Chapter 180-3

Chapter 180-3

[Part 3/4]

The villagers, armed with farm tools and weapons, surrounded them. To Shirona, who had never interacted with anyone outside their family, the villagers looked like a group of evil spirits.

"Shiro, na, are you okay?"

"Oh no, Mom!!"

Shirona's consciousness was brought back by her mother's weak call. Shirona hugged her mother tightly, responding to her mother's voice.

"Mom?"

"Disgusting creature!"

"Disgusting whore!!"

The people around Shirona reacted to her words. They looked at her and her mother with disgust, as if they were looking at trash. They made their hair stand on end and scrunched up their faces.

She doesn't understand. She doesn't understand. Why do they make such a hateful face when they look at her? Why do they want to harm her? Shirona doesn't understand. She doesn't understand the common sense of the world...

"Get out of here!"

"Kill them all! Burn them to death!"

"Wait, we need proof! Cut off their heads!"

"Who cares?! Just get rid of them quickly!!"

The villagers were filled with anger, fear, and malice, their voices rising in a heated argument. But one man, dressed in a more refined attire, intervened, stopping the villagers from killing the mother and child.

"Wait, don't kill them yet."

The man, an exorcist, was more refined than the villagers. He wasn't just some rude outsider like the villagers outside that Shirona peeked at through the cracks of the shoji paper door. He was an expert──an outlaw exorcist──brought in by the village to help. He stopped the villagers from going any further.

"What's going on?! You're from outside, and you're telling us what to do?!"

"That's right! The woman who slept with a youkai is a shame to our village!"

"If word gets out, no one will want to marry our daughters!"

The villagers were about to attack, but the outlaw exorcist's words made them pause. The atmosphere was tense with fear.

"If we kill them here, it'll be a mess. There might be more of those creatures around. We need to get to the root of the problem and deal with it thoroughly... If we let them go, who knows what might happen to your daughters tomorrow?"

The villagers turned pale at the exorcist's ruthless words. It was a terrifying possibility.

"Let's get them to spit it out. Separate them."

"No, Mom! Oh no, Mom!!?"

The outlaw exorcists dragged the mother and child apart, despite Shirona's resistance. The villagers were secretly terrified of the white fox's strength, knowing that if they let their guard down, they might get hurt too.

The experienced outlaw exorcist, who has actually dealt with a few low-level foxes, speaks based on that experience.

"In other words, their behavior is all calculated. They make those who see them feel sympathy, shake their hearts, and disturb their will. They show beautiful smiles and tears with charming expressions. It's all just an act."

Real smiles and tears are often unflattering. If they appear beautiful, it's likely an act──a classic trick used by those in a tight spot to deceive and confuse.

"Now, this one is different!"

"Igyiii!?"

Shirona let out a raw, beast-like scream of pain as the pressure intensified. The ground may have been covered in snow, but the force on her head was far from gentle.

"Did you hear that awful sound? This one isn't acting... probably?"

If it were a fox, it would usually let out sweet screams to evoke sympathy.

"Normally, they hide their true nature with heavy makeup to lure you in. They wouldn't make such a pathetic sound like that."

In other words, this fox is a failure. It's a foolish, naive creature...

"Ha. So, should we just kill her?"

"Idiot. What were you listening to? ...Well, hey, someone put a gag and blindfold on this thing!"

The outlaw exorcist mocks the villager who doesn't fully understand the situation and gives the order. One of the men present quickly carries it out.

"Hey, hurry up and shut her mouth!"

"Fuh, gii... Nnnngh!?"

She groaned as she was suddenly jolted awake and gagged. Despite her attempts to resist, a sharp slap silenced her, and the gag tightened, blindfolding her. Tears and mucus soon soaked the blindfold, reflecting her distress, while her trembling body revealed her overwhelming fear.

"There, that's good. If she can't see people face or hear their voice, no fool will be deceived, right?"

"Indeed..."

"But what do you intend to do, exorcist? If you're going to kill them, a blow to the head would be quicker."

The villager nods, but his doubts remain. Why not kill this fox right away?

"I told you, this monster isn't just one."

The outlaw exorcist then approaches the fox-possession woman, crouching down and asking,

"Hmm. A fair-skinned beauty, aren't you?"

"..."

Grasping her neck and forcing her face closer, his tone is casual but cold. Ine falls silent, overcome by pain and terror.

"Such a waste, don't you think? Especially for someone as beautiful as you. Tell me, where is the monster you slept with? What does it look like? How many are there? What are its features? How many did it squeeze out from your rear? If you tell me honestly, I might even put in a good word for your life."