Why can't humans do it too?

Having visited many times before, Yukari Yakumo was quite familiar with Sull and Shinko's home. However, this time, the blonde banshee's face did not display her usual unchanging fake smile. Instead, it showed obvious displeasure, anger, and other negative emotions.

She completely disregarded the boiling water that Suer had just boiled. As soon as she sat down at the table, Yakumo Yukari couldn't help but gulp down three cups of hot tea, even finishing off the tea leaves at the bottom of the cups, as if she were tearing up and swallowing those guys who made her so angry.

"What's wrong? You can't even keep your composure like this, that's not like you at all." Su Er picked up the teapot and shook it, the last drop of tea dripping from the spout was its last remaining tea.

Compared to the old demons who witnessed Amaterasu splitting the nine-tailed fox, Yukari Yakumo was undoubtedly a young demon with lofty ambitions. However, even though she was a young demon, in Suer's memory, she should have been the kind of person who could keep things to herself—so what exactly triggered her?

I'm a little curious; it would be quite interesting to see what could break this pretentious succubus's composure, making it a perfect dessert after a meal.

"...I was just a little annoyed by those guys," after a few cups of hot tea, Yukari Yakumo's brain finally cooled down a bit. She knew that her reaction just now was a bit out of line... No, she couldn't help herself when she thought about it. "I thought that a youkai like Yuuka Kazami was already difficult to communicate with, but I didn't expect that compared to those guys, Yuuka Kazami is as smart and friendly as a rabbit!"

The blonde, purple-robed banshee couldn't help but lightly tap the table.

"Pfft...cough cough, what I mean is, what did they do?" Sul asked, pursing her lips as she suppressed her laughter.

“Most yokai simply can’t understand what you’re trying to say, not even things that are directly related to them… Meat, killing, eating, you’ll never hear a fourth thing from them!” Yakumo Yukari sighed wearily.

"Perhaps there's also sleeping?"

"...Then add sleeping—the fifth thing!"

It was rare for her to stand up to Suer. The real Yakumo Yukari killed with her eyes, but Suer was not angry about such a small matter. Instead, she happily added some water to the teapot and put it on the stove.

“Go on, I’m actually quite curious about the general intelligence of monsters,” Xin Ke asked, tilting her head as she stepped out of Su Er’s body.

“Their general intelligence level is that they generally have no intelligence!” The blonde banshee simply lay down on the table, her hands outstretched. It was clear that she had exhausted too much energy recently, to the point that she didn’t even have the strength to play mystical games. “To be honest, just getting them to obey and go to the places I sent them to and not to speak to those humans on their own has almost exhausted all my energy.”

"It's like teaching a bunch of annoying insects not to fly into the fire, or making their shallow brains understand that you have to use utensils to eat instead of just crawling on the ground and gnawing away," Xin Ke nodded and said fluently, "I understand."

"Yes! That's right! That's exactly it!" Xin Ke's affirmation, like that of a kindred spirit, finally gave Yakumo Yukari a glimmer of hope. With a sincere look of seeking guidance from a senior, she earnestly asked Xin Ke, "So how can I solve this problem?"

“Uh, maybe you should improve the education level of the yokai population? I mean compulsory education or something, which could effectively reduce the illiteracy rate among yokai,” Su Er suddenly interjected, feeling more and more that his idea was perfect as he spoke. “Look, it concerns the healthy growth and future development of thousands of yokai. If you succeed, you will also gain huge prestige among yokai. It’s a great achievement for the present and future generations.”

"Then you can give yourself a title, like the King of Wisdom, the Prajna Demon, or something... How about that? Isn't that great?"

Snapped!

Suer snapped his fingers.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Storm Is Brewing

Suer thought he was a genius.

Oh, I must clarify, he was absolutely not infected by Xin Ke; Su Er just genuinely thought his idea was brilliant.

"Then your slogan will be: education should start with children... little demons, to build a powerful nation of highly intelligent demons. What do you do? The more I think about it, the more perfect it seems," Su Er suddenly became excited and chug a cup of hot tea.

“…Thank you, but how about we talk about Kozumo?” Yakumo Yukari said with a twitching mouth and a blank face.

"Huh? Isn't this a good idea? Or are you not satisfied with the title? I'm not really good at naming things, you can change it to something you like, like Demon President, Demon King, Demon Sage, Demon... Now we really should talk about Izumo Province, what's the situation there?"

Naturally, he was looking for fun. The more Su Er talked, the happier he became, and the higher his voice rose. But at the end, his voice took a sudden turn because Xin Ke's finger was poking his waist. It was his waist, not his kidney.

"...To put it simply, the changes in Yamato have reached Izumo, and they are preparing to take this opportunity to completely destroy everything in Yamato." At this point, Yukari Yakumo recalled the fact that the two youkai in front of her, who called themselves humans, knew nothing about the relationship between gods, and couldn't help but feel a little troubled. "Where should I begin? This matter is also related to the establishment of Yamato several hundred years ago."

"Let's start from the very beginning. Didn't I mention before that Izumo was a country established by the gods of Susanoo's lineage? In short, later, Amaterasu sent her grandson, the one who has now turned into a star, to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni to rule everything. Because in the eyes of those guys in Takamagahara, Ashihara no Nakatsukuni should be ruled by the descendants of Omikami, and the descendants of Susanoo were directly classified by them as ferocious native gods." Yakumo Yukari smiled contemptuously as she said this.

"Izumo Province occupies the most fertile part of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, and it is still ruled by its founder, Ōkuninushi. Of course, they will not easily give up their territory to the gods of Amaterasu. In fact, as far as I know, Ōkuninushi tried everything he could think of at the beginning, but unfortunately, he could not stop the gods of Amaterasu. Even his eldest son was killed in the water."

"There was no other way. Seeing that the country he had worked so hard to build was about to be seized by the shameless people of the Amaterasu lineage, the Great God of the Ninja Kingdom had no choice but to reach out to the branches he could grab when he was forced to do so—those ancient monsters, and the monsters that sprang up when the Nine-Tailed Fox was born."

"So that's why you were vague when you mentioned Izumo before?" Suer suddenly interjected.

"After all, it is a kingdom of yokai, although it does not fit the image of a yokai kingdom in my mind," Yukari Yakumo shrugged and said, "but over the centuries, no matter how it has continued, yokai have become an indispensable part of the entire Izumo Kingdom."

"At the same time, thanks to the help of the original yokai, Izumo was able to survive the covetousness of the gods of the Amaterasu lineage. The gods of the Amaterasu lineage then took the opportunity to establish Yamato in a slightly barren area to the west, and the hatred between the two countries has continued to this day... until the destruction of Yamato before," Yakumo Yukari said, realizing something was wrong.

The Yamato Kingdom is now a historical term. At least until the solidified Milky Way begins to flow again, and the gods of Takamagahara can once again descend into the underground and rebuild the Yamato Kingdom, this kingdom has become something that no longer exists.

"What's the situation in Yamato now?" Suer asked, curious about the new look of the place that had lost its biggest underground problem that had entrenched itself for hundreds of years.

"It's not good, it's a complete mess," Yukari Yakumo said briefly. "The demons have practically turned the place upside down. They've finally lost what was weighing them down, and now they're doing all sorts of things. Some demons want to rebuild Yamato and find a way to contact Takamagahara, while others simply want to be monsters who do whatever they want. And their strength isn't bad either; they're even more united than ordinary monsters."

"..."

"And what about the humans there?" Xin Ke asked before Su Er could even finish speaking.

"It's hard to make a specific comparison, after all, those demons aren't exactly benevolent people, but in my personal opinion, it's still easier for them to survive than before... Besides, the demons need manpower to do some chores, while humans are generally thin and small with many bones. From this perspective, once they no longer have to have their blood drawn regularly or be captured to make medicine, their numbers should surge," Yukari Yakumo said with a smile.

“…Let’s continue talking about the Kingdom of Chu,” Su’er said with a sigh, not knowing what to say.

“Ah, then it’s Izumo,” Yukari Yakumo nodded. “In short, Yamato suffered a heavy blow. Even though Okuninushi is an indecisive person, he knows that he should seize this opportunity to wipe out Yamato completely. And that’s the purpose of the army outside.”

The expedition of Izumo.

"...What are your plans to do with the nine-tailed fox?" After thinking for a moment, Suer asked.

Suer didn't believe that the nine-tailed fox wouldn't know about such a big thing that happened in Yamato. After all, the Yasakani no Magatama, which was given to the granddaughter of Amaterasu by the goddess Omikami, was still hanging around her neck. Suer simply didn't believe that the nine-tailed fox would completely sever her relationship with Amaterasu Omikami.

If she really did that, the power attributes she displays would definitely undergo a fundamental change, instead of the power of the sun that has remained unchanged for hundreds of years.

“Then it depends on her choice,” Yakumo Yukari suddenly smiled meaningfully. “If she insists on standing on the opposite side of Izumo… then we will have to do something.”

Suer had already realized that if the nine-tailed fox really made that choice, the blonde banshee in front of her would probably be so happy that she would do somersaults—one less stumbling block to her great ambitions.

Suer seemed to see a war that was bound to cause a huge upheaval, between Izumo and that nine-tailed fox... Wasn't that fox already gathering its subordinates?

Did she foresee this day coming?

A war that seemed avoidable but was in fact unavoidable plunged this already chaotic world into even greater chaos.

Chapter Forty: Transformation

More death, more killing—that's what the demons crave.

Along with the demons born at the same time as the Nine-Tailed Fox hundreds of years ago, many more demons have been born in this vibrant world over the past few centuries. Many demons have died in the war between Izumo and the Nine-Tailed Fox, and even humans, whether from Izumo or Yamato.

Yet, amidst this death and slaughter, the resentment and bitterness of those dying give birth to new monsters, right on their corpses... This world is truly wondrous.

Without lingering long with Suer and Shinko, Yakumo Yukari downed two more cups of hot tea and then took her leave. Youkai who are engrossed in their work are always busy. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the army of Izumo happened to be marching on the road to Suer and Shinko's place, Yakumo Yukari wouldn't have had the extra time to explain these things in order to prevent any foolish youkai or anything from provoking Suer's anger.

Although it wasn't blatantly displayed on her body, Suer clearly saw two words in every word and action of Yakumo Yukari—corporate slave.

As a youkai with the ability to traverse space, Yakumo Yukari was already much more respectful in front of Sull. She even walked to the door on her own two legs, and only stepped into her gap after politely saying goodbye.

Those malicious eyes still existed in the pitch-black gap that didn't absorb any light. With Yakumo Yukari's final wave of her hand, even the gap disappeared, leaving only the familiar scene that Sull was already tired of seeing.

Spring has not yet fully arrived; when the breeze blows through the valley, a noticeable chill can still be felt.

"She's testing whether you're involved... in this war between Izumo and the remnants of Yamato, or rather, with the Nine-Tailed Fox."

Xin Ke's voice came from behind. Even though Su Er's current body didn't need it, she still put a coat on him.

"Really?" She wanted to express more surprise, but Sul felt little emotion. "That's truly terrifying~"

The bamboo forest rustled incessantly as the wind blew through it. A light snow had fallen a couple of days ago, making the snowdrifts, which had accumulated throughout the winter and hadn't completely melted, even whiter, adding a touch of melancholy to the late spring season.

“Our understanding of this world is still too shallow,” Suer suddenly said as a falling bamboo leaf landed in front of him. “The sudden movement of that nine-tailed fox, everything in Izumo, gods and monsters ruling together… Ha.”

He was sneering.

"So...you want to get closer?" Xin Ke asked, wrapping her arms around Su Er's neck from behind and resting her chin on his shoulder.

"..."

Suer did not answer; he seemed to be making a decision.

"Couldn't contain your curiosity?"

"Did the struggle for supremacy outside ignite your ambitions?"

"Want to demonstrate your strength?"

Without waiting for Suer's response, Xin Ke simply whispered in his ear, counting away intermittently.

"I remember that the lifespan of your forest elves is generally seven or eight hundred to a thousand years, right?" Before Xin Ke could throw out any more outrageous guesses, Su Er suddenly asked, "Compared to humans, you are undoubtedly long-lived. Don't you get bored during such a long time? Or what do long-lived beings do when they are bored?"

"Of course, we should start a war!" Xin Ke answered without hesitation, without even needing to think.

The answer was so real and so true that Suer was momentarily speechless.

"...Then there must be times when there's no war, right? During those brief lulls in the fighting?" Suer still wanted to try and struggle a bit more.

“Of course, it’s about doing academic research, publishing new papers, and researching more powerful weapons,” Xin Ke said naturally, without needing to think.

Suer finally realized belatedly that he seemed to have asked an extremely foolish question. In the endless war of the last world, if one stopped constantly striving to make oneself or the entire race stronger, then it would probably not be long before the entire race was wiped out.

"Ah, thinking about it now, that kind of life was really fulfilling... Whether it was the life of researching the inactive divine essence or the simple wish of trying to develop spells to overpower those moles, it was all wonderful," Xin Ke sighed deeply. "As soon as I entered the magic workshop, time seemed to speed up. I couldn't remember the exact time, and I couldn't even remember small things like eating."

"You can't even remember to take a bath?"

"You've gotten bolder... Su'er?"

Boom!

The consequence of daring to speak the truth was that Suer's head was flicked repeatedly.

After laughing and joking around with Xinke, Suer soon found himself sitting cross-legged on the bamboo corridor with Xinke in his arms, watching the sun set.

"I seem to be finding it hard to stand my current life."

As the sun's incandescent white color transformed into a warm, dazzling golden hue, Suer suddenly murmured.

"Thinking about it carefully, putting aside the changes I had to make because of my circumstances, I'm just a teenager in my twenties—I've never seen life after I'm thirty, let alone forty, fifty, or sixty..."