Freedom (Complete)

“At first, I doubted my own eyes. That merely emulating your combat style could manifest such power… Even thinking about it again, it’s hard to believe.”

“…”

“It’s a mystical power. I felt it when we exterminated that goblin too, but this power is… far beyond human comprehension. I’m still unsure if it’s a power I, who have solely cultivated the Way all my life, can properly wield.”

“…”

“As Lord Yi Haneul said, it’s a truly natural power. My apologies for doubting you again, Lord Yi Haneul.”

“Oh, it’s fine. You can’t know until you experience it yourself.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

“…”

“With this, I’ve grown even stronger. My standing in the Ritual Arts Association will be further cemented, and even if another goblin like that appears, Lord Yi Haneul and I should be able…”

“Okay, enough! I get it, so quit yapping and just show me already!”

These two… no, these foxes were taunting not me, but the very source of this ‘power of freedom’ itself, which couldn’t properly wield it.

When I let out a shrill shriek, instead of snide remarks, apologies came from Ho-jun’s mouth:

“M, my apologies. I’ll show you.”

Judging by Ho-jun’s deferential attitude, living in two-tailed form forever might not be so bad after all.

Ho-jun then proceeded to demonstrate that ‘power of freedom’ to me, but there was nothing more to see –

An intense light blinding to the eyes.

Identical in nature to Yi Haneul’s.

Whether the effects matched, I couldn’t say.

Yi Haneul was likely rooted in Martial Force arts after all, while Ho-jun was rooted in ritual arts, so the effects were probably different.

Well, it was too soon to analyze such details.

They were prodigies, after all.

Left to their own research, they would surely develop that power further naturally.

It seemed the world – no, the cycle of arising and passing away – was trolling me.

Why was I the only one unable to use it?

“I get the activation principle now, but the resource is the issue. It doesn’t consume spiritual power or physical stamina, yet using this power strangely saps my strength…”

“Right, it’s weird? I did some research on my own too, tossing and turning, but I couldn’t figure it out at all. It’s such a relief, we can research it together now!”

“First, let’s determine the total amount of this power that exists…”

I blurted out complaints towards Ho-jun and Yi Haneul:

“I’m leaving.”

“…Oh, go ahead. Let’s investigate this.”

“Be careful, Miho! Okay, since I’m the senior, I’ll start…”

Ah.

Resentment was building within me.

I felt like I could become a real yokai at any moment.

---

Munch munch.

Munch munch munch.

Munch munch, munch munch.

I stuffed dog food into my mouth, munching and crunching noisily.

The fox physique had many advantages.

One of its numerous perks?

No matter how much I ate, I never gained weight.

One might dismiss it as insignificant, but being able to eat whatever I wanted without worrying about getting fat was a blessing in its own way – a blessed physique, one could say.

Today, I had a full course meal.

Amuse-bouche:

Savory crackers topped with fresh grapes.

An impromptu opening dish inspired by the tale of ‘The Fox and the Grapes’.

The crackers and grapes paired surprisingly well – the juicy grapes perfectly complemented the somewhat greasy, stodgy crackers, their tartness whetting the appetite as a bonus.

Salad:

Autumn vegetable salad with mango chutney.

The chef’s signature touch – crispy dog treats sprinkled over the salad.

The refreshing salad and stimulating crunch of the dog treats made for an excellent combination.

Main course:

True cuisine brought out the inherent flavors of the ingredients.

‘Dog food’.

Nothing else was needed.

Dog food was meant to be stuffed into one’s mouth and chomped down noisily to fully savor its taste.

Why?

When dogs ate their food, they didn’t properly chew, simply gulping it down their throats, right?

That was an utterly incorrect way to eat.

Only by chewing thoroughly could one experience the distinctive crispy texture and deep flavors stimulating the taste buds.

Munch munch.

Crunch crunch.

Nom nom.

Chomp.

“…”

Haah.

What was I even doing right now?

Three days into this aimless existence, and I had made zero progress training the ‘power of freedom’.

Meanwhile, Ho-jun and Yi Haneul grew increasingly adept at controlling that power with each passing day.

For some reason, I alone seemed to have stagnated in this world.

So I had given up completely.

Whatever would be, would be.

If Ho-jun and Yi Haneul could wield the power of freedom in my stead, so be it.

Setting the ‘power of freedom’ aside for now, I needed to address manifesting eight tails first.

I would likely be able to manifest eight tails again tomorrow.

No matter how resolved I was to rely on humans, I couldn’t afford to fall behind on my own.

…

…

…

The next day, four days had passed, allowing me to manifest eight tails again.

Damn it.

The timing for recovering spirit energy was too precise, just like before.

In other words, my training had borne no results whatsoever.

…Was meticulous spirit energy regulation training even meaningful at all?

Doubts began creeping in.

In any case, I had grown weary of idling at the Yokai Extermination Office.

As soon as I manifested eight tails, I headed to where Yi Haneul and Ho-jun were training.

…

…

…

“Cough cough cough…”

“I’m getting dizzy now. Oi, mutt. That’s 10 sticks so far. How’s your spirit energy?”

“…”

Registering Ho-jun’s shameless words, I pushed my fallen body upright from the ground and replied:

“…Half gone.”

“Just like always.”

Damn it.

As expected, absolutely no results from the training.

My spirit energy was still continuously draining from my body in this very moment.

My physique simply couldn’t withstand the overwhelming amount.

With these massive spirit energy bosoms weighing me down, why couldn’t my body endure?

Not yet.

Not yet.

As I assumed a combat stance, Ho-jun shook his head and said:

“Find a different training method.”

“No… cough cough… I can keep going all day…!”

“Repeating a flawed training regimen is meaningless.”

“…”

Fair point.

A fair point, but…

What was I supposed to do if I couldn’t think of a better training method?

Ho-jun tucked his cigarette pack into his sleeve – he would no longer participate in my training.

Soon after, Yi Haneul and Ho-jun resumed their ‘power of freedom’ training session.

With a gloomy mood, I observed their training.

…Oh.

Wait a minute.

One thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

Instinctively, I could tell – the true owner of that power was not them, but me, Miho.

In other words,

It meant I could reclaim that power as well.

“Phew, here I go again!”

“Let’s do it.”

Right as Yi Haneul and Ho-jun were about to clash:

Swish.

With a gentle wave of my arm, a soft breeze blew as the light…

“Huh…?”

“…”

…extinguished.

The ‘power of freedom’ I had unconsciously distributed to them had returned to me.

…

…

…

“Uwaaaaaah! I thought I was the legendary once-in-a-century Martial Force artist who could wield the power of freedom!”

“I had somewhat expected this. It was such an unnatural power that defied the laws of nature.”

Even I hadn’t expected it to return to my hands so easily.

Well.

Now that I realized the world wasn’t trolling me, that was enough.

The reason I couldn’t use that power was because I had distributed all of it to Yi Haneul and Ho-jun.

During the yaksha incident… Ho-jun hadn’t awakened to the ‘power of freedom’ yet, so I could use it by chance at that time.

In any case, unlike Lord Beast, I had no intention of monopolizing power for myself.

“Don’t worry. I think… it would be more beneficial for the three of us to share this power.”

At that, Yi Haneul shook her head and said:

“No, it’s fine. Miho, I don’t want to become stronger at the cost of burdening you.”

“It’s not really a burden.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. Take it back.”

I then divided the power into three portions, redistributing shares to Yi Haneul and Ho-jun.

I couldn’t give it all away – I needed to keep some for myself too.

“Remarkable. To be able to partition an immaterial power like that… just what kind of creature are you?”

Ho-jun marveled at me.

“Thank you, Miho!”

Yi Haneul gratefully embraced me.

Ah.

Here we go again.

That damned seduction ability.

Next, Yi Haneul would probably start toying with my body again.

“Erm, hugging Miho’s eight-tailed form is a bit overwhelming after all.”

“…Huh?”

“Miho, how much spirit energy do you have left? I want to see your two-tailed form again soon…”

Wait a minute.

I deliberately stomped towards Yi Haneul, my fleshy lumps swaying side to side.

Seeing this sight, Yi Haneul recoiled in disgust and exclaimed:

“Ah ah ah… St, stay back, gross!”

“Lord Yi Haneul.”

“Wh, why the sudden change, Miho! Scary…”

“What thoughts are going through your mind looking at me right now?”

“Overwhelming. Disgusting. Repulsive. Lewd.”

“…The seduction ability has dissipated, it seems.”

“Huh? R, really?”

Yi Haneul had reverted to her usual self.

Oh my.

This was insane.

All this time, my lacking training wasn’t the reason spirit energy leaked from me.

The real reason my body couldn’t withstand it was because I had distributed the ‘power of freedom’ to others.

What an outrageous turn of events.

My spirit energy no longer leaked out.