The Freed Slaves Are Obsessed

"Hoo... hooo..."

The sound of an owl. Upon waking, one would expect to hear the chirping of birds to announce the morning, but an owl?

That was strange.

"...Are you awake?"

And another sound, faint like a hallucination. In my groggy state, I thought it might be a dream.

"This is the last time. Please get up."

However, the sharp voice that followed was too vivid to be part of a dream. The tone held no attempt to conceal its annoyance and slight anger.

I had no choice but to acknowledge that this wasn’t a dream, but reality.

Forcing my heavy eyelids open, my blurry vision gradually focused on the form of Seira, a gray-furred werewolf.

"Ugh... Seira?"

"You've really gone too far. I was going to let you sleep in, seeing how tired you’ve been, but how can you still be lying here when I’ve just returned from work?"

"...Excuse me?"

Work?

I groggily looked out the window. The sun was gone, and only the moon hung in the sky. Across from me, an owl beastfolk perched on a rooftop, its head twisted at a bizarre angle as it stared at me. It hooted again.

"What did you do last night that made you so unaware of the time?"

"Uh..."

Last night?

What had I done last night?

...

I couldn’t remember.

It wasn’t that I blacked out, but it felt as though the entire memory had been erased. I must have just come back to my room and gone straight to bed, right?

Lately, I had been exhausted, so I must have passed out the moment I laid down.

‘But to lose an entire day like that?’

Even on days when I was drunk beyond recognition, I would still wake up by noon at the latest, not in the evening. I had never experienced this before.

It was also surprising that, despite sleeping for so long, I still felt tired.

"Anyway... since you’re awake, come down and have some dinner. Lin’s been waiting for you."

"I’ll be right there."

I tried to get up from the bed to follow Seira, but—

"Ugh."

I collapsed back down.

"Now what?"

"My body’s just... really stiff."

"You really do have an excuse for everything."

Seira shot me a look of disdain before heading downstairs. I stretched out my particularly stiff back before following after her.

Lin was already sitting at the table, waiting patiently.

Currently, Lin was going through a late puberty. Because of that, she’d been distancing herself from me, which made things a bit awkward. We had always been so close, like a father and daughter, so the sudden gap between us felt bittersweet.

I needed to resolve this soon if I wanted to continue progressing the story...

"Oh, Master! Did you sleep well? You woke up super late!"

Contrary to my concerns, Lin greeted me with a bright smile, leaving me a little taken aback.

"Uh, yeah... I did."

"Come sit! Seira bought all kinds of delicious food for us!"

I hesitated for a moment before sitting next to her. Lin leaned over and stuck to me like glue, her seven tails wagging wildly behind her.

It was a familiar sight.

This was why I always found her fur in my food.

"I tried waking you up, but you were sleeping so deeply. You didn’t even stir, so I just let you be. You’re such a sleepyhead, Master."

"Yeah... I’ve been really tired lately. I didn’t expect to sleep that long, though."

"It’s because your body’s weak, Master. How about you start working out to build your strength and stamina? I checked, and it seems like you really need it."

"I’m too busy with work right now. I’ll think about it later."

"Whenever you’re ready! Lin will help you!"

Lin nuzzled her cheek against my shoulder in an affectionate display. Just yesterday, she’d been pushing me away, but now she was all over me again.

It felt awkward, like a yo-yo effect where the distance between us kept shifting.

Unable to contain my confusion, I carefully asked a question.

"Lin, don’t you think you’re a bit... close?"

"What do you mean, Master? This is how we normally are."

"That’s true, but just yesterday you were avoiding me. Now you’ve suddenly changed."

"Oh, that?"

Lin giggled, her sly fox smile appearing.

"It’s a girl’s secret."

What?

Could it have been that time of the month?

I wasn’t really knowledgeable in that area... unless I suddenly switched genders or something.

"So, you’re okay now?"

"Yep! I’m feeling great."

"Well, that’s a relief."

No matter the process, as long as things worked out, it was fine!

A few days had passed since we defeated the corrupted monk, and people had started to realize that the curse had completely disappeared.

The people who had been holed up in their homes started to venture out, and merchants reopened their shops. Slowly, the city was regaining its vitality.

Though Seira, now having to return to work, let out a sigh typical of a civil servant.

‘I suppose it’s a bit disappointing.’

Of course, not everything had fully returned to normal. The terrifying thing about epidemics is that even when they end, they leave behind a lingering sense of unease.

What if it happens again? What if I catch something if I go to a crowded place?

Because of that, unless people had a real reason to go out, most still preferred to stay home. It would be accurate to say the city had only half-recovered.

‘I need to find a way to fix this.’

A solution where people could laugh and forget about the plague. There had to be something.

Until then, I decided to enjoy the peace I had while taking a walk with Lin.

"Peace is a good thing, isn’t it?" I remarked.

"Totally~" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Lin had become a seven-tailed fox, and we had grown closer again.

‘Maybe even closer than before.’

There wasn’t anything to complain about, aside from the fatigue that just wouldn’t seem to go away, no matter how much rest I got.

Still, at this rate, I should be able to help Lin fully evolve into a Gumiho without too many problems...

"Master, we’re surrounded."

"...What?"

I was startled by her sudden remark and quickly looked around, but there was nothing suspicious in sight.

Yet Lin seemed certain. The atmosphere had grown tense.

There was commotion in the distance. I could hear a crowd murmuring, but I couldn’t see what was happening from where we were.

"What’s going on?"

"It’s her."

"Her?"

"The Lion Princess."

The Lion Princess?

In Bestia, there was only one person that title could refer to...

"Hey, boss!"

Just as I began piecing it together, a loud, familiar voice called out.

The crowd parted, and through the opening strode Hilda, the Lion Princess, flanked by knights and fully-armed soldiers in formation behind her.

With her hands in her pockets, she swaggered forward, a turtle beastfolk rolling at her feet like a soccer ball.

‘Is she crazy?’

No, I already knew she was.

"Well, I was just about to come find you, and here you are. Lucky day for me."

Lucky?

More like I just got unlucky.

I even once heard Yuha mention that Hilda was suspicious of Lin not being just any fox spirit but a potential Gumiho. Of course, now that Lin had already reached the level of a seven-tailed fox, there was no need for us to run, but meeting her still wasn’t ideal.

Capturing Hilda wouldn’t help Lin’s full awakening at all. She was just an obstacle in the way.

"That one over there is the Hongho, right? Looks a lot bigger than what I was told."

"Yes, that’s her. I didn’t expect my slave to grow so much either. But what brings a princess like you to a humble café owner like me?"

"Oh, nothing much. I’m here to catch a fox."

"...What?"

Hilda began nonchalantly talking about something shocking, as if it were just casual gossip.

"Strange misfortunes have been happening one after another in the kingdom lately. And I’m convinced the reason is the Hongho. The timing of her appearance and these events is too eerily aligned."

"If you’re talking about the superstitions around the Hongho, then that’s absurd. Look, I’m standing next to her right now, perfectly fine, aren’t I?"

"That’s not the point. I don’t care about logic. Just the fact that it bothers me is reason enough, and now the people are anxious because of her presence."

Hilda gestured toward the surrounding crowd with a flick of her eyes. The people were watching us with fearful and uneasy expressions. To them, it wasn’t the monk who had brought the plague—it was Lin.

"So, we’ll be taking custody of the Hongho. I’m sure she’s bound to you with some kind of slave mark, right? Hand her over, and I’ll guarantee your safety."

Hilda spoke as if she were offering a generous deal.

And this wasn’t an exaggeration. Coming from Hilda, it was a real act of mercy. Normally, she would have thrown a punch by now.

‘What to do...?’

Obviously, handing over Lin wasn’t an option. That left fighting Hilda as the only solution. Lin was already staring Hilda down, ready to engage.

But fighting a princess in the middle of the city would get us branded as terrorists, complicating everything after.

"Hmm?"

Just as my brain was running in overdrive, trying to figure out how to handle the situation, the sky unexpectedly darkened.

Ominous storm clouds gathered out of nowhere, casting shadows over the entire city.

It was clearly unnatural.

The crowd began murmuring as they looked up.

Rumble!

Thunder cracked through the sky, and lightning illuminated the clouds.

From within the storm, a figure descended, as though a god had decided to grace us with its presence.

Standing at least two meters tall, clad in shining golden armor, wielding a massive spear larger than himself, with flaming red hair that reached down to his waist and a pair of horse-like ears and tail.

"You’re all conveniently gathered here, I see."

It was one of the Twelve Yokai Spirits, the one inspired by the horse.

The Twelve O-Wi Ghost.

‘Of all times, why now?’

First the lion, and now the horse.

This was turning into an animal kingdom.

...

Actually, no—it was an animal kingdom.