Chapter 14

Iris’s behavior was something that could never be described as the embodiment of selflessness, love, justice, and judgment.

The Saints of previous generations had all been recorded as individuals who possessed both compassion and composure.

Iris fell short in every aspect.

Honestly, if the phoenix feather had not verified the authenticity of the holy mark on his left shoulder, no one would have believed he was the Saint.

For the first time in his life, the Pope gathered his courage.

“Alanto. Are you nearby?”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“Send word in secret.”

“To whom?”

“To the Guardians. The Saint’s Guardians.”

“But the Guardians are…”

“Yes. I know. That is why this absolutely must not be discovered.”

Alanto lowered his head and disappeared almost immediately.

The Guardians did not follow Iris.

They would answer the Pope’s summons.

The Saint is the pillar of the Western Continent. The survival or destruction of everyone rests in the Saint’s hands. Could he truly be an impostor…?

Was that not the very reason the Holy Kingdom of Gaiyana had become an untouchable sacred land?

Countless nations across the Western Continent offered tribute to Gaiyana.

The Empire of Grinia was no exception.

No matter how great humans became, they were still merely creations in need of divine protection.

The clergy of the Holy Kingdom understood that sacred duty deeply.

If, by some chance… even the slightest chance… Lord Iris is a fake, then we are in grave danger.

If such a day truly came, the entire world would likely begin searching desperately for the real Saint.

“We must find the true Saint as soon as possible…”

The Pope muttered to himself without even realizing what he was saying.

*

After mercilessly cutting down another monster, Silia lifted her head.

“What is it?”

“C-Commander. Well…”

She walked toward the group of knights gathered nearby.

“Mooom! Waaaah!”

A small child was kneeling on the ground while two knights restrained both of the child’s arms.

“Explain.”

Vice Commander Eric swallowed nervously before speaking.

“One of the knights, Nellachi, claims she witnessed a yokai escaping from a trading market and transforming into a human child.”

“Then why hasn’t it been killed?”

No one answered.

They merely sweated nervously.

It looked like a child.

A child crying desperately for its mother.

Even if they wanted to strike, they could not be completely certain it was truly a yokai disguised as a child.

Silia stared down at the child with cold eyes.

She sensed an aura similar to Ran’s, yet fundamentally different.

Unlike Ran, whose divine beast blood created many gray areas and uncertainties, this creature required no consideration at all.

Without hesitation, Silia drew her sword.

“Aaaah! Please save me! Mommy!”

The child screamed and wet itself in terror.

“Commander.”

Eric, standing beside her, looked as if he might faint as he tried to stop her.

Silia did not even blink.

In a single motion, she thrust her sword forward and pierced the child’s heart.

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

The child let out a horrifying scream.

But as soon as Silia withdrew her sword, the scream ceased.

The small body twisted grotesquely, becoming misshapen and monstrous before finally reverting to its true yokai form and collapsing lifelessly on the ground.

Everyone froze at the chilling sight.

“Dispose of it.”

After giving the cold order, Silia flicked the blood from her sword and returned it to its sheath.

While Eric remained standing there in a daze, Silia’s clear eyes shifted toward him.

“Eric.”

“Ah! Y-Yes! What are you all standing around for?! Clean this up!”

Only then did everyone begin moving at once.

That yokai had been the last enemy; all that remained was cleanup.

As Silia turned to leave, she suddenly grabbed Eric’s forearm.

“Gah!”

Eric jumped as though Death itself had seized him.

“Were you injured?”

“Pardon?”

“Tara!”

At Silia’s shout, one of the healing priests hurried over.

“You called? Oh my, Sir Eric. You’ve been cut.”

Only then did Eric notice blood running down his forearm.

“Is it serious?”

Silia asked with a rigid expression.

Priest Tara smiled gently and shook her head.

“No. It isn’t deep.”

“What about poison?”

“I don’t believe he’s been poisoned either.”

Silia nodded.

Only then did she finally leave.

Eric stared blankly at her retreating back.

*

“Ran?”

Completely exhausted, Silia called out as she entered the house.

The fox was curled into a ball on the sofa facing the entrance, asleep.

Moving quietly so she would not wake him, she went to shower first.

She was unbearably tired.

If things continue like this, I won’t be able to hold out much longer.

Silia splashed cold water over her face.

The curse still throbbed painfully.

With a serious expression, she examined the scar.

It looked like a burn but was not a burn—a strange and incomprehensible wound.

Day after day, Silia endured the pain while fighting monsters.

Dark circles had begun forming beneath her eyes.

After washing up quickly, she put on a robe and returned to the living room.

Ran was still lying on the same sofa, though now he had lifted his head.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?”

Ran weakly buried his face back into the cushion.

“What’s wrong, Ran?”

She gently scratched the top of his round head with her fingertips.

All nine of his tails swayed lazily in different directions.

“Are you in a bad mood?”

“Grrrung…”

“You seem upset.”

“Hmph.”

Sitting on the sofa and watching the sulking fox strangely improved her mood.

It was odd.

He was clearly angry, yet she felt relaxed.

Is this the power of a Gumiho?

Silia was impressed.

Is this how they charm people with their cuteness? Though I feel like the books described it differently…

Her hand moved busily from the top of his head to his chin.

She scratched beneath it gently.

Ran narrowed his golden eyes into crescents and purred softly.

Silia became even more serious.

Was a Gumiho’s weapon really this overwhelming ability to trigger protective instincts?

She remembered something more dangerous being written in the books, but the details escaped her.

These days, all she did was kill monsters over and over.

Even the things she had studied were becoming hazy.

Her hand drifted lower.

His soft pink belly, covered in fine downy fur and pleasantly warm, fit perfectly into her palm.

As she rubbed gently, Ran finally lost the struggle and flopped onto his back.

At that exact moment, she remembered what the books had actually said.

Using their innate decadent beauty to seduce humans and absorb their life force—

Silia stopped thinking.

Ridiculous.

Ran was lying flat on his back with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

Every stroke earned a contented rumbling purr.

His appearance promised only greater beauty as he grew older.

The stiffness in Silia’s expression melted away.

No one really knows much about Gumiho. The authors must have simply let their imaginations run wild.

She firmly believed that.

It was impossible to imagine Ran as seductive or dangerous.

In fact, imagining Ran trying to act sexy only made him seem even cuter.

A laugh escaped her.

Is Ran growing at all?

Time was passing, yet his appearance remained unchanged.

That disappointed her somewhat.

I wish I could watch him grow the way a human child does.

Baby Gumiho apparently remained unchanged for long periods before suddenly maturing all at once.

That was her only complaint.

“Ran, do you like it?”

Ran’s eyes snapped open.

They looked like the eyes of a cat suddenly regaining its senses after becoming intoxicated by catnip.

Or perhaps a puppy that had run headfirst into a tree while chasing a squirrel.

“Arwaoo!”

Ran scrambled upright and immediately backed away until he was pressed against the sofa’s backrest.

His wary expression made it seem as though she had forced herself on him.

Silia felt wronged.

“Ran, you liked it too.”

“Grrrrr!”

“You seemed happy when I rubbed your belly, so I thought—”

“Grrrrrr!”

“Alright. Sorry.”

Even after she apologized, Ran showed no signs of forgiving her.

His pride appeared to have suffered a serious blow.

As Silia watched the fox deliberately turn his head away, she suddenly realized something.

Ran had been alone all day.

“You were waiting for me, weren’t you, Ran? Right? That’s why you’re upset.”

Ran showed no reaction whatsoever.

Yet even someone as hopelessly oblivious as Silia could tell that meant yes.

“Sorry. Things have been strangely busy lately.”

And her body was not doing well either.

The moment she thought about it, the scar throbbed painfully.

It keeps getting worse.

Without realizing it, she bit her lower lip and rubbed her left shoulder.

If she could, she would have cut the scar out of her flesh entirely.

I feel sorry for Ran too. He spends all day alone. It would be nice if he had a friend…

She sighed deeply before suddenly standing up.

To improve Ran’s mood, she needed her trump card.

“Ran. Want a snack?”

Ran stubbornly kept his head turned away.

However, Silia clearly saw one large fox ear swivel sharply toward her.

She bit her lip to suppress a smile.

“Oh dear. Ran seems really angry. I don’t think an ordinary snack will be enough this time… I may need to bring out something even tastier…”

One or two of Ran’s tails began swishing slowly from side to side.

“What should I give him? Jerky probably won’t be enough… Maybe I should bring out some roasted pheasant…”

Ran’s shiny nose twitched eagerly.

Grinding her molars together to keep from laughing, Silia walked into the kitchen.

She removed a large preservation-enchanted glass jar from a cabinet and opened it.

The meat inside was unseasoned but accompanied by vegetables, edible flowers, and fruit.

A fragrant aroma rose from the jar, enough to make even the appetite-less Silia salivate.

Ran remained on the sofa, clinging stubbornly to the last remnants of his pride.

Silia deliberately rummaged through the jar while speaking to herself.

“I really hope Ran will eat some…”

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

Before she had even finished speaking, she heard the rapid sound of claws clicking excitedly across the wooden floor as someone came running toward her.