An unexpected victim

Eleven p.m., Rongcheng Medical College Faculty Apartments.

The fox girl stood beneath the showerhead, letting her Familiars rinse the foam from her hair with a handheld sprayer while she carefully scrubbed her fox tail with an exquisite grooming comb.

The legendary item, Inari's Tail Comb, was imbued with all sorts of marvelous magic. All it took was a little magic power and a single stroke along her tail to automatically remove split ends, add shine and softness, and strengthen the roots. Dipping it in water before brushing could even turn ordinary water into premium fur conditioner, making its already immediate effects even more pronounced.

A single brushing handled everything from collecting loose fur to cleaning and conditioning—perfect for taking shortcuts when she was exhausted and couldn't be bothered to care for her tail.

She hardly ever used this tail comb, only bringing it out when staying at hotels or camping. Little Fish took care of all her everyday tail maintenance, even stealing the jobs of the Familiars originally responsible for it.

But today...

She and Little Fish had spent the day at the Hero Association helping Shasha and Marigold create Mindscapes. They had only returned to the apartment half an hour ago and were taking turns showering before bed, leaving no time for a dedicated tail-care session.

After all, her standards for her tail were very high. Once a grooming session started, it took at least half an hour!

Although she felt Little Fish's speed and technique really shouldn't require half an hour, whenever she saw that goofy smile as Little Fish buried her face in the tail and inhaled deeply, she decided to pretend it really did take that long. That settled everything.

"Let's let Little Fish get some proper rest." The golden-haired fox girl murmured to herself and