Shota is surrounded by monsters!

"Would you like to come back with me? I'll take you."

"Hmm?" Senjougahara tilted her head, looked at Shota's body, and said, "I know a shop that can make saddle-like things."

"...My back is 100% genuine leather, do you want to add any other additives?"

Shota subconsciously made a sarcastic remark, then inexplicably laughed. However, in this state, his laughter sounded even more terrifying.

"Shouldn't we need a rope?"

A slight smile appeared on Senjougahara's lips.

Rea, unaware of what they were laughing about, felt a little unhappy. So, even though they were all youkai, she'd never bothered to learn anything about Shota-kun?

"Rei, let's go back first. We'll explain things to your father when things are calmer."

Shota's tail twitched at Rea's feet, and he said, "Mashiro is still at home. I hope nothing bad happens to her."

"Who gave you permission to take him away?!"

The exorcist's words made the others, who were stunned, react at the same time.

“An attack on a high-ranking member of the Nura Clan can be seen as a full-scale declaration of war against the Nura Clan.” Nurarihyon turned to the humans who were looking at him with hostility and said, “Are you prepared for war?”

Chapter 53. A New Daily Routine

"I hope you can provide an explanation."

Having quelled his subordinates' riot, Jinguji looked at Nurarihyon and the Taotie following behind him and asked, "Does the original agreement still stand?"

"An agreement? Ah. Ah."

Nurarihyon touched his head, which only had a few hairs left, and said, "You mean that? Wasn't that an agreement unilaterally made by you humans who felt they weren't our match? When did I ever agree to it?"

Seeing that the other party's expression suddenly turned serious, Nurarihyon continued, "However, you humans have your rules, and the Nura Clan has its rules. There are some things we will not change..."

"But don't be so presumptuous as to interfere, little girl."

"gone!"

Nurarihyon waved his hand, turned his head to take one last look at the Sanka family's villa, decided to come back and steal some food sometime in the future, and then led the Hundred Demons into the distance.

"Oh!"

Of course, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons couldn't just be a brief appearance and then leave. As the long-absent Nura Nurarihyon was leading the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, those old guys were unusually excited. Furthermore, since the next successor had just been decided, Nura Nurarihyon confidently entrusted the task of guarding their old base to Rikuo.

and so……

They decided to wander around other parts of their territory to let all the yokai know that the Nura Clan had not weakened.

Of course, Shota couldn't really go on a multi-day trip to Kanto with them, so halfway through, he left with Senjougahara and Rea.

After all, Senjougahara was a human. Even if he had a little bit of spiritual power that could fight ghosts, being shrouded in this overwhelming demonic aura for a long time would inevitably have a negative impact on his body and emotions.

"what……"

Shota yawned lazily, peeked out of the taxi window from inside Senjougahara's bag, and then shrank back inside when he realized they weren't home yet.

Rea was still wearing the clothes Senjougahara had bought from the mall over her head, and direct sunlight would cause her pain all over her body. However, since she was in a taxi, it wasn't a problem. She glanced at Senjougahara, who was looking out the window with her head tilted to the side, and felt slightly embarrassed by the faint aloofness emanating from him. But thinking that they would definitely run into each other often in the future, she mustered up her courage and greeted her, "Um, Senjougahara-san, nice to meet you in the future."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing Rea's voice, Senjougahara glanced at her and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Please don't misunderstand, your business is your business, and it has nothing to do with me. So, I won't give you any advice."

After saying something indifferently, Senjougahara continued to look out the window, and tapped Shota, who was trying to stick his head out, back in.

So difficult to get along with...

Rea thought about how Shota seemed to say almost nothing nice to this classmate. Did she have to take everything she said to this type of girl as the opposite of what she was told?

Frustrated, Rea dared not speak again, focusing all her attention on Shota, who was being teased by Senjougahara's fingers in the bag, watching him get his forehead flicked and his claws pinched...

I really want to play too.

Rei carefully reached out her hand, but the taxi suddenly stopped, startling her as she felt guilty.

"arrive."

Since Rea didn't bring any money with her, and Shota didn't have any money in his pocket either, Senjougahara was the only one left to pay.

Then, the two demons and one person entered Shota's house together. Rea, finally relieved to be away from the oppressive atmosphere, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Mashiro-chan, we're back..."

No one answered.

"I'll go get dressed first."

Shota jumped out of the bag and ran into his room, saying to Senjougahara, "My house is rather simple, so please take care of yourself. The drinks are in the fridge."

After placing her bag on the ground, Senjougahara skillfully picked up a pair of guest slippers that almost no one had ever worn from the shoe rack and went inside.

"That's strange, where's Mashiro?"

Rea searched the room and bathroom but couldn't find Mashiro. Just as she was starting to get nervous, she heard Senjougahara's slightly puzzled voice.

"Ok?"

Rea turned her head and saw Senjougahara opening the refrigerator. Through the sides of her slender body, Rea could see that the crisper drawer was filled with a blob of blue stuff...

"Mashiro-chan!"

Rei shouted anxiously, then rushed to the refrigerator and pulled Mashiro out of the liquid. Looking at the blue, unidentified substance on the floor, she quickly pushed it into the bathroom, threw it into the bathtub, and started running hot water...

"Huh? Where are Rea and Mashiro?"

After changing his clothes, Shota looked at Senjougahara, who was sitting in front of a stool drinking mineral water, and asked her a question with some confusion.

"bathroom."

Senjougahara answered Shota's question simply, and Shota, feeling embarrassed to go into the bathroom to see what the two of them were doing, sat down opposite Senjougahara and said, "Won't this implicate you?"

Why did you drag me into this?

Senjougahara tilted his head, his expression seemingly saying that this question was incredibly stupid.

"After all, that involves colluding with demons... and things like that."

Shota took out the family's spare food supplies and asked while eating, "Won't there be any trouble?"

“No, I’m not a legitimate exorcist at all. I’m not under their jurisdiction, so they have no right to interfere with what I do.” Senjougahara had no choice but to explain to the dim-witted Shota, and then countered, “You should be the one worried. They even saw your human form. Aren’t you a youkai? Is it really that difficult for you to change your appearance and reappear? Ah, sorry…”

Senjougahara seemed to realize something and apologized to Shota, saying, "It was really wrong of me to assume that you were on the same level of intelligence as me."

Shota scratched his ear, pretending he hadn't heard a thing, and explained, "For me, it's not a big deal. At most, someone might follow me when I'm walking. The Nura Clan and humans have an agreement. Matters between minor yokai can be considered minor friction, but if a yokai executive is attacked by a human without cause..."

“That’s real war, not something that can be solved by finding a few scapegoats. For an organization like the Nura Clan, which is united solely by the concept of ‘righteousness,’ the death of every high-ranking officer is equivalent to a declaration of war.”

"Oh."

Senjougahara was silent for a moment, then said, "Then I'll take my leave."

"I'll take you."

Senjougahara tilted her head and looked at Shota with a puzzled expression.

"I just want to borrow a pot. By the way, I'm going back to school next week, so could you help me think of a makeup look that would suit my previous condition?"

"Just wrap your whole body in bandages."

"That's too cruel."

The two walked out of the room together, but before they had taken two steps, Senjougahara stopped, turned to look at Shota beside her, and said:

"Hey, Kousaka-kun."

"Ok?"

Why not choose to attack?

"Because I'm a coward. Don't think of Taotie as some kind of heroic monster; to put it bluntly, it's just a rat that moves from place to place after eating something." Shota shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Have you ever heard of Taotie fighting any monsters in mythology?"

Senjougahara recalled the books she had consulted, but ultimately shook her head.

"Just kidding. It's just that sometimes, it's better to avoid physical violence if you can."

"Even if someone stripped you naked, it wouldn't be a problem?"

"Yes, as long as he doesn't take the food from my bowl."

"Then why choose to meddle in other people's business?"

When they reached the entrance of the Senjougahara residence, the two stopped once again.

"Well, who knows?"

In the end, Shota still couldn't come up with a clear explanation.

"I'll wait here and borrow a stew pot. I'll go buy kitchenware in a couple of days."

Shota indicated that he wouldn't go into the room, and Senjougahara didn't stand on ceremony and directly picked up the pot and handed it to Shota.

Thanks.

"It's yours."

Senjougahara turned around abruptly and said, "Next time before returning something, remember to clean off all the fur. You hairless dog."

"..."

I actually had my hair removed?

"I'm back, I'm back! Hey, what happened to Mashiro?"

When Shota returned home, he saw Rea placing a basin full of slimes in the center of the room and asked, somewhat puzzled, "Are you alright?"

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle..."

Mashiro poked her head out, glanced at Shota, and then sheepishly shrank back inside.

"Mashiro almost turned herself into a pudding..."

After listening to Mashiro's self-narration, Rea panicked. How could anyone be so reckless in their pursuit of the bizarre?

"...It's alright, it's alright."

Shota took a deep breath, then exhaled. This girl really gets restless when no one's watching her. He definitely can't leave her home alone anymore.

"Oh, right, Shota-kun."