A Vulpine Spanner in the Works

Chapter 51: Heart-Thumping Meetings

[Gazef Stronoff]

As our transport approached the settlement, we slowed down and began to lower to the ground in a steady manner as a red fox with blue highlighted markings and seven tails approached us slowly. Based on what Ashton had said, just one of these creatures could butcher their way through an army with ease. I had no interest in discovering how I might hold up in combat against one.

This also left out the Fox Princess who would likely get involved as well and I had absolutely no hope of taking her on without all five of the treasures upon me. And who knows what she might do in retaliation?

"Greetings. My name is Puraimu." The fox spoke, which still seemed so strange to me, even if it was happening before my eyes. "Might I know why you approach upon your magical flying item today?"

"Hello, in turn, Puraimu." I said as politely as possible, "My name is Gazef Stronoff, warrior of his Majesty, King Ramposa. My associates and I arrive under his Majesty's orders to investigate the origin of the golden pillar of mana that was witnessed days earlier. In addition, I have heard of Prince Barbro's attempted assault upon this place and wished to know more of what happened, not that I blame you or your liege for any hostilities that occurred." I quickly added at the end.

Puraimu hummed for a moment, then he nodded. "Quite reasonable, Gazef Stronoff. While you have a few questions for her Highness, I've no doubt that she'll have a few questions for you as well. Please, let me contact her Highness to inform her of this."

I watched as the red and blue fox stayed still for a few arduous moments. Behind me, the mages quickly rolled up the flying carpet for easier carrying. It was a good thing that they were quick about it as Puraimu began speaking again. "If you will wait here for a few moments, her Highness will arrive to convene with you."

Saying this, the fox trotted off to the settlement and we stood waiting for this goddess. It wasn't a long wait, and in fact, we were completely surprised when a golden flash appeared before our eyes. After it had finally receded, a woman in a white dress, veil, and strange hat stood before us. Even with her face being slightly obscured, it was easy to tell that she was quite beautiful.

But I became reminded of this woman's nonhuman nature when her multiple golden tails slowly moved around her like reeds in a stream as her furred ears twitched and swiveled towards us while sticking out of the top of her strange hat. It also served to reinforce that even with a captivating appearance, she was dangerous to anger and could kill my companions and I with nary a thought, most likely.

I had to tread carefully, as even with Commander Ashton's observation that the Fox Princess appeared to not be hostile, through both actions and words, it was still just that. An appearance.

"Hello, Lady Fox. It is a pleasure to meet you." I said with a bow. My mage companions followed suit with bows of their own.

What came to a surprise for me was when the Fox Princess began to giggle, causing me to look up from my bow to meet her golden gaze with concern. "You need not be concerned with formalities around me, Gazef Stronoff. You already deal with it enough at court."

I found myself blinking in surprise at how lax with decorum the Fox Princess was. "If I might be so bold, is there any particular reason as to why you don't care about formalities?"

"Does it bother you?" She asked in amusement.

I shook my head at this. "I will admit, it is refreshing to talk to one of great status without needing to worry about if I insulted them by not giving the proper deference."

"Yes, the utter nightmare that is courtly traditions." She agreed, dragging a small smirk from my face. "Though, I will be honest when I say that I don't allow everyone to act so informal around me. Mostly, that's with people I don't like."

My head slightly quirked at the answer. "While I'm honored to hear that I'm not among the people you dislike, I find myself wondering why that is?"

"Amongst those who consistently interact among the royal court of the Re-Estize, you are one of the few that is incorruptible, honorable, and honest. And that's on top of your unwavering duty to fight for the people of this kingdom. That is something I respect."

It felt a bit strange to hear someone in power give me honest respect, aside from his Majesty. Most of the time, I was given empty praise, insults, or indifference from the nobles of the Re-Estize. Even though I didn't allow such petty actions of the nobles impact my duty to the kingdom, it was a pleasant change of pace to not hear false platitudes.

"Thank you for your words, Lady Fox." I said warmly.

"Now, pleasantries aside, I believe that you have some questions for me?" As she asked this, I could hear whispering from the mages behind me. But before I could ask her a question of my own, the whispering behind me stopped, and Hawthorn beat me to it with a question of his own.

"Lady Fox, would you be able to confirm if it was you who caused the golden pillar of mana to appear days earlier?"

The Fox Princess looked to Hawthorn and nodded. "You are correct when you ask if I caused the pillar. Due to a culmination of events, my power grew and caused me to discharge some of my mana in the ascension."

Upon hearing this, gasps came from the three mages. Then, Neville asked, "D-Do you mean to say that the discharge, felt all the way from the capital, wasn't even all of the mana that you contain?!"

"Not even close. Though, having unfathomably high amounts of mana does come with the territory of being a goddess with one of my multiple domains covering magic." That answer received another session of whispering among the mages.

"W-We don't wish to insult you, b-but what other proof do y-you have to back up these claims of divinity, a-aside from m-monstrous amounts of m-mana?" Neville stuttered out with worry. I also shared that same worry since he might just get us killed, diplomatic goddess or not.

"Proof, hmm?" The Fox Princess crossed her arms in thought, then she asked, "And what might you wish for proof? For instance, I could give you a tome of knowledge on how to cast the 3rd Tier spell [Haste]."

As she said this, a book bound in some type of white leather with a blue flame insignia appeared in her hand. Then, one of her tails picked up the book and brought it over to Neville before depositing it in his hands.

The dark-haired mage seemed cautious at first while slowly opening up the tome. On either side of him, his fellow looked over his shoulders to read the arcane knowledge within.

At first, the three mages seemed calm and cautious as they perused the book, but as they began flitting through the pages, expressions of pure shock, disbelief, and excitement filled their faces. The gods only know what it was that had captured their attention so, and when I looked back to the Fox Princess, she appeared as if she had expected this outcome.

"What is happening with them?" I found myself asking.

"I gave them the knowledge I had on casting one spell. I've noticed that regular mortals seem to lack quite a bit of information on the mechanics behind casting spells, making the art of learning and teaching spells to others a difficult endeavor. That, and the information I give can translate well to the casting and creation of other spells."

If this was the case, I could understand why my companions were so excited right now. But while the mages had their questions answered, I still had a few of my own for the woman.

"Lady Fox, before arriving here, I spoke with Commander Ashton. He informed me that you had his Highness, Prince Barbro, as your prisoner." I took a breath as I considered how to even go about the subject of releasing Prince Barbro? "What might be needed to convince you to release Prince Barbro from captivity?"

Her answer was like the fall of a headsman's axe. "Nothing. The prince is nothing more than a spoiled brat who has never had to suffer the consequences of his actions. In addition to this, I tend to not let Eight Fingers and its collaborators go unpunished."

A dark portal opened next to the Fox Princess, followed by a golden chain conjuring itself into the air and striking forwards into the portal like a serpent. Then, it snapped taut from grabbing onto something. Ominously, the chain began reeling itself out of the portal with whatever prey it captured.

The first thing to come out of the portal was not a body, but the sound of a squealing pig. Trailing after it was the rotund body of a swine that was clothed in scraps of what had once been fine clothing.

It took very little time for me to deduce that this was the transfigured form of Prince Barbro.

I continued watching him try to struggle against the chain's strength, but he was no match for it, especially once the Fox Princess took the chain in her own hand and gave a firm yank, pulling the Prince over to her.

Quickly, Prince Barbro began squealing at the woman, but when she showed no sign of caring, Prince Barbro desperately looked around until his eyes fell upon me in recognition. Pulling against what little slack of the chain he had, Prince Barbro tried to either command or beg me to help.

Normally, I would have a duty to demand for Prince Barbro's release, even fight his captors if necessary. But while part of my duty was to protect the rest of the Royal Family, my greater duty was to protect King Ramposa and the Re-Estize in its entirety.

Were I to fail in eliminating her, which was very likely the case, she could turn her ire upon the King and kingdom. With this being the case, it made clear that Prince Barbro's life was not worth endangering the lives of everyone else. Especially with the possibility of Prince Barbro being a traitor who colluded with Eight Fingers.

"What is it that you have in store for him, then?"

"If you think that I plan to eat him, I assure you that it won't be the case. Besides, he'd probably taste terrible and give me indigestion." The Fox Princess laughed while Barbro shook in terror. "The first thing I plan to do with the Swine Prince is take him with me to meet his father. Following that, I'd have to think about it."

"You wish to meet with his Majesty? What for?" My hand instinctively rested on the pommel of my sword. Even if I were to lose, were the Fox Princess to make any mention of harming his Majesty, I would attempt to put her down.

"Part of it is to go over why the piggy prick is being punished. Another part is to talk about his efforts against Eight Fingers and a few other matters. None of which involve endangering the kingdom or its people."

"That is good to hear." I said with a small measure of relief as my hand fell away from my sword.

"But if any talks are to happen, then I should go see Ramposa now." She said while conjuring a portal. "If all of you wish, you can follow me through the portal since it does lead directly to the throne room in the capital." She then looked down to Barbro, "Come, Barb."

Yet, the Prince didn't require much encouragement since, at the mention of the throne room, Prince Barbro quickly began moving to get back to what he perceived as safety.

Looking to my companions, I had to ask, "Would it be wise for us to go into that portal?"

"Some might say that such an action is daft." Neville began as he and the two other mages looked up from their book, "I'm of the thought that if she wanted to do anything to harm us, the Fox Princess would've done so by now. Trying to trick us into a trap would be a waste of her time."

"Besides," Hawthorn spoke up, "We need to get this book to Guildmaster Arlan as soon as possible! It's an astonishing amount of knowledge to read through for just this one spell."

I gave a nod at the answer and chose to follow the goddess into this portal, just as the three others hurried upon my heels.

[Kashia]

I would be lying to myself if I said there wasn't a certain amount of satisfaction that came from walking the once-arrogant pig, Barbro, into the throne room of his father's on a chain leash. And it looked like I had chosen the best time as King Ramposa was on his throne and appeared to have been talking with a few of his subjects until I had arrived.

Following after me was Gazef and his mage associates. My lips quirked at hearing the gasps of shock and surprise coming from them. Guess they have never utilized a teleportation spell before.

My eyes quickly scanned the room filled with many nobles looking at us with wide eyes. Some of them I could recognize due to the memories I've sifted through. Then, my eyes landed on the familiar of Renner as she gave me a small knowing smile while next to her stood Tsunami. She gave me a look I couldn't fully make out due to the torchlight's glare on the lenses of her glasses.

It was good to see the pair, and from what they had been informing me, Renner's plan to ascend to the throne was working splendidly. At most, the only support that they said was needed on my end was a large amount of food to be readied and shipped off to each city in the kingdom in Renner's name. From there, my Maiden would keep building up her reputation until she could use it to have herself named queen.

Another thing that would aid in this ascension to the throne was what Tsunami had informed me in her [Message]. Renner had managed to convince her brother Zanac to give up his claim to the throne and support her claim instead. Honestly, I was fairly impressed by her ability to convince Zanac without any help on my end.

Either way, this was great news to hear, and I felt excited for Renner in addition to myself as I'd probably be receiving a large amount of worship soon enough.

Speaking of Zanac, I didn't notice him here. Wonder where he must've gone off to?

A few guards were already approaching me with their swords drawn. While I felt unthreatened by the act, Gazef quickly rushed to stand in front of me with a disarming gesture. "Please, lower your weapons. I can vouch that the woman is not here to fight."

I could quickly discern why the warrior was doing this. He likely believed that I would see this as highly offensive and decide to do something destructive in retaliation. While admirable, his worries were quite unfounded as I wasn't going to kill some random guards for doing their job to protect their king.

"Gazef?" King Ramposa asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here? You were sent to investigate the origin of the pillar." As the king asked this, the guards slightly lowered their weapons, though they seemed ready use them at a moment's notice.

"Your Majesty," Gazef said before going to one knee before King Ramposa, "I have done as you've asked. And to report," the warrior motioned over to me, "She is the cause of it. The Fox Princess."

That earned quite a few gasps from the members of court, along with the expressions and scents of fear from all these people. At the same time, Barbro began squealing as he pulled at his leash in an attempt to get to his father. A sharp yank pulled the pig back onto his ass while the chain stifled his squeals as it dug into Barbro's throat and forced him to focus on breathing instead of making noise.

"Wait," King Ramposa looked at me with a worried expression while I teased a simple smile. "Y-You're the Fox Princess?!"

"The one and only, King Ramposa. Earlier today, I had a marvelous discussion with Gazef which inspired me to meet with you soon after." King Ramposa looked to said warrior and appeared to ask an unvoiced question, to which Gazef gave a nod. "That isn't to say that I wouldn't have met with you, even if Gazef hadn't arrived to speak with me."

The elderly king's eyes narrowed in thought as he asked, "What is it that you'd need to speak with me about? Does it involve Eight Fingers? Or is this some form of a threat that you wish to make?"

I found myself giggling at the insinuation, much to the concern of everyone in the room. "King Ramposa, why would you believe that I'm here to threaten you? You have done nothing to earn my ire. If I was here to threaten you, I wouldn't be quite as polite as I am now." Saying this, I snapped my fingers and conjured a golden throne which I sat down upon.

I had no urge to stand since our talk may take a while. Additionally, I felt that it helped to establish dominance, especially because I made my throne slightly taller than Ramposa's.

My ears twitched at all of the hushed whispering among the nobles in the room. "Is that really her? I expected more fur."

"Perhaps she is lying and wants to kill us all."

"She doesn't look like much. The guards should just take her unaware since mages are physically weak."

"Do you really think she's a princess? She certainly has the regalness for it."

"Then why come now? Why not come when you put Alecto in the middle of the throne room?" King Ramposa questioned.

"I didn't arrive with Alecto because I didn't need to. I expected you and your people to take care of him and use the information he gave you to deal with the kingdom's problems." Crossing my legs and leaning back into my throne, I gave Ramposa a dry look, "My only disappointment came from the slow response of most of the nobles in this court to take care of the organization plaguing the Re-Estize. The only one of you that has reacted in urgency to remove Eight Fingers has been Princess Renner. The rest of you have been slow."

This drew some attention to Renner as the girl took on a determined expression against all the stares. Though I could see the appreciation in her eyes at me drawing attention to her competence. That should help to get more people talking about her.

"Lady Fox, you can't assume that the royal court has done nothing to deal with the information we were given! We've already arrested a few nobles that Alecto named, and have warrants for multiple others. We have only been slowed due to the need of investigating each accusation for the truth." King Ramposa argued, to which many of the nobles in the room began voicing their agreement.

"Yet, you would think that after the many times Alecto's accusations were truthful, that you'd stop acting so hesitant. And besides that, those are only the nobles that were working for the organization. How many operations have you sent your forces to dismantle?" That caused the elderly king's eyes to slightly widen.

"Two were taken down by our forces. We have three more that are in the process of being permanently shut down." King Ramposa answered, earning a small scoff from me.

Looking around to all the nobles in the room, I asked, "And what of the rest of you? Have you also sent your troops to end these operations? If so, how many have you ended?" This drew an awkward silence, with a few of these nobles looking between Renner and Ramposa. Only two nobles actually came forward and said that they had ended three operations between the two.

Of course. Most of the rest were waiting for someone else to do the work for them so that they wouldn't have to waste the money and effort themselves.

It was through actions like this, and not being punished for it, that Ramposa's control had eroded and made him appear the equivalent of a doormat. It was just another reason why Ramposa made a terrible king for this era of the kingdom.

With everyone else having given their answer, I focused my attention onto Renner with a smile and asked, "Princess Renner, how many operations have you currently dismantled?"

This got an eager look from the girl as she replied, "Eight have been taken down with nine more in the process of being dismantled."

Murmurings of surprise filled the room as they hadn't expected how much work the 'princess' had accomplished, even if they had heard tales being spread among the people. Funny that, aside from tearing Barbro's reputation down today, I was also helping to prop up Renner's.

"Daughter?!" Ramposa spoke in a mixture of surprise and…pride, I believe. "I have heard talk of it, but I didn't fathom how extensive your activities have been."

"I had to act, Father. I care about our people and their prosperity." Renner replied with a passionate tone, "When I learned of the locations that contained Eight Fingers' operations, and how it might take time to assemble the troops necessary to go after the operations, I acted immediately and used whatever of my own funds I had to hire adventurers to put a stop to them." She then clasped her hands together and gave a small bow of her head to Ramposa, "I apologize if I have done anything to upset you, Father, but I couldn't allow Eight Fingers to be given time to try and hide."

Whatever harshness in Ramposa's face soon softened at hearing this. The elderly king then shook his head, "Do not apologize, my daughter, for you have nothing to beg forgiveness for. I'm very proud to fully hear of what you have done for the kingdom under your own initiative." The king finished this with a warm smile that was returned by the blonde girl.

"Thank you for these kind words, Father."

"While it saddens me to interrupt this, King Ramposa, there is a reason that I came here today. It has to do with your son, Barbro." That removed any warmth that I had seen displayed earlier for a harsh look of fear.

"W-What has Barbro to do with this? What has happened to him?!" Ramposa asked less as a king and more as a concerned father. This also caused a renewed flurry of hushed whispers from the nobles.

"To answer that, I'll have to give you some context." I wrapped Barbro's chain around my wrist and reeled the pig towards me until he stopped struggling and trotted over until he stood at my side. "Two days ago, Barbro approached a small settlement of people that was built around the area that you witnessed that pillar of mana. Now, instead of being rational and diplomatic, Barbro instantly assumed that these people, your citizens, were conspiring with the Baharuth Empire, just because they made mention of worshipping me."

I heard said Swine Prince make quiet whines until I gave a small yank on the chain as warning. He quickly shut up after that.

"But there has to be more reason for his actions than just that?!" The elderly king argued, which I shook my head at in disagreement.

"The only reason was paranoia and an unwavering belief that he was right, regardless of whatever reasoning was given to him." I replied before continuing, "He believed that I was hiding in this settlement, and he planned to have everyone killed when the woman he spoke with wouldn't tell him where I was. As such, she prayed to me and I came to protect those innocent people." I let my hand rest on Barbro's back before I thrummed the tips of my claws on his back, not enough to hurt, but it was enough to put the fear of me into the pig.

"Normally, I've very reasonable and try to seek peaceful diplomatic resolutions. But that kindness has limits. You see, I can look past the insults to my person. I can ignore when someone rudely tells me that they want to fuck me, and will only let me live if I do so. But I cannot forget or forgive when someone plans to have a bunch of innocent people run down and murdered because that arrogant person wanted to send a message to enemies who weren't even connected to said people.

And that is only one of the sins your son has committed." I found myself growling out those words as my claws slightly bit into Barbro's flesh, eliciting terrified squeals of pain before I let go. Red quickly welled up from the small wounds I inflicted upon Barbro while the coppery scent of blood filled my nose.

"What are you talking about? What sins?"

"I hope that you are aware that Barbro has been in league with one of the heads of Eight Fingers, Hilma Cygnaeus, for many years now. If you need proof, I can give you all the information I collected from Hilma, but I think we both know that it would be a waste of our time since lying to you would be beneath me." Ramposa's flesh turned pale at my words while the crowd no longer remained silent as they began speaking all at once.

"N-No…" Ramposa said with a hollow voice. It was actually understandable to know why he was like this. He had already been dealt a heavy blow after learning how his cousin had betrayed him. Following this, his cousin has been rattling off known noble associates to the criminal organization, some of which King Ramposa might be close with.

Now, he just learned that one of his children has been betraying him. Such a thing would turn anyone into a cynic, much less destroy their ability to trust.

"Another member of the Royal Family has been working with Eight Fingers all along?! This is outrageous!" A slightly heavyset noble with aging features, well-groomed hair and beard, and numerous scars across his face exclaimed. I didn't exactly enjoy the glances that he was making to me, as if weighing me like a slab of meat.

Recalling from Alecto's memories, I believe that this man was Marquis Boullope. He was part of the Nobility Faction of the Re-Estize political landscape in addition to being part of the Six Great Nobles Faction. I wonder, was he going for a play right now? The even greater irony to all of this is that he's technically Barbro's father-in-law.

The snuffling whines of Barbro told me exactly how broken up the pig was over his former ally turning on him so quickly. If I had to make a guess, the marquis' reason for doing this was to protect his family. Barbro's name was going to be tainted from now on, and any who were close to him were likely to face intense scrutiny.

Boullope's daughter was likely going to be in danger, especially if she was unknowingly pregnant. Though, this did have a chance of turning on the marquis.

"I am in agreement, Marquis Boullope!" Another noble, a blond man with a small mustache added. Count Lytton, also part of the same factions as Boullope. "One bad apple in a family can be seen as unfortunate, but two begins to imply that there is a sickness with the entire tree!"

They were definitely trying for a play. Possibly emboldened by a mixture of the crowd of nobles that might be agreeable to their reasoning, the belief that I wouldn't intervene in this, how emotionally compromised the king was at the moment. The list could go on.

"Are you seriously trying to infer that his Majesty is in league with criminals?!" An old noble, likely the oldest in the room, who I knew was Margrave Urovana, questioned with anger at the two men. As a member of the Royalty Faction, he was highly loyal to the king and would support him as best he can.

"You must admit, Margrave Urovana, that two of the Royal Family being associated with Eight Fingers is highly suspicious." Another man with brunette hair that was in a quiff and a mustache with twisted ends, spoke up. He was Baron Cheneko, another member of the Nobility Faction.

Everything about his appearance made him appear to me like a sniveling rat. "Further than that, wouldn't it appear odd that his Majesty has taken so long to capitalize on the information about Eight Fingers that he's received? Instead, Princess Renner has done more work than the king in rooting these criminals out!"

That was a pretty far reach for the baron to make. After all, if Ramposa was part of Eight Fingers, why wouldn't his name have come up on the known associates of Alecto? Barbro was a specific case of Hilma keeping a hidden ally to eventually increase her standing in the organization, but Ramposa? It's much harder to hide a king's involvement than a prince's.

"That is due to the nature of these arrests, Baron Cheneko!" Marquis Pespea, one of the younger nobles of the Royalty Faction, countered, "It is a delicate situation of arresting those associated with the organization without causing a civil war!"

"If the king performing lawful arrests would lead to a civil war, then that implies that there are issues that lie with his Majesty and his authority!" Count Lytton spat back. "We are on the cusp of war, both external and internal, because King Ramposa has been lacking as a king when we've needed strong rule!"

That was when another noble stepped towards Count Lytton. He stood a head taller than the other man, with swept-back auburn hair and a beard held together by jeweled beads. "And I would assume that you have the perfect replacement in mind, Lytton?! Talk like this is treasonous!"

This was Count Jarrod, a noble who was known for acting as a commander during the numerous battles against the Baharuth. He was one of the Royalty Faction members.

"He is not incorrect, though. The Re-Estize has lessened in prosperity under King Ramposa's rule these past few years. Perhaps it may be time for him to abdicate?" Marquis Boullope reasoned.

An entirely new wave of arguments erupted amongst the crowd. As interesting as the whole political maneuvering appeared, alongside their astonishing ability to forget that I was still sitting in this room, it was growing stale for me. Especially because the squabbling was beginning to grate on my ears.

"SILENCE!" I roared over everyone, causing every person in the room to turn their attention upon me. It even managed to pull the king out of his heavy thoughts so as to look at me. "I never finished speaking earlier." I stated calmly before continuing, "After Barbro decided to continue his idiocy by ordering his soldiers to attack, I was forced to end the lives of quite a few of them. After all of this, Barbro's army surrendered to me, and I gave them supplies and time to collect their dead before returning home.

As for Barbro, he has been my prisoner for a few days now. Additionally, I gave him a fitting punishment for all his crimes."

"My son. W-What has happened to my son?" Ramposa almost seemed to beg. Even after learning all of this about Barbro, he was still a parent that cared about his child.

Sadly, his child's actions had finally caught up to him. I had no plans to ever change Barbro back, and I doubt that there were any mages who even had the ability to undo my spell.

"King Ramposa, you've been looking at your son the entire time I've been here." I gave a small yank of Barbro's chain, earning a short squeal from the pig. "As he liked to act as swine, I turned him into one. Go on, Barb. Greet your father."

I let the chain dispel and Barbro immediately took off running through the crowd of stunned nobles before climbing up the steps to Ramposa's throne. He soon stood on his hind legs and rested his forelegs on Ramposa's knees, squealing out words that none could understand.

Ramposa's hand shook as he looked at his transfigured son. "B-Barbro?" The Swine Prince nodded. Then, the elderly king did something that I did not predict or expect.

Ramposa began to quickly breathe, attempting to gasp for air as fast as he could while his eyes widened. His right hand quickly clutched over his heart as he squeezed his eyes in pain, all the while a silent scream left his mouth. Then Ramposa collapsed to the side of his throne.

Shit!

I think I just gave him a heart attack.

[Earlier]

[Ninya]

Perhaps it wasn't my greatest idea to take mom up on her offer. I mean, it was only another inch or so of height to my boots, yet I've been having to catch myself from tripping all morning. Mom made it sound so easy, especially when she said that kitsune were naturally more dexterous than humans.

Right… Easy my ass.

"How's walking been for you, kiddo?" Mom asked, making me give her a narrowed glance while looking at how she was walking so easily. And she had even higher heels!

Tuare's snickering didn't exactly help.

"Annoyingly difficult. How the hell are you able to walk in your boots without a problem?" I tried to ask, yet it seemed more like a demand.

"Easily. You just learn to get used to it. Once you do," mom began taunting me by walking backwards, "it becomes completely natural."

"So you say-" I tripped over my feet and was about to smash face-first into the ground before one of mom's tails caught me. "Shit!"

I could only pray that I figured out how to walk without tripping before we got to the training room with Nero. I'd never hear the end of it if he could see this.

At the very least, arriving to the room occurred with a lot fewer stumbles. It was upon getting inside that we spotted Nero already practicing with conjuring a spell array.

When he looked over our way, his head cocked while his brow furrowed in thought.

It was hard to hide the smirk of satisfaction as I watched Nero give me that strange look. First, he glanced to the top of my head, up to the tips of my ears, as if to mentally measure me, then to my boots. His eyes narrowed in thought before he met my gaze.

"Really wanted to gain that inch on me, didn't you?"

I innocently looked away from him after that remark. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

That earned a roll of Nero's eyes, "Sure you don't." He then looked to mom and asked, "So, aside from Ninya being coy this morning, do you have anything planned for training today?"

An amused smile grew on mom's face as she looked between Nero and I. "As a matter of fact, I do. See, Ninya here," mom wrapped her arm around my shoulder and gave me a playful shake, "needs some training in maintaining her human disguise along with handling her senses in populated areas. And, wouldn't you know it? We've got a nice little village that's becoming used to kitsune, alongside a guide for said village."

Mom then pointed to Nero who shared the same look of surprise that I did. "Wait, are you saying-" Nero began before the boy was cut off with a nod of mom's head.

"Yup." She confirmed and looked to me, "Ninya, ever been to the Baharuth Empire before?"

Mom was sending us to Elwuld.

Stepping out of the portal to the outskirts of a village surrounded in walls, I looked over to Nero as he gave off a chuckle. "Would not have guess that I'd be going home earlier than expected today."

"I'm of the same mind as you, Nero. But mom is unpredictable like that." As I said this, my ears began to pick up the multiple voices within the walls of Elwuld as my nose became assailed by the numerous scents of differing intensities. Manure, tree sap, sweat, and more filled my nose.

I could also tell that the village was filled with a mixture of both human and kitsune inhabitants. Yet, there was also a faint coppery scent that permeated the air, almost like dried blood.

"You should probably do that disguise magic of yours since you've still got your fox bits showing." Hearing this reminder, I quickly activated [Kitsune Illusion] and felt my ears, tail, and eyes become covered in mana before they shifted.

Instinctively, my hands went to the side of my head and I felt human ears instead of the elongated furred ones that would've been higher on my head. Yet, there was a faint, almost muffled, feeling of my kitsune ears being touched when my hands brushed by where they would've been.

In addition to this, there was that squeezing feeling which I had been getting accustomed to since I began practicing this ability. Still, it was annoyingly uncomfortable.

"Okay, I'm ready." I announced. "Where are we going?"

From what mom had told me before she sent us here, my goal for today was to prevent anyone from figuring out that I wasn't human. That, and I needed to adapt to my senses. As for Nero, this was basically more of a rest day since all he had to do was lead me around Elwuld.

Later today, mom would take us both back to the palace, but until then, we were essentially on our own.

"The front gate would be a start." Nero said this with a chuckle. I rolled my eyes as Nero began walking and I followed after him, slightly stumbling in the process before I rightened myself. "How's the extra height working out for you?"

"Bite me, Ruthy." I shot back with a slight blush as Nero chuckled even more.

"No thanks, Reezy." It didn't take much longer after than for us to arrive at the front gate of Elwuld where a pair of guards manned the gate. Both looked to be human, but I could tell that one of them, the man with purple hair, was actually a kitsune in disguise.

The other guard, a man with auburn hair, gained a look of recognition as the pair of us approached. "Hey, Nero. You've been gone for a bit. Where've you been? And who's the girl with you?"

"Nice to see you as well, Titus. Been off training for a bit. Came back here for a break and to show Ninya," Nero then pointed his thumb to me, "my village before we head back later today."

Titus gave a nod to this, "And what are you training for?"

"Oh, you know, just learning how to protect myself for when I leave the village and start traveling." Nero said confidently, while my gaze was pulled to the disguised kitsune who gave me a smirk and a wink before returning to a neutral expression.

"Good to hear. I'm a little in the same wagon as you are since Natsu has been giving me a few pointers." Titus then motioned his head to his fellow guard.

Said kitsune grinned, "Titus has a bit to learn, but he's getting there."

"A bit my ass." Titus playfully grumbled, "You knock me down in every spar." Natsu nodded in agreement. That wasn't something fully unexpected to hear. Depending on a few factors, Natsu likely had centuries of experience in combat over a regular human. And this completely ignored the strength and magic he would have in addition to this.

"True, but you're lasting a little longer with each bout."

Titus snorted at the reply, "Humble bastard, aren't ya?" Natsu's grin widened as he gave a shrug. "Right, guess you two are probably tired of us keeping you, so go on in." Titus then motioned us to pass, and we stepped into the village.

It was upon entering that I found myself slightly impressed by the activity within this place. I could see, aside from just the normal human homes that appeared to have newer additions to them to make the buildings even larger, the signs of kitsune also living here due to the numerous large entrances to a few of the larger houses that some might write off as doors for horses or cattle.

I knew that doors like that were more appropriate for the larger fox forms that some kitsune would prefer to be in. Though, appearance aside, what also tipped me off that these housed kitsune were the heavy fox scents wafting off them in addition to the earthy scent that would only come from digging into the ground.

After being shown the palace, and the underground chambers that held quite a few burrows, it was clear that kitsune had a foxlike preference for homes. I could see the appeal to it. After looking at a few furnished ones, especially ones that had walling of wood and stone, they did seem very cozy.

"Where should we go?" I questioned as I spotted humans and kitsune in disguise, in humanoid form, or bestial form walking around the area. The kitsune that did take notice of me gave subtle nods or expressions of deference, but did nothing to blow my cover.

"Probably best to go see if Grandpa and Oletta are at the house. Wouldn't hear the end of it from Oletta if I didn't go see them first." I giggled at Nero's answer and got a look from the boy.

"Nero; the boy brave enough to face all manner of creatures and brave the Tob. But make his little sister his opponent and he quivers." I teased and received a grumble from him.

Nero poked his finger in my shoulder, "You try and handle her gaze when Oletta looks upset. You'll be begging for her forgiveness in minutes."

Guess we'll have to see about that. I think that Nero's over-exaggerating and is just a big softie. I would end up eating those words when we arrived at a simple house that had a kitsune-style addition to it. If I had to guess, I think Nero's teacher, Yamato, would reside in there.

Upon arriving at the front door, Nero unlatched the door and opened it. "Oletta? Grandpa? I'm home!" Nero announced. That received an excitable cry from deeper within.

"Big brother!" This was followed by a young blonde girl running out of the house and quickly jumping to tackle Nero into a hug. Luckily, Nero had been prepared for this and caught the girl in a hug without being toppled over.

"Hey, Oletta. Why so excitable? It's only been a few days." Nero questioned with a laugh.

"You said that you might be gone even longer! Did you finish learning all your magic? Are you a powerful wizard now?"

Oletta asked all of this in one breath, with more questions at the ready, until Nero interrupted, "I'm not finished just yet. The most I can do is make a few lights. Today I've been given a break and was allowed to go back home for a few hours."

A glum look of disappointment appeared on the girl's face, and I quickly realized what Nero meant earlier. Oletta looked too adorable to upset. "Fine. If you aren't staying, then you have to let me stay with you while you're here!"

"If that's what you demand, then it appears I've got no choice." Nero said in feigned defeat.

Oletta's small fist pumped in the air at her victory while I smiled at the interaction. Then, the blonde girl's attention landed on me. "Big brother, who is she?"

"That's Ninya. She's a friend I made while training." Nero said while looking at me before looking back to his little sister, "Ninya's never been to the Baharuth Empire before, so I'm giving her a tour of the village as her first introduction to the country."

For a few moments, Oletta's eyes studied me in the way a child's would at seeing something new and interesting. Then, after reaching whatever conclusion she had come to, Oletta smiled. "She's pretty."

I felt my face flush at the statement, "Thank you for the compliment." I replied.

What I didn't expect was for the blonde girl to turn to Nero and innocently ask, "Are you dating her?" My jaw dropped while Nero choked on his spit and started coughing into his fist.

"W-Why would y-you ask that?" Nero said between coughing fits.

"She's pretty, and I thought that when people like one another they show the other their homes. Right, big brother?"

"Friends do that as well, Oletta!" Nero quickly answered after finally settling his coughing.

Finally finding my voice, I spoke up, "H-He's right. Nero and I are just friends." I confirmed before hiding my face in my hand due to embarrassment.

Looking between Nero and I, Oletta didn't look fully convinced. "Alright. If you say so." With this, Oletta wriggled out of Nero's grip and stood on the ground once more. Then, she walked over to me. "Are you also magical like my big brother?"

Composing myself once more, I nodded, "I'm predominantly a mage. I know quite a bit more about magic than your brother."

A toothy grin erupted on Oletta's face, "Can you show me a spell?!" She pleaded. I looked over to Nero, and he gave me an apologetic look.

Normally, I wouldn't be fully against showing someone a spell or two if they asked and I wasn't in a position to conserve mana. Unfortunately, a bit of my mana was being used to maintain my disguise, and I didn't know how long I'd be able to maintain it for.

Also didn't help that mom intentionally wasn't supplying me with mana this time as she wanted me to learn my limits and how best to conserve my mana during long periods of using my disguise. Right now, I was down a twelfth of my total mana. It's not even been 30 minutes, so I've got four to six hours of keeping up my disguise before I run out of mana.

Thinking about it, one of my most mana efficient spells that's flashy enough to impress a child would have to be [Foxfire]. Though I'll likely 20 minutes to an hour of disguise time. If I act really conservative, I could put my cloak's hood up and keep my tail hidden inside of it.

"I'll show you one spell." I finally answered, earning an excited cheer from Oletta that made me smile. Holding out my right hand, I then cast the spell. "[Foxfire]." The blue ball of flame burst to life, hovering just above my hand.

I gave Oletta a better look at the flame and wonder could clearly be seen on the girl's face. "What do you think?"

"It looks so pretty. I think I've seen some of the foxes do it before, along with brother when Yammy spars with him, but I've never seen it close." Oletta answered, and I finally let the flame extinguish.

"That's just one of the spells I know." I explained.

"You know more spells?!" I nodded. "Can you-"

It was around this time when Nero approached from behind Oletta and put a hand on her shoulder, "Now, Oletta, Ninya was kind enough to show you one of the spells she knows. Don't be rude by demanding more."

"Alright." Oletta said with a hint of disappointment on her face.

I patted her head, "Maybe I'll show you something else later today." That got her expression to light up once again. It was also when I noticed Nero looking around for something or someone.

"Mind telling me where Grandpa is?"

Oletta looked up at Nero's face before answering, "Grandpa went to the greenie house to talk with Mr. Genshiro."

"About what?"

"Not sure. Grownup stuff?"

"Then it seems that we'll be heading to Genshiro's greenhouse. Gotta check on Grandpa, after all." Nero announced, earning a nod from me and excited bouncing from Oletta.

With that, we began walking with Nero leading the way and Oletta in between Nero and I. As we walked, I noticed the blonde girl glancing at me oddly. "Something the matter?" I asked.

"Your shoes look similar to some of the shoes that I've seen the girl foxes wearing. Why the big peg on your heels?" Hearing the question, I made a short glance over to Nero as his eyes flickered over to us.

If he hears the slightly vain reason as to why I'm wearing boots with higher heels, I'll never hear the end of it. But I bet Oletta would be willing to keep a secret from Nero.

Leaning down, I whispered into the girl's ear, "Because I wanted to look taller since Nero said I was so much shorter than him. Just keep it between us, though." Pulling away, Oletta gave me a nod while Nero's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Our journey was relatively silent, aside from some of the questions that Oletta would ask. It didn't take us long before we arrived at a building made of wood and glass that revealed the interior to be full of tilled soil or shelves full of pots with dirt. Strategically spread out in the building were brasiers that weren't lit.

Beyond this, I saw an elderly bearded man speaking to a man with green hair and seven tails. If I had to guess, that was Nero and Oletta's grandfather, and the kitsune was Genshiro.

One problem I did notice, that started to make me scrunch up my nose, was the stench of manure that emanated from the building. Okay, I just have to remember what mom said and focus on something else. I took in the scents of Nero and Oletta and focused my attention on them like a beam of mana.

Just ignore everything else.

Upon stepping inside, Genshiro glanced over the shoulder of Nero and Oletta's grandfather, giving me a knowing look, before focusing back on the elderly man. "I believe that we'll have to cut our conversation short for now. It appears that you have visitors, Urzra."

This got Urzra to turn around and quickly smile in delight. "Nero, you're back!" He walked over and settled his hand upon his grandson's shoulder.

"For a little while, Grandpa. I was basically given a break today, so I was allowed to come back here and see you guys for a bit before I head back." Nero then pointed over to me, "I also was showing my friend Ninya around the village for a bit."

Urzra looked over to me, then glanced back at Nero with an unreadable expression. Finally, he settled on looking back to me with a smile. "Hello, Ninya! It's good to see that my grandson's making new friends." He stepped over and held out his hand to me, "Name's Urzra."

Taking his hand and shaking it with my own, I returned the smile, "It's good to meet you. Nero's told me a bit about you."

"Good things, I hope?" He joked before his eyes fell down to where my adventurer's plate was. "A gold-plate, and at such a young age." Urzra hummed with interest as we broke the handshake.

"Well, it's pretty recent." I admitted while my hand absent-mindedly fingered the metal plate. "I only got it a couple of days ago."

Urzra shrugged, "When you earned it doesn't matter. They fact that you earned the rank of gold-plate is all that counts."

"Guess you're right." I said in agreement before recalling one thing that Nero had mentioned about Urzra, "You were an adventurer as well, right?"

"Correct you are. Was once a platinum-plate before I retired. Even so, I only reached gold-plate by my mid-20's and platinum-plate by 30. You look even younger than that. How old are you?"

I had a nervous smile on my face at this point as I came to the sudden realization that I was very much an anomaly. Constantly spending my time around people stronger than me had ruined my perspective on how strong someone my age should normally be.

"I'm 15." That got an impressed whistle from Urzra.

"Just around the age of Nero." Urzra then playfully poked Nero in the ribs, "Hear that, boy? Better step it up or your friend's gonna be adamantite-plate by the time you even register for the guild. Well, if you still plan to, that is?"

Nero chuckled at this, "We'll see, Grandpa. Maybe I'll decide to become a farmer instead."

That received a raised brow from the elderly man. "You're learning swordplay and magic from that fox teacher of yours. Unless you're expecting to be fighting giant rodents to protect your crops in the future, I doubt you'll be wasting your talents like that."

"I get it, old man."

Urzra then cocked his head with a feigned indignant expression. "Old? I'm 62 years young! You want old, Genshiro's got me beat by a couple centuries, at least!"

"Five centuries, almost six now." The green-haired kitsune admitted.

Nero replied with a blank expression and narrowed eyes. "Genshiro doesn't look like he'll pull his back lifting something heavy." Urzra opened his mouth to argue, then he thought about it and settled back down.

"Fair enough." I did my best to stifle my giggling at the interaction, yet that was for naught as attention was brought back on me. "So, Ninya, since I don't see a blade on you, and no offense, you don't appear to have the physique of a martial artist, I'd go out on a limb and say that you're a mage of some kind."

I gave a nod. "You're correct. I'm a mage. It's part of the reason that I've been able to interact with Nero so much. We're both learning at the same place."

That made both Urzra and Oletta interested. "Learning from all the foxes as well? That's interesting to know." Urzra commented. "How did you end up meeting them?"

"It's a bit of a long story. The short version is that I met one of the kitsune and they ended up taking an interest in me." Not exactly a lie, since that really summarized my life up to this point.

"But that barely explains anything, Ninya!" Oletta complained. That got Urzra to give the girl a small poke to the head. "What was that for?"

"It's rude to demand answers like that." The older man chided. He looked to me with an amused expression. "Sounds similar to Nero's adventure. Though, I'm pretty sure that he mentioned there being a goddess named Inari in that story of his."

Said boy scratched the back of his head in embarrassment of the attention. "Yeah. I did become her paladin, after all."

Yeah, meeting goddess is also another similarity between us, not that Urzra and Oletta needed to know.

[Location: Asgard]

Odin sat silently in one of the many gardens within Asgard. Yet, while there were many different gardens, each beautiful in their own right, Odin preferred this one above all.

Some might say that the One-Eyed God preferred how remote it was; the solitude giving a silent bastion to collect one's thoughts. Others would make mention that he preferred this garden due to one of the roots of Yggdrasil growing in its center, almost as a miniature replica of the greater World Tree.

And then, there were others that even theorized that this place in particular was where Odin had actually hung himself for seven days and nights to acquire knowledge and wisdom. Odin actually found that theory to be the most humorous, namely because this garden hadn't even existed before he had undergone the journey to attain knowledge and wisdom.

Not that Odin would ever reveal where he had specifically hung himself to lay rest to all the rumors. There was a special power to the place he had hung himself. One manifested from the culmination of his near-death, the belief which hovered around the idea of that location, and the connection with Yggdrasil.

The power that one could use from that spot was dangerous, something that less benevolent entities or idiots would attempt to abuse. As it was created by Odin, that place had to be kept secret and guarded. Yet, a little selfishly, Odin also kept it hidden because such a place had personal meaning to himself.

It was where he and Yggdrasil spoke to one another, as grandson to grandmother.

As for this garden, it was one of the gifts that Jord had given to him before her untimely death. This garden, made her tender love to him, and Thor, made from their love together.

In fact, it was her death that had been the catalyst for Odin hanging himself. If he lived, he would be smarter and wiser from the experience. If he died, he'd be with her again.

Many years would pass before Odin found love in Frigg. And for a time, life was perfect. They had been happy and Baldur was born…

Then, because of Loki's puppeted machinations, Baldur had been killed, and Ragnarok nearly began. That was, until Frigg revived Baldur and averted Ragnarok at great cost to herself.

Frigg gave up part of her being to revive their son. It may not have killed her, but it killed part of who she was and remade what was left into something new. Now, only Freyja remained.

Odin mused to himself that romance was something that could possibly be even stranger to him than hanging himself from a tree for seven days and nights. At least, he thought that romance had been until the new realm had become part of Yggdrasil's branches.

Now, he had the pick of the proverbial litter to choose from.

There was the daughter of Inari's that had appeared with nine tails, now ten. Kashia had come from a Midgard parallel to that of Yggdrasil's. For a goddess, she was a child, but Inari, Loki, and even his beloved Freyja were all conspiring to turn her into the prime deity of an entirely new realm.

Even if Odin wished to stop it, he couldn't, and wouldn't, due to the involvement of any one of those three deities. Instead, he had been contented to take any worship he could get from that realm and simply watch. That was until the second strange occurrence had happened.

The red tree. It was unnatural, and so similar to Yggdrasil that it couldn't be coincidence, and it grew powerful the longer it remained. While the elderly god had wished to acquire enough worship to allow for a manifestation in that realm so that he could strike the red tree like a gardener would a weed, the time it would take measured in months.

He was loath to involve Kashia, due to a mixture of pride, competitiveness, and suspicion. If needed, he would contact her for aid, but first his suspicions needed to be assuaged. No, instead, Odin had a different plan in mind.

"Father, you called for my aid?"

Heavy footfalls were heard from behind him, making the elderly god smirk as he pushed himself off of the ground.

"Yes, my son. I have task of utmost importance which must be completed. You're the only one that can currently do it due to your unique heritage. And you're the only one who I can trust with this task."

"What is it you need, father?"

"I need you to summon your wandering avatar…"

A/N: Got this out before the end of the new year! See all of you next year!