Of course, even if he thought so, he couldn't make it too obvious. Otherwise, when the time came, they might not just "throw him away"—they might choose to destroy the evidence entirely...
"Does Setsuna really hate this thing that much?"
"No, I just think it's dangerous." Sakurazaki Setsuna shook her head. She hadn't sensed even a trace of danger; she just found the little doll rather eerie, which was why she said that. It would be best if the young mistress could throw it away.
"Because of this smile?" Konoka chuckled softly and gently kneaded Little Nine's face between two fingers. That eerie three-crescent grin immediately turned into a faint, sunny smile.
Jiu Ming felt deeply awkward. To keep her from noticing anything amiss, he let his face be kneaded into whatever shape she wanted. Once she was done, Konoka placed Little Nine back in front of Setsuna. "Cute, right? Not only is he cute, he's full of spirit too."
"..." Seeing that Konoka had no intention of throwing away the little doll, Setsuna's lips twitched despite herself. Forget it. If she kept pressing the matter, the young mistress might start suspecting something.
"What a pitiful little brother you are!" Resting her chin on her hand, Evangeline wore a faintly malicious smile as she narrowed her eyes at Jiu Ming and spoke softly.
Her voice was quiet, and the classroom was far from silent, but it was more than enough for Jiu Ming to hear.
Jiu Ming's brow twitched.
"So you're that fox?"
Pulling her gaze away from Jiu Ming, Evangeline looked at the White Fox before her with great interest. "I don't think I've ever seen a magical beast that could turn into a human. How did you do it?"
"I transformed, obviously." Having finally escaped that group of