Tokyo, but I'm a deceitful scumbag.

Huh?

Hideyuki Hoshino heard footsteps approaching.

I looked up and was surprised to find that Ryoko Senjougahara had already walked nearby!

Those white, soft feet in wooden clogs stopped a meter in front of him, their pink toes clearly visible!

hiss……

Although I knew this old monster was no ordinary person, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly...

A charming female voice came from above:

"Where did the little fox hide? It's so hard to find him..."

"I'm a little thirsty..."

"Wow, these peaches are so beautiful! We're in for a treat!"

The next second, Hoshino Hideyuki felt a soft, large hand pinch his head, and his gaze rose higher and higher.

what.

Tooth white (terrible).

Chapter 18 The Fox Doesn't Believe the Cat's Promise

The cherry-pink lips drew closer and closer, until Hoshino Hideyuki could glimpse their barely visible white teeth and the faintly visible, glistening tip of their tongues.

Dah!

puff!

Unable to bear it any longer, he transformed back into human form and rolled to the ground.

Ryoko Senjougahara's lips curled into a smile as she lightly licked the tip of her index finger, which she had just used to knead the peach, and then said:

"I found you."

Hideyuki Hoshino bowed very humbly:

"I have lost. Your skills are far superior to those of this little fox..."

Ryoko Senjougahara giggled:

"You speak so sweetly, but don't expect me to go easy on you because of that!"

cut.

"In that case, let's start the second round."

"Huh? Doesn't the little fox brother need to rest...? Could it be that he finds my words and actions too intimidating and difficult to communicate with?"

Ryoko Senjougahara blinked, then suddenly raised her delicate hand and snapped her fingers crisply.

The next second, she and her clothes transformed into a little girl of about ten years old, exquisitely beautiful and exceptionally cute.

She said in a childish voice, "Then, I can also use this appearance to chat with you, okay? Doesn't it look less intimidating?"

hiss……

It can even turn into a loli!

You shameless cat demon! I don't even turn into a cute boy to fool older women!

Hoshino Hideyuki turned his head away, crossed his arms, and said firmly:

"No need to rest, let's continue playing."

"Alright alright……"

Senjougahara Ryoko waved her hand regretfully, transforming back into her girlish form: "Since my little fox brother wants to go all out, then I'll just have to give in to you~"

She then took Hoshino Hideyuki back to the starting point.

Without a moment's hesitation, Hoshino Hideyuki disappeared back into the peach grove.

He reflected on his actions as he ran.

Let's assume that Ryoko Senjougahara did not break her promise and found him solely through physical intimacy.

This demonstrates that its speed is astonishing, rendering the strategy of taking longer routes to delay the inevitable useless.

On the other hand...

Leaving aside superhuman abilities like a sixth sense or eavesdropping, Ryoko Senjougahara would probably only be able to rely on her traditional five senses to find him.

Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.

Taste and touch are ruled out first, unless there's a bizarre setting where the entire peach grove is part of a yokai's body. If that were the case, Hoshino Hideyuki wouldn't need to consider any strategy; he could just surrender.

Visually and aurally... it doesn't quite seem like it either.

A straight-line distance of 4 kilometers, an area of ​​more than 30 square kilometers, with dense peach tree branches and leaves in between. Even with the eyes of an eagle and the ears of a bat, it would be impossible to find him in just 500 counts.

That's most likely the sense of smell.

Cats are very good at smelling animals.

Thinking of this, Hoshino Hideyuki plucked a hair and used the skill of the Hairy Warrior.

As the fox fur fluttered, it transformed into a red-faced man wearing earth-colored armor.

However, the armor looked tattered and worn, and the man was less than 1.7 meters tall, pale and thin, with a listless expression... like a Ming soldier who was owed pay.

Tsk.

It's probably because the skill level is too low.

There was no other way; the situation was urgent, and even the Ming army, which was owed wages, had to act as Qi Jiguang's army!

Then Hoshino Hideyuki summoned another warrior.

He plucked two tufts of hair of different quantities and gave them to the strongmen, instructing them to run in different directions.

Finally, he chose a direction, ran a few dozen steps, transformed into a mole, and burrowed into the ground.

After about 400 counts.

Just when Hoshino Hideyuki thought victory was imminent.

He first vaguely sensed that both warriors had been eliminated.

Followed by.

Despite having long, slender, and beautiful hands, he dug through the soil at the entrance like an iron shovel, and after rummaging through the tunnel a few times, he was once again face to face with a happy-looking Ryoko Senjougahara.

"You've made great progress, you're just a little short!"

"...Thank you for the compliment."

Hoshino Hideyuki gritted his teeth and managed to squeeze out a reply.

Ryoko Senjougahara covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

The little fox reacted quickly; in the second round, it deduced that I relied on my sense of smell to find people and even thought of using scented fur as bait to lure me away.

Unfortunately, they underestimated me.

My speed in this peach grove is unparalleled; within three hundred counts, I can search every place where you left your scent.

However, digging through the hole was indeed quite troublesome, as it required digging and easily got one's sleeves dirty. Fortunately, the little fox could only burrow for a few dozen seconds at most, and couldn't go too deep...

"So, only one round left~"

"Okay, let's get started now!"

Still not taking a break?

"unnecessary."

After Hoshino Hideyuki set off.

Ryoko Senjougahara closed her eyes with a smile.

The little fox is getting a little impatient.

Is it because they feel they've failed at the last hurdle?

An unstable mindset won't do, otherwise your tail will belong to me.

Oh dear, it's time.

"I'm going to start looking now~"

After shouting, Ryoko Senjougahara twitched her nose and confirmed the source of the three scents.

It seems to be the same strategy as last time: one real body and two fake bodies.

Because you felt you were just a little short last time, you want to take another gamble?

Haste makes waste!

She took a half step, her movements seemingly elegant and slow, but her body vanished instantly, leaving only an afterimage in the same spot.

After counting a dozen or so times, she arrived at the source of the first scent, but it was just a sallow-faced, emaciated soldier.

It's a fake.

No problem, she easily eliminated it, turned around, and quickly found the source of the second smell, which was also a sallow-faced and emaciated soldier.

Then, she found a third source...

He was still a pale and emaciated soldier.

and many more.

Are all three fake?

Ryoko Senjougahara frowned slightly, quickly turned around, and searched all the suspected locations nearby again, but found nothing except a few fox furs!

But how is this possible?

There must be something I missed, there must be...

Yes!