76 - The Freed S*aves Became Obsessed

**Chapter 76: The Freed Slaves Obsess** The new home in Area 3. Not 'Bird' but 'New.' Or at the very least, let it be 'Wolf's Den.' Apologies to Seira, but this new place was far more modern than the previous one. Overall, the facilities were better, more spacious, and even offered enough room for Rin to have her own space. Rin, who transitioned into a mythical fox state, matured not only outwardly but mentally. Her soul now appeared more like a woman rather than an inexperienced child. In appearance alone, she could be seen as a teenager. There's a saying that women are in puberty from birth to death, but in any case, Rin was going through a turbulent phase. Recognizing her as a young woman and treating her with consideration were necessary. Things we used to take for granted were now out of bounds. I threw out a comment out of boredom once. "Rin, shall we bathe with Master together?" "Yeah. Of course, I'll bathe with Master." Oh. I didn't expect she would accept it. When she confidently agreed, I found myself backing off. "I was just joking." "Eh? Why~ Let's bathe together~" "Rin, you're grown up now. You should learn to bathe on your own. Moreover, you can't bathe with a man." Is her sense of propriety still lacking? Rin tilted her head, puzzled, with an innocent expression. "If it's with Master, I don't mind." "I mind." "Doesn't Master want to see how Rin has grown? Rin’s, here and there, has grown a lot, you know?” Murmuring such words, Rin lowered her head and placed her hands on her chest. Admittedly, she now had slight curves that weren't there before... Gah. What am I even imagining right now? Clear those worldly thoughts! Remember how things went haywire for Taoists! "Absolutely not. If you keep this up, I’ll make you live as a slave forever." "Rin doesn't mind being a slave." "...Rin, I've told you countless times. Being a slave isn't good. Speaking like that is never okay. People will look at you strangely, understand?" “Hehe. Master, your expression is hilarious right now. Well, okay. I’ll let it go for today. Seira~ Let’s bathe together with Rin.” Rin responded with a giggle, leaving her comprehension of the situation ambiguous. Such minor disputes occurred just about every time we tried to bathe together, but it wasn’t limited to bath time alone. Bedtime was no different. Rin used to curl up and sleep on my stomach. Naturally, as she grew bigger, she could no longer sleep in that position. To be frank, if Rin were to sleep on my stomach now, by morning my belly would be sunken in. Yet, Rin insisted she wants to sleep atop me. "You have your own room now, Rin. The bed there is nice, so sleep there." "The bed is uncomfortable! Rin can't sleep unless it's on Master's stomach! Why do you keep saying this and that aren’t allowed?!" Rin yelled so loudly the whole house could have heard her. The tranquil demeanor she'd maintained up to that point shattered with a single shout. “What if something happens to Master again when I'm not around?” “It’s just the next room over, and as you've grown, you should act accordingly.” Mirabel used to cuddle and sleep with me too, but her circumstances were slightly different. She had severe dependency issues due to being abandoned by her parents and couldn’t sleep without being held. However, Rin wasn't to that degree. Plus, having raised her since she was young, she felt more like a daughter. I wanted to give her proper guidance. It seemed Rin didn’t see it the same way. "Rin vowed to stay by Master’s side. If I’d known things would turn out this way, I wouldn’t have tried at all. Master, if you keep acting like this, Rin won’t become a nine-tail fox, okay?" To think Rin would use such a tactic as not becoming a nine-tail fox to threaten me. I never imagined she’d play such a strong hand. Her tails grew, and as she transformed into a fox, she’s started devising schemes unlike any other slaves. If she were just being forceful, I could subdue her with command, but this wasn’t the case. Aiming for complete liberation, I couldn’t just recklessly enforce authority. "Alright. Let's sleep together." "Yay!" Rin clung to me like a bamboo wife, wrapping around me with her limbs and tails so I couldn’t move. She buried her face in my chest and inhaled deeply. Then sneaked a hand inside my clothing, tracing the scars with her slender fingers. I thought she was playing another trick to unsettle a man’s heart, but in truth, Rin's gleaming eyes in the dark held a grave sincerity. “Rin… couldn’t sleep for days after Master got hurt, you know? Thought Master was hurt because of Rin…. Imagined waking up to find Master gone.... So scared I couldn’t leave Master’s side. I couldn’t bear it without Master’s scent.” Rin began recounting the hardships she endured alone for a month. "I’ve always had a hunch, you know? There’s a reason people call me a cursed fox, a monster that brings misfortune. Rin is different from others." “…..” "But it wasn't so bad. Because Master called me pretty. As long as Master sees me as beautiful, it’s enough. But after going through this, I began to dislike myself too." Rin paused, and then continued. "Percy had a point. I knew I was wrong. But it angered me how correct he was. I want to stay by Master’s side. He made me face the reality I was trying so hard to ignore." Rin heaved a deep sigh, murmuring self-deprecatingly. “Why was I born like this? What exactly am I? If I were normal like others, I could have lived happily with Master.... Why am I so unfortunate... Why am I trapped in this fate?” Rin muttered, a bitter smile crossing her face. Rin had grown. She could interpret the meanings beneath words, not just the emotions woven in her voice. Her self-identity was forming, revealing what sort of existence she was. These were not the musings of a mere child anymore. To attempt persuasion with sugary words would be akin to offering poison apples. "Rin, being a nine-tail fox is something special. You think you could've been happy being ordinary? That's far from the truth." I've never sugarcoated words for my slaves. What I offer them is always 100% genuine sincerity. "Think about it. If you were just a normal fox, would we have met at White Cloud Valley?" "...No." "If you were an ordinary fox, why would I even make you my slave? There are plenty of fox tribes out there. I’m a slave trader with high standards, you know?" "But..." "Did you mention fate earlier? This isn’t some destiny. I chose to go to White Cloud Valley, and you came to me on your own. Let’s not attribute our choices to some unseen higher power." Rin thought deeply about my words, her lips sealed shut. "…Okay, I understand." She eventually nodded, seemingly convinced. I was relieved the conversation ended well. I patted her back, and she rubbed her cheek against my hand, savoring the contact. "By the way, Master." "Yes?" "When you were unconscious, I did more than just smell you." Rin's eyes and mouth curved into a mischievous crescent—her playful expression at work. It's frightening to imagine approaching anything, even something pretty, in an unconscious state. One is always wary. “…What did you do?” "Guess~? What do you think Rin did?" She teased, her five tails wagging. Despite being halfway through, the future seemed daunting. *** "It’s been quite tough to catch a glimpse of you lately, Yuhwa." A visitor arrived late at night at the Celestial Pavilion. Rather than the usual troublemaker duo who checked in every day, it was Hilde, the lioness of Bestia. Hilde lounged in a chair, her demeanor more akin to a street rogue than a nation's princess, speaking with a haughty air. "I apologize, Princess. This old body hasn’t been in the best health..." Yuhwa had repeatedly declined Hilde's visits. She claimed illness, but her real concern was avoiding a meeting between Hilde and Rin. During their first encounter, Hilde had charged at Yuhwa, fist-first, demanding a fight. Even though Rin was a born nine-tail fox, facing Hilde was a tall order. Meeting her now might mean losing her precious tails, which had grown after much effort. Thus, I tried my utmost to delay their meeting. I just couldn’t manage it today. "Well, you do look worse for wear. You've aged quite a lot since I last saw you." Taking on the burden of raising a nine-tail fox, Yuhwa began to experience resistance from defying fate. Even as a spiritual creature, time had left its mark, though it couldn’t hide her mystical aura entirely. Yet, Yuhwa’s glow had notably dimmed. She now bore the look of an old woman in her twilight years. Hilde, too, seemed to buy the excuse of illness without suspicion, which was fortunate. "I heard you've been meeting an elf known as the 'Slave God' frequently. They say he even opened a cat café?" "Indeed. He's quite the conversationalist, so I enlisted him as a chat partner for this old lady." "Now that's something. And here I thought there wouldn’t be anyone in the world who’d pique Yuhwa’s interest. Not even me. But who likes me any way?" Hilde was aware of her quirky personality. Never one to resist something interesting. She knew but didn’t intend to change, as evidenced by her current behavior. Hilde could afford to be this way, given her rank and her ability to secure her position. "But it's true that the Slave God keeps a fox, they say one with three tails?" "Yes, that's correct." "I see..." Hilde seemed deep in thought for a moment, then lowered her voice meaningfully. "It couldn't be a nine-tail fox, right?" "A nine-tail fox? What are you suggesting out of the blue?" "It just reminded me of when your orb showed the vision of nine swirling mists. Got me thinking, could it be a nine-tail fox that was sealed away?" Yuhwa's reaction at the time was peculiar. Despite claiming her divine abilities had waned and closing her fortune-telling shop, Hilde remained curious. If a true nine-tail fox ever emerged, the world would be thrown into chaos. If that fox was indeed a nine-tail fox, Hilde intended to eliminate it before it grew too powerful. "Are you suggesting that young fox might be a nine-tail fox?" "Exactly." "I'm not entirely sure. Abilities between fox spirits don’t reveal each other, so I have no way to confirm it. However, I haven’t sensed a significant threat from the child." "Really?" Hilde’s eyes narrowed sharply. Her golden pupils, slit vertically, cut through the air, fixing on Yuhwa as if to pierce through her defenses. Yuhwa calmly sipped her tea, eyes closed. The tension hovering like thin air, Hilde soon broke into a soft laugh, letting the atmosphere relax. "Well, if Yuhwa says so, I'll believe you." Hilde downed her tea in one go, setting the cup down with a firm smack. "I’m here not for anything serious. I just couldn’t sleep and thought I'd get my fortune read." “My clairvoyance isn’t what it used to be.” "It doesn’t matter. It’s just for fun. I’m not one to be dictated by predictions anyway." "If that’s how you feel, I’ll give it a try.” Yuhwa crafted a bright white fox pearl and handed it to Hilde, who placed her hand on it. Yuhwa’s tail began a gentle wave, creating an aura of misty enchantment in the air. The crystal glowed as it foretold Hilde's fate. “The black beast will keep its distance from the sky, its feet firmly on the ground. At the path’s end, brilliant liberation and disaster shall converge. Though there are no shackles, the confinement is eternal.” As the mist dispersed, the crystal dimmed. After hearing her fortune, Hilde’s face scrunched up. "What kind of nonsense is this?" She couldn’t make any sense of it. Whether it boded well or poorly was anyone’s guess. “Princess, prophecies have always been ambiguous. That’s because a simple coincidence can yield a different outcome, so long as one does not stray too far from the path.” "So, depending on how I act, a good future may come, or it might not?" "That would be a fair interpretation." Confident as always, Hilde saw no reason to worry. After all, with her strength, she believed she could seize even the most fleeting of happy endings. Brilliant liberation. Perhaps she’d experience a form of amusement on a different scale than she had ever known before.