“Y-you… f-fox, fox girl?!” Lyra stammered in a whisper so forceful it came out in lowercase, as if the weight of her surprise needed to be compacted into a quiet, explosive squeak. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, her mouth hanging open just enough to make her look like someone who had just seen a ghost… or, apparently, a fox girl up close.

  A few people seated nearby turned their heads lazily, mildly intrigued by the outburst. One man raised an eyebrow while chewing on a skewer, another woman glanced over her teacup, but neither lingered. They shrugged it off just as quickly, returning to their food and idle conversations like it was the most normal thing in the world.

  I guess a screaming woman wasn’t that unusual around here. Maybe they'd seen weirder things than a flustered blonde woman babbling about fox girls at brunch.

  I scratched my head, ears still perked and twitching. “That’s what I’ve been trying to say, you know.”

  Lyra's face flushed a brilliant shade of pink as she slumped into the stool like her legs had given up entirely. Her cloak fluttered slightly as she dropped into the seat, arms crossed like a child caught misbehaving. “Y-You, Why, What kind of fox kin sneaks up like that?!”

  I tilted my head, blinking. “I… didn’t sneak up on you. You were looking right at me.”

  “You nose-tapped me!” she gasped, practically scandalized, as if I’d committed some unspeakable ancient crime. “That’s, that’s—who does that?!”

  “…Okay, that might be fair,” I said with a sheepish smile, reaching up to rub the back of my neck. “But honestly, I just thought it’d be easier to show than to explain.”

  Ai couldn’t hold back her laughter. She let out a playful giggle, the sound delicate like wind chimes, and swished her tails back and forth with obvious delight. “She really is dramatic,” Ai whispered with the smug satisfaction of someone watching a soap opera unfold from the front row.

  Lyra straightened her back as if to regain her dignity, pointing an accusatory finger at me—even though it trembled ever so slightly. “You… You trickster! You tricked me!”

  “I didn’t trick you,” I replied with the kind of calm you learn from arguing with toddlers and overly proud talking squirrels. “You just… assumed.”

  “I… I…” Lyra’s words tumbled out of her mouth like a tray of mismatched silverware crashing to the floor. Her face was a mix of alarm and desperation, and her golden eyes darted around as though trying to find an escape route that didn’t exist. “P-please don’t sell me!” she suddenly blurted out, clutching her hands in front of her like she was offering up a prayer to the spirit of awkward misunderstandings. “I’m just a lowly level adventurer elf stuck in this village because of the forest fire!”

  There was a beat of silence.

  I blinked too, unsure whether I should laugh or comfort her. “Wait, what?”

  Lyra lowered her hands just enough for one wary eye to peek out. “Y-you’re a fox kin, you have a Sivelle spirit with you, you’re walking around casually in public, this reeks of nobility or worse. W-what if you’re some kind of foxfolk enforcer sent to sniff out hiding elves and sell them off to shady royal bounty hunters?!”

  I stared at her for a moment, my mouth slightly agape.

  “Why would I ever do that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow, genuinely baffled.

  Lyra flushed with embarrassment, her pointed ears twitching like they wanted to disappear. “I, I don’t know! You leaned in so dramatically and then your fox ear just popped out!” she flailed her arms. “It was too confident! Too powerful!”

  I finally couldn’t hold back and let out a snort of laughter. “Lyra, I’m more likely to get lost on my way to the bathroom than run an underground elf-smuggling ring.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  She looked at me suspiciously for another long second, then let out a long, exaggerated sigh and slumped into a nearby chair like a balloon losing all its air. “Ugh. Sorry. Sorry. It’s just… the stress of hiding, you know? Every day, wondering if the next human who smiles at you is actually trying to catch you off-guard and slap a magic collar on your neck…”

  I huffed softly. “No one’s collaring anyone here.”

  Lyra looked up, still weary but a little more grounded. “Thanks,” she muttered. “And, uh… sorry again for screaming.”

  “Apology accepted,” I said with a grin. “But seriously, you need to work on your reaction timing. If I was really here to sell you, you’d be on a merchant cart by now.”

  “…Not helping.”

  After she finally stopped panicking and returned to something resembling normal, the middle-aged man at the counter came striding back with a proud grin and three neatly packed wooden bento boxes balanced carefully in his hands. The scent of freshly cooked eggs and caramelized onions wafted through the air like a gentle hug. “Hey, ladies! Here are your orders!” he announced with a flourish, placing the boxes on the counter with practiced ease.

  I sprang to my feet and rushed over, eager to make the payment before anyone else could. “How much?” I asked, already pretending to reach into the inner pocket of my cloak.

  “That’ll be three silver coins,” he said with a casual smile.

  My hand moved discreetly, and with a flick of thought, I summoned a gleaming gold coin from my inventory instead. I made a show of pulling it out from under my cloak and gently placed it on the counter. The coin caught the light and shimmered like a tiny sun.

  The man blinked, then let out a hearty laugh. “Well, well! You must be one rich lady, huh?” he chuckled as he reached under the counter to fetch the change. With a few clinks and clatters, he handed me a small pouch of silver and copper coins. “Here’s your change, miss.”

  “Thank you,” I said with a polite nod, tucking the pouch away and carefully taking the bento boxes into my arms. The warmth of the food seeped through the wood, comforting against the morning chill.

  As I stepped toward the door, I felt Lyra trailing beside me like a curious shadow. She glanced at the box in my hands and then up at me, eyes gleaming with mild suspicion and amusement. “Wow, you really must be a noble, huh?” she murmured, keeping her voice low as we passed through the entrance curtain and back into the busy street. “Or maybe fox girls are just rich?”

  I let out a small laugh and shook my head. “Not exactly. Let’s just say I’m resourceful.”

  Lyra gave a skeptical little hum. “Right. Resourceful. Totally doesn’t sound like secret rich person talk at all.”

  Ai, still perched comfortably on my shoulder, flicked her tail with a proud little swish. “Miss Mashiro is always mysterious. That’s part of her charm.”

  “Oh great,” I muttered under my breath, “even my fox spirit is hyping me up like I’m some sort of legendary trickster.”

  Lyra grinned, clearly enjoying the banter now that she wasn’t afraid of being sold into an underground elf ring. “Legendary trickster, mysterious noble, squirrel whisperer, you’ve got a whole resume going on.”

  “I’ll be sure to put that on my next job application,” I said dryly, nudging the door open with my shoulder as we stepped out into the bright morning light.

  As soon as we stepped out of the cozy little restaurant and into the sunlit street, the crisp morning air welcomed us like an old friend. The scent of freshly baked bread and simmering stew still clung to my cloak as I took a deep breath. The quiet hustle of the village morning began to stir around us, shopkeepers arranging wares, children chasing each other with wooden swords, and a distant bell chiming softly near the market square.

  “Anyway, Lyra, where are you going now?” I asked, pausing just outside the door. I shifted the warm bento boxes in my arms, careful not to spill anything, and turned to face her. The sunlight glinted off her long blonde hair, which she tucked beneath her cloak again as she slowed to a stop beside me.

  Lyra rubbed the back of her neck and looked off into the distance, squinting toward the large wooden board at the town center where quest parchments were often posted. “I’m probably gonna take some quests,” she said casually, though her voice held the tiniest edge of weariness. “Nothing too dangerous, just small errands, maybe some herb gathering or delivery work. Anything that pays and doesn’t involve me being chased through the woods by bounty hunters or wolves.”

  She looked at me and smirked faintly. “Gotta make ends meet somehow, you know? And I’ve still got to stay off the radar.”

  There was something oddly humble about her, this elf who had mistaken me for a spy, who was now chatting with me like we were old neighbors catching up after years apart.

  “I could use a little help figuring out how this town works too,” she added, nudging my arm gently with her elbow. “You seem like someone who knows her way around.”

  I laughed nervously. “I barely even know what the signs say.”

  “Ah, so you’re just as clueless as I am,” Lyra grinned. “Great. We’ll be clueless together.”