Swordsmaster Fox-girl

“Mmmm, that was a good sleep.”

A very good sleep, in fact. Not even when I slept with Nowa snuggled in my arms did I have that good of a sleep.

But… What about yesterday? 

The fact that Nira and Aerin kissed each other without even considering me was… heartbreaking. Maybe I should—

NO—! What is wrong with me!? They’re obviously in love! As their owner, I should be happy, not jealous!

Slapping myself again, I regained my composure and made my way to the door. But I slipped on something and hit my butt on the ground.

“Owww, what the fuck?”

It was a puddle of water(?). I mean, the liquid was clear, and it didn’t smell particularly bad, so it couldn’t be that I somehow sleepwalked here and wet myself.

Why do I feel…. Hot? I-It’s probably nothing!

I wiped the puddle with a towel and then threw the towel away. Now ready, I left my room and knocked on Nira’s room.

-”Come in!”

Inside wasn’t Nira. Instead, Aerin was lying on the bed; half her face obscured by a blanket. The half that I could see was beet-red. 

“....Are you sick?”

“N-No! H-How can I even become sick!?”

“Huh, yeah, I didn’t think about that.”

I could see that something about her changed—her hair. Part of it was starry like the night sky now. But instead of regular white stars, the dots were red.

Hmm, probably because she ingested Requiem. I’ll ask her once she feels better.

We stayed in silence for a while before Aerin spoke up. “Ummm, master, is everything okay?”

No….

“Yep. Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?”

Aerin heaved a sigh of relief. “I-It’s nothing. You should go down. Big sis Nira’s waiting for you down here. I…. I think I’ll be up here for just a bit longer.”

“If you say so.”

After waving goodbye to Aerin, I went down the stairs and immediately spotted Nira sitting at a table in the corner. Of course, I sat right next to her and picked up the menu.

But my sword took the menu right out of my hand and placed it down on the table.

“What are you doing?”

“Relax, I want to treat you to something.”

Oh?

I rested my cheek on my palm and smiled at her. “And what is it that you ordered?”

She smiled back. “During my research, I found a kind of food that Winter Foxes especially like.”

“....I’m a Nogitsune now.”

Though surprised, her smile still widened. “Even better.”

The food soon arrived. I excitedly looked at it, and when I did, I couldn’t help but be surprised. It was like gruel if it was solidified and turned into blocks. 

I stabbed the blunt end of my fork at it and found that it just swayed around like a blob of jelly.

“Gurghh, what even is this?”

“Something you’ll like.”

“...I swear if you’re tricking me….”

Watching Nira’s irritating smile, I grumbled and cut the blob up with my knife. Then, I slowly brought it to my mouth.

E-Eh?

T-This….

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!??!

“S-Swo good!!!”

Even with my mouth filled I couldn’t help but to praise it. I ate it again, and again, and again, until there was nothing left. 

“I-It’s over already?”

I sighed disappointedly into the plate. Looking up, I saw Nira staring at me with amusement written all over her face.

“I knew you’d like it, but that much…?”

“Shuddup!”

Nira laughed. She pulled me closer to me and scratched my chin, making me purr and lean against her.

Nothing could break this moment of calmness. Absolutely nothing. Not even the weird and jealous looks the other patrons were giving us.

“Hey, what are your plans?”

“Mmmm, I wanna go to Premae.”

“Ah, so you need money?”

“Mhmm.”

As expected of Nira, she was smart and knew exactly what I meant. 

“But what are your plans now?”

“Hmmm….”

To be honest, I had nothing special planned out except for doing Requests until I got enough money. But wait, I remember seeing some very well-paying Requests that only a group of Mercs could accept.

Welp, there goes my plans. New plan: find teammates. While Nira and Aerin could pose as actual people, they’d have to disappear during battles, and that would surely raise some suspicion.

Luckily….

“Schimitel.”

“Who?”

“That’s his name, Schimitel.” I took out the business card and looked at it. “Leader of the Ashy Wyverns. I think I’m gonna go join his group for a bit.” 

And I think I’ve rested for long enough.

I reluctantly escaped from Nira and led her toward the bathroom. Along the way, I could hear cheers of encouragement directed at me, but I ignored them all with a hot face. Once inside, I immediately turned her into Avaron. Just like her hair, part of her blade was inlaid with fragments of the starry sky. 

“Do you still remember?”

{About what?}

“Your sheath. Just any won’t do. It has to be one specifically made for you.”

{...Where will you keep me, then?}

I was about to immediately say my Space Pouch but I stopped myself. With her spending years trapped inside a small box, I was sure she wouldn’t appreciate that.

“Can you, uh, turn small?”

{...}

“S-So that I can lace you around my necklace.”

The same one that my locket hung on.

Without a word, Nira’s size was reduced to a fingernail. I carefully and gently laced her around my necklace.

{Huh, that’s not as bad as I thought. But what about the pushover? She can’t transform into anything but herself and Kirion.}

“Well…. [Forced Summon]”

{Ahhh! What!? W—}

“Relax, I just summoned you.”

{O-Oh, okay.}

I slid Aerin between my leather belt and my waist. Was it uncomfortable? Yes. Would the belt snap very quickly? Probably.

But would it hurt me? Unlikely. After all, Aerin wasn’t just any regular sword.

{Master, let me out for a second.}

“Alright.”

Aerin disappeared from my waist and turned into her true self again. She placed her hands on my shoulder and leaned so close to me that I could feel her breath on my neck.

“M-May I?”

Ah, I almost forgot. She needs it, doesn’t she?

“You may.”

“T-Tell me if it hurts.”

She opened her mouth wide and sunk her canines into my neck.