My Daughters Are Regressors

Rummage— Rummage—

Brigitte rummaged through her bag and pulled out an oddly shaped container.The container was about the size of a palm, and when she twisted the lid open, it contained a green cream-like substance that smelled quite nice.

"Green tea-flavored ice cream?""No, this ointment is made for injuries by venomous creatures like scorpions, spiders, or bees."

So it was an ointment.Brigitte put some ointment on her finger and applied it thoroughly to the raccoon dog's body. It must have hurt quite a bit when the ointment touched the wound, as the raccoon dog whined a bit, but did not run away.

Suddenly, I was reminded of YouTube videos I had seen before.They were videos about people rescuing animals in distress, like those caught in traps or pinned under trees.The wild animals rescued by people, whether they understood the emotion of gratitude or not, would often linger around their rescuers before disappearing.Of course, there were also those with strong wild instincts who would run away immediately.I wonder how this raccoon dog will react?

While I was imagining such things, the raccoon dog that had been whining for a while went limp.

"It seems to have fallen asleep from exhaustion. By the way, Judas, didn't this raccoon dog speak like a human earlier? I think it asked for its mom."

It seemed Brigitte had also heard the raccoon dog open its mouth and speak earlier. I thought I had gained the ability to understand animal language or something.

With that feeling, time passed and morning came.Naru woke up and was startled to see the small raccoon dog.

"It's a raccoon dog! Small! It's sleeping! So cute!"

Whoosh—Naru hugged the sleeping raccoon dog to her chest.Because of that, the raccoon dog opened its small eyes and struggled in Naru's arms as if startled.

━What?! Who are you people! Let me go! Let me go!

"It's a talking raccoon dog! Is it Naguri's friend?"

Naru seemed to find this talking raccoon dog fascinating. I was even imagining how much money we could make if we sold this talking raccoon dog to a circus.Then the raccoon dog asked.

━That's my mom's name. Do you know my mom?

"I do! Naguri is a huge raccoon dog! She saved Naru! And we're on our way to meet her right now!"

So the name of the enormous raccoon dog was Naguri.I thought the name was quite intuitive in many ways. I wonder who gave it to her? It doesn't seem like a name Naru would have given.Did she name herself? ¹

Soon, the small raccoon dog wriggled out of Naru's arms.Then it leaped into the air and with a Pong—, it made a small dust cloud and caused a commotion.When the dust cloud disappeared, the small raccoon dog's form was gone, and a strange child's appearance was visible. It had short black hair like Naru's, with occasional white streaks that looked like highlights.Would its age be similar to Naru's?

"Shape-shifting!"

Naru shouted as if very surprised.I was a bit surprised too.In this continent, animals that had accumulated a lot of karma could transform into a human form, but seeing it directly was quite a rare sight.

For example, there was the Great Master whose true identity was a snake large enough to eat humans. This small raccoon dog doesn't seem to be as bad of an entity, though.Then, the raccoon dog spoke.

"My name is Nari! I'm the daughter of Queen Naguri who ruled this vast raccoon dog forest. I've come to inherit this forest from my mom!"

It was a strange story.Soon, Naru also shouted loudly as if she had remembered something.

"Oh, holy shh...! Naru also came to inherit this forest!"

Naru inheriting the forest?This was the first time I'd heard of this.Wasn't our goal just to let Naru meet the Gigantamax raccoon dog of this forest?

When I looked at Brigitte, she also shook her head as if this was news to her.Naru then added.

"There's no time! Naguri was very sick! If Naguri disappears, this forest will... be ruled by terrible hornets and mosquitoes and venomous insects! Then, people will be in danger too!"

It was an interesting story in many ways.However, the small raccoon dog 'Nari' frowned upon hearing Naru's words and shouted, "I'm the one who's going to inherit the forest!" before jumping away somewhere with a Kick—.Seeing this, Brigitte hurriedly packed her belongings.

"Let's follow her! She might know where the giant raccoon dog is!"

I see.We too ran wildly through the forest, chasing after the small raccoon dog girl Nari.

Whether she deliberately chose difficult paths to shake us off or not, we encountered quite steep valleys or cliffs, but it didn't hinder our pursuit.Finally, we saw a cave with a large entrance pierced into a cliff.Nari swiftly entered it, and we followed suit.The cave floor was covered with grass and full of vines, and glowing stones were embedded in the ceiling at regular intervals, making it as bright as day.

After going like that for a while, we saw something curled up and sleeping at the end of the cave.

Snore— Snore—It was truly an enormously large raccoon dog.Naru had said that the raccoon dog she met was as big as an elephant, but seeing it myself, it was even bigger than an elephant.Its size was so big, it was hard to believe. Would it be around a two-story building?

"It really seems to be the master of this forest. I think it's similar to the Great Master we met back then. It's an incredibly large raccoon dog. I've never seen such a large animal before."

I didn't miss how Brigitte's navy blue eyes sparkled with interest and curiosity as she said this.It must be an amazing animal even from Brigitte's perspective.

"At this level, rather than calling it an animal or a living being, it might be better to describe it as a part of nature itself. It must be very old too. But it looks quite troubled...?"

Swish—Brigitte approached the large raccoon dog and touched its fur with her palm.It looked warm and soft.

"Try touching it."

At Brigitte's words, I also reached out and touched it."It really is warm and soft."

"...No-Not my side! I mean this raccoon dog!"

Raccoon dog and side. ²I thought Brigitte’s wordplay was quite funny when it happened.Perhaps because Brigitte made a fuss, the giant raccoon dog slowly opened its eyes. Then it took a deep breath with a Seuuuu— sound, which was enough to make our hair flutter.

"Mom! I'm here! It's me, Nari!"

Pat—The small girl, Nari, shouted as if she had been waiting for this moment.Then the enormous raccoon dog moved its head as if looking around.

From this behavior, I could notice that this raccoon dog was blind.It looked around as if it couldn't see the child right in front of it.Soon, Naru also approached the large raccoon dog.

"Naguri! Naru is here too! Naru doesn't have much time left either... I came to fulfill the promise of inheriting this forest! I'm glad it's not too late!"

Swish—The large raccoon dog got up from its place and leisurely walked towards the outside of the cave.

Bloom—Rustle—Then, grass began to sprout where the raccoon dog's large feet touched, and flowers bloomed where its breath reached.It was a wonderful sight.

Soon, the large raccoon dog came out of the cave and stood between the trees and fields.And then it raised its head high as if looking at the sky and felt the wind.

Swish— Swish— Swish—A giant raccoon dog in the windy forest.It was a very magnificent sight.The giant raccoon dog spoke.

━I don't have much time left. The poison I suffered from fighting Yanlunga of the southern forest has ravaged my body. If I die, Yanlunga will take over the forest...

The raccoon dog's size was enormous, but its voice was as weak as the sound of wind brushing against the branch of a decaying old tree.If you listened, it must be because of the poison.Soon, the giant raccoon dog spoke to Naru.

━Naru... I want to pass this forest on to you as promised. I have no time left now. My body will soon return to Mother Nature...

Swish—The large raccoon dog blew its breath on Naru.Soon, the raccoon dog girl Nari, who had been listening to this conversation, shouted as if startled.

"Mom! I've come back! Pass the forest on to me! I'm your daughter! I can do well! I can drive away Yanlunga alongside those nasty mosquitoes!"

━No.

"Why!"

━You don't have the qualifications to rule this forest... Because half of your blood is human. Nari, you won't be able to handle what happens in the forest...

"Ugh...! But, this one is human too! I inherited half of the forest's blood, but this one is just human! I can do better! I'll do better! I'm 6 years old and I've even learned shape-shifting!"

Pat—The small raccoon dog girl Nari disappeared into the bushes as if unable to contain her anger.Soon, when her footsteps could no longer be heard, the large raccoon dog sighed with a "Huuu..."Just as I was imagining that there must be various circumstances, Brigitte stepped forward.

"You're Naguri, right? I heard that you helped our daughter Naru a few months ago. Though it's late, I wanted to express my gratitude."

━That's right. I helped this small child. I thought my daughter had returned, but I was surprised to find a small human girl. But gratitude is not necessary... You also helped my precious daughter...

I see, it means we're even for saving Nari, who was dying from a bee sting last night.It was a reasonable exchange.Soon, Brigitte asked a few more questions.

"I heard you're going to pass the forest on to Naru. But Naru is human, isn't she? Wouldn't it be better to pass it on to your daughter, Nari? Is the forest's power balance shifting now?"

They said that the north of this forest is ruled by this large Naguri, and the south is ruled by Yanlunga, a spiritual being who is the ruler of various venomous insects.The two forces formed a tense balance, but after Naguri suffered a major injury and began to die, that balance started to crumble and the venomous insects started running wild.

━Naru is a talented child... The same goes for Nari...The large raccoon dog curled up in a spot where the sunlight fell well.

And then it slowly took labored breaths.

# # #

━Actually, Nari was good at everything... She wasn't like a raccoon dog... It was because the child's father is human...Naguri slowly explained.

A few years ago, Naguri fell in love with a human man who entered this forest.I was curious how a raccoon dog and a human fell in love, but considering that even the Great Master could transform into a very beautiful woman, well, it wasn't really a problem.

Anyway, the child born from that union was Nari.She said she's 9 years old this year.

━Nari learned everything quickly and was a curious child... So I became a little scared. If I educated this child... I felt like she would grow up to only become a raccoon dog...

Naguri said that's why she sent Nari to the world of humans.Even for a spiritual being, Naguri, who had lived in the forest all her life, thought it would be difficult to teach the intelligent Nari.But as we just saw, Nari eventually returned to this forest and tried to inherit the position of the forest.Brigitte seemed to have a question about this fact and asked.

"Then why don't you pass it on to Nari? She wants it herself."

━The position of the forest's master is difficult... Because you have to strive every day for survival... Thinking about how desperately I've lived, I don't want to make Nari go through such hardships...

The large raccoon dog said this while following the empty air with her blurry eyes that couldn't even focus. It was a gaze that seemed to contain some longing.

━And actually, I've admired humans since a very long time ago... I wanted to live as an ordinary human... So... I want Nari to live as a human, not as a raccoon dog...

It was a strange story that sounded familiar from somewhere.It seemed the same for Brigitte, as she had a very thoughtful expression on her face. When Naru was reflected in Brigitte's eyes, Naru clenched her fist.

"Anyway, Naru will inherit the position of the forest as promised! What do I need to do?"

━The old emperor bee Yanlunga has... a young princess who was born a few years ago... Though young, she has a fierce personality... The venomous insects are running wild now because of her... That one...

"I see, I need to defeat her! Alright!"

Pat—Without even listening to the full story, Naru drew her butterfly knife and disappeared in the direction where Nari had vanished.What an impatient personality!Now only the strange parents remained.

I then took out some medicinal herbs from my pocket.It was a medicinal ingredient that Ilgast said he had brought from the distant Palchen region in the east not too long ago.According to Ilgast, this new medicinal ingredient was effective for detoxification. I wonder how well it will work.

1. 너구리(Naguri) is what common raccoon dogs are called in English.2. 너**구리** (Naguri) 옆**구리** (Side)