Sakura had just finished introducing to her mother, when the enormous fox spirit finally stirred awake.
Kuzunoha was her na. As her vivid and impossibly deep erald eyes fluttered open, her long pink lashes swept upward like smooth curtains parting on a stage.
She blinked a couple of tis, before slowly leaning forward, her motion sending a gentle ripple through the blue magical mist that clung to her like conscious smoke.
Her nine tails frequently lifted and dropped slothfully, with each one genuinely thicker than my entire body. Their fur was shimring with this inner light that sowhat made the chamber feel even smaller.
And when I took a closer look, she was absolutely breathtaking... but like, in the most terrifying way.
Her canines peeked past her corpulent lips when she smiled; they were pretty long, being like ivory, and probably sharp enough to shave through steel.
As she breathed, I caught the faint gleam of her polished claws tipping each of her massive fingers—pink just like her hair, and curved like scythes.
And they looked easily long enough to impale through the chest without effort. One casual swipe from her, and I’d be ribbons decorating the floor, I guess.
Or one absent-minded squeeze from her, and my spine would pop like dry twigs. She could definitely kill , probably without even aning to, and the casual way she shifted her body and tilted her head... it made feel like she knew it.
Wait, one look at Sakura’s mom and I’m already envisioning how I’d et my end at her hands. How rude of .
But still, my heart hamred against my ribs. A part of wanted to scram before she decides I’m unworthy to be in her presence. But another part, probably the stupider part, found the sheer scale of her being... exciting.
You know, like standing at the edge of a cliff and wondering what it would feel like to jump. I tried it back on earth once, but that was more depressing than exciting.
"Sakura-chan?" Her voice rolled out like distant thunder, but cute—vibrating, cozy, and nearly childlike in its tone.
She sloped her head at , with her pink long hair flowing over one of her shoulders in a shimring curtain. "You brought soone with you today..."
Suddenly, Sakura’s fingers tightened around mine.
"Haha-ue, this is... uhm..." Her cheeks flad crimson, as she swallowed and her fox ears flattened against her head. "This is the man I promised you!"
Promised?
Her comnt hit like a wet fish slap.
Promised what? When? How?
And why was I only hearing about it?
But all of a sudden, after hearing Sakura, Kuzunoha’s face lit up like sunrise breaking over mountains.
Her nine tails swayed in gentle, delighted arcs, brushing stone pillars and sending faint sparks of magic dancing across the floor.
Then a soft, bubbling giggle escaped her; being high and totally girlish, and completely at odds with her towering size.
"Ahhh! So he is my long-awaited son-in-law?!"
Oh god...
My blood was turning into ice.
What’s this about a son-in-law?
I imdiately snapped my head toward Sakura so fast my neck nearly cracked.
But she refused to et my eyes, her cheeks burning scarlet, with her ears still pinned flat on her head. Her tail was rigid behind her like soone had starched it.
Kuzunoha clasped both hands together, with her claws clicking softly against each other.
"I thank the heavens for this great miracle!" Her voice trembled with joy. "Sakura-chan, you know, refused to get married for so long, I was starting to worry she would never settle down!"
M-Marriage?!
My brain was absorbing too much sudden information at once, it had nearly fried.
But, hey, no one said anything about marriage.
Or did I sign a contract and didn’t read the content? Sakura is sly like that, putting up to it. I also can’t rember any marriage-related discussions lately... or even in my earth days!
Or did I get drunk recently and said sothing ridiculous, or agree to the sa?
Hey, hey! This wasn’t a joke. I am almost getting involved in one of those forced marriage plotline.
I opened my mouth to say sothing, but closed it, then opened it again.
Yep. Nothing useful was coming out.
Give so points, Sys!
[Understood: I have no—]
Never mind. I forgot you don’t know how things like this work.
Kuzunoha had leaned closer, her erald eyes sparkling with excitent, like a child. "So? What about my daughter infatuated you? Tell about your love story!"
I imdiately shot Sakura another desperate glance.
Help .
She finally looked at , but her expression was totally embarrassed; with her eyes wide, her lips trembling, and her cheeks so red I worried she might self-destruct.
But beneath it was a silent and pleading look, that more or less ant, "Please. Just... play along."
But play along?! Is she telling to lie to her mom?
[Geez! I could do so, but I’m scared she’ll slice up if she realized I’m lying!]
[Eh?! B-Benjamin, when did you learn to send telepathic ssages? And one so exceptionally done, too?]
Ah, now Sakura’s voice was ringing inside my head!
[Huh? Sakura?! I can hear you inside my mind!]
{Notice: I ntally connected Master with the individual Sakura since I sensed Master’s significant desire to converse with her without drawing the attention of the fox spirit. I hope I did not overstep?}
Sys. No, no, it’s absolutely fine. Actually, perfect timing. Thank you. but maybe a little heads up next ti will be nice.
[Hm? So you did this unintentionally? You truly are a wonder, Benjamin. Ah, about Haha-ue—]
Sakura’s ntal voice continued to stream into . And surprisingly, I could definitely feel her embarrassnt bleeding through the connection.
If I tried to speak with her, it sent. But if I tried to think more internally, it doesn’t get sent—which was a tricky situation to be in.
Nevertheless, she explained many things to , quickly and quietly, while Kuzunoha just watched us with those bright and expectant eyes.
Kuzunoha had been confined here since the Seventh Celestial War.
In said war, she had poured almost everything she had into an attack spell, effectively ending the war entirely: erasing the enemies, and sealing away the ancient horrors that were among the enemies.
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