episode_0059

“Huh? Death? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Don’t be talking nonsense. Are there no fish? If there aren’t any, then go away.”

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“Eek! Sa, Sa-shin! Don’t ever say the word Sa-shin in front of me again, you piece of shit!”

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“I saw the grim reaper… . A huge scythe. I cut it and yea, the soul thumped… … . squeak.”

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Cat people are foaming at the mouth and fainting. I don’t know how many times this reaction has happened.

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Some say they have never seen a messenger of death.

Some people get scared just by hearing the word ‘reaper’.

Some people just faint.

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I decided that asking any more questions would not yield any more information, so I sighed and walked out of the alley.

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Seira explained the situation with a calm expression.

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“It is said that the cat people were attacked by the god of death, but aside from the psychological shock, it is safe to say that there was almost no actual damage.”

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“Is that so… .”

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“If there is no damage, that’s a good thing, but it’s a complicated and subtle reaction. Did I miss something?”

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“No, I’m just tired.”

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I told Seira a fair amount, but there was one more piece of information she didn’t know.

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‘All contracts are terminated.’

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All soul contracts with the cat people have been severed. They are no longer my slaves. They cannot be freed, so they cannot earn points.

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The fish that have been invested so far have been reduced to volunteers who fill their stomachs.

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It was a painful loss when I was already short on points, but it wasn’t something I could risk my life for. I wasn’t struggling with money yet.

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It’s a good thing my connection with Lin hasn’t been severed. I knew from the first time I signed a slave contract that once you free her, you can’t renew the contract.

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The problem was somewhere else entirely.

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[Free the main slaves completely. Current number is 1/5]

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The only quest given to me in the Taosul world. After liberating Mirabelle and Arphia, the number 2 changed to 1.

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This isn’t right.

I don’t know about anything else, but this is something that must not change.

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‘Why on earth did the numbers decrease?’

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I don’t think it’s a mistake. You shouldn’t think in a game-like way here. That is, something happened to the two people I freed.

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Mirabelle.

Or Arpia.

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‘There’s a high probability that this is Mirabelle.’

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Mirabelle’s messenger appeared and removed the slaves’ chains, and the number of people freed decreased overnight. I don’t think it was a coincidence at all.

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Something happened on Mirabelle’s side.

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What could be the problem?

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As a witch, Mirabelle can use all kinds of magic. Now that some time has passed, she will be able to use more magic than when she was with me.

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So, did they renew the contract in some way?

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… .

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‘Does that make sense?’

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Where in the world would a person become a slave again? When you are confused, you end up having a lot of nonsense thoughts.

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Of course, a new contract is not necessary.

Then, here are the next possible cases.

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… .

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I can’t guess.

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What should I do?

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I should go and check on Mirabelle’s condition.

But there is no way to find it, and even if I go there and take revenge… .

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I’m dizzy.

Things don’t go as planned.

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Knock knock.

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Someone grabbed my hand then. I looked down and saw Lin looking up at me. She walked on all fours when she ran away, but she knows how to walk on two feet.

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…okay.

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You must not be swayed by variables.

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The most important thing right now is Lynn. There’s no point in worrying about something you don’t even fully understand. Let’s solve Lynn first, and then we’ll get to the details.

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Think positively.

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Thanks to the appearance of the Reaper, you and Rin have become closer, right? Thanks to that, you can proceed to the next step.

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“Rin, I have a place to go.”

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***

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[The Fox That Brings Misfortune]

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It may be a bit new to explain, but Rin is a nine-tailed fox. A fox with nine tails that appears in folktales.

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It is subtly different in that it does not eat people’s liver and has no desire to become human.

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Such conditions for Lin’s complete liberation.

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It’s about resolving the trials brought about by the misfortune that you have passively, and raising you into a proper nine-tailed fox. In the end, it’s about freeing you from misfortune.

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To do that, the first step is Lynn’s basic growth.

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“Lin, kill the slime.”

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How to raise such a person.

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Rin, who is classified as both a mermaid and a monster, can absorb the power of monsters when they are defeated. By absorbing their energy, Rin’s power source, the yōryoku (妖力), increases.

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As your magical power increases, you become stronger and grow.

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In other words, in order to grow Rin, you have to hunt and hunt. So I took Rin to the swamp, the habitat of slimes.

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“Caeng?”

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But Lin just stares blankly at me when I’m standing in front of the slime. It has a look on its face like it’s saying, ‘Why me?’ Although her affection for me has increased, she doesn’t unconditionally follow my orders.

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But don’t worry.

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“Pork per ten slimes.”

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“… … .”

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“… Beef.”

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“Kang!”

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Lin only reacts after the reward is offered. Her fox ears perk up like an exclamation mark.

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Anyway, I know that beef is delicious. Since I only fed him expensive food every time, his taste buds rival those of a nobleman.

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Lin Yidu takes a hunting stance with his arms on the ground.

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Yeah, whatever, just follow what I say. If you show enthusiasm, I will show a corresponding attitude.

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He stretched his arms forward powerfully.

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“Go ahead, Lin. Lightning!”

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“Caeng!”

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“Bite and break!”

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“Kang!”

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“Wind’s wound!”

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“Caeng!”

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I roamed the swamps with Lin.

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As I waded through the swamp, I tore apart every slime I found and bit its core to destroy it.

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The energy that came out of the dead monster’s corpse flowed into Lin. Lin, who was the person involved, also looked flustered, as if it was her first time absorbing energy.

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But as I absorbed more energy, I got used to it, and now it hunts slimes on its own without me having to give it separate orders.

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I think it might be an instinctive action.

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As she hunted like that, before she knew it, Lin had caught 30 slimes.

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‘Should I go back soon?’

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Even if we wanted to hunt more, we’d already killed all the slimes nearby. Since we can’t use magic, we have no choice but to rely on Rin’s sense of smell, but the slimes are odorless.

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It’s not like today is the only day, so there’s no need to bother searching the forest.

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“Let’s go back.”

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“Kang.”

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I was about to turn my head when Lin looked at a certain place and barked. A rabbit was eating grass.

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But it’s a bit big.

Its teeth are also huge and it has horns on its head.

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It was not an ordinary rabbit, but a horned rabbit.

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They are highly aggressive and their horns have high penetrative power, so it is common for them to be ignored as rabbits and end up being skewered.

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Of course, if it’s Lin, she’s an enemy that can be hunted. Her basic stats are on a whole other level.

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“Go back. You don’t have to hold on to it.”

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But I plan to ignore it. After all, the current Rin is a primitive hunting method that uses the body directly. If I catch that, blood will spurt out, and I have to wash it all away.

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I’m scared of blood.

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But what I overlooked was that the more monsters she caught, the more Rin’s hunting instinct was awakened.

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Lin, who used to just run away, has discovered the fun of being a thief. Now, in Lin’s eyes, the horned rabbit = meat = toy.

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grasp!

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“Oh, wait─”

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There was no time to stop it.

Lin ran out like a bullet.

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The horned rabbit that was leisurely grazing turned to look at Lin with a start, but it was already too late. Lin swung his arms sharply with his claws sharpened.

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Chook.

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The moment the nail touched the horned rabbit’s flesh, it cut smoothly without any resistance, as if the wind was passing by.

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It was a horned rabbit that was caught in Lin’s grasp without even a moment to scream, let alone a rabbit.

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A horned rabbit turned into a lump of meat.

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Lin, who was looking down at it, returns to my side. She looks up at me and wags her tail. It means, ‘I did well, right? Praise me!’

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Should I praise him for this or give him a sharp remark asking why he ran off without permission?

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After much thought, I patted his head.

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Lin lifts her chin and places both hands on her waist. Seeing her haughty expression makes me laugh in vain.

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‘I guess I’ll have to buy new clothes after all.’

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A pure white one-piece dress splattered with blood. In some ways, it looks like a work of art painted in a sketchbook. It suits Rin, a fox, better than you might think.

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But I don’t plan on walking around wearing clothes soaked in blood. You can’t wash those.

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This time, I’m going to buy several sets of the same clothes.

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***

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“Kaaang!”

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“Stay still. If you go around the house like that, Seira-san will kick you out.”

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Seira’s house bathroom.

I was busy washing my face, creating lots of soap bubbles.

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Everything from slime to blood, everything was stuck to its tail. It was so embarrassing when everyone was staring at it when I brought it here.

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Even if I slightly distanced myself, Lin would follow me like a ghost. I was grateful that she followed me, but I wish she had pretended like we didn’t know each other at this point.

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I completely understand the feelings of parents who have to accompany their daughters who wear princess dresses.

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“Kkiiing… .”

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Lin is groaning as if she really hates bathing. I want to finish it as quickly as possible, but it doesn’t work out as well as I thought.

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In the meantime, the slime had hardened like gum and stuck to the tail feathers.

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“Oh, it won’t come off. Should I just dissolve it in hot water? Or should I just cut it off? .”

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“Kkiing?!”

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“Huh?”

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Lin jumps up in surprise. She kicks the bathroom wall, spraying water and soap bubbles everywhere.

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Even in a place like this, Lin is still trying to escape, but she already has soap on her feet. Lin slips for a moment and falls into the bathroom.

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“Kkiiing!”

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Lin jumps up again, drenched in water. She kicks open the door and runs into the living room.

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“Wait a minute. Wipe off the water!”

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Lin’s ears were not audible. The door opened as a naked Lin was running around the house, making a complete mess of things.

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“I’m here. They’re selling grilled skewers at the market. I definitely didn’t buy them for myself. I bought them to give to Lin Yang… … ?”

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“Ah.”

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Seira met my eyes. Her eyes grew wide.

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Thud.

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I drop the bag on the floor. At a glance, dozens of skewers pour out, and the tail that had been waving slightly from side to side gradually slows down and stops completely.

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“Kkiing, kkiing… !”

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Rin clings to Seira. She points her finger at me and cries sadly. Seira glances down at Rin and then turns her gaze back to me.

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If this continues, I’ll end up getting screwed.

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I racked my brain and figured out the perfect way to get out of the situation.

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“He did it. It’s all his fault.”

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***

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“Soak in hot water with soap to slowly dissolve it, then comb slowly to avoid damaging the tail.”

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“Kang.”

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“That man is a bad slave trader. I don’t know what kind of strange things he’ll do. Miss Lin is a girl, so she should be able to do it on her own.”

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“Haha, what do you think of me? Where can you find a slave trader as kind as me… .”

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“Hold it straight with your arms firmly against your ears.”

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“Yep.”

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The spleen’s plan was out of the question.

Kneel down and stand up.

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