"So we're just leaving them behind," Mom said, blinking at me like I had lost my mind. Her voice was flat, but there was a definite edge of disbelief in it, the kind that said she was two seconds away from dragging me back out of the plane.
"What? Why do we need to take them with us?" I replied, emotionless, shrugging slightly as I crossed my arms, already half a step inside the cargo ramp. My tail swayed slowly behind me, betraying a hint of my annoyance.
"Mom explained that they have work to do in the Draig territory in a few weeks, gesturing vaguely behind her as if the weight of their usefulness was written on the walls of the hangar."
I raised an eyebrow at her. "So? That doesn't sound like my problem." I turned away, brushing her words off like dust on my shoulder. I had already made up my mind—if they wanted to be moody teenagers, they could sulk on their own time.
"Well, it's mine now," Kayda cut in sharply, her brow arched in challenge as she stood at the edge of the ramp. She was giving me the look—the one that said, "You're not getting out of this without a fight."
I looked back at her. Our eyes locked in silence for a few seconds. It wasn't even an intense stare, more like two tired wolves too stubborn to blink. In the end, I gave in first.
"Tsk, fine. Do whatever you want," I muttered, clicking my tongue and stomping up the ramp into the cargo plane.
"I will do that," Kayda replied, clearly still annoyed, though her voice had a smug satisfaction to it.
"Sigh, please don't start a fight over this," Mom said, pressing her fingers to her temple as if just existing with the two of us was a headache.
"We won't, don't worry," Kayda replied smoothly, snickering a bit when she caught the confused look on Mom's face.
"I'll explain later," I called out from inside the plane as I made my way toward the back.
I glanced around the cargo interior, noting how clean and cold everything looked. A few rows of reinforced benches were lined along the sides, each seat bolted to the metal floor with precise care. I noticed that the familiar backrests had tail-holes specifically designed for beastkin like us.
"Hmm, were these holes always this small?" I thought aloud, walking up to one of the seats and inspecting it. My tails, currently swaying at over a meter in length, definitely weren't going to slide in without a fight.
"Dammit, my tail won't fit in anymore," I grumbled, scratching my head in growing frustration. The gap was tight—too tight.
"It should be able to?" Mom approached from behind me, curiously giving the bench a second look.
"I don't think so, but I'll try it out," I muttered skeptically. I turned around and slowly bent down to take a seat, carefully guiding my tail toward the slit in the backrest.
Poof.
The moment I lowered myself, my tails refused to cooperate and bounced me off balance. I toppled sideways and ended up flat on my back on the cold floor, tails spread out in an embarrassing mess around me.
"Pfft, sorry, pfft—" Mom tried to hold back her laughter, but I could see her shoulders shaking.
"Sigh… My tails don't fit," I said, staring at the ceiling in defeat, cheeks tinged with embarrassment.
"Can't you just shorten them?" Kayda said, entering the plane with a curious tilt of her head. Her eyes flicked from me on the ground to the bench with casual amusement.
"No, this is the shortest they can go," I said grumpily, waving the fluffy meter-long tails around to prove my point.
"Ah, I see. Then just strap yourself to the floor," Kayda suggested with a shrug, saying it like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"S-strap myself to the floor?" I blinked at her, confused and mildly concerned by how casual she was being.
"Or just stand?" She added, still tilting her head like she didn't understand why I was even hesitating.
"Uhm… How fast do these planes go again?" I asked cautiously, my ears flicking as I looked between the two of them.
"Hmm, about 2300 kilometers per hour," Mom replied calmly, tapping her chin as if calculating grocery costs.
"Yeah, no. I'll freeze myself to the floor then," I muttered, standing up with a fatigued groan.
"Huh? Why? It's not like you'll feel it once we're moving," Mom said, confused, her ears twitching.
"Yeah, but that's only when we're already moving. I'll be a pancake in seconds if I try to stand while it accelerates," I explained, glancing around the cabin for a safe spot.
"Ah… that might be true. "That might be entertaining, but it is still true," Mom said with a knowing nod and a very unhelpful smile.
"Did you just say entertaining?" I asked, pausing mid-step to look at her with suspicion.
"N-No~," she said, averting her gaze quickly.
"Tsk, you fucking cat," I muttered under my breath, walking to the center of the cargo bay and settling cross-legged on the floor. I conjured a thin layer of frost around my waist, anchoring myself down.
"Okay, with that sorted out, let's get everyone on the planes and depart," Kayda said, clapping her hands together with forced cheer.
The others slowly filtered in. Despite their movements being quiet, the weight of their sulky moods was heavy enough to make the air feel stagnant. The crazy squad looked like they'd collectively lost a battle against gravity and shame.
I sighed, tuning it out. I needed to prepare for the next eight hours anyway.
I wondered how I would explain everything to her. I thought, biting my lip as I stared at the floor. I already knew Mom would want to go over all the skills I'd unlocked with my class. And truthfully, who better than her to help me master them? But explaining some of them—especially spiritual magic—might be more difficult than expected.
'Wait, did I ever ask Kayda about it?' I wondered suddenly, furrowing my brow.
"Kayda, did I ever ask about spiritual magic?" I asked curiously, glancing toward her.
"You—you cannot be serious right now, Kitsu," Kayda said, looking absolutely done with me. She sighed hard enough to shake the seat, lowering her head as if questioning her life choices.
"Huh? What's with your reaction?" I blinked, confused by her exasperation.
"So that's one of your tail abilities, I presume?" Mom chimed in smoothly, throwing me off even more.
"Yes, it is. How did you know that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her in surprise.
"There have been quite a few demi-foxes turning up at the capital—and at our home," Mom explained, lounging in her seat lazily, arms folded like she was bored with the whole situation.
"Oh, right… They did come after me, didn't they?" I muttered, recalling the incident without much feeling.
"Uh-huh. We also went and found quite a lot of them at your request," Mom said, still sounding like she hadn't woken up fully.
"Ah, yes… thank you," I said sincerely, giving her a nod.
"No problem. You're my daughter, after all," she replied with a soft smile, and for a moment, the tension in the air lightened.
"Yes, yes, Mom. So how did you know about my—"
"We'll talk about it more privately," Mom interrupted, glancing up at the ceiling like she already suspected someone was listening in.
"Before you two try to drag me in with no thanks," Kayda said suddenly, raising a brow at us both. Her tone was sarcastic, but there was something honest beneath it.
"Okay, we'll talk later," I said, shrugging it off for now.
"Prepare for lift-off!" the pilot's voice rang out over the intercom. A moment later, the engines roared to life.
"That thing is loud," I complained, rubbing my ears as they folded reflexively against my head.
"Ugh, I hate this," Kayda mumbled, crossing her arms.
"Don't look at me like that. You should know what I'm talking about," she added, narrowing her eyes at me.
"This is the first time I flew in one of these at full speed," I said thoughtfully. "Well… while conscious, of course."
"Ah, what about the time with Amari in the capital?" Mom asked with a sly look.
"We only flew for a few minutes, so we didn't go full speed," I replied, shrugging again.
"Okay, that is true," Mom nodded.
Then—
"Ugh." The moment the plane accelerated, I felt the pressure slam into me like a mountain falling on my chest. My limbs tensed, muscles straining to resist the sudden force.
My body felt like it was being shoved into the earth.
It only lasted a few seconds, but it left me panting.
"I see what you mean," I gasped, catching my breath.
"Yeah, it's only the start. You feel that pressure," Mom said, calmly taking off her seatbelt as if nothing had happened.
"Why is it only at the start, though?" I asked, still confused by how we were moving this fast without being crushed.
"All thanks to the twins. They really are the smartest people I know," Mom replied fondly.
"I can't really debate that, but… how did they even make something like this?" I mumbled.
"I don't know. Anyway, come follow me. "It's time for you to show me your stats," Mom said as she stood up and beckoned.
"Yes, Mother," I said obediently, breaking the ice lock around my waist and brushing frost off my pants. I followed her toward the front of the plane.
She opened a small door that looked like a closet from the outside.
"Huh, it's bigger than I thought," I muttered, stepping in and looking around.
"Right? That was my initial reaction too," Mom said, closing the door behind us.
"Well, alright. Now, show me," she said, handing me a sleek black tablet.
"Uh." I nodded and placed my hand on it, letting my mana flow in.
The screen lit up with my status.
Name: Kitsuna Draig (Shiro Adachi)
Age: 14 (Immortal)
Race: Primordial 3-Tail Demon Fox
Bloodline: Primordial 9-Tail Fox
Gender: Female
Level: 51
Class: Weapon Sage (Wrath)
HP: 4,738 / 4,738
MP: 71,938 / 71,938
STR: 2,469
VIT: 2,369
DEF: 1,969
INT: 35,969
END: 3,769
AGT: 4,169
Skills: Dimension Storage, Devil Fire, Devil Lightning, Fox Ice, Analysis, Short Distance Teleport, Sword Domain, Mana Sense, Fox Golden Lightning, Fox Golden Fire, Healing
Passives: Heightened Senses, Soul Regeneration, Eyes of Intimidation, Human Form, Night Vision, Mana Tails
Tail Abilities: Clone, Spiritual Magic, Illusion Magic, LOCKED
"Hmm… it changed a lot in three months," Mom commented, her expression flat, but I could see the glint of approval in her eyes.
"Yeah, all thanks to my class," I said, a small, proud smile tugging at my lips.