Chapter 100: Fortune-Telling (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 100: Fortune-Telling (1)
It was when the Gumiho had gone to capture Dark Fox.
Having been told he would only be a hindrance if he followed, Karami remained in the city and went to the Celestial Pavilion to deliver the news to Yuhwa. With her world in shambles, Yuhwa was handling her duties in an ordinary office.
Upon hearing that the Gumiho had gone after Dark Fox, Yuhwa nodded as if she had expected it, but her expression was grim.
Even if Rin had absorbed the Celestial Fox's power, she would still struggle to defeat Dark Fox as she was now.
“I do have a way, you know.”
Like a con artist promising to make her a millionaire if she just invested in him, Karami made a tempting offer.
Yuhwa, who had seen her fair share of swindlers, was normally immune to such ploys, but even she couldn't help but be impressed by his story.
However, there were a few obstacles.
Yuhwa had a rough idea of the Lunar Shrine’s location, but the question was how to get to a place teeming with yokai.
Having lost her power, Yuhwa could only manage simple magic. She was far too weak to defeat powerful yokai.
“What are you worried about? I have another strong slave.”
“Ah.”
Yuhwa found herself nodding in agreement.
One person immediately came to mind.
*
A strange thing had been happening in the royal castle of Vestia lately.
Princess Hilde, the local thug, had locked herself in her room and refused to come out.
Far from upholding her dignity as a princess, she had once made it a daily routine to go to the market and torment innocent citizens.
But from a certain day on, she hadn't so much as glanced outside the castle.
Some were pleased, thinking Hilde had finally matured, but the reality was different.
“Son of a bitch. I’ll tear him to pieces!”
It all started after she was walked like a pet, a slave instead of a princess. The leash was gone, but the shackles bound to her soul remained.
Hilde had considered asking the court mage to remove them, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.
The moment a servant saw them and spread a rumor—‘The princess has shackles of subjugation?’—it would be all over for her. She was trapped, with no way out.
Because of this, she couldn't even go outside. She couldn't imagine what new humiliation she might suffer if she happened to run into Karami.
That was why Hilde didn't dare set foot outside.
The only silver lining was that she was, for all her troubles, still a princess. As long as she stayed in the castle, Karami couldn't get in.
It didn't seem like anything would change by just holding out, but it was still a hundred times better than crawling on the floor like a dog.
Tap.
Hilde’s shoulders jumped at the tiny sound. She reacted with sharp sensitivity. A single white fox was perched on her windowsill.
It placed a scroll from its mouth in front of Hilde, then departed through the window.
It was one of Yuhwa’s foxes, a messenger used to deliver news. Hilde had received messages from it a few times before.
Yuhwa.
That ungrateful fox who dared to deceive a princess.
Like Karami, she was someone Hilde wanted to chew to pieces to vent her fury.
I wonder what silver-tongued lies she'll spin this time.
Hilde unrolled the scroll and read it.
The message wasn't long.
It was just a short sentence.
-Bring your leash and come to the Celestial Pavilion. If you don't, I'll tell the whole world you're a slave, okay?
Hilde’s eyes flew open as she crushed the paper in her fist. Her face went pale, as if she had just seen her own name on a death list.
Stunned, she stared blankly for a moment, then peeked at the crumpled paper again, wondering if she had misread it. The message was unchanged.
Flump.
Hilde buried her face in her bed.
She pounded the mattress with her fists, letting out a silent scream.
*
In the end, Hilde came to the Celestial Pavilion, leash in hand.
Karami and Yuhwa were waiting. Hilde’s eyes met Yuhwa’s, and she let out a fierce growl. Yuhwa quickly averted her gaze.
Karami stepped between them with a carefree smile.
“Well, I'm glad you came so quickly. It would have been quite troublesome if you hadn't.”
Though Karami’s words were about his own potential trouble, to Hilde, they meant the exact opposite.
‘Well now. You were quick, weren't you? If you hadn't come, I would've gone around telling everyone you're a slave. You got lucky, you little shit.’
It felt like he was saying it just for her to hear.
“What… what did you call me for? D-don’t tell me it’s for another walk…?”
“How could I walk a princess on a leash in broad daylight? What a terrible thing to say.”
So it’s fine at night? You’re the one saying terrible things, not me!
Hilde fought back the urge to snap at him, barely managing to suppress her anger.
“There’s somewhere I need to go. I’d like to ask you to be my escort.”
The yokai are strong?
Then just bring a strong slave.
With someone as skilled as Hilde, reaching the Lunar Shrine would be a breeze.
Besides, when else would he get to be escorted by a princess?
He had to experience it now that the opportunity had arrived.
As Hilde prepared to leave, swallowing her curses, Yuhwa approached Karami.
“Dark Fox is very wary, but she is also very curious. Like a scholar, she can't stand not knowing something. Take this. If you use it at the right time, it will be a great help to you.”
Yuhwa handed him a brown cloth pouch. Inside were three orbs—one blue, one red, and one white—each slightly smaller than a fist.
“Oh.”
It was an item Karami knew very well.
It was Yuhwa’s magic pouch, inspired by the three-colored gourds used to defeat the fox in the Korean folktale, The Fox Sister.
The irony of a fox giving him such an item was amusing, but right now, he would welcome any help he could get.
After taking the magic pouch and learning how to use the orbs from Yuhwa, Karami set off for the Lunar Shrine.
‘Fuck, fuck, fuuuuck!’
“Wow, you’re so fast.”
All while riding on Hilde’s back.
*
“I’m here to have my fortune told~”
This was the story of what happened before Karami arrived at the Lunar Shrine.
To Heukbi, who knew none of the details, he was nothing more than an uninvited guest.
What’s with this crazy bastard?
An intruder so insane had appeared that even the ever-composed Heukbi couldn't help but have such a thought.
‘Who is he?’
Heukbi did occasionally use her shapeshifting magic to wander the human world. She had formed connections with people during her travels, but this man was not one of them. He was a stranger.
She desperately wanted to ignore him, but he could be reinforcements for the Gumiho. If he were to break the barrier, it would become a serious problem.
As long as the barrier held, the Gumiho couldn't escape. Maintaining the barrier, Heukbi stepped outside. With a soft rustle, she descended with the grace of a celestial maiden.
Her fox ears and tail were hidden by her shapeshifting magic.
“Oh?”
Seeing Heukbi appear out of thin air, Karami’s eyes widened in surprise.
Heukbi landed lightly in front of Karami and shot him a look of displeasure for interrupting her work.
Her silver eyes didn't have the power to pierce through to a person’s essence like the Heavenly Eye, but with her experience, she could make a rough guess based on appearance alone.
‘He’s ordinary….’
He was the most ordinary person she could imagine. How such a man had made it all the way here was a true mystery.
Could he possess some extraordinary ability that isn't visible on the surface? Wary, Heukbi spoke.
“Who are you?”
“I've come to have my fortune told. An acquaintance told me there was a skilled fortune-teller here.”
“You must be mistaken. As you can see, there is nothing here.”
“Rather than nothing here, it looks like nothing is left here.”
The ground was pocked with signs of a fierce battle.
Of what was once a shrine, only the unburnt foundation and the ground it stood on remained.
The smoldering embers still radiated the heat of the recent conflict.
So what? What are you going to do about it?
Heukbi felt a slow-burning irritation rise from deep within her. She considered simply killing him to get rid of him, but she wasn't fond of killing.
And since she was in a rather good mood after capturing the Gumiho, she decided to show him some mercy for once.
“That is none of your concern, guest. I do not know who told you of this place, but it is not somewhere you should be. Please return at once.”
Her tone was calm.
But it carried an implicit order to leave.
It meant, get lost, quickly. Karami adopted an air of reluctant surrender.
“Hmm, I suppose it can't be helped.”
Just as she thought he was about to leave, he began to rummage inside his clothes. He pulled out the brown pouch and took out the white orb.
“Catch.”
He tossed it lightly toward Heukbi.
Poof!
The orb exploded, releasing a cloud of smoke.
“Cough, cough!”
Caught off guard, Heukbi inhaled the smoke and began to cough violently.
As she covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, her body shaking, her hidden tail and ears popped out.
‘My magic?!’
Her shapeshifting had been undone.
By a mere orb thrown by a human.
And it wasn't an ordinary orb.
It was an orb imbued with a magic fatal to foxes.
“The Celestial Fox…?”
The energy she felt from the magic was none other than that of the Celestial Fox.
“Oh, that's the acquaintance who introduced me to this place. You seem to know her?”
“……”
An acquaintance of the Celestial Fox?
She told him her location?
Who in the world was he?
What was the Celestial Fox, who had helped the Gumiho, plotting…?
And what was this man thinking…?
“Did you say you came to have your fortune told?”
“Yes.”
“…Very well. I am not as skilled as the Celestial Fox, but I can tell fortunes to some extent. I will see yours.”
Heukbi’s silver eyes swept over their surroundings, and in an instant, the destroyed shrine and the ravaged land returned to their original state.
“Please, come in.”
Heukbi turned and moved with silent steps. She would simply have to find out what kind of person he was.
Her curiosity had won out over her caution.
Meanwhile, Karami, who was trotting along behind her, was thinking:
‘Wow! Dark Fox! Heukbi! A fox priestess!’
The yokai fox trifecta was right in front of him