Epilogue (3)

Pitter-patter pitter-patter.

The sound of a squirrel running on a wheel echoes through my den.

Pitter-patter pitter-patter.

Ugh,

This is driving me crazy.

“Aren’t you going on patrol?”

“I switched with Grandfather Mangtae. Click. Doesn’t the Queen of the Other World even know that?”

“…Just because I’m called the Queen doesn’t mean I know everything. Anyway, you’re being noisy, so stop running already.”

“Don’t wanna. I’m bored.”s really are cunning creatures.

When they’re absent, it feels empty, but when present, they’re noisy.

Today, I had planned to spend the whole day yawning and napping, but

Dapoh ruined my fulfilling day’s plan.

“I’m bored.”

“…”

“Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. Click. Clickclick. Clickclickclick.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll play with you, okay? What should we play?”

“Let’s go shopping!”

The word ‘shopping’ came out of Dapoh’s mouth.

After Duergsini’s defeat,

Dapoh’s face and name became somewhat exposed to the public.

Of course, the alliance between the yokai of the other world and the government was still secret, but

Dapoh was an exception.

That’s because

Dapoh could no longer be called a yokai.

In the final battle against Duergsini, Dapoh had already died once.

Duergsini’s threat to kill Dapoh was not mere bluffing.

Duergsini actually killed Dapoh, and

Dapoh revived thanks to the ‘insurance’ I fed him.

That insurance was

A fox bead I condensed with my power.

Revived by the fox bead, Dapoh was reborn as a new existence somewhere between a yokai and the Guardian Beast –

A dreadful hybrid capable of wielding both prey and spiritual power.

“A dreadful hybrid…”

“Are you talking about me? Click.”

“Yes, you.”

“Why am I dreadful?”

“…It was just a metaphorical expression.”

“An internet meme, huh!”

Having gained the ability to conceal his prey aura, Dapoh

Boldly revealed himself to the world after Duergsini’s defeat.

Of all the yokai and humans I’ve met, Dapoh is the most affectionate and gentle yokai.

Come to think of it,

Even at our first meeting, it was Dapoh who approached me without reserve when I suddenly appeared in the other world, spoke to me, and shared information.

There’s no need to dwell on Dapoh’s kind personality, but

Dapoh is also the yokai who proved yokai are harmless as their representative during Duergsini’s defeat.

A symbol of peace,

His affectionate personality,

And lastly, his overwhelmingly cute appearance –

Humans can’t help but love Dapoh.

From what I’ve heard, Dapoh the squirrel itself has become a meme drifting all over the internet…

Proof of just how much humans adore Dapoh.

Dapoh loves human civilization more than any other yokai,

Especially human food.

He loves cotton candy,

And chocolate buns too.

It’s not that I directly bought and brought cotton candy and buns for Dapoh, but

He says he just went into town himself and got them for free from a street vendor.

When asked if the humans weren’t surprised, he said they were at first, but then the auntie vendor just went ‘of course’ and patted him.

It’s fortunate his build is small – if Dapoh was tiger-sized instead of a squirrel…

There might have been rumors of a yokai appearing in the city center.

After confirming that Dapoh goes into the city center whenever he’s bored to get food, I started taking him into the city center from time to time as well.

It’s more reassuring to have a guardian like me with him than sending Dapoh into the city alone, you know?

…Of course, I have to endure drawing massive aggro due to my presence.

Anyway,

Last time we went to Busan, so

“Should we go to Seoul?”

“Clickclickclick!”

It’s been a while, so we should take a Seoul outing.

---

Kim Han-jin,

20 years old,

A university student who had just moved to Seoul for college.

The tall buildings,

The bold fashion,

The diverse food options, etc.

Having lived in the countryside for 20 years, the sights of Seoul were a continuous astonishment for him.

While the tall buildings were tall buildings,

What caught his attention were the people.

Perhaps due to the extremely high population density in the area, there were all sorts of people in Seoul.

Just look over there, for example –

It seems there must be some kind of cosplay event nearby, as there’s even a young woman in cosplay.

From the looks of it, she’s cosplaying the famous ‘Miho’…

The quality is impressive.

The ten tails look almost lifelike.

It seems cosplay of that quality was unfamiliar even to Seoul residents, as nearby high schoolers reacted similarly to Kim Han-jin:

“That quality is crazy?”

“Is that really not Miho?”

“Of course not. To see Miho, you’d have to go all the way to Jiri Mountain. Even then, you’d need crazy luck.”

“But is that woman’s chest size for real?”

“Must be padding.”

People really do think alike, huh?

Well,

Even for Seoul, that outstanding quality was certainly no ordinary feat…

Poof!

It was then that

Smoke began billowing around the Miho cosplayer.

The adult ten-tailed woman

Had transformed into a three-tailed child,

Bought a bun in that state,

Then manifested her ten tails again to eat the bun.

Shortly after,

“Kyaaaaaack!”

The sharp scream of a ten-tailed fox rang out.

Th-that’s the real Miho.

Kim Han-jin muttered, and

Someone shouted:

“It’s the real Miho!”

---

“Oh my, I’ve only heard the rumors, this is my first time seeing her in person. So, what would you like?”

“Ten chocolate buns please, auntie. Ehehe.”

“Oh, you have good manners! Sure, you’re at that age of hearty appetite, so auntie will give you some extra.”

“Thank you!”

Looks can be… no, the pot calls the kettle black.

Times like this really show I’m as sly a fox as Dalgi.

After confirming the street vendor was an auntie, I immediately transformed into my three-tailed form to purchase the buns.

Apparently, aunties go crazier for a cute ten-year-old child than a busty adult woman.

A little tip for purchasing goods or food.

You can gain an advantage by changing your appearance according to the seller’s gender and age range.

…Well, it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a ‘tip’ since I’m the only one in the world who can use this method.

I handed one of the chocolate buns to Dapoh perched on my shoulder and said:

“Be careful, it’s really hot, okay? Don’t drip chocolate on my shoulder.”

“No, I’m eating it now! Clickclickclickclick.”

“Then don’t blame me if you burn your tongue.”

“If I burn my tongue, Miho will just heal it. Anyway, hurry and manifest your tails, Miho.”

“My tails? No way, manifesting my ten tails now will draw too much aggro from people.”

“I’m uncomfortable eating on your shoulder. Gimme my house, you house thief!”

“…Why does your language get ruder by the day?”

“Clickclickclickclick.”

Sheesh,

He’s only absorbing the good parts of human civilization, not the bad.

Seems he’s absorbed the bad parts from the internet too.

I had intended to wander around Seoul in a moderately eye-catching three-tailed form, but

“Gimme my house, my house!”

Dapoh started whining as if his actual home had been stolen.

No, this precious body part isn’t your home to begin with, you damn rat.

“…Haah.”

He’s much older than me, so why does he act so childishly?

Poof!

Fine, there.

Here’s your house.

Truth be told, it is more comfortable for me to manifest my ten tails rather than maintain three, but

I had tried keeping three tails to avoid drawing too much attention from people that would hinder shopping.

With his house provided, Dapoh excitedly slipped between my breasts.

Afterwards, he only poked his small head and arms out to nibble on the bun.

Mmm,

He does seem to be enjoying it.

Though I was slightly annoyed by Dapoh’s whining, seeing him nibbling the bun so happily is putting me at ease again.

However, Dapoh’s mouth is so tiny that even eating one bun took quite a while, and

The aunty vendor’s generous extra helping of chocolate was dripping down in streaks that Dapoh’s minuscule mouth couldn’t contain…

“Kyaaaaaaaack!”

“Miho, why?! Is it a goblin? Did a goblin appear?”

“It’s hot, you crazy rat!!”

It wasn’t chocolate,

It was lava.

Molten chocolate as hot as lava was trickling down my cleavage.

Even for a ten-tailed fox with cheat key-level abilities,

Pain is felt just the same.

…

…

…

Perhaps because of the ruckus Dapoh caused,

I ended up advertising ‘I’m here, the famous ten-tailed Miho is here!’ to passersby.

So all my time was spent taking photos.

It’s already 10 PM,

The department stores have closed.

“Grrrr, kuuuuhl…”

You said we were going shopping, you crazy rat.

While I was busy taking photos, this damn rat is napping obliviously in his home.

Sheesh,

Even playing with a single rat is no easy task.

Still,

Well,

It seems I’m living

A reasonably peaceful and happy daily life.

Not feigning happiness,

I genuinely feel happy.

Spending precious time

With precious people,

How fortunate is that?

…Am I doing well, Gija?

Right, Mr. Gija?