Hotaru's POV:
How is this happening?
The growling noise I had been hearing outside had subsided as, at last, the rug was pulled out from under me.
I was becoming a fox girl.
No one said anything, up until now. And yet, it sounded like Ceres and the others must have known all along.
"Why did no one tell me sooner!?"
"Why? Because what would you have done if you had known? Simply stopped eating and drinking, to prevent the curse from taking hold? There's no escaping it, Hotaru-san—even the fish that live in the ocean around Saint's Vigil Island are known to inflict the curse on those who eat them. You would've been transformed regardless."
I couldn't argue with him there. Even if I had known, and thought to sail away, the Kitsuna only used small fishing canoes that wouldn't have taken me far, anyway.
"So, it really was hopeless from the start," I said, sighing, as I hid my face in my arms.
