘Surprising’

Zuri was naturally distrustful, but regardless….

He praised her.

“Oh, good then!” (Z)

If she was lying, the truth would come out soon anyway.

Cleodora suddenly perked up and then grinned at Zuri after his words.

“Erm, aren’t you forgetting something?” (C)

“…What?” (Z)

“My reward.” (C)

“I don’t remember agreeing to such nonsense.” (Z)

Why would he honour the dumb titbit she added by herself?

“…But, if I don’t get my reward, I won’t have motivation to do my job well. And, if I don’t do my job well, I’ll get fired in no time.” (C)

Was that supposed to be a threat?

“Fine.” (Z)

Zuri didn’t have anything much to give.

It was going to be her loss regardless of what she asked for.

This will merely serve as a way to further his debt entrapment plan.

“What do you want?” (Z)

He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth, though.

The way Cleodora inspected his body immediately made him aware of what was going on in her mind.

The table separating them was promptly pushed to the side as she bounded forward.

“I am not—!” (Z)

A pair of hands grabbed Zuri off his seat, lifted him, and placed him on the very same table’s edge.

“Now we can finish off where we left.” (C)

A light nibble on Zuri’s ear caused his whole system to spasm.

‘Ah, fuck!’