Taming the Noisy Fox (1)
The healing light filled my vision. It was a massive glow, unlike anything I’d seen before. Maybe because I was using it in front of my favorite character? I’d poured too much power into it. I simply wished with all my heart for her curse to be lifted. I prayed fiercely.
How much time had passed? It wasn’t long. The light faded, and Daeho stood there blinking blankly. She looked herself over, but from the outside there didn’t seem to be any change. Yet her face flushed red as she spoke.
“Huh?”
Something we couldn’t see had apparently been freed from the curse’s influence. Daeho quickly slipped a hand into her chest. Is that an all-purpose pouch? I’d already seen Soho do the same thing, so the motion felt familiar.
Daeho pulled out a small stone fragment from her chest and gasped in shock.
“My… my lifespan came back too?”
Her magic carried an incredibly powerful effect, but it demanded a heavy price. Every time she used it—separate from the curse—her lifespan would be shaved away, so she could never cast it recklessly. Not only had the curse been lifted, but all the lifespan she had lost until now had been restored.
Pretty good effect, huh?
It was my own magic, yet I still found myself surprised sometimes. To think it had cleared away every single obstacle that had tormented my favorite character throughout the original novel. At this rate, the Demon King’s army didn’t seem all that scary.
Well, the incident was resolved. Now it was time for my reward. I stared blankly at Daeho’s chest. She met my gaze and opened her mouth.
“…W-would you like to touch?”
I quietly nodded.
The instant the healing light touched her, Daeho felt warmth spread all the way to her bones. It was a feeling she had never experienced in her entire life. She wanted to keep feeling it forever.
The magic ended as abruptly as it had begun, and she clearly sensed that the curse—which had weighed on her body like a burden—had vanished completely. It was as if she had been carrying sandbags all over her body and had finally taken them off.
“Huh?”
It was different. So unbelievably different. Had the air she breathed always tasted this sweet? No. Until now, every breath had stung her lungs, and the wind had scraped her skin raw. Sitting upright without leaning against something had been difficult, and simply standing on the ground had made her stomach churn. Because she had lived with that pain her entire life, she had developed enough endurance that she never showed it on the surface.
That was why the sudden disappearance of the agony made every one of her five senses feel sweet and tender. Things that were ordinary to others were pure bliss to Daeho.
To think he really is a male healer…
It was astonishing. The fact that a man could be a healer was surprising enough, but to wield magic this powerful? Even the High Priest would probably believe it was a Saint’s spell. Though honestly, she wasn’t sure even a Saint could have healed her.
Daeho hurriedly decided to check her lifespan. Since she used her unique magic at the cost of her lifespan, she had only two years left to live. She had already paid far too high a price before. But—
Remaining Lifespan:78 years
The magical tool that measured lifespan displayed a number she had never seen before. Seventy-eight years? When she first obtained the tool, it had shown around fifty-four years. It was utterly shocking.
But her astonishment lasted only a moment before she felt an intense gaze upon her. Following it, she met Sieg’s eyes. His gaze was fixed squarely on her chest.
As expected of the Baekya family’s chest.
Her mother had often said it. The chests of the Baekya family were captivating. If there was a man you wanted to seduce, one touch from these breasts would end the game. And it seemed to be true.
This effect feels way too strong…?
A promise was a promise. With a slightly trembling heart, Daeho said,
“…W-would you like to touch?”
Her words even came out in a stutter. Maybe because she had thrown out the suggestion as a joke, her heart was fluttering a little. She swallowed as she watched Sieg nod—
“No! Sis, that joke is way too much! That’s sexual harassment!”
Soho cut in. She must have decided the prank had gone too far. Seeing her slightly raised eyebrows, Daeho knew she should stop.
“I-I understand. Of course it was a joke. The joke went too far. If I made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
“N-no, it’s fine…”
Daeho accepted it, and Sieg nodded as well. Though inside, he was filled with nothing but disappointment.
This was a world of reversed gender roles. For a woman to suddenly ask a man to touch her chest was treated as sexual harassment. Even between close acquaintances, it was natural to feel offended. Daeho felt a little guilty.
I really went too far with the joke.
The incident should have ended there, but—
Why do I feel so disappointed…?
Daeho felt a strange sense of regret. A feeling welled up inside her that it would have been okay to let him touch her chest. She had never allowed any man to touch it before. She had heard that when a man touched a woman’s chest, it produced a pleasure on a completely different level from what she could feel by herself.
A man as handsome as Sieg would surely have countless women throwing themselves at him. This might be a precious opportunity that would never come again. Should she just close her eyes and go for it?
“Haa…”
Just imagining Sieg touching her chest made her breathing grow rough.
No. I can’t.
It was something she absolutely could not do. Sieg was the man her little sister liked. No matter how fast her heart raced when she felt his gaze, no matter how she found herself listening carefully to the sound of his breathing, no matter how strong the urge to press her chest against him became—she could not do anything more, even as a joke.
Instead, she resolved even more firmly to connect Sieg with Soho. That way, even if she used her magic again and lost lifespan, she could receive healing once more. And she would be able to see him often.
Yes, that was the reason. She definitely did not have any other motives.
*
After the healing was finished, we moved to track the traces of the Demon King’s army. Although Daeho had been freed from the curse through healing magic, her desire for revenge against the one who had cursed her family had not disappeared. If anything, she seemed determined to deal with them properly.
Right now, I was moving together with Daeho.
“Is this the place? Where the traces of the Demon King’s army are?”
“Yes, Sieg-nim.”
The others had stayed behind at the lodging. This matter required secrecy. Sword Master Emilia was too well-known, and there was a risk Akasha would be discovered as a beastman. On top of that, Soho and Jakkan had to stay and look after them. That was why only the two of us had come here.
—Now that I can use magic, there is no threat.
Daeho had confidently suggested we go together. And if anything happened, she asked me to use healing magic on her. I nodded. Since I knew the original story, I thought I could help her find what she was looking for.
The place we arrived at was an auction house operated by the nation itself. It was highly trusted and used by many people, but—
“Number 66, 4000!”
“Number 104, 4300!”
Because the martial arts tournament in the capital overlapped with it, outsiders had flooded in and the auction house was packed. It truly looked like the perfect place for someone to slip in unnoticed. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say the crowd was so dense that if you smacked the back of someone’s head as you passed, no one would know who did it.
“Sieg-nim, please hold on tight and follow me so you don’t get lost.”
Daeho held out her hand with a playful smile.
Who does she think is a child here?
It was the kind of look you’d give a little kid you were worried would wander off. No matter how men were treated as delicate in this gender-reversed world, being treated like a child was a bit much.
But… it’s my favorite character’s hand…!
Still, I grabbed it excitedly. To think I would actually get to hold my favorite character’s hand. It was a wish come true. Every time I felt that soft touch, a smile spread across my face.
“The place we need to go is the VIP auction room. That’s where the target is said to appear.”
It was an auction room only high-ranking nobles could enter. Daeho used the name of the Baekya Ducal House to gain entry. The atmosphere inside was completely different from the outside. Unlike the overheated frenzy of the main hall, this place was calm. Almost solemn.
“Lady Baekya, please sit here.”
The seat we were guided to was the highest one, located on the top floor. Unlike the other seats, the chairs and tables here were of noticeably higher quality. They must have paid extra attention because we were from a ducal house.
“Oh my, isn’t that Lady Baekya?”
As soon as we sat down, a voice called out to Daeho from the side.
“Is that not Her Highness the First Imperial Princess, Morgan?”
“To meet Lady Baekya here of all places. How nice to see you. Are you enjoying the capital well?”
“Of course. The Arcadia Empire has just as many enjoyable things as the Seolha Empire.”
“Hohoho, I’m glad to hear that. For someone from the Seolha Empire—the very center of entertainment and pleasure—to say so, it seems my efforts were worthwhile.”
Morgan Arkadia. She was the First Imperial Princess of the Arcadia Empire and the confirmed next emperor. Unlike her younger brother Nero, she was a person full of ambition and greed, and in the future she would eventually cross the line. I remembered that she eventually joined hands with the Demon King’s army. To think I would meet her here.
“And who might that handsome gentleman beside you be…?”
Morgan met my eyes.
“He is an acquaintance of mine. A friend of my younger sister who wanted to look around the auction house, so…”
“Look around? Oho… You seem quite interested. In that case, how about joining us? As the Imperial Princess, I can explain various things… Hmm.”
Morgan listened to Daeho’s explanation and then slowly looked me up and down, as if appraising merchandise. It gave me slight goosebumps. Although Morgan had a beautiful, refined face, I felt an inexplicable sense of repulsion.
Is it because I’ve already seen too many disgusting scenes involving her in the original novel?
That might be it. They say disgust can even overpower sexual desire.
When the silence grew long after Morgan’s suggestion, Daeho spoke.
“Thank you for the invitation, but he is quite shy around strangers. We will greet you again if the opportunity arises next time.”
“If that’s the case… Still, wouldn’t it be fine to ask the gentleman himself, Lady Baekya?”
Even though Daeho had declined the invitation, Morgan insisted on asking for my opinion. Did she think I would accept?
“Your Highness! It is an honor to meet you. However, I will ask for your kindness at the next opportunity.”
“I understand. But you must sit with us next time, alright?”
I declined as politely as I could. Surprisingly, Morgan accepted it gracefully.
That’s unexpected?
I hadn’t thought she was the type to let us go so easily. It was an unexpected side of her.
And so the auction began. Expensive items appeared one after another, and among them were a few that made me think, Why is this here? One of them was the weapon Akasha favored in the original novel—the Fox Orb. It was a magical tool that assisted with sorcery.
“This is a magical tool possessing mysterious power. It appears to be an auxiliary tool for sorcery. We will start the bidding at 700 gold.”
The auction began with the auctioneer’s explanation. However, since only a very small amount of information was known about it and it looked like nothing more than a pretty orb, the bidding remained quiet. Just when it seemed it would go unsold—
“Number 13, 700 gold.”
I raised my hand. Now that I had seen it, I wanted to buy it for Akasha. Especially since I had 24,700 gold on hand—money was practically overflowing.
“Number 13 bids 700 gold… Any more? Then…”
I had gotten a good item for cheap. My mood improved—
“Number 11, 1000 gold.”
Someone interrupted. The owner of the arrogant voice said with a giggle,
“Excuse me. I saw it and suddenly wanted it too. Hehe.”
It was Morgan.