Chapter 166
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Lesson 34. Free Servitude - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The God-Eating Wolf, or Shikinrang, refers to a wolf that devours gods.
The most famous example is Fenrir, Loki's son from Norse mythology who devoured the supreme god Odin during Ragnarok.
After coming to Union Academy and studying the histories of various dimensions, he realized that similar legends to Fenrir's existed in other dimensions, differing only in names.
――In fact, there were quite a few cases where even the names matched perfectly, but since Babel Tower itself originated on Earth, nitpicking that would be pointless.
What about the Nine-Tailed Fox? On Earth, it's a great yokai originating from East Asia, and just like Fenrir, it appears frequently in legends and myths across other dimensions.
With its nine tails granting supernatural powers, the tales of it bewitching humans and devouring their livers are particularly famous.
In China, it was Daji, the infamous seductress who ruined the Shang Dynasty as King Zhou's concubine. When the legend crossed over to Japan, it became Tamamo-no-Mae, who enchanted the emperor.
Whether a real Nine-Tailed Fox is inherently like that is anyone's guess, but among all the beasts passed down in stories, it's arguably the most infamous.
"Yet Lucelle inherited the blood of both."
"A miraculous probability. It's already hard for those of us carrying the blood of ancient divine beasts to have offspring in the first place."
"That's true enough."
No need to scrutinize each one individually—the abilities of Canid and Lucia were the strongest in the Wolf Fang Tribe.
If the two of them could produce children easily—though this phrasing might not be the most polite—they would have undoubtedly borne as many powerful offspring as possible to bolster the tribe's strength.
At the very least, now that Lucelle had entered the Academy, they would need to create a new heir...
"Son-in-law, that's not quite how it is. It's true it's difficult—but we haven't even tried."
After pouring liquor generously into Ban Yu-won's cup, Canid tilted the half-full bottle to his lips and gulped it down, his face turning bitter.
"It's my fault. If I hadn't been so greedy in my youth, I never would have made that contract with him..."
"Lucelle suffers enough as it is. We can't give the Constellations any more leverage over us."
Lucia explained in place of Canid, who trailed off.
Indeed, Ban Yu-won quickly realized.
They were worried that the Constellations might pull the same tricks on any new children as they had on Lucelle.
'Hold on, but in that case, couldn't I somehow—.'
Ban Yu-won glanced at Lucelle, who was purring contentedly in his arms and acting affectionate (thanks to the alcohol making her drunk), and swallowed the words that nearly escaped his lips.
Somehow what? Offer to bind any new children of theirs under his servitude to protect them from the Constellations?
That would just mean changing owners—the collar would still be there.
For him, who had agonized so much over his relationship with Lucelle, to step in calling it 'help' would be beyond shameless.
"Lucelle's heart path... isn't fully resolved yet either."
So instead, he brought up something else.
"I'm still researching ways to fix it. So... please just wait a little longer."
"Thank you."
Did they notice the hesitation or guilt in his words?
Canid grinned and patted his shoulder.
"Our daughter has found herself a fine master."
"A master worth offering her soul to," Lucia added in a calm tone.
Ban Yu-won averted his gaze in embarrassment, but Lucelle clutched his sleeve tightly and burrowed deeper into his embrace.
"She seems to have fallen asleep."
"We trained her thoroughly."
"Just in case, please don't tell me what kind of training it was."
Training for making babies was scary enough, but with a Nine-Tailed Fox as the instructor? There couldn't be a more terrifying combination.
He stroked Lucelle in his arms and gave a wry smile.
The daughter of a Nine-Tailed Fox would naturally be born with the talent to bewitch people.
"Cherish her."
"Of course."
Ban Yu-won nodded firmly at Canid's words.
He had resolved to do so from the moment their master-servant bond was formed.
"――Ahh."
At that moment, Sloti approached slowly, clutching a liquor jar, and let out a low sigh upon seeing Lucelle.
"The princess beat me to it."
"That's why I told you to practice seducing men, Sloti."
"It was too much hassle back then..."
――Thud. As she set the liquor jar on the table and replied to Canid, Sloti's eyes locked straight onto Ban Yu-won.
It was like she had him locked on, determined not to let him slip away.
Ban Yu-won thought it was a good thing Lucelle was there.
Without her, he might have been devoured in an instant.
"It's not too late to start now. Give it your all."
"Yeah, the Sloth Queen shines in war. Plenty of chances to appeal."
"War..."
Ban Yu-won stiffened at Sloti's casual mention of war.
She was already preparing for the coming war.
While beastkin everywhere reveled in the feast, drinking heartily, the forest keeper Sloti remained coldly analytical amid the revelry.
No, perhaps even the beastkin who seemed so carefree—.
Ban Yu-won stroked Lucelle's head—she showed no sign of waking—and asked Sloti.
"They say enemies are coming from the sky too. Can you monitor that?"
"Yeah, the leaves whisper to me."
At that point, it felt less like controlling trees and more like being a spirit user.
Then Dokgo Yeon appeared from behind, arms full of food.
"They gave me tons since you're with your group. Eat up."
"Thanks."
Ban Yu-won took a sweet snack (made by hardening tree sap) from Dokgo Yeon, bit into it, and asked.
"By the way, have you two been together this whole time?"
"We fought."
Ban Yu-won flinched at Dokgo Yeon's nonchalant reply.
Come to think of it, he hadn't noticed at first, but Sloti had many scratches on her body, and her hair was even more disheveled.
Dokgo Yeon, on the other hand—no need for him to worry.
"She was strong. Not just some pest charging in after seeing your power."
"You really don't hold back with words. Why did you fight in the first place?"
Dokgo Yeon turned her head away, ignoring the obvious question.
Sloti tilted her head nonchalantly.
"Stress relief?"
"She was strong. As expected, strong men keep strong women around."
"Hey, what the—!"
Feeling something lacking, she added that.
Since it seemed to treat Dokgo Yeon as one of Ban Yu-won's women, he hurriedly tried to deny it...
"Hmph, we're just a team that trained together. Not everyone who travels in a group is family. I'd appreciate it if you didn't lump us in with them."
Dokgo Yeon cut in first, dispelling the misconception.
It could have been quite offensive depending on how it was taken, but had fighting Sloti and relieving stress tamed her, as Sloti said?
Sloti tilted her head as if unconvinced, then shrugged in acceptance and sat next to Ban Yu-won.
"Anyway, you're popular."
"I am pretty popular."
Her inability to lie was annoying at times like this.
As Ban Yu-won replied calmly, Sloti leaned her head on his shoulder with a resolute expression.
"Fine, I'll yield first place to the princess. I want to be second."
"...I told you not to act so vulgar in front of me."
Ah, so there was a reason they fought.
Ban Yu-won shook his head at the sight of Dokgo Yeon building up her fighting spirit again and Sloti rising lazily to meet her—subtly caressing his hand in the process.
He was certain getting involved in their fight would only end badly for him, so he decided to ignore it and handle his own business.
"Is that the Mirror?"
"A tool to access the Union Net. Come to think of it, doesn't the chieftain have one too?"
"We connect via incantations. We don't use it often."
After quickly finishing his errand, Ban Yu-won pocketed the Mirror and offered his spare one just in case, but Canid refused, saying he had no intention of bringing more external matters onto their planet.
As expected, they didn't favor connections to the outside.
This special activity was so dire that even considering that, they had no choice but to request aid from Union—.
"This one's out cold. Sorry, son-in-law, but could you carry Lucelle to her room? See that hole marked with pink fur on the biggest tree over there?"
"Take her there?"
"Yes. We've covered everything we need to discuss, so you should rest too."
Was he scheming to shove the sleeping Lucelle and Ban Yu-won into the same room to force things along?
If that was really the plan, it underestimated his self-control.
After all, he had shared a room with a defenseless girl (Light) for an entire semester without incident!
Ban Yu-won inwardly mocked Canid's sly scheme, lifted Lucelle into his arms, and stood.
"――That's what I mean by vulgar!"
"Humans are so inconvenient. Just strip naked and it'd be easier...!"
Looking back, he saw the drunken revelers had cleared space and were cheering as Dokgo Yeon and Sloti began an intense bout—spar or real fight, hard to tell.
From a distance, it even looked like Dokgo Yeon had blended into the beastkin faster than anyone—Ban Yu-won sighed and asked Canid.
"She has a foul mouth, but she's not a bad person. Please cover for her if she makes any mistakes. I beg you."
"Haha, of course. How could I be rude to my son-in-law's woman?"
"No, that's not... never mind."
No way to resolve such a deep-seated misunderstanding from cultural differences.
Ban Yu-won sighed and withdrew from the spot.
"Rest well, son-in-law!"
"Just do as you were taught."
He nodded in response to the cryptic words from Canid and Lucia, then kicked off the ground and reached his destination in one leap.
Inside the fairly large hole, as expected, was a room fitting for Lucelle before she entered the Academy.
Cute furniture, a few books, toys, and a large, wide, plush-looking bed.
"It's a bit moving."
Every concept that caught his eye proved the history and records Lucelle had built in this world.
Since she was someone special to him, even these small traces felt profoundly touching.
Thud.
A heavy sound echoed.
"Hm? Ah..."
The light pouring in through the hole vanished, and he quickly realized the hole had sealed shut.
Canid's doing, perhaps.
But with eyes that pierced all darkness, Ban Yu-won wasn't flustered. After laying Lucelle on the bed, he planned to open it and leave—.
"Hee hee hee."
A seductive laugh rang out.
The moment he heard it, Ban Yu-won realized his calculations had been wrong from the start.
"Playing possum?"
"Did I fool you, Yu-won?"
Lucelle, who had been in his arms, now wrapped both arms around his neck, her face inches from his, noses nearly touching.
"I definitely confirmed you were asleep... with my authority."
"Then I really fooled you properly. Nine-Tailed Foxes are famous for deception, you know?"
"You've learned that, huh."
"I couldn't have done it back when I was only half-developed. It's all thanks to you, Yu-won."
Even in the darkness, he could see Lucelle's radiant smile.
Ban Yu-won thought his authority still had a long way to go and surrendered gracefully.
Soon, Lucelle's beautiful smile filled his entire field of vision.