Chapter 69

Hilde… well, Lioness.

I feel like I had a middle name, but I can’t quite remember it. It’s not very important anyway. All that matters is that she is the princess of Vestia.

A combative personality. Despite being the princess of a nation, she boldly reveals her arms and abdomen, which are toned with muscle.

She stirs up everything she can see and crushes anything that annoys her — the lioness of Vestia.

Moreover, Hilde is constantly looking for an opportunity to kill Lin, the gumiho. It was on the pretext of the kingdom’s safety.

From the princess’s standpoint, it can be seen as the correct action, but from my position, where I need to free Lin, she is a villain I must avoid at all costs.

In fact, that security is merely a justification; for the most part, it’s just for killing time.

Hilde is approaching the store.

This is not good.

“Lin, hide inside the store for a moment. You must not come out until I call you.”

“Is this hide-and-seek?”

“Yes.”

“I got it!”

Lin quickly enters deeper into the store.

Someday, there will come a day when I will be involved with Lin too, but it’s too early for that now.

With her hands in her pockets, Hilde walks like a ruffian. Perhaps because the street is so chaotic, no one seems to recognize her.

Only Seira rushes out in her slippers to greet Hilde.

“Princess Hilde, it is my honor to see you.”

“Hmm? Who are you?”

“I am Seira, the team leader of the immigration department.”

“Aha, I see. Nice to meet you. But why is someone from the immigration department here? Isn’t it during work hours?”

“I’m out for a business trip.”

Hilde lightly nods as if she understands. With her head bowed, Seira cautiously asks.

“By the way, I wonder why the princess has come here without an escort…”

“They say this place is a hot spot these days, right? I was curious, so I came to check it out. Who is that human behind you?”

“She is Carami, the owner of the cat café, princess.”

“Oh, so you are the owner here? Perfect timing. I wanted to see your face anyway.”

She wanted to see me?

Hilde?

‘Did Yu Hwa perhaps tell her?’

She is one of the few who knows Yu Hwa’s true identity. Hilde has quite a close relationship with Yu Hwa.

Could it be that the old hag, unable to act on her contract, sent Hilde to eliminate Lin?

I cannot know.

My mouth goes dry.

I try to moisten my lips, but it’s no use.

“Hey.”

“Yes, princess.”

“Which do you think is superior, dogs or cats?”

What a ridiculous question.

She almost seemed cute for a moment like an adorable cat.

I quickly caught on to why Hilde came here and the intent behind her question, and I found an answer that would surely please her.

“Of course, it’s cats.”

“Really? You’re not just saying that because I’m here, are you?”

“Why would I run a cat café if I didn’t? It’s because I like cats.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

Hilde nods as if convinced. It’s a relief that Lin isn’t here. If she were, she might have screamed, “Jju is a loser!” or something.

However, even if Lin was there, I would have given the same answer. Seira even slightly moves her head, which means my answer was very good.

“Those guys on the other side are part of the dog faction, right? Remember that clearly.”

Ugh, who advocates for dogs, anyway?

What a sight.

“I need to see the face of the one who opened that dog café. Do you know him?”

“I’ve never seen him before.”

I don’t look in mirrors, so that’s not a lie.

‘Absolutely mustn’t get caught.’

If it were Hilde, she might just smash things if she really didn’t like something. She’s that much of a crazy person.

“Oh, this is no fun. I’ll be going now, hey owner.”

“Yes, princess.”

“Does it make sense that cats and dogs are equal? Teach those foolish ones who is superior.”

Hilde stares at me with cold eyes.

“If you come back next time and those things are still rampant, I will consider it your incompetence that has dishonored cats. Understand?”

“Yes, understood.”

A few days later, a notice was posted at the dog café.

[The dog tribe declares that it has lost to cat people. We acknowledge our defeat and will cease operations as of today. To our valued customers…]

“What does this mean! Who decided to close down?”

“Oh ho ho! Should’ve spent more money then, huh? Ah~ I’m going to get a massage at the cat café~”

People are causing a commotion at the dog café. Cat people and cat factions couldn’t hide their grinning smiles as they looked at them like clowns.

In contrast, I was sunk in gloom.

“My money… I still had a long way to take from them. Gone somewhere….”

“Who told you to provoke a fight? You’re reaping what you sow.”

Seira looks at me with disdainful eyes. I didn’t know Hilde was going to show up suddenly.

It was then that I began to want to treat someone like a slave and make them work hard.

***

“Here is the financial report.”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Celestial Pavilion.

I shared with Yu Hwa the details of the business from the past month.

Yu Hwa conjured up a round table and chairs out of the clouds and tilted a teacup as she reviewed the report. Her appearance was indistinguishable from that of an immortal.

“You’ve done quite a big job. Stirring up conflict among species.”

“Oh, about that. I never thought it would turn out this way. To me, they all seemed like the same demi-humans; I don’t understand why they fight. I hope they can get along.”

Yu Hwa’s sharp gaze shot through the report.

“You speak well.”

“It’s basic for a merchant. Thank you.”

Yu Hwa let out a long breath and shook her head. Then she set the report down.

“How is it?”

“The results are marginal, but I passed, and no need to mention its fame. It’s a pass.”

I let out a small sigh of relief inwardly. I believed I would pass, so my reaction was all that much.

“Since you’ve passed your test, I, too, must keep my promise.”

Yu Hwa pulls out a contract from thin air. She adds a few more lines to what was previously written.

She will teach Lin sorcery.

The place of instruction will be the Celestial Pavilion.

“The Celestial Pavilion can minimize the impact of misfortunes. It will likely be just you and me inside.”

“Thank you.”

“This isn’t the time for thanks. As I’ve mentioned before, the aura of death surrounds you. It will intensify because you’re with the gumiho.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You’re quite stubborn.”

Once again, Yu Hwa lets out a deep sigh and shifts her gaze to Lin.

“Gumiho, how well can you manage spirit power?”

“I am not a gumiho! Lin is Lin!”

“…Alright, Lin. Have you ever handled spirit power?”

“Spirit power?”

Lin shows a response as if she doesn’t even know what spirit power is.

“I’ve explained it to you before.”

“Jju? Hmm….”

Lin leans with her arms crossed, squinting her eyes while searching her memory.

She should be able to. I’ve explained it a few times. At that time, she even said, “Ah-ha, I completely understand!” while eating meat.

“I don’t know!”

That was a lie.

Where did she learn to tell only lies?

It seems that only a true gumiho will do.

“Looks like we have to start from the basics….”

***

“If humans possess magical power, then we youkai possess spirit power.”

Yu Hwa sits on the floor, and Lin sits down beside her, turning her back to Yu Hwa. Yu Hwa places her hand on Lin’s back, examining the flow of spirit power.

“Youkai can grow their spirit power by absorbing the vital energy of living beings. Have you done that before?”

“I have! I caught a rabbit with Jju!”

“Right, what you absorbed from them is spirit power.”

Unlike regular magical beasts, youkai can steadily grow when they absorb vital energy. Just like how an insignificant eye youkai can become a snow woman.

Of course, Lin has a higher base rank as a gumiho compared to an average youkai. She can become strong enough without absorbing any vital energy.

Even so, it’s like gathering dust to make a mountain.

“Do you recall when you released spirit power during my arrest?”

“Hmm?”

“It must have been an unconscious action. But that’s okay. Your body doesn’t forget even if your mind does.”

Yu Hwa spins Lin’s flow of spirit power rapidly.

Lin’s eyes grow wide.

“Do you feel it? This is the spirit power you hold.”

“Wow!”

“Now, try to focus and release it all at once.”

“Like pooping?”

“……However you like.”

Lin lets out a grunt and begins to exert herself. For a moment, slender threads of spirit power dance around her body.

Whoosh!

Flames, like those that burned before, flare up from Lin.

“It’s red!”

“It’s pink. Once you can handle spirit power freely, it will lead to the next stage…”

“Wow? Wow?”

Yu Hwa trails off. The flames of spirit power igniting from Lin began to flicker, growing smaller and larger in sync with her nodding.

Is this truly the gumiho?

Her learning speed is exceptional.

It’s fun to teach her at this rate.

Now we move on to the next stage.

What can be called the essence of sorcery.

“This time, let’s create a fox bead.”

The fox bead. It is a sphere that contains the essence of the sorcery used by youkai and a medium to maximize power.

There’s a saying that if a dragon has a precious pearl, then a youkai has a fox bead, illustrating how important it is.

“Now, gather your hands. Think of creating a sphere in between, and gather your spirit power. Focus.”

“Hmm…”

Lin quietly breathes deeply and brings her hands together. She frowns and glares at the space in between. All her nerves are concentrated.

The spirit power that had been leaking out diminishes, and soon it begins to gather on Lin’s small hands, wrapping together like fine threads.

Lin sweats profusely, showing greater concentration than when eating.

The threads come together to form a small sphere.

“Now, compress it.”

With Yu Hwa’s guidance, she compresses the sphere omni-directionally to the limit. She creates a tiny dot, one that cannot be compressed further.

“Now, while maintaining this shape, pour spirit power into it little by little.”

Lin pours spirit power into it. The dot slowly grows in size as if it’s breathing.

Before long, what floated in Lin’s hand was a small sphere that could certainly be called a bead.

“It’s done.”

“Haah, haah, haah….”

Lin’s body shakes. Forgetting even to breathe while concentrating, she ends up gasping for air.

Yu Hwa checks Lin’s bead. It’s about the size of a fist. Yet, the bead, infused with Lin’s spirit power, glows softly in pink.

It was a very pretty fox bead.

“You’ve made it well. No need to remake it at this level.”

If its form was strange or if there were blemishes, it would need to be crushed and remade repeatedly for days. Fortunately, Lin did not need that.

Yu Hwa hands the bead back to Lin. Lin couldn’t take her eyes off her fox bead.

“Lin’s bead…?”

“Yes, it’s your bead.”

Lin, who was staring intently, shook her fox bead in excitement.

“Jju! It’s Lin’s bead! Isn’t it pretty?”

“It’s pretty.”

“Hehe.”

Lin gazes at the bead again. Handling it as if it were a precious item, she even wipes it with her clothes. She must be so excited that her three tails are whipping up the air like a propeller.

Watching that scene, Yu Hwa briefly smiled with a complicated expression, then quickly hardened her face.

“It’s still too early to be happy. This is just the beginning.”

“Don’t worry, old hag! If it’s Lin, I’ll do it easily!”

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