First, Why Don't You Put Some Clothes On?

How should I say it…

The awkward exchange of stares lasted for a few seconds. Very long seconds. Nomi didn't utter a single word. She didn't dare to. Her judgmental glare was enough, anyway. Then, she closed the door, as if nothing happened, and I heard her quickly walking away.

Yeah, I knew this would happen.

I stormed out of the room to catch up with her.

"Wait, this is a misunderstanding!!" I tried to clarify the situation as I grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled, shaking my hand away. "I don't swing that way!"

"What way?! Like I said, this is a misunderstanding!"

Nomi cringed, avoiding eye-contact.

"Wow, and here I thought you had gone up in my estimation after yesterday's duel," she quipped, choking down an ironic chortle. "Now you just dropped down as low as possible! Pedophile!"

"For the love of…! Just listen to me! This is not what you think it is!"

As both our voices rose above a reasonable sound level, a few students left their room to see what was going on. Nomi ground her teeth at the unwanted attention. She leaned forward to whisper in my ear.

"Get her out of our room, now!" she ordered with a curt voice. "If anyone finds out about this, you and I are both in trouble."

Yeah, I bet.

Nomi gave me a meaningful look before walking away under the curious stares of the others. And I did the same. As naturally as possible, I retraced my steps. I returned to my room, making sure no one was peeking inside as I closed the door behind me.

What do I do now?

As I could feel myself growing restless, I noticed a couple of eyes staring at me.

Crap. She's awake.

Probably woken up by my sudden dispute with Nomi, the young girl was sitting on my bed as the blanket I spread over her fell from her shoulder, revealing everything.

Uh… Should I look away? I probably should have, but, seemingly not bothered by being seen, the girl was staring intensely at me, making it difficult for me to break the eye-contact. Young lady… Did your parents not teach you about modesty? I know we're both girls but… I can seriously see everything. I'm not the one who's supposed to be embarrassed, yet, I can feel my cheeks blushing.

"Erm… Hello?" I tried to speak up.

The young girl did not answer immediately. She silently stared at me for a few more moments before a smile broke onto her face. Then, she jumped from the bed and she threw herself on me.

"W-WOUAH! Hold on a second, what are you doing?!" I panicked.

"Mother!"

Mother?

The young girl embraced me as she buried her face in my chest like a child.

"Uh, erm… I think you got the wrong person?" I didn't dare to push her away. "I have certainly not given birth before, and I'm too young to be a mother."

The young girl looked up at me, displaying a gentle and innocent smile.

"You are the boss' mother, therefore, you are my mother!" she said.

I frowned, trying to comprehend the meaning of her words. Then, I finally noticed the tails swaying back and forth happily in her back.

Huh? Not one tail but two?

At that moment, everything suddenly became clearer. There were not a lot of multi-tailed beasts in this world to begin with after all, but this fluff? I've already seen it before.

"The boss… Are you referring to Yoko?" I asked.

The young girl nodded. Finally receiving confirmation that I had not kidnapped a child in my sleep, my heartbeat returned to a somewhat slower pace as I let out a relieving sigh. I still didn't know how she got in here, but this child was somehow related to Yoko and I long stopped trying to apply logical thinking when it comes to my gods. I returned my attention to the young girl, who was still looking at me with her round and beaming eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned. "Oh, and how did you pass through the barrier?"

That's right, the barrier. I thought intruders couldn't enter the Academy. And that girl is clearly neither a student nor a member of the school staff. I mean, there were children in this school but, although she looks like one, that child does not fall under the mortal category. The multiple tails in her back are speaking for herself.

"The boss sent me to find you," the young girl replied. "This territory's barrier has a lot of flaws, so it was quite easy for a high-level spirit like me to enter."

I blinked a couple of times at her casual explanation.

"Yoko sent you to find me?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes!"

Oh… Oh no. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this. This can't possibly be good.

"Alright," I cleared my voice as I mentally prepared myself for whatever was coming next. "What for?"

"To deliver a letter," the young girl said as she looked away.

Following her gaze, my eyes fell upon a small envelope on the mattress, right next to my pillow. Totally panicked by the presence of a stranger in my bed, I had absolutely not noticed it before.

A loud sigh escaped my mouth. Alright, here we go.

"By the way, how did you find me?" I wondered as I approached the bed to reach for the envelope. "I doubt you took a carriage and I don't see a map with you. The region is vast. It mustn't have been easy to find me."

"It was," the young girl contradicted. "I just tracked your scent."

My scent? She knows my scent? I narrowed my eyes.

"Do you know me?"

The young girl gave me a meaningful look before her lips played into a mischievous smile.

Suddenly, light erupted from her body, a white glow enveloping her. Her figure changed shape as it started to shrink. Once her transformation was over, the light subsided, and a little fox appeared on the spot where she had been standing before. A very little fox. It was no more than forty centimeters tall. For a normal fox, it should have been the average size. But this girl was no normal fox. She was a fox spirit, a kitsune, like Yoko. And I have seen how big Yoko is in her fox form, and if I'm correct, this isn't not even her maximum size. It is, however, suddenly easier to imagine her slipping through the window bars like this.

Then, I finally realized. Those adorable tiny paws, this fluffy white fur, those round little eyes. I've seen them before.

"Y-You! You're the two-tailed fox I met in the enchanted forest!" I suddenly remembered. "Yoko's pet!"

The little fox nodded its head in an adorable manner.

Awww…! Yeah, she's definitely cute.

I had completely forgotten about her. Thinking about this, it's true that she was with Yoko when I first met her. But then, Yoko kind of gatecrashed the Whiteheart's residence and made herself at home, completely abandoning her forest. And I haven't seen that little fox since. I wonder if it stayed in the forest this whole time.

As I was thinking this, the little fox's body emitted light as it returned to its human form.

Aaaaaaaand she's naked again.

"First, why don't you put some clothes on?" I suggested, averting my eyes.