That evening.
When Elysia returned to the room, I was sitting in front of the box.
The moment Elysia opened the door and came in, she looked back and forth between me and the box.
“Haku?”
I let out a small cry.
Then I tapped the box with my front paw.
Elysia slowly approached.
“Is this… for me?”
I nodded.
Elysia’s eyes widened slightly.
She carefully opened the box.
And the moment she saw the scarf inside, she froze.
“…Haku.”
Her voice trembled ever so faintly.
Elysia lifted the scarf with both hands.
The silver-pink yarn shimmered softly in the moonlight.
Her fingertips gently brushed over the scarf.
“Did you make this?”
‘Mm.’
“With your fur?”
It was a little embarrassing, but I nodded.
For a while, Elysia said nothing.
She simply looked at the scarf, then slowly hugged it to her chest.
“It’s really… really soft.”
The corners of her eyes reddened a little.
“Haku made this for me.”
I turned my gaze away for no reason.
I was embarrassed.
Incredibly embarrassed.
She could have just said thank you, so why did she have to look so moved?
I carefully pointed toward the pajamas with my front paw.
Realizing there was still something in the box, Elysia took out the pajamas.
And froze again.
“…This too?”
I quietly nodded.
Pajamas for all four seasons.
They should be comfortable to wear.
Probably.
Elysia unfolded the pajamas.
They were soft, white pajamas with a faint silver-pink sheen.
The decorations were not excessive.
Only the collar and the ends of the sleeves had tiny knot ornaments.
Those too had been modeled after the basic knot Elysia had first learned at the accessory-making gathering.
As if she recognized it, Elysia drew in a breath.
“This knot… it’s similar to the first one I learned.”
I nodded.
Elysia held the pajamas to her chest and stayed still for a while.
Then, suddenly, she carefully lifted me up.
“Haku.”
I blinked in surprise.
Elysia hugged me tightly.
“Thank you.”
Her voice was quiet, but it was filled with sincerity.
“Thank you so much.”
I stayed still in Elysia’s arms.
My heart felt a little ticklish.
I hadn’t known that something I made could bring someone this much joy.
Using my spiritual power had always felt cautious and heavy.
Foxfire was dangerous, blurring my presence was suspicious, and the memories of my body were sometimes unsettling.
But this was different.
Fur hands made with my spiritual power.
Thread made from my fur.
And a scarf and pajamas woven from that.
For the first time, I learned that this power could be used not only to protect something or hide something, but also to make someone warm.
That fact made me strangely happy.
Elysia held me for a while, then smiled faintly and said,
“May I show my family too?”
I stiffened at once.
So it had come.
I thought about it for a moment.
Honestly, it was embarrassing.
Incredibly embarrassing.
But if Elysia was this happy, then perhaps showing her family would not be so bad.
‘It’s embarrassing… but okay.’
“Really?”
I nodded again.
Elysia’s face brightened.
That night, the scarf and pajamas were eventually revealed to the family.
After dinner, in the small drawing room.
When Elysia carefully brought in the box, everyone’s eyes gathered on it.
“Sister, what’s that box?”
Camilla was the first to react.
With a slightly shy expression, Elysia opened the box.
“Haku… made me a present.”
At those words alone, the room fell silent.
Leopold, Isolde, Lucius, Grayden, and Mina all looked at me.
In Elysia’s arms, I flattened my ears.
Don’t look.
Don’t look at me like that.
But it was already too late.
When Elysia took out the scarf, Isolde quietly drew in a breath.
“My goodness…”
Camilla nearly sprang out of her seat.
“Haku made it? Himself?”
Reluctantly, I nodded.
Camilla’s eyes sparkled.
“It’s so pretty! Sister, I think it’ll suit you so well!”
Lucius examined the scarf closely.
“Was it made from Haku’s fur?”
I flinched.
Of course he noticed right away.
Elysia answered in my place.
“Yes. I think Haku made it from the fur he had gathered.”
Lucius smiled as if intrigued.
“It doesn’t seem like ordinary yarn. There’s a very faint energy left in it. Not mana… Haku’s spiritual power, perhaps.”
I folded my ears even lower.
Stop analyzing it.
This is a gift.
Not a research subject.
Isolde carefully touched the scarf, then smiled gently.
“It truly is warm. I can feel that Haku made it while thinking of Elysia.”
At those words, I curled in on myself.
I wanted to disappear from embarrassment.
Leopold gazed at the pajamas with heavy eyes, then said,
“If this is the first gift Haku made on his own, then it must be treasured.”
Elysia nodded.
“Yes. I’ll treasure it dearly.”
Camilla carefully raised her hand.
“Haku… could you make me just one small thing someday too?”
I knew this was coming.
I looked at Camilla.
Her face was full of genuine expectation.
It was hard to refuse.
After thinking for a moment, I nodded very slightly.
‘Someday. If it’s something really small.’
Camilla clasped her hands together in delight.
“Thank you!”
Mina smiled quietly.
“Then I shall continue to collect Lord Haku’s fur with care.”
At those words, I froze for a moment.
Ah.
So she was going to keep collecting it.
Now that I thought about it, it was only natural.
My fur had become material now.
It was a somewhat complicated feeling.
But it wasn’t bad.
If my fur could become something that warmed someone instead of simply falling out and being thrown away, that was much better.
And though I had expected it, it seemed everyone in the family knew I was not an ordinary fox.
Even if I became able to speak someday, they probably wouldn’t be too shocked.
Probably.
That night, after returning to her room, Elysia carefully put the scarf and pajamas in order again.
Since the weather was still warm, she could not wear the scarf right away.
But she held the scarf to her chest for a long time.
“When winter comes, I’ll definitely wear it.”
Sitting on the blanket atop the bed, I looked at her.
Elysia gently unfolded the pajamas too.
“And this… may I try wearing it tonight?”
My ears perked up at once.
Why are you asking me?
It’s your present.
I nodded.
Elysia smiled, her face a little flushed.
“Thank you.”
That night, Elysia wore the pajamas I had made.
A little awkwardly, but with great care.
The pajamas fit better than I had expected.
Perhaps because I had woven them while imagining Elysia’s build, the length and width were not far off.
Touching the end of one sleeve, Elysia said softly,
“They’re really comfortable.”
Hearing that, I let out a sigh of relief.
A success.
Elysia sat on the bed and hugged me to her chest.
“Maybe because Haku made them for me… I feel strangely at ease.”
In her arms, I quietly closed my eyes.
That might have been because a little spiritual power remained in them.
Or perhaps simply because they were a gift.
Either way was fine.
Today, I learned for the first time.
My power was not only frightening.
It was not meant solely for startling others, hiding myself, or making flames.
If I refined it little by little and wove it together, I could make something warm like this.
Elysia gently stroked my back.
“I’ll treasure them.”
I let out a small cry.
‘Mm.’
That was enough.
But now that I thought about it, it was a little strange.
These were not just pajamas made of yarn.
My fur.
And my spiritual power.
They were an item made from those two things.
There was no way they would have no effect at all.
What was more, I was not an ordinary fox.
Though I still did not know exactly what I was, I was a being with the body of a gumiho.
If an item was made from fur that came from my body and was imbued with spiritual power, there was no way it would end as nothing more than soft, warm clothing.
I quietly observed Elysia in the pajamas.
Elysia sat on the edge of the bed, carefully touching the end of her sleeve.
“It’s really fascinating. They’re light and soft, but strangely warm.”
She smiled faintly as she said that.
From the outside, she merely seemed to like them.
But I was seeing something a little different.
Inside Elysia.
The texture of her aura, which normally flowed in faint tangles, was now strangely calm.
It was not completely fixed.
Deep within, there were still currents like knots that had yet to come undone.
But centered around the places the pajamas touched, an extremely thin and gentle layer of spiritual power was wrapping around Elysia’s body.
Not too much.
Not too little.
Just exactly as much as was needed.
It was similar to the amount I carefully poured into her when I usually helped Elysia’s aura.
‘…As expected.’
I murmured quietly to myself.
Just as I thought.
The pajamas made from my fur and spiritual power were stabilizing Elysia’s aura.
They were not simply warming her body.
They were easing her tension, pressing down so the flow would not thrash about too violently, and softly wrapping around the tangled parts so they would not worsen.
The effect was not strong.
It was not on the level of explosively raising Elysia’s talent or solving her aura problem all at once.
Rather, that made it better.
Power that was too strong became a burden.
If Elysia’s body could not accept it, it might even turn poisonous.
But the spiritual power soaked into the pajamas now was similar to the sensation she had already grown used to.
The power I had been letting flow into her little by little every day.
The gentle current Elysia had been unconsciously accepting.
That remained in the clothes as an extremely thin layer.
Perhaps because of that, Elysia seemed completely fine.
“Haku?”
Sensing my gaze, Elysia tilted her head.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
After hesitating for a moment, I hurriedly shook my head.
Come to think of it, I had been staring intently at Elysia’s chest.
I had been thinking about this and that, but of all places, it had to be there…
It seemed better not to say anything.
If I explained this now, Elysia would definitely get embarrassed.
So for now, I just wanted her to accept it as a gift.
Warm, comfortable pajamas I had made for her.
That much was enough.
I climbed onto Elysia’s lap and curled up small.