Chapter 89: The Slave Who Devours Her Master (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 89: The Slave Who Devours Her Master (2)
Rin wasn't asleep. She couldn't fall asleep.
The gumiho's subtle whisper from earlier that day kept echoing in her mind.
Essence.
Karami's essence.
What would it taste like?
The curiosity was driving her mad, making sleep impossible.
Essence was something all living beings possessed. In most cases, the more powerful the being, the greater its essence in both quantity and quality.
Yokai could absorb this essence and convert it into spiritual power, which in turn became their strength. But it wasn't just about becoming stronger; some simply savored the taste. They hunted for the same reason humans went on gastronomic journeys.
It had even crossed Rin's mind to go hunting for yokai herself.
But the gumiho had whispered a secret: the essence of a person whose fate was deeply intertwined with her own would be the most delicious of all. And Rin had no doubt that person was Karami.
Taste aside, she also felt a deep desire to hold his essence within her.
Fortunately, if one could call it that, absorbing essence didn't automatically kill the source. You only died if it was drained completely. Otherwise, essence naturally replenished itself.
Which meant—
‘Maybe just a little taste wouldn't hurt, right?’
Just a little.
A tiny, tiny bit.
As long as she only took a minuscule amount—not enough to harm Karami—it would be fine. She only meant to have a sample.
She would taste it just once to satisfy her curiosity, and then never again. Rin made a firm resolution.
He couldn't possibly be awake, could he? After a cautious glance to make sure Karami was asleep, Rin placed a hand on his chest.
Ssshhhaaa…
Carefully, she began to draw out his essence. It was a minuscule amount, less than a sip of water—more like a single lick.
But that was where she'd miscalculated. Even that tiny taste was more than enough to overwhelm her senses.
“Ngh?!”
A jolt shot up from her fingertips and coursed through her entire body. A tingling sensation, like a mild electric shock, shot down her spine, and overwhelmed by the feeling, Rin’s back arched involuntarily.
It was as if a hidden sense she never knew she possessed had awakened. Her heart began to pound, and a searing heat coiled in the pit of her stomach.
A stifled moan escaped her tightly pressed lips.
“Hh! Hngh…”
Rin fell forward onto the bed. Her ears and tails, which had popped out, twitched uncontrollably. Her skin had become so sensitive that the slightest brush of fabric sent a jolt of pleasure through her.
Rin bit down on her trembling lips, forcing them into a thin line. She clenched the bedsheets.
She shouldn't have underestimated it just because the amount was small.
She never should have done it.
This was Pandora's box. A forbidden pleasure she could never escape once tasted. An oasis in the desert, a beautiful mirage.
‘If a single taste was this potent… what would happen if I drank more?’
Rin lifted her head to look at Karami. In the darkness, her mismatched eyes gleamed with avarice. Slowly, she began to reach for him again.
‘No!’
She flinched, snatching her hand back at the last second. She grabbed the treacherous hand with her other, holding it tight.
She couldn't stay here. If she did, she might really do something she'd regret.
The wind.
She needed some fresh air.
The cold air would clear her head. It had to. Rin scrambled out of the room.
That night, Rin grew another tail.
*
“Yaaawn…”
“Why are you being so uncouth at the table?”
As I let out a huge yawn, Seira immediately chided me.
“My apologies. I can’t seem to stop yawning.”
“Did you not sleep well?”
“I don’t think so. I thought I slept like a log.”
I didn't go to bed late, and I don't remember waking up. I thought I slept soundly, but for some reason, my body felt exhausted.
The yawning, the lethargy.
It felt like I hadn't slept at all.
“It’s probably nothing to worry about. Everyone has days like this.”
At my words, Seira lost interest and returned to her breakfast.
Rin was eating beside me. Now a seven-tailed fox, having grown another tail overnight. It was thanks to the spiritual power she'd absorbed after defeating the Fallen Monk.
It should have been a cause for celebration, yet her expression was glum. She was just picking at her food.
“Rin, is something wrong? You look down.”
“…”
Rin met my gaze for a moment before quickly looking away. She'd been acting this way ever since we dealt with the Fallen Monk yesterday.
I wondered if something had happened while we were fighting him. I wanted to ask the gumiho, but she wasn't making an appearance, as if she were asleep.
Perhaps becoming a seven-tailed fox had caused some kind of emotional shift. She probably just needed time to adjust. I decided not to press her and just wait.
“What are your plans for today?”
“Now that the Fallen Monk is dead, I should check if the curse has properly disappeared. I plan to stop by the cat café first, since Nero was cursed too. What about you, Seira?”
“I am still working from home. I suppose I must return to the office now that the plague has been dealt with.”
Vestia had been on lockdown ever since the curse spread, so Seira, who managed immigration, naturally found herself out of a job.
It felt wrong to say it, but Seira had been enjoying a sweet, unexpected vacation, all thanks to the Fallen Monk. Though now she'd have to go back.
“I don’t have to apologize, do I?”
“You may, if you are determined to paint me as a terrible person.”
I decided against it.
*
As planned, my first stop was the cat café.
I hadn't been back since Nero, one of the staff, had fallen ill with the curse. It must have been at least a week.
“How are you, Nero? Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah… I’m a little weak, but I’m okay-nyan.”
Those afflicted by the Fallen Monk's curse had developed blackened veins. In severe cases, their skin would even begin to rot.
Fortunately, Nero's case hadn't progressed that far, and he was recovering quickly now that the curse was lifted.
Thank goodness. I was so worried.
The cat people didn't have their own homes. Initially, I'd only offered them room and board, but they all worked so hard, and I'd grown fond of them, so I started paying them a salary as well.
But buying a house was still beyond their means, so the cat people lived in the café. The living arrangement itself wasn't a problem. I'd given my permission, and the space was large enough for them to spread out their bedding. The only issue was the clear limitation of quarantining in such a space.
I'd been worried the other cat people might have caught it, but no one else was showing symptoms. Perhaps the curse was lifted during its incubation period, before it could manifest.
“We won’t be open for business for a while anyway, so everyone get some rest. If there’s any food or ingredients you want, I’ll get them for you.”
Getting ingredients during a pandemic was like trying to pluck a star from the sky, but I had a reliable connection in the Celestial Pavilion.
“Thanks-nyan.”
“That’s our boss-meow. The dog café’s owner just disappeared without any sense of responsibility.”
“What a terrible human.”
“He must have decided the dog tribe wasn't worth the trouble-meow.”
As the cat people chatted amicably, Persi slipped away from the group and approached me.
“What is it, Persi? Is there something you want to say?”
“You look pale, boss. You’re not feelin’ sick, are ya?”
“Hmm.”
First Seira, and now Persi. They were both saying the same thing. I was definitely tired, but was it so obvious? I should probably head back and get some rest once I'm done here.
“And what’s with your face?” Persi said, pointing at Rin. “You look like someone who’s done somethin’ wrong.”
Rin flinched.
“It’s just your imagination.”
“Hmm, is it? You look pretty fidgety for it to be my imagination.”
“I said, it’s your imagination.”
A strange tension filled the air between them. Persi put her hands on her hips, cocked her head, and stared intently at Rin. Rin furtively averted her gaze.
“Master. You said you were tired. Let’s go back if you’re done here.”
“Ah, should we? Persi, we’ll be going now. We’ll come again.”
“Take care, boss. Get lots of rest.”
“Bye-bye-meow.”
After being seen off by the cat people, we started our walk home.
The Fallen Monk was dead and the curse was lifted, but the city streets were still quiet. It had only happened yesterday, so the city wasn't going to spring back to life overnight.
Slowly but surely. As people realized the curse was gone, they would start to emerge, and the streets would soon be bustling again.
So I wasn't particularly worried about that. What did bother me was Rin's sullen mood. She was unusually quiet, and while she normally stuck right by my side, she now kept an arm's length between us.
If my slave wasn't feeling well, it was my duty as her master to take care of her. I sidled up closer to her.
“Rin, if something’s wrong, you can feel free to tell me. Isn’t that what a master is for?”
Rin stared at me.
Her lips parted as if she were about to say something, but then…
“Master, I’m sorry, but this is uncomfortable. I’m just going to walk a little farther away.”
And with that, Rin moved away from me!
I felt like I'd been hit with a hammer.
‘Rin… is pushing me away?’
That wasn't the end of it.
Night fell, as it always did.
I was about to head into my room with Rin, as usual, when she stopped at the door.
“What’s wrong?”
“…I’m going to sleep in my own room from now on.”
“Huh?”
Rin entered her own room, a room she never used. I stared blankly after her, then rushed to find Seira.
I explained the whole situation to her. She tilted her head, looking confused.
“Isn’t that normal? If anything, it’s long overdue.”
“That may be, but for her to suddenly act like this is strange!”
“Perhaps she’s hit puberty. I’m not sure if gumiho even go through that.”
“Puberty…?”
Rin… hit puberty?
The kind of puberty where they lock their door, refuse to come out, and act like doing laundry with their dad is the most disgusting thing in the world?
Is that why she's been trying to keep her distance from me?
Do I have that ‘old dad’ smell?
“Seira, is there any way to go back to how things were?”
Seira shook her head firmly.
“Once a girl hits puberty, it’s game over.”
“It can’t be…”
My world came crashing down.