Seven-Tailed Fox (Complete)

Depot was an animal-type yokai like me, a yokai faithful to his ‘squirrel’ instincts.

I thought I needed an in-depth analysis of how Depot usually behaved.

Fortunately, Depot was a yokai who often visited my nest to chat whenever he was bored.

So I didn’t need to ask Depot separately.

I just had to observe him carefully.

“Chik chik, so I told Lord of the Mountain…”

Depot Analysis #1:

Depot mixes in ‘chik chik’ squirrel sounds between his words.

This wasn’t too difficult.

Let me apply it in practice right away.

“…So, Miho, what do you think?”

“In my view, Lord of the Mountain was definitely wrong. Woof woof.”

“…Woof woof?”

“Ah.”

I misspoke.

Not woof woof, but:

“Kkaeng kkaeng.”

…

…

…

Depot Analysis #2:

Spin.

Spin spin.

Occasionally, Depot would spin 360 degrees in place, so I asked him why he did that spin.

“It’s to check if anything’s stuck on my tail. Chik chik.”

Apparently to visually confirm his own tail with his own eyes.

…

…

…

Depot Analysis #3:

Bururururu.

Depot takes care of business whenever, wherever, without caring about others.

Um.

Well.

…No matter how I think about it, this is something I probably shouldn’t learn.

Let’s just stop the Depot analysis here.

---

The fox who could now be called the mascot of the Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office:

“Kkaeng kkaeng!”

Howled.

Over the past few days, the fox randomly howled at the Yokai Extermination Office.

However, it wasn’t a proper fox howl.

Because it wasn’t from an actual fox, but from a woman wearing fox ears and a fox tail.

Buk buk buk buk buk buk.

The fox scratched her head with her hind legs.

Fortunately, since the fox wasn’t in human form, it looked quite natural.

Spin spin spin.

Spin spin spin spin.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Suddenly, the fox began spinning in place.

Judging from her bright expression, it seemed like she was trying to catch her own tail in her mouth.

Who knows what kind of change in mentality caused this, but the fox yokai… no, the fox ling Miho had become distinctly more dog-like recently.

Not as an insult, but literally dog-like.

All sorts of rumors circulated about why Miho was suddenly acting so dog-like:

She went insane after being attacked by goblins.

No, this was Miho’s original true nature.

No, it was training to unleash her eighth tail.

Of course, since the civil servants of the Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office adored Miho, they were quite bewildered by her sudden change in behavior.

But humans are the embodiment of adaptability.

Occasionally they felt a sense of dissonance due to her exquisite features and bombshell body, but since her actions were so dog-like, it didn’t feel too out of place.

They somehow adapted to the changed Miho, thinking this must be some special training for a ling.

No matter how dog-like Miho acted, the civil servants’ fondness for her remained, so it was only natural they carried around water bottles, milk cartons, and dog bowls.

“Miho, want some water?”

“Kkaeng.”

Her honorific had even changed from ‘Ms. Miho’ to just ‘Miho’.

Miho didn’t outright reject the civil servants’ gestures, but there was one person she did avoid:

A female martial force master carrying a dog leash.

Yi Haneul.

“Miho, where are you?”

“…Kkaeng.”

“There you are. Miho, time for a walk… ah, no. Ahem. Time to train. You have to wear the leash today no matter what, got it?”

“Fucking weirdo.”

“Fucking? Weirdo? Miho, is that any way to talk to your master!”

Yi Haneul wasn’t someone with deviant tastes who enjoyed harsh play.

She was a heterosexual woman.

More than the seven-tailed, watermelon-breasted Miho, Yi Haneul much preferred the three-tailed Miho she wanted to pat on the head and hug tightly.

Still, the reason Yi Haneul decided to treat Miho as a complete dog was because Miho had directly asked her to ‘play along’.

As martial force artists tend to be, Yi Haneul was serious about training.

Her dictionary didn’t include the term ‘half-assed training’.

Eventually, Miho reluctantly followed Yi Haneul, and the civil servants could only speculate what kind of training the two did together.

---

A week had passed since Miho started behaving according to a fox’s natural instincts.

Honestly, acting on instinct was immensely enjoyable.

Well, of course – suppressing one’s instincts is inherently stressful.

Perhaps I had been unconsciously stressed from suppressing my yokai instincts over the past two years.

In that sense, acting on my instincts this past week felt liberating.

However:

“You have to wear the leash today, Miho.”

“Fuck.”

No matter how faithful I was to my instincts, I really didn’t want to put on that dog leash.

Even though I had completely unleashed my fox yokai instincts.

Yes.

It was a contradiction.

I wasn’t rejecting that dog leash simply because it was ‘inconvenient’.

I was rejecting it because it felt like my human dignity would crumble.

How strange.

I was currently being faithful to my ‘fox yokai’ instincts, yet human dignity still remained.

Come to think of it, since I embraced my instincts, shouldn’t I have started craving human male essences long ago?

It made no sense.

This was an obvious contradiction…

…Ah?

Ah.

I see.

I completely realized it.

“…”

“Why the sudden pause, Miho?”

“Lord Yi Haneul. Thank you for your efforts, but I think the training can stop here.”

“Huh?”

Further training was meaningless.

The moment I discovered the contradiction, I fully realized who and what I was – the identity of the being called ‘me’.

With my instincts fully unleashed now, it was a contradiction for a human mindset to still remain.

No matter how resolute I became, I could never completely discard the human mind.

Similarly, when my instincts were suppressed and my tails wagged automatically, that too was a contradiction.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop my tails from wagging on their own.

From the very beginning, I was both a yokai and a human.

A human, yet a yokai.

A contradictory existence.

That’s me.

Miho.

Since my very existence is a contradiction, it’s only natural for my actions to be contradictory too.

It seems I no longer need to suppress my instincts anymore.

Nor be faithful to my instincts.

I’ve found my natural self.

Although finding my identity didn’t make me arrogant like Dalgi, my mind did become considerably lighter.

What others thought of me no longer mattered.

I am me – the sole half-human, half-yokai existence in this world.

Could this be called the mindset of solipsism encompassing all heaven and earth?

…

…

…

“Is, is it over?”

“Yes.”

“Ah… thank goodness. I thought I was going to die from the strain…”

Yi Haneul sighed in relief.

Unexpectedly, it seemed treating me as a complete animal wasn’t easy for her either.

“I thought you were lowkey enjoying it.”

“Enjoying what, bullshit! It was incredibly strenuous for me too! If it was three-tailed Miho, maybe, but putting a leash on seven-tailed Miho? Yuck, no way, disgusting!”

“…Isn’t that a bit too blunt of an insult?”

“I don’t care. Anyway, I’m glad it’s over… did you get any results?”

“Results? Well…”

Since I no longer needed to suppress my instincts, I suppose I’d feel less stressed.

I could call that a result.

“You seem the same as usual… did your spirit energy increase significantly or anything?”

“No, not at all.”

“Did your allure become stronger, maybe?”

“Want me to check?”

“…On me?”

“Well, I can’t exactly check on the other male civil servants, can I?”

“Nope, I’ll politely decline. Oh, I know! Can you unleash another tail now?”

“I’m not sure, but it doesn’t seem likely.”

“Try it anyway. No harm in trying.”

Following Yi Haneul’s words, I placed my hands on the ground and stuck my rear out.

It was very similar to the so-called cat stance.

“Wh, what are you doing all of a sudden? It looks obscene…”

“You told me to unleash another tail.”

“Couldn’t you just stand and do it? Did you have to get into that weird pose?”

“It’s more comfortable this way.”

I then flexed my rear, but…

Huh.

Hngh.

Mmm, as expected.

I didn’t expect anything.

No new tail emerged.

“It’s not coming out.”

“What a shame. Alright, you can straighten up now…”

Pung.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Hearing that sudden ‘pung’ sound, I gently swished my rear back and forth.

…For some reason, my rear and chest felt heavier than before.

Wait a minute, one tail.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

There were now eight tails, weren’t there?