“Nggh.”

When I opened my eyes, Hongbi was sprawled asleep on my belly, showing his yellow stomach.

Both of us hadn’t slept for two days, so it made sense.

It seemed he’d really been yearning for the touch of the girl he’d known when he was little.

After he realized his own poison was gone, he refused to leave the top of my head, and even when he slept, he did it like this—on my stomach.

I stared at him: that smooth, glossy, yellow, squishy belly that filled my vision.

When I poked it lightly with a fingertip, a damp, soft springiness pressed back against my finger.

‘Kyah. Soft.’

Yeah, that’s the appeal of amphibians.

Moist, and above all, soft to the touch.

When I kept tapping at his stomach just to feel it, he started scratching his own belly with his forefoot.

I wanted to tease him a bit more, but suddenly a sharp pain pricked my ear.

He’d bitten my ear to “fix my habits,” leaving a mark.

So pain-driven lessons work well for anyone, huh?

Without realizing it, I pulled my hand away from his belly.

If I kept going, he’d probably bite my ear off.

That was when—

Sensing I was awake, Hye-rin came closer.

She brushed my forehead and said:

“You’re awake?”

“Yes. How long was I asleep?”

“About five shijin.”

Roughly ten hours of full sleep.

Normally, in the Realm of Manifestation, I wouldn’t need that much rest, but I must’ve burned through a lot of mental strength running away from Hongbi.

It wasn’t that Hongbi himself was fast, but the stress of knowing he could vanish if I slipped up had drained me.

Since he was sleeping soundly, I thought about just lying there for a bit longer, but soon Hongbi woke up.

—Kwaah. 『Yawn. Slept well. So-ryong, you’re awake too?』

“Yeah, just now.”

—Kwaah. 『If you were awake, why didn’t you wake me?』

“You looked so peaceful.”

At my words, he bobbed his head, then crawled up onto my head and tapped me with his forefoot.

—Kwaak. 『Well, I’ve slept plenty, so let’s go now. To your home, I mean. You said there are lots of friends there, right? I’m looking forward to it.』

The moment he woke up, he wanted to leave.

He remembered the promise he’d made: that if I subdued him, he would follow me.

That was why, even while biting my ear yesterday in anger, he’d told me not to do that again.

He had already accepted it: since he’d submitted, he would go with me.

So of course, once the “biting incident” was over, he was ready to join us—and now, as soon as he woke, he wanted to depart.

Really, such an impatient creature.

I turned to Gun Hye-rin and said:

“Hye-rin, should we get going then?”

“I grilled some meat, so let’s eat first. I also found something for Hongbi.”

I’d noticed a good smell drifting from the campfire—she must have prepared food.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything in two days.

“Thank you.”

I ate the venison Hye-rin had caught, while Hongbi munched on some eggs she’d gathered for him.

From his explanation, they were a kind of termite—an auxiliary energy source.

Not necessary for survival, but if he didn’t eat them, he kept craving them.

We had just finished eating.

The whole time, Hongbi never got off my head, so I asked:

“Now that we’ve eaten, should we head out?”

—Kwaah? 『What else is there? It’s not like a frog has anything to pack.』

To him, since frogs don’t have luggage, what was there to wait for? Let’s just go.

I grinned and pointed toward a mountain a few li away.

“Don’t you want to stop by there first?”

I pointed toward the house where the girl who had raised Hongbi used to live.

That direction.

At my question, Hongbi let out a low hum. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

—Kwaaah. 『Mm...』

He must have thought of her.

Since he didn’t answer right away, I asked Cho for help to scout it out from the air.

“Cho, could you take us up? We need to find the house where Hongbi’s sister used to live.”

—Trrr. 『Yes, Daddy.』

I wanted to help him see her again, so he could make peace with his heart.

So he could untangle the knot in his chest.

Just because his poison was gone thanks to me didn’t mean his wounds had healed.

Carrying that kind of thorn in your heart is painful, isn’t it?

Still, I had a small worry.

What if, after reconciling with the girl, he decided not to follow me? That would be troublesome.

‘But a spirit beast won’t go back on his word, right?’

If he made peace and then refused to come with me, it would be inconvenient, but after hearing his pitiful story, I couldn’t just abandon him.

‘Well, if worst comes to worst, I’ll just take the girl in as a Tang Clan retainer and bring her along.’

With that in mind, I put Hongbi back on top of my head, and Hye-rin and I climbed onto Cho’s back.

Moji and Soji, who had been clinging to a nearby tree, quickly scrambled onto Gun Hye-rin’s back.

—Myumyum. 『Home now.』

—Myuu. 『Home.』

The two seemed excited to be heading home.

Catching the cool wind as we soared up, I asked Hongbi:

“That way, right?”

—Kwaah. 『Y-yes.』

So he didn’t say no.

After flying a bit in the direction he’d given, a village came into view below us.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° place Hongbi had described was now a small village.

Judging from the herbs spread all around, it looked like a mountain village that lived on foraging medicinal plants.

Looking down at what had once been just a house but was now a whole village, I asked Hongbi:

“How much time has passed?”

—Kwaah... 『Well, I don’t know.』

‘So more time passed than I thought?’

Humans have calendars and astronomy, but spirit beasts don’t.

So he had no idea exactly how much time had gone by. But if a single house had grown into a whole village, it hadn’t been a short span.

“Cho, hold on a bit.”

I hesitated. If I showed him the girl’s grave, it might only deepen his wound. Should I take him there, or should I just say the house was gone and head back to the Beast Palace?

At that moment, Gun Hye-rin asked me through the group chat.

『“Master, what’s wrong?”』

“Ah, I wanted to help Hongbi untangle his knot, let him meet the girl so they could clear up their misunderstandings... but it looks like a lot of time has passed. If she’s dead, it might only wound him further, so I was debating what to do.”

『“Ah, I see.”』

At my words, Gun Hye-rin gazed silently down at the village below.

Then, spotting someone down there, she seemed to recall something and spoke.

『“That person? Ah! That reminds me, the name of this village... Master, you don’t need to worry. I know this place. Let’s go down and find the village head.”』

“The village head?”

“Yes. What you’re worried about won’t happen here, so you don’t need to be concerned.”

From the way she spoke, this must have been a village she knew—since the Heavenly Demon Cult’s secret base was nearby, she was familiar with it.

And she definitely seemed to know something.

Unable to resist, I asked her:

『“What is it? Sounds like there’s something interesting. What is it?”』

Gun Hye-rin grinned, as if thinking she’d finally caught me in a trap.

『“Heh heh. Finally, my moment! It’s a secret.”』

Her words felt like a slap to the back of my head.

So this is what they call mirror treatment?

I couldn’t believe I’d fallen for it.

As I was standing there with a look of having taken a direct hit, Gun Hye-rin asked Cho:

“Cho, set us down over there.”

—Trrr. 『Understood, Mom Hye-rin.』

We quickly descended and landed in a forest near the village.

Then Hye-rin told Hongbi to hide inside her arms.

“Quickly, hide here.”

At that, Hongbi tilted his head.

He could just hide inside my arms—why did it have to be hers?

—Kwaah? 『Why? I want to hide in So-ryong’s arms.』

“If a man’s belly bulges, people suspect he’s hiding something strange inside.”

—Kwaah? 『But they wouldn’t say that about a woman?』

“That’s right.”

—Kwaah? 『Why not?』

“There’s a reason. Just hide for now. Would you like it if you caused trouble for your master?”

The conversation went through Cho’s translation, but at the last question—would he want to cause me trouble?—Hongbi hopped and burrowed straight into Hye-rin’s embrace.

Climbing right into her arms.

And only after we entered the village did I realize why she’d insisted he hide with her.

“Lady Gun!”

“Village head, how have you been?”

“Well enough, thanks to you! And have you perhaps run out of herbs?”

“No, I still have plenty.”

She seemed very close to the villagers.

The village head even acted as if he owed her a great debt.

Later, I learned the reason through the group chat: since the Heavenly Demon Cult was hiding nearby, they’d gone out of their way to earn favor in the surrounding villages, so no one would grow suspicious.

In winter, they lent out grain. They bought herbs from the villagers. In short, they carefully tended the people’s goodwill so they wouldn’t be suspected.

“And the gentleman beside you is...?”

“Ahem. He is my lord.”

“Y-your lord? Oh my, a pleasure to meet you! I’m Sogyu, the headman of Hong Village. So you’re Lady Gun’s husband. I look forward to your guidance.”

“A pleasure to meet you.”

“My goodness, if you held a wedding, you could have told us! I didn’t even know Lady Sogyu had been wed... Hm? Now that I look, her belly seems a little... gasp! Don’t tell me!?”

“Ahem. Well, that’s how it is.”

So that was why she wanted Hongbi hidden in her arms—she was playing at being pregnant with my child.

‘But... instead of cosplay, she could just make it real... why bother with the act...’

It wasn’t like she couldn’t just do it for real. I didn’t see the point in pretending—until suddenly, from our earlier conversation, something clicked.

“Wait, Hong Village?”

The name sounded familiar.

Didn’t it feel like it had been named after someone?

At my question, the headman nodded.

“The name is a bit odd, isn’t it?”

“Yes. I thought maybe there was something red around here.”

I had a hunch, but played dumb and asked. Usually, villages are named after geographic features.

But the headman shook his head.

“No. This village began from a single house built by my mother and my grandfather, an herb gatherer.

They were the last survivors of a family framed as traitors, and only narrowly escaped with their lives. People slowly gathered around their house, and it became a village.

The name was chosen by my mother. It has nothing to do with the land itself.”

“Then?”

Scratching his head, he answered:

“She never told me the details, but she said when she was young she accidentally let a friend slip away.

That friend’s name was Hong. Out of longing for her, she named the village after her.”

‘Ah. So this is what Gun Hye-rin knew.’

It wasn’t only Hongbi who had longed for someone.

Keeping a calm expression, I asked:

“Would it be possible to see her grave?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, since I’ve married my wife, it’s only proper to pay respects to the village’s elder, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you needn’t go that far...”

The headman demurred, but eventually guided us.

The woman’s grave lay on a sunny hill overlooking the termite mound where Hongbi had lived.

“Here it is.”

We had just bowed deeply before the grave when a villager ran up, telling the headman a wagon wheel had broken and they needed his help.

Being a mountain village, they usually bought goods from larger towns nearby. On the way back, the cart wheel had broken, so they needed the headman’s skillful hands.

“My apologies, I should at least offer you tea.”

“It’s fine. We’ll be leaving soon anyway. Please, go help them.”

Once the headman departed, only we remained.

Hongbi crawled out from Hye-rin’s arms and stood before the grave.

“When people die, they’re buried like this. Looks like your friend longed for you until she passed away.”

At my words, he stared at the grave for a long while before slowly speaking.

—Kwaaah. 『So it wasn’t only me who longed.』

Then, after gazing a while longer, he climbed onto my head and tapped it lightly.

—Kwaah. 『That’s enough. Let’s go.』

A happy ending. The kind I like.