I've Turned Into A Fox Girl?

"Oh my god, is this from when she was little?"

"She looks so cute. I need to ask if we can keep these."

"Uhh, isn\'t that a little creepy, Elysia? I\'m sure this is something Cecilia would like to keep."

"I don\'t care, this is some important history right here."

My ear caught the usual bickering of Elysia and Clara about some nonsense. Then it hit me as I finally remembered what I was doing just before falling asleep. I was in the midst of breaking the barrier, but I didn\'t know if it was a success.

Sitting up, I realised that we were in my old room. At my desk, Elysia and Clara were looking through some kind of book, unaware that I had woken up. My clothes had also been changed, but I don\'t remember ever having this in my inventory.

Looking down at myself, it was my old pyjamas, which was just a very thin dress. However, since I\'ve grown, it didn\'t fit very well, causing the dress to be too short and push up my chest. I could instantly guess this was Elysia\'s doing, as there was no doubt she would be the one to dress me up in this kind of clothing.

Besides that, It was very nostalgic to see my room again. From the looks of things, it had remained unaffected. Many parts of the palace had been destroyed, so I didn\'t expect my room to remain intact.

\'I wonder what those two are looking at.\' Getting curious about what Elysia and Clara were gossiping about, I crawled to the end of the bed to get a glimpse. When my eyes lay upon the source of the commotion, I instantly felt my face heat up.

It was an old album that contained photos of my younger self that my mother let me keep. The originals were still kept in memory crystals, but my father had found a way to imprint and duplicate them on paper. At the time, it was nothing short of revolutionary.

Of course, It now makes a lot more sense considering he likely got the idea from my previous world.

"Glad to see you two are having fun snooping around." No longer wanting to suffer through the shame of having my baby photos leaked, I finally spoke up. As I did, both Elysia and Clara stiffened up, realising that they had messed up.

They tried to hide the book, but it was far too late. I gestured for them to give me the album, but Elysia was reluctant to give it up.

"Please? We promise to keep it safe." Elysia pleaded, making it hard to say no considering there was no real issue. I was just too embarrassed.

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"No! It\'s mine!" I tried to wrestle with Elysia to get the album out of her hand, but because I was still recovering, I wasn\'t exactly at my strongest. Elysia kept it just out of my reach and began to run around my room.

"This is good research on what our kids will look like in the future!" Elysia\'s reasoning was hardly a surprise. No doubt, ever since we talked about the future, she probably hasn\'t stopped thinking about it.

"Do you really need to have it?" My embarrassment was coming through, causing them both to catch on.

"Oh, so you\'re okay wearing such revealing clothes right now, but cute photos of you are too much?" Clara was quick to point out my pyjamas, which I couldn\'t argue against.

"T-that\'s different, you are peering into dark history!" I snapped my fingers, manifesting a stardust cloud to cover my body, switching to my usual kimono. Arguably, it didn\'t cover much more than my pyjamas, but it felt more reasonable than a tight, partially see-through dress.

"Come on, Shaman~! This is for totally valid research for the sake of our future." Elysia halted her running and faced me with puppy eyes, trying to convince me.

"There is no need for research when it will happen eventually! Plus, we already had Silver!" My face turned even more red, as it was embarrassing to say it out loud.

"Ahem." Without our notice, someone appeared by the door, clearing their throat to grab our attention.

"O-oh, hey Mum." It was my mother, leaning against the door, who most likely heard everything.

"As much as I would love grandchildren, unfortunately, we don\'t have time. Don\'t worry, Clara and Elysia, I\'m rooting for you two." My mother shot them a wink and their faces instantly turned smug, knowing they had my mother\'s approval.

"Don\'t encourage them!" I knew that as soon as those two get the chance, they will be all over me, asking when we can have kids.

"Oops, but enough playing. I need you all to come with me to see Makoto." My mother was genuinely serious, so I assumed they had finally caught up with palace affairs and needed us to fully explain the current situation.

I still want to get the album back, but Elysia can have the win for now. I nodded my head towards my mother and she began heading to the throne room. I followed after her while Elysia and Clara silently celebrated their victory behind me.

<Throne room>

Inside, it was very hectic with people filing in and out to get their orders from my father. A desk had been set up in the middle of the room, making it into a small, makeshift office. The paperwork was already piling up, as there were two years\' worth of work to catch up on.

"I\'ve got a meeting now. Please wait outside for a moment." Makoto saw us entering and quickly freed up the space for us to talk. It was clear that he hadn\'t slept at all yet, which was concerning.

"I bet you didn\'t expect the white-collar lifestyle when you got transported here." I hoped the joke didn\'t go over his head, as I don\'t know what time period he is from. Still, the whole gods kidnapping people from other worlds seems like a recent development, so he couldn\'t be from too far back.

"Haha, certainly not, but I\'m doing this to myself. The pile is only going to grow, so I would rather suffer a lot now than later. Not much else I can do while my mana is still recovering." It was worrisome to hear that his mana hadn\'t been restored, but the way he worded it suggested that some of it was back.

"How long until you fully recover?" Elysia just outright asked, though I doubted he would have a clear answer.

"At the very least, a few months, but our condition should slowly improve during that time. I originally expected me and Cecilia to be knocked out due to mana exhaustion. However, it feels like the mana is still there, just locked away and our bodies need time to unlock it." My father made a good point, as it did seem odd that they were able to function without mana. Not that I had any precedent to go by… time-barrier induced side-effects were beyond my area of expertise.

"It\'s the same for everyone in the palace, all our mages as well as our commanders are out of commission. However, a lot of our weaker soldiers have already recovered." My mother added on in an attempt to ease any worries, implying that recovery is just a matter of time.

"Yoohoo~! Don\'t forget about us." Right as my mother finished speaking, Himeko came walking in with Yuna, Silver and Elanor.

"Great! With everyone here now, let\'s get straight to it. I want you all to tell us everything you know about the current state of the world." My father didn\'t waste any time and cleared his desk so he could roll out a map of the continent.

"Aww, that\'s no fun." Himeko was in a really good mood, which was quickly shot down once my mother appeared next to her, providing a light smack to the head.

"Please not now, Himeko. I want to figure out everything that is happening clearly, so me and Cecilia can organise it properly. We hold one of the artefacts still and Klaus must be searching all over for it. I expect him to try his luck and face us head-on once he learns we are in a weakened state." With my father\'s deductions, the tone became a lot more serious.

If Klaus could appear at any time, then there isn\'t any time to fool around. He could easily use my parents as leverage, so letting him take the initiative is the last thing we wanted.

So we all gathered around the table to begin our recount of every event that has happened so far. No matter how small it was, as long as there is a slight connection to Klaus, it is worth noting down.