“Hmm? The Death God? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Stop with the nonsense and tell me if there are no fish! If there aren’t any, then go away.”
“Eek! D-Death God! Don’t ever mention the word ‘Death God’ in front of me again, you black-haired foreigner!”
“I saw the Death God… a huge scythe. When it swung, the soul floated away… squeak.”
The cat person fainted, bubbles coming out of its mouth. I had already seen this reaction several times.
Some claim they’ve never seen a Death God.
Some freak out just at the mention of the word ‘Death God’.
Some faint completely.
I sighed, deciding I wouldn’t gain any more information by asking further, and left the alleyway.
Seira reported the situation with an impassive expression.
“Though the cat people claimed they were attacked by the Death God, it seems safe to say that, apart from the psychological shock, there was almost no actual damage.”
“Is that so…”
“If there’s no damage, then it’s a good thing, but it’s a complicated reaction. Did I miss something?”
“No, I’m just tired.”
I made a vague excuse to Seira, but there was one piece of information she didn’t know.
‘The contract has been completely severed.’
The soul contracts I had with the cat people were all cut off. They were no longer my slaves. Since I can’t set them free, I can’t earn any points either.
The fish I had invested until now had turned into mere volunteer work to fill their bellies.
It was a painful loss, especially because I was already in a point deficit, but it wasn’t a matter that warranted my life being at stake. I wasn’t at the stage of struggling for money just yet.
It was a blessing that my connection with Lin had not been severed. I had experienced that once when I had freed someone; they couldn’t be re-contracted afterward.
The problem lay elsewhere.
[Completely liberate the main slaves. Current count 1/5]
The only quest assigned to me since I possessed the world of Taosul. The number that should have been 2 after freeing Mirabel and Arfia had changed to 1.
This shouldn’t be happening.
This is one thing that must not change, regardless of anything else.
‘Why on earth did the number decrease?’
I didn’t think it was an error. I shouldn’t be thinking in game terms here. This meant that something had happened with the two individuals I had freed.
Mirabel.
Or Arfia.
‘It’s highly likely that it’s Mirabel.’
The appearance of the Death God caused the number of liberated individuals to drop overnight after the Death God appeared to remove the shackles of the slaves. I don’t think it was a coincidence.
Something must have happened to Mirabel.
What could the problem possibly be?
As a witch, Mirabel handled all sorts of magic. Given that quite a bit of time had passed, she would be able to use even more magic than when she was with me.
So did she somehow re-contract through some means?
….
‘Does that even make sense?’
Who would willingly become a slave again in this world? My mind was in turmoil, making all sorts of unreasonable assumptions.
Re-contracting was, of course, out of the question.
So what other possibilities could I think of?
….
I was completely at a loss.
What should I do?
Should I go check on Mirabel’s condition?
But I have no means of searching for her, and if I go and take revenge…
I felt dizzy.
Things were not going as I had hoped.
Suddenly, someone tugged on my hand. Looking down, I saw Lin looking up at me. She had managed to walk on two legs despite her moments of clumsiness when running away.
…Right.
I must not be swayed by variables.
What’s important right now is Lin. Worrying about something I don’t fully understand is pointless. I should sort Lin out first, then think about the rest afterward.
Think positively.
Thanks to the Death God appearing, I grew closer to Lin, right? Because of that, I can move on to the next stage.
“Lin, we have a place to go.”
[The Fox that Brings Misfortune]
It’s not new to mention that Lin is a Gumiho. The nine-tailed fox from the tales.
She doesn’t suck the life force of humans and lacks the ambition to become human, so I could argue that she’s somewhat different.
The condition for Lin’s complete liberation.
Solve the trials brought about by misfortune, and raise her to be a proper Gumiho. In the end, it’s about liberating her from misfortune.
For that, the first step is Lin’s basic growth.
“Lin, defeat the slimes.”
That’s how to raise Lin.
As both a beast person and a youkai, when Lin defeats monsters, she can absorb their power. As she absorbs energy, her spirit power, which is the source of her strength, increases.
When her spirit power increases, she grows stronger and grows further.
In other words, to help Lin grow, I need to force her to hunt. So I took Lin to the swamp where the slimes reside.
“Meow?”
But Lin just stared blankly at the slimes in front of her. The expression of ‘Why should I?’ was evident. Although her fondness for me has increased, she doesn’t obey unconditionally.
But there’s no need to worry.
“For every ten slimes, you’ll get pork.”
“…….”
“…Beef.”
“Meow!”
Lin finally reacted when I put rewards on the line. Her fox ears perked up as if a light bulb had gone off in her mind.
She certainly knows the value of beef. After being treated to expensive meat every time, it’s no wonder her taste has become somewhat noble.
Lin placed her two arms on the ground, getting into a hunting stance.
Yes, all I needed was for her to follow my orders. If she shows enthusiasm, I’ll respond accordingly.
I vigorously extended my arm forward.
“Go, Lin. Lightning Speed!”
“Meow!”
“Bite and Crush!”
“Meow!”
“Wound of the Wind!”
“Meow!”
Together with Lin, we dashed through the swamp.
As we rummaged through the swamp, we found slime after slime, ripping them apart and chewing through their cores.
The energy flowing out of the dead monsters surged into Lin. Perhaps it was her first time absorbing energy; Lin displayed a pattern of surprise.
But, as she absorbed more energy, she became accustomed to it, and now she was hunting slimes on her own without me having to command her.
It seemed to be instinctual behavior.
Over the course of the hunt, Lin had already caught thirty slimes.
‘Should we head back soon?’
Even though I wanted to continue hunting, we had already taken down all the slimes nearby. As we couldn’t use magic, we had to rely on Lin’s sense of smell, but slimes have no odor.
This wasn’t the only day for hunting, and there was no need to struggle searching through the woods.
“Let’s head back for now.”
“Meow.”
Just as I was about to turn back, Lin started barking, focused on a certain spot. A rabbit was grazing on the grass.
But it was a bit bigger than usual.
Big teeth, and topped with horns.
It was no regular rabbit; it was a horned rabbit.
Highly aggressive, and with formidable piercing power in its horns, many a would-be hunter has become skewered after underestimating it.
Of course, Lin would be more than capable of hunting it. Her basic stats are on a different level.
“Let’s turn back. There’s no need to hunt that.”
But I didn’t want to ignore it. The current Lin relied on her physical prowess to hunt instinctively. If she caught that, blood would surely splatter—I’d be the one cleaning it up.
I hate blood.
But there was something I overlooked: the more monsters Lin caught, the more her hunting instincts awakened.
Lin, who used to run away, had discovered the fun of hunting. In her eyes right now, the horned rabbit = meat = toy.
Got it!
“Wait, just a second—”
I didn’t even have a chance to stop her.
Lin shot out like a bullet.
The horned rabbit, leisurely munching grass, turned to look at Lin in surprise, but it was already too late. Lin swung her arm wide, her claws sharpened.
Swoosh.
The moment her claws touched the flesh of the horned rabbit, it smoothly sliced through without any resistance, like the wind passing through.
Before it could even let out a scream, the horned rabbit was caught in Lin’s grip.
The horned rabbit became a chunk of meat.
Lin looked down at it and returned to my side. Looking up at me, she wagged her tail. It was as if she was saying, ‘I did well, right? Praise me!’
Should I praise her for this, or ask her why she recklessly charged in?
After much pondering, I decided to pat her head.
Lin tilted her chin up and placed her hands on her hips. The look on her face was one of triumph, which made me chuckle.
‘It looks like I’ll have to buy new clothes after all.’
Her once pristine, white dress was splattered with blood. In a way, it resembled a painting done with watercolor on a sketchbook. It actually suited Lin, the fox, more than I would have expected.
However, I had no intention of going around wearing blood-stained clothes. They wouldn’t wash out.
Next time I buy clothes, I’ll get several of the same outfit.
“Meow!”
“Shh, stay still. If you run around the house looking like that, Seira will kick you out.”
In Seira’s house bathroom.
I was busy washing Lin, creating bubbles galore. From slime mucus to blood, all sorts of things were clinging to her tail. It was embarrassing how everyone turned to stare as I brought her here.
Even when I tried to sneak some distance away, Lin followed right beside me like a ghost. While I appreciated her loyalty, I wished she would act like a stranger just this once.
I completely understood the heart of a parent needing to accompany their child wearing a princess dress.
“Kiiing…”
It seemed like Lin hated the bath quite a lot, groaning in displeasure. I wanted to finish up as quickly as possible, but it wasn’t going as smoothly as I hoped.
The slime mucus had hardened and stuck to her tail like gum.
“Ugh, this isn’t coming off. Should I use hot water to loosen it up? Or should I just cut it off…?”
“Kiiing?!”
“Eh?”
Lin jumped up in shock, splashing water and soap bubbles all over the bathroom walls.
Even in a place like this, she was pulling off escape maneuvers, but she was already covered in soap. In a split second, Lin slipped and fell right into the bathtub.
“Kiiing!”
Soaked through, Lin jumped up again. She charged through the door into the living room.
“Wait a minute! Dry off!”
Lin didn’t hear me. The naked Lin dashed around the house, creating complete chaos just as the door opened.
“I’m back! I found skewered meat being sold in the market! I didn’t buy it for myself, but for Lin…?”
“Oh.”
Our eyes met, and Seira’s eyes widened in horror.
Thud.
She dropped the bag onto the floor. From the looks of it, there were dozens of skewers spilling out, and the swaying of the tail that was previously moving left and right came to a sudden halt.
“Kiiing, Kiiing…!”
Lin clung to Seira, pointing a finger at me and starting to whimper sadly. As Seira glanced down at Lin, her gaze shifted back to me again.
At this rate, I might end up getting soaked!
I quickly racked my brain to find a perfect escape route from this situation.
“It was her fault! It’s all her fault!”
*
“To properly clean the sticky residue from the soap, soak it in warm water and gently comb it to avoid damaging the tail.”
“Meow.”
“That man is a bad slave trader. You never know what strange things he might do. Lin, as a girl, should be able to do it on her own.”
“Haha, who do you take me for? Where would you find such a good slave trader like me…?”
“Pin your ears back and listen carefully.”
“Yes.”
My ace in the hole was utterly futile.
I was on my knees, waiting for punishment.
