Job 385

10-13 minutes 13.08.2023

After Mirna and Speranza regained consciousness, the barrier surrounding the altar began to disappear.

As the darkness of the barrier lifted, the surroundings transformed back into an ordinary forest landscape.

– Swoosh!

Shadows flickered around us as Terzan revealed herself. She asked about our well-being with a tired face.

“Terzan.”

“Sihyeon, are you okay? What about Speranza?”

“We’re fine. You don’t have to worry about us.”

“Are you really okay?”

She bustled around, checking our condition herself. Despite looking more exhausted than us, she put our well-being first, which touched my heart.

“I’m sorry. You’ve gone through a lot because of us, haven’t you?”

“Not really… In the past, I had to deal with even more difficult situations. As long as you two are okay, that’s all that matters.”

Terzan faintly smiled and nodded.

“Sihyeon!”

“Over there! Are you alright?”

Shortly after, the rest of our group appeared near the altar one by one.

Kaneff and Lia, like Terzan, immediately checked Speranza’s condition.

Anis and the now-recovered Daur approached Mirna.

“Mom, are you alright?”

“There’s blood on your clothes…”

The two discovered bloodstains on Mirna’s mouth and clothes, and their expressions darkened.

Seeing their concern, Mirna dismissively waved her hand.

“It’s nothing. I just pushed myself a bit too hard and bled a little. I’m fine now, so don’t worry.”

“Are you really okay?”

“Of course. Thanks to my adorable granddaughter, I actually feel healthier.”

Mirna smiled and stroked Speranza, who was nestled in her arms.

Once our group confirmed that we were alright, they all let out a sigh of relief.

As the tension dissipated, fatigue washed over everyone, and they all collapsed to the ground.

Kaneff, who seemed relatively energetic, approached me and asked.

“So, what exactly happened? Who put up such a troublesome barrier, giving us a hard time and kidnapping Speranza?”

At that question, everyone’s gaze, except for Speranza and Mirna, turned towards me.

“Well…”

I hesitated to answer and cautiously glanced at Mirna. She couldn’t hide her awkward expression and slowly lowered her head.

It was understandable.

The fact that the fox deity, who had been worshiped as the guardian deity for a long time, was the culprit behind all this and even tried to take her granddaughter’s body, was difficult to accept.

Perhaps not only Mirna, but the entire Erul tribe who believed in the guardian deity could be shaken by this.

“Um… Can we talk about this in detail later?”

“What’s the hold-up? Why the delay?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a complicated story…”

“Just tell us who it was. What’s so complicated about that?”

As I was at a loss due to Kaneff’s persistent questioning, just then,

“Ugh… Papa, I’m sleepy.”

Speranza snuggled into my arms, complaining of fatigue.

“Really sleepy? Want to go to bed with Papa?”

“Un, I want to sleep.”

“Hmm…”

Unable to say anything to Speranza, Kaneff stepped back without further questioning.

“Everyone seems tired. I think it would be best to go back and rest for now.”

At Lia’s words, everyone nodded and prepared to leave.

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩

When we returned to our lodging, dragging our exhausted bodies, the moon and stars had set, and the dim dawn was breaking.

Although we were tired enough to fall asleep as soon as we lay down, we couldn’t because of the tense atmosphere around us.

“Ugh…”

“Someone call a healer here!”

“Bring more bandages and splints!”

Due to the fox deity controlling the entire village, the streets were filled with confusion, and numerous injured people suffering from the aftermath.

Because of this, Anis, Daur, and even the unwell Mirna had to step in to help sort out the chaotic situation.

We initially intended to help, but Mirna insisted that they couldn’t impose any more trouble on us and forcefully ushered us into our lodging.

Even though it was beyond our control, it didn’t feel entirely comfortable knowing that most of the injured Erul tribe members were hurt due to our group.

I peeked out of the window, mumbling to myself as I surveyed the situation.

“It seems like the boss really beat a lot of them down.”

“Me, what did I do?”

“Most of the severely injured have clear chain marks on their wounds.”

“Hmph, do you think I wanted to do that? I had no choice when they were coming at me like they wanted to die.”

Kaneff responded with a slightly awkward expression.

“It couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t trying to blame you.”

I knew I couldn’t blame him. If Kaneff hadn’t done what he did, we would have been the ones in danger.

It was just bitter to see so many ordinary citizens with no connection to the fight also getting injured.

“So, what happened? The Priestess who was watching earlier has disappeared, so you can tell us now.”

Kaneff asked the same question as before. Terzan appeared, seemingly interested, and took a seat.

Before answering, I looked over to where Speranza was. Speranza was fast asleep, using Lia’s lap as a pillow and covered with a warm blanket.

Feeling somewhat at ease, I explained everything that had happened.

Meeting the controlled Mirna at the altar, entering Speranza’s consciousness world, what we experienced there, and how we stopped the fox deity. I explained everything one by one.

Everyone was furious to learn that the supposed guardian deity, the fox deity, was the true villain, and Lia even teared up when hearing about Speranza’s parents’ sacrifice.

When my story was finished, everyone nodded, seemingly understanding the current situation.

“Wait a minute. So, is that fox deity with Sihyeon right now?”

Lia asked with a worried expression.

“You could say that.”

“Isn’t that dangerous? It was controlling the villagers and trying to take Speranza’s body.”

“We had no choice but to do it to save Mirna. And since I have it completely suppressed, there shouldn’t be too much danger.”

Honestly, I wasn’t sure, but I reassured Lia that it would be alright for now.

However, she still seemed uneasy and restless.

“So, we’ve been going through all this trouble since last night because of that fox deity? Ugh! I should have met it myself and taught it a lesson.”

“Yeah, right.”

Kaneff and Terzan burned with resentment toward the fox deity.

“Sihyeon, how can we get rid of that fox deity?”

“Get rid of the fox deity? Hmm, is that even possible?”

I made a hesitant expression at Kaneff’s absurd request and focused my consciousness to find out.

‘Hey, are you there?’

There was no response, but I could clearly feel the presence of the fox deity in my consciousness.

‘Can you come out?’

-Why, why are you asking that?

‘I’m just curious. Can you?’

-Impossible!

Hmm. That’s a lie.

As soon as the fox deity shouted “Impossible!”, I immediately caught on to the lie.

It seemed that the control using the red chains had worked better than expected.

I imagined the red chain in my head, pulling the fox spirit outside. Suddenly, a desperate voice echoed in my head.

-Wait, wait! What are you doing…

-Poof!

As the fox spirit’s voice was cut off, a small white furball appeared in front of my eyes.

The round furball rolled and stopped right in the middle of the people.

“What is this…?”

“A furball?”

“…?”

The furball twitched for a moment, and soon, two small, pointy ears popped out!

Then, a swaying tail and adorable little limbs revealed themselves one by one.

It was a baby fox with snow-white fur.

The cute fox looked around, scrunching its nose…

‘Wait a minute! Could it be…?’

-Mew! Mew!

-Ugh! I can’t believe I’m in such a humiliating form!

I heard the baby fox’s cute cry and the fox spirit’s voice at the same time. My face twisted in disbelief.

Kaneff noticed my strange reaction and immediately asked, “Sihyeon, is this the fox spirit?”

“I think it might be?”

“Oh? Really?”

Kaneff’s eyes gleamed meaningfully as he reached out toward the baby fox.

Sensing danger, the baby fox frantically tried to escape, but its tiny limbs were no match for Kaneff’s grasp.

-Mew!

-Mew! Mew!

“So, this little guy is the reason we went through all that trouble? It’s a good thing its fur is so soft. Terzan!”

“Huh?”

“Grab one of those nice knives. I think I’ll make a fox fur scarf with this one. It’s a bit small, but if we peel it carefully, it should work, right?”

“Got it, boss. Just give me a second.”

At the mention of bringing out a weapon, Terzan excitedly rummaged through her belongings. In no time, an array of fearsome weapons filled the space in front of her.

-Mew! Mew!

-What, what are they planning to do?!

Sensing something was off, the fox spirit trembled.

-Hey, you! Don’t just stand there, help me!

Desperate, the fox spirit asked me for help. Of course, I just scoffed and replied.

‘Why should I help you? Have you already forgotten what you tried to do to us?’

-Well, that’s…

“Boss. Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

“Boss, you’re not going to do this where Speranza is, are you? If you’re going to do it, do it where Speranza isn’t around.”

“I was thinking the same thing. Alright, let’s go outside and get started for real!”

As a sharp knife found its way into Kaneff’s hand, the fox spirit’s struggles intensified, and it pleaded with me in a completely desperate voice.

-Mew! Mew!!

-I was wrong! I’ll beg for forgiveness, just please help me! Ahhhh!

Just as Kaneff was about to leave the room with the baby fox,

Speranza, who had been sleeping, woke up due to the noisy crying.

“Ugh… What’s that noise?”

Speranza’s gaze naturally fell upon the baby fox.

Kaneff instinctively hid the sharp knife he was holding in his other hand.

“Wow! It’s a baby fox!”

Speranza’s eyes sparkled as she quickly approached Kaneff. Before we could explain anything, the baby fox was passed into Speranza’s hands.

“Why is it shaking so much? Are you cold? I’ll hold you tight.”

Speranza hugged the trembling baby fox. It was a heartwarming scene to witness, at least on the surface.

The fox spirit, realizing that Speranza’s side was safe, didn’t resist and stayed quietly in her embrace.

“Hehe, it’s so well-behaved. Good, good!”

-Mew, Mew.

Watching Speranza tame the fox spirit, we couldn’t help but make complex, mixed expressions.

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