Why can't humans do it too?

Chapter Thirty-Six Troubles

Instead of filling this underground world with soil and rocks from other places, Sull chose to maintain its unique appearance. He simply erected four huge stone pillars to support the two underground worlds, allowing sunlight from the outside to shine in through the holes at the edges.

If I want to travel here again in the future, this might be a unique tourist attraction. As for where the demons living here and the humans of this world will go next, that's something Su'er has no intention of worrying about.

Following the massive stone pillar back to the surface, Su'er immediately saw some Yamato people who had already run out of the city and were now prostrate on the ground, heading this way. Occasionally, he could also see people still running out of the city gate in the distance, but they had only just stepped out of the gate when they saw Su'er and his group, and hurriedly lay down on the ground.

His forehead, which had been repeatedly struck the ground, was now bright red. He felt no joy of being revered, and Suer remained silent.

"I remember~, when we first met, you referred to yourself as a 'person,' right?" Yukari Yakumo peeked out from the gap and said with a smile, "Do you still refer to yourself that way now?"

“…I am naturally human,” Sue replied after a moment of silence, meeting Yakumo Yukari’s gaze.

"Ah~, so you did such a magnificent thing... you must be angry about everything that the people in Yamato have suffered, right?" She shrank even further into the gap, and only the top of Yakumo Shiro's head above her eyes was visible outside, not even her nose could be seen.

Undoubtedly, she had become extremely cowardly, but the blonde banshee knew she had to voice these questions, these seemingly provocative words.

“...just to make myself feel better,” Sue replied calmly.

"So you're saying you're indeed unhappy because of everything you've seen along the way? May I ask why?" Yukari Yakumo's voice came through the gap, sounding somewhat muffled, but she seemed to be getting excited. "Is it because they're also called humans?"

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense. Even the humans who were crawling on the ground closest to where Suer and the others were stopped from banging their heads against each other out of instinctive fear.

Staring at the gap in Yakumo Yukari's hair, which now only revealed a wisp of golden hair, Suer felt an itch to strike, but his reason told him that if he actually made a move now, it would make him look like he had truly lost.

Moreover, this slippery banshee is probably already prepared to escape, and with her ability to subvert concepts, it's not certain that we can kill her.

Looking at the gap so narrow that not even a hair could be seen, Suer rolled her eyes in annoyance and left without ever glancing at the ground.

--------------

Even Suer himself never expected that his trip to Yamato would end in such a way, without any dramatic ups and downs or any shocking events... Well, the monster was indeed shocking, but the reason for its shock was only its ugly and disgusting appearance.

I wonder how those guys in Takamagahara will deal with that monster? What kind of expressions will they have on their faces?

The final signs of the meteorite's disappearance were naturally unusual.

It was undoubtedly not a very good sight. The indelible power originating from Amaterasu on that monster proved their completely opposite attributes, which must have been an unacceptable depravity for the gods.

While chuckling to himself about the grumpy faces the gods in Takamagahara would make, Suer slowly slid into the pool—a small hot spring located to the right of the bamboo house.

This is a hot spring that he found by following the earth's veins after returning from Yamato to relieve his depression and find something to do. The bottom and edges of the pool are covered with fine stones. To avoid the risk of being spied on by the sky, a small bamboo house was built to protect the spring inside.

Although the bamboo house has a skylight on the roof, which can be opened to enjoy the starry sky while soaking in the hot spring at night, Suer felt that he was not interested in doing so until those annoying guys disappeared from the sky.

"What? Are you still bothered by what that monster said?" Amidst the rising steam from the hot spring, Xin Ke leaned against the edge of the pool, just like Su Er, her arms outstretched along the pool wall, looking extremely relaxed.

"Ah, more or less. It would be a lie to say I'm not conflicted," Su'er sighed, sinking deeper into the pool. "Can't you just behave yourself?"

Compared to his slightly conflicted feelings, Xin Ke was completely unaffected. Ever since she revealed herself, she had been constantly pinching the flesh on Su Er's leg with her toes underwater... It was quite painful.

She was as mischievous as an eighteen-year-old girl.

"Refuse~", in a singing voice, Xin Ke casually bent her straight and slender left leg, her toes sliding down Su Er's leg. Her knee, which was slightly exposed above the water with her movements, was still translucent, but the sensation was not diminished in the slightest.

slap~

Like a mantis entering predatory mode, Suer suddenly grabbed Xinke's restless long leg, but unfortunately, it didn't seem to do anything to improve his situation.

"I don't know why you're reacting so strongly. Isn't it obvious?" Xin Ke simply changed to a side-lying position, her toes idly scratching at Su Er's body. "Whether it's appearance, body composition, or even the smallest details, aren't you completely different from them?"

"Not to mention things like racial origins, one evolved slowly from animals over a long period of time, while the other was clearly born from gods... They have absolutely no similarities."

“You are a completely different race from them. Even though you both bear the title of human, you are different. It won’t change just because you pronounce them the same,” Xinke said, flicking Suer’s ear. “Don’t be silly, you idiot. There are only two of us in this world, so it’s enough for you to pour all your overflowing love into me.”

"...Why does this sound so off?" Su'er said, somewhat speechless, as she pulled Xin Ke into her arms. Xin Ke's smooth skin was exactly the same as before. "How did it escalate to the level of love? I'm not that conflicted."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Euphemism

"Because I'm so worried you'll do something stupid~", Xin Ke said with a sigh, like a mother who is disappointed in her son. "Although it may sound harsh now, the truth is that you and Rikuko and the others are not even of the same race, but you could say that you've given everything for them, right?"

"I just hope you won't do anything stupid again."

Don't waste your own flesh and blood, turning yourself into a scarred mess.

Cherish yourself more.

She swallowed the rest of her sentence and carefully observed Su'er's eyes, but unfortunately, before she could see much, the man had already pressed her against his chest. In the humid steam, Xin Ke could still hear his strong and regular heartbeat.

Calm and composed without a trace of panic, unhurried yet possessing boundless power.

“It’s still very different,” Suer whispered, running her fingers through Xinke’s hair as she leaned against his chest. “That’s also for my own sake.”

“…Alright, then let’s just say it was for your own sake in the last world,” Xin Ke said, her fingers poking at Su Er’s chest. She sighed helplessly. “So it won’t be like that in this world, right?”

“The physical bodies in the real world are different, and even the illusory thoughts and wills are different. They can’t understand what you say, and you can’t understand what they say… Never mind, just remember this.” Xin Ke tried to raise her head but was forcibly pressed down on her shoulders by Su Er. She could only do her best to analyze.

"Don't worry, I know everything," Su'er said with a light laugh, taking in Xin Ke's unusually anxious expression.

Xin Ke's worry for him was so adorable, so adorable that he couldn't help but want to hug her tighter. But unfortunately, even though he had simulated the physical sensation to the limit, Xin Ke was still made of condensed energy.

As Suer rubbed against her like she was hugging a cat, the forest elf with pale golden hair simply dispersed its semi-transparent form and then re-condensed in the pool on the other side.

"Do you know what? In the past, any disrespect towards a genius like me would have resulted in having my extra parts cut off and being sent to be a slave," Xin Ke said with a forced smile, one hand covering her face, which still stung as if Su Er was still rubbing against it.

To paraphrase Xin Ke, her powerful threat would have terrified Su Er in the past, but now it only makes this man's eyes light up.

"You're shy!"

"You're definitely shy, aren't you? You're definitely shy!"

Suddenly, he sat up cross-legged in the pool, and Su Er kept nodding to confirm his answers, without even needing Xin Ke's reply.

This is a rare and magnificent sight.

Wow!

Before Suer's excited mind could cool down a little, Xinke had already used physical means to try to cool him down—could this scalding hot spring really be considered cooling?

After some playful fighting, the water splashed out of the hot spring soaked the entire area around the pool. The two of them leaned against the edge of the pool as if they were tired from playing, enjoying the tranquility after their exercise. Even the heavy feeling that had been weighing on Suer's heart had dissipated considerably.

"Now it's clear why that nine-tailed fox left Yamato, isn't it?" Su'er said slowly, inhaling the fragrance of bamboo.

“We’ve only figured out part of it. After all, it was hundreds of years ago that the Heavenly Grandson began to fall into monster ways, and it was more than a hundred years ago that the Nine-Tailed Fox stole the Eight-Foot Magatama and left Yamato. In addition, since she had been quiet for more than a hundred years after leaving Yamato, why did she suddenly become active again, start looking for subordinates and strive to become the ruler of all monsters? That’s a mystery,” Xin Ke slowly listed a series of unanswered questions.

“Yes… there are too many mysteries,” Suer replied, squinting. “To this world, we are ultimately just guests… passing by, yet slightly lifting the surface…”

For Suer and Xinke, everything that happened in Yamato was just a spontaneous trip. Even though it turned their world upside down for the humans and demons of Yamato, Suer didn't feel it was real, as if he were watching children playing house.

He is probably different from the past, and it cannot be explained simply by saying that he had murderous intent while holding a sharp blade.

Sleepiness gradually rose in my mind, and my words became increasingly fragmented. Slowly, the hot spring returned to silence, with only the occasional sound of the wind blowing through.

--------------

The nine-tailed fox wandered through the Central Plains of Reed Plains, subduing those yokai who were willing to follow her and killing those who were unwilling to submit. She had no specific direction, sometimes heading north, sometimes south, and sometimes east or west, but overall she was indeed moving eastward.

The monsters she had subdued followed behind her, strolling across the land in a grand procession, indeed displaying the imposing presence of a monster lord.

As one of the world's top yokai, Sull believed that she would naturally learn about the great changes that had occurred in Yamato. At the same time, she was also very curious about what this fox, who was sent to earth with the mandate of Amaterasu Omikami but had betrayed this mission, yet whose power showed no signs of corruption, was trying to do.

If they continue heading east at the current pace, it won't be long before Su'er sees the fox right at his doorstep.

Suer made this judgment, and Xinke made the same judgment. However, reality seemed to be playing a joke on them. The first thing to appear at their doorstep was not the nine-tailed fox leading a group of demons, but another group of troops coming from the east...?

It should probably be an army—if these physically weak and mentally exhausted humans can really be called an army.

In this era, there would naturally be no uniforms or anything that could identify factions. This allowed Suer to determine that they were not refugees fleeing from disaster, but rather because many of them carried sharpened wooden spears, or even fewer spears at all, with more short, sharpened wooden stakes held in their hands... or perhaps they were not sharpened at all.

"What is this?" Raising an eyebrow, Xin Ke stared at the ground behind these humans, which was covered by dark clouds. If you really want to figure it out, perhaps that was the real 'army'.

Hordes of monsters.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Yukari Yakumo bangs her head on the ground.

It was truly a diverse collection, greatly expanding Suer's knowledge of the rich variety of monsters at a glance. Putting aside those monsters that resembled humans, they were already much more normal than their other counterparts.

Many more monsters seem to grow randomly, just like creatures from the deep sea. They grow in all sorts of bizarre and uncontrolled ways, and their very appearance has the power to stop children from crying at night.

From this perspective, Yukari Yakumo and Yuuka Kazami are simply the most aesthetically pleasing youkai to Sull.

"It should be Izumo Province, right?" Suer guessed cautiously, but there was probably no other answer.

Gods and demons rule together—this is the most essential summary of the country that Suer obtained from Yakumo Yukari, a country that is at odds with Yamato.

As for Yukari Yakumo, she repeatedly beat around the bush, unwilling to say more, as if she had some unspeakable secret.

"Hmm~, look over there, isn't that where our acquaintance is?" Xin Ke said with a smile, pointing in a direction.

Following Xin Ke's directions, Su Er easily found the blonde woman in the purple dress. She was standing in front of a group of monsters, with another monster wearing silk clothes beside her, who looked to be of high status... or perhaps a god?

Seemingly completely integrated into the group, Yukari Yakumo appeared to be quite prestigious among the youkai. As she pointed and gestured, the youkai began to move at her command, arriving at the edges and corners of this 'army'.

"How should I put it? Perhaps this is what they mean by 'heaven rewards diligence'?" Su Er chuckled. "People with dreams, or rather, monsters with dreams, are working hard. It's so inspiring."

It only took a little thought to guess why Yukari Yakumo was there. After all, the direction the army was heading was too obvious. They were heading towards Yamato Province, and along the way they would undoubtedly encounter the Nine-Tailed Fox, who was heading east. For Yukari Yakumo, who aspired to become the ruler of all yokai and realize her grand ambition, this Nine-Tailed Fox was her greatest enemy at the moment.

Not surprising, not surprising at all.

She really tried so hard.

Suer had no intention of going to find Yakumo Yukari. He believed that it wouldn't be long before the blonde banshee would come to the bamboo house on her own. After all... she should know that this area was his territory.

Suer's judgment was undoubtedly correct. In fact, on the very first night after the army arrived, before it was even completely dark, Yakumo Yukari knocked on the door of the bamboo house.