Shota is surrounded by monsters!

The old man with the slippery appearance walked up behind Shota, looked at his tail, and suddenly said, "You have a Chinese household registration, right?"

"..." Shota's heart skipped a beat. Had his true form been exposed?

"Not bad. I thought it was just a minor demon, but it turns out it's at the level of a high-ranking demon official."

The sly old man patted Shota's butt with a wicked grin and said in a strange tone, "Being able to fight that guy with the Killing Stone is actually beyond my expectations."

Was that slippery old man there that night too?

Shota recalled the night he encountered the Sesshoseki. He sensed a strong human presence and immediately retreated, completely unaware of the Nurarihyon's presence.

This is quite normal. With Shota's current level, it is indeed a bit difficult to capture the aura of Nurarihyon, which is as elusive as a reflection in a mirror or a flower in water.

"Are Chinese monsters having a hard time these days? Do they have to come abroad to make a living?"

"Um... I've never been to China... I was born in Europe."

Shota found an opening and chimed in, but the slippery old man didn't seem to mind. Instead, he changed the subject, saying, "By the way, you know Rikuo, right?"

"We exchanged a few words."

"I see. Spend more time with him when you have time. It's not good for a yokai to spend all day with humans. You seem to be to his liking. Talk to him about yokai things. That's all. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

As he spoke, he yawned and walked forward.

"..."

What on earth is this old man thinking about? Shota looked at the departing figure of the Nura Clan old man with a puzzled expression. According to the old legends of the Nura Clan, the old man of Nura would use his charm to invite interesting monsters to join his Night Parade of One Hundred Demons when he encountered them. So why is he deliberately ignoring them now?

Is he planning to have his grandson persuade him?

"Whoo-hoo."

Mashiro was still snoring unconsciously in the bucket. Shota pressed the opening, shook the bucket a few times, and walked towards the door.

"There are so many rats..."

After spotting several rat-like creatures running around, Shota muttered something under his breath. He didn't know if they were Nura Clan monsters, so he glanced at them a few times and then looked away.

"Shh."

"Well."

Shota had only spoken half a sentence when something stuffed into his mouth.

"Cough cough."

Shota quickly pulled the thing out of his mouth, then threw the bucket on the ground with a thud, saying, "Don't mess around, Mashiro!"

This guy... actually crawled out of the bucket and used an elongated finger-like tentacle made of water to manipulate himself.

Unfortunately, she seemed completely unaware of what she had done, and remained asleep in the bucket as a puddle of soft water.

"Really."

Shota sealed the bottle and started walking home, humming a little tune. In any case, he had a very enjoyable dinner tonight.

As for how the Nura Clan will react when they discover that most of their food supplies have been eaten... that's not something Shota can worry about.

"Oh my, Kousaka-kun has a new job again? Is it water delivery this time? These are all physically demanding jobs that suit you."

"For delivering to monsters."

Shota greeted Senjougahara, who was doing something on the third-floor balcony, and returned home without saying anything more.

Shota poured the water from the bucket into the bathtub, turned on the tap, tested the water temperature, and then let it rinse the still alcohol-smelling Shiro naturally.

"I never expected to sleep for more than thirty hours without realizing it." Shota yawned. He had eaten a good dinner tonight, which made him feel sleepy now.

He controlled the showerhead to rinse Mashiro, who was trying to attack him while drunk, back into the bathtub. He then stirred the water with one finger, trying to dilute the alcohol faster.

"However, I still enjoyed the meal today. Most of the food was plentiful and delicious. It would have been even better if we could have tried some super luxurious dishes, like fish..."

Shota suddenly tilted his head, realizing he might have stood someone up...

"It's a deal then. Let's meet here again tomorrow night."

That adorable caged bird heiress...

Oh no. But she probably didn't have much hope of her showing up anyway, since generally speaking, it's unlikely any animal would actually obediently wait for her the next day.

But I'll still go. I feel really sorry for her.

Shota seemed to see the girl calling his name in the darkness and cold wind, searching through one patch of grass after another.

"elder brother……"

"Hmm? You're sober now?"

"It feels...like I tasted my brother's bodily fluids."

"Absolutely not!"

Mashiro, half-wet, leaned against the bathtub, her translucent blue head tilted up as she looked at Shota with a puzzled expression, and asked, "How did we get home?"

"Of course we're going home after we've eaten, you silly girl. Take a shower and change into clean clothes." Shota tossed the faucet to Mashiro and walked out of the bathroom, saying, "I'm going upstairs to borrow some homework from Senjougahara to copy. I'll come down and find you when I'm done. Be good at home and don't wander off."

Under Senjougahara's slightly disdainful gaze, Shota copied two sets of homework—one of which was for Mashiro. After all, Mashiro still couldn't recognize all the characters, so expecting her to do her homework herself was unrealistic.

As for Shota, although he knew how to do it, he chose the easier method of plagiarism to save time and effort.

By the time Shota finished copying the homework, Mashiro had fully woken up.

"I'm going out for a bit. Be a good girl at home, okay?"

"Oh, I see."

Mashiro, who had just been heavily diluted, seemed a little weak. After nodding, she lay back down on the table for a short rest.

This time, Shota didn't choose to go out dressed. Instead, he transformed into a miniature Taotie and headed towards the outskirts.

Before long, he found himself at the dry well where he had last met the girl named Sanka Rea. After looking around, he noticed a small plastic bag at the bottom of the well, and inside the bag, the smell of food wafted...

Anyway, it's not a fragrance.

After all, caviar, after being exposed to the summer sun all day in such a humid environment, is probably really inedible.

Shota sighed. It wasn't good to leave it there like that, so he used his claws to dig a small hole and buried the caviar in it.

After doing all this, he jumped onto the well, adjusted his posture, yawned, and waited for the girl to arrive.

It was eleven o'clock. Rei poked her head out and looked around. Finding that no one was paying attention to her, she slipped out of her garden and instinctively ran towards the dry well.

If... the caviar is no longer there, it means that Kim is still alive and well, just looking for a place to sleep at night.

If the caviar were still there...

Rei tightened her coat; even in summer, she felt a chill in the air.

Please be alright, Kim-chan.

Rea pushed aside the tree branches blocking her view and ran hurriedly toward the dry well...

Above the dry well, a small animal with golden fur, neither cat nor dog, curled up and breathed gently.

"Kin-chan!"

A bright smile spread across Rea's face. The anxiety that had gripped her for a whole day and night finally subsided. Thank goodness, Kin-chan wasn't implicated by her; he was still alive and well...

"Meow~"

Shota opened his eyes and looked Rea over, noticing that she didn't seem to have brought any food.

...At least bring some food to feed me, otherwise what I'm doing is just like sneaking out in the middle of the night to go on a date with a girl!

Image: "Sankarea", Location: "Images/200008-24332.jpg"

Chapter Twenty-One. Birthday

Image: "Sankarea", Location: "Images/201629-96783.jpg"

"Kim-chan. I'm so glad you're alright."

Rea lifted Shota by his armpits and brought him in front of her, rubbing her face against Shota's slightly strange face a couple of times before placing him on her lap. There, she looked at him with a smile and gently stroked his golden fur.

"Meow."

Shota sniffed the other person's fingers, then sniffed other places, and found that Rea really didn't bring any food, so he lowered his head and took a nap with some disappointment.

"Where did you go last night, Kin-chan? You know what? I looked for you for ages yesterday, I was so afraid you'd suddenly disappeared... But now that I think about it, I was so stupid. Your home isn't even here, so today... you came here specifically to find me, didn't you?"

Rea gently pinched the flesh on Shota's neck with her fingers, muttering to herself, "Kin-chan is so smart. Hmm, and so understanding."

Seeing that Shota seemed to be getting sleepy, Rea lowered her voice and began to recount the things that made her unhappy, just like last time.

"Today... no, it should be yesterday, I joined a sports club at school, but before school was even over, the club's advisor told me to quit. I know it was my father's doing. Am I not even allowed to have my own interests?"

Rea said somewhat angrily, "Besides fencing, he said it's an aristocratic sport and forced me to practice it, even though I prefer playing ball to fencing. I'm a high school student, but I'm not even allowed to join any clubs... Every time I get out of school, my family picks me up right away. I want freedom too."

Although that's what she said, Rei could only complain. Her father was practically all-powerful, and even if she ran away to a foreign country alone, that terrifying father would reach out and grab her.

"What should I do... what should I do so that I can be like a normal girl?"

Rea looked at Shota helplessly and said, "Kin-chan, can you tell me what to do?"

"Meow."

There's a way. All we need to do is escape from that house.

Shota responded weakly.

"There really is no other way..."

Rea gave a somewhat melancholic smile, then hugged Shota tightly and rested her head on Shota's warm body.

"So soft, so warm. It feels so good to hold Kin-chan's body." Rea felt that no doll could compare to the feel of the strange cat in her arms. She was never allowed to keep pets, and this was the first time she had ever truly felt the body temperature of another creature.

Shota's face was pressed against the girl's, making him look somewhat distorted, but to be honest, he didn't have any particular thoughts. He only had two opinions about this somewhat pitiful young lady in front of him. The first was that she was rich, and if he pleased her, he might end up being kept by her. The second was that she was pitiful, so pitiful that she could only find solace in a cat that clearly didn't look like a cat.

"Meow."

Shota gently scratched her face twice with his paw, comforting her. Compared to this pampered young lady who never had to worry about food or shelter, perhaps Mashiro, who was carefree and had nothing, was truly happy?

"Thank you for your comfort, Kin-chan."

Rea placed Shota back on her lap, patted his head, and then continued her own topic, saying, "Today... is my birthday."

Hey, happy birthday.