“…”
A heavy silence lingered.
He came back only to find out that someone close to him had died, while his childhood friend had fallen into villainy. On top of that, he failed to convince him.
Given such circumstances, it would be unreasonable to tell him not to become depressed.
But while the people here understood that, the person in question wasn’t even here, so they hadn’t the slightest clue what they were to do.
But that was also why…
“…Hmm, and a fox as shameless as yourself thought it was okay to leave your very important master alone while he was like that?” Myuhi said.
“Ruona!” Frire said.
Words as thorny as that flippantly left Myuhi’s lips.
It was curious if that was her revenge for the midget remark, or she was merely trying to provoke her.
But while the servant was clearly just messing around earlier, Myuhi was clearly angry.
She could smile all she want, but her eyes were accusatory.
Unfortunately for her, the beauty before her just didn’t seem to care, riling her up even further.
“Despite all that talk earlier, you’ve only appeared twice. Once in Kutoria, and then today. Why leave your master alone?” Myuhi said.
That’s why her words became even thornier. She knew that there was a huge gap in strength between them, but she just couldn’t help her own emotions.
For some reason, she couldn’t control herself when facing this beautiful servant of Shinichi’s.
Despite all her barking, however, the servant just laughed.
She looked at her just like when her master was looking at something favorable.
“Ufufu, despite being fully aware of the difference in our strength, you continue to bark. Very good. You deserve a reward. Hmm…”
The beauty seemed to be satisfied all on her own and nodded to herself, then she suddenly stuck her hand into her chest and took out a foster.
“You shameless fox! What in the world are you putting in— Hey! That’s Icchi’s foster!”
“Duh. That’s why I put it in between these delightful things of mine, miss-little-in many-ways. More importantly, you should accept it with honor.”
Myuhi was clearly complaining because of a complex or sort on her part, but the beautiful servant just ignored her and passed Shinichi’s foster to her.
Myuhi half-reflexively received that pass, then pouted because it was still warm from the servant’s chest.
“I shall give you the honor of returning that to my master. Make sure you don’t forget those emotions you felt just now.”
“What are you being so arrogant for while saying something inexplicable? You think you can fool me with that?”
“Surely not. But as I’ve said from the start. This is our first time meeting in this form.”
“Ah.”
That was the first thing she had told them.
She was so beautiful that they’d ended up ignoring it, but now that they thought about it, that possibility certainly existed.
“…So you’re saying we’ve already met before? Well, it’s certainly possible considering how well you faked being Shinichi,” Aristel said.
“But just who?” Frire said.
“I think I’ve already given plenty of hints. After all, there aren’t many people that look like me and can beat you so easily,” the servant said.
“You know, there’s no way I could have forgotten seeing someone so beautiful— Hmm?” Tomoe said.
Tomoe said up to that point before a certain possibility crossed her mind.
Perhaps it was because she was familiar with unusual existences that she came to that conclusion.
If it was impossible for her to forget someone so beautiful then she must have taken on a different from.
And if she were to have resembled this form to some extent, then if she were to take away her beautiful face and body, what would that leave behind?
In the next moment….
“!? —Y-You’re Shinichi’s servant!?!?” Tomoe said.
Someone with fox ears and three tails, and someone who was always next to Shinichi. Above all, that ridiculous fighting prowess of hers.
When all of the conditions were lined up like that, only one conclusion could be drawn.
For a moment, everyone looked at Tomoe as though she’d gone crazy, but realization soon dawned on them, and they paled.
“Bingo! Allow me to reward you as well!”
As she laughed, she took off the school uniform that covered her, but what appeared next was not the bare flesh of the otherworldly beauty but the most powerful creature of another world that always accompanied Shinichi.
“It’s not our first time meeting in this form, but it certainly is our first time talking.”
Though it was the same sensuous voice, though it was the same manner of speech, the form she assumed now was that of a beast. She spoke with a wink, but everyone else was in shock.
So much so in fact that they didn’t even notice Tomoe screaming as she got out of the school uniform that had been thrown at her.
“Why did you throw it at me!?” Tomoe said.
Though thanks to that, Tomoe was the first to collect herself.
“I did say you deserved a reward. You can give that back to my master when he returns. Until then, you can use it as you wish. Smell it, sleep with it, wear it, enjoy the master’s warmth…”
“There’s no way I’d do something so shameless! Besides, only your smell and warmth remains!”
“Oh, right. Sorry about that. I couldn’t help myself, you see.”
“Don’t apologize so seriously. If you talk like that, you’ll make it sound like I wanted to do it too!”
Though Tomoe couldn’t help but throw a jab at her, she barked at her nonetheless with a face that was beet red.
“W-Wait a moment, Safina! An amaryllis is talking, you know! An amaryllis is talking! Or maybe that’s actually normal? Oh, right, they can understand human speech, so it’s not weird that they can talk too! Right? Uh…” Frire said.
“That’s certainly enough to cause a commotion among Garesto’s scholars, but I nonetheless share our teacher’s sentiments. If an amaryllis can adopt a human form, then perhaps there are amaryllis among the Garestonians?” Aristel said.
Unlike Tomoe and the others, the Garestonians here did not have appear to have any resistance to a creature that could transform into a human, so they were deeply disturbed by this revelation.
But that was only a given. After all, they have been taught since young not to bother the amaryllis.
But if they were capable of understanding them, even going as far to be able to adopt a human shape, then the common sense they’d known until has crumbled just like that.
There was no way they could stay calm.
“…No wonder I found you so annoying,” Myuhi said.
Only Myuhi, who has been picking a fight with her from the start, was able to come to terms with it quickly.
“Calm down please. First of all, it’s not possible for all of our kind to become human. Also, only those that live near humans are able to talk. But of course, given a few weeks, any one of my kin would easily be able to learn your language.”
The servant acted as though none of this concerned her. She patted with her forelimb to get the attention of the Garestonians, who were losing their mind, then she gave them a simple explanation to alleviate their concerns before throwing another bomb at the end. As expected of Shinichi’s servant.
“You have no complaints now, right, midget? After all, you of all people ought to know just how much time I spend with my master,” the servant said.
“Tch, I knew you’d be annoying. Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry for misjudging you!” Myuhi said.
The fox servant laughed, while the fox girl glared at her.
The fox servant was now the smaller one between the two, but she still had the upper hand.