Seoul Outing (1)

“Ready? I’m dispelling it.”

“Yes, yes!”

Gulp.

Focus, focus.

I concentrated my mind on the will training method Ho Joon had taught me.

Soon after, Ho Joon dispelled his protective spells.

“How’s this?”

Swish.

Ho Joon brazenly ogled my body up and down.

He approached me closely to inspect,

Prodded my shoulders,

Even stroked my tails and ears.

It was not strange behavior –

Merely a solemn process to verify the training results.

After a moment,

Ho Joon nodded his head.

“It seems effective.”

“R, really?”

Thank goodness…!

I had thought one day of mutt training might not succeed.

“However.”

“However…?”

My burgeoning elation was ruthlessly crushed by Ho Joon’s subsequent words:

“To be precise, the second effect of this ‘charm’ you described is definitely gone.”

“The second effect… You mean the one that renders the subject subservient has dissipated?”

“Correct.”

“Th, then what about the first?”

“The intensity has diminished somewhat, but it still seems ‘grotesque’ to me.”

“Fuck!”

So it was only a partial success…

After reapplying his protective spells, Ho Joon continued:

“Though I can’t be certain. To be honest, even with these spells, the ‘grotesque’ impression remains.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“In other words, I can’t tell if it’s your charm making you seem grotesque, or if it’s just your lewd physique itself.”

“…”

The former, sure, I could accept that.

But if it was the latter…

That was even worse, wasn’t it?

While training could help me control the charm ability,

In the latter case… It was not something I could change through effort.

It wasn’t like I could visit a plastic surgery clinic either.

“In any case, since I was never affected by your charm to begin with, it would be better to have someone already entranced verify the results. Do you know anyone like that?”

“…They’re everywhere around here.”

It seemed all the male staff at this Yokai Extermination Office had already fallen under my charm.

Among them, the one in the most dire state would be:

Of course,

…

…

…

Grade 7 civil servant Kim Myung-ho was currently engulfed by an indescribably massive wave of dopamine.

The reason was simple –

Ms. Miho,

My light,

My hope,

My master,

My light, Ms. Miho, had deigned to summon him.

Work was not progressing at all.

Gazing at the Gumiho figure on his desk, Kim Myung-ho shook his head repeatedly.

No,

Compared to Miho’s exquisitely sculpted form, this figure could hardly be called anything but a ‘mere imitation’.

As his reaction showed,

He was one of the civil servants properly entranced by Miho.

His condition was severe, making the director’s concerns about Miho’s charm quite understandable.

After hastily completing his backlogged work,

He found an opportunity to head to the front yard where Miho and Ho Joon were training.

The presence of another random male beside Miho was quite vexing, but

What could he do?

Merely witnessing Miho’s overwhelming beauty was glory enough.

Soon after encountering Miho,

He began feeling perplexed.

Of course, the sight of Miho with her seven tails was indescribably beautiful, but

Unlike his earlier thoughts of

Being willing to die for Miho,

To offer up his very being for her,

He no longer felt consumed by such all-encompassing devotion.

…Had his passion for Miho waned without him realizing?

His doubts were resolved by Miho’s subsequent words:

“It seems my charm has dissipated?”

---

“Mr. Myung-ho, what thoughts do you have seeing me now?”

“You are beautiful! Your figure too… Exquisite… Ahem. Exquisite…”

“Not those sorts of thoughts. Like, do you feel driven to die for me? Or to willingly offer up your liver?”

“Pardon? Even for you, Ms. Miho, that’s a bit…”

“Yes. It does seem my charm has indeed dissipated.”

I explained the circumstances to Kim Myung-ho.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, he exclaimed:

“As expected of you, Ms. Miho! To go to such lengths for the sake of lowly civil servants like myself… I, the president of your #1 fan club, swear an oath to devotedly serve you for life!”

“…The charm has dissipated, right?”

“It has… right…?”

Compared to his previous state, Kim Myung-ho’s charm did indeed seem lifted.

Simply put,

He was someone who genuinely liked me, regardless of any charm ability.

After completing the training,

I reported the results to the director.

Intently observing my face, the director soon nodded in acknowledgment.

“Indeed, you seem tolerable now. I did not expect it to actually work… Haah.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Why the sigh?”

“…I had hoped for your training to fail, Ms. Miho. Revealing your identity was entirely my unilateral decision, and I had intended to bear the consequences alone… But it seems I have unduly burdened you, for which I apologize.”

“No need for such complexity. If things go awry, I’ll just slip away, that’s all.”

“I doubt you could flee.”

“Why not?”

“There will be ten Martial Artists attending the conference. Of course, one of them is Ms. Ha-neul, who is favorably disposed towards you… But I cannot predict how the remaining nine may react to you. It will undoubtedly be a perilous situation, so you must remain vigilant. Perhaps you should reconsider your decision once more…”

“It’s fine. I’ve already decided.”

According to Lee Ha-neul,

While she was among the more talented Martial Artists in terms of raw ability,

After a certain incident following her national certification, she had developed trauma and slacked off in training.

Hence, Lee Ha-neul was relatively weak compared to other Martial Artists.

The remaining nine could be presumed stronger than her.

As the director said, fleeing from them would not be easy.

Well,

It was not as if I was heading to Seoul empty-handed either.

I gave the director a wry smile and said:

“Have faith, I can persuade them.”

“How do you intend to persuade them?”

“My humanity.”

“…”

“I simply need to prove my humanity to them, do I not?”

Everyone thinks the same way –

That I, this yokai,

No,

If I can prove my humanity to them,

Then as fellow humans, they will have no choice but to acknowledge me.

“…Mere romanticism. Is that not overly idealistic thinking?”

Idealistic, was it?

Well,

I considered it rather realistic.

Because ultimately,

I was only a yokai in outward appearance – I was human at my core.

---

Six a.m.

The perfect time for traveling to Seoul.

The director would be driving us directly to Seoul.

Today’s schedule was as follows:

Arrive in Seoul.

After arrival, check into the hotel.

End.

That’s it.

In other words,

There would be ample time for sightseeing in Seoul.

Swish.

Swish swish.

Swish swish swish swish swish.

Pff pff pff pff pff pff pff.

Puff.

Lee Ha-neul, seated beside me, had my tail smack into her face and opened her mouth in dismayed confusion:

“Ow, Miho! Can you keep your tail still for once!”

“Ah, sorry.”

“I want to see your three-tailed form again!”

Apologies, but now that we had left Jiri Mountain,

I could not retract my tails, lest

My yogi got detected and created complications before the conference.

“Everyone, fasten your seatbelts please… Ms. Miho, you too.”

“Got it.”

I obediently fastened my seatbelt per the director’s instruction, though

Ho Joon in the passenger seat and Lee Ha-neul beside me were gawking at me.

Why?

What is it?

“Lucky bitch with that bottomless pocket.”

“I’m jealous…”

Those were the remarks from Ho Joon and Lee Ha-neul respectively, observing me.

Admittedly,

The cumbersome bust did make the seatbelt rather uncomfortable.

Regardless of their scrutiny,

I began planning my Seoul outing itinerary.

In truth, ‘outing’ was too generous a term, for

Even in my spiritual beast state, I had no intentions of gallivanting about Seoul with these conspicuous tails.

Under the pretense of [Fox Cosplay],

I only planned to tour around the Samseong Station area.

Conveniently, there was a cosplay event happening near Samseong Station today, so

Even if people noticed my tails, they would likely dismiss it as ‘Ah, quality Gumiho cosplay’.

It was the perfect Seoul outing plan, yet the director seemed concerned nonetheless as he addressed Lee Ha-neul:

“Ms. Ha-neul, I entrust Ms. Miho’s care to you.”

“No need to worry. I’ll keep a firm grip on her leash.”

…Could you not mention that damn leash in front of me?

After that whole day of mutt training yesterday, I had learned to restrain my instincts to some degree.

“No need for any leashes.”

When I curtly spoke up, Lee Ha-neul seemed to get mischievous as she rummaged in her pocket, soon pulling out

A bone-shaped chew toy that dogs might play with – perfect for gnawing on.

When had she even prepared something like that?

Shake.

Shake shake.

Lee Ha-neul began waving the bone toy in front of my face.

Really now,

Did she mishear my words?

I said I could restrain my instincts now, didn’t I?

“Grrrrrowl…”

“Wait!”

“Grrrr… Yeep, yeep.”

See here?

I was only letting out growling sounds, yet when commanded to wait, I did not mindlessly lunge for the bone, did I?

How’s that, Director?

These were the fruits of instinct training.

Observing Lee Ha-neul and me, Ho Joon chuckled in disbelief while

The director let out a sigh and said:

“…Are you sure that training was done properly?”