Chapter 1

When I was still living my past life as a Japanese person, I once heard a story that was almost like an urban legend.

A mother and child were trying to go shopping at their new home, but the mother was lost and confused in the unfamiliar area. However, it was her child, who was not even five years old, who showed her the way to the store.

"Cross that traffic light and turn right. I know this road."

Of course, this was the first time he had come to this place. There was no way he could know it. But, the store was indeed where the child said it would be. As they crossed the street towards the store, the child, in a surprisingly mature and low voice, said,

"I... I was hit by a car and died here in my past life."

Gyaah!!

That’s how my past self reacted, terrified by the story. But now, I can’t afford to be scared. That’s because I’m in a similar situation to the child in the story. In other words, I was reborn with my past life’s memories intact.

Moreover, I am not human in this life. What I see before me is a paw covered in white fur. No, it’s a front paw. I look into the frozen spring in front of me, and my reflection appears in the ice.

"Kyun..."

I sighed. No matter how many times I see it, I’m not human. I am a small silver fox, the same color as snow. To be precise, I’m rounder than the foxes I know, with a fluffy collar around my neck and a tail that is probably 90% fur. When I curl up, I look like a ball of fluff.

But perhaps the reason I’m so fluffy is because I live in a snowy mountain. This fur is like a natural coat. Even if I encounter a blizzard on a sub-zero mountain, I’m completely fine.

Another reason I’m resistant to the cold is that I’m not just a fox. According to my mother in this life, our species is classified as a 'spirit.' In other words, I’m not even an animal, let alone a human.

We are apparently snow spirits that take the form of foxes, but I don’t know much more than that. My mother doesn’t know that I have memories from my past life, so she doesn’t talk to me about complicated things, thinking I’m just a child. I’m still young and, unfortunately, can’t speak like a human. The best I can do is say "kyun kyun."

"Kyun..."

My second sigh of the day. Even my sighs aren’t "haa" but "kyun." It’s silly and I don’t like it. It doesn’t convey the feeling of being down.

At that moment, I saw the shadow of a small fish in the spring in front of me. I perked up my ears and approached the spring, which was covered in thick ice. I know my paws are too weak to break the ice and catch the fish, but I can’t help the urge in my heart.

I died at the young age of 18 in my past life and have been living in this new life for about a year. So, if you do the math, my mental age should be close to 20. But sometimes, I’m influenced by my physical age and animal instincts. When I see something moving, I want to chase it and can’t control myself. Embarrassingly, I once chased my own tail without realizing it, running in circles for a long time.

I ran around, chasing the small fish moving under the ice. I slipped and fell every five steps, and my head-heavy, childlike body made it hard to run steadily.

The little fish swam nimbly, as if mocking me. Damn it, damn it! I really want that fish. Out of stubbornness, I started scratching the ice with my claws.

"What are you doing here, Milfuria?"

A clear and resonant female voice came from behind me. Milfuria is my name in this life. I instantly forgot about the fish and turned around to see a beautiful fox, about a meter tall, looking at me with light blue eyes. It was my mother.

"Kyun!"

I let out a high-pitched cry and ran to my mother, rubbing my head against her front paws.

"It’s getting dark. Let’s go home, my dear child."

Unlike me, my mother can speak. Will I be able to speak when I grow up? She gently bit the back of my neck and lifted me up. We walked through the snow towards our home, which is a den near the top of this snowy mountain. Snow doesn’t blow in, so there’s no risk of being buried while sleeping.

My mother placed me on the ground in the back of the den and closed her eyes, focusing. In the next moment, the large white fox was gone, replaced by a breathtakingly beautiful woman with translucent skin.

Her long, lustrous hair was almost white silver, and she wore a white fur collar around her neck. Is that a fox fur? She wore a kimono with a touch of Chinese influence, giving her a slightly flashy yuki-onna (snow woman) vibe. The kimono’s neckline was wide, revealing a prominent cleavage. My mother has a magnificent chest. I hope I inherit that.

Yes, this is my mother’s human form. She often appears as a fox in front of me, but she always takes her human form at certain times. Those times are when she goes down to the human town.

"Milfuria, I need to talk to you."

My mother spoke to me in her beautiful voice, just as she does when she’s a fox.