Chapter 13

Rumors quietly spread saying that Cheonwolru had gained a new attraction.

It all started with a certain reckless young master.

A rich merchant’s son—who knew only a tiny bit of martial arts—challenged Cheonwolru and was utterly humiliated.
That alone wasn’t special. People embarrassed themselves at Cheonwolru so often that it was barely worth gossip.

But this time, a baby tiger was involved.

***

“There’s a tiger living in Cheonwolru.”
“You can’t see it every day—tigers are moody, you know.”
“They say that tiger knocks people out with one swipe of its paw.”
“I heard the number of people taken down by that tiger is as big as a small village.”

A few rumors were exaggerated, of course.
But the fact that a baby tiger existed in Cheonwolru was undeniably true.

“Ugh!”

… And today again, that same tiger knocked out an uninvited challenger with a soft little paw.

“Kyawng!”

Sitting proudly on the challenger’s back, the baby tiger raised its voice in triumph.

The guards at the gate watched and spoke with amusement.

“Looks like I win this round of betting.”

“Well, yeah. Has anyone survived more than one hit so far?”

The guard who lost the bet nodded in defeat, and the winning guard chuckled.

“No wonder—the tiger the Pavilion Master brought is something else.
Still so young, yet knocks people out in a single strike.”

Indeed, the tiger often came out exactly when someone shouted a challenge.
It would hop toward the challenger, smack their cheek with its paw, and the fight would be over.

No exceptions.
Every single challenger passed out from that one pat.
So technically, betting on these matches was pointless.

“Waong.”

“There, there. Good job, San-gun.”

One guard crouched and roughly rubbed the tiger’s head.
Then he offered jerky, which San-gun quickly gobbled up.

“Cute little thing. Eat lots and grow big and mighty, okay?”

“Kyawng.”

San-gun was very clever.
He never used his claws on anyone except challengers.
He even accepted pats from the gate guards.

Thanks to that, he quickly became their favorite, constantly showered with snacks and affection.

“San-gun, have this too.”

“Kyawng!”

“Oh—hey. Isn’t that…?”

“I’ll tell you a secret—San-gun loves candied hawthorn skewers.”

“You’re telling me this now?”

“Well, I’m only saying it here. If I said it back at the dorm, everyone would hear.”

“Ooh…! You’re the best!”

The two guards exchanged knowing eye signals, forming a pact to keep the information to themselves.
They wanted to monopolize San-gun’s cute fluffy belly—
So knowing his favorite snack was a strategic advantage.

Meanwhile, San-gun hurried happily back inside after eating everything.

* * *

[Snacks are fine, but I might be overeating a bit. Maybe I should hold back?

… Though I had to admit—the candied hawthorn skewers today were incredible.
My overly full belly felt much better thanks to them.

Licking the sugar off my mouth, I headed toward the familiar scent.

[…Is bullying challengers legally fun, San-gun?]

It’s good stress relief. With this body, at least.]

My job at the entrance was simple—
drive away uninvited challengers.

A reasonable way to deal with humans,
and very helpful for adjusting to my smaller body.

[All good, but… you don’t have to accept every snack.]

[You told me to become a “famous attraction.”
Shouldn’t I be friendly with the humans in your territory?
I may not know humans well, but if I act hostile, they’ll treat me like prey.

I calmly accepted the herb the fox handed me.

A digestive herb. As expected, he was perceptive.

“Something bothering you?”

Turning into my human form, the fox handed me warm tea.

It still felt strange, but the warmth seeping through my body wasn’t unpleasant.

“They’re just a bunch of kids. Not worth worrying about.”

“I’m worried about the one real threat that might be hiding among those kids.
And I can’t stick to your side all the time—I’m busy.”

“Busy? Really? You spend a lot of time at your desk.”

“Because of whom, I wonder?
I’m breaking my head trying to secure herbs for you, San-gun.”

“Oh.”

Right. He was scrambling to supply me with herbs.

“San-gun. You… forgot, didn’t you?”

“Nope. Absolutely not.”

“Oh, just forget it.
Let’s just say I’m using every bit of my connections and money to get high-quality herbs.
Never thought all the networking I did for fun would be used… like this.”

“…You said qi-rich herbs are also valuable to martial artists, right?”

“That’s why it’s a headache.
Herbs suited for you aren’t easy to come by.
And it’s weird if Cheonwolru suddenly starts buying expensive herbs.”

“Why?”

“I could fake an excuse—like supplying herbs for our guards.
But the herbs you need are too good. That lie won’t cover it.”

“…That rare?”

“Very. Humans can’t roam mountains like we do.”

Hmm, that made sense.
Humans only had two legs—poor things.

“So I hide the source, twist the route, make false buyers,
and secure funds from different pockets…
It’s a lot of work.
Luckily, Cheonwolru has tons of money flowing through it.”

“Humans really live complicated lives.”

“They can’t help it.
Humans love digging into anything they find suspicious—especially if that person has status.”

A crooked smile crossed his lips.

“When someone lacks ability, they try to drag others down to their level.
There are more humans like that than you’d think.”

“…Humans are strange.”

“What can we do? We’re among them now.
So we have to understand their nature.”

The fox’s expression sobered.

“Think about it—
How many humans would be humiliated if they got slapped once by a baby tiger
and got kicked out of Cheonwolru?”

“For that tiny thing?”

“For that tiny thing.”

“So don’t overdo it, San-gun.
I get that you’re adjusting to your small body by roughhousing with them.
but don’t underestimate human pettiness.”

He poked my cheek with his finger.