One Day Without Stirring Up Trouble, She Just Couldn't Rest

"..."

(???????)

In the end, little Annie gave the intact orange World Rune Stone to Ahri, the young woman who had been just as curious as she was—and who had nine great, fluffy tails behind her.

Annie had already looked at the World Rune Stone. She wasn't interested in it anymore and didn't want to put it in her bag, even though it didn't take up much space...

Annie knew that Ahri, who couldn't control whether she kept drawing on other people's lives and souls—a wicked act that was addictive to her—would never be able to resist the World Rune Stone's allure. Even so, Annie casually tossed it into Ahri's hands.

Because...

Queen Annie was right here watching. She wasn't worried that the other woman would cause some enormous disaster over a lousy stone.

She was sure that even if something happened, she could handle it. Nothing would go wrong! And even if something did go wrong, it wouldn't be her fault... After all, "accident" meant something nobody could have predicted, right?

"..."

"What a fascinating stone..."

In a secluded clearing in the woods of Ionia, surrounded by all kinds of wondrous native plants and flowers, the nine-tailed fox Ahri stood dazed, cradling the Runestone in both hands. She had gone to great lengths to get it from that clever little girl, pleading and batting her eyelashes until she finally managed to wheedle—no, trick—it out of her.

That's right. She'd tricked her...

Ahri was a Vastaya from Ionia, the First Lands. She was kindhearted and simple, and didn't like harming others or hunting too much... But there was no denying that her fox ears and nine fluffy tails showed she belonged to the foxfolk. She'd inherited some of their wariness and cunning, too!

At any rate, she'd managed to get