After my explanation, the white fox finally understood why we had come.
"Hmm, I see. You came to us to find clues about the World Tree." The white fox breathed a sigh of relief for some reason, raised its hind paw and ruffled the fur behind its ears. "You should have said so earlier. I thought we'd been found out about stealing the big white pudding."
"Tell me the details of the sneaky meal." I peeked out from under the bed.
"What pudding?" Hikari, who had jumped onto the top of the cupboard, raised her hand.
The white fox tugged at its ears, leaned back dramatically, and nearly rolled off the cushion.
"Why is everyone so interested in this instead..."
The white fox yawned widely, then slowly shifted its weight back onto the chair, curling itself into a fluffy ball. It muttered softly, "Ah, it's nothing. We had a falling out with Big White a few days ago, and he secretly received a package, even hiding it deep inside the freezer in his room's secret compartment. So naturally, I thought I'd cause him some trouble. Hey, who would have thought that at his age, he still likes pudding? So I secretly gave it to him, and then put the empty shell back in its original place."
"As it turns out, quite some time has passed in the blink of an eye, and he still hasn't discovered that empty shell hidden inside."
"Is that pudding good?" Hikari blinked, emerging from the pile of scattered clothes. "What flavor is it? Is it sweet?"
"It's so sweet! I've never eaten anything so delicious before."
The white fox exhaled, relaxing and squinting its eyes: "At first, I just thought I'd try a few bites, hopefully disgust Big White so he wouldn't bother me all day. But as soon as I licked the surface of the pudding, I felt a smooth, refreshing milky aroma brush over my tongue, with a subtle salty taste spreading through the silky smoothness. It felt like lying on a soft, drifting rubber mat enjoying milk ice cream while feeling the gentle sea breeze. But before I could even smack it a few times, most of the flavor had dissipated, and the smoothness had turned into water."
"Hey, I was so angry! This thing of mine is just like Big White, it doesn't give me any satisfaction. So I thought, since I've already had a bite, what's wrong with having another bite?"
Have you eaten?
Hikari casually dragged over the newly found cushion and sat down obediently with her knees drawn up to her chest, staring at the white fox with wide eyes like a student attentively listening to a lesson.
I shook my head, letting them do their thing, and turned to look at the messy bookshelf and ornaments in front of me, with many of the book covers showing signs of chewing.
"There's no reason not to eat food that's offered to you!"
The white fox seemed to have gotten excited, waving its paws wildly, like a skilled conductor casually tossing aside sheet music on stage. Its drooping tongue occasionally flicked the fur around its mouth, recalling the taste it had just experienced: "So, seeing that no one was around and I couldn't smell any signs of Old White's activity nearby, I boldly stuck out my tongue again. But this time, I didn't taste any saltiness. Instead, it seemed to bite into something, and it burst open in my mouth with a 'poof,' giving me a fright. As soon as I put it in my mouth, a sweet fruity aroma mixed with juice spread out, mingling with the smooth jelly, and sliding down my throat in delicate pieces."
"If we could add more whipped cream and plate it up, I think it would be almost like a fruit parfait!"
"Fruit Parfait~~~"
Hikari cast a watery glance at her.
"You haven't finished yet!"
The white fox patted the soft pad under its paws, angrily drawing the audience's attention back: "Because of that delicious smell, I couldn't help but lick it a few more times. Then I looked down and, oh dear, this pudding looks quite big, but how come it's already more than half gone!"
"Oh no, what are we going to do!" The perfect straight man chimed in at the right moment.
"We lay on the ground thinking it over and over, and finally made a painful decision."
"A painful decision!"
"Then let's go all the way and eat them all!"
"Wow—" the idiot clapped excitedly, "And then?"
"Hmph, let me explain in detail... Hey, don't touch me, let go!" Realizing she'd been grabbed under the armpit, the white fox wriggled unhappily, turned and bit my hand, then nimbly climbed back onto her throne. "Get lost, you've been looking for ages and still can't find it, aren't you just useless?"
"...Tsk, I've searched the whole house, and the only thing I haven't turned over is the cushion under your butt."
Looking at the four new teeth marks on my arm, I couldn't help but sigh.
Previously, after learning that it wasn't my mentor or my mother who needed to see her, the white fox's attitude became noticeably more casual. She then offered a condition in exchange for helping us: "We can tell you about the strange tree that has been frequently sighted recently. It's not exactly a secret. Although it may not be as detailed as we know, we can always figure it out by asking a few more people."
She led us through the back door of the shop, along the path back to our residence, then arched open her own door, scurried back to her throne, and curled up with an air of nonchalance: "I can't find the comb I use to groom myself lately. I've been using it all along, but I can't find it anywhere. It's really strange."
"Can't we switch to another one?"
Looking at the cluttered place, which was even more chaotic than my own home, with barely enough room to step, I had every reason to believe that my expression must have been quite distorted.
The troublemaker wagged its tail indifferently: "But only the fur combed with that brush is the smoothest, and it never gets tangled."
Okay.
After all, they asked me to do something here, so I should be able to do this little thing.
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