Shota is surrounded by monsters!

Oh well! Things will work themselves out! It's not the first time I've had a female roommate living with me.

Okay~

Shota nodded and agreed, saying, "Then please pack your things and come back to Tokyo with me."

"My only belongings are Mad Bones."

"..."

Congratulations!

Xiao Ren's voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

—Well, it's nothing serious. I didn't expect my strategy skills to be so good.

Shota showed absolutely no humility.

—I have some good news to tell you.

Shinobu's voice carried a hint of teasing as she said, "I thoroughly examined your body before, and you... are not pregnant at all!"

Upon hearing Shinobu's words, Shota subconsciously focused all his attention on his tail, and then used his demonic energy to thoroughly examine his entire body once again...

Completely, there were no changes related to pregnancy.

About a minute later, Shota, who had come to his senses, suddenly danced around and shouted, "That's awesome!"

Although the process was complicated, it's great that it was all a misunderstanding!

Shota didn't know how to describe his feelings, but without a doubt, they were positive. He wouldn't have to face Rea's hatchet anymore, he wouldn't have to face the shame of a man giving birth, he wouldn't have to face...

"We can set off now."

Having given the general instructions, Hagoromo Gitsune arrived before Shota with Kyokotsu. Looking at the tail waving like a meteor hammer, she frowned and said, "This isn't good for the child..."

"What child..."

Shota was about to swing it a couple more times when he realized a more serious problem.

Since... children don't exist...

How am I supposed to explain this to Hagoromo Gitsune? That I came all this way just to toy with your feelings?

—Oh, this is going to be interesting.

Xiao Ren spoke with an air of detached amusement.

Shota froze on the spot for a moment.

Chapter 168. The Shura Field (1)

Tokyo.

Rea looked at the cold, black-clad woman standing next to Shota and the black-haired little girl curiously looking around. Her lips twitched slightly, but she suppressed all sorts of guesses and politely asked, "Shota-kun, who are these two?"

"Neighbor."

Shota is also extremely troubled. For some inexplicable reason, he didn't tell Hagoromo Gitsune the truth, and as a result, Hagoromo Gitsune really did come to Tokyo with Kyokotsu, and even bought the room next door. But since they're bound to meet sooner or later, Shota decides to let Hagoromo Gitsune meet with Rea first.

“Reya, this one… well, you should have heard of her name, Hagoromo Gitsune.”

"Hagoromo Gitsune?!"

Upon hearing Shota's introduction, Rea immediately raised her voice and asked a question. She carefully examined the black-haired beauty in front of her, but sensed that the other party was not paying attention to her at all.

"Oh, a lot has happened. Let's talk about it in detail tonight."

Shota felt a little awkward saying it here, so he introduced her to Hagoromo and Tsurugi: "This is Rea Sanka, my girlfriend."

Hagoromo Gitsune showed absolutely no interest in this matter.

"Hello……"

Rea greeted Hagoromo Gitsune, who merely glanced at her face and nodded slightly before turning to Shota and saying, "I will come to visit again later."

"Okay, then let's leave it at that for now."

Shota greeted Hagoromo Gitsune, watched her and Kyokotsu enter the next room, and then...

"Ah-"

Shota suddenly slammed his front door shut, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like a waterfall...

"What exactly happened?"

Rea took out a small towel and wiped the sweat from Shota's forehead before beginning her questioning. Although she had never met Hagoromo Gitsune, she had heard her stories for a long time—from a violent yokai to a pitiful mother, and now to her slowly redeeming state. Especially the story of Yamabuki Otome; Rea felt a pang of sadness almost every time she heard it.

"Let me calm down first."

Shota initially thought that seeing Rea would calm him down, but the thought that Rea would definitely know the whole truth if he explained, from the shameful to the sadistic to the perverted, made him even more agitated. He had no choice but to change the subject and ask, "Where's Mashiro? I haven't seen her."

"I went to school with Senjougahara-san. After all, it's not the weekend today."

At this moment, Rea was wearing the white school uniform with purple patterns from Sanhua Academy. Judging from her appearance, she must have taken leave to come back here to wait for Shota after knowing that he was coming back today.

As for Mashiro… she suddenly decided to go to university a couple of days ago, so she's studying hard now. However, it's definitely too difficult for a natural airhead to become a top student.

"Oh, it's only two o'clock."

Shota glanced at the clock and estimated that Mashiro wouldn't be home for at least two hours. However, mentioning Senjougahara... made Shota slightly embarrassed.

Although I've been getting a lot of sarcastic remarks at school lately, I always felt that things weren't going to be too mild, and besides, there's the relationship between him and Senjougahara...

There's always a slightly ambiguous atmosphere between them.

Is it because I used to lick her that I can't help but imagine she's not wearing any clothes when I see her?

Now is not the time to think about these things.

“Reya, Shota has something to tell you, about Hagoromo Gitsune, and also about himself.”

Suddenly, Huang Quan appeared beside Shota, using forceful methods to compel him to tell her everything. Shota glared at Huang Quan, only to notice a slight hint of displeasure on her face.

Well, indecisive men will eventually suffer the consequences.

"Could it be... that Shota-kun and Hagoromo-Gitsune...?"

A hint of sadness appeared in Rea's eyes. If there was anything Shota was hiding, it must be something like that.

"No, no, it's not what you think, Rea!"

Shota quickly explained, "Me and Hagoromo Gitsune..."

Is there really nothing there?

"My interactions with Hagoromo Gitsune were just normal conversations between adults!"

When the words were about to come out, Shota said something ambiguous, but at least it made Rea somewhat more accepting.

"Then you tell me yourself. I'm going to rest for a bit."

Huang Quan had no desire to listen a second time, so she went to the next room, leaving Shota and Rei to talk alone.

"Donuts, donuts..."

Shinobu emerged from Shota's shadow with a strange smile on her lips, dumped all the donuts stored at home into the corner of the room, and then leaned against the mountain of donuts, eating them while watching the two of them.

She doesn't want to avoid it at all.

"..."

Shota glanced at his mother, sighed, and said to Rea, "Sit down first."

The two sat facing each other. Rea noticed that Shota looked somewhat troubled and didn't know what to say for a moment. After all, it seemed that... only she was being kept in the dark.

"Hmm... Let's start with the most basic things."

Shota carefully chose his words and asked Rea, "About the matter of having a baby."

"Why are we talking about this?"

Rea blushed for some reason, seemingly thinking about the shameful things she and Shota had done, and how she always had to cut off the blood-stained sheets afterward—it was always such a terrible first experience.

"I'm not talking about sex, I'm just talking about... you know, the process of giving birth."

Shota blushed upon seeing Rei Mi's face. For some reason, he felt that the awkward atmosphere between them had been slightly broken. He scratched his face and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I've been keeping this from you for about half a year... Well, actually, Taotie, although it needs the help of its mate to give birth, in the end, it is Taotie itself that gives birth."

"Huh?"

Reiya was taken aback.

"It's easy to understand, isn't it... Although we Taotie have varying degrees of hybridity, we still largely retain the appearance of our ancestors... Moreover, a newborn Taotie is as big as a hunting dog..."

Shota pointed to Shinobu over there and said to Rea, "Do you think my mom's belly can hold her?"

"It will burst the uterus."

Shinobu glanced at Rea, then took another bite of her donut.

"That is to say..."

Rea asked Shota in surprise, "If you want to have a child, Shota-kun, you... you mean, you're going to find a man..."

"no!"

Shota quickly stopped Rea from continuing, and after organizing his thoughts, said:

"The Taotie is somewhat similar to a seahorse. When the breeding season arrives, the male seahorse's ventral wall folds towards its midline, slowly forming a large brood pouch. The female seahorse lays her eggs in the male's brood pouch, and once the young seahorses are fully developed, the male seahorse begins to 'give birth.' This can be considered a typical case of surrogacy... The reason for this is actually quite simple... In the earliest world of monsters, powerful monsters were practically everywhere. Generally, the mates of Taotie were weaker than the Taotie itself, and the gestation period could be very long—this wasn't simply a matter of hiding to avoid danger, because the Taotie offspring must mature through massive amounts of food. Therefore, from a risk perspective, having the father conceive was the best choice."

Shota finished speaking in one breath, saying, "So, I'm not a girl, and my sexual orientation is normal. It's just that, biologically speaking, the function of bearing offspring is entrusted to me—to put it simply, I'm a surrogate mother."

Shota lifted his tail and explained to Rea, "This is my pouch... Of course, it generally doesn't get bigger. After all, the mysteries within us are beyond our comprehension, even for ourselves. Alright, that concludes my first round of remarks. Rea, is there anything you'd like to ask?"

After reaching adulthood, the memories of his race's heritage were finally unlocked. After learning about some things from the prehistoric era and the memories of the first Taotie, Shota's aversion to his male parenting characteristics decreased significantly.

Anyway, as long as I don't get penetrated, I'm still a man...

Thinking of this, Shota glanced at his mother. He still hadn't settled the score with her for poking his tail with her finger and drawing blood.

"So that's how it is."

Rea suddenly patted his chest with a sigh of relief and said with an apologetic smile, "Is that what it is? Hmm, really... I'm so sorry, Shota-kun. I was just a little worried that something had happened between you and Hagoromo Gitsune... Hey, am I being a little petty?"

As she said this, Rei stuck out her tongue playfully. She wasn't entirely unable to accept such biological matters.

"This one……"

Seeing Rea suddenly relieved, Shota felt a little guilty... After all, she had always been the one silently supporting him, and he couldn't find a single flaw in Rea. In fact, since they started dating, she had basically never spoken to other men to avoid misunderstandings with Shota—although she had been doing so for a while.