Jirisan Yokai Hunter Office (Complete)

Crunch. Crunch. Crunchcrunchcrunchcrunch. Why is this so delicious? I think I'll have to ask the director to order some more dog gum.

I was currently sitting on Lee Ha-neul's lap, chewing on dog gum and watching TV. After the Force Arts training, Lee Ha-neul had completely passed out.

To think they missed a yokai. How was that even possible? From what I'd observed, the Yokai Hunter Office was a fairly competent organization. Its structure made it nearly impossible to lose track of a yokai during pursuit. The power of modern scientific technology could not be ignored.

Maybe there was a Hidden World in that Jangsan place in Busan too. Or perhaps the tiger yokai of Jangsan was also a powerful entity granted qualification for Ascension. Or was it simply that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Jirisan Yokai Hunter Office possessed outstanding ability compared to the countless other branches across the country? There was no way for me to know.

There was still so much information in this world that I didn't know.

The daily routine of Kim Myung-ho, a Grade 7 civil servant, went something like this. Upon arriving at work, he headed straight for the break room. Pretending to grab a coffee, he would observe Miho sleeping on the sofa.

Damn. It was her fox form. Since he had no business with Miho in her fox state, he turned away without hesitation. With coffee in hand, he went to his desk and started working.

Yokai detection duty. That was his primary responsibility. Fortunately, after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠diligently scanning for yokai energy all morning, no anomalies had shown up.

The Jirisan Yokai Hunter Office had faced a total of three crises over the past two weeks. The blue light fox, Miho, and Jo Ma-gu. Those were the ones. Fortunately, the two-tailed fox yokai known as Miho was extremely friendly toward humans and had even formed an alliance, so calling it a crisis was somewhat of a stretch. The other two, however, were disasters that made the word crisis feel inadequate.

It was only natural for the director to strengthen their defenses. As a result, the entire staff had been forced into overtime, but most employees, including Kim Myung-ho, didn't complain much about it. The reason was obviously Miho.

When lunchtime arrived, Kim Myung-ho and most of the staff poured into the break room.

"Human or fox today?"

"Let's place some bets."

"Please, please, please...!"

"Fox is not allowed!"

The Miho gacha game had begun. The male employees prayed that Miho would appear in human form. They had little interest in her fox state. Of course fox-form Miho was incredibly cute, but what they wanted to see wasn't an animal. They were after a beautiful woman with an amazing figure.

The men bet on Miho appearing in her female form. On the other hand, the female employees prayed for her fox appearance. No woman dislikes cute things, and fox-form Miho was adorable enough to melt anyone's heart. So the women placed their bets on the fox.

The result...

"...Huh?"

It was neither. The Miho who should have been in the break room was nowhere to be found. Emergency. Code red emergency. The search for Miho had begun.

"Hwaaaam."

I yawned languidly while gazing at the blue sky from the rooftop of the Yokai Hunter Office. I'd become unusually lazy lately. After receiving a massive amount of yokai energy from the blue light fox, I no longer needed to force myself to sleep. Habits really are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scary things.

Twitch. Twitch. My soft fox ears flicked. From the noisy commotion rising from below, it seemed the employees were desperately searching for me.

What a hassle. Walking around in human form meant the men would hit on me. Walking around in fox form meant the women would swarm me. The way the male and female staff treated me was clearly different.

First, the female employees seemed to view me as something like a pet being raised at the Jirisan Yokai Hunter Office. It might have been my imagination, but that's how it felt to me. They'd throw me dog gum, command me to give them my paw, pet my tail and head. One employee even tried to put a leash on my neck so she could take me for a walk.

What annoyed me even more was that being treated like a pet wasn't entirely unpleasant. The dog gum was delicious, I had no problem doing the paw command, and being petted always felt good. As for the leash walk... yeah, that was where I drew the line.

Anyway, while the female employees' attitude was a bit burdensome, it was still several times better than how the men behaved. Unlike the women, the men made it obvious to anyone with eyes that they liked me. Even someone as oblivious as me could tell because they were so blatant about it.

It was troublesome. Someone might ask what it mattered if people liked me or not. At first, I thought the same. Whether they gave me flowers, talked to me, or confessed, I could just ignore them. But it wasn't that simple.

My instinct as a fox yokai began urging me on. 'Hurry up and pounce on that male.' 'Absorb his vitality.' 'Convert that vitality into yokai energy.' Let me say it again: this was instinct, not mere desire. It was an inborn, absolute instinct that could not be refused.

At first it was bearable, but as man after man approached me, it grew harder and harder to suppress. Now I had even reached the point where I drooled at the sight of men. My promise to myself that I would never drain a man's vitality was on the verge of shattering.

Male identity? My promise to myself? Disgust? Guilt? Those trivial emotions were nothing in the face of pure instinct. If things continued like this, I was screwed. I would definitely end up pouncing on a man. That was the biggest reason I had decided to return home.

"You're leaving?"

"Yeah. It feels weird to keep staying here. I think I'm just causing trouble for everyone."

"I-it's not really like that..."

When Miho announced she was returning to the Hidden World, the director was visibly flustered. He had been colder toward Miho than the other employees, but it seemed he had grown attached to her without realizing it. If even the director felt this way, the rest of the staff had to be far worse. They would probably throw a huge fit, crying and asking where their Miho had gone.

Miho knew this, which was why she had secretly told only him and Lee Ha-neul while everyone was busy with work. At some point, she had become the official mascot yokai of the Jirisan Yokai Hunter Office.

However, there was one fact Miho had overlooked.

"Don't go, Miho! Let's just live here, pleeeease!"

Lee Ha-neul's obsession with Miho was even stronger than the employees'. When Lee Ha-neul clung to Miho's clothes, Miho used her foxfire sorcery to pry her off. Then she said,

"I'll visit often, so don't worry."

"You promise... You'll really come often, right?"

"I'll come often even if it's just for the food."

Certainly. Since Miho was a yokai who took food very seriously, the director believed those words were no lie. He then handed over the items he had promised beforehand to Miho, who was returning to the Hidden World.

"Twenty kilograms of dog food, various types of dog gum, and finally a single-size bed. These are the items you ordered."

"Thanks. I'll enjoy them, for real."

"Is there anything else you need?"

"If I run out later, I'll just come visit again. But don't point a gun at me next time."

"We've clearly recorded Miho-nim's yokai energy signature, so you don't need to worry about that part. Feel free to visit anytime. The staff will definitely be happy to see you."

Miho then used her foxfire to lift the dog food, dog gums, and finally the bed. They had planned to drive a truck to the entrance of the Hidden World for her, but seeing how convenient that sorcery was, it seemed there was no need.

The director asked Miho one final question.

"Miho-nim."

"Yes?"

"If a powerful great yokai appears again..."

Could you help us? Help the humans?

The director swallowed the rest of his words. He felt ashamed for asking a favor of a yokai. What came out of Miho's mouth next nearly made his head explode.

"Of course I'd help."

"R-really?!"

"Of course. We're allies, aren't we? If the Yokai Hunter Office collapses, that would be troublesome for me too."

"Th-thank you! Thank you so much!"

With those words, Miho disappeared into the Hidden World. No matter how he thought about it, forming an alliance with Miho had been the best possible decision. Lee Han-ul praised himself once again.

"Ah. What do you plan to do from now on, Ha-neul-nim?"

"Huuu... Miho... Huuu... Sob."

"..."

It looked like he'd have to ask again later.