Mom leaped over the creek in a surprising display of strength. Then, as always, she hugged the air out of my lungs.

“Nova! Where did you go?! I was so worried!”

I let her hug me for another minute before patting her arm to signal for her to release me.

“I-It’s a long story.”

Although unsatisfied by my answer, she still gave in with a sigh.

“Okay, what matters is that you’re safe.”

‘Well, she’s still the Mom I know but…’

“How do you know that it’s me?”

After all, no normal mother would guess that a Fox-kin girl was her son who went missing for hours.

Mom stared straight at me and slowly opened her mouth,

“What kind of mother am I if I can’t recognize my son at a glance? Well, I guess it’s ‘my daughter’ now.”

‘Yeah, no, I’m not buying it.’

Seeing that my eyes were still full of suspicion, she sighed.

“Fine…you got me. I knew that it was you because of Fenris.”

I briefly glanced at Fenris, who was lazily lying down at my feet.

‘This Wolf…’

Mom continued. “I know how distrustful of people he is. Apart from you and me, he refuses to stay with anyone. Even Ria was bitten by him…”

‘That Wolf bit the Head maid? He’s lucky that Mom’s not a pure Otherworlder.’

I shuddered thinking about Fenris becoming my dinner without me knowing.

“Besides, you reacted to your name, d—”

“Cough!”

The soft cough made Mom and I aware of our surroundings again. Almost simultaneously, we turned toward the one who coughed—kid Ihwa, who was standing there and nervously fiddling with her fingers.

“Black hair…” Mom muttered.

‘Oh no…’

“Purple eyes…”

‘Run!’

“And a cute face…”

‘I pray to whatever God out there for your safety...’

“You…!” Mom exclaimed as she marched toward kid Ihwa.

Kid Ihwa tried to shrink into the snow to hide, but Mom placed her hand on her shoulder before she could do so much as move a muscle.

Staring at her ominously, Mom parted her lips.

“...You’re not an old pervert.”

‘Huh? Why is she sighing in relief?’

Kid Ihwa glanced at me to ask for help, but I just shrugged my shoulders. Even I couldn’t do anything in this situation.

“To be honest, I thought that you were an old woman when my little one told me about you. Who could’ve guessed that you’re roughly the same age as her?”

‘Hey, why is Mom accepting the fact that I’m a girl now just like that?!’

But of course, she had more important matters to care about.

“I approve of you as her playmate, but don’t teach her bad words ever again, okay?”

Seeing Mom’s definitely not creepy and threatening smile, kid Ihwa subconsciously gulped despite being entirely innocent—in fact, I was the one teaching her bad words, not the other way around.

“Y-Yes, m’am!”

“Good. Then, please be a good girl and tell me why my daughter is wrapped in bandages?”

“T-That…”

Before she could spill everything, I intervened.

“A Monster attacked while we were playing.”

“M-Monster?”

“Yes, a Fire-type. I got burnt but…she used a potion to save my life.”

Hearing this, Mom bowed to kid Ihwa in gratefulness.

“Thank you for saving my daughter.”

“I-It’s nothing!” Kid Ihwa stammered. “I-I was the one who put her in danger in the f-first place so don’t thank me!”

“Still, I have to thank you.”

Then, Mom composed herself and continued with the questioning.

“Do you know why my little one suddenly turned into a…Fox-girl?”

“Ummm…it’s because of the potion I fed her… The side effects…”

“I see…”

Then, abruptly, Mom picked me up and caressed my ears, sending a jolt through my body and making me purr involuntarily.

“My little one has been out here for long enough now, so we have to go home. But…would you like to go with us? It’s dangerous for a kid like you to be here alone.”

“Thank you, but…I can get home by myself,” kid Ihwa responded with a polite bow.

Seeing the confidence in her face, Mom sighed.

“Okay, just please don’t die out there. My little one would be sad if her first playmate was to die so soon.”

‘...Why did you have to add the “so soon” part?’

Kid Ihwa gulped and began running into the forest again. Though, before she left entirely, she shouted,

“SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!”

‘What about asking for my consent?’

Unaware of my thought, Mom chuckled as she continued caressing my new furry ears.

“Don’t worry, I’ll let you play with her…under supervision, of course.”

.

.

.

.
A day had passed since then.

It seemed that news of me becoming a Fox-girl caused more of a ruckus than I thought, as Herald arrived at our mansion by dusk.

‘Another surprise visit… What an asshole.’

I didn’t need to wait for long before Herald came to my room. As he opened my door, I could see Mom following right behind him, looking restless.

Then, he walked right up to me and placed a hand on my head, sending Aura through my body. 

Since I knew that this kind of Aura didn’t contain any malintent, I didn’t resist it.

“It seems that you’re really Nova,” Herald said as he removed his hand. Then, he turned his attention back to Mom. “Hayan, looks like you didn’t try to fool me by killing off our son and adopting another girl to take his place. However, this thing still proves to be a disappointment.”

‘...What?’

“Girls are naturally weak, so she can’t inherit our House’s sword style. And…” He gave me a disgusted glare. “...She’s a dirty Demi. Not even Human. She can’t ever hope to become more than a mediocre Swordsman…” He then flashed Mom a smirk. “...Just like you.”

Mom began to tremble and she averted her eyes to the ground. She exercised a great deal of self-control and didn’t lash out at Herald.

However, I couldn’t remain calm like her.

‘He dares to say that I, a Swordsmaster, can never be anything other than a mediocre Swordsman?!’

That was absolutely unacceptable! Furthermore, it seemed that he’d insulted Mom with his last sentence, too!

I glared at the back of his neck. His guard was completely down. He looked so vulnerable, so…weak. Just a little swipe of my hand with [Aura sharpening] active would end this miserable and pathetic life. Of. This. Assh—

Suddenly, the hair on the back of Herald’s neck stood up, and as if on instinct, he distanced himself from me.

‘Oops, seems like I accidentally leaked a little bit of killing intent.’

Then, Herald scowled, as if ashamed by being scared by just a mere child.

To rub salt in his wound, I stared at him with utmost innocence; my eyes almost conveying the message of, “Daddy, why are you acting like that? I’m your cute and precious daughter!”

After calming himself down, Herald grabbed Mom’s arm and pulled her out of the room.

“Let’s go. I must prepare a backup plan in case this thing fails to even attain the Fire attribute.”

That night, I could hear Mom’s moans through the thin walls of the mansion. Though, they sounded more like sobs.