[Ashcroft Territory—Continuation—Lucielle’s POV]
The gigantic fox stood silently before us, nine enormous tails swayed lazily behind its colossal body, each movement sending icy wind sweeping across the battlefield. Its amber eyes burned with the fury of a god whose children had been slaughtered.
And I never knew I would see a Nine-Tailed Fox... If the legends from my previous world meant anything, then we weren’t standing before an ordinary magical beast anymore. We were standing before something worshipped.
A divine existence, perhaps...a Fox God.
The novel barely acknowledged gods.
Whenever one appeared, they got one dramatic sentence before vanishing for another hundred Chapters. Even the author treated them like expensive guest characters.
My hands unconsciously grabbed the back of Cassian’s coat as my voice came out much smaller than I intended.
"C-Cassian...are we going to be punished for killing the Fox Beasts?"
Cassian never looked back; his sharp ocean blue eyes remained fixed on the enormous creature before us.
"Just stay behind me."
Just five words: quiet, firm, and unquestionable. As though he had already decided...that if anyone here was going to die today, it wouldn’t be me.
Then the Nine-Tailed Fox slowly lowered its gigantic head. Its voice exploded across the snowy plains, and the earth trembled.
"WHO KILLED MY KIN?"
The roar echoed through the mountains for what felt like an eternity.
Silence followed; not a single knight dared breathe. The Divine Fox’s eyes slowly swept across every human standing before it.
Then Cassian took one step forward, without hesitation, without fear and without lowering his sword.
"...I did." His voice remained calm. "I killed every one of them."
The enormous fox glanced at him and lowered its head further, closer and closer still. Its gigantic face stopped only a few steps before Cassian as warm breath escaped from its nostrils like a winter storm.
Ffffffhhhhhh...
It sniffed once and twice. Its eyes narrowed.
"YOU..." It inhaled deeply again. "YOU ARE NOT AN ORDINARY HUMAN. YOU—"
Its sentence suddenly stopped as its enormous pupils shifted, past Cassian and past his shoulder toward me.
. . .
. . .
Golden eyes met yellow-green eyes, and time itself seemed to freeze. The Divine Fox tilted its massive head ever so slightly.
"WHO ARE YOU, HUMAN?"
Before I could even react, Cassian stepped sideways, completely blocking the fox’s line of sight; his sword rose once more as the silver blade pointed directly at the forehead of a divine being.
"...It has nothing to do with her." His voice grew colder than the surrounding snow. "I killed your kin. If punishment must be given...then punish me."
I stared blankly at his back, my fingers still clutched his coat as confusion slowly filled my mind. This man was supposed to be the villain, the monster, the future murderer who falls for the female lead.
Then...why...why did he sound more like a hero than anyone else here? The Nine-Tailed Fox didn’t even glance at Cassian; its eyes never left me.
"HUMAN" It spoke again, slower this time. "ANSWER ME, WHY DID YOU KILL MY KIN?"
Its voice carried neither rage nor hatred now, only a judgment.
Then it struck me. Divine beings didn’t pass judgment based on emotion; they judged truth.
Perhaps...if we simply told the truth, it would judge fairly.
I slowly swallowed, then stepped half a pace beside Cassian; his arm immediately moved to stop me.
"...Lucielle."
I looked directly into the glowing amber eyes of the Nine-Tailed Fox. "It wasn’t us who attacked first."
Silence.
The Divine Fox’s ears twitched as I continued, "Your kin attacked us, they invaded our territory, they destroyed villages, they killed livestock, they attacked travelers, and today..."
I looked toward the blood staining the snow where one knight still lay motionless.
"...they killed one of our knights too."
The enormous fox remained completely still. I took one slow breath before continuing.
"You are a divine being, surely a god...does not judge with bias. If your kin truly attacked innocent people first, then tell me, should we just stand and be their lunch?"
The entire battlefield fell silent behind me...every Ashcroft knight stared in complete disbelief. One of them unconsciously loosened his grip on his sword; another looked between me and the Divine Fox with wide eyes.
No one, absolutely no one...had ever questioned a god to its face. Cassian remained standing before me, sword still raised as if...even if the heavens themselves descended upon this battlefield, he would still choose to stand between them...and me.
Then the enormous nine-tailed fox slowly closed its eyes and, without warning...
THUUUUMP!!
Its gigantic body sat down upon the snow, the earth trembled beneath its weight, and every knight instinctively raised their weapons again.
"...!"
"...What is it doing?"
The fox let out a long, deep, and exhausted sigh. "SO MY CHILDREN WERE THE ONES AT FAULT?"
Silence.
No one answered not because they didn’t want to but because none of them had ever imagined hearing those words from a divine being.
Even Cassian’s expression shifted ever so slightly, not surprise but more like confusion. The Fox slowly opened its eyes and looked directly at me. Its voice had become much quieter.
"HUMAN, I OFFER MY APOLOGY FOR THE SINS COMMITED BY MY CHILDREN."
. . .
. . .
The battlefield froze; every knight looked as though lightning had struck them. "A-A Divine Being...apologized?"
One wounded knight rubbed his own eyes. "I...I must’ve lost too much blood..."
My brain stopped.
Gods...apologized? That wasn’t how mythology worked; that wasn’t how fantasy novels worked. Heck, that wasn’t how people worked.
The Fox slowly nodded. "JUSTICE SHALL NEVER FAVOUR BLOOD, NOT EVEN MY OWN."
Okay, that was unexpectedly cool, and that’s how I realized they are also cute. I stepped out from behind Cassian; his arm immediately reached out, stopping me. "Lucielle, do not."
I looked at him, then gently pushed his arm aside. "It’s okay he isn’t dangerous..."
I turned toward the gigantic fox as a huge smile slowly spread across my face. "He’s actually...really cute."
. . .
. . .
Cassian blinked, the knights blinked, and even the Nine-Tailed Fox blinked.
Cute? That wasn’t exactly the word anyone expected. I slowly walked across the blood-stained snow until I stood directly before the enormous creature.
Compared to him... I wasn’t even as tall as one of his paws, and yet I looked up, way up, and went all dramatic because...who gets the chance to be dramatic in front of a real one of the gods? I made my expression very pitying and sad...as if my heart were crushed...
"You know we humans...have a pretty terrible reputation." The fox quietly listened. "We’re greedy, we lie, and we blame each other."
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
"Honestly...we’re kind of a mess, but at the end of the day...we’re only humans, we’re scared, we’re weak and we simply want to survive long enough...to see tomorrow. Your kin...not only destroyed our villages, but they also frightened our people. We don’t hate them; we just...wish they had stopped and let us live peacefully."
Silence.
The Fox lowered its head a little further. Its enormous ears drooped for the first time... It no longer looked like a terrifying god. It looked like an old guardian carrying the weight of countless mistakes.
I smiled, and slowly I raised my hand, reaching towards its enormous head. Every knight’s eyes widened.
"Y-Y-Y-Y-Your Grace?!"
Cassian immediately stepped forward. "Lucielle."
I ignored everyone, and my fingers gently landed upon the enormous fox’s forehead. The fur was unbelievably soft as my eyes sparkled.
Without thinking my fingers began absentmindedly ruffling the thick white fur.
Soft. It’s soft.
WHY IS A DIVINE BEING THIS FLUFFY?!
It feels as if I found the world’s largest emotional support pillow. "You’re ridiculously fluffy and way too cute for someone who’s supposed to be terrifying."
The Nine-Tailed Fox froze completely as his nine tails stopped moving. His eyes widened ever so slightly. Maybe because it had been thousands of years...since anyone had touched him without fear.
Behind me the entire Ashcroft Order stood frozen like statues. One knight’s sword slipped from his hand.
CLANG...
Another whispered with a trembling voice. "Her Grace...is petting...a god."
Cassian stared silently at me, then at the Divine Fox and then back at me.
The Nine-Tailed Fox closed its eyes, and for a long moment, it simply leaned into my hand.
Guess you’re enjoying head pats? Its tails swayed lazily behind it, looking suspiciously content before it finally spoke.
"MY KIN HAS SPREAD FEAR THROUGHOUT YOUR TERRITORY."
I nodded cautiously, then, with all the dignity of a divine judge delivering an ancient decree—
"FROM THIS DAY FORWARD..." Its voice boomed across the mountains. "I DECLARE THAT EVERY WHITE FOX OF THIS TERRITORY SHALL OBEY YOUR COMMANDS."
. . .
. . .
Silence.
The wind stopped, the knights stopped breathing, and even my brain blue-screened.
"...Pardon?"
The Nine-Tailed Fox nodded proudly, as though it had just solved world peace. "YOU SHALL BE THEIR MASTER."
"...Excuse me?"
"THEY SHALL FOLLOW YOUR WORDS."
"...I’m sorry, could you repeat that?"
"THEY SHALL OBEY YOUR EVERY COMMAND."
"...I think I’m having a stroke."
Behind me, one knight whispered, "Did... did Her Grace just negotiate with a god?"
The fox ignored all of us; it rose gracefully to its full height, looking every bit the majestic divine guardian it was. Then it lowered its enormous head and before I could react—
Tap.
A gentle kiss landed on my forehead.
"...Eh?"
A warm light exploded around me.
SHHHHIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!!
Golden light burst from the place where its forehead touched mine. Now, my forehead is glowing! I’M GLOWING!
As the light slowly faded, the fox smiled with unmistakable satisfaction.
"THE CONTRACT IS COMPLETE."
I touched my forehead.
"...Contract?"
"YOU ARE NOW THE MASTER OF THE WHITE FOXES."
"...I think we skipped several legally required steps. I never agreed."
"A DIVINE CONTRACT REQUIRES NO CONSENT."
. . .
"That sentence should concern everyone."
The fox looked impossibly pleased with itself. "THE JUDGMENT HAS BEEN PASSED."
It slowly turned toward the forest.
"FAREWELL, HUMAN."
"...Wait! I still have questions! Lots of them! Like... how many foxes are we talking about?"
The fox merely smiled, the kind of smile that screamed, ’Not my problem anymore.’
Then its enormous body dissolved into countless glowing particles. The lights drifted into the snowy wind before disappearing among the ancient trees.
Silence.
Nobody moved, nobody spoke, and the entire Ashcroft Order remained frozen like beautifully carved ice statues.
I slowly turned toward Cassian. "Did...did I just accidentally adopt an entire species?"
Cassian stared at me with a deadpan expression, saying, "I guess so."
Then—
Rustle...
Everyone froze at another rustle, then another.
Crack...
Branches shook, bushes trembled, and leaves rustled from every direction, and dozens...no...hundreds...well, I cannot count; I am useless with math, because many glowing amber eyes appeared between the trees.
"...Cassian?"
He quietly raised his sword. "Stay close."
One fluffy white head peeked out, then another, then twenty. "Oh no. Oh no no no, they’re multiplying."
One by one, white fox beasts emerged from the forest, but none of them growled and none showed hostility. Instead...every single one walked directly towards me.
"Why are they looking at me like that?"
The first fox stopped beside me. It rubbed its fluffy head against my arm, another nudged my shoulder, and a third sat politely at my feet.
Within seconds I disappeared beneath an avalanche of fluffy white tails.
"Wait...Personal space! I believe in boundaries! They clearly don’t!"
Another fox happily licked my cheek. "I appreciate the sentiment, but where has that tongue been?! AND WHY ARE YOU ALL SO CUTE!!!!!!"
Cassian watched the growing mountain of foxes in complete silence. I could barely see him anymore; only one trembling hand emerged from the sea of white fluff.
"C-Cassian...This is...a good thing...right?"
Cassian looked at the hundreds of foxes happily surrounding me, and after a very long pause, he finally answered.
"...I sincerely hope so."
I stared at the mountain of fluffy white foxes currently treating me like their long-lost parent.
. . .
I couldn’t believe this.
I accepted myself as a woman in this world, hoping to be unemployed... Not to become the manager of an entire fluffy zoo!
And...
WHY THE HELL ARE YOU ALL SO CUTE?!