Chapter 92

Hoot, hoot.

The sound of an owl. Normally, when I wake up, I should hear chirping birds welcoming the morning—not the cry of an owl. That’s strange.

“What is it…?”

Another sound reached my ears faintly, almost like a hallucination. My mind was still groggy, and I thought it might be a dream.

“Last warning. Wake up.”

But the voice that followed was sharp, too vivid to be a dream—its irritation and faint anger palpable, unmasked and raw.

There was no denying that this was reality, not a dream.

I forced my heavy eyelids open. Through blurry vision, I saw a grey werewolf, but as my focus sharpened, Seira’s distinct form came into view.

“Hum… Miss Seira?”

“You’ve gone too far. I thought I might overlook you oversleeping since you’ve been so tired recently, but how could you collapse and sleep straight through to after work?”

“…Excuse me?”

After work?

I checked outside through squinted eyes. The sun was nowhere to be seen—only the moon floated in the sky. My gaze met an owl familiar perched on the roof across from mine.

The owl familiar twisted its neck at an unnatural angle, staring right at me before hooting again.

“What on earth were you doing last night?”

“Eh…?”

Last night? What *did* I do last night?

…

I can’t quite remember.

It’s not that the memory was erased—it’s as if it completely vanished. Perhaps I came straight home and slept? After all, I have been tired lately, and I must’ve dozed off immediately after lying down.

“Even when I was completely wasted, I at least woke up by noon—never by evening. This is the first time in my life I’ve done such a thing.”

What’s more, I’m still feeling fatigued even after sleeping so long. It’s surprising, to say the least.

“Anyway, if you’re awake, come downstairs and have dinner. Lin is waiting for you too.”

“I will come right down.”

As I attempted to rise from the bed after Seira’s statement,

“Ugh…”

I collapsed again.

“What’s wrong now?”

“It’s just… my body feels stiff…”

“You’re such a handful.”

Seira shot me a pitying glance before heading downstairs. I stretched my unusually stiff back and followed shortly after.

Lin was waiting calmly at the dining table.

Lin has recently entered a late bloomer phase of puberty. Because of this, she’s been pushing me away. Considering how close we used to be, with me practically raising her like a father—it feels odd, even sadder now.

If I want to progress to the next stages of our story, I need to resolve things quickly.

“Ah, Master! Did you sleep well? You woke up so late!”

Contrary to my worries, Lin greeted me with a bright smile. I wasn’t expecting it and ended up reacting awkwardly.

“Yes… well…”

“Hurry and join us for dinner! Seira said she bought a lot of delicious food?”

I nervously sat down next to her. Lin leaned closer, smiling broadly, and her seven tails wagged energetically.

This scene is so familiar.

And this is why food always gets mixed with Lin’s fur.

“I tried to wake you up, but you were sleeping so deeply. When I couldn’t wake you, I just let you sleep. You’re such a heavy sleeper, Master.”

“That seems to be due to the fatigue recently. Though I didn’t expect to sleep this long.”

“You’re weak because of that. Wouldn’t it be good to try some exercise, build strength, and increase your stamina? I checked, and Master really needs to improve stamina.”

“Not now—I’m too busy. I’ll think about it later.”

“Whenever you’re ready, just tell me! I’ll help!”

As Lin rubbed her cheek against my shoulder in an affectionate display, I couldn’t help but feel this proximity wasn’t what it had been just yesterday.

Her distance kept bouncing back and forth like a rubber band, making things awkward.

Unable to contain myself any longer, I quietly asked,

“Lin, aren’t we being a bit too close?”

“What are you talking about, Master? This is how we’ve always been.”

“But yesterday, Lin seemed uncomfortable around me. Why did it suddenly change?”

“Oh, that?”

Lin gave an enticing smile, the kind a fox would have.

“A woman’s secret.”

Ah… so that was it.

It wasn’t puberty; it was “that day.”

Since I know nothing about that kind of thing unless it’s directly explained to me… I don’t really get it.

“Anyway, does this mean things are fine now?”

“Yeah, my condition is top-notch!”

“In that case, it’s a relief.”

No matter the process—things worked out, so it’s all good.

***

A few more days passed since we dealt with the PaGyeSeung, and people came to realize the curse was entirely gone.

People who’d been shut inside their homes were now back out in the streets. Merchants re-opened their stores, and the city gradually regained its vitality.

Even Seira, as one of the government clerks, let out a sigh as she prepared for work again.

“Though I’ll miss it.”

Of course, it wasn’t entirely back to normal. The terrifying aspect of an epidemic is the lingering sense of unease it leaves, even after it subsides.

What if it comes back? What happens if I catch it by being around too many people?

Because of that, unless absolutely necessary, most people stayed indoors. It’s safe to say we’ve only recovered halfway.

“There must be a way to fix this.”

If we can figure out a solution so people can forget the epidemic and live in happiness, it might work. Surely, there’s something we can do.

Until then, to fully enjoy our rare period of peace, I took a stroll with Lin.

“Peace is a good thing, isn’t it?”

“Exactly!”

Lin has become a gumiho, and our relationship has grown closer again.

“Perhaps even closer than before.”

There’s nothing wrong with this. Except the persistent fatigue that won’t go away.

Even so, this is a decent start, and maybe I can successfully raise a gumiho as well…

“Master, we’re surrounded.”

“Huh?”

Surprised by Lin’s abrupt statement, I quickly looked around but didn’t see anything unusual.

But Lin clearly saw something. Her mood shifted abruptly.

The street noises grew louder.

In the distance, voices murmured amongst the crowd, but it was too far to tell what they were saying.

“What’s the matter?”

“That guy.”

“Which one?”

“The Lion Princess.”

The Lion Princess? If we’re talking about the Lion Princess in Vestia…

“Hey, boss!”

Before I could fully understand who she was referring to, a familiar and cheerful voice echoed.

The crowd parted to let through Female Lion Hilde, walking confidently with a group of fully-armed knights and soldiers following in formation behind her.

Hilde had her hands in her pocket, strutting casually, while a turtle-shell familiar lay under her feet.

The turtle familiar seemed to be hiding beneath the shell. She was kicking it around like a soccer ball.

“Is she crazy?”

Yes, she’s crazy.

“Oh, I was just about to visit you, but here we meet face-to-face. Lucky day.”

“Lucky?”

You’ve only brought me misfortune.

And Lin has told me through Yu Hwa that she’s suspicious about whether Lin is truly a gumiho. While Lin’s current status as a seven-tailed fox removes the immediate need to flee, seeing her is still not ideal.

She’s nothing more than a nuisance that doesn’t affect Lin’s goal of liberation.

“You recognize this red fox? She’s much bigger than I expected.”

“Yes. Even I didn’t expect my slave to grow so fast. Still, what business does a princess have with a mere shop owner like me?”

“Oh, not much. I just came for the fox.”

“What?”

Hilde calmly dropped an alarming statement as if it was just gossip.

“Recently, there’ve been strange and troubling incidents happening all over the kingdom. I’m convinced it’s all because of Hongho. The timing of when Hongho appeared in the kingdom matches up eerily well.”

“Hongho’s legend is not the cause. I’m standing right beside her and I’m completely fine.”

“That’s irrelevant. If you irritate me, there’s no need for another reason, and the citizens are trembling with fear.”

Hilde gestured for me to look around. The crowd was glaring at us with fear. In their eyes, it was Lin—not the PaGyeSeung—who brought the plague to the city.

“Because of that, we’ll be taking Hongho into custody. As a slave, you must have some kind of ownership mark, right? Hand her over. Let her go peacefully, and I’ll ensure your survival.”

Hilde said this as if she were doing me a favor.

This is no exaggeration—she genuinely likes me. Based on what I know about her, if she didn’t, her fist would have already been flying at me.

‘What should I do…’

Needless to say, handing over Lin isn’t an option. That leaves me with only one alternative—fighting Hilde. Lin is already entering combat mode, glaring at Hilde.

But fighting the princess here in the heart of the city would label us as terrorists, complicating our future actions.

“Hmm?”

As I was brainstorming solutions, the sky suddenly darkened.

An ominous cloud appeared in the clear sky, overshadowing the entire city.

Clearly unnatural.

People looked up at the sky in confusion, muttering among themselves.

Rumble!

Thunder struck, and lightning flashed through the dark clouds.

From the midst of the storm, a massive figure descended like a divine apparition.

Standing at least 2 meters tall, draped in dazzling golden armor, holding a giant spear taller than himself, with fiery red hair cascading down to his feet, and equine ears and a tail—it was unmistakable.

“Ah, you’re all gathered in one place.”

The Twelve Zodiac Beasts—one based on the horse, the Twelve Horse Demons (十二午鬼).

“Why now of all times?”

After the lion…

Now the horse.

This really feels like the Kingdom of Animals.

…

Ah… this *is* the Kingdom of Animals.

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