EP2. Government Agency - 2 (Revised)
EP2. Government Agency - 2 (Revised)
"Umm...?"
The desk felt hard and cold beneath me.
In the pitch-black darkness surrounding me, my consciousness gradually sharpened.
"I must have fallen asleep while thinking."
The last thing I remembered was coming home and sitting at my desk.
I had been agonizing over the Director's proposal, wrestling with it again and again.
And then, without realizing it, exhaustion had taken over and I had fallen asleep.
"Uuuutcha!!"
My body felt stiff and achy, so I stretched.
As I did, the blanket that had been draped over me slipped off and dropped to the floor with a soft thud.
...I owed Miho thanks for that.
I had absolutely no memory of pulling a blanket over myself.
In other words, Miho had covered me with it. I knew that at once.
"Hm?"
I meant to stroke Miho's head as thanks while she slept.
But for some reason, no matter where I looked, I couldn't find her.
The only one sound asleep on my bed was Tia.
Miho was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did she go?"
The desk clock read 3:30.
It was the dead of night, when everything lay dark beneath the moon and most people were fast asleep. Yet Miho was nowhere to be found.
I couldn't help but wonder where she'd gone, so I got up to look for her.
Carefully opening the door so I wouldn't wake Tia, I went through the house, room by room, searching for Miho.
The kitchen, the living room, the veranda, the bathroom, even the toilet—I checked each one thoroughly.
Still, not a trace of Miho. Not a single strand of her hair.
Only my parents' bedroom and my sister's room remained, and I doubted she was in either.
"So she must have gone outside..."
What reason could she have to go out at this hour?
I racked my brain, but no plausible reason came to mind.
'Maybe I'd be better off not worrying about it?'
Just as I hesitated, wondering whether to go back to my room, a fragrant whiff of yuzu began to tickle my nose.
'This scent...?'
A scent that was both nostalgic and calming.
Without thinking, I found my feet carrying me toward its source.
After walking about three minutes from the front door, I witnessed a sight that made my eyes widen.
A golden-haired woman gazing up at the moon.
The nine golden tails behind her shimmered brilliantly in the moonlight.
It was a scene worthy of a painting—apart from one detail that ruined the composition.
Something unnecessary had intruded upon the beautiful portrait.
"Miho?"
"Oh, dear husband? Weren't you asleep?"
"I woke up for a moment. And when I didn't see you, I went looking."
"Ah! Is that so? I'm so sorry for troubling you...!"
"It's fine. More importantly—are you hurt?"
Bright-red blood dripped steadily from Miho's hand.
It was forming a pool of blood right where she stood.
"Don't worry! I'm perfectly healthy, without a scratch."
The blood falling from her hand and the pool beneath her feet were not her own.
It came from the corpses sprawled in front of Miho.
Lumps of flesh crushed beyond recognition.
That much was obvious from the blood still flowing out of them.
"...Did terrorists attack in the dead of night?"
"Yes."
Miho could be quite violent, but she wasn't so far gone as to take lives without reason.
The fact that she had killed someone meant only one thing: the enemy posed a threat to me.
"The terrorists came in the dead of night..."
"That's right. They came targeting us, so I stepped out first and dealt with them."
Guns, tools, even rope, lying beside the crushed bodies.
Those items made it clear who they were and what they had come to do.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"How could I possibly wake my husband from a deep sleep over something like this?"
"What if something had happened to you? If you had been injured..."
I would have blamed myself for sleeping through it, oblivious to the world.
"Dear husband, I am a Divine Beast."
"Before you're a Divine Beast, you're my Companion Animal."
Our bond was unusual, but she was my Companion Animal. I could not let her put herself in danger.
"There's no need to worry. I'm strong enough to take care of this much with ease."
"I know. But that doesn't mean you should think it's okay to fight alone."
"You needn't worry so much about me..."
This wasn't working. Neither of us was budging.
At this rate, we weren't going to find any middle ground.
"...Can we talk for a moment?"
"Of course. But the night air is chilly, so let's go inside to talk."
The moment our brief exchange ended, the world changed around us.
The terrorists' corpses, the guns, the red liquid—all of it vanished as though it had never existed in the first place.
Even the blood that had been on Miho's body disappeared completely.
She had returned to the Miho I always knew.
Miho could erase or create anything that was not alive. That was her ability.
"How about some yuzu tea?"
"Sounds good."
Humming softly, Miho went into the kitchen and began to brew the tea.
A little while later, the familiar fragrance drifted all the way to where I was standing.
"Here. The yuzu tea you love, dear husband."
"Thank you."
Miho had been right: yuzu tea was my favorite.
It was fragrant, pleasantly sweet, and warmed me from within. It had everything I wanted.
But I had never told anyone about that preference. Not even my family.
And in nearly five years, I hadn't once tasted yuzu tea.
Yet Miho knew my preference perfectly, proving that she had watched over me all along.
"May I start talking now?"
"Please do."
"Alright. There's something I still can't understand."
"What part?"
"Why do you care about me this much? Even if we're bound by a Companion Contract, for the past twenty years, I haven't done a single thing for you as a Companion Keeper—I didn't even know you existed. So why do you say you'd sacrifice anything and everything for my sake?"
"...I suppose you wouldn't be able to accept 'because I love you' as an answer, would you?"
"Of course not. Understanding something intellectually and accepting it emotionally are two different things."
"In that case, dear husband... may I indulge in just one selfish request?"
"Fine. As long as it's within my power to grant."
"Hehe. Then, if you'll pardon me...?"
Miho set down her tea, padded briskly over to me, and settled herself gently onto my lap.
Was that alone enough to make her happy? All of Miho's tails began to sway in unison.
"Dear husband? Could you stroke my head once, and then hold me tightly in your arms?"
"Alright. I will."
I stroked Miho's glossy, silky hair.
Then I wrapped my arms tightly around her.
At that, her nine fox tails quivered in perfect synchrony.
"I'm so happy I could die."
Since I was holding her from behind, I couldn't see Miho's face.
Even so, I could easily picture her grinning from ear to ear.
"So, may I ask why you had me do this?"
"I wanted to show you something."
"Show me what?"
"The fact that just having you love me like this is enough to make me incredibly happy."
"...Is that your answer to my question?"
"Yes. If words can't express it, isn't it better to show you firsthand?"
"Then stop fighting alone in secret. If something went wrong and you died, you could never enjoy this happiness again."
"No."
"What's your reason for being so stubborn?"
"Because if anything happened to you, I would no longer be able to live."
"For me too..."
"No. You're not the same."
Miho cut me off without hesitation.
And then, words brimming with sincerity began to pour from her lips.
"You lived through the past twenty years perfectly well without me, dear husband. But for me, who spent those twenty years living with my eyes fixed on you alone—you've become so precious that I can no longer exist without you."
"Then, if I were to die..."
"That would be more terrifying to me than dying myself. I don't even want to imagine a world without you! I-It terrifies me...! Hngh!!"
Miho clutched my clothes and began to tremble. I gave her a light flick on the forehead.
"Oww!!"
"Calm down. Do not treat an imagined possibility as though it had already happened."
"S-Sorry!"
Still, this made it clear.
To Miho, who had watched over me for twenty years, I had become her very life.
If I vanished, Miho's life would vanish with me. I had become utterly irreplaceable to her.
In that case...
"From now on, we will have to search together for something else you can cherish besides me."
"Dear husband, I think you may be under one misconception—may I correct it?"
"A misconception? I'm under a misconception?"
"Yes. You've been speaking as if I came to like you by watching over you."
"It's different?"
"It's different. I have loved you from the very first moment I laid eyes on you. That is why I have never stopped watching you."
"...Is that really different?"
"Of course it is. It means I liked you from the very beginning, and watching you only made me love you more. In other words—I'm incapable of loving anyone but you."
To put it another way—someone who liked apples from the very start grew to love them even more after eating apples their whole life.
And eventually, they could no longer live without apples. Was that what she meant?
It was a bit vague, but that seemed to be what Miho was trying to convey.
"Do you understand now?"
"To some degree. Though there's one thing I simply cannot wrap my head around..."
"What is it?"
"Your saying you liked me from the start—does that mean you liked me since I was a newborn?"
"Yes!"
"Does it usually happen that someone falls for a newborn?"
"Of course! Because the moment I first saw you, my dear husband, flash! I felt it was destiny!"
"..."
Trying to understand Miho at all had evidently been asking too much.
Her world was completely different from mine. She was a Divine Beast, so her perspective was different too.
For the moment, I decided to leave it at that.
"Anyway, I can guard you on my own now, right?"
"No, you still can't."
"You're so stubborn. So is the reason still that I'm a Companion Animal?"
"That's part of it, but there's another reason too."
"May I ask what sort of reason?"
"Mm, this might just be my imagination."
I tapped the teacup and continued.
"I have not drunk much yuzu tea in my life, yet the scent is incredibly familiar. I thought about it just now and realized something interesting."
For years, people had subjected me to awful treatment simply because I lacked a Companion Animal.
Insults were a given. Threats, beatings, even getting knifed—I'd endured every kind of abuse there was.
Normally, treatment like that would wreck someone's mind until they were too broken down to even keep themselves alive.
I was injured countless times, yet my mind never broke.
Whenever I reached the limit of what I could endure, someone I did not know would appear and help me.
Those benefactors did more than help me. They also offered kind words and comfort.
Their appearances, their genders, their voices—they were all different, but strangely, they all shared one thing in common.
They had all carried the same fragrant yuzu scent. Each of them had smelled like Miho did now.
"What's the interesting fact?"
"I'm not telling."
"...Isn't it unfair to suddenly do that?"
The companion fox puffed out her cheeks as far as they would go, clearly displeased.
A chuckle escaped me at the sight of her like that.
She was the one who had tried to deceive me first by claiming that she had merely watched over me...
In any case, I had gotten my revenge. It was not cathartic, but it was amusing enough.
"If you are going to be that unfair, I will never brew you yuzu tea again."
"In that case, I'll just stir some honey into water and make do by sniffing your scent instead."
Miho's yuzu fragrance was so intense that it couldn't be masked even in a place reeking of blood.
So even from plain honey water, I'd probably be able to taste the flavor of yuzu tea.
"You really are mischievous. But I truly love that side of you, dear husband."
Miho's tail began swaying gently once more. That meant she'd meant every word of it.
"So, will you stop acting on your own?"
"I don't want to."
"And you call me stubborn."
"I only take after you, don't I?"
Miho shook her ears and tails so rapidly that fox fur flew into my mouth.
Miho looked beautiful gazing solemnly at the moon, but this innocent, childlike side suited her best.
***
"I'll do it, Agent."
"You show no hesitation at all now. Did something happen to serve as a catalyst?"
"Yeeeah, something like that did happen."
It was because of a certain stubborn fox.
Entrusting my family's safety to the government would ease the burden on that fox.
"I see. I sincerely welcome you as an agent. And once again, I apologize."
"Another apology? You don't have to."
"No. You were dragged into this incident, and we could not readily provide the protection you deserved. I must ask your forgiveness for both."
Director Edwiner bowed at the waist a full ninety degrees once more to apologize.
I wasn't sure I ought to be receiving such an apology from someone who would be my boss's boss's boss from now on.
He would do it whether I tried to stop him or not, so I quietly accepted the apology.
"More importantly, how exactly will you protect my family?"
"Your home is too remote for us to protect efficiently, so the first step will be relocation."
"Relocate, where...?"
The Director pointed out the window with his thumb. I understood.
"Our house loan hasn't even been paid off yet..."
"Do not worry. The government will cover the full cost. You can simply tell them it is government assistance."
"Isn't that explanation a little too simplistic?"
"People readily accept an explanation when there is a benefit right in front of them. Otherwise, fraud would not exist."
Come to think of it, he was right.
Besides, my parents were gullible. If agents showed up and told them that, they would believe it immediately.
"So, relocation to the capital, and that's it?"
"Once the relocation is done, we will handle the rest. After that, agents will be deployed on permanent protection duty, so you need not worry."
"Then what about my family's acquaintances?"
"We cannot protect them directly, but I intend to assign several agents to keep an eye on them. Please understand that full protection would be difficult."
The government's manpower wasn't exactly overflowing, so I had no choice but to accept that.
Still, that was enough to put me somewhat at ease.
"What about the dragon?"
"We will issue an official statement to the relevant parties today. No matter how they object, I will make sure they cannot interfere."
He meant to keep his promise.
I supposed I could believe that.
"Then what do I do now? Where do I belong, and what are my duties?"
"No need to be impatient. You are an agent, and yet not an agent."
"Huh?"
"You will be an unofficial agent. Your status as an agent must never become public. I imagine you understand why."
It was true that if word got out that I, who didn't even have a Companion Animal, had become an agent, troublesome problems would arise.
The government would be hounded over why it had hired me.
I would face harsh, judgmental stares from everyone around me.
The other agents would resent being placed on the same level as someone like me.
All of it was the worst possible outcome.
"Since the position is unofficial, you will have no formal affiliation or title. If you need a label, consider yourself an agent under my direct command. In practice, I alone will assign you missions."
"Would that not be dangerous if it got out? That is outright dictatorship..."
"If they don't like it, tell them to become Director themselves and complain then."
For the first time, I glimpsed Director Edwiner's true nature.
He was greedy and pursued his own interests, but he was not a backstabbing schemer.
He pursued his own interests, but he spoke frankly about reality.
"Then, to mark your becoming an agent, I will assign you your first mission immediately."
Maybe he had no conscience after all?
"Wait, are you deploying me straight into a mission when I haven't even received proper training?"
"Worry not. It is merely a simple investigation mission."
"An investigation mission... Are you sure it really isn't dangerous?"
"You only need to go in, investigate, and leave. Besides, you have a dependable helper beside you if anything goes wrong."
"Well, yes."
The director looked toward the baby dragon. As if she knew what that gaze meant, Tia puffed out her chest.
And then her eyes sparkled, as though she were saying, 'Leave it to me!'
What a sly Director. He was making me accept the mission by placing his expectations on Tia instead of me...
"So, what are the details?"
"I received word that a new religion has been flourishing lately in a nearby city."
"I am sorry, but I am not religious, so I doubt I would be much help. And cults are a little..."
I had no knowledge of religion whatsoever.
As a child, I had been captured and tortured by fanatical cultists.
I could not exactly feel favorably toward religion.
"Do not jump to conclusions. I would hardly assign you an unreasonable mission such as exposing a religion's corruption or true nature."
"No, I suppose not."
Of course. A coach wouldn't assign a player to a sport where they'd be of no help at all.
I needed to hear him out.
"Returning to the point, the special talent of the one who founded that new religion is said to be prophecy."
"Prophecy?"
"They say that when the prophet makes ten predictions, at least nine invariably come true. Since the prophecies are accurate, more people believe and follow them."
People always feared an uncertain future.
Nothing was more reassuring than a future made certain.
"The symbol of that new religion is a three-legged crow. Does that suggest anything to you?"
"A crow with three legs—is it the Three-Legged Crow?"
"Precisely. The records describe it as a Divine Beast with prophetic abilities, so it is a perfect match."
"So you're saying the one who founded that new religion is the Three-Legged Crow?"
"I do not even know that much, which is precisely why I am deploying you to investigate."
Aha, so that was it.
Religion was not my field, but if the story concerned Divine Beasts, that changed things.
"With the dragon who follows you, you should be able to determine whether the prophet is another Divine Beast. Do you not agree that the mission suits you perfectly?"
"It certainly is a fitting mission. But that religion could still be a dangerous cult, couldn't it?"
"Do not worry. Our preliminary investigation found no evidence that the religion had committed any illegal acts."
"Is that true?"
"I had a capable subordinate agent investigate it, so I am certain."
"Hmm. If you put it that way, all right. I'm uneasy, but I'll give it a try."
"Thank you. Then I want you to carry out the mission immediately. Etna!"
"Yes, Director. All the relevant materials have been prepared. Shall I take this man with me?"
"Please do. Then Agent Seon-ju, good luck on your first mission."
"W-wait! Right away, you mean right this instant?"
"Please come quietly."
As soon as he'd finished everything he had to say, Director Edwiner left to prepare coffee.
None of that coffee was for me.
Damn it, I'd been had!
Before I knew it, the Director had foisted a mission on me.
"I kinda want to hand in my resignation."
I had been employed for barely a day, and I already wanted to quit.