“Enough already, you fox!”
I couldn’t help but shout; the relaxing atmosphere of the hot spring was utterly ruined.
“Look here, Mayudama-san. This is a hot spring, you know. It’s the rule to be naked in a hot spring. Even if you don’t intend to do anything lewd, you must undress.”
Being scolded and then lectured, Mayudama-san just crouched down even more dejectedly. Then, with a voice as faint as the buzz of a mosquito, she retorted while looking miserable.
“But that won’t do, I’ve never been naked in front of a man before.”
“No, you’re a fox, aren’t you? You don’t normally wear clothes, do you?”
Confronted with this, Mayudama-san quickly recovered from her confusion.
“Ah, hmm? Well, yeah, that’s true, is that okay?”
Such an idiot, this one.
“Just take off your clothes already, you fool, even if you’re in your fox form.”
“Okay, but don’t laugh, alright?”
“Laugh?”
“Yeah, see, I’m a bit different from other foxes.”
I see, that’s what it is.
“You’re a white fox, aren’t you? Just take your clothes off.”
“How did you know!”
“Most servants of the Inari deity are like that, just take them off!”
“… Seriously, what the heck, telling me to strip over and over…”
Faced with my uncompromising attitude, Mayudama-san made a really cute sulking face and then, gearing herself up with a “Alright, here I go,” she did a backflip in the air.
Twirl, pop, and round.
As she flipped, Mayudama-san’s body was momentarily shrouded in smoke, transforming back into a fox… A fox??
“That’s a dog.”
“I’m not a dog!”
My calm interjection was met with a heated response from Mayudama-san. It was hard to tell if a change in complexion was possible in her current form, but if it were, I would imagine she definitely looked flustered.
But, no matter how you looked at her…
“That’s a dog.”
“Speaking of which, why do your ears get smaller when you become a fox?” I asked.
Mayudama-san, who had somehow turned into a white, round-looking dog, scratched her nose with her front paw and said, “Well, actually… I’m an Arctic fox.”
“What?!”
Come on. Just how globalized has the world of Inari shrine messengers become?
Are you an Inari from all over the world or what?
“No, but why would an Arctic fox be a messenger for an Inari shrine in Japan? That’s completely unnatural,” I challenged.
With my questioning, Mayudama-san looked dejected as she dug at the ground with her front paw, letting her ears droop, and she let out a small “uuu.” Then, suddenly lifting her face with a determined look, she confessed.
“No, that… I lied, I’m not…”
“A lie?”
“Yeah, I’m not… an Arctic fox.”
Come on, even if you’re going to lie, to reveal it so quickly is just too hasty.
“Not only that, but I’m not even a fox.”
That’s the crucial point! That is—it’s also a lie?
Well, it’s all confusing, and frankly, right now, I don’t care. It’s probably just a complicated story anyway.
“Whatever, just get in the hot spring.”
“Is that really okay?!”
Mayudama-san responded with an astonished voice.
She must feel she has no ground to stand on after her confession considering how I brushed her lie aside so easily. But in front of this hot spring with its wafting sulphuric smoke, whether her story is a lie or truth, whether she’s a fox or something else, isn’t particularly important.
It’s actually even a nuisance.
“Just get in, hurry up.”
Yes, what’s important is enjoying the hot spring together.
“You’re rather in the way.”
“Just get in already.”
Yes, what’s important is enjoying the hot spring together. With the hot spring right in front of us, it’s utterly out of place to engage in the kind of conversation reminiscent of a couple in a rut breaking up—talking about lies and distrust.
“But, but Master, it’s hard for me to get in since I’m on all fours.”
“That’s true, alright.”
Saying that, I lifted, surprisingly easily, the fluffy Mayudama-san—whose body was white and round—up in my arms.
“Nyaaah!”
Mayudama-san flailed and struggled with her limbs.
“Noisy!”
“But, but suddenly…”
Ignoring the clamorous Mayudama-san, I slowly sank into the water and embraced her from behind, before my chest.
Immediately, the supreme water enveloped our bodies.
“Buhh’ffu!”
“Phew’hh!”
Both of us, rather, me and the creature, let out sighs of pleasure as we soaked in the hot spring.
“How is it?”
“It’s… it’s not bad.”
“You’re not honest.”
“Alright, fine, it feels fantastic, really good.”
At that response, I let out a soft smile and gradually relaxed more in that exquisite liquid embrace.
“But, but Master, about what’s happening right now…”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
“But…”
“Later!”
Truly, this is a fox that doesn’t understand the first thing about hot springs.
As my heart drifted in the steam, I sighed deeply.
Let’s soak slowly and enjoy it.
