Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Troublesome Kid
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"Hm..."
'What in the world is this child's true nature...'
-Pat pat
"Um... Master?"
'The more I heal him, the stranger he seems. That otherworldly aura he gives off...'
"...Master?"
'And the bizarre words and stories he keeps spouting. Is he a traveler from another world? If so, the odds are high that the gods of the heavenly realm brought him here...'
"Master!!!"
-Startle
A sudden shout erupted from the boy sitting on her thigh while she was lost in thought.
"Call me quietly. Why are you yelling like that?"
"I've called you several times already, and you didn't respond!"
"...Did I?"
It seemed she'd been deep in contemplation.
She still wasn't entirely used to living alongside humans like this.
"Fine. What is it you need? If it's something trivial, prepare yourself..."
"...I need to pee, so let me go."
"Hm?"
"Seriously, what kind of person holds onto someone for three hours straight like they're a doll..."
Snapping back to reality, she glanced down and realized she was unconsciously stroking him while holding him close.
"...Hmph. Go on, then. And next time, speak softly. I'm sensitive to loud noises."
"Only if you answer me on time, Master."
The boy stuck his tongue out at her and scampered off.
'Cheeky little brat.'
It had been a week since she'd brought him home.
He'd already perked up a bit, and now he was playing pranks on his lofty master like she was some equal.
To put it nicely, he was sociable. To put it bluntly, he trusted people far too easily.
'Kids like him are the ones who get into real trouble if they trust the wrong person.'
He seemed like the type who'd hand over his liver or gallbladder to anyone he trusted.
When they'd first met, his poor condition had made him prickly and guarded, but now that he was recovering, his true personality was emerging.
No one could fake that guarded demeanor forever without it showing.
'...Hm.'
Once the boy was out of sight, she fiddled with the hand that had been petting him moments ago.
'Sleeping would be so much easier to manage.'
She kept unconsciously petting and stroking him, but when he was awake, he'd squirm away, which was annoying.
Now he knew resistance was futile once she grabbed him, so he stayed put, but he still tried to avoid her grasp from the start...
'Can't he offer this much to the one who saved his life?'
She'd picked him up dying in a back alley and nursed him back to health with great effort. Wasn't this a fair reward?
Luckily, she was a relatively kind yokai. If it had been another, he might not even be alive now.
And he didn't even appreciate that grace.
'Tch.'
But as his master, she couldn't force herself on her disciple's body, so it was convenient when he offered it willingly. What an oblivious kid.
He treated it like mere playfulness—what more needed to be said?
...Well, half of that was a joke.
She had no real intention of lusting after his body.
His soft, warm, plush frame just smelled nice and felt good to have nearby. Nothing more, nothing less.
-Grumble grumble
'Besides, he's the one who gets most anxious when left alone.'
During his treatment, she'd run out of herbs and stepped out briefly while he slept. In that short time, he'd thrown an absolute fit.
Half out of his mind, he'd kept begging her not to abandon him, not to leave him alone. Seeing that had made her head spin.
'Humans are just so incomprehensible sometimes.'
-Shake shake
Despite her centuries of life and supposed understanding of humans, she still didn't get them.
His reactions suggested a profound fear of being left alone unexpectedly, but how was she supposed to know that without him saying?
Now that she knew, she'd avoid leaving him alone when possible, but if there were more surprises like this, it'd be troublesome.
What if he feared her groping him by force or something?
'Hm?'
What had she just said?
As her estrus season approached, her mind occasionally blanked out. It had just wandered off into the void and returned.
At this rate, it'd start in just a few days.
'...This might be a bit dangerous after all.'
Her vague assumption that it'd be fine was starting to crack.
Of course, she still didn't think a yokai of her caliber would fall to such a lowly human, but his condition was far from ordinary.
'His looks and behavior aside...'
What was that scent coming from his body?
He wasn't doused in any perfumed oil, yet it lingered around him constantly, and the more she inhaled, the hazier her mind grew.
A flower seducing bees and butterflies made sense—it was born for that, nature's law. But he was human.
It wasn't just his exceptional looks.
The boy himself was a siren call to reason...
"I'm back."
"...Right."
"...Why are you staring like that?"
-Blank stare
Pure black eyes gleaming like jewels gazed up at her.
"...Sigh."
If only he were a bad kid, she could scold him properly.
In all her years, she'd never seen eyes so innocently pure.
"...Right. What was your name again?"
"Dan... Yuseong...?"
"Your hometown?"
"...I don't know."
"Why were you in that alley?"
"......"
These were questions she'd asked before.
Even his name came from the nameplate on his body; whether it was truly his, she couldn't say.
In short, he remembered nothing of his past.
But it wasn't simple amnesia—his sense of self was rock-solid, and he occasionally spouted incomprehensible tales...
'Odds are ninety-nine percent he's from another world.'
The remaining one percent? Amnesia plus delusion that he's from another realm.
Though his soul and body mismatched and twisted, lending weight to him being a traveler who'd hijacked someone else's flesh.
'If it's not even his real body, then just once, maybe it wouldn't hurt...'
Hm.
Her mind had blanked again for a moment.
'Get a grip. Are you planning to abandon your path to ascension now?'
Nine hundred years and counting.
Just twenty more, and she couldn't throw it all away for folly.
...Actually, absorbing human essence wouldn't bar her from heaven anyway, heh.
"Master, what are you thinking about now?"
-Startle
"Ahem."
She really needed to take some measures.
These stray thoughts were multiplying; she might wake up cradling an infant at this rate.
The best option was holing up alone somewhere remote until her heat passed...
"...Disciple."
"Yes, Master."
"Due to unavoidable circumstances, I may need to be away for about... a week."
"...Pardon?"
"...No, forget I said that."
She retracted her words upon seeing his body tremble before she even finished.
But as the human proverb went—you can recapture spilled water, but not spoken words.
"M-Master. What do you mean? I-I'll do better. I-I'll handle meals and laundry perfectly..."
"...I said forget it."
"...I already heard you."
As she opened her mouth to reassure him and end the fatigue, he murmured,
"...Everyone said that and never came back."
"..."
A whisper so faint only she caught it.
His unconscious heart laid bare, no doubt.
"...Haa."
He looked utterly cute and innocent on the surface,
but peel back one layer, and his psyche was riddled with cracks, ready to shatter.
...That bright exterior might be a desperate mask for the turmoil within.
-Rub rub
'What a truly exhausting kid I've picked up.'
She'd thought nursing a human brat and sending him off would be simple, but his body and soul were just the start.
"I-It's fine. A week? I c-can endure it. Just p-promise you'll come back..."
"Enough, kid."
"Mas... sob!"
She pulled the half-delirious, babbling boy into her bosom.
"Mmph!!"
"I won't listen anymore, so just sleep. I'll find another way."
-Hum
"Mmph... mmph..."
Placing a hand on his thrashing head, she cast a sleep spell, and he drifted off swiftly.
Any longer, and they'd be at it for ages.
"Zzz..."
-Pat pat
'...If I can't stay far away... maybe use training as an excuse to bind my own hands and feet...'
She couldn't just smile at her shift from confident demeanor days ago to frantic preparation.
Dread was growing—what had she truly brought home?
...Was it coincidence that the thought she might be devoured flickered through her mind?
Only time would tell.