Chapter 29 ~ Spanning

"So, she's asked you to have a talk with me, is that it?" Meus asked, standing by a window in his study.

"Yes, sir. She did not tell me what it's about, but I think I have an idea..." It stung remembering the sheer distress on the apothecary's face when Kurai thought she was sharing an enjoyable experience.

"Well, I won't keep you in the dark. Irene and I have been discussing the future of the estate, and your name has come up. Do you recall when I mentioned relatives of mine who wished to be formally declared as the sole inheritors of the manor? Currently, I only have Irene listed in my will, along with some small concessions to Robin. She is not nobility, however, and while I trust her competence, her social status alone would make things very difficult for her to continue on with the arrangements I have provided for those closest to me, you included. However, giving in to my family's demands would certainly cause great distress to all of you as well if something were to happen to me. It's my older brother and sister, you see. They've always been partners in crime, and I don't mean that figuratively. I don't believe that Irene would fare well alone against their schemes, and poor Robin isn't capable of much in legal proceedings."

"Um..." This absolutely did not sound like what Irene was asking Kurai to learn about. "What does that have to do with..." She trailed off, uncertain at this point of how much she should tiptoe around the subject of sex.

"...Indeed, I should make it clear that this has a lot to do with you. You see, I have been meaning to talk to you about what you want in your life. Do you want to remain at the manor, or do you feel you wish to find your true calling elsewhere? If you do wish to remain here, it may be time I ask of you to take on certain responsibilities. That way, in case... in case something were to happen to me, you lot would not be at the mercy of my siblings."

"Uh..." She was certain at this point that there was a serious misunderstanding, but by now it sounded like this was too important a topic to ignore. "...What would you have me do, sir?"

"I would have you taught in the social graces enough that you would not be consumed by the machinations of others. I would also have you registered as an official resident of the Selland Estate. Unfortunately, I do not know how we would go about doing that. That is the reason I have not broached the subject until now. You're not a human, you see."

"I'm guessing that presents a problem."

"Yes. You need to legally be a citizen to be allowed any inheritance in Augeo. Without it, you won't be recognized no matter if I write your name down. And to become a citizen requires one of two options. Either having parentage by an existing citizen, or a lengthy legal process to forfeit your existing citizenship in another nation to gain citizenship here. Both methods require biological samples to be given, both to prove your hereditary status and to serve as unique identification as a bulwark against people making false identities. As you're not a human, you would be found out immediately and that would lead to... complications."

"I keep hearing that bad things will happen if the government knows I exist."

"Humans get dehumanized by those in power, Kurai. Humans still have certain rights and dignities, though. You would not be given the same respect. They would inevitably only see you as a threat to be eliminated or a resource to be exploited. I can't say which would be worse. Nothing you nor I say would sway them one bit. While your appearance is immaculate—"

"Oh, you're so sweet!"

"—I doubt your capabilities in perfectly replicating even the hereditary details that they would examine. That is the hurdle that I've not certain how to cross at this time. Had the circumstances been different, faking an ID might work, but my siblings would be able to see through it and exploit you in a heartbeat. Or rather, knowing my brother, he would accuse it of being fake no matter what, just in case he might be correct..."

"Well... what other options do we have?"

"None that I can think of."

"Hmm... Well... What if you freed Robin from being a slave and had him added instead of me?"

"Because he's a slave. Slaves have more legal rights than former slaves, believe it or not, because of their ties to their masters. A freedman loses their legal obligations to their masters in exchange for losing the legal protections that their master's social class provides. While there was leeway in the past, nowadays all freedmen immediately become on the same legal standing as the paupers, with severe restrictions on what they're allowed to accomplish. It's why I haven't wanted to free the young man. I cannot make him become legally recognized as nobility even if I freed him, and if I then entrusted the estate to him in my will, it would not hold up in court."

"So it wouldn't work if I saw enslaved and then immediately freed either..."

"They would require a biological sample even then, just to ensure you're legally being enslaved and aren't an upstanding citizen being trafficked. Especially when it comes to a young lady such as yourself."

"I really don't think slavery is better than human trafficking..."

"...I can understand that. However, the legal system has its own prerogatives regardless of what we think."

"Mmm..." Kurai scratched her chin, trying to think of any more options. "...Well... what if they did know I'm not a human in the first place?"

"We just talked about this."

"No, not telling them I'm a nova vitae. I mean, what if they were expecting something else? I met this one woman recently who called herself a 'beast'... Ehehe, I should tell you more about that later, but..." In spite of Irene's reaction, Kurai still couldn't help her giddiness at telling others of her experience. "Well, what if I introduced myself as one of those?"

"Oh, that fad..." He didn't seem happy at the thought. "That wouldn't do much good. Those... individuals might have gotten some organic alterations, but their biology is still distinctly human."

"Oh... What about the kitsune? Is it the same for them too?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know, the foxfolk! They're like the beasts, aren't they? Would they still come up as human?"

"Well... no, they wouldn't." He gave the novae a look as if she was expressing a dangerous thought. "...They also don't have human rights, Kurai."

"But can they get citizenship?"

The professor didn't respond, but his brow was furrowed in consternation.

"Well? Can they?"

"...It has happened before. A very, very scant few times."

"And if my samples came back as non-human while they were expecting it from a foxfolk...?"

"..." The professor did not seem thrilled at all by the thought. There was a vague hint of begrudging respect in his frown. "...They would only be able to tell it's non-human. There is nothing in place for determining that it would be non-vulpine. But again, that is because they have no rights, and so little care is paid in that direction..."

"But citizens do have rights, so if I was approved as a citizen from that approach, wouldn't it all work out?"

"Hrm..." He really did not seem happy at the thought. "...Have you ever actually met a foxfolk before? I think you're approaching this a bit too quixotically. It's not a good solution."

"It is a solution though, isn't it? Besides, I also have no rights, so it's not like I'm losing anything."

"You would lose the ability to blend in. You couldn't simply go around adding and removing parts whenever it suited you. You would have to commit to your new identity, and you would be discriminated against very often in public, to say the least."

"Well, couldn't I have a kitsune appearance for legal proceedings and keep my current form for public activities?"

"...I don't agree with this. You don't need to try to split yourself into different people. There has to be another way."

"I can do it though, Mr Meus! I'm sure I can manage it!"

"You already have hallucinations just from reading books. I do not want to imagine what this could do to your psyche."

"I can handle it!"

"...Even if you insist, I can't accept it like this. At the very least, you should see the rift where the foxfolk reside. When you see the squalor they're known for, then you'll understand the difficulties that you're inviting with this idea."

"You know, maybe I will do just that. But even if they all lived in latrines, I still don't see any alternatives."

"There's always more options, my dear. We only need to find them."

"Oh, I don't know... At any rate, I don't even think this is what Miss Irene wished for me to speak to you about."

"Why do you say that?"

"Ehe... Well, you see..." Once again, the novae was more than happy to share her experiences. She did not show an iota of shame in saying such things to her own father figure. While he didn't seem to have the same degree of soul crushing agony that the apothecary had, Meus still had to exasperatingly interrupt her before she got to what was, in her own words, "the good part".

"I think I understand enough about which other talk our dear Irene wanted you to have with me. Oh... Oh my." Again, not the same degree of agony, but the topic still seemed to physically harm him somehow.

"I really have to ask why people keep reacting so strongly when I'm just talking about having a bit of fun."

"Dear me... Yes, well, there's several talks we need to have about this, I believe. I... I need to get something cold to drink before we begin. Goodness gracious!"

Kurai cluelessly followed the man as he calmed his beating heart down to an undistracting level. In spite of the ribald things the novae just spoke of, she seemed innocent as could be as she politely waited for him to prepare himself. It was only then that they began having a long, long discussion about the topic of sex from several angles and approaches. Somehow the notion that it's taboo to simply start sharing stories of one's own sexual escapades managed to find its way into every single lesson. It was prominent enough that even Kurai began to finally take the hint. The more she understood, the more embarrassing her own memories became.