Halt came to return the food basket to Tina and go shopping with her afterwards.
I was not interested in doing grocery shopping, so I parted with Halt and rolled around the mansion.
I roamed the interior of the mansion looking for a place to sleep, when I saw Youko taking a nap at the courtyard.
Apparently, today was Youko’s day-off from doing house chores.
A tree was planted in the center of the courtyard, and Youko leaned against the trunk of that tree, napping in the shade.
Looked like a good spot.
I trotted near Youko, but she was still fast asleep.
Yes, I’d also sleep here.
—Hm?
Somehow, it felt like my energy was being sucked out. When I traced the mana, Youko was absorbing the mana that was spilling out from me.
“Oh, this one’s a nine-tailed fox, now that I think about it.”
A powerful nine-tailed fox going on a rampage was feared as a type of calamity in this world.
Colossal amount of mana, overwhelming fire power, illusionary magic and brainwashing magic
Rumor had it that magic from just a single tail is already enough to destroy a whole kingdom
— and she had nine of those.
Until it was controlled, a single incident of rampage by the nine-tailed fox could end up in the destruction of nine countries.
Subjugation was impossible without fighting power that was at par with the transferred Heroes.
Also, the nine-tailed fox was different from the demon kings churned out irregularly by the Evil God. The nine-tailed foxes were regularly born into this world, so they were treated as natural disasters.
I also fought with a nine-tailed fox once by the Creator God’s command; it was an extremely troublesome enemy.
Inexhaustible mana and high level magic, and on top of those, all the people I should protect were brainwashed and ganging up on me.
It was my victory, obviously.
But it didn’t change the fact that its magic was a nuisance.
It was common sense in this world that when a nine-tailed fox was discovered, it must be nipped at the bud.
I stared at the peacefully snoozing Youko.
Even now, she was collecting mana from the surroundings, and accumulating it in her tails.
Presently there were three of them.
I feel as if her collection was faster than normal; though I was not sure whether it was due to being within Halt’s proximity, considering he used massive amounts of mana.
Under normal circumstances, it took around a thousand years for a nine-tailed fox to obtain the perfect body, but when I considered the current age and appearance of Youko, as well as the amount of mana she accumulated, I say it might take her around a hundred years or so to complete her collection.
….Should I kill her now?
It was my duty to protect this world.
I needed to defeat the nine-tailed demon that would kill thousands of people and destroy nature.
I bared my fangs at Youko.
Suddenly, Halt’s face appeared in my mind.
Halt had been taking care of Youko in a lot of ways.
She’s part of the family, he said.
It was possible that Halt would be sad if I kill Youko here.
He might become furious with me.
“No, I can’t do this, no. Well, it doesn’t have to be now. If this brat goes into frenzy, I’ll somehow deal with it then.”
I had the power.
I didn’t have to make Halt miserable.
If the time comes, I could lend him my strength, and it’d be fine.
—– So I reasoned.
“Don’t go on a rampage, you hear me. Make sure Halt won’t be sad.”
I told her so, but Youko just kept on napping.
I was also somewhat sleepy now.
I jumped on sleeping Youko’s cross-legged feet.
“This looks comfortable to sleep on, so I’ll nap here, got it? It’s alright, isn’t it?
There was no response, naturally.
Well, it seemed to be fine.
Hm, comfortable, indeed.
The mana overflowing from me was, as expected, siphoned by Youko.
As a Divine Beast, mana overflowed from me without limit.
Usually, I constricted the flow of mana in order to prevent influencing the surroundings, but I had to release it occasionally or else my body would feel itchy.
I hadn’t used a huge amount of mana for a while now.
Perfect timing.
Let’s vent it out and have Youko suck it.
I curled up in the space between Youko’s crossed legs, and dozed off.
──＊＊＊──
“—Nn, Hmm, Fuaahh. That was a good nap. Hmm?… Oh, it’s just Shiro.”
When Youko woke up, Shiro was curled up sleeping on her lap.
“When did this guy…”
Shiro wasn’t that heavy, so she did not notice him.
“He’s sleeping so well… Can’t help it, I’ll let him sleep a bit longer.”
Youko dozed off while sitting; her body was stiff so she tried to stretch.
She stretched her upper body without moving her legs, and was careful not to wake Shiro up.
“—–Hm?”
Her body obviously grew compared to how she was at noon before her nap.
“N, no way –“
Youko checked her tails.
All nine of them were filled to the brim with mana.
It was because unconsciously, she continued to absorb the overflowing mana from the Divine Beast Shiro while she’s fast asleep.
“….My body already achieved perfection, but I don’t feel any different.”
Nine-tailed foxes were a species whose lifelong mission was to accumulate mana in their tails and obtain the perfect body.
After reaching perfection, they would go wild until they exhausted all the mana they accumulated.
They were that kind of species.
“It’s incredible. I thought I will lose my consciousness right after piling up enough mana but… is it because of this?”
Youko stared at the back of her right hand. On top of it was the magic circle signifying the master-slave contract she made with Halt.
Youko accumulated two tails’ worth of precious mana in the span of two hundred years.
As a result of expending one tail worth of mana, she succeeded in forming a strong bond with Halt.
Maybe that bond is the reason why Youko’s rampage was avoided.
“No matter what, with this I can also become Halt’s strength from now on!”
Youko was extremely delighted.
A nine-tailed fox was weak until enough mana is accumulated.
She could only fight by using brainwashing magic on her master in order to increase his subordinates.
However, today’s Youko was different.
At the very least, she now possessed enough power to overwhelm a few flaming knights, and be their opponent.
“The reason why I didn’t go on a rampage might have something to do with you, is it not?”
Youko gently stroked Shiro as he slept on her lap.
When the nine-tailed fox took in magical power, it also absorbed the surrounding’s negative aura, blackening its heart with evil.
However, Youko’s tails were composed of two tails’ worth of mana from Halt, six tails’ worth of mana from Shiro; leaving only one tail having mana that was imbued in negative aura.
This was the main factor that prevented Youko from going berserk, and Youko also realized this.
“Thanks, Shiro.”
In reality, Shiro’s initial plan was to let off some mana, stop it, and then go to sleep.
If he did not do that, he will hasten the growth of the nine-tailed fox.
However, he fell into a deep sleep while still discharging mana, which was continuously siphoned by Youko.
As a result, he was able to change Youko’s future of running amok and destroying countless kingdoms but—
There’s no way Youko and Shiro will know about it.
—–
T/N: Meanwhile, in a certain village of Narutoverse…….
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