Chapter 59

“Reaper? What are you talking about, nyah? Quit babbling and bring me some fish. If not, scram.”

“Hiiik! R-Reaper! Never mention that word in front of me again, you damn outsider!”

“I… saw the Reaper… it had a huge scythe. It… sliced me, and my soul… floated away… Gah.”

The catfolk collapsed in a fit of frothy spasms. I’d lost count of how many times I’d seen this reaction.

Some said they’d never seen the Reaper.

Some panicked at just the mention of the word.

Some fainted outright.

Realizing I wouldn’t get any more useful information, I sighed and left the alley.

Seyra filled me in with a calm expression.

“The catfolk were attacked by the Reaper, but apart from psychological trauma, there appears to be little actual damage.”

“Is that so…?”

“It’s good news there were no casualties, but your reaction seems a bit complicated. Did I miss something?”

“No, it’s just that I’m tired.”

I brushed it off with Seyra, but I had information she didn’t know.

The contracts were all broken.

The soul contracts I had with the catfolk were all severed. They were no longer my slaves. I couldn’t liberate them, so I couldn’t gain any points either.

The fish I’d invested in had become nothing more than volunteer work, just feeding their bellies.

The points loss was painful, given the already tight situation, but it wasn’t something to risk my life over. I wasn’t yet at the point of scraping for cash.

At least my connection with Rin wasn’t severed. I’d learned with my first slave contract that once freed, re-contracting wasn’t possible.

But the real issue was elsewhere.

“Free all of your main slaves. Current count: 1/5”

The only quest I’d been given since being thrown into this world. The count, which had been at 2 when Mirabel and Arpia were freed, had dropped to 1.

That shouldn’t happen.

This was one thing that couldn’t change.

Why did the count drop?

I didn’t think it was a glitch. This wasn’t a place for game logic. Something had happened to the two I’d freed.

Mirabel.

Or Arpia.

It’s probably Mirabel.

Her Reaper had shown up, severing the slaves' bonds, and then the liberated count decreased, all within a single day. No way that was a coincidence.

Something was happening on Mirabel’s side.

What could it be?

As a witch, Mirabel could handle all sorts of magic. By now, she’d likely learned much more than when she was with me.

Could she have somehow re-contracted herself?

…

Does that even make sense?

Who would want to become a slave again? My mind was all over the place with confusion.

It certainly wasn’t a re-contract.

So, what else could it be?

…

I couldn’t put my finger on it.

What should I do?

Go and check on Mirabel?

But I had no way to find her, and if I did find her, there might be retribution…

It made my head spin. I couldn’t think straight.

Jerk, jerk.

Someone was tugging on my hand. Looking down, I saw Rin staring up at me. She could walk on two legs, though she used all four when escaping.

…Right.

I couldn’t let myself be shaken by this.

Rin was my priority. Worrying over things I couldn’t fully grasp yet was pointless. I needed to focus on Rin, and deal with the details later.

Think positively.

Thanks to the Reaper, I’d gotten closer to Rin, which allowed me to progress to the next step.

“Rin, there’s somewhere we need to go.”

[The Fox Who Brings Misfortune]

Rin was a gumiho—a nine-tailed fox from legend.

She didn’t devour human livers or desire to become human, making her a bit different from the usual tale.

Her complete liberation required resolving the trials brought on by the misfortune she passively carried and ultimately raising her into a proper gumiho. The final step was freeing her from that misfortune.

The first step was Rin’s basic growth.

“Rin, defeat the slimes.”

To help Rin grow.

As a beastfolk and yokai, Rin could absorb the strength of monsters she defeated. This increased her yokai energy, the source of her power.

The more yokai energy she had, the stronger she’d become, leading to growth.

In short, helping her grow meant hunting. So I took her to the swamp, where slimes were plentiful.

“Kyaang?”

Yet Rin just stared at the slimes, giving me a look that said, “Why should I?” Even though her affection for me had grown, she wasn’t yet willing to follow orders blindly.

But I had a plan.

“I’ll give you pork for every ten slimes.”

“…”

“…Beef.”

“Kyaang!”

With the promise of beef, Rin’s ears perked up, as if a lightbulb had gone off above her head.@@novelbin@@

She had developed quite a taste for expensive things. All that noble food had spoiled her palate.

Rin crouched down, preparing to pounce.

Fine, as long as she was willing to follow my commands, I’d respond with matching enthusiasm.

I extended my arm with a flourish.

“Go, Rin. Lightning speed!”

“Kyaang!”

“Rip and tear!”

“Kyah!”

“Wind Scar!”

“Kyaaang!”

Together, Rin and I rampaged through the swamp.

Each slime she found was torn apart and its core bitten through.

The energy from the dead monsters flowed into Rin. Though initially startled, she quickly adapted and began hunting slimes on her own.

Instinct seemed to be kicking in.

After a while, Rin had hunted thirty slimes.

“Time to head back.”

We’d hunted the area clean of slimes. Without magic, we’d have to rely on Rin’s sense of smell to find more, but slimes were odorless.

It wasn’t like this was our only chance, so there was no need to scour the forest now.

“It’s time to go back.”

“Kyaa.”

Just as I was about to leave, Rin barked, staring at something in the distance—a rabbit was grazing.

It was larger than usual.

Its teeth were huge, and it even had horns on its head.

It was no ordinary rabbit but a horned rabbit, a type of magical beast.

With a high level of aggression and strong penetration power, many were skewered after underestimating it for being a rabbit.

Rin could definitely take it on. Her base stats were on another level.

“No need to bother. Let’s just go.”

I ignored it. Rin’s hunting style was messy and direct. If she fought it, there’d be blood, and I’d be the one cleaning it.

But there was one thing I hadn’t considered—Rin’s hunting instincts were waking up with every monster she defeated.

Rin, who once only ran, had learned the thrill of the hunt. To her, the horned rabbit equaled meat and a toy.

Snap!

“Oh, wait—”

There was no time to stop her.

Rin bolted like a bullet.

The horned rabbit looked up, startled, but it was too late. Rin raised her claws and swung.

Swoosh.

Her claws sliced through the rabbit’s flesh as smoothly as a breeze.

The rabbit didn’t even have time to scream before it was shredded in Rin’s grasp.

Rin returned to me, looking up with her tail wagging excitedly. She wanted praise, but I wasn’t sure if I should congratulate her or scold her for running off.

After some thought, I patted her head.

Rin tilted her chin up, placing her paws on her hips with a smug look. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Guess I’ll need to buy new clothes.”

Her white dress was splattered with blood. It almost looked like a piece of abstract art. Oddly, it suited her as a fox.

Not that I’d let her go around wearing blood-stained clothes. That would never come out, no matter how much I washed it.

I’d need to buy a few identical dresses this time.

“Kyahhh!”

“Hold still! If you run around the house like that, Seyra will kick us out!”

In Seyra’s bathroom, I was washing Rin, surrounded by foamy bubbles.

From slime goo to blood, all sorts of things had clung to her fur. Walking her back had been embarrassing, with everyone staring.

Even if I tried to keep my distance, Rin would cling to me like a shadow. I appreciated her loyalty, but I wished she’d pretend we didn’t know each other just for this.

I finally understood what it was like for parents having to accompany their daughters dressed as princesses.

“Kyiii…”

Rin whined, clearly hating the bath. I wanted to finish quickly, but the slime goo had hardened and stuck to her tail like gum.

“Ugh, this isn’t coming off. Maybe hot water will do the trick? Or should I just cut it off…?”

“Kya?!”

“Oh?”

Rin jumped in shock, kicking water and soap bubbles everywhere.

She tried to make a break for it, but her paws, slick with soap, slipped, and she fell right into the tub with a splash.

“Kyahhh!”

Soaked, Rin scrambled out of the water and darted into the living room.

“Wait! Dry off first!”

She didn’t hear me. By the time she’d turned the house into a mess, the door opened.

“I’m back. They had skewers at the market, and I got some for… um, not that I wanted them, but for Rin…”

“Oh.”

Seyra froze, wide-eyed, as she saw the scene. She dropped the bag she was holding, skewers spilling everywhere. Her tail, which had been swaying slightly, stopped dead.

“Kyyah, kyah…”

Rin clung to Seyra, whimpering, and pointed at me with teary eyes. Seyra glanced down at Rin before turning her accusing gaze on me.

Realizing I was about to take the blame, my mind raced for a perfect excuse.

“She did it. It was all her.”

“You need to soak the tail in hot, soapy water and comb it gently to avoid damaging the fur.”

“Kyah.”

“That man is a bad slave trader. Who knows what he might do. As a young girl, you need to be able to do this alone.”

“Haha, what do you take me for? Where could you find a kinder slave trader than me?”

“Sit up straight and keep your arms by your sides.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

My trump card didn’t work at all.

I ended up on my knees, facing punishment.