Sandstorm (Sapung), Tiger Mom (Hohuanmama), and After – (1)

Yi Haneul and I met Han Woo-jin, the Principal of the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office who had belatedly arrived at the scene.

Yi Haneul and Han Woo-jin were acquainted.

“Old man, it’s been a while.”

“Well, if it isn’t Haneul, Haneul! Yes, I’ve heard a little from Nam-hun, but your recent exploits have been quite remarkable.”

“It’s nothing. Compared to me, the one next to me, Miho…”

As Yi Haneul introduced me, I awkwardly greeted him:

“Hello.”

“Ah, so you must be Lady Miho.”

He openly stared at, well, a certain part of my body before continuing:

“Indeed, just as rumored, your… er, no. Wh, what am I saying… Pardon me, I couldn’t help but…”

“It’s alright.”

It seemed the lingering effects of my allure from earlier were still present.

…Though, wasn’t this person quite far from me?

For my allure to reach that far, I would need to be even more cautious when using it.

“So then, where is that sand-wielding yokai…”

“Ah, Lord Yi Haneul and I subjugated it.”

We rehabilitated the yokai.

From a human perspective, this was a completely wrong statement.

Yokai were beings that could not be rehabilitated.

Born inherently wicked, coexistence with humans was utterly impossible.

If I reported rehabilitating that black tiger, various issues could arise.

So after returning to the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office, Yi Haneul and I falsely reported to the Principal and Deputy Chief.

A white lie of good intent, for sometimes concealing the truth was preferable.

Of course, we intended to truthfully report to Principal Yi Ha-neul of the Yokai Extermination Department and Deputy Head Nam-hun.

They would likely understand our position.

While the black tiger might change its mind later and commit ‘meaningless’ killings again, we entrusted it to Lord Beast to preemptively prevent such an incident.

Lord Beast ruled the Black Inner Realm, the realm of all darkness on this peninsula, so he would surely keep watch over the black tiger.

They suited each other quite well, both being gloomy entities.

After the report, I headed to the restroom and briefly gazed at my reflection in the mirror.

My face looked haggard.

I still couldn’t forget the emotion I felt when first facing that black tiger.

Only now did I realize why, unlike other yokai, I so feared Lord of the Mountain.

The relationship between tigers and foxes was that of predator and prey.

This black tiger that appeared seemed to have been specifically unleashed by Duergsini to target me.

Duergsini was also aware that tigers were the natural enemy of foxes.

…It felt like the difficulty of yokai extermination kept rising.

As Duergsini said, I was clearly not a perfect, flawless being, but one with an evident weakness.

If that black tiger hadn’t given up fighting on its own, what would have happened?

I would have been forced to unleash my eight tails.

Luckily, there was a chance Yi Haneul could have subjugated it with that ‘new power’ of his.

But who knew?

That black tiger’s yoki was abnormal – it might not have been easily subjugated.

The overwhelmingly powerful eight-tailed form could overturn the predator-prey dynamic, so unleashing it would have allowed me to win.

But then came the real problem:

What if yokai or goblins appeared while I was in my two-tailed state?

…I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

This black tiger incident made me realize one thing:

I should train to maintain my eight-tailed form constantly once returning to Jirisan.

Huff, huff, huff.

After taking some toilet paper from the restroom, I returned to Yi Haneul.

Yi Haneul gave me a perplexed look and said:

“…What’s that?”

“Toilet paper.”

“No, I know it’s toilet paper. But why did you stuff it in there?”

“I felt sweaty and gross.”

I currently had a few sheets of toilet paper stuffed inside my ample chest area.

I had sweat so profusely from the sheer terror that I felt the urge to bathe immediately, but used toilet paper as a temporary solution.

Hearing my unconvincing explanation, Yi Haneul asked doubtfully:

“You… sweat there…?”

“Don’t you sweat, Lord Yi Haneul?”

“Not really, no?”

“Ah.”

“…”

“Well.”

“…What’s with that reaction!”

What was it?

It was a reaction of understanding.

…

…

…

Since it was getting late, Yi Haneul and I decided to stay the night in Sejong.

Yi Haneul asked if I wanted to hole up in the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office, but that was nonsense.

Since we had come all the way to the city center, it would be a waste not to look around downtown and just stay cooped up in the office.

So we went to the bustling district.

Swish swish.

Sniff sniff sniff.

Delicious scents.

Swish swish.

Sniff sniff sniff.

Ugh, cigarette smoke.

Swish swish.

Swish swish swish.

Pababababababababak.

“St, stop swishing your tails!”

“Why?”

“People are all staring…”

“So what if they stare?”

As Yi Haneul said, all the attention of passersby was focused on me.

Some did recognize Yi Haneul’s face first, commenting, “Oh, isn’t that Yi Haneul?”

But my plump rear with seven swishing fox tails was enough to overshadow Yi Haneul’s presence.

Not only was I walking around, but swishing my tails and poking my nose here and there, so it was understandable that people stared at me in wonder.

Some even brazenly filmed me, like a high school girl trailing behind us and snapping photos with her phone camera.

I glared at her, causing her to sheepishly put her phone away.

No.

I didn’t mean for her to put it away – if she was going to take photos, she should have taken a proper front shot.

Alright.

Double peace sign.

Go ahead, take the photo. Snap as many as you want.

The high schooler’s expression brightened, as if emboldened by my actions.

“Ms… Ms. Miho, can we take a photo together?”

She even requested a photo with me.

I nodded.

Swish swish.

Swishing my tails was fan service.

Watching this, Yi Haneul sighed and muttered:

“Is this really the Miho I knew?

Her personality seems to have changed.”

I found it puzzling too.

In the past, I would have felt so shy that I kept my head lowered.

But after resolving to embrace the fox mind, I no longer felt any particular emotion whether people stared at me or not.

Hmm.

This must be…

“The mindset of transcending heaven and earth, none can rival me.”

“No matter how I look at it, that interpretation seems off somehow…”

“Please buy me that chocolate bungeo-ppang.”

“…Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes.”

“Haah… I’ll buy it for you.”

Indeed, human civilization was truly delightful.