In the world of Type-Moon, it all begins with becoming Morgan's husband!

"Lord Abe, I would like to take a bath with you."

"Eh?!"

Shuten-dōji's eyes widened.

She never expected her friend to say something like that at this time.

She never expected Ian to agree so readily.

"Um, okay."

And so, Ibaraki-dōji followed Ian into the bath, and they closed the shoji door, leaving only Shuten-dōji outside.

The little devil was now in a panic.

She abandoned her previous timid demeanor, opened the shoji door, and barged into the bath.

Ian looked at her and asked:

"Shuten-dōji, do you want to come too?"

"No, no!"

Shuten-dōji's face flushed.

"We just felt we should come in and sit down!"

"That's it...I understand."

Ian didn't ask any more questions. He carried Ibaraki-dōji to the bath.

What followed far exceeded Shuten-dōji's expectations.

Without saying a word, Ibaraki-dōji simply lay down on the lap of the Great Onmyoji.

The pool water submerged her small body, as if bleaching her skin a bit.

Ibaraki-dōji, whose head was being patted, appeared very docile.

She easily obtained the magical artifact that Shuten-dōji once thought would be difficult to obtain, and even began to play with it.

Under the watchful eye of the great Onmyoji, this demon from Mount Oe engaged in close combat with his magical artifacts, using curses delivered through his tongue.

Her somewhat clumsy manner suggested that she had no experience in this area.

But a sufficiently diligent tongue makes up for this well—if you don't know which one is right, just try them all.

Shuten-dōji was stunned.

She never expected things to be so simple.

Take a bath with the great Onmyoji, then lie down on his lap and look at him pitifully.

Everything will then develop in the direction you want.

Shuten-dōji's throat moved slightly—some kind of shackle in her mind had been broken.

And at this time.

Ibaraki-dōji stopped for the time being.

She brandished the magical artifact in her hand and extended an invitation to Shuten-dōji.

"Shuten-dōji, are you really not coming along?"

"It's quite interesting to play with Abe's magical artifacts."

"..."

Shuten-dōji could no longer hold back.

Centered on the ritual implement, two little demons stood on either side of the Great Onmyoji.

"Ibaraki, move aside a bit! We can't even find a place to bite!"

"Ibaraki, don't touch that round thing! Uncle doesn't like those!"

"As expected of Shuten-dōji! He even knows about this kind of thing."

"Of course, after all, I'm a genius who succeeds on the first try!"

The little demons sharing the magical artifacts were very happy, and even their tongues became more active.

The two people served the ritual implements, one on each side, and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Ian gently stroked their heads.

Rather than saying he was enjoying the kiss, he was simply enjoying the pleasure of being kissed.

It would be more accurate to say that he was sacrificing himself to provide amusement for Shuten-dōji and Ibaraki-dōji.

This is the reward they deserve for helping me.

but--

Shuten-dōji noticed the concerns in the Great Onmyoji's eyes.

"Uncle, what's wrong with you?"

"Was it because we and Ibaraki did something wrong?"

Ian shook his head.

"of course not."

“You all did a great job—I was just thinking about how to explain the fire at Heian Palace.”

Ian knew that the investigation into that fire wouldn't be so easily dismissed.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu will definitely have to put a lot of effort into this matter.

This is not the situation he wanted to see.

"..."

Shuten-dōji was taken aback when he heard Ian's words.

Then, as if she had made up her mind, she spoke:

"Uncle, we can solve this problem."

"solve?"

"Hmm." Shuten-dōji nodded.

“We… can take on all this responsibility in another capacity.”

154. Shuten-dōji, who wanted to perform well, offered a prayer to the gods to abstain from alcohol (4k)

"Another identity?"

Ian looked at Shuten-dōji, his eyes full of doubt.

"Shuten-dōji, what do you mean by this?"

"Uncle, that means exactly what it says!"

Shuten-dōji, holding the great Onmyoji's magical artifact, answered the question with a flushed face.

"Don't let our current carefree attitude fool you... we have a much more formidable side too!"

"..."

"Uncle, what kind of look is that? Don't you trust us?"

“Of course not.” Ian smiled and shook his head.

"I just think Shuten-dōji is already very powerful as he is now."

"I can't quite imagine what a stronger version of you would look like."

Knowing that this was Ian's praise, Shuten-dōji felt a surge of pride.

"of course!"

"That's a skill that ensures you won't lose to anyone once you show it!"

Shuten-dōji stopped halfway through his sentence.

As a demon who had bitten Ian, she knew that the great Onmyoji before her was no small fry either.

"In short, if it could transform into that appearance—"

"Then we can help the uncle take responsibility for causing the fire!"

Shuten-dōji's meaning is already quite clear.

She intends to take the blame herself.

"..."

Ian gently stroked Shuten-dōji's head.

Her short hair felt as soft as Ibaraki-dōji's, and it also had a faint scent of sake.

That's a change that comes from long-term drinking.

"Shuten, I think we should forget about it."

"Eh?!"

Shuten-dōji raised his head, looking at the great Onmyoji in front of him with a puzzled expression.

"Uncle, why did you give up?"

"Do you think we can't do that on the other side?"

“No.” Ian looked at Shuten-dōji sitting on his lap. “Of course I don’t think you can’t do it.”

"only--"

"Since Shuten-dōji no longer intends to do evil, there's no need for him to bear this guilt anymore, is there?"

“I don’t want others to have any negative opinions about you—this is something you shouldn’t have to endure.”

"Uncle, you..."