After Gender Swapping, I Became the Daughter of a Yandere Mother with Animal Ears—With the Help of My Yandere Mom and Powerful Sister, I'll Live as a Fox Girl - Chapter 23: Salvation

“…Huff… Huff… I don’t feel like we’re getting any closer to the exit…”

“You’re using my body and you’re already tired? What a weakling.”

“Shut up…”

Mashiro kept taunting me from inside the mirror. Ever since I started using her body, she seems to have grown more assertive.

“But it’s strange how different we are, even though we share the same body.”
“It’s because you’re moving it wrong.”

Now I understand why Mashiro tried to break the mirror. Being endlessly scorned from inside a mirror would make anyone want to smash it.

“Sigh, let’s take a break.”

I leaned against the wall and slid down to sit.

“How pathetic…”
“Give me a break… Mashiro’s body is frail… I’m doing my best here.”
“Blaming my body when you’re the one using it…”

I took in a deep breath of the damp cave air, trying to catch my breath. As I rested, I heard a voice from somewhere.

“Is someone there?”
“…! Hishoku-san!”

It was unmistakably Hishoku’s voice.

“The white fox… What are you doing here? I came straight here.”
“Ahaha… I fell off a cliff… and when I woke up, I was here…”
“That’s unfortunate.”

I felt like crying with relief at seeing Hishoku. But her indifferent expression quickly reined in my tears. She’s as unsociable as ever.

“Did you find the mirror?”
“Yes, I think this is it.”
“Hmm…”

She took the mirror and stared intently at it. She didn’t seem to hear the voices from it. Maybe the mirror is selective about who can handle it.

“I see, it does have a strange aura. And for some reason, it seems to draw you to it. You should keep it for now.”
“Okay…”

The reason for the attraction was clear. It must be the resonance between Mashiro’s soul and her body.

“Let’s return to the village now that we’ve got the mirror.”

Hishoku turned around and began retracing her steps.

“You know the way back?”
“Of course. Do you think I would venture in without planning my return?”
“Right, of course…”

Her words felt like a subtle dig at me. I remembered crying after getting lost and felt embarrassed.

“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing…”

I followed her, keeping my eyes down.

“Um…”
“Hm?”
“Thank you… for coming to save me. If you hadn’t come, I might have starved to death.”
“I just happened to come across you. Don’t worry about it.”
“Still, I was really happy…”
“Well, that’s good.”

She didn’t turn around, but I thought I saw a slight smile. Even the blunt Hishoku seems to soften a bit when thanked.

“Stop.”
“Eh?”

She suddenly stopped, and I did the same, puzzled.

“What’s wrong?”
“Look at that.”

She pointed in a direction where a huge shadow loomed. The identity of that shadow was…
“…Magatsuhi.”

It was a creature resembling a giant serpent, easily towering over a three-story building. Its body was covered in ominous scales, and two curved, large fangs protruded from its head. Its glowing red eyes were fixed intently on us.

“It’s huge…”
“This is bad… It’s clearly intent on killing us.”

The Magatsuhi didn’t move towards us but kept its menacing gaze fixed, clearly showing its intent to kill.

“GRURURURU!!”

Suddenly, the Magatsuhi started to move. Using its long body, it quickly closed the distance, baring its sharp fangs as it opened its mouth wide.