Silence fell like frost after I finished. Faces dimmed like rain-doused lanterns, the opposite of earlier hope. Did I say the wrong thing?

“Um… Lord Yumigawa, could you hear a request?”

A Foxfolk girl close to me gathered courage like a trembling leaf. Her voice was soft as catkin fluff.

“No problem.” I nodded.

“Thank you for allowing it.” She bowed deep, like a reed bent by wind. “Could our Foxfolk not become vassals of the Binsair royal house?”

She shut her eyes and lowered her head, bracing like a fawn before thunder.

“Can you tell me why?”

I wasn’t asking her alone. I asked everyone. With the Binsair royals’ shelter, life should be easier. Why did they look so unwilling?

“Lord Yumigawa, let me say a few words first.”

Retiel stepped in and bowed, calm as night water. “Most Foxfolk slaves are kept in the Binsair palace and in certain noble estates. The princes, princesses, and idle young nobles hold beastkin hunts every year. Our Foxfolk have endured their abuse again and again.”

“Exactly! My family was killed by those cold-blooded royals!”

“My sister was taken as a slave!”

“Lord Yumigawa, we don’t mean to defy you, but they treat us like chained animals!”

Retiel’s words struck sparks. Voices poured out like a broken dam, bitter water they’d held too long.

So that’s why they resist being vassals of Binsair. But is it truly that bad? Colton seemed decent. I called Nalu and laid out my doubts.

She gave a wry smile and shook her head, like a willow shedding drops. “Yumigawa-kun, your idea’s not bad, but the Binsair royal house isn’t as pretty as you think. His Majesty the Emperor is passable. He has little to boast of, but he doesn’t oppress commoners or beastkin. The princes and princesses are different. They’re arrogant, and they run with idle nobles stirring trouble everywhere.”

“Doesn’t Colton rein in his children?”

“The Emperor’s buried in duties, with no time for house-keeping. Making the Foxfolk Binsair vassals would be lambs walking into a tiger’s jaws.”

“Miss Nalu is right.” Retiel looked at me with pleading eyes, wet as dew. “The Binsair royals aren’t a good choice. If possible, please think of another way, Lord Yumigawa. I beg you.”

“Please, Lord Yumigawa!”

They all bent at the waist, a field of stalks in wind. Thankfully, none fell to their knees.

What a headache. The best path is for the Foxfolk to grow strong and stand on their own roots. That’s the hardest road.

“Yakula, is this the last Foxfolk tribe?”

“No. We’re only one small branch of the whole.”

“Can’t the Foxfolk gather and live together?”

“If we could, we’d long to.” Yakula sighed, a breeze through dry grass. “Distance alone is daunting. The roads are wolves’ mouths. We can’t guarantee safety.”

“All right.”

Frustration cooled in my chest. I lifted my gaze to the clean white moon, searching for a path through the dark.

“Yumigawa-kun, don’t fret. Leave a small matter like this to this dragon!”

Lanxia ran over, eyes bright as stars on snow. Maybe she really had a plan? I let a spark of hope show. “Lanxia, what will you do?”

“Simple. If this becomes this dragon’s territory, the Foxfolk will be safe!”

She puffed her chest and turned to the Foxfolk. “You there, are you willing to become vassals of this dragon? Don’t judge by looks. I’m the granddaughter of the current chieftain of the Dragon Kin! Under my wings, no one on the Northern Abyss Continent will dare bully you!”

“The Dragon Kin chieftain’s granddaughter?!”

Everyone’s heads snapped up like birds at a hawk’s cry. Their stunned eyes swung to… me.

“To make the chieftain’s granddaughter his mount—worthy of Lord Yumigawa!”

“If Lady Lanxia is Lord Yumigawa’s mount, then becoming her vassals makes us indirectly Lord Yumigawa’s vassals!”

“Our Foxfolk are truly saved!”

Joy bubbled over like spring water, voices rising and tumbling.

Right. Why didn’t I think of it? As a backer for the Foxfolk, Lanxia’s far more reliable than the Binsair royals.

I hadn’t expected Lanxia to be the Dragon Kin chieftain’s granddaughter. That’s no small pedigree.

“A silly dragon like Lanxia is the chieftain’s granddaughter? Hard to imagine.”

“The contrast is weirdly adorable.”

Lingxiao and Lingsaki drifted to my side, eyes curious as cats studying Lanxia.

“Don’t judge a dragon by her scales, I suppose?” Lixue quipped dryly, then looked at the Foxfolk ahead. “Why do they only think of leaning on others, and not of forging their own strength?”

“They don’t have the soil for it. The Foxfolk aren’t a powerful race. Aside from strong charm, there’s little to praise. They live in barren hills without resources, always watching for Tiger and Wolf raids, and for humans.”

Thinking of their plight, sympathy rose in me like a low tide. It was sympathy that brought me here in the first place.

“Fair point. In soil like this, even the best seed can’t grow.” Lixue nodded, sharing the weight.

In the end, not a single Foxfolk objected. All agreed to become Lanxia’s vassals.

Lanxia also had several stashes across the Northern Abyss Continent. Her territories were spacious and well-situated.

So I decided to see it through. We’d move the entire Foxfolk to the nearest of Lanxia’s lands.

Hearing it, the Foxfolk’s joy doubled like suns after rain. They cheered, then—

“Lord Yumigawa, Lady Lanxia, thank you for your help! We Foxfolk will never forget this grace!”

Led by Chieftain Yakula and Saintess Retiel, everyone bowed deep, gratitude pooling like warm light.

“It’s a small lift of the hand. Don’t mind it. Go prepare for a full-clan migration. I’ll have Lanxia escort you safely to your new home.”

“Understood!”

…

Past nine at night, after a bath, we rested in the best room in the Foxfolk village, prepared by Yakula.

“Yumigawa-kun, escorting the Foxfolk will take at least three days! This dragon can’t bear to leave you that long!”

“Besides, this dragon wants to stay and help you swat those overreaching Tigers and Wolves and the Dark Demon!”

“Don’t be willful. Be good and listen. I’ll reward you properly later. Nalu, you’ll go with her.”

I flicked Lanxia’s forehead, a crisp tap like a pebble on a pond. Then I turned to Nalu. The Tigers, Wolves, and Dark Demon aren’t settled yet. Losing Lanxia’s god-tier strength for a while makes things dicey. Better that Nalu goes along.

“Yumigawa-kun’s reward… drool. Understood! This dragon will deliver the Foxfolk safe and sound!”

“I’ll assist Lady Lanxia every step,” Nalu said, steady as a lantern in wind.

With their promise, the Foxfolk matter was nearly wrapped.

…

At the same time, Lixin, who had been tracking Yumigawa Sumeragi’s group, appeared before the Tiger and Wolf tribes’ encampment. She met them and the Dark Demon contingent. She noticed the strange air of a curse on them. She mentioned it in passing and asked its source. Their faces darkened like storm-clouds. They claimed to know nothing.

“Sigh. Fine. Let me see if I can loosen the curse.”

She breathed out, a tired mist, and began a detection spell. She examined the twenty-odd cursed, inch by inch, like a surgeon with moonlight eyes.

“What a bizarre curse.”

The more Lixin checked, the colder her heart felt. The curse-lines crawled like living vines, shifting every moment. There was nowhere to start a clean dispel. She sensed two curses intertwined—one of light, one of darkness. Left alone, they’d at least inflict grievous harm.

To cripple over twenty god-tier experts at once—what terrifying sorcery, she thought.

“Miss Lixin, we’ve heard a bit about you. What’s going on with these curses?”

Saikusha, the Wolf chieftain, spoke low, like gravel underfoot. He’d felt unwell for a while, and it had worsened with time.

“If I’m not wrong, it was the work of the Mizumi Clan…”

She couldn’t trace the root. So she tossed the blame into the Mizumi Clan’s lap, stoking hatred like a bellows. She also magnified the curse’s bite with a few choice words.

“The Mizumi Clan is at the Foxfolk side? Then our joining the Dark Demon must’ve been exposed. No wonder…”

Vikza sighed, then asked, worry like a shadow on his brow. “Miss Lixin, can this curse be undone?”

Everyone cursed felt a creeping sickness, like damp seeping into bones.

“The Mizumi Clan’s magic is too strong and too strange. Removing it will take time and a price. Alone, I can only suppress it for a while.” Lixin poured oil on the fire, voice smooth as silk. “Here’s the deal. We plan to probe the Mizumi Clan’s strength at the Foxfolk tomorrow. If you come help—and perform well—Mr. Wilsar may lend a hand to lift your curse. You’ll also take revenge. Two birds with one stone. How about it?”