Fox, I Need to Go Back!!
"!!!"
When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on a cloud far fluffier than anything I was used to.
For a second I wondered if I had somehow grown the power to fly and dozed off up in the sky, but then Yerin's scent reached me and I remembered that I had come into her territory yesterday.
"Hwaaah."
I stretched long and luxuriously, greeting a morning that felt refreshingly comfortable for the first time in ages.
A quick glance out the window showed the sky completely clear—not a single cloud left, as if last night's endless rain had been nothing but a lie.
I instinctively shook out my whole body and began grooming my fur into place. That was when the door opened and Yerin stepped inside.
"Naru, you're up?"
She watched me grooming with sparkling eyes, staring so blankly that the attention started to feel heavy. I stopped mid-lick.
Yerin cleared her throat and tried again.
"Ahem. Good morning."
"Good morning?"
"Yeah. It's the greeting you say when you wake up. Want to try saying it back to me?"
"Good morning…"
"Mm. Good morning."
I had never known you were supposed to greet someone first thing in the morning. Back in the old days, just locking eyes with someone at dawn was enough to get cursed out… Saying hello like this felt brand-new and strangely nice.
"Um… maybe…"
"Hm?"
"Are there… other greetings too?"
"Of course. I should have told you 'good night' before you went to sleep. You dozed off so fast I didn't get the chance, but from now on I'll greet you every day."
"Well… I specially allow it."
"Hehe. Thank you."
Grrrrrk—
Right then my stomach, which had woken up right along with me, started growling for food. Embarrassment hit hard, so I pretended nothing was wrong.
"H-huh? Is that thunder again this morning?"
"Thunder?"
Yerin looked blankly back and forth between the clear sky and me, then let out a little laugh.
"Well, after all that rain yesterday, I guess thunder could still roll in the morning."
"R-right!"
Luckily I was a clever fox with razor-sharp situational awareness, so I sailed right past the awkward moment.
"Alright then, since you're up, how about some breakf—"
For some reason Yerin's words trailed off. She stared blankly at the bed, then plucked one of my shed hairs from the blanket.
"Foxes shed more than I expected…"
"…?"
"Never mind. Want to go eat breakfast?"
"You're giving me breakfast too?!"
"Of course."
"Carorote?"
"It's castella."
"Yeah, that!"
"Sorry, but breakfast isn't castella today."
I had been counting on cloud bread for breakfast, so my tail drooped a little. Still, just the fact that I was getting breakfast at all was enough to make me decide to be happy.
We headed to the table together, and a delicious smell immediately woke up my nose.
"Sniff sniff… what's that smell?"
"Since it's morning, I just lightly toasted some bread."
"Bread?"
"Yep. It's bread like castella, but a completely different kind."
Gulp.
The word "bread" instantly brought cloud bread back to mind and made my mouth water. Yerin scooped me up and set me on a chair.
A deep, nutty aroma welcomed me. Even though it was savory, a soft sweetness wove through it and teased my salivary glands. On top of that, the glossy surface of the toast sat there on the plate, practically begging me to eat it.
A predator's body was being tempted right to its face—why should I hold back?
I shouldn't!
I lunged forward and sank my teeth into a big bite of toast.
The outside was crisp, the inside moist, and a gentle sweetness hidden inside the savory fragrance made my tail start dancing all on its own.
I went in for another bite right away—only for Yerin to block me.
"Hold on, Naru! It's just plain toast. Don't eat it like that—wait a second."
"Grrr!"
How dare she try to take food I was already eating? Unforgivable. I threatened her and tried to reclaim the toast, but she simply pressed one finger against my forehead and stopped me with ridiculous ease.
"How…"
My ears and tail sagged at the thought of not getting more toast, but Yerin sighed and started explaining.
"You don't just eat toast plain. You have to spread butter and jam on it!"
"…Bter?"
"Butter."
"What's that?"
"Hehe. Watch carefully. Unnie's going to show you some magic."
"Magic?"
I wondered why you needed magic just to eat, but Yerin immediately picked up the toast I had bitten and pulled out a little knife. She began scooping up something called butter and spreading it.
"First you spread the butter like this…"
"…"
Next she opened the red glass jar she had called jam. Instantly a deep, sweet fruit fragrance that had been sleeping inside burst out and filled the air.
A sweetness this concentrated was on the same level as castella—or maybe even better. I couldn't stop the drool if I tried.
Yerin scooped up a generous spoonful of that jam and spread it over the buttered toast.
"Once you add strawberry jam, toast becomes insanely delicious!"
"I wanna eat! I wanna eat!!"
"Sorry, not yet."
Just then Subin appeared from the kitchen holding a frying pan and walked over with a greeting.
"Morning. Good morning."
"…!"
"This unnie brought a present just for Naru~"
Subin slid a fried egg from the pan right on top of the butter-and-jam toast.
And just like that, the toast that had left my side returned looking even more irresistible.
"Aigoo, you waited so hard you drooled this much."
Yerin wiped my mouth with a tissue, but my eyes never left the toast.
The second I tried to take a huge bite—
"Wait!"
Yerin blocked me again.
Stopping me twice with food this good right in front of me was pure torture. I looked up at her with watery eyes, and she gave a wry smile.
"There's something you have to do before you eat."
"Something I have to do?"
"You have to say, 'Thanks for the food!'"
"A… greeting?"
"That's right. And food always tastes best when everyone eats together."
Yerin and Subin sat down on either side of me, each preparing their own toast, then spoke together.
"Thanks for the food."
"Th-thanks for the food!"
I didn't really understand, but only after I copied them was I finally allowed to eat the toast.
"!!!"
Hi there? I'm toast. From this moment on I'm going to put on butter-and-jam makeup inside your mouth, throw on a fried-egg outfit, and dance!
Plain toast had already been delicious, but the toast after Yerin cast her magic was pure sorcery.
"Naru's pupils are completely blown… is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine. Probably. She was the same way with the castella."
I buried my face in the toast so thoroughly I couldn't even hear what they were saying.
This level of luxurious sweetness was something I had never tasted even before I Awakened. On top of that, the yolk of the fried egg Subin had added took that sweetness and pulled it into a whole new depth of flavor.
Munch munch.
Chew chew.
Flutter flutter.
Nom nom nom.
"…"
"…"
"Unnie."
"Yeah."
"Naru eats so adorably and heartily that it's cute, but…"
"Yeah…"
"We really need to teach her table manners."
"Table manners are just the beginning… There's a mountain of things to teach."
Before I knew it I had finished every last scrap of toast and was licking the plate clean so not a single drop of sauce would escape.
Yerin watched me, wiped my mouth again, then set a cup in front of me.
"Have some milk too. Drink slowly or you'll get a stomachache."
Lap lap.
I immediately grabbed the cup with both hands and started lapping the milk with gusto.
The clean, cool creaminess of the milk after the toast cleared the throat that had gotten stuck from eating too fast.
"Naru, why are you lapping the milk?"
"…?"
I tilted my head at Subin's question, finding it strange myself.
"Is there another way to drink?"
"…"
At that, Subin simply lifted the cup beside her and tilted it, drinking the contents straight down.
"!!!"
I had been copying the way Boss drank water, but now I remembered—before I Awakened, drinking like that had been completely normal.
"I-I knew that! This is, uh… Boss! Yeah, I was just imitating Boss!"
As a clever fox I delivered a flawless excuse, immediately stopped lapping, and gulped the milk down just like Subin.
I could swallow way more milk this way than by lapping, and an involuntary sigh of satisfaction escaped me.
"Kyaaah!"
The leftover sweetness in my mouth washed down with the milk, leaving everything clean and fresh.
I could hardly believe I was getting to eat this much delicious food first thing in the morning until I was full.
Someday when I succeed…!
"Haha, Naru's got a white mustache now."
While Yerin wiped my mouth yet again, I stood up from the chair and thought.
I had slept well and eaten well, but this wasn't my territory.
I had only agreed to stay in Yerin's territory temporarily because of the landslide. Now it was time to return to the mountain.
"…"
Looking at the plate I had licked clean, I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a little regret.
But my grand goal was success!
I decided this lifestyle had given me good motivation to make this kind of life normal someday, and steeled myself to leave—
"Naru, shall we brush your fur now?"
Right. Grooming was important, so I would just get brushed and then leave…
"Ta-da! I washed some strawberries I bought for you yesterday."
Right. Snacks were also important. Eating whenever you can is advantageous for survival.
But my belly was already full, so now I should really leav—
"Naru, look at this!"
"Huff huff!"