Rowan stood to the side, watching the interaction between Natsume and Nyanko-sensei, and could not help narrowing his eyes.
So this was what it felt like to watch an anime unfold live. It was surprisingly moving.
The two of you only have eyes for each other. Good grief. If either one of you were a woman, I would absolutely support you getting married on the spot.
What a pity.
"Umu. I feel as though you are thinking about something terrible, Praetor."
At that moment, Nero walked over. Seeing Rowan's aunt-like smile, she could not help shivering.
How should she describe that smile? It looked normal at first glance, but the more closely one looked, the more disgusting it seemed.
Natsume and Nyanko-sensei came back to their senses. They seemed to remember that they had not yet thanked their lifesaver, so they hurriedly climbed to their feet, dusted themselves off, and thanked Rowan again.
This time, even Nyanko-sensei seriously thanked Rowan. If not for him, they truly would have been in danger.
At the same time, Nyanko-sensei was reflecting on whether he had become too careless.
He had rarely fought during the time he spent with Natsume, so even his combat instincts had grown rusty.
Furthermore, while strolling around Tokyo today, he had been far too relaxed for someone being hunted.
He had even naively believed that once he brought Natsume to Tokyo, Hagoromo-Gitsune's people would realize the difficulty and retreat.
But reality proved that he had been far too optimistic.
The other side had no martial virtue whatsoever.
Especially Tsuchigumo. That fellow had actually managed to ambush him successfully and heavily injure him in one blow, causing him to suffer a complete defeat in the ensuing battle and nearly be beaten to death.
In the past, that would have been basically impossible.
His vigilance had never been this weak.
But now…
Sigh. A peaceful life was simply too reassuring. It had caused him to regress this badly. If this continued, how could he protect Natsume and his Book of Friends?
Once they returned today, he had to restore his vigilance.
Nyanko-sensei made up his mind. After returning, he would fight Nurarihyon several times, adapt himself to high-intensity combat, and recover everything he had lost.
Nurarihyon: ???
On the other hand, after accepting Natsume and Nyanko-sensei's thanks, Rowan asked curiously, "If I remember correctly, the two of you should live in the countryside. Why are you in Tokyo?"
Hearing this, surprise appeared in Natsume's eyes.
"Excuse me, do we know each other?"
Rowan shook his head.
"We don't, but I've heard that a boy named Natsume lives in the countryside while carrying the Book of Friends. After all, the Book of Friends is quite famous among yokai."
Natsume suddenly understood. The Book of Friends was indeed famous among yokai. Even Hagoromo-Gitsune knew about it, so there was nothing strange about his lifesaver knowing.
He immediately said, "Actually, we came here to seek refuge."
"Seek refuge?"
"Yes. A yokai called Hagoromo-Gitsune wants to seize the Book of Friends. To avoid implicating innocent people, Nyanko-sensei and I came to Tokyo and sought protection from one of Nyanko-sensei's friends."
At this point, a trace of lingering fear appeared on Natsume's face.
"But I didn't expect Hagoromo-Gitsune's people to pursue us relentlessly. If you hadn't appeared, Nyanko-sensei and I might have…"
He could no longer continue. His body trembled slightly.
If Nyanko-sensei had died because of him, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.
"Calm down, idiot."
Nyanko-sensei saw Natsume's anxiety and leapt onto his head, patting him.
"Aren't I perfectly fine?"
After being comforted, Natsume gradually calmed down.
"I'm sorry. I must have embarrassed myself."
"Not at all. Instead, I got to see a beautiful young man who values loyalty and affection."
Natsume's face reddened.
"Beautiful young man…"
No one had ever praised him like that before.
Nyanko-sensei said, "Right. We've been talking for so long, but we still don't know your name, benefactor."
"My name is Rowan."
"Rowan? You're not Japanese?"
Nyanko-sensei was somewhat surprised and carefully looked Rowan over several times.
"I'm not."
Rowan shook his head.
Natsume was also somewhat surprised. This was his first time seeing a foreigner. Rowan indeed carried an indescribable air that seemed somewhat different from Japanese people.
But Natsume could not say exactly what that difference was.
"In any case, thank you for today," Nyanko-sensei said. "If the opportunity arises, I'll have Natsume repay you."
Rowan smiled and did not comment.
Nyanko-sensei pointed at the frozen Tsuchigumo and asked, "By the way, what do you plan to do with this guy? His relationship with Hagoromo-Gitsune runs deep. If you kill him, Hagoromo-Gitsune will bear a grudge against you."
"If you don't want trouble, you can leave him to me."
They had already offended Hagoromo-Gitsune over the Book of Friends, so adding one more grievance did not matter.
"That won't be necessary. This guy is important experimental material. I can't give him to you."
Rowan calmly said, "As for offending Hagoromo-Gitsune, he isn't the first of her subordinates I've captured, so it doesn't matter."
Nyanko-sensei could not help widening his eyes.
"You mean you've captured other subordinates of Hagoromo-Gitsune? Who?"
"Kidomaru, Ibaraki-dōji, and Kairouta."
Nyanko-sensei fell silent.
He knew all three of those yokai. They were all frontline fighters under Hagoromo-Gitsune.
Yet Rowan had captured all of them. Judging by his words, they had even become experimental specimens.
How should this be described?
This was no longer a question of merely offending Hagoromo-Gitsune.
He had offended her to the point of death.
"Amazing."
Nyanko-sensei involuntarily raised one paw toward Rowan. There was no technique in this praise, only pure emotion.
If Hagoromo-Gitsune learned about this, she would probably fight Rowan until one of them died.
However, considering that Rowan's two shikigami alone could defeat Tsuchigumo, this man was clearly not simple either.
An idea suddenly surfaced in Nyanko-sensei's mind, and he immediately voiced it.
"Hey, I have a proposal, Benefactor Rowan. Let's form an alliance."
"An alliance? You want to join forces with me against Hagoromo-Gitsune?"
Rowan guessed Nyanko-sensei's intention.
"That's right."
Nyanko-sensei nodded.
"You captured Hagoromo-Gitsune's subordinates, so she won't let you go. Meanwhile, Hagoromo-Gitsune wants to steal the Book of Friends from Natsume and invade Tokyo, so she won't spare Natsume either. That makes us natural allies."
Rowan nodded in agreement and was just about to speak when he sensed several powerful auras heading toward them.
One of the auras was quite familiar.
Gojo Satoru.
He did not recognize the remaining ones.
Rowan swept over the unfamiliar auras with farsight magic and froze slightly.
These unfamiliar auras all belonged to familiar people.
More accurately, they were people Rowan recognized.
One was a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair wearing a sailor uniform—Yomi Isayama.
Another was the beautiful Kagura Tsuchimiya, who was inseparable from Yomi Isayama and gave off an unmistakably intimate atmosphere with her.
The last was Yomi Isayama's fiancé, Noriyuki Iizuna.
If nothing unexpected had happened, these people had probably been attracted by Tsuchigumo's battle earlier. After all, during his battle with Rowan's shikigami, Tsuchigumo had unleashed powerful yokai aura several times without the slightest attempt to conceal it.
Anyone with even a little ability should have sensed that powerful yokai aura.
It was perfectly normal for them to rush over and investigate.
Unfortunately, they had come too late.
The battle was already over.
"Someone is coming. Should we talk somewhere else?"
Rowan turned to ask Nyanko-sensei.
Nyanko-sensei also sensed the approaching auras and nodded.
"No problem."
Rowan casually opened an air door and brought Natsume and Nyanko-sensei back to the apartment where he lived.
As for Tsuchigumo, naturally, he was brought back as well and handed over to Medea and Serie.
…
Not long afterward, Yomi Isayama, Kagura Tsuchimiya, Noriyuki Iizuna, and Gojo Satoru arrived one after another.
All they saw was a street in complete ruins.
"Well, well. Looks like we came too late."
Gojo Satoru crouched atop a utility pole and looked down at Yomi Isayama and the others.
"Huh? Aren't you the people from the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division? You came too."
Yomi Isayama raised her head and looked at Gojo Satoru, then quickly bowed.
"Good morning, Gojo-senpai."
Although the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division and Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical High School did not belong to the same system—one dealt with demons, monsters, ghosts, and spirits, while the other dealt with cursed spirits—
both were government organizations. They encountered each other frequently and maintained a fairly good relationship.
More importantly, Gojo Satoru was the strongest jujutsu sorcerer. One could even say he was the strongest person in Tokyo.
As the ace of the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division, she naturally could not neglect courtesy.
"You're as polite as ever, Yomi-chan."
Gojo Satoru jumped down from the utility pole and landed lightly beside Yomi Isayama. With an envious expression, he said, "If only those students of mine were as polite as you."
"How about it? Why don't you enroll at my school? I'll help you become a jujutsu sorcerer, Yomi-chan."
The moment he said this, Kagura Tsuchimiya hurriedly grabbed the corner of Yomi Isayama's clothes, afraid that this awful adult would abduct Sister Yomi.
Gojo Satoru naturally noticed and said with a smile, "Of course, Kagura-chan can come too."
Kagura Tsuchimiya's eyes widened.
Not only Sister Yomi, but he wanted to abduct her as well.
"Gojo-senpai must be joking."
Noriyuki Iizuna could not simply stand by and watch a white-haired man take away his fiancée. How would that be any different from being cuckolded right in front of him?
He hurriedly stepped in front of Yomi Isayama and Kagura Tsuchimiya and said, "Yomi is currently the ace of the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Division. Many matters in the division cannot function without her."
"If she leaves and the division ends up collapsing because of it, the higher-ups will hold someone responsible."
Gojo Satoru laughed loudly.
"It's fine, it's fine. Since I'm the strongest, the higher-ups should be willing to give me some face. What do you think, Yomi-chan?"