From Paw to Foot — Haruki

We had meetings with the Princess over the past few weeks, until Himari came up with a brilliant plan.

“This is just from a story I’ve read, but I think it might be a good idea…” Himari gulped; her face turned red like camellias. It seemed she was a tad nervous and embarrassed.

“Go on.” The Princess said encouragingly. After weeks of planning, we were all eager to decide on a plan.

Himari proposed that we host a ball. On that day, Madame Meilin could cast the spell and hand out the charms to the citizens. Then, we would invite all the citizens living in the capital, and question them to find out who’s behind the fights. Other than that, the Queen could also publicly ban the use of orbs, forcing the culprit to confess.

That’s actually a terrific idea, nya!

The Princess cheerfully agreed and rushed off to ask for the Queen’s approval.

A day later, we were summoned by the Queen herself. We were summoned to the same hall where we first met the Queen. Back then, a ton of guards were surrounding her, but now, only Mr Jean and Mr Emile remained. The King, the Young Prince and the Princess were also present.

“I’ve decided to approve the plan of hosting a grand ball.” The Queen’s shoulders were slumped, and her eyes threatened to shut tight. The poor Queen, it must be exhausting to manage a nation raged with wars, nya. “Thank you, honoured travellers. And I must ask for your forgiveness for my outrageous demand. I hope I can provide sufficient rewards for your party.”

“Not at all, your majesty.” We bowed, and the Queen ordered Mr Emile to lead us to her treasure trove.

Treasure! I can’t wait to get my hands on those sparkly trinkets, nya!

Mr Emile was Mr Jean’s uncle, and he was a sophisticated gentleman. I heard he had been tasked with taking care of the royal children, and even took care of the Queen when she was a child. As for Mr Jean, he was around the Queen’s age and not as mature as his uncle. He can be really annoying sometimes, nya! He kept tugging at my tail whenever I blocked him from Himari. Himari didn't seem comfortable with him either.

Mr. Emile unlocked the door. “Please have a look, and each choose a treasure that suits your taste. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.” This was the first time I’ve ever heard him speak, nya!

Wooooooh!

The room was filled to the rim with valuables. Every item could cost a fortune! The treasures were carefully sorted. And one section immediately caught my eye.

Orbs.

Even for a powerful royal family, the cabinet had a tremendous amount of orbs. The rarer at the top, the more common on the bottom. The sight entranced me.

So many options, so many orbs! Nya! I clawed at the cabinet.

“Allow me to help.” A tall figure appeared next to me. He carefully set me down on the ground. “Might I make some suggestions?” It was Mr Emile.

“Sure, nya.” I stared at the rows of orbs. He picked out a few orbs. All were orbs made for non-humans, in other words, strays. “How about these?”

Emile showed me three orbs, each designed for strays: one for changing size, one for mimicking human abilities, and one for transformation into a human. My eyes were locked on the last one.

“You’re interested in this one?” Mr Emile noticed my paw extending towards the third orb. He closed his palm and put the other orbs away. “When the others are done with their choices, we shall head back to the Queen.” In other words, I won’t get the orb until the Queen gives her consent. Nya…

“What’s this?” Himari was holding a turquoise camera with flower stickers. “That’s a camera,” Meilin replied, with a spellbook in her hands. Seems like she finally began embracing magic, nya!

“I’m surprised you know of such rare items, Lady Meilin.” Mr Emile took the camera and spellbook from them. “There are lots of them from where I came from.” Meilin reluctantly handed over the spellbook. “Wait, what does it do?” Himari gaped at the camera curiously.

“It’s for capturing memories in pictures, nya!” Cameras were extremely rare in Elysium, as many people preferred paintings. Besides, even a single spell could capture a moment perfectly, so why bother having a camera?

Yulan chose a hairpin. It consisted of a lotus and a hyacinth pattern. Nya—strange combination indeed. Meanwhile, Jianyun chose a sword, which is understandable, considering he’s a soldier. Yulan’s choice was puzzling, though. I thought she never liked accessories.

We were led back to the Queen’s chambers, where the Queen personally gifted the treasures to each of us.

“Honoured Mr Haruki.” Queen Josephine handed me the orb, “I grant you the orb of transformation, and my blessing. May the path ahead of you shine bright as ever.”

“Thank you, your majesty—” As soon as I made contact with the orb, a light beam shot out, and the area was filled with mist.

I looked at the glowing orb in my hands and felt the ground beneath my feet. Wait, the ground? My feet? Human feet?

Wooooah!

I never expected the orb to work so fast!

I stared at my bare human body. It feels so cold without fur. Being only clothed in my red cape, I shivered uncontrollably. Mr Emile seemed to have expected this, because he threw a blanket over me quickly. Yulan and Jianyun carried me into a room to put on some garments.

Finally, I got to look at my own appearance in a mirror.

Black wavy hair with an orange patch. Nya! My eyes look enormous…My skin was considerably tanned compared to Jianyun’s, but it was still much lighter than my previously black fur. I had a substantially strong build, but...I looked up at Jianyun, who was helping me dress. He was a whole ten centimeters taller than I was. Yulan was even taller! For the first time in a long time, I felt short and tiny. The ceiling was so tall it felt unreachable. This feels…so thrilling!

“Yulan, nya. I don’t like these clothes.” It was clothing borrowed from the palace, but it felt too tight, too itchy.

“Well,” She sounded softer than usual, perhaps her soft spot for children? But no, nya, even if I'm short, I don’t look that young! “We can look for clothes that might fit you later. Put this on first. Poor Himari was traumatized by your sudden transformation. Luckily, the Queen didn’t seem to mind.”

When I was fully clothed, I tried walking out of the room by myself.

Ouch!

I fell on my butt.

It’s hard walking on two legs…and without a tail to balance myself.

Lesson one of being a human for Haruki:

Walking.