Chapter 214: Tamamo-no-Mae Is Finally at Ease
Human prejudice is like a towering wall—this was something Tamamo-no-Mae could fully anticipate.
Before being sent here by the Distortion, she had just severed her tails, and her Celestial Bone had not yet fully settled. In such a state, she had long harbored such thoughts.
At times, she even felt that perhaps these could not be considered prejudices at all.
After all, although she and the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox were now entirely separate beings, she had inherited the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox's power, Celestial Bone, treasures, knowledge, and even aspects of the other's Divine Grade in myth and historical identity…
She was like a second-generation Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox.
Though she held none of the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox's intentions and was far less powerful, having inherited so much from the other, it was only natural that she would also inherit… a somewhat tarnished reputation.
The Tamamo-no-Mae of today was not the one who had lived countless years after severing her tails.
She was merely a fox who had severed her tails just a few years prior.
If the one before severing her tails was called the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox, and the one from the moment she completely severed her tails onward was called Tamamo-no-Mae—then she was even younger than Little Kiara!
Though her inherited knowledge from the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox gave her considerable experience, when it came to matters like this, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
It could be said that all of Tamamo-no-Mae's unease stemmed from this reputation inherited from the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox.
Whether it was wanting to find a lover, occasionally feeling the urge to cause mischief, or sometimes wanting to unleash her wild side under the sun—all these thoughts arose from this unease.
If she were truly a child, she might have voiced this unease, and with the guidance of a kind soul, it could have slowly dissipated.
But unfortunately… she was not.
She had inherited the knowledge of the Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox, making her far too mature. Thus, she would not voice this unease, only burying it deeper and deeper, resorting to increasingly outrageous actions to conceal it.
As for her innermost self…
Perhaps even she saw herself this way.
Once again—
—a born sinner.
Having been reminded of this thought by Noah's earlier words, Tamamo-no-Mae made an effort to calm her emotions while comforting Little Kiara before heading out.
Later, when she appeared at Noah's temporary base in the Heian Capital with a perfect, practiced smile, she discovered—her reputation had indeed spread far more widely than she had imagined!
Since Noah had occupied the Heian Capital and opened a portal to guide other Enforcement Knights and the remaining soldiers to first seize the Heian Capital and then all of Japan, there were quite a few people at this base.
These people said nothing in front of Tamamo-no-Mae—this was the discipline Noah had imposed on the expeditionary force.
But with Tamamo-no-Mae's hearing, she could easily pick up their whispered conversations.
"Hey, have you heard? The King captured a fox spirit in the Heian Capital this time—the very Su Daji that the Adjutant Officer recently added to history!"
"What, Su Daji! I remember she was the demon queen from the east, right? According to the history supplemented by the Adjutant Officer, King Zhou of Shang was bewitched by her, wasn't he!!"
Noah was destined to become the king of the world.
So after Manaka Sajyou arrived, the first task Noah assigned her was to fill in the gaps in history.
Moreover, because Noah was expanding outward, when training and building the Grand Crown's expeditionary forces, Noah needed them to understand history.
Only by better understanding the land you are about to set foot on can you truly grasp what its people need.
Only then can you recognize that even the smallest civilization before you has a history.
Only then can you show greater respect for the land beneath your feet.
Noah never denied that a ruler of a nation represents the pinnacle of what a thief can achieve.
But a nation-stealing thief and a treasure-stealing thief are fundamentally different in scope!
Otherwise, even if you conquer the entire world, others will not see any distinction between you and a common highway robber.
Then you have not stolen a nation—only its treasures.
A nation-stealing thief can forge the Grand Crown to become the king of the world, for by then everything in the world is already yours—you are rightfully the king, and the world acknowledges you as such.
But a treasure-stealing thief, even after plundering the entire world, remains forever a thief, for nothing truly belongs to you. Even if you seize it, it is something you have taken from others—it remains someone else's possession. You are rightfully a thief, and no matter how much you claim to be a king, the world will always see you as a thief.
Thus, even among these expeditionary forces, some were aware of Su Daji. After all, they studied history in chronological order, and Su Daji's history was learned quite early. Then, through casual conversations, word spread, and everyone came to know.
When Tamamo-no-Mae heard these voices, the thoughts that had just been stirred within her grew even more unsettling.
However, she noticed that even in private, none of those whom Noah referred to as the Enforcement Knights were gossiping—only ordinary soldiers were speaking.
In fact, the Enforcement Knights would occasionally intervene to stop them if their conversations went too far.
It was as if they were a force within the force.
Seeing this, although Tamamo-no-Mae still felt uneasy deep down, the forced smile on her face grew noticeably brighter.
"So that's how it is... At least on the surface, Noah has done everything he can. In that case, staying here might not be so bad."
"At least he's striving to secure my position."
She felt she had seen through Noah's side clearly.
She also believed Noah had already done everything he could for her, handling all that needed to be done, and doing so discreetly in private without showing it openly. It seemed he had no intention of using this to win her favor.
She might even have been a little moved...
Then, just as she was about to go directly to Noah and give the only answer she had, she suddenly heard such a voice.
"Have you heard? His Majesty went to see that Su Daji—and because her power was too great, to prevent her from causing large-scale destruction, he placed her within the ranks."
"What... the other party is that powerful? Even His Majesty has to be cautious!?"
After this voice emerged, the situation from earlier immediately changed.
"Of course! I heard that when His Majesty met that Su Daji and asked for her name, she said she was called Tamamo-no-Mae. Then His Majesty saw she had eight tails..."
"Let me tell you, I heard internal news from the Magecraft Corps—this Tamamo-no-Mae grows stronger with each additional tail, up to nine at most. At that point, she might even surpass gods!"
"And now she has eight tails—tell me, isn't she powerful?"
"Of course, His Majesty is undoubtedly invincible. But if this eight-tailed fox were to run around causing destruction, it would definitely be troublesome, and casualties would be heavy!"
Hearing such voices spreading wider and wider, Tamamo-no-Mae halted her steps.
The current situation was actually no different from before.
The soldiers were still whispering ill of her in private; the Enforcement Knights still weren't involved. But... no one was speaking of the infamous Golden-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox anymore, or rather, no one cared anymore!
So even though the situation remained unchanged, with only the topic shifted, Tamamo-no-Mae felt considerably more at ease...
At this moment, she felt as if she understood Noah's purpose.
But she didn't dare be entirely certain.
Until she heard...
"Ah, what His Majesty said really makes sense. Reputation or not, it's all fake—only power is real! That's the true threat!"
"Think about it—that Scourge of God, Atti... ah, sorry, His Majesty said her actual name is Attila. Look at Attila—she was originally the Scourge of God!"
"Just saying that title could scare a child to tears, and saying it again could make the crying child stop from fear!"
"But now, isn't such a person honestly leading the expeditionary force to expand territories? You haven't heard any bad news about her, have you? And all those things spread by the infamy of the Scourge of God—aren't they all gone now?"
"Only her power is what we've truly witnessed!"
"So I think this Su Daji... ah, Tamamo-no-Mae is just like her!"
Hearing this argument, the others quite agreed.
"After all, if you talk about Su Daji's infamy, in the west it's certainly not as fearsome as the Scourge of God, nor as close."
"So look at Attila now, then look at the newly joined Tamamo-no-Mae."
Soon, the soldiers stopped discussing those messy things altogether, even starting to talk about other matters and bursting into laughter.
Tamamo-no-Mae heard such voices, then looked toward the Heian Capital where Noah resided—originally the palace where the Heavenly Fox dwelled—and her gaze gradually grew complex.
"So this was your purpose... To think I've been completely seen through?"
In the past, at least Tamamo-no-Mae herself was very certain that if someone saw completely through her, her unease would truly erupt.
...
She stood before the imperial palace, fully aware that even without seeing Noah, her unease had been completely seen through by him. Yet now, she felt no trace of unease at all—even the forced, hollow smile she had worn gradually melted away.
As Tamamo-no-Mae ascended the steps toward the main hall, the smile on her face grew increasingly genuine and radiant.
From the moment she severed her tails until now, she had never felt such profound peace.
And so.
When Tamamo-no-Mae met Noah again this time, she did not rush forward or display any overly dramatic gestures.
She simply walked calmly up to Noah, met his gaze, and then, in an even more composed tone, spoke words similar to those she had uttered before.
"I'm going to cling to you, you know~"
This time, Noah did not evade her, nor did he change the subject or respond with the same coldness as before.
Upon hearing Tamamo-no-Mae's words, he simply met her gaze and then smiled.
"Then cling away. The house is big—there's always room for one more chair."