The Fox Goddess

"Come on, don't be so sad about it, it's not your fault that Yuki outplayed you. It's just that she is not like any person that you have met, even if you, not all of us refuse to admit it. You need to admit that you wouldn't come up with that kind of idea because we are all the same, we would think that doing something like that is going to be illegal." Momozao said as she raised her hand and touched Momozano's head to calm her down and to make her feel better and even though what she did just seemed little, it did make Momozano feel a tiny better about herself.

"Yeah okay, but you know. I just can't help but feel stupid after hearing what Yuki said…" Momozano just sighed sadly, though she was not feeling as bad anymore as before after being comforted by Merlin. But what she said also stroked everyone's heart because now that they think about it, it also makes them stupid for not realizing such a thing, but of course they wouldn't be so willing to openly admit it since it would hurt their pride of being a Primordial God.

"I'm a Primordial for god sake… but I can't believe that I have been outsmarted by a mere Mortal…" Momozano added sadly as she seemed that she just couldn't get over such a thing and when Merlin heard it, she also gave a sigh before grabbing and pinching Momozano's chin.

"Come on, don't think like that. I'm also a Primordial God but still got outsmarted by her, so it also makes me stupid right?" Merlin said with a chuckle as she turned Momozano's head towards her to look at her straight into her eyes and when she did, the woman in front of her couldn't help but push her away immediately. Momozano felt her face burning after being in such an intimate pose with Merlin, but she didn't want to admit it so she just played it like she was embarrassed by what Merlin said.

"Come on, don't even try. I know and you know that I'm the dumbest out of all the Primordial Gods. You don't need to lower yourself Merlin… Stop playing with me… how can a person like you who was crowned the Pinnacle of Heavens because of her Intelligence couldn't think of what Yuki did." Momozano said angrily as she left abruptly not wanting to face the anymore.

"You… you still haven't given up on her?" After seeing how Merlin tried to do something so familiar to him, he couldn't help but ask as this was the first time he saw her doing something like that to Momozano after so many years. Zirel and Alisha also had the same thoughts because seeing such a scene before their eyes wasn't different anymore, they were already used to it. It was just they were shocked because they originally thought that Merlin had already given up on pursuing Momozano.

"Of course, didn't I say that the only person I would love and care about in this life would be her? I don't care if I need to wait another Million years or even a Billion, I already waited for 1 Billion years, so another 1 Billion is nothing anymore. Nothing going to change about that, she is the only one whom I'm going to love. But even if my feelings are not reciprocated, all I need to see is her being happy even if I'm not the reason for it." Merlin shrugged it off like it was nothing, but deep inside she was sad and hurt that Momozano was still rejecting her, but she knew that she couldn't force it because it would only make things worse. Even if she tried to hide it though, Alisha who was keen on observing could see through it and she couldn't help but sigh.

As for Merlin, she begins to think about what happened more than 1 Billion Years ago.

"Mommy, look! I caught a beautiful Phoenix in the Forest!" A little girl with bright red hair said excitedly as she showed her Mother a Dark but beautiful color Phoenix but sadly though it seemed that it sustained some heavy injuries. Her wings were broken and her body was also full of bruises.

"Oh my god! Are you the reason why this poor little thing is hurt!?" The little girl's Mother immediately said as she was about to scold her daughter for hurting the Phoenix.

"No! Why would I do that, Mother? It was those bad kids who were bullying her, they were throwing rocks at her while she just helplessly stood in a tree. After seeing it, I immediately rushed over and beat them up to help her." The little girl immediately told her Mother what the reason was why the Phoenix was in that kind of state.

"Oh, I see… Then go take care of her, you saved her there, so finish it. Go check the cabinets to see if there is anything that can help her." Her Mother smiled and patted her daughter's little head as she tasked her with taking care of the Phoenix from the first to the end.

"Yes! Come with me little Phoenix. I promise you that I will take care of you until you get better again so that you can fly again! I'll even give you my blood to make you better!"

"I'll never forget it… those kind words, the love and care that you showed me." Merlin muttered to herself and finally opened her eyes after reminiscing those memories.

"Never mind, ignore that I even ask. Just… good luck in that." After seeing that the mood had gone down even more, Naragami didn't say anything more as he also left with those words, afraid that something might go wrong even further. After he left, it was also followed by Merlin who also now left since there was nothing to do anymore now that Momozano had left. She was only there to accompany her anyway so it was now useless to stay there for any longer.

"Oh fuck, I have been gone for over 30 minutes now. Fumiko should be done so I'll go back," After realizing that half an hour had already passed, she quickly made her way back to where they separated since that was the place where they had agreed to meet again after they had done. But as Yuki was rushing back, she forgot the main reason why she left, she didn't get to find the Tavern or more importantly, she didn't find any Hotel or Inn to stay at, if she had not been so restricted, she would have used her Ice and Blood Manipulation to find one, but because it would look suspicious and she can be traced, she didn't continue.

"I'm fucked." Yuki cursed herself but without any more choice, she decided to bite the bullet without her completing the task that she had given herself and when she finally arrived, she saw Fumiko standing there with lots of bags in her hands.

"Hey! Where have you been? It's been so long, is the Hotel very far?" Fumiko asked assuming that the hotel was far and became the reason why Yuki took so long,

"Well… about that. I actually didn't find any because I got distracted by some other things." Yuki said with a straight with a straight face.

"Excuse me, you what?"