Chapter 52: Rin, the Fox Who Brings Misfortune
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52: Rin, the Fox Who Brings Misfortune
Bolt waited in the safe zone on the outskirts of White Cloud Valley.
Buddy had been too scared to even come along. He was probably back at the inn in the village below the valley, preening his feathers.
“Just when are they coming out?”
It had been about an hour since Karami and Seira entered White Cloud Valley.
The dense fog obscured the view, and a thumping, ground-shaking sound echoed off the valley walls.
Is it really okay to just wait here?
If that monster came this way, he was a dead man.
Ah, screw it.
‘They were both good people. May they rest in peace.’
Just as Bolt finished his 0.1-second prayer and turned to leave, a voice called out.
“Phew, we barely made it out. If I’d come alone, I would’ve been trapped in there forever.”
“Why do I have to be doing this…?”
“For surveillance, of course. Surveillance. You have to take responsibility until the very end.”
The two who had entered the valley emerged, parting the fog. Their entrance was as dramatic as if mountain spirits had appeared.
“Y-You’re finally out! I totally wasn’t about to run away alone… huh?”
Bolt’s eyes widened.
Karami was cradling a little beastkin girl in his arms like a baby. Two went in, but three came out?
“Congratulations. A beautiful daughter! I never imagined you two were in that kind of relationship. But no matter how close you are, isn’t doing it outdoors a bit much?”
“Stop spouting nonsense, Sir Bolt.”
“S-Seira?”
Even though she wasn’t speaking to Karami, Seira had let slip a harsh word. Her appearance was also different from usual.
Her hands and feet were those of a grotesque beast, and her limbs were covered in gray fur. It was a sign that she had used her beastkin ability, beastification.
“I am a wolf. This child is a fox.”
“Hmm…? Ah, now that I look closer, you’re right. My apologies for the misunderstanding. I wasn’t in my right mind.”
She was a cute-looking fox.
And her fur was pink.
“…?”
Pink fur?
A fox?
A pink fox?
“A-A pink fox?!”
“That’s right. Isn’t she pretty? She’s my new slave.”
“Pretty?! You took a pink fox as a slave? Are you out of your mind?”
The pink fox was one of the most notoriously wicked yokai. Its mere presence was said to bring misfortune and invite disaster.
To willingly bring one back… it was inexplicable unless he was insane.
“Take her back where you found her, right now! If you don’t, you’ll live to regret it!”
“Haha, how could I leave such a cute child in a dangerous place like that? You might not know this, Mr. Bolt, but a bear yokai called a Ghost Bear roams inside White Cloud Valley. Go in, and you’re instantly dead.”
“But—!”
“Miss Seira.”
Cutting off Bolt’s protest, Karami shot Seira a sly look. Seira’s eyes were wary, anticipating what nonsense he would spew next.
“…What is it.”
“Is it a net positive or a net negative to let an injured child die just because she supposedly brings misfortune?”
“Tsk.”
Seira answered with a short click of her tongue. Pleased with her reaction, Karami grinned.
“You heard her, Mr. Bolt. Leaving her behind would be abandonment. I’m already under suspicion of abandonment, so I can’t just abandon someone else, can I? What a shame.”
“…I’m telling you, I warned you. Don’t say I didn’t when something happens.”
*
We left White Cloud Valley and returned to the small village where Buddy was waiting.
It had been a tiring day, so we agreed to meet tomorrow and I went to my room.
“Hoo…”
I sat on the bed. It was the best room in this remote inn, but the mattress still wasn’t very soft. A pity, but I suppose it couldn’t be helped.
Beside me, Rin was sleeping, her breathing shallow.
I had already finished treating her. She was wrapped in bandages here and there, but beastkin have excellent regenerative abilities, so she would heal quickly.
I stroked Rin’s hair. I flinched unconsciously, as if it were a sensation I’d never felt before.
Sigh, you poor thing.
The third main slave: [The Fox Who Brings Misfortune].
She was one of the most popular characters that came to mind when you thought of TOS. There were many reasons for this, but for starters, she was very different from the other slaves.
First.
Rin had no name.
Her case was slightly different from Mirabelle’s. While Mirabelle had tried to hide her name, Rin truly didn’t have one.
So where did the name ‘Rin’ come from?
It’s the name I gave her in the game.
In-game, it was [LIN].
The reason it was in English was due to the game’s rule that nicknames had to be between two and eight characters.
Rin was the only character the user got to name themselves.
The second difference was her growth.
The other slaves were already somewhat grown when I met them, physically speaking.
But Rin, right now, was small.
Even smaller than Mirabelle.
However, as the story progressed, she would grow physically.
In other words, I name her, and I raise her from the very beginning. The system was designed so that watching her grow, you couldn’t help but become attached.
“Hehe, hehehehe.”
I was already excited just thinking about raising Rin.
Daddy will take good care of you.
*
In the back alleys of Vestia, down an old, forgotten path, sat a fortune-telling booth.
It smelled musty and ancient.
The interior was dim.
On a round table rested a white orb.
An old woman moved her wrinkled fingers eerily over the orb. As she did, a silver tail swayed gently behind her.
“Let’s see… I see you running along a path. Others are chasing you from behind. It’s so thrilling, it looks just like a race.”
“A-A race?”
“Wings sprouted, and you came in first. People are cheering, congratulating you.”
“Wings?”
The old woman nodded, gazing at the orb.
“And after that…”
“After that?”
The girl having her fortune told swallowed nervously, waiting for the next words. What came from the old woman’s mouth was…
“…You’re singing and dancing.”
“Dancing…?”
“Yes, countless men are cheering for you, waving sticks.”
“I compete in a race, suddenly sprout wings and get first place, and then I sing and dance? What kind of ridiculous fortune is that?”
“No…”
“They said you were a skilled fortune-telling grandma, but you’re just a fraud. I’m leaving.”
The girl stormed out of the booth, clearly dissatisfied with the result. Her horsetail swished back and forth as she left.
A moment of silence fell.
“Pfft. Pff-hahaha.”
A woman who had been watching the whole exchange burst into a small laugh. She tried to cover her mouth with her hand, but it was no use. A full-blown peal of laughter erupted.
“…If you laugh like that, this old woman will get sulky, Princess.”
The woman had hair as dark as night.
Her pupils were like molten gold.
Pointed ears perked up from her head, and a long tail followed behind her.
The one called Princess was the Lioness of Vestia.
Hilde Brigitta Lioness.
“Pff-hahaha, I’m sorry. But I can’t help it. I never dreamed I’d see the day Yuhwa was called a fraud.”
Yuhwa pressed her lips together.
The fortune-telling grandma.
Most people called the old woman by that common title, but the very few who knew her true identity called her by another name.
One of the three yokai foxes who had hidden themselves from the eyes of the world.
The witch who reads the flow of fate.
The Celestial Fox, Yuhwa.
A yokai who, despite being a beastkin and not an elf, had lived for a thousand years. She was a living witness who had observed the changes of the world for a long, long time.
“I guess you’re getting old too, Yuhwa. To give such a nonsensical reading.”
Her eyes were as blue as a winter sky. Her fox tail was as white as a transplanted cloud.
Yuhwa had once been able to foresee the future, but even she could not escape the passage of time.
Her tail had faded, its tip losing its luster. The wrinkles etched around her eyes spoke of the weight of the years she had lived.
The yokai who once held the will of the heavens had now been reduced to a mere creature who could handle a bit of magic.
“Hmm, this can’t be right…”
Still unable to give up, Yuhwa frowned, staring at the image reflected in the orb.
Even if she wasn’t what she used to be, her subject was just an ordinary girl, and the future was not far off. She was confident she couldn’t be wrong.
The horse beastkin girl, wearing dazzling clothes, would race through the city to come in first, then dance on a stage with the other horse beastkin she competed against.
Even Yuhwa found it absurd, but no matter how hard she stared, the scene in the orb didn't change.
“Yuhwa, how about you come live in the palace? You can read my fortune for the day every morning.”
“I must decline. Not only do I have a merchant group to run, but sometimes a bad fortune appears instead of a good one. I fear I would displease you, Princess.”
“You could just tell a little white lie then. I’d believe anything you say, you know?”
“If one speaks falsely of fate, they will receive punishment from the heavens, Princess.”
“I know. That’s why I trust you.”
Then why tell me to lie?
Yuhwa sighed at the princess, who loved her wordplay.
Clatter.
“Hm?”
The orb suddenly shook.
It wasn’t an earthquake, nor was it the wind.
“What’s this? Yuhwa, was that an egg, not an orb?”
Yuhwa had no time to respond to the silly joke. She just stared intently at the orb.
Clatter, clatter. The orb trembled erratically. The vibrations grew stronger until a pink light burst out, flooding the inside of the orb.
Yuhwa’s half-lidded eyes shot wide open.
“Th-This is…?!”
“What’s wrong?”
Yuhwa’s eyes trembled as violently as the orb.
The billowing pink mist slowly began to take shape. The mist formed nine shimmering wisps. The wisps swayed as if they were dancing.
Their bewitching movement was reminiscent of the swish of a fox’s tails.
The meaning was clear.
“That child… has she come out?”
A being who had long been in seclusion, hidden from the world’s eyes. But now, twisting the order of the heavens, she had revealed herself to the outside world once more.
And that wasn’t all.
There’s someone else.
There was someone who had twisted the order of the heavens and brought out the yokai fox. But she couldn’t see who it was. A giant tree was obscuring his form.
An elf?
An elf and the World Tree protecting him?
But she couldn’t feel the aura of an elf…
She couldn’t tell.
The mist scattered, and the orb returned to its original color. The shaking stopped with it.
It had all happened in an instant, leaving Yuhwa dumbfounded. For such impossible things to happen one after another…
“Yuhwa, what in the world is going on?”
Hilde’s voice slowly brought Yuhwa back to her senses. Still, she looked utterly exhausted.
“I think I’ll have to close the fortune-telling booth.”
My divine powers must have really hit rock bottom.
Otherwise, this makes no sense.
Yes, I should just quit.