"Kyuu.... Kyuu......."

We are back at the safe spot. The fox spirit is sleeping on my lap, while I pet its head really nice and slowly, trying my best not to bring discomfort to the little fella.

I do not know its gender and I have no idea on how to check for it. Which is why, for now, I'll just use "it" until I can get confirmation.

"Kyuuuu......."

What a peaceful-looking face. I wonder what it's dreaming about...

I continued to pet the fox. Its fur is soft and smooth, and its tail is very bushy and fluffy. Just touching it somehow brings comfort to my soul.

Is this what it's like to pet an animal? Well, to be exact, it's a spirit but still... I'd never thought I would find such pleasure in merely touching a fox. This feeling... it really really calms me down. To the point where I could forget that I am in a deadly dungeon right now.

"Kyuu.... Kyuu...?"

"Oh, you're... finally awake."

I removed my hand off its body as the fox spirit got up and shook its head to fully wake itself up. Afterwards, it looked up at me and said...

"Kyuu~!"

Hrgh!! What is this? Why is my heart beating so fast? All it said was "kyuu", so what is this strange sensation I'm feeling?

"Kyuu?"

"Hm? Oh uh..... Have you... rested well?"

"Kyuu!"

"I-I see... Then, umm... Thank you... earlier... for the fire.... Because of that... I was able to eat... well."

"Kyuu! Kyuu!"

...

"..."

Uh... Ok, now this is getting awkward...

I mean... For starters... What the hell do I say to the fox now? The silence is killing me!

"Kyuu?"

I've asked if it's alright already and I've already thanked it for the flames, so what's next?

"You wanna join me, little fella?"

No no no no no! It's too early for that. I barely even know the fox!

"Hey buddy, wanna chat a bit?"

Yeah no... There's no way we could communicate, especially when all it could say is "kyuu." Plus, no way I could imagine myself saying that.

"Ara Ara, what a cutie you are~" 

The hell am I? Some sort of creeper!? It'll definitely run if I say that out of nowhere!

Argh!!! What the hell do I say to it then??? I've never done any communication before!

Screw it! At this point, I might as well just say anything.

The first thing to come to mind. I'll just say that.

"Umm... C-Can I uh... fluff you...?"

"Kyuu...?"

...What the hell was that, me!?!? How would a fox spirit of another world even know what "fluffing" means!? I did tell myself to say the first thing that comes to mind, but that was way too incomprehensible of a term for it to understand! Gosh, I'm such a bloody idiot!!

"Kyuu......?"

Great. Now it looks really confused! I bet it's trying to figure out what I meant by "can I fluff you" right now. In the first place, can it really understand what I'm saying? It said "kyuu" whenever I say something to it, but that might just probably be it responding to everything I said.

"Kyuu! Kyuu!"

Huh?

"Kyuu! Kyuu! Kyuu! Kyuu~!!"

Eh... what?

The fox spirit begins jumping around my lap, singing along with its many "kyuus" while it wags its tail like how a dog would wag when in joy.

What is going on here? What is it doing? I'm confused... I'm really confused right now.

Did it understand what "fluff" means? Did it perhaps already know what it means when I said that? If so, I might have underestimated the isekai knowledge more than I thought.

"Kyuu!"

While I was thinking, the fox spirit suddenly stopped jumping and faced me with one of its paws out.

W-What's this? What does it want me to do?

"Kyuu!"

Uh... Does it... want to my hand???

"Kyuu! Kyuu!"

Umm... alright, I guess. Maybe it's its way of telling me that I can fluff it... I think.

Just as I offered my hand to it, a strange yet soothing chain of light was formed around my arm and its paw all of sudden. The chain of light then went through our bodies and disappeared. Afterwards, an announcement from the system was heard in my head.

«Contract with a [Lesser Fox Spirit] has been formed.»

«Title Acquired: [Spirit Contractor]»

«Due to the Acquisition of the [Spirit Contractor] title, Skill(s) have been Acquired: [Naming LV 1], [Spirit Telepathy LV 1], [Spirit Command LV 1]»

Eh? What? Huh!?

"Kyuu~!"

A contract!? What do you mean I made a contract with it!? What type of contract is it in the first place!?

Gah, I got so many questions!!!

"Kyuu~"

Calm down now... Calm down, me. First, I'll need to check what all of this contract stuff means, as well as the new skills I have just obtained.

This is umm.... fine, I guess? From the looks of it, this contract stuff don't look too bad. And from what I can tell, it seems to benefit me more than it does to the fox spirit, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to go along with this contract thingy. What's more, with a spirit that cute, forming a contract with it is a big welcome in my book.

Speaking of which, where did it go?

"Kyuu~"

Huh?

What the... Since when did you climb onto my shoulder?

"Kyuu!"

Hold on. Am I... already conversing with you via Spirit Telepathy?

Kyuu! Kyuu!

Holy crap, I just heard its thought. So I am using Spirit Telepathy without knowing it, huh?

"Kyuu?"

Welp, anyways, I should introduce myself to it, right? I haven't even mention my name to it after all. But should I use my current name, or my previous name? Oh what am I saying, of course I'll use my new and current name.

"Kyuu...?"

Ah right, sorry to leave you hanging. My name is Sheila Frontier. Nice to meet you, little one.

Kyuu~!

Oh, and by the way, I should probably give you a name, right? Seeing that you don't have one.

Kyuu~ Kyuu~ Kyuu~~

Gotcha, I'll try and give you a good name.

Hmm... what would be a good name though....? I shouldn't think too hard on it, and I shouldn't give it a complicated one as well. So what would be good to name a fox?

Kon? Inari? Kurama?

Hmm... it's got white fur, so... Shiro? Nah, that's too plain. Then, Yuki? Eh, I'm not sure about that one...

"Kyuuuuu....."

Speaking of which, it keeps on saying "kyuu" and "kyuu", so umm... Nine? Nah, that's too direct. Kyubi? Well, it ain't got nine tails, so nope.

Argh, it's just a name so why is it so hard!?

"Kyuu?"

Kyuu... Kyuu... Kyuu... Kyuu.......

"Kyuki...?"

"..."

...

"Kyuu! Kyuu! Kyuu~!"

Umm, you... like that, huh?

"Kyuu! Kyuu! Kyuu! Kyuu! Kyuu! Kyuu! KYUUU~!!!"

I see... Alright then, your name is Kyuki.

"Kyuu~!"