The Fox Den (9)

Tara kept muttering that the whole thing was a scam. She seemed a little calmer than before, but she still looked like her soul had vacated the premises.

I felt a pang of pity and almost offered her some comfort — except I had no comfort to spare. System windows had started stacking themselves in front of me, one after another, noisy as if the earlier silence had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never existed at all.

"Whoa!"

Yeon, who had to be looking at the same windows I was, cried out in surprise. I killed the alert sounds at once and began scrolling through the cascading system windows at a more civilized pace.

So a clear can register this way too. Until now it had always been one or the other — walk out after killing the boss, or die and fail. I had never known a dungeon could be cleared like this.

More striking than that, though: three levels in a single burst. Generous pay for a dungeon we had cleared without throwing a single punch. Then again, Tara would have been a level 60 boss under ordinary circumstances, so perhaps it was only fair. Had we actually fought her and won, we would have gained even more.

Not that such a thing would have been possible.

I was working through the windows one by one when certain lines snagged my eye.

And what on earth is a Shikigami Seal?

I frowned at the window, then turned to Tara, who still had her face buried in her forepaws and was mumbling to herself.

"This has to be a dream…"

"What is this Shikigami Seal?"

Instead of an answer, something popped into existence with a soft poof. A brown-furred fox — the same summon Tara had used to lure us here not long ago.

The little thing shook itself out, then tilted its head at a mistress who now looked smaller than it was, as if to ask what on earth had happened to her.

Of course, being shown a fox did not magically explain anything. I tilted my own head at Tara in much the same fashion, and she let out a long, weary sigh before answering in a voice steeped in gloom.

"…The Shikigami Seal is an array that lets you form a contract with a being and use them as an extension of yourself — like this child you see before you. The difference from an ordinary contract is that this one can be forced."

"Forced, you say. What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Even if the other party refuses, so long as you can inscribe the Shikigami Seal on them by any means necessary, the contract takes hold — no matter who they are. Of course, if they happen to be considerably stronger than the caster, they could break the contract on their own."

"Then could you not do the same?"

I had no memory of casting anything, but the system had listed me as the caster, which fit Tara's explanation perfectly. The level gap alone was more than forty. My suggestion, however, did not appear to sit well with her. Even through the misery, she shot me a look that could have stripped paint.

"If I could have, I would have done it already!"

"And why can you not? It is somewhat improper to say so myself, but I believe the gulf between us is rather extreme."

"Because you weren't the caster."

I wasn't the caster? What was that supposed to mean?

"The caster wasn't you. It was Lady Gumiho."

"Why does Lady Gumiho enter into this?"

"Ugh. You are so dense!"

Tara stamped her forepaws against the ground in genuine exasperation — and that was when Yeon, who had been quietly reading the system windows, raised a careful hand.

"Um. Sorry to interrupt while you two are talking, but can I say something…?"

"What is it?"

"I've been wondering since a while ago… Choco, the way you talk. Have you always been like that?"

"My manner of speech? What do you mean by… ah?"

Wait. "This one"? What? A delayed sense of wrongness locked my whole body stiff. I'm not some old sage. What is this way of talking?

Tara's voice drifted over, dripping with disdain.

"At last you speak in a manner befitting a successor. Good. I never much cared for you talking like a human anyway."

"I liked the way you talked before better…"

Yeon murmured it with genuine disappointment. I, however, was far too busy digging back through the system windows I had dismissed, hunting for a cause. Under any other circumstances I would have reached over and stretched that grumbling mouth of hers like taffy.

I found the culprit soon enough.

"What… what is the meaning of this…"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Forcibly correcting one's speech and conduct to a noble standard. I had never in my life heard of a skill like that. And the Gumiho had apparently seen fit to gift it to me in person.

I was going to lose my mind. I made no effort to hide the dizziness as I pressed a hand to my forehead.

The worst part was that I could not even discard it. Discarding it was impossible to begin with — but this was not some ordinary skill. A being on the level of a god had bestowed it herself. Even if throwing it away had been an option, there was no telling what would come back in its place. Something worse, very possibly.

"…I wish to log out."

The words came out as a groan. I want to log out.

"We got off track, but this is the important part. Lady Gumiho lied to me!"

Tara's voice shook with indignation.

When she had first received the oracle, there had been no mention of becoming a shikigami and attending the successor — meaning me — for the rest of her days. She had assumed she would only need to teach me the basics and be done with it.

Everything had changed after she completed the Expulsion Array to send Yeon and me out, and the light pouring from the Fox God's statue swallowed her whole. To me it had been the blink of an eye. To Tara, it had not.

"The Shikigami Seal itself was probably built into the statue. Lady Gumiho is a goddess — she cannot freely exercise her power upon the earth. The trigger was almost certainly my using the Expulsion Array. She sees through everything, after all. Even that I would do something like this."

Her voice had gone tight and low.

"The moment the Seal activated, I heard Lady Gumiho's voice. She told me to remain at your side and serve you until you ascend to divinity. She said it was my final trial."

Tears that had been welling over finally slipped free and struck the ground in small, dark drops. Her summon seemed to understand its mistress's grief; it let out a low, unhappy sound and flattened its ears against its skull.

"It isn't a bad arrangement for me, either, I suppose. If she called it my final trial, then once this is over there's a high chance I'll be granted a Fox Bead of my own. But do you know something? They say Lady Gumiho spent well over a thousand years reaching divinity."

"A thousand years…"

"Hundreds of years have passed since she began choosing successors, and not one of them has reached the divine throne. And you — you've only just taken your first step. How long do you think it will take you?"

The number did feel impossibly distant. Not a hundred years. A thousand. Long enough for an ordinary human to live ten lives over and still have time left…

Still. It can't really take a thousand years, can it? I may look like this, but I function more or less like a player…

I had no real confidence in that either, so I kept the thought to myself.

Tara went on murmuring, tears still falling.

"I've been abandoned. That's what this is… After everything I've done, why would she…"

"T-Tara?!"

"Why… all I wanted was to stay by your side…"

Tara's form began to slump and melt. I lurched toward her in alarm, but I was already too late. She dissolved completely, collapsing into a faint drift of mist.

For a horrible second I thought she had actually died. Fortunately, that was not the case.

"Did she die…?"

"No. I do not believe she is dead…"

A fatal wound, then reverse-summoned. Was remaining at my side truly so devastating? I stood there feeling distinctly awkward, and the leftover mist came creeping toward me and sank into my body, Tara's energy flowing into the Fox Bead I kept within myself.

"Judging by this, it seems she can be summoned again once a day has passed… though I find myself reluctant."

"I never thought she'd cry like that. She looked so sad…"

I had to agree with Yeon. We had known Tara for all of two or three hours, and nothing in that time had suggested she was even capable of tears. Laughter, maybe — the mocking kind. But watching her vanish while weeping like that drained any desire I might have had to summon her the moment the timer ran out. Once she had settled her feelings, she would probably come out on her own. She was far more skilled with spiritual power than I was.

What a messy way for things to end. I let out a small sigh, a hand lifted to my cheek — and then my whole body flinched. What is this pose? I had meant to scratch my head. Instead, my hand had arranged itself against my cheek of its own accord.

And it had done so naturally. So naturally that if I had not caught myself, I would have gone right on as if nothing were wrong.

Damn Dignity skill. What kind of "gift" is this supposed to be?

I was in the middle of grumbling at a fox goddess I had never even met when Yeon spoke up, her voice careful.

"Hey… Choco?"

"What is it?"

"This might sound weird to ask at this point, but… you really are Choco, right?"

"You were perfectly content to cling to me and call me adorable. And now you ask such a thing…?"

"I-I know, but… I just can't believe it."

I could not entirely blame her. Mere hours ago I had been incapable of turning into a human at all. We had communicated by scratching letters into the dirt.

"I knew you weren't an ordinary fox, but I never imagined you'd turn into a person and start talking…"

"If I show you, will you believe me?"

I did not wait for an answer. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I used my Transformation Art and returned to fox form — I had confirmed the skill was sitting in my skill list some time ago — and then shifted back into a human. Only then did Yeon's face brighten with relief.

Wait. I think I know what comes next.

"Thank goodness… you're the Choco I know…"

"I understand, so unhand me already…"

Sure enough, she had latched on again, scooping me up into her arms. I muttered it weakly from against her chest. For some reason, being held by this girl drained the strength right out of me. Another effect of Taming, perhaps.

I could feel the warmth of Yeon's face buried against the back of my head, and a thought surfaced unbidden.

Thank goodness you're the Choco I know…

"Yeon. I have something to tell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you as well."

"Hm? What is it?"

"As you well know, I am no ordinary fox."

The words had come out on impulse, but I had no intention of stopping. Yeon tilted her head, her voice uncertain.

"Well… yeah? Ordinary foxes can't turn into people, so…"

"But neither am I some extraordinary fox. I was never a fox to begin with."

"What are you talking about?"

She turned the body she had been holding so tightly, and our eyes met. A thread of unease lived in hers, and I could see myself reflected there.

"Yeon. Listen well."

I did not stop.