Chapter 68: Yuhwa’s Test (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 68: Yuhwa’s Test (4)
Hilde… Lioness, or something.
I think she had a middle name, but I can’t quite remember it. Not that it matters. All I need to know is that she’s the princess of Vestia.
She had a belligerent personality. Despite being the princess of a nation, her boldly exposed arms, legs, and abdomen were toned with muscle.
The Lioness of Vestia, who pokes at everything she sees and smashes anything that gets on her nerves.
Worse, Hilde was always looking for a chance to kill Rin, the gumiho, under the pretext of ensuring the kingdom's safety.
From her perspective as a princess, her actions could be seen as righteous, but from my perspective—needing to liberate Rin—she was a villain to be avoided at all costs.
Besides, that security concern was just an excuse; most of the time, she was just looking for something to do to kill time.
And that very Hilde was now approaching the café.
This was not good.
“Rin, go hide inside the café for a bit. Don’t come out until I call for you, no matter what.”
“Is this hide-and-seek?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Okay!”
Rin scurried to the back of the café.
I knew the day would come when she and Hilde would cross paths, but it was far too soon.
Hilde swaggered toward us with her hands in her pockets like a punk. The street was so chaotic that no one seemed to recognize her.
Only Seira rushed out to greet her as if her life depended on it.
“Greetings to Princess Hilde.”
“Huh? Who are you?”
“I am Seira, team leader of the immigration department.”
“Ah, right. Nice to meet you. But what’s an immigration official doing here? Aren’t you on duty?”
“I was out for a moment on an off-site assignment.”
Hilde nodded lightly as if she understood. Seira, her head still bowed, asked cautiously.
“But what brings Your Highness all the way out here without an escort…?”
“I heard this is the new hot spot, right? I was curious, so I came to see. Who’s that human behind you?”
“He is Karami, the owner of the cat café, Your Highness.”
“Ah, so you’re the owner here? Perfect. I was hoping to see what you looked like.”
She wanted to see me?
Hilde?
Did Yuhwa snitch on me?
Hilde was one of the few people who knew Yuhwa’s true identity, and she was quite close to her.
Could that old gwanny, bound by her contract and unable to act herself, have sent Hilde to eliminate Rin?
I couldn’t be sure.
My mouth went dry.
I tried to swallow, but it was no use.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“In your opinion, which is superior: dogs or cats?”
What was this anticlimactic question?
For a moment, the lioness before me looked like a cute little kitten.
I quickly grasped the reason for Hilde’s visit and the intent behind her question, then formulated an answer that would surely please her.
“Cats, of course.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that because you’re in front of me, are you?”
“Why else would I be running a cat café, Your Highness? It’s all because I love cats.”
“Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”
Hilde nodded in acceptance. It was a good thing Rin wasn’t here. If she’d heard that, she might have thrown a fit, yelling, “Mastah is a bat!”
But even if Rin had been here, I would have given the same answer. Even Seira gave a subtle nod; it was a sign that I had answered very well.
“So those guys on the other side are the dog tribe, right? I’ll be sure to remember that.”
Sigh. Who told them to root for dogs?
Serves them right.
“I need to see the face of the guy who made that dog café, too. Do you happen to know him?”
“I’ve never even seen his face.”
I don’t look in the mirror, so I wasn’t lying.
I can never let her find out.
Hilde was the kind of crazy bitch who would actually smash the place to bits if she didn’t like it.
“Ah, this isn’t much fun. I’m going to head out now. Hey, owner.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“How can cats and dogs be on equal footing? It’s absurd. Make those fools realize which is superior.”
Hilde stared at me with a chilling gaze.
“If they’re still running wild the next time I come, I’ll consider it an insult to all cats, caused by your incompetence. Got it?”
“Understood.”
A few days later, a notice was posted at the dog café.
[The dog tribe hereby declares its defeat to the cat people. We accept our loss and will be closing our doors as of today. To all the customers who have supported us until now….]
“What is this nonsense! Who said anything about closing down?”
“Ohoho! You should have spent more money there. Ah, well, I’m off to the cat café for a massage~”
People were in an uproar at the dog café. The cat people and their supporters couldn’t hide their gleeful smiles, watching them as if they were clowns.
In contrast to them, I was steeped in gloom.
“My money… I could have milked it for so much longer. Now it’s all gone…”
“Well, who told you to instigate a fight? You’re reaping what you sowed.”
Seira looked at me with pity. How was I supposed to know Hilde would show up out of the blue?
It was then that I found someone I truly wanted to work to the bone, just like a slave.
*
“Here is the settlement report.”
I was back at the Celestial Pavilion after a long time.
I shared the details of the past month’s business with Yuhwa.
Having created a round table and chairs on a cloud, Yuhwa tilted her teacup and reviewed the report. She looked no different from a divine hermit.
“You’ve certainly stirred up quite a storm. To think you’d incite conflict between the tribes.”
“Ah, that. I never thought it would turn out that way. To me, they’re all just beastkin. I don’t know why they fight so much. I wish they’d just get along.”
Yuhwa’s narrowed eyes shot a look at me from over the report.
“You have a way with words.”
“It’s a merchant’s basic skill. Thank you.”
Yuhwa let out a long sigh and shook her head. Then she put the report down.
“So, how did I do?”
“Your performance was borderline, but you’ve passed the minimum requirement, and your fame is undeniable. You’ve passed.”
I let out a small, internal sigh of relief. I had expected to pass, so my reaction was muted.
“Since you have passed the test, I must uphold my end of the promise.”
Yuhwa summoned the contract from thin air. She added a few clauses to the existing text.
She will teach Rin magic.
The place of instruction shall be the Celestial Pavilion.
“The Celestial Pavilion should minimize the effects of her misfortune. At most, it will only affect you and me inside.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s not the time for thanks. As I’ve said before, an aura of death surrounds you. It will only grow stronger the longer you are with the gumiho.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“You’re so stubborn.”
Sighing deeply once more, Yuhwa shifted her gaze to Rin.
“Gumiho, how well can you handle your spiritual power?”
“Not gumiho! Rin is Rin!”
“…Alright, Rin. Have you ever tried using your spiritual power?”
“Spiritual power?”
Rin’s reaction suggested she didn’t even know what that was.
“I’ve explained it to you before, haven’t I?”
“Mastah did? Hmm…”
Rin crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, trying to recall the memory.
You can do it. I explained it to you several times. You even said, ‘Aha, I understand perfectly!’ and took the meat I gave you.
“I dunno!”
It was a lie.
She’s only learned how to lie from me.
It seemed only the Celestial Fox would be able to teach her.
“It seems we’ll have to start from the basics…”
*
“Just as humans possess mana, we yokai possess spiritual power.”
Yuhwa sat on the floor, and Rin sat beside her with her back to the Celestial Fox. Yuhwa placed a hand on Rin’s back to feel the flow of her spiritual power.
“Yokai can grow their spiritual power by absorbing the essence of living creatures. Have you ever done that?”
“I have! I caught lots and lots of rabbits with Mastah!”
“Yes, what you absorbed from them is spiritual power.”
Unlike ordinary demonic beasts, yokai could grow steadily by absorbing essence. It was how a lowly snow spirit could become a Snow Woman.
Of course, Rin was a gumiho, so her base level was overwhelmingly higher than that of a common yokai. She could become strong enough without having to absorb essence separately.
Still, every little bit helped.
“Do you remember releasing your spiritual power when you broke my binding spell last time?”
“Huh?”
“It must have been an unconscious act. But that’s fine. Even if the mind doesn’t remember, the body never forgets.”
Yuhwa made the spiritual power within Rin spin rapidly.
Rin’s eyes widened.
“Can you feel it? This is the spiritual power you hold within you.”
“Ooh?”
“Now, try to release it all at once with force.”
“Like taking a dump?”
“…However you want.”
Rin let out a grunt and began to strain. For a moment, thin threads of energy flickered and danced over her body.
Fwoosh!
The same kind of flame that had bloomed before now erupted from Rin.
“It’s red!”
“It’s pink. Now, once you can control your spiritual power freely, we can move to the next step…”
“Ooh? Ooh?”
Yuhwa trailed off. The flames of spiritual power burning from Rin grew smaller and larger in time with the tilting of her head.
As expected of a gumiho.
Her learning speed was exceptional.
Enough to make teaching her enjoyable.
This meant they could move on to the next step right away.
To what could be called the core of yokai magic.
“This time, let’s try making a Fox Orb.”
The Fox Orb. A sphere containing the essence of a fox yokai’s magic, a medium that maximized their power.
It was so important that there was a saying: what the Yeouiju is to a dragon, the Fox Orb is to a fox yokai.
“Now, bring your hands together. Focus on gathering your spiritual power between them, as if you’re making a ball. Concentrate.”
“Nngh…”
Rin quietly controlled her breathing and brought her hands together. She squinted, staring intently at the space between them, focusing all her senses.
The spiritual power that had been radiating outwards subsided, then began to gather above Rin’s small hands. Thin, thread-like strands of power clumped together like a ball of yarn.
Rin was sweating buckets. She was concentrating harder than she did when she ate.
The ball of yarn came together to form a small sphere.
“Now, compress it.”
With Yuhwa’s help, the sphere was compressed from all sides to its absolute limit, until it couldn’t be compressed any further. It became a tiny point of light.
“Good. Now, while focusing on maintaining this form, slowly infuse it with your spiritual power.”
Rin infused it with her power. The point began to grow slowly, as if it were breathing.
Before long, a small sphere, large enough to be called an orb, floated above Rin’s hands.
“It’s done.”
“Heok, heok, heok…”
Rin’s body heaved. She had been so focused she’d forgotten to breathe, and now she gasped for air.
Yuhwa examined Rin’s orb. It was small, about the size of a fist. But the orb, imbued with Rin’s spiritual power, glowed with a soft pink light.
It was a very pretty Fox Orb.
“It’s well made. At this level, there’s no need to make it again.”
If the shape was off or if there were any flaws, they would have had to break it and remake it, a process that could take days. Fortunately, Rin didn’t need to.
Yuhwa returned the orb to its owner. Rin couldn’t take her eyes off her Fox Orb.
“Rin’s orb…?”
“Yes, it’s your orb.”
After staring at it intently, Rin shook the Fox Orb and showed it off proudly.
“Mastah! It’s Rin’s orb! Is it pretty?”
“It’s very pretty.”
“Heeheehee.”
Rin stared at the orb again, then wiped it with her clothes as if handling a precious treasure. She was so excited that her three tails wagged hard enough to stir the air like propellers.
Yuhwa, who had been watching the scene with a gentle gaze, wore a complicated smile for a moment before her expression turned stern.
“It’s far too early to celebrate. This is only the beginning.”
“Don’t worry, Gwanny! Rin will get it done in a jiffy!”