Chapter Four: The Real Boss
“Mmm. Not what I was expecting,” Luke said while idly fiddling with Key of the Land. “The princess might be fine with it, but what good is a criminal if I can’t cut ’em?”
“Yeah. I’m like, looking forward to it, but I don’t think it’s gonna put us to the test or anything.”
“Wh-What do you plan to make me do?”
Luke was bored, Liz was dyspeptic, and Princess Murina was her usual self. They were all showing unique reactions, but none of them seemed particularly happy.
“Oh. Yeah, uh-huh,” I added.
Looking at the newspaper, it seemed that crime in Kreat had started to decline. I believed that all’s well that ends well, but I still wondered why there were fewer incidents if my friends hadn’t done anything. My plan had been for this to be both stress relief and a preemptive attack to discourage any outlaws. Was there some strange force at work?
Those thoughts were cut off by Sitri, entering with a tray loaded with a tea set.
“Krai, I got some lovely cake!”
Unlike the other three, Sitri was unusually cheerful. It was normal for her to be grinning, but the light in her eyes was different. As her childhood friend, I could tell that she was feeling something too strong for her to contain.
“Something good happen?” I asked her.
“Oh, hardly at—here, let me pour you some tea.”
My dear friend eagerly poured me a cup. I was sure something was going on. She was always doing kind things for me, but it wasn’t often that she brought me cake. In fact, this was a measure she only resorted to when there was something up. It was like a signal she gave off.
She swiftly set out the tea set, forgot to open the cake box, and circled around behind me. Her cold hands brushed against the base of my neck and I realized she wasn’t wearing her usual robe.
“Let me rub your shoulders,” she said.
And then instead of doing that, she wrapped her arms around me and leaned against me. Pressed against my back, I could feel the beat of her heart.
“Krai, shall I lend you some money?” she whispered into my ear.
I froze.
“Instead,” she continued, getting to the point, “I’d like that. You’ll give it to me, won’t you? I’m trusting you.”
I was willing to give her whatever she wanted, but I was scared. Scared because I didn’t have a clue what she was getting at. Sitri gently caressed my body and pressed her lips to the back of my ear. I felt a shiver of pleasure and terror.
“When did you get it?” she asked. “How did you get it? You got it for me, right?”
“What are you talking about?”
“That. I’ll be sure to take good care of it. So, if you would. C’mon, Krai,” she said and made a coughing noise.
Deep down, Sitri was a bashful person, so I was taken aback by her willingness to go this far. And I was horrified because I had no clue what she was referring to. What had I recently obtained? What could I have that Sitri couldn’t get even with her deep pockets?
“Paws off, Yuttri! Time out!” a shrill voice cried.
Liz then hurled a flower vase, hitting her sister square in the head. As she recoiled, Ansem, who had walked up behind her, lifted her by the scruff of her neck.
By the way, who’s Yuttri? Any relation to the si tree and ku tree?
“Noooo, let me go!” she wailed while flailing her limbs. “I’m gonna marry Krai!”
She’s regressing to a child. I’ll give it to you. Whatever you want, just calm down.
“We could turn her into stone if only Lucy were here,” Liz sighed.
Ansem grunted in agreement.
“Anssy, toss her. Like you’re throwing something away. She’ll go insane if she doesn’t cool off.”
Grunting, Ansem opened the window and flung his younger sister out, her screams growing distant as she fell.
Do they realize we’re on the fourth floor? I guess that’s not much for a hunter. But what’s gotten into Sitri?
“It’s no good. Krai, I keep trying, but I can’t charge it!” Luke yelled in frustration.
The sun had set long ago. Sitri had regained a degree of sanity (though she still gave me longing glances). I had finally gotten a moment of peace, but I couldn’t help but dwell on how rowdy my friends were.
Luke was holding before me Key of the Land, the Relic I had lent to him. Luke was a pure Swordsman, but that didn’t mean he was entirely without mana. He had tested out just about every sword-type Relic in my collection. Unlike me, he didn’t rely on Lucia to do his charging, so he had enough mana to at least fill up most swords. And if he didn’t have enough, he would train until he did. That’s the sort of man Luke Sykol was.
It wasn’t often this sword fanatic gave up like this. The Relic must’ve required a fair bit if it still hadn’t shown any signs of reaching max. I took the sword from him and pulled it partway out of its scabbard.
“Key of the Land. Key of the Land?” I muttered.
The enigmatic blade’s edge was straight as a ruler and covered in patterns. What powers could it have if it required enough mana to cause even Luke to throw in the towel? The newspaper hadn’t mentioned anything about its abilities, but names could say a lot.
With a grunt, Luke clenched his fist and loudly proclaimed, “If I can’t use the sword properly, then I need more training! But I don’t have anyone to cut!”
There he goes, saying more nonsense.
“You can’t use it because it’s not a sword,” I said in an attempt to sound cool. “It’s a key.”
I straightened my posture and looked Luke in the eye. I made myself look serious and made up some bullshit.
“Luke, do you know what every key requires? The answer is simpler than you might think.”
As a super first-rate Swordsman, Luke surpassed me in nearly every aspect except common sense. But one area I did have the upper hand in was knowledge of Relics.
Luke thought it over for a moment, then said uncertainly, “So we need a keyhole?”
I was hoping he would let me say it. Trying not to let it show, I sighed and said, “Indeed. In other words, this is a key. A key to the future! Bad things will happen if the claws of evil get it.”
“Wh-What?! Claws of evil?! What are the claws of evil?!”
“That’s, uh, y’know? Right, they’re the enemies of the world.”
“The enemies of the world?! Where are they? Can I cut ’em?!”
Why are you so excited? I’m just making stuff up. Stuff I think you’d enjoy.
Lucia turned from her book and looked absolutely fed up.
I had gone too far with the stories and Luke was buying it all. I didn’t know how to answer his question.
“It’s like, y’know,” I said after a moment’s hesitation, “natural disasters and stuff.”
“Natural. Disasters.” Luke said, questioning.
“But even those can be cut by the best Swordsmen!” I exclaimed.
Fluctuating between shock and disappointment kept Luke awfully busy.
I had obtained the Relic due to a misunderstanding, so it would only be right to give it back before going home. But since I had gotten it, it would be a waste to not test it out once before returning it. I didn’t have anything else to do until the Supreme Warrior Festival began. I let out a yawn and set Key of the Land down in front of Lucia.
***
The White Foxes. The bosses. As far back as Sora could remember, she had been taught all about these hellacious personages. During her lessons, her daily prayers, even in the lullabies sung to her when she was a child, she had been taught of the White Foxes’ wisdom, luck, charisma, and prudence. Aside from these noble traits, it was also impressed upon her that the White Foxes had a capacity for cruelty that rivaled that of the gods.
After being born from the intelligence agency of a bygone nation, the organization had grown with each generation thanks to the bosses’ diverse skill sets. They fought, conquered, forged alliances, and slowly but surely sunk their fangs into every nation they could.
The fox masks were mere symbols. The Maidens, who worshiped the fox gods, were in awe of that first mask claimed by the boss. A unifying symbol was needed to cement the organization’s foundations and now that they had one, Nine-Tailed Shadow Fox was fully formed.
A white mask was proof of a boss’s stature. The inheritor of the mask was determined through strength, not lineage, ensuring fierce and constant competition. Thus, whoever stood at the top was undoubtedly the organization’s strongest. With the backing of Fox’s funds, influence, and technology, not even a high-level hunter could oppose the boss.
That selfsame fiend was now ordering Sora to make fried tofu.
“Hurry. Make more.”
“Y-Yes, boss.”
Sora didn’t understand why she was doing this. Words like “bafflement” were no longer sufficient to describe her state of mind. It was one surprise after another. If she had been surprised to learn that the real and fake boss were acquainted, she had also been surprised to learn that they wanted the same thing from her.
Who was a friend? Who was a foe? What was right? What was Sora supposed to do?
The boss took the form of a young girl. By what must have been providence, she exuded a warm aura as she watched Sora work the frying pan. Sora focused on her work, adding a new slice of tofu to the oil. Her heart was beating so rapidly that she thought it might explode. She was certain that if she stopped moving her hands, she would be killed. It didn’t make any sense, but that was what the intense gaze of the boss told her.
In retrospect, the False Fox was fairly soft. He had given her orders but hadn’t forced her or threatened her. The true fox was quite different. One after another, the finished blocks of fried tofu disappeared into the maw of the true boss. Sora couldn’t bear it.
The White Fox politely licked her plate before glaring at Sora and saying, “We won’t be able to take over the world like this. Again.”
O False Fox, please come back!
The two foxes were giving her the exact same order, but this White Fox was undeniably the true one.
“P-Pardon me, but how will fried tofu allow us to—”
“Mr. Caution should have told you. We’ll make inarizushi bento.”
“Y-You two are joking, correct?”
“Hurry. More tofu. If you don’t, you could be fried.”
Her voice made it clear that she was serious.
This was impossible. Sora couldn’t keep going like this. She didn’t know who to blame. Besides, taking over the world with boxed lunches was impossible! And those lunches were never going to be completed if this girl kept eating every finished piece!
From seemingly nowhere, the White Fox conjured a sofa and sat down, swinging her legs as she fiddled with her Smartphone. She didn’t look motivated in the slightest.
“Hurry,” the White Fox said. “Don’t watch. Work.”
“Um. Boss, did you not come to Kreat in order to aid the operation?”
Sora didn’t know much about the current operation, but there must’ve been something exceptional about it if someone so busy was taking the time to visit. She shouldn’t have time for selling, or rather, making fried tofu.
“That doesn’t matter,” the boss answered. “Now, cook.”
“The outcome of this operation could change the very direction of our organization!” Sora protested.
“Mmm. That block. Eighty-three points.”
Sora was done for. This one was more obtuse than the False Fox. Sora was willing to admit that the White Fox was an awe-inspiring person. But how had she led Fox to such great heights? What was the purpose behind the fried tofu? Why was a priestess being forced to do the cooking? Was this a form of punishment? Was she going to spend the rest of her life at the frying pan because she had been tricked into making fried tofu?
Hell was a real place and Sora was in it. If they planned to execute her, she wished they would just hurry up and get it over with. As these thoughts crossed her mind, the door flung open, and in came the source of her troubles. He wasn’t wearing his mask, so he couldn’t even be called a fox, but that no longer mattered.
“O False Fox, I’ve awaited your return!”
“You have?! What’s up?”
She no longer cared. She was just fine with the False Fox. She wanted nothing to do with this fried tofu fiend. What Maiden could be proud of herself if she smelled of oil? She dashed up to the False Fox and he watched her doltishly.
For the first time, Sora felt a shred of respect for the False Fox. In a verbal duel between the soul-chilling True Fox and the empty-headed False Fox, the True Fox was defeated with a single riposte.
“Mr. Caution, you must have no sense of caution if you dare oppose me,” the True Fox said.
“Don’t you feel bad for working Sora so hard?!” the False Fox argued. “If you want fried tofu so badly, make it yourself!”
YOU’RE the one who had me making fried tofu in the first place!
The White Fox recoiled. She then clapped her hands and shoved Sora out of the way so she could reach the ingredients. She grabbed a cut of tofu and began frying.
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