Shota is surrounded by monsters!

There's no way around it.

Hearing Shota make a sound, Hagoromo Gitsune turned around and looked at him with a surprised expression, saying, "A yokai?"

"Hmm, a monster..."

Even with his mouth sewn shut, it wasn't too difficult for Shota to express himself in a muffled voice. Moreover, he was extremely curious about the "Hagoromo Gitsune" before him.

Hagoromo Gitsune gave Shota a serious look. Cats with horns on their heads and fierce-looking faces do indeed resemble monsters.

Why...why were you treated like this?

"He lost the fight, so he got arrested."

After replying nonchalantly, Shota tentatively asked, "Who... are you?"

"I……"

Hearing Shota's question, Hagoromo Gitsune was clearly stunned. She opened her mouth several times, unsure how to answer, and finally could only reply softly:

"I...don't remember."

Hagoromo Gitsune looked troubled.

Sure enough... this guy's situation is completely different now than before.

"Do you know me?"

"do not know."

Shota answered decisively, "I was also captured. I've only ever seen you sleeping in the water. So I don't know who you are."

"is that so?"

It seemed that Shota's answer did not satisfy Hagoromo Gitsune at all. She sighed slightly and said, "Are we the only two here?"

"Occasionally other people will come over, but you're mostly asleep."

Shota continued to lie, saying, "It's made me so lonely that I don't even have anyone to talk to."

"sorry."

Hagoromo Gitsune said "I'm sorry" with a hint of apology, leaving Shota speechless for a moment. The change in her was too great. The Hagoromo Gitsune before was cruel and fierce, but now she exuded the aura of a gentle older sister.

The key point is that this older sister is also very beautiful.

More importantly, this older woman wasn't wearing any clothes.

If it were Hagoromo Gitsune like this, Shota wouldn't mind marrying her at all.

"Ah, ah, no need to apologize. Just spend a few minutes talking to me when you have time in the future. It's that simple."

Shota said something with a slightly unfocused look in his eyes, while Hagoromo Gitsune suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled.

"what happened?"

Shota didn't find anything funny about what he had just said.

"No, I'm sorry."

Hagoromo Gitsune shook her head slightly, stopping her laughter, but a smile still lingered on her lips as she slowly said, "Just listening to you talk, I always feel like you're a child..."

……

It's just that the size has decreased and the tone has become cuter.

"Could you tell me your name?"

"Shouta."

"Shota-chan? It's a very ordinary but nice name."

Hagoromo Gitsune nodded, added the character "酱" (chan) to Shota's name without permission, and then said with a gentle smile, "So, what should we talk about? Does Shota-chan have anything to say?"

"...Well, there's nothing in particular I'd like to talk about. But, you really don't remember anything about your identity?"

"..."

Seeing that Hagoromo Gitsune had fallen silent, Shota had no choice but to change the subject, saying, "It's okay, let's change the subject."

"No, I seem to have a vague recollection of it."

Hagoromo Gitsune frowned, as if deep in thought. After a while, she spoke in a resentful tone:

"The mountain flowers bloom seven or eight times, but pitifully, not a single seed is borne..."

As she spoke, two lines of clear tears streamed down Hagoromo Gitsune's cheeks. She didn't know why she was sad, but when she subconsciously recited that line of poetry, endless sorrow welled up inside her.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Shota sensed a violent fluctuation in Hagoromo Gitsune's mental state. Could it be that another Hagoromo Gitsune is returning?

"nothing……"

Hagoromo Gitsune quickly shook her head and wiped away her tears. What was wrong with her? She couldn't remember anything, yet she suddenly burst into tears in front of a stranger.

"If you have something upsetting to say, it's better to talk about it."

Shota could only offer this consolation, and Hagoromo Gitsune nodded in agreement, saying, "I don't know why... but I... I really want a child..."

Do you want a child?

Shota was shocked by Hagoromo Gitsune's words.

What does it mean if a woman tells a man she wants a child?

The essential prerequisite for having a child is intercourse, specifically unprotected intercourse, and this process of procreation is repeated over a long period of time...

Shota glanced instinctively at Hagoromo Gitsune's alluring body, and thought, "This...that..."

If the other party really wants a child, it's not impossible for me to cooperate, right?

It's only natural to help others and solve their problems.

"Um... not now..."

"I'm sorry... I momentarily imagined you as my own child."

Hagoromo Gitsune's apology silenced Shota.

"Ha, ha ha, ha ha ha..."

Shota chuckled awkwardly, and just as he was about to say it was okay, he sensed a threatening aura.

—Um, um, Mom…

—Don't say more, if you dare...

Look, there's still a decent mother inside me, how could I possibly hide my identity from her and treat myself like someone else's child?

"...I don't know why, but I feel a little tired..."

Hagoromo Gitsune's sudden whisper eased Shota's embarrassment, but she paid no more attention to him. Instead, as if drawn by the black pool, she went back in.

"If... there's still a chance, could you say a few more words to me?"

After sitting back down in her original spot, Hagoromo Gitsune suddenly spoke up and made a request to Shota.

"Ah, sure."

"Thanks……"

Before she could finish speaking, she slowly closed her eyes.

If she wakes up again, she won't be herself anymore.

Shota also remained silent, closing his eyes to rest. About thirty minutes later, some movement began to occur around him.

"Lord Hagoromo Gitsune".

That disgusting Jizo opened the door and walked in, bowing slightly to Hagoromo Gitsune.

"It's Jizo."

Hagoromo Gitsune's voice returned to its original deep and bewitching tone.

"You've come at the perfect time... It seems I expended too much energy last time; I feel a little dizzy..."

Hagoromo Gitsune placed her hand on her forehead and frowned slightly. She was somewhat dissatisfied with her current physical condition.

"Don't worry, Lady Hagoromo Gitsune, this is just a normal state before childbirth."

Aojizang laughed sinisterly, then continued, "You are the Hagoromo Gitsune, who reigns over all demons, and giving birth to Nue is the ideal you have been striving for all this time... Please rest assured, the child will be born smoothly."

"I was overthinking it, Dizang. Is there something you need?"

Hearing Jizo's words, Hagoromo Gitsune seemed much more at ease.

"The Kanto Nura Clan has arrived in Kyoto."

"..."

Upon hearing this news, Hagoromo Gitsune's expression turned icy cold, but she quickly burst into laughter...

"Kakain Hidemoto... Nura Nurarihyon... I never thought that after four hundred years you would still dare to appear before me. This time... Hmph."

Hagoromo Gitsune wasn't stupid. She instructed Jizo, "All they want is to reseal me, or defeat me when I'm at my weakest. What about Tsuchigumo?"

"Earth spider he..."

"He's been sealed away for hundreds of years, he must be unhappy about it."

Tsuchigumo is a powerful demon sealed beneath the Shōkō-ji Temple. Even without the power of the Sesshō-seki, Hagoromo Gitsune herself might not be able to guarantee victory against Tsuchigumo. If Tsuchigumo had been with them four hundred years ago, Nurarihyon and Keikain Hidemoto would have had absolutely no chance to exploit the situation.

"Just tell him he has a powerful opponent, and he'll come knocking on his door himself..."

"Yes, Lord Hagoromo Gitsune."

—This guy…there’s something wrong with him.

—Ah, I sensed it too. This guy seems a bit strange, daring to use suggestive magic on his superior... I reckon even if Hagoromo Gitsune doesn't know about the other "her," this guy definitely does.

Shota continued to say to Shinobu in his mind, "What should we do? She really doesn't seem to have any suspicion towards me. If we take advantage of her when she appears again..."

"By the way, Lord Hagoromo-Gitsune..."

Suddenly, Jizo turned his head to look at Shota and said to Hagoromo Gitsune, "Leaving this guy here will definitely affect the lady's childbirth. How about I take care of him?"

Does this guy... know what just happened?