Chapter 9
“Make it… sprout? W-Wait. Spiritual power…?”
The divine power contained in the sprout was so tiny that it could have been blown away with a single breath.
But Jin-ah could sense even that faint trace.
“This is impossible. Spiritual power is flowing through both the sprout and the soil. How is this even possible?!”
“Are you done asking questions?”
“But!”
“Then have a safe trip home.”
Before Jin-ah could continue questioning me, I quickly waved goodbye.
“Huh? W-Wait a second.”
“You already found out what you wanted to know.”
The only thing I wanted to know was who this woman was.
Now that I had my answer, I didn’t feel like digging any deeper.
But Jin-ah simply stared blankly at me as I waved.
I let out a small sigh.
“Could you remove this first?”
The spiritual power surrounding us still covered the area like white mist.
It was probably preventing people outside from noticing us while also keeping our voices from leaking out.
It was also clearly meant to stop anyone from leaving the barrier without permission.
Even so, Jin-ah couldn’t take her eyes off the sprout.
With a stiff expression, she carefully stepped closer and held out her hand.
“Give me… one cucumber.”
“You’re trying to steal a child’s snack?”
“I just need to confirm something!”
Well, if that was the reason…
I handed her the last remaining cucumber.
Arin looked heartbroken after losing her snack.
“Hmm.”
Jin-ah turned her head slightly and took a bite.
Crunch—
The crisp sound echoed.
At that very moment, her eyes widened.
It wasn’t simply because the cucumber tasted fresh.
“It’s true… Spiritual power is being absorbed…”
Her expression turned serious.
Then she looked at me with determination.
And suddenly—
“Here.”
She practically shoved Arin into my arms.
“Huh? You want her to say goodbye?”
“No. Please look after my child for a few days.”
“…What?”
While I stood there in confusion, Jin-ah grabbed the plastic bag and took the last cucumber.
“I’ll borrow this.”
“Wait, that’s…”
That was Arin’s last snack.
Completely unaware, Arin stuck her head into the now-empty plastic bag.
“This is a little sudden.”
“I know it’s unreasonable. I know I’m asking too much. But this is something important.”
Seeing how serious Jin-ah looked, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her to take the child back.
To be honest…
I didn’t mind looking after Arin.
My nieces would be overjoyed when they saw her again.
“By the way… your name is?”
Arin finally realized there wasn’t a single cucumber left.
She looked up at me with the expression of someone whose whole world had fallen apart.
I rubbed her head to comfort her.
“My name is Yoo Seojun.”
“I see. Mr. Yoo Seojun… Are you planning to grow these?”
“I’m thinking about it. Whether it’s cucumbers or something else.”
“…Other things work too?”
“As long as it grows from the ground.”
I shrugged.
Jin-ah muttered to herself with a serious face.
“Fill the land with spiritual power… then grow crops containing spiritual power there? If that’s really possible…”
“Excuse me? You’re starting to scare me a little. I’d really like to go home now.”
Only then did Jin-ah snap out of it.
She looked as though she had made up her mind.
“Hm?”
It looked like her body had just glowed.
Was I imagining it?
Tiny lights like fireflies surrounded her body before gradually shrinking.
When the light completely disappeared…
Standing there was—
“Wow. So you can transform into that too.”
I couldn’t help letting out a quiet gasp.
Apparently, my reaction surprised her even more.
“You’re not even shocked. Are you somehow connected to our world? A shaman? A Taoist?”
“I’ve experienced something similar to a divine possession.”
“Really?”
It was only a figure of speech.
I had been struck by something like divine possession and had borrowed a god’s power, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.
Perhaps feeling a sense of kinship, Jin-ah—now in the form of a fox—wagged her tail.
“So you only have one tail.”
“…What exactly were you expecting?”
“When people think of fox spirits, they usually imagine a nine-tailed fox.”
“Your imagination is something else.”
Apparently finding me ridiculous, Jin-ah let out a deep sigh.
“It won’t take long. My child eats five meals a day, so make sure she’s well fed. Please take her for a two-hour walk every day. You absolutely have to sing her a lullaby before bed, and she has to sleep beside someone. Sometimes she might bite you while sleeping… sorry about that!”
“Um… if you’re sorry, why don’t you just take her with you? That’s way too much work.”
Ignoring me completely, Jin-ah turned around with the cucumber in her mouth and ran off.
Her thick fur, mixed with strands of golden color, shimmered as she disappeared into the dark mountain.
It was a dreamlike sight.
The mist barrier surrounding us had vanished before I noticed.
I gently stroked Arin, who had settled comfortably inside the plastic bag.
“So… you weren’t a puppy after all.”
A fox.
Maybe because foxes belonged to the canine family.
Or maybe because she was still young.
Either way, she didn’t look like a fox at all.
More importantly…
Your mother stole all your snacks.
So why are you biting my finger instead?
You naughty little thing.
But only for a moment.
Arin soon curled into a ball inside the bag, apparently finding it cozy, and quickly fell asleep.
Watching her with a smile, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“I wonder… are there more spirit creatures?”
The traces left behind by Jin-ah after she transformed into a fox.
The energy she called spiritual power carried a faint, pleasant fragrance through the air.
It was remarkably similar to divine power.
And I doubted she was the only one.
After all, a tiny child like Arin already existed.
“If there are a lot of spirit creatures… this could become a pretty good business opportunity.”
Judging by how interested Jin-ah was in crops infused with divine power, they might desperately need them.
Then again…
Anyone who learned about divine power would probably think the same thing.
“Ahem… I shouldn’t let my mind wander into greedy thoughts. Chasing money never ends well.”
Money was nice.
But if you became overconfident in your abilities and grew greedy, there would always be a price to pay.
Still…
There was nothing wrong with hoping for some good customers.
Meanwhile…
Moonlight shimmered across her fur.
She ran effortlessly through the dark mountain paths.
Each leap scattered tiny particles of light.
She should have been careful not to be seen by humans.
But Seong Jin-ah no longer cared.
Who exactly are you, Yoo Seojun?
Not only did a human possess spiritual power…
He had even used it to make life sprout.
If that sprout continued growing and eventually bore fruit…
It would surely become a crop filled with spiritual power, just like the cucumber she carried in her mouth.
This can’t be happening.
The spiritual energy of this land had disappeared long ago.
After that, nothing born in this world possessed spiritual power anymore.
Everything that grew from the earth was affected.
Food.
Water.
Even newly born children.
Arin gained spiritual power. If what he said is true…
Human civilization had advanced at a terrifying pace.
Nature had been destroyed.
The flow of spiritual energy throughout the world had been severed.
Spirit creatures were not born with spiritual power.
They slowly accumulated it from the environment around them and eventually matured into true spirit creatures.
But nature no longer provided spiritual power.
As a result, countless young ones grew up without ever obtaining it.
Children who never acquired spiritual power could no longer become true spirit creatures.
The adults weren’t any different.
Every time they used the spiritual power they still possessed, it simply decreased.
It never recovered.
She herself was suffering from that same loss.
Once, she had possessed nine magnificent tails.
Now…
Only one remained.
The number of spirit creatures continued to decline.
Eventually…
They were destined to become yet another species driven to extinction by humans.
We can survive.
A tiny spark of hope steadily grew within her heart.
After running for an entire day…
She finally arrived at a small temple hidden deep within the mountains.
“Huff… Huff…”
Jin-ah had already returned to her human form.
After straightening her messy clothes and hair, she took a deep breath and walked forward.
The temple was eerily quiet.
Though old, it had clearly been cared for.
Nothing was broken or neglected.
Standing before the largest prayer hall, Jin-ah bowed her head.
“Lady Yuju. It’s Jin-ah.”
The hall remained silent.
“I have something urgent to report.”
A moment later…
The doors of the prayer hall slowly opened.
