I was curled up on a small blanket laid in one corner of Elysia’s room.
The room was quiet.
Elysia had already fallen asleep on the bed,
and the moonlight streaming in through the window faintly illuminated the desk and chair,
as well as the small box placed against the wall.
I could not sleep, so I simply blinked my eyes.
The patterns I had seen at the accessory-making club during the day kept circling through my mind.
Elysia’s fingertips as she wove thread, trimmed ornaments, and fitted small metal parts together.
Watching that had suddenly made me think.
‘I can even move fire with my demonic power…….’
Then wouldn’t other things be possible as well?
I could create and move foxfire.
I could blur my presence, and though only faintly, I could even wrap demonic power around my body to assist my movements.
Then perhaps I could extend my demonic power like thread and move something with it.
For example…… like a hand.
I slowly got up.
Then I walked toward the small box in the corner of the room.
Inside that box was a collection of my fur.
At first, I had simply asked them to gather it because it felt like a waste to throw away the fur that came out whenever I was brushed.
Elysia and Mina had looked a little puzzled, but they had still obediently gathered it for me.
I had felt as if it would be useful someday.
Back then, it had been closer to a vague instinct.
But now that I thought about it, perhaps my body had already known.
I sat in front of the box and carefully opened the lid.
Inside, a fluffy pile of silver-pink fur was gathered.
The fur, bathed in moonlight, glowed very faintly.
I placed my forepaws on the edge of the box and carefully let my demonic power flow into it.
At first, nothing happened.
But soon, the end of the fur pile twitched ever so slightly.
My eyes widened.
‘It moved.’
As expected, it was possible.
I held my breath and concentrated a little more.
If I poured in too much demonic power, the fur might burn or scatter.
So I let my demonic power flow much thinner and more gently than when creating foxfire, as though I were soaking thread.
Then the pile of fur slowly rose into the air.
The soft strands of fur clung together and became a single mass, and the end of it split into thin sections.
I recalled the sensation from my previous life.
Hands, from when I had been human.
The sensation of bending fingers, straightening them, picking up objects, and pulling thread.
The me of now had only forepaws, but the sensation of hands still remained in my memories.
I carried that sensation into my demonic power.
Then the end of the fur pile began changing shape little by little.
At first, it was blunt.
Then it slowly divided into five parts.
It was not a perfect hand.
It was small, round, and somehow blunt like a mitten.
But it certainly looked like a hand.
I carefully moved that fur hand.
The ends, split like fingers, slowly folded and unfolded.
It picked up a single small strand of fur resting on the edge of the box.
It was a success.
‘It worked.’
I quietly cheered inside.
If I made a sound, Elysia might wake up, so I only gave my tail a slight wag.
This was a bigger discovery than I had expected.
Right now, I had the body of a fox.
It had the advantages of being cute, small, and easy to hold, but having no hands was quite inconvenient.
Turning the pages of a book, picking up small objects, or helping with anything at the accessory-making club was almost impossible.
But if I could move this pile of fur with demonic power, the story changed.
Perhaps because my fur came from my own body, demonic power seeped into it easily.
It responded far more naturally than external objects.
It was smoother than controlling flame.
It felt as though I were moving a part of my own body after extending it very far away.
I tried moving the hand again.
I pushed the lid of the small box, pulled it back again, and tried picking up a short piece of thread Elysia had left behind during the day.
At first, I kept dropping it, but after repeating it a few times, I gradually got used to it.
‘With this…….’
I might be able to help with accessory making.
If I supported the thread a little beside Elysia when she held it,
or handed her small parts, or held a design in place, that much might be possible.
And going further than that.
Wouldn’t knitting be possible too?
I looked at the pile of fur inside the box.
I could weave my fur like thread and move it with demonic power.
If I had knitting needles, I might be able to make something.
A small pouch.
A wrist ornament.
A very small yarn knot to put on Elysia’s sword ornament.
Or perhaps a small blanket I could use myself.
‘……Is it a little strange to make my own blanket out of my own fur?’
For a moment, that thought occurred to me, but since coming to this world, I had already experienced more than enough strange things.
This much was on the minor side.
I slowly dispersed the fur hand.
As the demonic power drained away, the pile of fur that had taken the shape of a hand returned to being a fluffy lump and settled back inside the box.
It was still difficult to maintain it for long.
It required more concentration than I had expected, and moving it as precisely as fingers was not easy either.
But I had confirmed the possibility.
It was not impossible.
If I practiced just a little more, I might truly be able to use it like a hand.
I thought for a moment.
The remaining problem was the knitting needles.
As a fox, I could not go get needles by myself.
I should ask Elysia tomorrow morning.
Ask her to get me knitting needles.
Of course, Elysia would definitely make a strange face.
“Haku, are you trying to knit?”
She would probably ask that.
All I had to do then was nod.
And then show her the moving pile of fur.
……Elysia would probably be surprised.
Mina would be surprised too.
If Camilla found out, her eyes might sparkle as she said she wanted an accessory made by Haku.
I could imagine that scene far too easily, so I let out a small sigh.
But it was not bad.
Elysia’s family had already realized to some extent that I was no ordinary fox.
In that case, surely it would not be all that shocking if I could knit.
And I had a feeling this would help me in many ways.
It would also serve as training to handle my demonic power more delicately.
It could reduce the inconvenience of having no hands.
And I could help Elysia a little more at the accessory-making club.
Most of all, this was not using my power to destroy something.
It was not burning like flame, nor hiding my presence.
It was a power for making, weaving, grasping, and joining together.
Thinking of it that way made my heart feel a little lighter.
I returned to the blanket and curled up again.
The moonlight outside the window quietly settled over the box.
The small box containing my pile of fur.
And the knitting needles I would ask Elysia for tomorrow.
As I closed my eyes, I thought.
Perhaps demonic power could be used in far more varied ways than I had imagined.
If I handled it well.
Not only to protect myself, but also to make things for the people I liked.
Thinking that made me feel a little better.
That was enough for today.
Tomorrow, I would try asking Elysia.
The next day happened to be the weekend.
The timing was good.
If it had been a weekday, there would have been academy classes,
and during lunchtime, Iris would have been sitting quietly across from me, observing me,
and after school, I would have had to go to the accessory-making club as well.
But today was the weekend.
There was relatively plenty of time before morning training.
As soon as Elysia finished washing her face and returned to the room, I made my request.
Elysia lowered her head.
‘Please get me some knitting needles.’
At first, Elysia blinked.
After pondering for a moment, she soon drew in a small breath.
“Knitting needles?”
I nodded vigorously.
But rather than answer, Elysia stared intently at me.
“Haku wants…… knitting needles?”
I nodded again.
Why was she so surprised?
Of course, I knew that a fox asking for knitting needles was not a normal situation.
But wasn’t it a little late to be talking about normal in this mansion?
Elysia stared at me silently for a while, and in the end, as if she could not hold back her laughter, she covered her mouth.
“Sorry. I’m not trying to tease you…… It’s just that this is the first time you’ve asked for something first.”
Hearing that, I froze for a moment.
Now that I thought about it, she was right.
Until now, rather than strongly wanting something, I had mostly been swept along by the situations given to me.
The academy, the Starlight Society, the accessory-making club, lunch with Iris.
Most of them had been suggested by someone else first, and I had merely nodded or shaken my head.
But this time was different.
I had thought I needed it first, and then asked Elysia.
When I realized that fact, I felt a little embarrassed.
I pointlessly averted my gaze.
“All right. Wait just a moment.”
Elysia smiled gently and rang the bell.
A short while later, Mina quietly entered the room.
“Did you call, my lady?”
“Mina, do we have any knitting needles? Ones that aren’t too big.”
“Knitting needles, you say?”
Mina seemed puzzled for a moment, but when she saw that Elysia’s gaze was directed at me, she blinked.
“……Are they needed by Lord Haku?”
I nodded.
Mina paused for the briefest moment.
But she did not keep her surprised expression for long.
“Understood. I will bring light ones that are easy to hold.”
No, I don’t have hands, though.
But I’ll have them soon.
Probably.