Epilogue (1)

This is the Jiri Mountain Yokai Extermination Office.

The Yokai Extermination Office was peaceful today too.

Emergency.

Emergency.

Emergency.

Level 4 yokai emergence.

Immediate action required.

…It was too loud with the blaring siren to call it peaceful.

A Level 4 yokai,

while not impossible to exterminate with just the Extermination Office’s manpower, could still cause significant damage, so at minimum one martial artist or Taoist had to be mobilized.

Level 4 yokai were that powerful, and

it was quite an urgent situation, yet

the yokai detection expert

‘Grade 6’

Kim Myeong-ho reported to Director Yi Haneul while picking his nose:

“Director, a yokai has emerged.”

His casual demeanor was strange for a Level 4 yokai emergence, and

the other officials continued their work without any panic either.

Receiving Kim Myeong-ho’s report, the director radioed:

“This is Jiri Mountain. Dapoh, respond.”

[Click.]

“Have you confirmed the yokai?”

[I’m in the middle of a conversation, so don’t disturb me, baldy director. Clickclick.]

“The protocol is the same as usual. If communication works, send it to the other world. If not, exterminate it on the spot…”

[Ah, you’re noisy! Clickclick! I said I’m in the middle of a conversation, bald balding director!]

“I’m not bald yet…”

Click.

The radio hung up.

…

…

…

After Duergsini’s demise,

the world changed

a little,

no,

a lot.

Just by eavesdropping on the conversations of the low-ranking officials here at the Yokai Extermination Office, one can tell how much the world has changed.

“Team leader, are you gacha-ing your salary again?”

“Shut up, I’m already irritated enough feeling like banging my head against the wall from the gacha.”

“By the way, the world has really improved. A Level 4 yokai appeared, but we can just leisurely sip tea… Sometimes I miss the old days. I’m telling you, until a year ago, we were still fighting yokai on the frontlines…”

“How many field experiences have you had?”

“…Three times.”

“Don’t talk big. Just the yokai I’ve captured so far would form a double line around the parade grounds.”

After Duergsini’s demise,

the government… or rather, each Yokai Extermination Office formed an alliance with the yokai.

Ah, it’s not that they allied with all yokai though.

To be more precise,

they allied with the yokai of the ‘Jiri Mountain Other World’.

The yokai of the Jiri Mountain Other World earned the trust of humans through the Duergsini extermination mission.

The reason humans and yokai could form an alliance was undoubtedly thanks to the one fox yokai who saved the world.

Until a year ago, the principle was to immediately exterminate any emerging yokai.

However, the war a year ago sufficiently proved that not all yokai were unconditional targets for elimination.

Humans decided to give yokai a chance.

That chance was simple:

Go live in the other world,

or die here.

It was an extreme either-or choice, but one must recognize that humans and yokai were mortal enemies.

Just this much was a huge stride forward.

Frankly, from the yokai’s perspective too, there was nothing to lose.

The other world was far more livable for yokai than the human world.

Of course, there were still quite a few yokai who were innately so wicked that they rejected the choice and sought to massacre humans, but

such yokai were all exterminated by martial artists, Taoists, or

the yokai of the other world allied with humans.

The officials of the Yokai Extermination Office

relatively had less to do.

In that sense, the Yokai Extermination Office gained a reputation as a coveted position among people, and

the application rate for this quarter’s public recruitment exam exceeded 200 to 1.

Of them, the most popular Yokai Extermination Office was undoubtedly the Jiri Mountain Yokai Extermination Office.

The reason the Jiri Mountain Office was so popular was

because if you went there,

you could see her.

---

I asked myself,

Am I

happy now?

I answered myself,

I am

happy now.

Chomp.

Chompchomp.

Munch.

Munchmunchmunch.

In this world…!

It’s so delicious my tongue is tingling.

A new product from the #1 best-selling dog food company,

‘Miho’.

Mm-hmm.

As you can tell from the name, it’s a product named after me, and

the packaging features me in my ten-tailed fox form.

It’s not unauthorized use of my image though, it’s a collaborative product.

I still remember what the CEO of this company told me when he directly visited the Jiri Mountain Yokai Extermination Office:

“How about signing a contract with us so we can make a product tailored to Miho’s tastes?”

Of course, I readily agreed – why would I refuse an offer to make a product suited to my tastes?

The photo shoot for the packaging was quite a hassle, but still, they produced such a delicious dog food, so

I’m satisfied.

It wasn’t just the dog food company that approached me either.

After defeating Duergsini,

government agencies,

major corporations,

civic groups,

influencers,

broadcasting stations, etc.

Countless people tried to contact me –

photo shoots, interviews, advertising inquiries, ambassadorship offers, etc… The proposals I received must number in the hundreds.

Of those hundreds of proposals, the one I chose was this dog food.

Sheesh,

I didn’t expect things to become this much of a hassle.

A year ago, the government

announced that I, Miho, was the primary contributor to Duergsini’s defeat.

It didn’t make sense to my common sense –

they could have just attributed all the credit to Yi Haneul and Ho-jun, which would have been easier for everyone involved, so why did they specifically mention my name?

Was it because they judged there would be no benefits from clashing with the Guardian Beast?

…Hmm,

now that I think about it, that might be the reason.

After Duergsini’s defeat, I actively assisted in civilian damage recovery efforts, and

the power emanating from my ten tails was… cheat key-level.

One snap to restore buildings.

One snap for complete healing.

I recovered damage worth tens of trillions of won in just a day, so I can understand why they named me the primary contributor to Duergsini’s defeat.

Of course, if I had been a regular yokai instead of the Guardian Beast, they would have paid me no mind.

Ordinary citizens still don’t know

that the government formed an alliance with the ‘yokai of the other world’.

The truth can sometimes become a poison.

The rift in emotions between humans and yokai, even after all that has happened, still runs deep.

It cannot be overcome overnight.

Still,

I believe that given time, the yokai of the other world will sufficiently prove their harmlessness to humans.

Munchmunchmunch.

Munchmunchmunchmunch.

“…Is it that delicious?”

“Yes, would you like a bite?”

“As I always say, it’s alright. You enjoy eating it.”

I was currently in the Jiri Mountain Yokai Extermination Office’s lounge, eating dog food rolled in milk.

The person sitting before me was,

need I hide it,

Yi Haneul.

Unlike me residing at the Yokai Extermination Office, Yi Haneul has become quite busy lately,

because…

“They want me to become the representative of martial artists? Does that even make sense? I’ll refuse. I’ll definitely refuse.”

Yi Haneul was selected as the representative of martial artists.

He did not become the Minister of the Yokai Control Department though.

Yi Haneul is still in his 20s,

too young in age and lacking experience to become a minister.

But he is fully qualified to be the representative of martial artists.

In my view, there is no one more suited for that position than Yi Haneul.

First, he is the strongest among martial artists, and

his career record speaks for itself – he defeated the Demon Lord and the goblins Mi, Mang, and Ryang.

More than anything,

the biggest reason Yi Haneul is perfect for the martial artists’ representative is

his connections.

For one, he’s close friends with me.

That alone would be enough, but

Yi Haneul was someone completely uninterested in taking up positions of honor.

“There are so many people more suitable than me… Don’t you think so, Miho?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“…Ugh, I’ll just pluck out those disgusting tails!”

Since manifesting my ten tails,

I maintain my ten-tailed state almost constantly.

The reason is simple:

It’s comfortable.

Fortunately, my physique stayed the same as my eight-tailed state.

I had worried that manifesting my tenth tail would give me watermelon-sized breasts, but

that wasn’t the case.

Glance.

I looked down.

I can’t see them.

Can’t see my feet either,

or my belly.

The only things visible are two massive lumps of fat.

“…”

“Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

Well,

they’ve already grown to an inconveniently large size, but at least they’re not growing any further here.

After finishing the dog food, I stood up and said,

“Anyway, I should get going now.”

“Eh, leaving already?”

“You know I can’t be away from my post for too long, Haneul.”

“Miho, you’ve been glued here for a whole week already… Seems like you’ve been away from your post long enough…”

“In any case, or you could come to the other world instead, Haneul.”

“…I don’t want to. That place has a weird smell.”

“Then stop talking.”

“How cold!”

“When you become a representative too, Haneul, you’ll probably become cold as well.”

“I said I’ll refuse, didn’t I?”

“Hmm.”

Refuse?

How laughable.

Who does he think wants to be a leader?

I didn’t want it either –

To lead the other world.