And you’re still saying it’s not a ghost?!

When this scene appeared before her eyes, all she could say was that it was even more unbelievable than seeing a ghost!

Ye Zhibai hit the floor with a thump, landing hard on her backside. She braced her slender, shapely legs and kicked forward with all her might, trying to use the recoil to scoot farther away from the glowing orb!

But she hadn’t even managed to back up a meter

before her back hit the bookshelf behind her. There was nowhere left to go.

In her previous life, after Ye Zhibai had been hit and killed by a car, she’d seen a glowing orb and felt no fear. She’d been reckless and bold because she was dead back then.

But now she was alive!

When people were alive and faced with the unknown, there was only ever one feeling.

—Confusion.

Powerless, she could only stare wide-eyed at the distorted figure inside the light as it gradually took shape.

It spoke.

“Honestly... You can stand there frozen all you like, but just don’t start screaming, okay? We’re already completely out of strength... If you scream, we won’t be able to shut you up.”

“...”

Then maybe don’t scare me in the first place!

Wait... The glowing orb spoke again! Aah!!

It spoke again...! Uh...

That was as far as Ye Zhibai’s scrambled thoughts got.

After all... perhaps the only word for the scene before her was “dreamlike.”

It left no room for further thought.

The specks of light around the glowing orb scattered here and there.

They burst toward the ground like fireworks, then vanished without a trace, leaving nothing behind.

The main body of the halo spun backward like a whirlpool, growing smaller and smaller.

Then, from inside the halo, a leg stepped out first...

—A tiny leg, wrapped in shimmering light.

Then came the second leg.

The two little legs appeared first, drawing a petite figure out after them.

Long, fluffy brown hair, scattered with starlight.

Finally, as if she’d just stepped out of the shower, a delicate arm and fingertips emerged, lightly brushing the air.

The figure had now appeared in full.

Ye Zhibai stared, stunned, trying to confirm what she was seeing with her wide-open eyes.

Her already expressionless face grew even stiffer.

The figure’s entrance had been... grand and dreamlike, sure...

But the person who’d stepped out...

wasn’t intimidating at all!

And she was adorable!

That’s right... A tiny girl had walked out of the glowing orb!!

Bright eyes, pearly teeth, long brown hair, a cute face, and a tiny frame.

Her starry-blue eyes brimmed with spirit. When she parted her lips to breathe, a tiny canine tooth peeked out.

By Ye Zhibai’s estimate, she was around 150 centimeters tall...

But none of that was the most important thing.

The most important thing was... the girl wasn’t wearing any clothes!

Uh... well, it wasn’t quite that simple. Faint motes of light swirled around her, covering her in a veil-like shimmer.

Still, that barely-there veil made the whole situation even more awkward!

Ye Zhibai hurriedly covered her eyes, at least in theory.

There was a huge gap between her fingers.

This was definitely not okay!

Ye Zhibai even managed to free one slender hand and point at the shameless little menace!

Her voice was calm, not the least bit panicked.

“Y-You... who are you...?”

“Oh? It’s only been a little while, and you’ve already forgotten us?” The little girl smiled, clasped her hands behind her back, and stepped forward, swaying her head from side to side. “Why are you covering your eyes? Are they bothering you?”

“You... aren’t wearing clothes,” Ye Zhibai said bluntly.

“Clothes?” The little girl stopped and glanced down at herself, then laughed. “Oh, clothes! The fabric you humans use to cover up? This is the first time we’ve taken human form, so we’re still getting the hang of it. You’ll have to bear with us! Oh, stop covering your eyes! I’ve got my body covered with divine power, haven’t I? Divine power... Uh, it seems to have run out completely.”

Crash...!

The moment the little girl finished speaking,

Ye Zhibai heard a crisp sound, like glass shattering.

It was the motes of light surrounding the little girl breaking apart and scattering!

Then Ye Zhibai was forced to witness another unexpected sight.

The veil of light flared brightly, obscuring the little girl from view.

So tiny...

Ahem! No, no! I mustn’t look!

But then she thought... Once you’ve seen something, it doesn’t make much difference how many more times you look, right?

So... her fingers weren’t quite pressed together.

Through the gap, she could see the brown-haired girl shake her arms, scattering the last of the light...

Wait, she could just shake that stuff off?!

The light suddenly flared again, leaving the girl fully obscured.

The ethereal glow was gone, replaced by something far more real, except for... the large ears moving atop her head and the fluffy tail swishing behind her.

Ears... a tail?!

Ye Zhibai immediately lowered her hands!

I’m hyped!!

“A fox girl!!” Ye Zhibai said, her face deadpan as she pointed at the fox-eared girl.

“Huh?!” Even the brown-haired girl jumped at her sudden intensity. “What’s with you? Why are you so jumpy? Never seen a deity before?”

“I... sorry...”

Seriously, sorry. I got excited just now.

But... unless she’d seen it wrong, as the motes of light scattered from the girl, hadn’t she suddenly grown a pair of fluffy ears and a tail?

Just like a fox’s ears and tail.

Ye Zhibai was a veteran anime fan and researcher. How could she not care about one of her few hobbies?

—The cat I picked up really did change, but she turned into a fox girl, not a cat girl.

There are way too many things wrong with this, hey!

The little fox girl spread her arms and complained in a lovely, childish voice.

“Sheesh... We knew our divine power was running low. We thought we could keep it up a little longer. Didn’t expect to suddenly reveal our true form! Hehe, what are you surprised about? This is what we really look like. We’re surprised too. So this is what our human appearance looks like. In your human terms, I guess you could say... the fox is out of the bag!”

Why are you making fun of yourself?!

To be honest, Ye Zhibai wasn’t feeling all that nervous anymore.

For one thing, the little girl talked like a total goofball, and she was so cute that she didn’t seem like a ghost.

And for another, Ye Zhibai wasn’t interested in someone with a kid’s body!

Ahem... Fine, she was a little swayed. Just a tiny bit...

While Ye Zhibai’s thoughts raced in circles...

the fox girl’s toe had already reached the edge of Ye Zhibai’s thigh as she sat on the floor.

Ye Zhibai felt rather uneasy.

The shock from earlier had left her weak and made it hard to move.

From the corner of her eye, she could tell the fox girl was looking her up and down.

Suddenly, Ye Zhibai’s view shifted!

The tiny fox girl had grabbed her chin with a childish finger and forced her head up!

Their eyes met. Ye Zhibai’s were cold; the fox girl’s starry-blue eyes gave away nothing.

Neither of them could look away.

The humiliation! Ye Zhibai wanted to throw a punch right then and there!

But being unable to fight back was what made it so humiliating.

The fox girl stared intently at Ye Zhibai’s impassive face.

Then she chuckled to herself.

“I see, I see... Mother Goddess really did create something breathtakingly beautiful when she brought her perfect ideal to life. Absurdly beautiful, even. She herself is the most beautiful of all, yet she ended up creating someone even more beautiful than herself. How ironic...”

There was a teasing note in her voice.

She didn’t sound like a little girl, despite her appearance.

She sounded more like... a sage who’d lived through countless years.

“Ye Zhibai... Hm? No, I should call you Ye Zhibai now. You’re quite honest, aren’t you? Were you secretly looking at us just now? Hahaha, that’s hilarious. You’ve got a body of your own, and a prettier, more mature one than ours. Why not look at yourself?”

Bullshit! I’ve already been looking at myself for ages!

“You...! Huh?!”

Ye Zhibai stopped holding back.

The fox girl’s tone just now had reminded her of that obnoxious, lousy ball of light!

And on top of that, there was the strange, helpless humiliation...

Her temper flared.

Her strength had already returned.

Ye Zhibai jumped to her feet. Towering a head above the fox girl, she grabbed her firmly by both shoulders.

Ye Zhibai’s voice was cool, but now there was a note of urgency in it.

“Was it you... who turned me into a girl?”

“That’s right~ It was us, it was us! Feel free to thank us as much as you like! Though...”

The fox girl’s gaze suddenly turned cold.

She tilted her head and glanced at Ye Zhibai’s hands gripping her shoulders.

“Could you please not squeeze so hard? We are a deity, after all. You should show some respect.”

An oppressive presence!

Ye Zhibai suddenly had a bad feeling!

She couldn’t shake the feeling that this girl was dangerous!

And yet...

Nothing happened.

The fox girl kept glaring.

Ye Zhibai’s hands stayed right where they were, gripping her shoulders.

“...” “...”

The atmosphere turned painfully awkward.

“Hm?” The fox girl tried glaring again.

Still, nothing happened.

Then she looked as if she’d suddenly figured something out!

Ye Zhibai remembered too...

Hadn’t this bizarre, naked little pervert just said she’d run out of that... whatever-it-was power?

The fox girl sheepishly withdrew the glare that had been cold just a second ago.

In its place, a suddenly sweet, gentle smile appeared.

The adorable fox girl gave the back of her head an awkward rub, then cautiously pointed at Ye Zhibai’s hands on her shoulders. The meaning was clear.

—Come on, bestie. Loosen your grip a little.

But how could Ye Zhibai let her off that easily?!

She didn’t loosen her grip. She squeezed harder.

“Ah...!! It hurts, it hurts!! You... Hah... such a nice human! You let go... let go on your own! Don’t make us act, or if you tire out and crush a deity to death, can you afford to pay for it?!”

“...”

Ye Zhibai had the feeling that this girl didn’t have the power to fight back...

If this little girl really was a deity...

then she was kind of pathetic.

She’d looked incredibly cool and fierce when she glared just now.

But that had only been a few seconds ago...

The fox girl acted as if she refused to believe it. She kept pleading for herself while repeatedly trying to glare Ye Zhibai’s hands into letting go!

Her face turned bright red, but nothing happened.

Before long, Ye Zhibai let go.

Not because she felt sorry for the girl.

And not for any other reason. It was just... awkward to keep holding a tiny girl by her bare shoulders.

Freed at last, the fox girl plopped down on the floor with her legs tucked beneath her. Her fluffy brown tail spread out underneath her like a cushion.

Ye Zhibai glanced down, then quickly looked away.

Heh... She really was like a kid. Her tail was all fluffy, but there were places that weren't fluffy at all.

The fox girl was panting and flushed, as if she’d just finished a one-kilometer fitness test.

A sheen of sweat covered her petite back.

Ye Zhibai looked down at the fox girl sitting on the floor.

She was thinking.

What the heck... Why did creatures like this exist in the world?!

Whatever...

I turned into a girl, after all. That’s way more unbelievable than a creature like this.

Still...

Ye Zhibai’s peripheral vision kept drifting toward one thing in particular.

The fox girl’s ears.

They moved... Her ears actually moved.

As she caught her breath, the ears really did twitch back and forth!

Ye Zhibai was a total veteran anime fan.

She was still shaken and in a daze, but everywhere she looked, those twitching fox ears caught her eye!

Is this really... real or fake?

Ye Zhibai swallowed.

Confirming that... would help her get a better handle on the situation, right?

The fox girl was still sitting on the floor, resting and catching her breath.

“Phew... Human... I mean, 99.999 percent of our power is sealed away. If you’d touched us that carelessly just now, you’d have barely escaped with your life—meow?!”

Then why is the fox meowing?!

Never mind what she says.

Ye Zhibai had already reached out and pinched her fox ears between her fingers.

Pinch~~