Although he couldn't grasp the deeper implications, this piece of information alone was already shocking enough.
"Mhm, I understand."
Even though she didn't know how the change in the Raiden Shogun's pursuit of eternity connected to her own relationship with Lady Yae, Miss Yumemizuki Mizuki still chose to trust Mr. Cid.
"Then let's continue discussing the rest tomorrow here. If things don't go smoothly, there won't be any plan to speak of anyway."
The older gentleman glanced over at little Yoimiya, who was currently focused on petting foxes while listening to his conversation with Yumemizuki Mizuki, and smiled.
"Did you understand any of that?"
Little Yoimiya gently smoothed the fur of a small fox…
"Big sister Mizuki had a fight with her good friend big sister Yae. You've been helping big sister Mizuki sort out the conflict, and right now you're stuck on how to solve it."
The older gentleman reached out and patted little Yoimiya on the head.
"So, big sister Yoimiya, what do you think would be the best way to resolve it?"
On this matter, big sister Yoimiya answered decisively.
"Of course, the best way is for everyone to talk more, open up, and just say what's on their minds!"
The older gentleman nodded.
"Exactly right… But what if a certain fox lady stubbornly refuses to speak and stays all prickly? What then?"
Little Yoimiya fell into deep thought…
"Then we just have to find a way to make her talk, right?"
Precisely—and the Raiden Shogun was the one existence that could force Lady Yae to open her mouth and speak.
Yumemizuki Mizuki instantly understood the point.
As long as she could get Lady Yae to speak… then wouldn't it only be a matter of time before Lady Yae obediently accepted Mizuki's nightmare-devouring service to relieve her inner negative emotions?
Mr. Cid saw that Yumemizuki Mizuki had already understood and didn't say anything more. Instead, he began his little fox-petting class.
"Ahem, little Yoimiya, there's actually a pretty big difference between how you pet small foxes and how you pet big foxes…"
The older gentleman had just started to call over one fox from the group to demonstrate when the fox leader, who had been sitting on the nearby chair, jumped straight onto his lap first.
"Da Chu rises, Chen Sheng becomes king! (Boss, you're not playing fair!)"
"Great King! (This is abuse of power!)"
"Benefactor! (I object!)"
In an instant, the foxes got worked up and swarmed around the older gentleman. Some stood on their hind legs to rub their noses against his face, some used their fluffy fur to brush against his legs, and others nudged his waist with their heads…
"Hey, hey, don't get so excited…"
The older gentleman, who had originally planned to give a proper lesson, was instantly overwhelmed and buried under a pile of foxes…
Little Yoimiya watched the scene and didn't know what to say. She simply hugged the clearly slacking-off fox in her arms a little tighter…
It really feels like you shouldn't provoke too many foxes…
Meanwhile, Yumemizuki Mizuki looked on with visible envy. If only she had had that kind of skill back then.
"You foxes are way too enthusiastic… Wait, why do I suddenly smell a fox that hasn't bathed properly?"
In an instant, all the foxes jumped off the older gentleman and lined up in neat rows, sitting obediently and looking very well-behaved.
The fox leader stared sternly at his subordinates.
"Great King? (Which fox didn't bathe? Didn't we agree that everyone has to bathe properly every day?)"
But the older gentleman was staring directly at the fox leader.
"Great King? (Boss, why are you looking at me like that?)"
"It seems like you're the one who hasn't bathed."
At that moment, Mr. Fox's eyes widened in shock.
It's over! I've been supervising the little ones every day! I completely forgot to bathe myself!
"You—go take a bath. I'll switch to another fox for the demonstration."
And just like that, the pitiful Mr. Fox silently walked out of the little wooden cabin.
With that settled, the older gentleman officially began his fox-petting tutorial.
"Every fox is actually different, and how you pet them depends entirely on the individual fox. But I can first teach you a technique to probe a fox's preferences without easily setting off any landmines…"