AN: Kon-kon-Kitsune~~~~!!!!!!







We headed back to our picnic site, and on our way there, Fubuki had already claimed her palace on my head while Kiara was back in my arms.

Ah~ How blissful~ Being surrounded by these cute and mofu-mofuness is such a blessing ~

Thankfully though, Fubuki wasn't heavy at all since she seemed to still be a baby fox. And since I was fairly trained, I could carry them no problem.

When we arrived, I saw Lu-nii sleeping under the shade of the tree and no mom nor dad in sight.

Hah... Well, I guess this is as expected. I mean, what was I thinking? Of course, they're not back yet.

It hasn't been two hours since they've left. I bet right now they're still walking along the park path so slowly, arm in arm, and stopping every few minutes to kiss.

What a hopeless pair of lovebirds~

I approached Lu-nii and stared at his peacefully sleeping face for a moment.

Hehehe~ He seemed to be in such a deep sleep. Could he be dreaming? Ufufufu~ It would be bad if someone wakes him up~

"Anne, can you hold Kiara for a moment?"

"...My lady, what are you planning to do?"

Perhaps sensing my "mischievousness", Anne looked at me warily as she picked up Kiara from my arm.

"Ara~ I'm not planning to do anything~ I'm simply going to introduce Fubuki to my dear brother~"

"..."

I ignored Anne's wary gaze and picked up Fubuki from my head. I held her up and get her near Lu-nii's face.

She sniffed him a few times, and maybe because he smells similar to me, she didn't feel threatened by him and licked his cheeks.

"UWAAAAH!!!! W-What the hell-?!"

"Puhahahahahaha!!!! Good morning, my dear brother~! Did you have a wonderful nap~?"

"R-Risa?! W-What the hell-"

He was about to get angry at me, but the white fox in my hand stole his attention.

"W-What is that...?"

"It's a fox. Do you not know about a fox?"

"If you mean a fox that has an emerald diamond-shaped mark on its head and green marks along its body then yes, I don't know anything about it."

Lu-nii glared at me and stretched his arms up.

"So? Where did you pick it up? Are you planning on bringing it home?"

"Excuse me, her name is Fubuki~ And yes, I'm going to bring her home. I found her hurt over there and healed her, and now we're best friends. Right, Fubuki~"

"Kyun~!"

She licked me and nuzzled her cute face to my neck. Ufufufu~ What a cutie~

"I see... Hm, I sense some magic in this fo- I-I mean Fubuki..."

Lu-nii fixed his wordings after I glared at him.

"Really? Well, I guess I should've expected that. She glowed so brightly right after I named her."

"...I think we should wait 'till mom and dad returns. They might know something we don't."

"Sure. That's my plan in the first place anyway. For now, let's play together with Fubuki, Kiara~"

"Yesh~"

"Kyun~!!!"

Anne put Kiara down to my side and I let Fubuki play with her. She was so docile and cute, and immediately warmed up to Kiara. Maybe because she smells similar to me? Dogs and cats would be more friendly to people whose scent was familiar to them. Maybe it's the same case with foxes.

Or maybe, given she's a magical fox, it's my and Kiara's mana signature that's similar with each other due to the fact that we're blood-related siblings, that she's also friendly with Kiara?

Umu umu, both make sense, but I can't confirm either one. Well~ Let's just forget about it for now and watch these two cuties play together~

"Oh my~ Did you pick that little cutie, Risa-chan~"

We all turned to the voice and saw mom and dad standing there. Wow, they returned sooner than I thought! I thought they'll be out at least a couple of hours more.

Mom smiled widely at us with her left hand on her cheeks like the beautiful, mature noble lady that she is. But dad seemed shocked, more than anything.

What? Is it because they're so cute?

"P-Princess, where did you find it?"

"Hm? Ah, you mean Fubuki? I found her hurt during my walk, so I healed her."

"I see... Wait, princess. Did you name it...?"

"Yes. I named her Fubuki~ It's cute, right~?"

"................................"

Now, dad's complexion seemed like he had just seen a ghost. W-What? Why did he go pale? I-I just named my new pet!

"Hm? Is something wrong, dad?"

Lu-nii asked, his face slightly frowning.

Seriously though, what's wrong...?

"Ufufufu~ Calm down, dear~ The deed is done, so there's nothing we can do anymore~ Moreover, it is not a bad thing. Rather, isn't our little girl very lucky~?"

"Hah... You're right."

Dad went to his seat and leaned back, sighing deeply, while mom gestured to us to come and seat around the table just like how we did during our lunch.

Just like before, I had Kiara on my lap, Lu-nii to my left, mom to my right, and dad opposite me. But now, I also had a little cute white fox on my head.

Dad sat up and looked at me with a serious expression.

"Risa, I want you to listen to me and listen well. That fox is not a normal fox."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Other than regular animals, there are those we call magic beasts. They are animals with intelligence on par with humans, some may be surpassing us, and have the affinity to cast magic and control mana. Amongst these rare magical beasts, there is an extremely rare and powerful magical beast in the form of a fox with incredible magical affinity. It is called a Celestial Fox, and the diamond mark on its head and the streaks along its body are features unique to them."

"...Eh?"

Eh... Magical beast...? What...? I never heard about this... even in the otome game...

"Oh, now I remember. I have read about magical beasts from one of the books we have."

Lu-nii remarked.

Dad nodded at him and looked back at me.

"Magical beasts are special creatures, and because they have high affinity to magic, they could synchronize their magic with one human of their choice. It could be done if a human gives them a name and they accept it. Once they do, they will become the human's familiar and a mark will appear somewhere on the human's body. Their magic will be linked together, allowing them to use each other's magic."

"E-Eh...? Does that mean..."

"Yes... The moment you gave her a name and she accepted it, Fubuki became your familiar."

Eeeehhhhh?!?!?! I-I got a magical familiar without even knowing about it?!

I-I thought she's just a regular fox with beautiful fur!

"I-I-Is it bad...?"

Dad thought for a moment before his expression relaxed into a smile.

"No. Just like your mother said, it is not a bad thing. You were very lucky to have made friends with such a rare and powerful magical beast. Just make sure to not have it known to the public, okay? There are a lot of hunters who want to catch a celestial fox and sell it for a tremendous amount of gold, so it will be better for us and Fubuki if no one knows you have it. Understand?"

"Y-Yes! I understand!"

I picked up Fubuki from my head and had her sit beside Kiara on my other lap.

Wahhhh... I didn't know Fubuki was this special. She sure is amazing...

I stared at her in wonder, before Fubuki nuzzled into Kiara's neck when she hugged her.

Hehe~ Cute~

...

W-Wait a sec...

"D-Dad, you said that the humans who formed a bond with a magical beast would have a mark in their body right? Do I have a mark as well?"

Dad, mom, and Lu-nii widened their eyes for a moment and began scanning me up and down.

"You're right. Hm, that's strange... Perhaps it is somewhere under your clothes, princess."

"Ufufufu~ Should we go and check, dear? We can have Anne and the others to hold up a few sheets as cover and we can check it now."

"L-Lisa?! H-How could you suggest such a thing?! We can't let our princess's skin be exposed in public!"

"Oh shush, Al. We are all alone here, and the maids will cover us well. Moreover, I will not be removing all her clothes. I will only be unfastening her dress so we can try and find the mark. So, would you like to, dear?"

"S-Sure."

I nodded and grabbed my mother's hand, letting her lead me and also Fubuki who came with us to a quiet place with a few maids following us, sheets in hand.

Once we found an empty space behind some tree lines, the maids spread their sheets and held it up around mom, Fubuki, and me, making a portable changing room.

"Now then, can you ask Fubuki to manifest her magic for a bit? The mark will shine when your familiar use their magic, so it will be easier for us to find it."

"Okay, I will try."

I lifted up the little fox and stared at it for a moment.

Uuuhh... How should I ask her? Is it telepathy? Do I say it? I-I hadn't thought of this.

Suddenly, the wind around us began to blow and the diamond marking on Fubuki's head began to glow green along with the streaks along her body.

Ohh! Did you read my mind?! How amazing!

"Ah, there it is~ Ufufufu~ It's so beautiful~"

I snapped out of my amazement when I heard mom's voice coming from behind. I turned and saw the zipper on my back had been pulled down, revealing my back.

"Where is it, mom? I can't see it."

"It is on the back of your right shoulder, dear~ Three emerald wings."

"Is it? I wish I could see it..."

Hm, now I really want that dSLR. I'm really curious about how they look.

"Ufufufu~ You can tell Fubuki to stop now, Risa. Then let's go back and tell them where it is."

"Yes."

We returned and mom told dad where my mark was while I returned to my seat beside Lu-nii and Kiara with Fubuki back on my head.

"So it's on your back huh? What's it like?"

"Well, it is on my back so I couldn't see it. But mom told me it's three emerald wings."

"I see. So you got a tattoo now, huh?"

"...I don't like the way you say it, but I guess so."

Kiara waddled her way to me and hugged me, nuzzling her head to my still pitiful cutting-board of a chest.

"Nee-cha... Sweepy..."

"Oh my~ Is Kiara-chan sweepy~ Do you want to take a nap with me?"

"Uhn..."

"Hehehe~ Then let's take a nap together~"

"Uhn..."

How cute~!!!!!! Ah~ My heart is melting~

What an angel~

"...Aren't you the one who complained when I took a nap?"

"Ara~ That is already a thing of the past, you know? It is unsightly for a noble gentleman to bring up such a thing. Ufufufu~"

"Hah... Yes yes."

I laid Kiara down next to me and laid on my side, singing a lullaby softly to her. Fubuki had also curled into a little ball above Kiara and fell asleep.

"It's so peaceful, huh."

Lu-nii said from beside me.

"Uhn... It'll get pretty busy for me soon with my physical combat and magic training, but I'll definitely survive with these little cuties cheering me on."

"I'm sure the uhm... "friends" you made in your debutante would like to spend time with you whenever you're free."

"I hope so. I've actually already made some plans to visit Evelyn, Illya, and Noir when I'm free."

"Hm? You're going to visit them? Do you have the time though? I thought you wanted to try making shampoo and conditioner?"

"Ah, that's right. Well, I've made them before, so it won't take long as long as I have the ingredients. When I'm done with that, I plan on selling it to the nobilities first and then make it accessible to the commoners. You think you can and dad can help with that?"

Lu-nii fell into silence for a moment before starting.

"Shampoo and conditioners do have the potential to become the main product of a large company. We will definitely help, but I think it'll be better if you head that company and become the face of the product."

Eh?

"E-Eh? W-What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you should become the face of the company selling shampoo and conditioner. Just by having you be the one promoting a beauty product like that, nobilities and commoners would eat it up easily. This, I'm sure of, and I think mom and dad would think the same."

"E-Ehh... Is that so? But I'm not that good in business you know? I just know a little bit about paperwork from my previous life."

"It's fine. You can just find someone you could trust who could manage your company in your stead."

"...So, you?"

"Nope. I'll inherit dad's job so I can't."

"...Then how?"

"Well, don't worry too much about it for now. You'll find a way once the time comes. Knowing you, you'll most probably meet someone who'll fit the bill perfectly in the future."

"Hah... How optimistic of you..."

Honestly, how does that even make sense? As if such a fateful encounter would happen out of nowhere.

Maybe I should ask Alex for recommendations? He'd perhaps know some competent people I can hire right?

Well... I guess I'll be busy with my training for a while so... Let's shove this aside for now~!