The Conference (Completed)

The critical reason Miho, despite being a yokai, was able to win over the hearts of those from the Jiri Mountain Yokai Extermination Office was that she was their savior who had preserved their lives.

Though she was a yokai, an enemy of humanity, the irony was that this yokai had saved human lives, allowing her to naturally blend into their world.

Her beautiful appearance only further endeared her, but that was secondary.

Then, could the fox yokai Miho have formed relations with humans without first establishing such bonds through a life-saving act?

Perhaps not.

No matter how beautiful her looks or figure, it would have been impossible without employing her charm ability.

Such was the nature of human-yokai relations.

However, unlike the fox yokai Miho, the fox spirit Miho could win over people’s hearts with startling ease.

Of course, as the key contributor in resolving the recent Namsan goblin incident, it was only natural for her to gain humans’ goodwill, but the reason the attendees viewed Miho favorably went beyond her accomplishments.

It was simply because she was a spirit.

Spirit beings innately emanated an aura of mystique that easily inspired goodwill in others, akin to how adults wished to protect innocent children, or how adorable creatures stirred fuzzy feelings – an entirely natural, instinctive phenomenon.

That said, there was still some distance.

No matter her spirit nature, her non-human appearance meant limitations in forming rapport with humans.

Yet, for some reason, about an hour into the conference, people began feeling comfortable around Miho.

The main factor was her vast knowledge base.

Her knowledge hardly differed from humans’, and her thought process was surprisingly similar too.

To the attendees, her familiarity with internet memes was astonishingly fresh.

If not for her fox ears and tail, one could mistake her for just another human in conversation.

She possessed a human heart and mind.

Just as people were beginning to accept her as ‘human’, Yokai Extermination Office Director Baek Nam-hun took out dog treats from his pocket and offered them to her.

Chomp chomp chomp.

Heckheckheck.

Swishswishswish.

She eagerly wagged her tail left and right while drooling and munching the treats.

Witnessing this, people thought:

Ah, she really isn’t human after all.

She’s just a dog.

From olden times, dogs have been human’s closest friends.

For some inexplicable reason, she felt even more familiar to them now.

Seeing Miho wag her tail, the attendees gradually opened up to her.

One female Martial Artist spoke to her:

“Miho, give me your hand, hand!”

“My hand? Why? Here you go.”

“Kyaaah, she’s so well-behaved! Ha-neul, I’m so jealous of you!”

…Well, they may have opened up in a slightly twisted direction, but the point was they had opened up, right?

Soon, everyone began trying to bond with Miho, creating scenes hardly befitting a solemn conference.

Even Ho Joon slyly slipped in among them to give Miho commands:

“Hey, lie down and roll over.”

“Piss off, you pervert.”

“…She’s only sharp with me.”

---

The initial purpose of this conference was to “discuss countermeasures against the formidable yokai”, but the objectives shifted slightly.

The “threat” expanded from the “formidable yokai” to include “goblins”, and “determining the future treatment of spirit Miho” also became a key agenda item.

Of course, there was no talk of driving Miho away.

Over the past four incidents, Miho had more than demonstrated her value to humans, essentially cementing their alliance.

In fact, Miho’s aid was absolutely crucial to humans right now.

While they could still handle a Stage 2 or higher formidable yokai, they currently had no means to counter goblins.

Until Spell Masters learned “goblin extermination spells” and Martial Artists thoroughly researched the ancient texts left by the “King of the Yurdo State” for anti-goblin measures – an unknown time frame required.

The problem was how to utilize Miho.

The ideal approach was undoubtedly requesting her aid whenever goblins or formidable yokai appeared, but she was a sentient being, not a machine or extermination tool.

Wasn’t it too much to impose such burdens on her?

Even Martial Artists and Spell Masters in the yokai extermination profession didn’t overwork themselves to that extreme.

Moreover, everyone had already bonded with Miho to some extent, precluding unreasonable requests.

As everyone, including Baek Nam-hun, pondered this dilemma, Miho, busy chomping dog treats, suddenly raised her hand and said:

“You can just call me without hesitation whenever an incident occurs.”

---

Today proved that movies are all fiction.

Government officials are usually portrayed as heartless villains in films and dramas, but that was a blatant lie.

Why were these people so kind?

I had even envisioned the worst-case scenario of being dissected as an experiment specimen.

Of course, I had no intention of meekly offering my body if they tried making me a specimen, but I had at least expected them to treat me like a dog.

Instead of mistreating me, they were actively trying to accommodate me, making requests in timid tones hoping not to offend me.

Well, from my perspective, it felt pretty good.

Whether they ordered me around or not, I had already intended to track down any emerging goblins and yokai anyway.

I could help them more cheerfully this way.

The conference was gradually winding down.

The conclusion was simple – a training period.

Spell Masters would seclude themselves at the Taoist Society for a while to learn goblin-related spells.

The self-proclaimed… no, that condescending genius Ho Joon could learn anti-goblin spells within just two weeks, but other Spell Masters required at least two months to master the techniques.

As for Martial Artists, they would research the ancient texts left by the King of Yurdo State to learn measures against goblins.

The time required was an unknown variable – it could take a month, two months, or even longer.

So what if goblins or formidable yokai appeared while Spell Masters and Martial Artists were occupied with training?

The answer was simple – I would exterminate them.

More precisely, the conclusion was that a team of three – myself, Ha-neul and Ho Joon, who had some ability to counter goblins – would handle it together.

While burdensome, having Ha-neul and Ho Joon alongside at least alleviated some pressure.

My status was also a key discussion point, with a straightforward conclusion:

Detailed information about ‘spirits’ would be publicly released to the media, along with my information.

How the public would receive me was uncertain, making it a risky decision, but Baek Nam-hun decided to proceed regardless.

Thanks to a certain someone, the leak had already occurred.

That ‘someone’ was obviously me.

Over the past few days roaming Seoul, I must have been photographed hundreds of times:

Photos of me walking on all fours.

Photos of me sniffing around.

Photos of me smiling happily while eating delicacies, and so on.

It seemed online communities had already tentatively concluded, ‘The Mysterious Assistant is actually a fox yokai’.

Furthermore, those I had healed in Namsan also gave interviews here and there.

Fortunately, with the goblin’s ‘Eonryeong’ dispelled after its death, they spoke favorably of me:

‘A pretty fox cosplayer with a nice figure healed me.’

‘At the time, I found her repulsive, but now I’m grateful to her.’

‘Through this interview, I want to apologize for the insults I hurled at her.’

‘Thank you for saving my life.’

And so on.

While not officially announced, my identity had already been exposed.

So I had no choice but to correctly identify myself as a ‘spirit’ rather than a ‘yokai’ in revealing my identity to the media.

“…Will you be alright with this?”

When Baek Nam-hun asked, I simply replied:

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be holed up in Jirisan anyway.”

“Understood. Then let me summarize the conclusions of this conference once more.”

Listening with one ear while tuning out with the other, I suddenly felt an inexplicable joy at sitting alongside humans and conversing with them.

Just two years ago, I had thought I could never reveal myself to the human world again.

I resolved anew:

Take down the goblins.

Take down the yokai pursuing false ascensions.

Protect the humans.

‘Miho, the human’s friend, protects the citizens once again…’

Heh.

Just imagining such a headline already filled me with excitement.

In a good mood, I finished the remaining dog treats.

“Grrrr.”

“…So, regarding the means to counter the existence of goblins…”

“Grrr, grrrr, grrr.”

“…While officially acknowledging Miho, her ability to transform into a yokai will be kept secret…”

“Yip. Woof.”

“…”

Why is everyone staring at me?

What?

What do you want?