The Tiger Legend of Jangsan
Two days had passed since my return to the Hidden World. Thump. Thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump. That was the sound of Depo bouncing around on the bed. And it wasn't just Depo. Over the past two days, every yokai I knew had come to my den, hopped onto the bed, and played around before leaving. Look at this. I knew they'd love it. The yokai of the Hidden World crave human novelties. Since I was heading to see Sangun anyway, I might as well suggest bringing in some human inventions while I'm at it.
Thump. Thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump. …Still, how long was this damn squirrel planning to keep bouncing?
"Squeak, squeak! This is fun! Miho, I'm living here from now on!"
"Don't be ridiculous. If you're a squirrel, act like one and get in a wheel."
"A wheel? What's a wheel?"
"Oh." Of course he wouldn't know what a wheel was. Just to get the annoying Depo off my back, I resolved to bring one back the next time I went out.
Crunch. Crunch-crunch-crunch. Depo watched me chewing on dog food and muttered, "…Miho, is that actually good?"
"Of course it is."
"Ugh… Miho, you're such a dog. How can something that primitive taste good?"
"Says the one who eats acorns! Those taste awful compared to this!"
"Acorns are delicious! They smell way better than your dog food! Dog food stinks! It's primitive!"
"Shut up, you little rat!"
"Squeeeak, squeeeak!"
Unable to endure Depo's provocation any longer, I wrapped my foxfire around his tail and spun him through the air several times.
"Squeeeeeeak! Let me go, let me goooo!"
…
As I played with Depo, my thoughts drifted. Truthfully, I already had a rough idea of how to track the Crown Prince's Relic. I just needed to defeat yokai granted the qualification for ascension. I'd beaten the blue-furred fox yokai and gotten information. I'd beaten Jomagu and the Crown Prince's Relic marker had appeared with a flourish. It could have been coincidence… but when coincidences repeat, they stop being coincidences.
That tiger yokai said to be appearing near Jangsan in Busan was probably one of those granted the qualification for ascension. The pattern matched the previous two. It had started radiating power without any warning signs, and it was powerful enough to shake off Force Arts users. The only sticking point was that the Jangsan Tiger wasn't some ancient yokai from old legends. It was nothing more than a modern urban legend, a creature born of recent fiction. Of course, that was knowledge from before I'd possessed this fox yokai body, back when I was still human. Things might be different in this world.
So why wasn't I heading straight for Jangsan in Busan? Because I couldn't be sure I was going in the right direction. It would be nice if I had even one mentor who could grant me some wisdom. Who in the Hidden World of Jirisan could I ask for advice? The first name that came to mind was Sangun. The second was also Sangun. And the third was Sangun as well. The ancient tree Janghwa Hyeonyo or Mangtae Grandfather might know something, but they wouldn't know as precisely as Sangun.
Haah. I didn't want to. I really didn't want to… Tigers have always been the natural enemy of foxes. Maybe my particular fear of Sangun, compared to other yokai, stemmed from a fox's instinctual dread of tigers. Whatever. Thinking about it any more would just give me a headache. No matter how much I dreaded facing Sangun, I had to ask him directly at least once. It's not like he'd tear me apart and kill me, right?
Whoosh.
"Squeak!"
I tossed Depo carelessly onto the bed and set off to meet Sangun.
[So it is the horn of the Ri among the Yimaemangnyang.]
"…"
[Show it to me, child.]
"…Yes."
This crazy spiritual beast. I hadn't even taken the horn out of my tail yet—how did he know? Sangun's voice was endlessly gentle, yet his words carried an irresistible force. Trembling, I obediently followed his command.
Sangun examined the goblin's horn from every angle before speaking. [Where did you obtain this?]
"From… from a yokai called Jomagu."
[Jomagu. I have heard of it.]
[A creature that endlessly craves food.]
[A five-foot yokai that grows without limit.]
[Jomagu, too, was a yokai granted the qualification for ascension.]
He began staring at me intently. It was wordless pressure to speak. I explained everything to him. Once I'd decided to stand before Sangun, I had no courage to hide any secrets. I told him the whole story—the tale of the multi-tailed fox yokai I'd heard from the blue-furred fox, the Crown Prince's Relic, the goblins, and finally, the yokai granted the qualification for ascension. It was a story I would have had to tell him someday. Unlike me, who knew almost nothing, he knew a great deal.
After listening, he silently gazed at the goblin's horn, then burned it away with his spiritual energy. Why burn something so precious?!
Annoyed for no reason, I asked him directly, "Sangun, what is the Crown Prince's Relic?"
[…]
"What kind of being is Dueoksini?"
[…]
"What is ascension?"
[…]
"The fox yokai… No, what exactly am I, with all these tails?"
[…]
He gave me no answers. It was a familiar situation. He had always been particularly unwilling to answer my questions. Maybe the powerful yokai energy I'd received from the blue-furred fox had given me courage. I pressed on without hesitation.
"In the past two weeks, two yokai granted the qualification for ascension have awakened."
[…]
"A tiger yokai with silky, long fur has appeared at Jangsan in Busan. I dare to guess that this tiger yokai has also been granted the qualification for ascension."
[…]
"Is it coincidence?"
[…]
"Are you truly not going to tell me anything?"
It was unfair. I had no way of knowing why Sangun was being so harsh only to me. What was he so afraid of? What was he so worried about that he withheld his words?
Sangun's spiritual energy began to stir. The wind split and the ground trembled. My body started shaking uncontrollably from the spiritual energy that chilled me to the bone. Then—
Click.
In an instant, he erased his presence. Sangun looked at me steadily and said, [Child. Do I appear to be a great being in your eyes?]
"…Honestly, yes. At the very least, I can be certain you have the ability to answer my questions adequately."
Though I was only a two-year-old fox yokai who had just been born, I instinctively knew that Sangun's power far exceeded mortal limits.
[Child.]
[I know the answers to the things you just mentioned.]
"…!"
[But I cannot answer.]
"Why not?"
[Because that is not the role given to me.]
"What kind of bullshit is that, damn it…!"
Without realizing it, I released my yokai energy. It was rebellion against a king, an act of blasphemy that could have cost me my head. Strangely, instead of scolding me, he continued speaking.
[Child, I am not the great being you think I am.]
[I am merely a passive observer of a flawed world.]
[Nothing more than a foolish coward.]
"…"
[Child, I cannot judge for myself whether you are chaos or order.]
[I cannot be certain that you are not an evil fox like Dalki, but a benevolent fox bearing the name Miho, one that has never existed before.]
[I merely watch over your actions.]
[That is the role heaven has given me.]
[My duty as a passive observer.]
"…"
[Therefore, I cannot share the wisdom I possess with you.]
In other words, this tiger beast was saying he had no more use for me, so I should get lost. Fine, I got it. How filthy and petty. I swear I'll never come to see Sangun again.
[However.]
"…?"
[In this flawed world…]
[The concept of 'coincidence' does not exist.]
"What…?"
[It was a soliloquy. Pay it no mind.]
In that moment, I instinctively realized that what he had just said was extremely important information. Then it happened.
Rumble!
Out of nowhere, lightning struck from a clear sky.
Oh. Depo would love that.
[Going against heaven's will… You have just defied the heavenly mandate.]
"What?"
[I have nothing more to say. Leave now.]
"…Understood."
With a smile on my face, I bowed politely to him and turned away. This tsundere tiger. See? In the end, he told me what I wanted to hear. "It is not coincidence." That was exactly what I'd most wanted to hear from him.
"Hello."
"…"
"What? What is it?"
"Lady Miho, have you already run out of food…?"
"No, that's not it. I just came to visit because I was bored."
"Ah… I see."
The director looked flustered. Only two days had passed since our tearful farewell with Miho. He'd thought they might meet again someday, but he hadn't expected it to be this soon. Miho, who had once again appeared at the Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office, asked the director, "Director, that tiger at Jangsan in Busan—has it been caught yet?"
"No, not yet. The whole country is in an uproar over it. We don't even know where it is right now… But why are you suddenly asking about the Jangsan Tiger?"
"Director."
"Yes?"
The director could only wear a dumbfounded expression at Miho's next words.
"Could you buy me a train ticket to Busan?"