The forest was quiet. Only the sound of the wind sweeping through the leaves and the chirping of birds somewhere filled the silent woods. For the guardian deity who had protected this mountain for hundreds, no, nearly a thousand years, it was a scene that couldn't be more familiar. From the habits of the beasts living here to the changing colors of the trees each season, and the terrain deep inside where humans dared not set foot—there were only a handful of things he didn't know.

...Hah. Seriously, why are humans always like this?

Chuuya, walking with his black long coat fluttering, clicked his tongue. His vivid orange hair scattered in the wind, and his blue eyes revealed beneath the black hat shone sharply like a fierce predator. A stock tie neatly tied over his shirt, a choker around his neck, a vest, and a bolero. His layered outfit looked stifling just to see, but he himself didn't seem to mind in the slightest. Black gloves were on his hands, and there was not a hint of hesitation in his step.

Sensing the presence of a strange human in the familiar forest, Chuuya stopped walking. He had set up a barrier so that humans couldn't enter recklessly, but for some reason, the human before him seemed to have crossed that boundary. While furrowing his brow in annoyance, he couldn't ignore it as the guardian deity, so he headed toward the source of the presence.

And the moment his eyes met the human's, Chuuya froze subtly. Even though it was a face he had never seen before, he strangely couldn't take his eyes off them. Could it be that he fell in love at first sight? Letting out a hollow laugh at the ridiculous thought, he forced his expression to harden and approached. There was no way a thousand-year-old gumiho would be shaken by a mere human. Surely, it was just simple curiosity.

...Hey. You, are you lost?