They say that clothes make the man. Luckily, I wasn’t a man anymore. That meant I didn’t need to wear clothes, right?

I hadn’t realized how stifling clothes felt until I spent a month being naked. My new distaste for wearing clothes had to be a side effect of my unfortunate skill, [Naked]. Even if it was one of the key skills that allowed me to reach [Ki IV], I wasn’t entirely sure it was worth all the trouble it put me through.

“Are you sure you don’t want a ride to Cecilia’s place?”

“No, I want to walk back with my own two feet.”

“I understand. Take care of yourself, Fang.”

I waved Elizabeth and the rest of the hero party goodbye as I teleported back to the dusty guild administration building. I was sporting a brand new school uniform, skirt edition. It was my first time wearing a miniskirt and I liked the breezy sensation on my legs. I couldn’t stand wearing shoes, so my feet were barefoot.

I threw open the doors and greeted the wonderful sight of civilization.

“Welcome to the new world, Cheddar, Olive.”

I spoke up in happiness to the pack of Shadow Wolves dwelling in my shadow. They couldn’t respond to me, but I wanted to think they were as excited as I was.

I recognized where I was at a glance. Saint Mikhael Explorer Academy had not changed one bit in my absence. I was the one who had changed beyond belief. I walked through the streets of the academy while reminiscing on my time spent as a student.

Hushed whispers followed me wherever I went. My 9 fox tails attracted quite the attention. I half expected a repeat of my time as Ash and for some random Beastman to propose to me on the spot.

Thankfully, that never happened. Instead, I was surrounded by a bunch of male explorers who were leering at me.

“Damn, fox girl, are you looking for a party? What do you say to diving into the dungeon with us?”

“That is right. A fine fox girl like you needs a bunch of strong, burly bodyguards like us.”

Strangely enough, their gazes didn’t bother me. Instead, it filled my heart of excitement. If I was pretty enough to be picked up on the street, then surely I was pretty enough to seduce Byleth and Cecilia.

“Are you listening, girlie?”

I came to my senses and realized that I was still surrounded by these pathetic excuses of men. I did what any smart girl would do in my situation. I called for backup.

“Cheddar.”

Cheddar jumped up from my shadow and growled in warning.

“What the hell!? That is a Shadow Wolf!”

“Ahhhh!!!”

The group of men scattered like a bunch of headless chickens. As I thought, my Cheddar was strong even among the explorers of the Upper Realm.

“Thanks for the support, Cheddar.”

I patted Cheddar’s head and had him return back to my shadow. I walked back to Cecilia’s mansion with a much lighter heart. Unfortunately, I ran into an unexpected problem the moment I reached the entrance to her mansion. They wouldn’t let me in.

“For the last time, I’m telling you. I’m Fang.”

“Hahaha. Nice try, but everyone knows that Fang is a tailless Beastman.”

Hmph. There was no reasoning with the guard at the entrance. It was unfortunate, but I didn’t know her well enough to convince her. If only she was a human, I could have her use [Appraisal] on me.

I was stuck at the main entrance pondering how to prove my identity. This troublesome problem was unexpectedly solved for me. My entire body stiffened as soon as they entered the range of my senses.

My heart kicked into overdrive and my mind started freaking out. I didn’t look weird, did I? My tails swished uneasily from side to side and I discreetly groomed myself. Even with [Ki IV] strengthening my mind, I couldn’t decide what to do. As a result, I ended up standing there frozen like a statue.

“What seems to be the problem?”

A bewitching voice called out behind me. It was the very same voice that I had spent a month dreaming to hear again. Unlike those times, this wasn’t a dream. This was real.

I turned to the source of the voice and met the alluring red eyes of Byleth Evernight. My heart thumped loudly enough that she had to be able to hear it. Ah, it was no good. This was far worse than when she had used her [Charm] skill on me. I loved her. I barely managed to avoid blurting that out by averting my gaze.

Unfortunately, my eyes were sucked straight into the violet eyes of Cecilia Snowlight. I didn’t think it was possible, but my thumping heart grew even louder. Ah, this was also no good. I loved Cecilia too.

The freezing cold that had stiffened my face melted. I found myself with a joyous grin that stretched from ear to ear. I had so many things I wanted to say. My words were stuck in a traffic jam on the way out of my throat.

Byleth and Cecilia spoke up nearly simultaneously.

“Fang!”

“Fang!”

The two girls I loved jumped at me. Of course, I didn’t avoid them. They wrapped me up in the soft warmth of their hugs. Tears nearly welled up within my eyes. This was the feeling I had craved for the past month.

The traffic jam in my throat cleared up and I finally managed to say the words that had spent far too long being buried in my heart..

“I’m home.”