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Volume 8 Chapter 194

Wives’ Bustle (6/9)

A giant white fox raced across the sea.
The fox’s tail was split into nine parts.
Once released into the human world, it’s said to bring catastrophe— the Nine-Tailed Fox.
The Nine-Tailed Fox raced eastward over the sea at ultra-high speed.
The destination is the far eastern island nation, Fonosto.
It is the home of Yoko, a nine-tailed fox, one of the highest-ranked demonfolk.
Haruto’s wives have scattered to various places in search of clues for the duplication magic.
Yoko is heading towards a certain sacred mountain in Fonosto.
That mountain is where she was born and raised.
──＊＊＊──
「It’s been a while since I came here」
Yoko, now in human form, murmured as she landed on the sacred mountain.
Without hesitation, she walked towards her destination.
After seeing the land of Fonosto, Yoko had flown through the clouds to get here.
As a fully powered Nine-Tailed Fox, she could stand on water and soar in the sky.
Flying through the air was faster, but it consumed a lot of magic. So, she ran over the sea for part of the way.
Yoko wanted to conserve magic as much as possible.
The Nine-Tailed Fox, by nature, absorbs the surrounding magic into its tails when released into the human world. If there’s a lot of anger or malice in the stored magic, the Nine-Tailed Fox goes berserk and becomes a calamity when it becomes complete.
Currently, Yoko’s tails were filled with the magic of the sage Haruto and the divine beast Shiro, containing little malice, and some divine power, preventing her from going berserk.
However, magic depletes when used.
Normally, the depleted magic would quickly replenish by staying near Haruto, who releases an unimaginable amount of magic. If she spent a night with him, the magic equivalent to one tail would easily be restored.
But today, Haruto wasn’t with her, and this sacred mountain was overflowing with evil magic.
「I didn’t notice when I lived here, but was the aura of evil so thick……?」
The possibility of Yoko, now in her complete form, going berserk was low.
However, she didn’t like magic entering her that didn’t belong to Haruto or Shiro.
While repelling evil magic containing emotions like resentment and fear, Yoko advanced.
Born into this world about two hundred years ago, Yoko spent her time here.
This sacred mountain is filled with B-rank or higher monsters, making it one of the most dangerous areas in Fonosto.
Yet, Yoko strolled elegantly through this place.
She didn’t encounter any monsters, let alone being attacked by them.
As the quest rank of monsters increases, so does their intelligence. B-rank creatures, for example, wouldn’t attack recklessly without understanding the power difference unless commanded by higher-ranking beings.
Although Yoko was in human form, she didn’t hide her magic.
The high-rank monsters that usually instill fear in adventurers and don’t allow them near this sacred mountain felt Yoko’s strength instinctively and fled from her route.
In the end, Yoko reached her destination without fighting any monsters.
It was in front of a large cave opening in part of a cliff.
This was where Yoko’s mother and her used to live.
「I’m home」
Yoko raised her hands, and a translucent film appeared in the seemingly empty space.
The film covered the entrance area of the cave.
It was a barrier Yoko created to prevent monsters from entering her dwelling.
When she touched the barrier, it shattered and disappeared.
Yoko entered the cave, re-established the barrier at the entrance, and proceeded further into the cave.
──＊＊＊──
「Mother, I’m back」
Facing the ice pillar placed at the deepest part of the cave, Yoko spoke.
Inside that ice pillar, a peerless beauty was sealed.
Yoko’s mother, Kikyo.
Kikyo was already dead.
About a hundred and ninety years ago, she died when Yoko was around ten years old.
Yoko, for some reason, didn’t remember the cause of Kikyo’s death.
She only had memories of preserving her mother’s beautiful corpse with ice-sealing magic, not letting it decay while crying.
「As beautiful as ever, Mother」
Yoko admired her mother.
After staring at Kikyo for a while, Yoko opened her mouth as if remembering something.
「Mother, I’ve formed a contract with a human」
She reported to her mother that she had married Haruto, a human.
「He’s incredibly strong, not just for a human. Maybe even stronger than you, Mother」
Yoko, while facing Kikyo, explained about Haruto, who is a human who can easily slaughter daemons and evil beings, and had contracts with the Spirit Kings of various attributes.
「Originally, we had formed a master-servant contract, but that guy unilaterally terminated my contract. Moreover, his contract effects remained on me, that’s how weird he is. An abnormal guy」
While talking negatively about Haruto, Yoko seemed somewhat delighted.
「When I’m with him, incredibly strange things keep happening. It’s never dull」
She talked about Haruto’s magic, meeting the Creator God in the Holy City, and receiving divine protection from the Creator God.
「Even though I’m a demonfolk, I’ve received the Creator God’s protection… …But, well, that’s how I officially became the lord’s wife! Oh, by the way, the lord has eleven wives. Anyway—」
Yoko mentioned how she sometimes felt lonely on nights when she couldn’t sleep with Haruto.
She explained that she, along with other wives who shared the same sentiment, was working to get Haruto to use duplication magic. To do that, they needed to create that magic first.
「If I had the beauty like Mother’s, maybe—」
If she were as beautiful as Kikyo, she might be able to seduce Harto and keep him to herself.
With such thoughts, Yoko touched her mother’s seal.
「—!?」
Suddenly, a severe headache struck Yoko.
「T-this is—」
A sensation of someone manipulating her brain and memories.
Yoko’s sealed memories began to resurface.
Kikyo, covered in blood. The approaching figure of adventurers.
Yoko remembered.
When she was young, she left the barrier her mother had set up, got caught by human adventurers, and her mother, trying to save Yoko, was attacked by the adventurers.
Although they managed to repel the adventurers, the weapon they used was one with strong purifying effects—
At that time, Kikyo was injured and died.
Just before her death, she took away Yoko’s memories.
She didn’t want Yoko to feel regret for causing her death.
And she didn’t want Yoko to hold a grudge against humans.
The memories that Kikyo took away from Yoko came back.
With the highly refined and pure magic power absorbed from the sage and the divine beast—Haruto and Shiro, Yoko had become an individual with significant power even among complete Nine-Tailed Foxes.
The power within Yoko now surpassed that of her mother, Kikyo.
Touching the seal on her mother’s body triggered the return of the memories she had lost.
Within Yoko, a dark emotion began to sprout.
She hated the humans who killed her mother.
She wanted to destroy them.
A Yoko filled with hatred was reflected in the ice pillar sealing her mother’s body.