"Hm? Sayu?"
Lin Mo froze for a moment.
Why was his nap-loving disciple sleeping up on Mt. Yougou of all places?
"Lord Sasayuri~"
But before Sayu could respond, another voice sounded instead.
From his chest came Yae Miko's faintly aggrieved tone.
"You're holding one in your arms, but thinking about another, aren't you?"
Lin Mo felt her nails digging into his back and hurriedly explained, flustered,
"Cough—this is a misunderstanding! Sayu is my disciple!"
The moment Yae Miko heard that, most of the resentment in her eyes faded.
"So that's why you know Inazuman ninjutsu… I never expected Sayu's mysterious master to be you~"
Lin Mo puffed up proudly.
"My disciple is great, right? Isn't she adorable?"
"Uhuhu-style ninjutsu…"
A trace of disdain flashed through Yae Miko's eyes.
"A school that only focuses on running away and hiding its presence. And yet Lord Sasayuri looks so smug about it."
"Hahahaha…"
"Sayu is so cute. Every time I think about her going on dangerous missions, I can't help worrying she'll be bullied."
"But with her escape skills and stealth, at least I can be sure she'll come back alive," Lin Mo said earnestly.
"Oh right! That tanuki ninja outfit of hers? I made it myself. Cute, isn't it?"
"So Lord Sasayuri is actually a lolicon?" Yae Miko said lazily.
"I never noticed before."
"Huh?! Lolicon? Where did that come from?!" Lin Mo stared blankly.
"Then perhaps you should think carefully about how you treat everyone."
"When it comes to beautiful ladies, you're all sweet talk and never serious—loving one after another. But with little girls…"
She raised a slender finger and began counting, eyes glinting.
"Klee, Qiqi, Sayu. The look in your eyes when you see them is completely different from how you look at us~"
"That's parental affection! Affection!" Lin Mo corrected forcefully.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Yae Miko's eyes curved with mischief.
"Actually… I can turn into a little girl too, you know~"
Lin Mo froze.
A loli Yae Miko?
Why did that sound… strangely tempting?
No, wait—what am I thinking?!
He hurriedly waved his hands.
"Forget it, forget it. I like you better the way you are now."
"Hmph, that's more like it~"
Yae Miko seemed quite satisfied with that answer.
At the same time, she glanced toward the foot of Mt. Yougou.
A streak of emerald green was rolling rapidly toward Inazuma City.
"If you don't hurry," she said lightly, "your precious disciple is going to get away."
"Huh? Go find Sayu?" Lin Mo asked.
"Mmm. When you were talking about her, your face was full of joy. It's obvious you really want to see her."
Yae Miko had him completely figured out.
"…I do want to see that little rascal," Lin Mo said with a bitter smile.
"But don't we still have something more important to do?"
By "more important," he meant waiting for Lumine to arrive at Mt. Yougou and purify the Abyss corruption beneath the Sacred Sakura.
"It's fine. Leave that to me," Yae Miko said.
As she spoke, she reached out and took the Serenitea Pot hanging from Lin Mo's waist, giving it a light shake before his eyes.
"I'll keep this. When Lumine arrives, I'll handle it with her. You go bring Sayu back to the shrine."
She smiled faintly.
"It's been a long time since I last touched that child's head. I just love the way she wants to resist, but doesn't dare say anything."
"You'll just make Sayu hate you," Lin Mo said seriously.
"It's fine," Yae Miko replied indifferently.
"I only need one person's favor anyway."
The sudden confession made Lin Mo freeze.
As she spoke, her cool fingers brushed his cheek, her beautiful eyes trembling slightly as she leaned closer.
The sight made Lin Mo's heart race all over again.
Just as he closed his eyes, full of anticipation—
"Hm?!"
The cool sensation on his lips made him instinctively open his eyes.
What he kissed was not her lips, but two of Yae Miko's slender fingers.
Her enchanting eyes were filled with a triumphant, mischievous smile.
"Alright~ you've hugged me enough for today. That's as far as we go~"
"I don't want our relationship to progress as fast as a light novel, you know~"
"Go on now. Your disciple is running away~"
"You—!"
Lin Mo felt thoroughly played.
But when he looked toward the mountain below, he saw a green ball wrapped in faint wind-element light rolling away at top speed.
That was Sayu, no doubt.
She was already far away.
Lin Mo could only shoot Yae Miko a gloomy look.
"Just wait. When I get back, I'll make you pay."
With that, he spread his tengu wings and flew toward Inazuma City.
"Make me pay~"
Yae Miko watched his departing figure, her eyes filling with anticipation.
"I'm really looking forward to Lord Sasayuri's 'punishment'~"
Even flying through the sky, Lin Mo still lost track of Sayu.
She had already rolled into Inazuma City, disappearing completely.
Near the city, to avoid being spotted by the Tenryou Commission soldiers, Lin Mo landed and continued on foot, searching the streets.
"If she really wants to hide, even I might not be able to find her…" he muttered.
With anyone else, wandering around a bit would eventually turn something up.
But Sayu was different.
She had slipped into Inazuma City specifically to escape Kujou Sara's supervision.
This kid had inherited his Uhuhu-style ninjutsu.
Her transformation technique wasn't perfect, but unless you looked closely, you'd never notice anything amiss.
Sure enough, just as Lin Mo expected, after searching the city for a long time, he still couldn't find her.
Then—
From the distance came a noisy commotion.
"Don't call me a raccoon!"
"And don't touch my head!"
Sayu's soft but furious voice instantly caught Lin Mo's attention.
"Who's got the nerve to bully my Sayu?!" anger flared in his chest.
But the next voices he heard made him pause.
"It is a raccoon! Totally a raccoon!"
"I told you I'm not a raccoon! Why are you so annoying?!"
"Hahaha! You ran into me first, didn't you?!"
"Come on! Admit you're a raccoon and let me pat your head, and I'll let you off without making you apologize!"
Lin Mo's eyes darkened.
Someone was asking for trouble.
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T/N:
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