Chapter 75

“Lin?”

An unexpected situation arose. Lin blocked Persi’s approach. The gaze directed at Persi was reminiscent of how one might watch out for an enemy.

A cold, frozen atmosphere. Persi alternated her gaze between Lin and her tail.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Don’t get close to the Master.”

“Why?”

“You might do something harmful.”

“What do you mean?”

With a single word Lin uttered, Persi, who called herself the cat princess, instantly fell to the level of a potential criminal.

No one would feel pleased upon hearing such words. Persi raised her tail and crossed her arms.

“Harmful? Me? Ha, that’s absurd.”

Persi’s mood shifted from when she was wagging her tail at Carami. Now, although known as the haughty princess of the cat café, she was a seasoned veteran who had experienced numerous trials in the back alleys.

The fox girl in front of her felt trivial in comparison.

“If something goes wrong, it won’t be because of me, but because of you, Hongho.”

“What?”

“Didn’t the rumors spread widely? You were hugging the bleeding proprietor right in the middle of the street. The Master getting hurt is because of you, isn’t it?”

There had been absolute chaos during that time. Ultimately, it was said that Hongho had eaten her master. Lin had turned a blind eye for her, but now she was baring her fangs without appreciation.

“If you’re worried about the Master’s safety, all you need to do is separate yourself instead of trying to stop me.”

“……”

Lin, who could only glare at Persi without saying anything, dropped her head. She was still not trained enough to defeat Persi, who hailed from the street.

The atmosphere surely indicated a decisive victory for Persi. That was until Lin raised her head, her face trembling with tears.

“Master… is that true? Is it because of me that you’re in danger?”

“Excuse me?”

“Should I just stay away from the Master? If I’m not around, can the Master live normally? If that’s the case… okay, I’ll disappear.”

Wiping her tears with her sleeve and trying to leave the shop, Lin was abruptly stopped by Carami, who had been watching the entertaining cat fight unfold.

With an expression that seemed like she would burst into tears at any moment, Lin continued.

“Let go, Master. You can’t be with me. When I’m around, the Master gets unhappy.”

“Unhappy? That’s absolutely not true.”

“But Persi said so. She said it’s all my fault…”

“There’s a misunderstanding at play here. Persi, no matter how angry you are, you shouldn’t poke at someone’s weaknesses. What you just did was too much.”

“Excuse me?”

“Apologize to Lin.”

Persi was taken aback. After all, it was Lin who started the whole confrontation. She had treated an innocent person as a criminal. Even if she were to stop a passing canine, they would surely take Lin’s side.

Yet, what Persi had overlooked was that their master-servant relationship was not ordinary, and Lin’s desirability was remarkably high.

“Persi, hurry up.”

Only now did she realize. Because she was so accustomed to peace, she had failed to notice promptly.

Victim act.

All of this was that crafty fox’s devious plan. Persi clenched her fists, her pent-up frustration translating into strength.

“…I’m sorry. I spoke out of anger.”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t quite catch that. Could you please say it again?”

Persi gritted her teeth tightly.

“I said I’m sorry.”

“I don’t really feel any sincerity… but since you’re the Master’s employee, I’ll let it slide this once. You’re an auntie, after all.”

As Lin spoke, the gloomy elements within her had long since dissipated. Moreover, even though it was for a very brief moment, Persi caught sight of it.

From an angle Carami couldn’t see, Lin’s lips curled up.

Lin pressed her body tightly against Carami’s arm.

“Let’s go, Master. The aunties need to welcome the customers, and we might be a disturbance.”

“Right. Then, we’ll be on our way.”

“Goodbye, aunties~”

When the two were about to leave the store, Lin casually turned her head. Without uttering a word, she moved her lips, casting a spell to implant a voice in the heads of the cat people.

– Don’t you dare look at the master; wag your tails diligently for the customers, cats.

***

“Lin, please don’t say things like that in the future.”

As we distanced ourselves from the shop, I spoke up.

Lin, who had been smiling ambiguously, changed her expression to one of innocent confusion, as if she didn’t understand the situation.

“Don’t say that? What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb. Do you think I won’t figure it out?”

The root cause of the recent argument was Lin. It was undeniably Lin’s fault. Crossing the line by treating an innocent person as a perpetrator was too much.

Yet, knowing this, I prioritized my relationship with Lin, so I had to side with her nonetheless.

“But I genuinely worry about the Master… remembering what happened last time, my heart tightens… what if the Master gets hurt again…”

“That needs to be assessed with whom you’re dealing. Persi is an employee I have officially hired. Don’t do something like that again.”

“Lin really does worry about the Master, though. Fine, I understand.”

Lin clicked her tongue as if discontent with being scolded, yet she still stayed close to me.

That was it. As Lin grew, I could feel something on my arm that hadn’t existed just a month ago. The moment I mentioned it, I was trapped in a soft sensation.

“Lin, can you not walk so closely?”

“Why?”

“It feels burdensome when you stick to me so tightly.”

“Do you mean to say you’re getting tired of being close to Lin?”

“Not at all…”

“Just kidding. I’m staying close in case something happens.”

As soon as she finished, a gust of wind blew, and an outdoor billboard flew toward me. Just before it was about to hit me, Lin kicked it away with all her might.

Bang!

The billboard flew off in a distant arc and crashed somewhere in the city.

“See?”

“……”

“Everything is for the Master’s safety. This is one thing that Lin will not concede.”

Lin asserted her stance with a determined expression. It seemed that the injuries I suffered that day had turned into a massive trauma for her. Considering how obsessive she was about it.

Her tails had indeed multiplied to five. Since she had surpassed half, the intensity of the misfortunes that Lin might attract had certainly increased. Back when she was just a single-tailed creature, I had nearly faced death.

To me, Lin was both a hazardous creature threatening my life and a paradoxical protector from dangers.

“Ha, I understand.”

If I wanted to get along, I needed to stick close.

What choice did I have?

As soon as my permission was given, Lin smiled widely and pulled me closer. I let out a heavy sigh and headed toward Seira’s workplace.

A border region filled with various species. As expected, I spotted Seira, who was in charge of the immigration inspection. I waved and called out to her with joy.

“Seira!”

Upon hearing my voice, Seira’s ears perked up. In an instant, she shoved her head in my direction. The moment our eyes met, her pupils dilated.

She passed the work to the employee beside her and marched toward us with long strides.

“It’s you…! Where have you vanished to, and why are you only showing up now?”

Rather than explaining every detail, I subtly showed her my scarred abdomen. I summarized the events from a month ago.

“So you’ve been in the Celestial Pavilion this entire time? Not secretly escaping?”

“Why would I run away? Is there anyone as clean as me? I was with Lin and came to find you as soon as I woke up.”

Seira blinked in surprise.

“Lin?”

The moment she belatedly recognized Lin’s presence, her eyes widened even further than when she first saw me.

“…Lin?”

“Hi Seira~ Have you been well?”

“Is this person Lin…? But she’s so much shorter…?”

Lin, keeping an eye on her surroundings, spread her five tails like a fan.

“Tada~ Seira, my tails have grown!”

“You have five tails?”

“They usually grow early at this age, you know.”

I tried to brush it off with a quick diversion, but it seemed to have no effect. Seira turned her head sharply, glaring at me.

“Stop talking nonsense. Last time, you clearly said you were a single-tailed creature! This is completely…!”

“Wow~ I can’t believe Lin was a Gumiho all along. I never would have imagined that.”

“See, Master~ I’m surprised too.”

Haha. Take that.

Previously, I was alone, but now it seems Lin has learned to be audacious as well?

No, she had been audacious before, but now it felt different from back then. It was no longer the innocent audacity of a child, but rather the clever shrewdness of a fox girl.

As expected, Seira was stunned. Taking advantage of that gap, I switched the topic.

“Do you know how shocked I was when I returned after a month only to find the house gone? I heard that you broke it.”

“Who said that?”

“Lin did.”

Seira seemed to have a headache just thinking about that moment, pressing her forehead with her hand. Then, unable to hold back, she shouted loudly.

“It’s because of you two! I specifically said not to go up to the second floor! You came in bleeding!”

“Come on, Seira~ It’s hurtful to say that. Didn’t we nearly die because of you?”

“It was your fault for causing that incident! I lost my home overnight! I can’t even receive any support for taking care of Hongho! Right now, I’m stuck in the office quarters!”

“……”

Seira unleashed her anger and sorrow without any filters. I was seeing this passionate side of her for the first time. It truly made me feel the struggles of a civil servant living day by day.

It was tough to interfere in that atmosphere. Lin, who caught my eye with a glance, nodded as if she had made up her mind and transformed into a child Lin with a single tail.

“Seeya, I’m sorry. Lin was wrong. Can you forgive me if you look at my face?”

Such cleverness.

She had pinpointed that people were weak to little children.

“No. Go away. I’m not in the mood right now.”

However, even the charm of young Lin was not enough to assuage Seira’s fury. It became evident how important homeownership was, whether in modern or medieval times.

Lin shook her head at me, indicating that I was wrong. Since the slave had caused a disturbance, it was my turn as the master to step in.

“I’ve recently heard that cat cafés are making quite a profit. It seems everyone worked hard while I was away.”

“What about it? Are you bragging about having money?”

“The problem is even if we have money, we have no place to live. Inns won’t take us in, and the house has been sold. We don’t have many acquaintances nearby to find a place under someone else’s name. The only ones who come to mind are Bolt and Seira.”

“…What about it?”

“I noticed that District 3 is quite popular, with many well-received shops nearby. Oh, and it seems that it’s close to where Seira works?”

By the time I started mentioning this, Seira had gone quiet and was merely listening. Not to mention, I landed the final blow.

“Since we’re looking for a place to live, I think we should apologize to Seira and see if we can find a house in District 3 under her name. Ah, but since Seira is working, going to look at houses….”

“I’ll take a half-day leave.”

That day, we signed the contract for our new house.