I've Turned Into A Fox Girl?

"Oh my if it isn't the 2 little cute foxes that I looked after, you even brought some new friends." Himeko laid on the couch swirling her wine glass back and forth. She only wore a tank top and pants, an attire so casual it stood in stark contrast to her usual self.

Shaman, Elysia and Silver were all excited to see Himeko again as they forgot what it felt like to be near Himeko. At first, they weren't sure how much of their feelings towards her came from the artifact, but it turns out their affection was genuine.

Clara had stayed hidden behind Elanor as actually seeing Himeko made Clara extremely nervous. HImeko saw the 2 purple horns poke out from behind Elanor and recognised that it was Clara. However, Himeko did not point it out since she knew the kind of damage she may have caused and wanted to give Clara the space to make the first move.

"Hey, Himeko!." Shaman ran up with Elysia and Silver, giving Himeko a hug since they couldn't help themselves.

"Oh don't jump on me like that, you may break my poor back." The three all backed off since it seemed like they were actually breaking her back. Himeko was relieved to see that the 2 girls were glad to see her as she was worried that they might hate her now

"And who is this little wolf boy…. Wait a minute, is that you wolfy?!" Himeko wasn't sure who the boy was, but the similar hair colour and eyes helped her make the connection.

"Mhm, it's Silver now." Silver felt a little nostalgic hearing his old name and was glad that Himeko managed to recognise him.

"We travelled to the Freya forest after… what happened and Freja was able to give him a human form." Shaman explained what happened and Himeko nodded her head drawing a timeline in her mind.

"It's great to know you finally grew up to be more like your mother here." Himeko sat and patted Silver, scruffing up his hair.

"Also good to see you, Elysia, from how it looks like you seem to have… calmed down?" Himeko wasn't sure if that was the right word, but from just looking at Elysia it was obvious she was a lot more relaxed.

"Haha yeah, I'm not so quick to snap anymore, plus there is someone else now, but they are a little shy." Elysia thought back to how she was and found it crazy how she would snap at the smallest things.

"I can see that, I would love to know where you picked up this beautiful elf?" Himeko misinterpreted what Elysia said and thought she was referring to Elanor.

"Me? O-oh umm I'm Elanor and no I'm not a part of Shaman's harem." Elanor realised the misunderstanding and tried to clear it up. Shaman felt like she was shot in the back by an arrow as it wasn't her intention at all to create one, but it was indeed easier just to call it one.

"Ohhh my bad. Wait, if I didn't hear wrong, your name is Elanor? Like the princess of Efhiem Elanor or just the same name?" Himeko didn't quite believe it, but Elnaor looked suspiciously like the child she saw when visiting Elfhiem.

"Yeah, that's me, sort of decided the princess thing wasn't for me and anyways I was already exiled because of an imposter grandfather, but that's a long story." Elanor had no recollection of Himeko, but it seemed like they met before.

"Oh wow Shaman, you really did aim high with this one." Himeko was impressed, but hearing the circumstances that Elanor briefly gave it sounded like a mess.

"Yeaaaah when we were sent to Elfhiem by Freja we sort of picked Elanor up along the way and, in the end, she decided to stay with us." Shaman didn't want to spoil too much since they would most likely stay the night here.

"You'll need to tell me more later, but right now I believe there is someone hiding who wants to talk." It couldn't be avoided anymore so Himeko tried to push for Clara to come out. Everyone else took a step back looking at Clara who was still using Elanor as a shield.

*Sigh* Clara being put in the spotlight decided to come out of hiding finally.

"Hey." Avoiding eye contact with Himeko, Clara kept her distance, still feeling indifferent about talking.

"Is it alright if you all wait inside over there?" Himeko pointed to a door that led to the small living space. Everyone nodded and they made their way inside, giving Clara and Himeko some time alone.

Once the door shut, it was silent for a few seconds until Himeko finally spoke.

"First off let me apologise, I won't try to excuse what I did and if you hate me for it that's fine. I'm just happy to see that you are alive and well, not to mention you have even gotten stronger." Himeko wasn't sure if it was the right approach, but seeing Clara alive was all she needed to know.

"Well, I want to know the truth about everything. What did my parents say and why did you never prevent the seal." Clara wanted to ask a few questions before she came to a conclusion.

"Alright, I'll tell you everything. You might want to take a seat." Himeko was prepared to tell everything and expected Clara to ask.

Himeko then drew a magic circle with her finger and suddenly a chair appeared in front of her. A bang was heard within the house followed by someone yelling 'ow!'.

"Sorry!" Himeko had teleported one of the chairs from inside and it just so happens that one of the girls was sitting in it.

Clara couldn't help but chuckle a little as she sat down in the chair.

"Anyway, I'll begin with your parents and it is up to you if you trust me." Himeko wanted to be as genuine as possible, but it was really up to Clara if she believed what was said.

[Clara you can ask to do a truth contract.] Rea knew how important this was and so thought it would be reassuring if Clara had a way to verify the truth of it all.

'Wait how do I do that?' Clara was very intrigued by the idea which would definitely give her some peace of mind.

[Just ask Himeko to do a truth contract and I will do the rest.] The contract itself was actually a skill, but Rea was going to use it for them which she hoped wouldn't get her in trouble.

"Before we start, are you willing to make a... truth contract?" Clara wasn't sure if it would work, but when she spoke a system screen appeared both for her and Himeko.

"Oh? Didn't know you had this, well if that will make you believe me then yes." Himeko briefly read through the contract and there was nothing that would harm her so she accepted without hesitation. The worst that could happen is a signal popping up to let Clara know she is lying.

"Thank you." Clara also read through it and was glad that there was no real consequence to the contract, so she accepted.

With the contract now in place anything said will be nothing but the truth and if not Clara will get notified that she is lying. It definitely added pressure on Himeko, but she had nothing to hide at this point. Her city was destroyed and she had been reduced to almost nothing.

"Now let's begin, meeting your parents was actually by accident while I was in demon lands hunting for some tier 9 or 10 beasts. After I had my fight with the beast I noticed 2 demons running towards me. At first, I thought they were coming to attack me, but I quickly realised they wanted my attention."

"I decided to humour them since it was rare to talk to demons in the first place and judging from their looks they weren't that powerful. What surprised me was what they wanted, it was a request that seemed so immoral." Himeko was hesitant to repeat the request out loud since this was probably going to be the most hurrowing part of the story.

"W-what was it?" Clara desperately wanted to know as it had been the one mystery in her life that would most likely change how she saw her parents.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Himeko prepared for the worst as depending on how Clara takes it, she may hate Himeko and her parents.

"Yes, I do." Clara was determined to find out the truth, even if it was something she might regret hearing.

"What your parents begged me to do was to kill you all. After they saw me defeat the beast easily, they wanted me to get rid of any traces of you and your family." Himeko was ready for Clara to be angry or upset, but surprisingly she stayed calm.

"W-wait what? They wanted me dead as well?" Clara was extremely confused and questioned why. It made no sense to her, especially with how they acted before they died.

"That isn't all, I actually declined their request, but as I was about to leave I realised that there was something controlling them. It was for a brief moment, but I sensed dark magic within them as they walked up to you." No notifications went off proving what Himeko just said is true. This caused Clara's mind to spiral and she started making the connections to why her parents acted weirdly.

"S-so the reason why you killed them was because-." Clara couldn't believe it, but there was no possible way to deny it.

"Because I wanted to save you, when they entered the cavern there was a black magic circle that suddenly appeared. I wasn't going to allow an innocent little girl to get involved with dark magic even if the decision was made by your parents." It was the harsh reality of the situation that little Clara wouldn't have seen, and perhaps it was a truth better left unheard. Himeko wondered if it was better to have never told Clara so she could keep the warm memories of her parents that have now turned cold.