Sandstorm (Sapung), Tiger Mom (Hohuanmama) – (1)

Yoki is the measure of a yokai’s strength.

This was an absolute criteria.

The government, the Yokai Extermination Office, and even martial force artists judged a yokai’s power based on the size of its yoki.

But that was no longer the case.

Starting with the appearance of ‘Jomagu’, a yokai without yoki, it became meaningless to divide a yokai’s strength by its yoki.

In just the past few months, several yokai with little yoki yet formidable power had appeared repeatedly.

However, throughout history, there had never been a case of a yokai with an immense amount of yoki possessing weak power.

Not all yokai with little yoki were weak, but a yokai with strong yoki was almost always, unconditionally powerful.

In that sense:

[Weeeeee! Weeeeee!]

An emergency alarm rang out at the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office.

Judging from the ear-splitting alarm, this was no trivial matter.

The lowest-ranking civil servant at the Sejong Office, a 9th-ranker in charge of yoki detection, shouted:

“S, Section Chief! You need to see this…!”

His voice trembled.

Flustered by the alarm, the Section Chief hurriedly approached the 9th-ranker’s desk and doubted his own eyes:

“Th, this is insane…!”

The yokai’s estimated grade detected by the yoki radar was a staggering Level 2.

Level 2.

Potential damage: Tens of thousands of casualties highly likely

Response: Declare regional emergency evacuation for the entire governing district

Deploy at least four nationally certified martial force artists and ritualists

Transfer jurisdiction to military command

All non-martial force artist/ritualist personnel strongly advised to evacuate unconditionally

From Level 2 yokai onward, it was no exaggeration to call it a national disaster.

Even though the ‘Yokai Extermination Office’ was a group of yokai extermination specialists, realistically confronting a Level 2 yokai was impossible.

Yet they couldn’t summon the martial force artists and ritualists either, since it was widely known to the public that they had entered training to prepare for a future catastrophic nationwide disaster.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to rely on the fox ling’s power.

“…Contact the Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office. Immediately!”

The Section Chief shouted, and the communications officer picked up the phone with trembling hands.

Time was of the essence.

If the opponent was a Level 2 yokai, they couldn’t afford to waste even a single minute or second…

“S, Section Chief…?”

“What is it! Did the yokai approach?”

“No, that’s not it…”

The 9th-rank yoki detection officer continued with a bewildered tone:

“The yoki disappeared.”

“…What?”

---

The female civil servants at the Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office were visibly disappointed.

The adorable two-tailed Miho had vanished, replaced by the seven-tailed Miho with her plump rear and ample breasts.

They couldn’t help but feel let down.

In truth, Miho’s behavior didn’t change just because she reverted to seven tails.

Her actions were the same.

She still swished her rear and wagged her tails.

She still perked up her fox ears.

She still came running with sparkling eyes when treats were offered.

However, unlike her two-tailed self, the seven-tailed Miho didn’t seem cute at all.

No, she even looked lewd.

Her every action and gesture seemed like a flirtatious move to seduce others.

Outward appearance was that important.

---

Yi Haneul was sulking.

I didn’t really understand why she was sulking.

She wouldn’t answer when I asked.

Such an odd person.

Could she have been negatively influenced by the yokai during her extermination mission?

“…Miho, how long are you going to carry around that raggedy doll?”

“Until I get sick of it. Why? Is there a problem?”

“Yes, it’s a problem. It doesn’t suit you. For a grown woman to play with such a cute fox doll, it totally doesn’t suit you!”

Why was she getting angry again?

Anyone would think I had committed some grave sin.

“And it’s only been three days since I got the doll. It’s not raggedy at all.”

“It is raggedy! If you keep carrying it around in your mouth like that, of course it’ll get all raggedy!”

…Now that she mentioned it, I suppose so.

According to Yi Haneul, the fox doll had become damp from my drool.

And from carrying that damp doll in my mouth while walking around, it was now covered in dust.

So…

What did that cute, soft, chewable doll have to do with your sulking?

“Ah, I wanted to see two-tailed Miho again… why me, why me…”

What’s this now?

“Was that really the reason you were sulking?”

“What do you mean ‘really’? It’s extremely important to me…”

Pung.

“There.”

“Huh…?”

The moment Yi Haneul finished speaking, I immediately assumed my two-tailed form.

My vision lowered.

My legs shortened.

The weight of my chest drastically decreased too.

Blinking slowly, I gazed up at Yi Haneul.

“Kyaaaaa!”

Yi Haneul let out a strange cry and scooped me up in her arms.

“What’s going on here! You wouldn’t put your tails away no matter how much I begged, but now this happens!”

“Well… yeah.”

I did say my mood changed a bit from embracing the yokai mind.

Previously, Yi Haneul adored my three-tailed self so much that I found it burdensome, so I tried not to assume that form around her unless necessary.

But now that others’ perceptions of me didn’t matter anymore, it wasn’t an unreasonable request to fulfill.

Ah.

However.

“What should I do with this adorable creature!”

“…Please be gentle, Lord Yi Haneul.”

If she hugged me so tightly that I couldn’t breathe, it would be troublesome for me too.

It wasn’t an issue of her gaze, but physical discomfort.

Chuk.

Chuk.

Chwoook.

Yi Haneul even started peppering kisses all over my cheeks.

No matter how much I embraced the yokai mind, there was a limit to my endurance.

Pufff!

I reverted to my seven-tailed form, and with my enlarged body, Yi Haneul ended up accidentally kissing my ample breast – quite the awkward situation.

Ah.

There’s a kiss mark on my breast now.

“What will you do about this? Can I have a wet tissue?”

“Uwaaaaaah… Guwaaaaaah.”

“…”

Seeing Yi Haneul’s overreaction, I poked at my chest with my finger.

Wasn’t that a bit too excessive…?

If she got this riled up, I might just use my allure on her.

As Yi Haneul and I pointlessly passed the time like this, the Principal summoned us both.

Setting our nonsense aside, we immediately went to the Principal’s office, where he said:

“Lady Miho, Lord Yi Haneul. You need to depart for Sejong right away…”

“Sejong?”

“…Lady Miho, um, wh, what’s that on your chest…”

Ah.

Whoops.

That’s right, I had asked for a wet tissue earlier.

The Principal must have misunderstood.

“A, ahem…! In any case, you two need to leave for Sejong immediately.”

“A yokai? Or a goblin?”

“…I’m not sure.”

The Principal then explained that the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office had detected an unidentified yoki.

Not just any yoki, but a staggering Level 2 – an overwhelming amount historically unprecedented.

However, precisely 58 seconds after the yoki was detected on radar, it vanished completely.

Upon receiving the Principal’s report, Yi Haneul muttered:

“That pattern seems familiar.”

“Yes. An ominous sign. An ominous sign likely means, like the yokai that have appeared so far…”

There was a high probability it was a yokai qualified for false ascension.

That’s what he meant.

“After the yoki was detected once, that yokai has not shown itself since. So I need you two to take care of exterminating it. With Lady Miho’s current state, you should probably…”

“Yes. I can detect the yokai.”

With my senses having developed so incredibly, detecting a single hidden yokai would be child’s play.

I had no further questions for the Principal.

Yi Haneul and I immediately departed for Sejong.

Ever since unleashing my eight tails.

Ever since combining the human and yokai minds.

I had become fearless.

Who could possibly dare to obstruct my path?

Be it goblins or yokai qualified for false ascension, no matter who appeared, I was resolved to utterly destroy them.

One puzzling point was that Yi Haneul wore a similarly confident expression as me.

When I asked about it, Yi Haneul tossed back her long hair and spoke in an assured tone:

“I haven’t just been playing around either. While subjugating a Level 3 yokai this time, I realized something new.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, it came at the perfect time. I can test out my new power against this unidentified yokai!”

“New power…?”

“Hehehe. You’ll be surprised when you see it.”

It seemed Yi Haneul had no intention of revealing the nature of this ‘new power’ to me.

Hmm.

Unexpectedly, I might not even need to step in, as Yi Haneul alone could handle the yokai.

She certainly appeared to have acquired quite formidable power, feeling so relaxed that she even fell asleep snoring on the way to Sejong.

Ugh.

Sleeping is fine, but:

“Zzzz…”

My chest isn’t a pillow, you know.

Ugh.

She even drooled on me.