Fox Tails Are Fluffy and Cozy, Perfect for Hugging (1)
“Mm, mm, you've heard something delightful! So my hero likes cute things... Come to think of it, even back then, the way my hero looked at me wasn't ordinary at all! He stared right through me, mouth agape. At that time, I had no allure as a woman, but anyone would call my appearance cute, so that's why my hero gazed at me like that! Here's the next question. Does my hero...”
While nodding along with a hum and answering Karmine and Karura's endless questions once more, my gaze drifted toward the bedroom where Hanjo and Lilith had disappeared together.
Those two... they had definitely been in the relationship of mother and son just moments ago.
And yet, in an instant, they severed that bond and entered the bedroom together.
I was dying to know what they could possibly be doing inside.
But the moment Lilith and Hanjo went in, barriers sprang up, sealing off even the slightest sound from leaking out to the bedroom exterior.
There was no way to know what was happening inside.
What if...
What if something like that book I read recently—'Son Eats Mom All Up'—was unfolding right now? My face grew hotter and hotter at the thought.
No way, Lilith and Hanjo couldn't be...
Just imagining them doing the kinds of things described in that book right now made my cheeks burn.
Becoming a mother was an unprecedented experience in all my centuries of life, and I wanted to be the perfect mother to Hanjo if possible.
All those books on mothers and sons I'd read countless times.
What if something straight out of those pages was happening in there right now—not with me and Hanjo, but with Lilith and him? The thought made my heart race wildly for some reason.
It had already been hours since the two of them went inside.
I hated imagining what they might be up to, but the images kept flooding my mind anyway.
“Is what's going on in there bothering you that much?”
Karmine asked me that as I clutched the hem of my skirt tightly.
“Eek...?! N-no, that's not it!”
Caught off guard, as if she'd read my mind, I whipped my head around and denied it. Karmine looked at me and continued.
“Ho ho, then why do you keep glancing that way?”
That's...
That's...
As I stared blankly at Karmine, who was smirking with lips curled, trying to come up with something to say, she waved her hand dismissively first.
“Well, no need to be so impatient. Didn't my hero say next up is Hoaran, your turn? Deciding the order in which a man embraces his women is solely his prerogative. We just wait quietly until our time comes. If you want to move up the order, you'll have to act all cute and coquettish to earn more favor.”
Embrace.
...Hanjo, embracing me.
That's...
“That... won't do...”
All those books I'd read countless times.
They all said the same things.
A mother and son, joining together.
Every single one called it 'taboo'.
Just as my own mother had taught me, every book I'd read described it that way... even in this world where countless realms had merged into one chaotic whole, the union of mother and child was universally depicted as 'taboo'.
Each book had its own stories, its own teachings, but on that one point, they all agreed.
Even in books claiming a mother's duty was to relieve her thirty-something virgin son's pent-up lust, or those insisting mothers must naturally educate their future children on relations with women and spouses.
They all unanimously declared that a mother actually joining with her child was 'taboo'.
And... as for me...
“I... I am Hanjo's mother.”
Just as my mother from long ago had taken me in as disciple and daughter.
I too had taken Hanjo as my disciple and son.
Blood ties or not.
No, precisely because there were none.
Like the mother who had been everything to me despite no blood relation.
I too had strived to be an impeccable mother to Hanjo.
So he would feel the same boundless love I'd received from her, unburdened by mere bloodlines, without such thoughts ever crossing his mind. I'd given it my all.
But...
If I broke that universal 'taboo', I could no longer.
The mother-son bond would crumble.
Just like in those books, where crossing that line shattered the relationship forever.
I would cease to be Hanjo's mother.
“So, I can't... I mustn't do such a thing...”
As I said that, Karmine spoke up.
“Mm, there's much that sounds odd to my ears, but perhaps it's a difference in worlds, so I'll let it pass... Anyway, if you're not joking, then I'll ask in earnest too. You're saying you can't do such things because you're my hero's mother? Then why didn't you say so from the start when my hero mentioned you next?”
“Th-that's...”
When Hanjo looked at me and said I was next after Lilith.
I bit my lip at Karmine's question about why I hadn't refused outright.
Looking at me like that, Karmine continued.
“You're trapped in a frame of your own making, unable to grasp your true feelings, deceiving yourself with this mother-son pretense. If you truly saw yourself as my hero's mother, you wouldn't be agonizing like this. No, if you'd believed that from the beginning, you wouldn't have reacted the way you did when my hero said he was marrying me... If I were my hero's mother and my child brought home a woman like me, I'd be clapping and overjoyed.”
She spoke as if self-praising yet not quite, twisting her lips.
Then, with a mocking jab,
“I ask you this. Can glaring jealously at the woman your child brings home truly be called motherly? I don't think so. Perhaps you've already been seeing my hero not as your son, but as a mate? Viewing my hero as a man, not a child?”
Her words stabbed deep into my chest like a dagger.
“Am I... not truly... considering myself Hanjo's mother... Is that what you're saying now?”
Enduring the sharp pain like a reopened wound, I managed to speak. Karmine shrugged at me and replied.
“That's how it looks to me. Am I wrong?”
My eyes met Karmine's.
Karmine Narmer...
The former pharaoh of the Narmer Kingdom, whom Hanjo had introduced as a woman he loved and brought home—she was strong.
Just sensing the aura she kept restrained told me she was my equal... no doubt an opponent I couldn't underestimate.
At the same time, she was beautiful.
Confident, brimming with self-assurance, her sparkling tawny eyes full of curiosity.
I could easily see why Hanjo had fallen for her.
If only...
If only I'd truly seen Hanjo as my son.
Then, as she said, when Hanjo brought home a woman like Karmine as his bride... wouldn't I naturally be delighted?
Karmine possessed a beauty that made even self-conviction feel inevitable.
But even thinking that, I couldn't voice agreement—because Karmine's words rang true: I hadn't grasped my own heart.
Proof that I saw Hanjo as a man...
“Ah, no. I absolutely...”
I clutched the tips of my tails tightly for no reason, blurting it out, and Karmine responded.
“Well, if that's truly how you see it, do as you will—I don't mind. Fewer women to share my hero's affections with means more for me, after all. Honestly, when I first heard about you all, I wasn't thrilled. But it's unavoidable. Proof that my hero is an exceptional man. Outstanding men always have hordes of fitting mates.”
However, Karmine licked her lips and added,
“If I could monopolize my hero, I'd be content. Sharing him exclusively with my beloved Karura would be ideal. But that's not for me to decide. Whatever my hero chooses, I follow.”
However.
Karmine continued,
“The fewer rivals for my hero's affections, the happier I am as a woman who rejoices in her beloved's love. So if you insist on clinging to being his mother, I won't try to dissuade you.”
“That's...!”
Her words made my open mouth twitch involuntarily.
“Th-that's...”
But I had to close it again.
Seeing me like that, Karmine grinned brightly and said,
“And if you're truly set on remaining my hero's mother, I'll sincerely treat and serve you as such! If you're the mother of the hero I love, you're like my own mother—so I'll devote myself fully to honoring you!”
If I truly stayed as Hanjo's mother, she'd treat me that way too, she said.
I should be happy about that.
“......”
Yet for some reason, I couldn't feel joy at all.
I am Hanjo's mother.
But...
Why couldn't I be glad at Karmine saying she'd see me as Hanjo's mother?
For a long while.
Silently meeting the gaze of Karmine, who stared back wordlessly.
That's when she averted her eyes to the window outside and casually spoke.
“Mm, time's gotten this late already. I had more to ask you, but it'll have to wait. Karura, prepare to retire. I'm off to bed!”
“Yes, Pharaoh.”
“Huh...? What, already bedtime...? Didn't you say you had something to tell me too...?”
“The day's darkening, and my hero isn't in a position to dote on me now, so what's left to do but sleep? Night is for couples, but also for slumber! So... our talk can wait until tomorrow.”
“...Yeah, sure... that sounds good. Oh, mind if I crash with you? I didn't expect this, so I didn't bring any blankets.”
“I brought plenty, anticipating this! I heard my hero has only one bed. This place is awfully cramped, though. Well, as long as I can stretch my legs, sleep comes easy enough.”
“Eh... I fall asleep just lying still...”
“Lucky you!”
They hit it off instantly, chatting like that before bedding down in the living room. I stared blankly at Karmine and Yustitia.
“I-I'll retire first too.”
Karura approached cautiously and said that. Looking up at her, I replied,
“You needn't report to me like that. If you're sleepy, rest—it's fine.”
“But...”
“...Did I not say it's unnecessary?”
“Yes, then...”
Even Karura, the last one awake, slipped into the spot they'd left, folding her wings to sleep beside them.
I gazed at the bedroom door, still firmly shut.
“...I am Hanjo's mother.”
I'd resolved that, convinced myself of it.
So even if Hanjo harbored such feelings for me, I couldn't accept them.
This churning emotion now was surely just a fleeting delusion from the approaching heat.
So.
“When Hanjo comes out, I'll tell him that.”
Muttering to myself like that, I hugged my tails tightly.
And even after the entire next day passed.
The firmly shut door never opened.