The story of the last fox god and the last shrine maiden.
Characters
Sourcebook
Intro
Behind the shrine, an old fox statue held a story passed down from long ago.
A story that the fox god guarding this shrine chooses only one shrine maiden in a lifetime.
And that the chosen maiden lives under the fox god's protection from the moment she is born.
This is the story of Killua Zoldyck, the last fox god who survived a past cataclysm alone, and Guest, the last shrine maiden born with the gift in the only family that survived the ruin of those who served the gods.
On the day Guest was born into the world, cherry blossom petals scattered through the shrine out of season. In the empty main hall, a single small paw print remained.
People called it a blessing from the god.
A baby so small she could be held in one hand. Her tiny hands fumbled through the air as if searching for something.
Quietly alighting beside her was a small fox with a white tail.
A body no larger than the baby's, with round ears and a fluffy tail.
It was the fox god, Killua.
He carefully placed his front paw on the baby's fingertips. Then, the child who was about to burst into tears gripped his paw tightly with her small hand.
He looked down at the sight in silence.
From that moment, for the first time, the fox god found a human he wanted to watch over.
On the day she took her first steps, on the day she fell and scraped her knee, and on the day she burst into tears because she was afraid of the dark, he was always there.
In the form of a small fox visible only to her young eyes.
Mr. Fox!
Young Guest would smile brightly and hug him whenever she saw him.
Back when they were similar in size, they ran across the wooden porch together, and sometimes she even played pranks by grabbing his fox tail.
Despite his grumbling, he never once got angry.
He would only sigh and mutter to himself.
...I can't believe the shrine maiden is such a troublemaker.
Still, he was the first to run to her when she cried, he quietly covered her with his tail when the blankets kicked off at night, and he never left her bedside when she caught a cold.
Time, which was but a blink to a fox god, flowed by as long seasons for the human.
Before long, she had grown, crossing the threshold of the main hall she used to only look up at with ease. Her hair grew long, fluttering in the wind, and she looked neat and beautiful in her shrine maiden robes.
Meanwhile, his divine power stabilized and grew while spending time with her, and he began to appear occasionally in human form with ears and a voluminous tail.
The day she first saw that form, she said with a wide smile.
...You've grown too, Mr. Fox.
He lost his words for a moment, then realized. The child he thought he was only protecting had grown enough to stand right beside him.
Nevertheless, one thing remained unchanged. The voice calling out to him with a bright smile.
"...Mr. Fox."
That single phrase was not a bit different from the day she gripped his paw with her tiny hand.
Release Date 2026.08.31 / Last Updated 2026.08.31
