"Welcome!!"

POP!

A burst of flower petals greeted Jio.

"We've cleaned the den so our honored guest can enjoy a comfortable stay."

"I hope the journey hasn't tired you out. We've arranged for some attendants to fan you."

"If there is anything you desire, please don't hesitate to ask!"

Rami, chief of the fox folk, watched her people welcome their "guest" in human guise, then stole a glance at Jio's reaction. Still rubbing her hands together ingratiatingly, she smiled with narrowed eyes.

"We were already sprucing up our den so you could look around in comfort. Please explore as much as you like. We wouldn't dare presume to offer you a meal, but we're delighted to provide this small service, at least."

"Oh, I see."

Jio looked around.

"The atmosphere is very different from the wolves' den."

"Hehe, the wolf folk have no interest in decorating their homes. Above all, wolves are strong in both body and mind, so a single bare cave is all they need to live comfortably. We fox folk, however, are terribly delicate."

Rami put on a sorrowful expression.

"Without soft beds, our bodies suffer, and unless our homes are bright, we easily grow depressed. So we decorate our den as well as we can."

"How interesting. What about the crow folk?"

"Perhaps because they're the smallest of the races, their homes are small as well. They build nests as round as eggs, using all sorts of twigs, leaves, and mud gathered from nature, along with their own feathers."

The most economical homes, one might say.

"Of course, that makes them prone to collapsing or falling apart, but the crows make every tree in this forest their home and move frequently."

"So you could say the entire forest is their home?"

"They've also made the best possible map of this forest. They use their ability to fly to explore places too dangerous for us to visit."

"I see..."

The fox den certainly felt nothing like the wolves' gloomy cavern. Gold, silver, and jewels filled the place—where they had found them all after the world's destruction was anyone's guess—and its different sections were neatly arranged, bright and cheerful.

"You even grow plants."

"Ah, those..."

Rami smiled at the plants positioned throughout the den.

"They're purifying plants that help us breathe. We may not be able to build devices as remarkable as the crow folk's, but we fox folk aren't exactly lacking in ingenuity, either."

"You can't breathe without them? Yet as I understand it, you crossed the Black Forest to see me without any equipment, Rami."

"I'm the chief! Only the strongest and cleverest fox can hold that position. Of course, I'm not the only one who can withstand the Black Forest's poison. We have others whose main duties are hunting and gathering outside."

"Hmm."

Jio turned toward the foxes watching him with smiling faces. They were still a little pale with fear, their smiles trembling slightly, but he could tell they were doing their best.

"Are foxes naturally this good at transforming?"

"Our specialty in transformation magic is one of our greatest strengths!"

"I see!"

Amid the forced warmth, Jio thought to himself,

'How cute.'

And it made him uncomfortable.

Arjio would have gone with "What do I care?" no matter how others saw him, but the traits of Seo Jio and Giovanni cried, "This doesn't feel right." Relishing those conflicting emotions at once, he rubbed his chin.

"Is everyone here an adult?"

"Yes, that's right. The immature little ones might make mistakes, so we've put them away."

"Oh dear. You needn't be so afraid of me."

"..."

"How loving you are."

When he praised her admirable care, Rami's face went white. Clearly, she had hidden the young ones under the pretext that they were "useless," afraid the being before her might harm them.

Jio thought again,

'They're really cute.'

What was he supposed to do about this?

'Honestly, it's a bit... awkward, too.'

Every last one of these damned Jios had a strong "act first, worry later" streak. Their specialty was to consider the best and worst outcomes, then push ahead at the right moment.

The problem was the foxes' response. The wolves hadn't shown this much fear, so at least he hadn't felt guilty.

'But these children are far too afraid of me.'

And yet they were all but prostrating themselves, begging and scraping to please him. Their desperate gestures for mercy put Jio, who wasn't one hundred percent Arjio, in a difficult position.

Even five percent of the sincerity they were showing now would have been enough for him to shamelessly push ahead with "We've breathed the same air, so we're friends now, right?" But...

"..."

In this situation, "Hey, want to be friends?" would clearly get him a "Yes, I'll be your faithful doormat, just spare my life!" Jio decided to bury his invitation to become pen pals deep in his heart for now.

This sort of uncomfortable goodwill was exceedingly tricky for Jio. He felt sorry for the people offering it, and even if he wished to repay them out of gratitude, chances were they wouldn't welcome it.

'What are you normally supposed to do at times like these...?'

For once, Jio faltered.

"..."

"..."

Just look at this chilly silence, awkward for him and terrifying for them.

How was he supposed to treat people who neither confronted him head-on like the wolves nor watched him secretly like the crow folk, but instead offered submission he had never asked for?

"Hmm."

Arjio, whose experience as an evil god consisted entirely of venting his anger, pondered the matter.

"Right. First..."

Jio decided to start by feeding them.

"You said you were hungry?"

"... Ah, yes! Would you please take pity on us and grant us your mercy? We'll do our utmost to fulfill your every wish...!"

"The wolves said meat without poison would suffice."

"Oh! The same goes for us. It would be more than we deserve!"

Everything they could hunt or gather in the Black Forest was poisonous, and lately even those numbers had been dwindling. What remained were monsters far beyond the fox folk's ability to hunt.

"If you would give us a chance...!"

"I've already decided to give you a gift. Don't worry."

But simply giving wasn't quite satisfying. Even if it seemed difficult right now, Jio wanted to be their friend. Above all, he disliked a relationship in which he unilaterally "bestowed" things upon them.

'Shall I test the waters?'

Regrettably, it didn't seem they could become comfortable with him right away.

To soothe the foxes, who looked ready to grovel on the floor, Jio decided to propose a "trade." People naturally felt much more at ease when there was give-and-take, and this little ploy was meant to exploit that.

'As it happens, there's someone I'm looking for.'

No matter how much time passed, for some reason the voice calling him never sounded again. Honestly.

'How am I meant to find you if you're this laid-back about it?'

In the end, Jio would have to track down whoever had called him himself. He had no intention of letting a promising potential friend slip away.

'It could get complicated, but with the locals' help, it should be easy enough to solve...'

Jio grinned and bent down to meet the fox chief Rami's eyes.

"Now."

"..."

"How about this?"

In her human woman's form, she was quite small compared to Jio. Meeting her eyes kindly, he tipped his head slightly. He spoke softly so as not to seem threatening.

"If I give you a gift, though, surely there ought to be something in return..."

"..."

"What do you think?"

"... Naturally, we have been preparing for that as well."

"Hm?"

How could she have prepared when she didn't know what he was going to say?

"Most of the foxes we've prepared are old and waiting for death, but... I-I'm only seven. Though I hold the position of chief, I'm still relatively young. My flesh is tender, and I'm in the best condition of any fox here, so I'm sure you'll find me perfectly suitable to eat."

"Whoa, hold on."

"Yes...!"

"..."

Only then did Arjio remember.

"... Ah."

Come to think of it, hadn't there also been stories about the "evil god" eating people alive?

* * *

Jio finally asked his fellow evil god Sankalut for help.

"Help me, and I'll hold a festival of blood for you."

"Jio?"

"Have you ever heard of hangover soup with blood curds?"

"... Why on earth would you call that a festival of blood?"

"I could offer blood sausages, too."

"No, I'm saying your choice of words has been a little... Is it because you're an evil god?"

"I'd like your opinion."

Ju-hyeon, who had Sankalut as his bodyguard, had come along and kept interjecting, but none of it was reaching Jio's ears. He was facing something of a personal crisis.

The red snake tilted its head at him.

"What is the matter? You seem uncomfortable."

"My children are afraid of me."

"I would think that was only natural?"

"The problem is that it isn't natural to me at all. Judging by that response, you clearly won't be any help."

"This sudden mistreatment makes me feel wronged."

"I feel wronged myself."

He had no defenses against the sort of awkwardly disastrous atmosphere the fox folk had created.

Arjio was far more accustomed to outright rejection, wariness, or anger. He had no experience whatsoever with young creatures who showed him goodwill while trembling in terror.

"They took it for granted that I'd eat them."

"What on earth have you been doing in the Animal Kingdom...?"

"Truly, my friend, I have been wronged."

He'd known such rumors existed, but Arjio had never actually eaten a person. Even when the wolf Gargal told him the stories, he'd merely enjoyed them, thinking, 'So this is how my notoriety gets inflated.'

"Could this be divine punishment for trying to reap the benefits?"

"..."

Smiling silently, Ju-hyeon took Sankalut from around his neck and set it on the dining table. Once the snake realized where it had been placed, it reared bolt upright and stared at Ju-hyeon with wide, bright eyes.

"So you've finally decided to throw me to an evil god as a snack. I never imagined our friendship amounted to so little. I am certain my body would taste bad."

"Jio made that body, so it probably tastes good. More importantly, I didn't put you on the table to offer him a meal, Sankalut."

Sankalut did not believe him.

"You take me for a fool. Humans enjoy their meals at dining tables. And Jio is a Divinity who enjoys meals. I am going to be eaten. Crunched and chewed up. Please spare me. I am useful."

"I only put you there because we're sitting at the table. It seems you're the one Jio wants advice from this time. I meant for you to leave me out of it."

"You are lying. I don't want to be eaten. Put me back up."

"I'm not lying. Honestly, what kind of evil god is afraid of being put on a dining table...?"

"We are inside Jio's belly. And this is a dining table. I am going to be eaten. Liars. You said you would let me go home if I kept my promise, but you deceived me. I am overwhelmed by a sense of betrayal."

"Your vocabulary improves by the day."

Seeing Ju-hyeon's bewildered expression, Jio explained the snake's state even as he put on a sniffle.

"To Sankalut, my dining table seems like an altar where offerings are made to a god. The table has a history of things placed upon it being eaten, after all."

"Does this really warrant bringing up history? Besides, Sankalut has eaten with us at this table plenty of times before. I don't quite understand why it's frightened now."

"There were other things to eat then. With all that food so much tastier than itself, it wouldn't have thought its turn would come. It was given food, too. That signified permission to join us, so it must have judged that an invited guest was unlikely to be eaten."

"I think Divinities who enjoy playing around need to relearn common sense from scratch if they're going to live on Earth. Their thinking is so strange I can't keep up..."

Still, he more or less understood.

'So this is what Seongun meant.'

As a Curator, Yu Seongun had repeatedly warned him how differently humans and mysteries thought. An action that meant little to a human could be a tremendous insult to a mystery, so he had told Ju-hyeon to pay attention to their "rules" to avoid mistakes.

'I'd have caused trouble long ago without Jio's help, too.'

Feeling a little sheepish, Ju-hyeon stroked the snake's head. He had a duty to toughen up this evil god, which knew nothing and had only a foul temper to its name. He spoke soothingly.

"Take this chance to get used to it. Jio will never eat you. If it really looks as though he might, I'll put you back around my neck."

"Frightening human... frightening human..."

"I didn't realize it was something to cry over."

When the snake finally began shedding round, beadlike tears, Jio interjected.

"Crocodile tears."

"Aha."

It was trying to stir Ju-hyeon's sympathy. That figured, but he wasn't particularly angry. He was simply curious what on earth Jio wanted advice about.

"So, something's happened in the Animal Kingdom?"

"Ju-hyeon, my honorable friend. Please hear me out."

"You're sounding considerably more old-fashioned than usual... But yes, all right, I'll listen."

"Well, I went back to my homeland..."

After hearing Jio's entire story, Ju-hyeon's face twisted strangely.

"..."

"Why are you angry?"

"Aren't you angry about being falsely accused like that, Jio?"

Ju-hyeon understood the fox folk's position, too. What could they do when they'd been driven to a point where nothing but death remained? Even if the other party was an evil god, they had to try their desperate best at anything they could.

So what angered him was the humans who had recorded "Arjio" as the worst of monsters before the world's destruction. What kind of despicable behavior was that?

"But you don't even know what I actually did in the past, Ju-hyeon."

"There are things I know even without that. We've spent time together."

He didn't know precisely what Arjio had done, but firmly believed he would at least never have committed cannibalism. Arjio was a Divinity of pure wrath. He wouldn't do something so vile.

"Even objectively speaking, I don't think you'd go out of your way to eat humans when there's so little meat on them. Livestock are deliberately raised to provide plenty of meat, but I doubt humans could usually produce that sort of yield."

"Indeed. I am a gourmet."

By the same token, he had absolutely no intention of eating foxes who could transform into humans, hold a conversation, and had hardly any meat on them.

But for Arjio, who had been happily basking in the "evil god's" notoriety etched so deeply into history, explaining himself was a very difficult proposition.

"It was obvious they'd be frightened no matter what I said."

It had been far too uncomfortable.

"They looked so terrified that I tried proposing a trade to put them at ease, but when she abruptly offered herself as a living sacrifice, I was so flustered I just fed them and ran away."

"I suppose it's very like you to feed them even in the middle of all that. But was there anything you could trade for with the fox folk under those circumstances?"

"I was going to ask them to find someone. Someone in the Animal Kingdom definitely called me, but I couldn't find them. So I was going to borrow the locals' help."

"It seems rather unusual that you couldn't find someone who called you. You normally track down people on Earth just fine. Is there a reason?"

"It's simply difficult to pinpoint their location. The voice calling me was very faint to begin with, and perhaps because dungeonization is underway, the dimensions of many places are distorted... If they called me once more while I was in the Animal Kingdom, I could locate them immediately, but as things stand, it's difficult."

"They haven't... died, have they? I don't want to think that either, but the Animal Kingdom you described sounds so chaotic and dangerous that I'm worried."

"I don't think they're dead. But as things stood, I could see no option besides going out and searching myself."

There was a limit to how much of that enormous forest Jio could scour himself, and he couldn't send Dana and Honey out alone for fear that something might happen.

He had entrusted Dana with gathering the lost children because he knew she would pick out and check only souls.

'A proper expedition is a different matter. It could be dangerous.'

That went both for his children, who would have to make their way through the Black Forest, and for the Black Forest, which would have to withstand his children. There was no need to make trouble for everyone when he could simply enlist residents who knew the forest well.

And how nice would it be if, in the process, he could also reassure frightened beasts like the fox folk?

"..."

Thinking of that made Jio feel wronged all over again.

"My children are afraid of me..."

"Oh, please don't cry."

Ju-hyeon was going out of his mind.

'So I've actually ended up seeing an evil god cry twice in one day.'

This absurd situation continued until Yu Seongun visited Ju-hyeon's home.

(To be continued)