NOVEL NEXT Chapter 364 – Expectations
The duo was still in Mira’s domain and chatting with the divine fox. During that, Chloe learned that Mira’s actually friends with Fey, and that’s how her mother ended up as a statue in the shrine. Steph also learned a lot about the magic that she had been gifted by her. The dog-girl also found out that sharing her magic with others involved a little more work compared to how Sophia was able to do it. She more or less has to kiss the receiving party for it. She got pretty excited about it because she wanted to give Chloe some of it, but once the pink fox leaned into the idea a little, the other two found out that the dog-girl’s a bit of a glass canon, who got terribly embarrassed over it. In the end, Chloe even gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, which completely made her panic.
“…”
“…”
“Well, that was fun.” Mira smiled at the two overly embarrassed girls.
“W-Why did you listen to her…?” After a while, Steph finally turned around to steal a glance or two while also gently touching the cheek that the pink fox had kissed before.
“Y-You’re the one who started it, no?!” Chloe looked back at her. “Y-You almost jumped at me when Mira told us you have to k-kiss me to transfer magic…”
“T-That’s just how I am! I also get excited super easily!”
“So, you would’ve done that with everyone in this situation…?” Chloe didn’t like the sound of that.
“T-That’s not what I meant!” The dog-girl started panicking. "A-Also, no!”
“Ehehe.”
“Does that mean you didn’t want to be kissed by her?” Mira was having a grand time.
“T-That’s not what I meant, either!” Steph raised her voice again.
“Why do you complain so much, then?”
“Because that’s what I do!” After all, she is the sister of a certain blonde.
“Stop that and be happy that you got a little kiss from your crush!” The white fox was a rather direct one.
“?!” Steph could only react with incomprehensible noises.
“She really has no defense, huh?” Mira smiled at Chloe once she had had enough of the adorable display of the other girl.
“…” The pink fox wasn’t doing much better, though.
“I guess I might’ve overdone it a little.” Looking at them, the divine looked ever so slightly awkward while she scratched her cheek.
“Y-Yes!” The duo immediately unionized in their complaint.
“Alright, I leave the rest of this conversation to the two of you.”
“W-What conversation?!”
“Back to the previous topic,” Mira simply ignored how the two got even more nervous while they continued to steal glances at each other. “That’s how sharing my magic works on you. I’m sorry that it might be a bit much, but Canir's way is a bit too short-sighted for me, and I added some safeties."
“...” It looked like there were many things Steph wanted to say, but at the same time, it also didn’t, and she stayed silent on the matter.
"Is there anything else either of you wants to know while we're together like this?"
“...” They needed another minute before Steph then eventually went ahead. “W-Was, uhh... was supporting me with magic and all that really just a whim of yours, or is there anything deeper...?”
“What would you prefer?”
“Not beating around the bush would be the best!”
“My, that was a good comeback.” Mira sounded slightly impressed.
“I have my moments!”
“Well, answering that is slightly complicated...” The white fox scratched her cheek. “I do like your sister a lot.” She smiled at Steph. “Ever since she arrived in this world, she’s been very creative in the way she utilizes magic. As the one who governs it, that fills me with great joy. The same goes for Chloe here. I love her, uhh… way of doing things. She’s so creative and inventive! Watching her get all excited when coming up with a new way of using magic excited even me. It's very contagious."
“Ehehe~.” The pink fox in question got very happy about her description and praise.
“Anyway,” Smiling at the happy girl for a moment, Mira then focused on the dog-girl again. “After you arrived here and how it seemed like your adventurous and playful side is even bigger than your sister's, I got a little curious. Then, you met Chloe, and the two of you got along very… well instantly. I think the three of you will do amazing things for the further development of magic in this world.”
“Quite the expectations you have there!”
"Don't worry about it~. My only expectation for you and everyone else is to have fun. That's when the best ideas and inventions happen, anyway."
“Oh! I can definitely meet those expectations!” Steph liked the sound of that.
“Just what I wanted to hear!” The white fox gave her a thumbs up. “In the end, it started out on a whim because I simply found you interesting, but it eventually turned into some sort of plan because it could benefit magic as a whole."
“I see.”
"All that, and one-upping Canir, of course." Mira smiled at her. “You always use that chance if you can.”
“Is it really such a good idea to openly admit that…? Isn’t he like the main, uhh… person, overseer, god… that kind of thing?” Chloe wasn’t sure what to call him anymore.
“I respect him a lot, we all do, but…” The white fox paused for a moment. “He’s way too smug. All of us jump at the chance to put him back in his shoes whenever we can."
“I-I see…” She wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
“You have no idea how excited we get when he meets Sophia because she’s something else when it comes to bashing his face in when he gets too smug.”
“What did my sister do…?” Steph wasn’t a fan of her wording.
“Exactly what I just said.” Mira smiled at her. “She bashed his face in. Multiple times, that is. One time, she even used so much force that she literally punched him out of this world. It was soo much fun watching that!”
“…” Steph and Chloe just looked at each other for a moment. “You don’t expect me to do the same, do you…?” The dog-girl eventually glanced at the white fox again. “I’m not really into punching people…”
"Don't worry about that. You can do whatever in that regard."
“G-Great.” She looked relieved. “Then again, I never thought Sophia would punch anyone, either… Maybe he did earn it?”
“That sounds very promising!”
"A-Ah.”
“No, seriously, do whatever you want in this world. I can provide you with some guidance, but that’s all it is. Guidance.”
“Great!”
“Well, unless you try to destroy this word… I’m quite attached to it, so I’ll probably intervene then.”
“Why would I do that?!”
“Your older sister almost did, so who knows.”
“E-Eh?!”
“Don’t worry, it was an accident.” Mira smiled at her. “She wasn’t actively trying to create a singularity akin to a black hole that almost swallowed this planet. It just happened.”
“HOW DOES SOMETHING LIKE THAT JUST HAPPEN?!” Steph got loud.
"Just spend another week or two with us, and you'll see." Chloe also started smiling. “I haven’t managed to do something like that myself, but I can totally see it happening. We can think of some fun stuff.”
“Y-You can?!”
“Magic is something truly wonderful,” The white fox continued. “The sky’s the limit! And that’s just a figure of speech because it isn’t… Some limitations in the system that I included in your magic aside, only your imagination will hold you back.”
“Do those limitations include being unable to blow up this world?”
“I am 94% sure you shouldn’t be able to.”
“What with the remaining 6%?!”
“Uncertainty factor.” Mira scratched her cheek. “If you’re half as easygoing and creative as your sister, you might find a way.”
“People always called me the easygoing and creative sister while Sophia was the reserved and overthinking one!”
“…” She paused for a moment. “Okay, I’m 69% certain my limitations will hold…”
“Nice!” Somehow, Steph’s reply was instantaneous. “Wait, that’s not nice at all!” She corrected herself. “Please do your job better! I want to have fun and the time of my life, but I don’t want to destroy this paradise!”
“Well, again, it should be safe, but else you just have to listen to Fey. She knows the limits, and she is quite convincing when it comes to making one stop.”
“That is very true!” Chloe nodded a few times.
“B-But what if I mess up before she’s back?!”
“I’m sure you can hold out for two or three days, no?”
“I guess that should be possible.”
“Wait, what?” The pink fox tilted her head. “What do you mean with two or three days?”
“Fey’s on her way back. She'll be here… or rather, in the fox village soon."
“Really?!”
“Why would I lie about that?”
"YAY!" Chloe sounded incredibly happy. "I miss her a whole lot, so this is amazing news!"
“I can’t wait to meet her, either!” Steph also seemed to be looking forward to it. “She seems very interesting!”
“She can be a little strict and stuck up at times, though." Mira looked at the dog-girl. "Please try not to get a wrong impression of her because of that.”
“There’s no way that would happen!” She smiled back at her. “It’s simply impossible for the one that raised Chloe not the be a great individual.”
“…” The white fox paused for a moment before glancing at the pink one. “She’s a smooth one, isn’t she?”
“Way too smooth!” She nodded a few times.
"At least when her defenses are up." Mira's expression changed into a slight smirk.
“H-Hey!”
----------------
The trio chatted for a good while longer, but as this meeting was somewhat unexpected, they eventually ran out of topics to talk about.
“There’s one last thing I want to do for now.” While the duo was getting ready to leave, Steph faced the white fox.
“And what would that be?” She tilted her head in return.
“Here,” The dog-girl spread her arms. “I want to give you a hug!”
“Oh?”
“It’s my way of thanking you for giving me a part of your magic so that I can have as much fun in this world as possible. I am slightly upset about some things you said and did earlier, but I'm incredibly thankful for the magic!"
“Ahaha, well, I can’t really say no to a good hug.” Chuckling to herself once, Mira walked over to her, and the two hugged for a moment. “You are very welcome.”
“I-I want one, too!” Chloe swiftly raised her voice while watching them.
"Sure!" Once they parted, Steph turned around to face the pink fox and opened her arms again.
“N-Not you!” She was looking at the magic overseer instead.
"Eh…? Me?" Mira looked rather confused as she pointed at herself.
“Yes!” She smiled at her. “You did Steph a huge favor, and you told me lots about Feyfey I didn’t know yet! You even helped with finally finding out more about my biological parents and whether or not Feyfey is one of them, as I can now threaten her with you!"
“I, uhh… see.” The white fox wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
“Also, hugs are great, and I like you already, so…”
“Fine…” As it was impossible to say no to the fluffy pink being in front of her, Mira got closer to her, and the two hugged each other, as well.
“Thank you very much!” Once they parted again from their hug, Chloe showed her an even bigger smile. “For everything we found out and learned today!”
“You… You are very welcome, as well.” Even for Mira, staying calm and collected was hard when confronted with such a pure and bright smile.
“Ehehe~.”
Afterward, the duo got transported back to the shrine with Mira's help, while the white fox stayed back on her own inside the cottage.
"What a twist of events…" She sat back down on the sofa and let out a small sigh. "I am so glad I wasn't busy today. Although, now I want to see Fey again… and spend some actual time with her. I think it’s time to stop being busy for a while and start wandering down there again. I feel like many things will happen soon, and I don’t want to miss them. Fey will probably also need a bit of help now that all those troublemakers have met. Yep, I think that’s a good excuse for me!”
