Chapter 170: That Fox Demon is From Our World
After handing the troublesome SCP-096 over to Marisa, Haruto departed from the Hakurei Shrine. By the time he returned to the Yakumo residence, the moon was already high in the sky. It was far too late to visit the Scarlet Devil Mansion, so any requests for Patchouli's expertise would have to wait until morning.
The sprawling estate was quiet, with no sign of Yakumo Ran. Haruto took a quick bath, changed into a fresh set of pajamas, and wasted no time crawling into his comfortable bed. He had just pulled the covers up to his chin when a soft, polite knock sounded at his door.
"Who is it?"
"It is Ran. May I come in?"
"Come in."
Haruto sat up, keeping the quilt wrapped around his shoulders. The door slid open to reveal Yakumo Ran, a stack of documents held neatly in her hands.
"Is something the matter?" he asked.
"I have found the information regarding the fox demon who provoked you at noon," she announced, her voice calm and professional. "She does, indeed, originate from the same world as us."
It seemed Ran had dedicated her entire afternoon to this single task.
"What a coincidence!" Haruto's eyes lit up with pleasant surprise. He hadn't expected his ever-efficient shikigami to work so quickly, nor had he anticipated that the other party would be so unlucky as to be a fellow transmigrator.
"This is her photograph." Yakumo Ran handed him the picture along with a file. "She resides in the Jingdong Area of the outside world. Her original name is Su Ning. She achieved the power level of a four-tailed fox ten years ago. Her current age is three hundred and ninety-six years, seven months, and thirty-eight days."
"That precise?" Haruto raised an eyebrow, a little taken aback. The photo was identical to the one Su Ning had sent him, but this version included another young girl who appeared even younger than her.
"The individual beside her is a close friend, also a four-tailed fox. The information Ran acquired was, in fact, obtained from her," Yakumo Ran explained, then added, "These are merely the basic details. Ran has already instructed our contacts to continue gathering intelligence on Su Ning's movements in recent years. A complete report will be presented to you by tomorrow evening at the latest."
Haruto scanned the documents, his eyes narrowing slightly as he absorbed the information. "Tell them not to alert her target. I don't want that girl finding out she's being watched. Once the information is complete tomorrow, I'd like you to take me to the outside world as well."
"Understood." Yakumo Ran gave a crisp nod. Having concluded her report, she turned to leave, but Haruto's voice stopped her.
"Wait a moment."
She turned back, her expression questioning. "Do you have further instructions, Haruto-sama?"
"Come here." Haruto patted the empty space on the bed beside him. Though a flicker of confusion crossed her features, Yakumo Ran obediently sat down. Several of her large, fluffy golden tails curled instinctively around the boy's waist, a familiar gesture of warmth and protection.
"Haruto-sama," she asked, her tone perfectly even, "do you require Ran to coax you to sleep?"
Haruto froze for a second before sputtering indignantly, "Hey! How old do you think I am? Besides, it's not like I'm..."
His voice died in his throat. A sudden, razor-thin thread of killing intent, almost imperceptible, pricked at his senses. His head snapped up, eyes darting around the room with newfound alertness.
At that very same moment, in a room on the other side of the corridor, a pair of purple eyes narrowed dangerously. Yakumo Yukari's grip tightened on her fan, a gap already shimmering at her fingertips, ready to unleash her power at a moment's notice.
"...anyway, I don't need that," Haruto finished lamely, swallowing the rest of his protest. His instincts screamed that a certain Youkai Sage was peeking. Had he dared to finish his previous sentence, he was certain he would have suffered for it. "Just... close your eyes."
"Actually, your age... is still quite young," Yakumo Ran remarked tactfully. Despite her words, she complied, her eyes fluttering shut.
In some stories, a scene like this—a young man and a beautiful woman alone in a bedroom—would be a classic, trope-filled moment of ambiguous tension. Yet Yakumo Ran remained perfectly calm and composed, without a hint of shyness. After so many years, she had long since mastered her Charm technique; it was a simple matter for her to read a person's innermost thoughts through the subtle shifts in their expression.
'Haruto-sama is in high spirits,'she noted internally,'but he holds no stray thoughts.' She was, in fact, rather curious. What exactly did her little young master intend to do?
Suddenly, something soft and warm was gently pressed against her lips.
"Open your mouth," Haruto said.
Yakumo Ran obediently parted her lips. The taste that met her tongue was a faintly salty crust, carrying the aromatic airiness of a freshly made waffle. She bit down, and a thick, sweet red bean paste flooded her mouth, its dense flavor balanced by a satisfyingly grainy texture.
"This is... taiyaki?"
"Correct! And as a reward, you get another piece!" Haruto fed her a second piece, a wide grin spreading across his face. "You can open your eyes now."
Yakumo Ran's eyes opened to see him holding a small paper bag of fish-shaped cakes. As she savored the sweet treat, her fox ears twitched involuntarily. "Did you buy this in the Human Village?"
"From a newly arrived youkai," Haruto explained proudly. "This taiyaki can even increase one's demonic power."
"It is very impressive."
"I originally wanted to buy you some fried tofu," he admitted, "but the shop was closed, unfortunately. I could only bring you a portion of taiyaki. Sorry about that."
"It is no trouble at all." Yakumo Ran shook her head, her expression softening. "The fact that Haruto-sama was thinking of Ran is enough to make me very satisfied and moved."
As she spoke, she naturally took the chopsticks from his hand, picked up a piece of taiyaki, and held it to his lips. Her peach-blossom eyes shimmered with a gentle tenderness.
"You should have some as well, Haruto-sama."
After a brief hesitation, Haruto opened his mouth and accepted the offering.
He had to admit, that little youkai's skill was quite good. The old saying was true—the Hakurei Sieve was real. An ordinary human with no special qualities whatsoever wouldn't have a chance of getting into Gensokyo.
Meanwhile, in the room at the other end of the corridor, Yakumo Yukari's purple eyes had gone wide with indignation as she witnessed the scene through a gap.
Those two were eating snacks behind her back! And they were enjoying them so much!
Seeing only one piece of taiyaki left, Yukari decided to act. A pair of chopsticks suddenly shot out from a newly opened gap, aiming to skewer the last morsel from across the room.
But just as her hand, extended through the boundary, was about to succeed, Haruto's eyes and hands moved even faster. With a flick of his own chopsticks, he intercepted the attack, deflecting the airborne taiyaki. The cake flew in a perfect arc, landing safely back on the plate.
"Damn it!"
Losing all patience, Yakumo Yukari tore open a large gap and prepared to step through. But Haruto had already anticipated this, wisely diving behind Yakumo Ran and wrapping himself tightly in the quilt until only his wide, innocent eyes were showing.
"What are you trying to do?!" he shouted, his voice muffled by the bedding. "Are you attempting to commit domestic violence?!"
He continued to bluster, "Do you have any idea how strict the protection of juvenile youkai is in Gensokyo?! You're still... well, anyway, you have a long life ahead of you, so don't do anything rash! Otherwise, I'll go to the shrine maiden and report you!"
Yakumo Ran's eyelid twitched. Since when did Gensokyo have a Juvenile Youkai Protection Law? How had she never heard of it?
As for Yakumo Yukari, she was so incensed she almost burst out laughing. "Go on, report me to the shrine maiden! When you do, I'll just lock both of you in a little dark room together!"
Seeing the flames of war threatening to engulf them all, Yakumo Ran stepped in to mediate. "Lady Yukari, Haruto-sama is still young. Please, calm down..."
"If he's young, am I not young too?" Yukari grumbled, pouting.
Haruto was about to retort, but Ran firmly covered his mouth with her hand. Her expression never changing, she continued to soothe her master. "Lady Yukari is, naturally, in the prime of her life. But compared to you, Haruto-sama is indeed... somewhat younger."
Haruto's eyes widened in disbelief. That was the most blatant, bare-faced lie he had ever heard.
Yakumo Yukari, however, was clearly pleased. Beaming like a triumphant victor, she gracefully picked up the last piece of taiyaki from the plate and popped it into her mouth.
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