Faced with the rather inexperienced Yumemizuki Mizuki, the older gentleman also displayed the true spirit of an adventurer.
"It's fine, I don't mind at all. Besides, I'm not exactly on official business right now, so Miss Mizuki can just call me by my name.
My family name is Kagerou, and my given name is Cid. You can just call me Cid."
Before Mizuki could even respond, the little foxes started chatting among themselves first.
"Da Chu rises, Chen Sheng becomes king? (Who is Cid?)"
"Great King~ (It seems to be another name for the old uncle.)"
"Sniffle… (I see.)"
"Benefactor~ (Humans have so many names, they really play around with them.)"
Then the leading fox sitting on the chair turned its head and let out a single bark.
"Great King. (Quiet down.)"
The foxes instantly behaved themselves, though they started exchanging glances again.
What are you looking at?
What's it to you?
Just confirming it's you.
Then I'll look at you too.
Who's afraid of whom? I'm looking!
Hey~ I'm looking too!
Seeing this scene, both the older gentleman and Miss Mizuki couldn't help but smile at the same time.
Meanwhile, little Yoimiya found the whole thing quite amusing. The dignified Mr. Fox— she definitely had to ask later if she could pet him.
As for why not now?
Mr. Fox was in the middle of disciplining his family, and interrupting at a time like this would surely put him in a difficult position.
Big sister Yoimiya was a thoughtful and considerate older sister.
"Mm, then I won't hold back— Mr. Cid?"
Cid nodded.
"Mm, that's fine. Just call me that, Miss Mizuki."
After that, Miss Mizuki began to get to the main point.
"Mr. Cid, the thing is… I have a fox friend…"
Miss Yumemizuki Mizuki then explained to Cid the troubles she was currently facing. It included noticing that the Guuji seemed to be in an off mood…
But as she kept talking…
"Miss Mizuki, what you're saying is that no matter what happens, Lady Yae treats you with the same calm detachment as she would an outsider? As if you're optional or dispensable?"
Those words immediately opened the floodgates for Miss Mizuki.
"No, Lady Yae isn't that kind of person. I think… it's just that if she didn't maintain that composed demeanor, she probably wouldn't have been able to hold herself together up to now…"
For a moment, Miss Yumemizuki Mizuki poured out a great many things—
Including her current dissatisfaction from not getting along very well with the Guuji, as well as her astonishment upon discovering Mr. Cid's writings…
"Mr. Cid, I feel that your research could provide me with extremely important help. Please assist me…"
In the end, Miss Mizuki had more or less said everything that needed to be said—including her discontent with how Lady Yae treated her the same as any outsider, and her admiration for Lord Shura Anyakonsen-shou's research materials…
However, after finishing, Miss Mizuki suddenly felt a wave of unease.
Oh no, did I… say too much?
Ah… I originally just wanted to ask about knowledge related to foxes…
This is the first time I've met someone who feels like I can truly confide in, and I couldn't hold back—I ended up spilling everything…
After realizing this, Mizuki suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. After all, this was her first meeting with Mr. Cid…
But at that moment, Cid first took a sip of the tea in his mouth that had already gone cold, appearing as though everything was completely under his control.
"Miss Mizuki, I believe I've come to understand part of your friend's situation. I accept your request."
Yumemizuki Mizuki felt a surge of excitement for a moment, but it was quickly doused with cold water.
"However, Miss Mizuki, have you ever considered why Lady Yae would transform into a fox to let you ru… massage her? Right now, she's surely maintaining that calm and distant attitude toward you, isn't she?"