The small vige grows unusually rowdy. The Hoyo n, with their ears perked up, eavesdrop on conversations and whisper among themselves.


    “Did you hear that? We’re all going to die? What’s that supposed to mean?”


    “Do you really believe what the humans say? It’s nonsense, obviously.”


    “But these days, only ominous things have been happening…”


    “It’s because Hwayo disappeared. Now, we’re stuck with all the misfortune that was meant for her.”


    The Hoyo n is split on their reactions to the news of their supposed impending doom.


    Some believe the world has conspired to end them, while others think it’s just a shift in misfortune now that the Gumiho has left.


    Their reactions vary, and even they don’t know the full truth. Only the Fox Elder knows the real story, having deliberately kept certain information secret.


    In the distant past, when Lin’s identity as a Gumiho wasmon knowledge, disputes would erupt almost daily.


    After all, one cannot receive a heavenly mandate and live like a mere hound of heaven. There were those who rallied for breaking the Gumiho’s seal and starting another rebellion, and others who adamantly opposed, iming it would be a foolish repetition of history.


    But in a small vige with nowhere to go, working together would barely be enough—disputes were out of the question.


    So, the elder of the time decided to cast all the me on the Gumiho.


    They purged the concept of heavenly mandate from the foxes’ minds over generations, imprinting the idea that the Hongho was a misfortune-bringing monster.


    They convinced everyone that their only reason for staying in Baekun Valley was because of the Hongho.


    What remained was a defenseless young Gumiho, branded a criminal the moment she emerged from the seal. Using her as a scapegoat brought peace to the vige.


    Karamir clicked his tongue inwardly.


    ‘How revolting.’


    A fox like a hokage of the third generation, wielding some ninjutsu staff. Probably some fox magic involved. Whatever.


    Unlike Harold, who had his reasons, the Hoyo n of Baekun Valley were undoubtedly trash.


    Karamir, although tempted to leave them to their fate, knew that he couldn’t live life exactly as he pleased.


    “What will you do? We’re busy people, and we’ll be leaving soon, so if you keep evading, we’ll just go,” he said.


    “…What is it you want?”


    The elder eyed Karamir warily, trying to be as cautious as possible. But Karamir shook his head with exaggerated disapproval.


    “Still haven’t figured it out? If we leave, you’ll all be monster fodder. You shouldn’t be asking what we want—you should be begging, ‘Please save us!’”


    “……”


    He had a point. Ever since the Gumiho disappeared from Baekun Valley, the Hoyo n had been living under the constant threat of death.


    Now that she had returned as an Omihou, they had no way to keep her from leaving. If Lin left, they’d be doomed.


    Theycked the means to escape the monsters outside, and so their survival relied entirely on other options.


    After much deliberation, the Fox Elder finally bowed his head.


    “I beg you. I don’t want to die. We never wanted this. Why should we bear the consequences of our distant ancestors’ sins?”


    Had they not defied the heavens, had they lived with satisfaction, there would have been no need to be trapped in Baekun Valley.


    The elder bemoaned their ancestors’ actions, seeking sympathy, but Karamir sneered, unimpressed. Typical fox behavior—ying the pity card.


    “Don’t act like a victim now. You pushed everything onto Lin, who knew nothing.”


    “We had no choice. We would have been destroyed if we hadn’t.”


    “Disgusting rationalization. I would have achieved a far better oue.”


    “If only you had been—”


    “Enough excuses. Just get to the point.”


    Though he was a young human, the elder had no choice but to listen as Karamir spoke.


    “Is the threat to the Hoyo n outside the valley the Ungwi?”


    “It is.”


    Ungwi—the bear ghost.


    Since ancient times, it has been revered as the guardian deity of Baekun Valley, the root cause of why the Hoyo n cannot leave.


    The Ungwi, which survives on the mountain''s spiritual energy, stands a colossal 40 meters tall. Its breath,ced with strange powers, lingers in the air without dissipating.


    That breath forms the mist that shrouds Baekun Valley.


    ‘Something about this is unsettling.’


    Thinking about breathing in bear breath with every inhtion made Karamir uneasy.


    The goal was simple: if Lin defeats the Ungwi, the Hoyo n can be spared from their impending doom.


    Naturally, he had no intention of doing this for free.


    “I will capture the Ungwi for you. However, there are two conditions.”


    Now they were getting to the heart of the matter. The elder swallowed, unable to guess what Karamir would demand.


    “First. You must reveal to everyone here who Lin truly is. And the heavenly mandate they carry.”


    “…And the second?”


    “I understand there’s a shrine underground, known only to the Fox Elder.”


    “How did you…?”


    The elder looked startled, almost losing hisposure. How could an outsider like Karamir know of a shrine known only to the Fox Elder?


    Indeed, there was an underground shrine in the fox den, unknown to anyone but the elder.


    “Let Lin enter the shrine. That is my second condition.”


    It seemed Karamir understood the shrine’s purpose perfectly.


    How?


    If the man before him had once seemed merely suspicious, he now invoked fear. epting his conditions seemed certain to bring disaster.


    “Will you ept, or not? We don’t have time.”


    But the elder wanted to live.


    He listened to his survival instincts.


    “I will ept the first condition. But the second…”


    “Why? Is it impossible?”


    “It’s not that I won’t show her. I believe she is currently unfit to harness the power within. If she were to lose control, there would be no point in epting your terms.”


    “So you won’t let her see it?”


    “I’m not refusing to show her. First, defeat the Ungwi. If she proves her worth by handling the Ungwi, it will demonstrate at least minimalpetence.”


    The elder’s expression was resolute. Despite his immediatepliance when his life was threatened, he refused to back down on this.


    ‘So that’s how it is.’


    The elder’s refusal was within Karamir’s expectations.


    To raise Lin into a true Gumiho, she had to return to Baekun Valley before they perished for not fulfilling their heavenly mandate.


    It was a race against time. Before then, Lin had to grow stronger.


    Once she became an Omihou and growth stalled, she would return to Baekun Valley, ept the elder’s request, and defeat the Ungwi. Only then would she be granted ess to the shrine as a reward.


    However, with prior knowledge, there was more flexibility than in the original. It meant options that didn’t exist before.


    He thought that obtaining the shrine’s secrets would make defeating the Ungwi much easier, but it seemed it wasn’t going to happen just yet.


    “If you’re that firm on it, I suppose there’s no other way. Fine. I’ll ept the first condition first, and then, once everything’s settled, we’ll deal with the second.”


    The Fox Elder gathered the Hoyo n in the vige’s small square and revealed the truth.


    Lin’s true identity. Why they remained in Baekun Valley. The reasons behind the recent surge in disasters. What would happen if Lin were to leave.


    Their survival nowy in Lin’s hands. Shock and disbelief spread through the Hoyo n.


    “Is this… a lie?”


    One of the Hoyo, who had often tormented Lin, clenched their jaw and red at the elder. The elder averted his gaze.


    This was the truth, not a lie. Naturally, the Hoyo n’s gaze shifted to Lin.


    “Hwayo… Lin? You won’t abandon us, right?”


    “H-Hey~ We’re family, after all. You wouldn’t do that, right? Come on, let’s eat meat together now! Animal liver is so delicious, you know.”


    “She’s going to defeat the Ungwi for us, isn’t she? She’s going to get us out of here.”


    The foxes approached Lin, wearing insincere smiles that reminded her of sycophants sucking up to a king.


    Watching them grovel made Lin’s heart churn. Confused emotions surged within her, creating an uncontroble storm in her chest.


    Those who once treated her as a cmity now acted as if she were a savior. All because she had a few more tails.


    Could perception really change that quickly?


    It was disgusting. She didn’t want to deal with them.


    Lin swiftly leaped away and disappeared somewhere in the vige.


    “What the? Where’s she going? She has to defeat the bear before she leaves!”


    “She wouldn’t, right? I mean, we’re family. She only survived because we didn’t drive her out and shared our potatoes with her, right? If she has any conscience, she’d help us out.”


    “Of course, right? After all, we’re practically family. Would she really betray blood?”


    Watching them pat themselves on the back, Karamir sighed. Living in such an isted vige, they had never learned the art of reading the room.


    Karamir followed the direction Lin had gone. He found her crouched in a corner of the deserted vige.


    “What’s wrong? Not happy with the way things turned out?”


    Even as Karamir approached, Lin kept her eyes fixed coldly on the ground.@@novelbin@@


    “They need you now, don’t they? The same ones who tormented you. You hold their lives in your hands now. Isn’t that satisfying?”


    “Lin never wanted this. She just wanted to be treated as a fox, as family…”


    Lin had always watched from afar, longing to be part of theughter and camaraderie the other foxes shared. She envied them and dreamed that one day she, too, would be treated like that.


    But now, they weren’t treating her like family. They only saw her as a tool, something to sacrifice for their benefit.


    The Lin who had longed for their eptance felt a deep, indescribable disappointment.


    “Hmm, it seems you’re too caught up in this idea of family.”


    “It’s just…”


    “Lin, family really isn’t much, you know?”


    “Huh?”


    Lin perked up her ears.


    With a wry smile that fit a ve trader, Karamir leaned in, a mischievous glint in his eye.


    “Did Lin choose to live with them? No. She was simply there when she came to her senses. And it’s the same for them. Family is just an arbitrary connection. Like a heavenly mandate.”


    Children don’t choose their parents, and parents don’t exactly choose their children either. It’s not like they picked them out of a lineup.


    “We like to think of it as an unbreakable bond. Even if we didn’t choose it, even if it’s ufortable, we have to stick to it. Imagine how inconvenient that must be.”


    “……”


    “But the people we meet in life are different. We choose those we want to stay with, and they choose us too. ‘I want to be with that person.’ It’s a connection born out of mutual will. Just like how I chose you, Lin.”


    Lin lifted her head slightly.


    “A rtionship that requires both sides to choose each other. Not fate, but a bond we create by our own choices. Isn’t that even closer than family? What do you think, Lin?”


    Lin thought for a moment.


    Karamir, a stranger who cared for her. The Hoyo n, family who only looked after themselves.


    There wasn’t much to consider.


    “I like the Master better. Not them. I want to stay with you.”


    “Then, why worry about being epted as family by them? Just focus on being good to me. You’re my ve, after all. A ve only needs to please their master.”


    It was true.


    All she needed was to live up to the expectations of the one who picked her up that day. The Hoyo n’s well-being had never been her concern.


    The master-ve bond was far more important than family.


    Having sorted out her thoughts, Lin brushed herself off and stood up.


    “Lin will go catch the bear.”


    All for the Master.