I have an unlimited number of shikigami

"Ah, Sister Mei, what brings you here?" the red-haired woman asked in surprise.

"I brought a guest." Kawashima Miki stepped aside slightly.

The red-haired woman looked at Fujiwara Izaya behind her, her expression even more surprised.

I don't understand why such a handsome man would need to come to a brothel, and I don't understand why he's such a big shot that he needs the noble and aloof empress to personally bring him here.

"Leave here for a moment and don't disturb us," Kawashima Miki coldly ordered.

"Ah, oh..."

The red-haired woman glanced at Fujiwara Izaya with a hint of regret before leaving.

"This is the former workplace of the prostitute who killed my husband." Kawashima Miki stood in front of the bathhouse curtain.

"Who was that red-haired woman just now?" Fujiwara Izaya asked.

“It was added later,” Kawashima Miki said with a faint smile. “We can’t just waste the space because a murderer came here.”

Fujiwara Izaya lifted the curtain of the bathhouse and said to her, "Let me take a look first, and I'll tell you the results later, madam."

"Okay, I'm going to the restroom."

Kawashima Miki turned around, breathed a sigh of relief, and jogged towards the restroom.

Upon entering the bathhouse, Fujiwara Izaya turned on the lights.

The cold, white light shone down, illuminating the bamboo planks laid on the floor.

In the center of the room is a three-square-meter bathtub. The color of the tiles reflects the emerald green water. The edge of the tub is paved with smooth pebbles, and artificial flowers bloom in the gaps between the pebbles, giving the entire bathtub the feel of a natural hot spring.

There was a massage chair and an old-fashioned steam room by the pool. A cabinet stood in the corner, with small wooden basins containing various lubricants and a bottle that looked like hand soap. Several clean towels were drying on a clothes rack next to the cabinet.

Fujiwara Izaya carefully examined every corner many times, even moving the cabinets aside to look inside.

There were quite a few things found, such as a woman's hair, birth control pill packaging, the dried carcass of a moth, and a spider web under a cabinet; they were all ordinary things, with no trace of resentment or demonic power attached to them.

Furthermore, everything in the room carried, to varying degrees, the scent of the red-haired woman, indicating that she had been there for quite some time and had remained unharmed.

After walking around a few times, Fujiwara Izaya lay down on the massage chair, his gaze continuing to sweep around.

Next to the massage chair was a small coffee table with a half-empty bottle of beer on it, probably leftovers from the red-haired woman. A television hung on the wall directly opposite, playing a comedy variety show, with occasional laughter from the audience drifting through the air.

Fujiwara Izaya picked up the remote and turned off the TV, biting his lip to gather his thoughts.

It's safe to say there's nothing unusual here; the redhead is the best proof of that.

In comparison, he felt that Kawashima Miki's behavior was more unusual. From the moment she entered, she kept trying to prolong the time and stay there as long as possible, even at the cost of taking advantage of herself.

Such a huge sacrifice must have been for a purpose.

Fujiwara Izaya stood up, checked the entire bathroom again, and then returned to the massage chair to lie down.

The scene of his first meeting with Kawashima Miki flashed through his mind, and he wondered whether it was a coincidence or a deliberately arranged meeting. If it was a coincidence, then was her purpose in going to the Yin-Yang Bureau to ask a priest to exorcise evil spirits?

But if it really was for exorcising evil spirits, then she should have taken me to inspect the site as soon as possible.

If not, then why go to the Yin-Yang Bureau... Fujiwara Izaya took out the business card given to him by Kawashima Miki from his backpack, examined it carefully under the light, and brought it close to his nose to smell it. The scent of roses was exactly the same as her body fragrance.

"Kawashima Miki..."

Fujiwara Izaya flipped it over to look at the back, but there was nothing written on it.

"She was married, but didn't change her surname to her husband's. Her husband's surname is Araki, and he's a yakuza boss..."

Staring blankly at the business card, Fujiwara Izaya pondered its meaning repeatedly.

Judging from Kawashima Miki's behavior at the Yin-Yang Bureau that day, she didn't seem to care about her husband's life or death, and even seemed to be secretly pleased that he was dying sooner. This aligns with her statement about marital discord. But even if things weren't good, it's unlikely that she would show such impatience towards a strange little boy only half a month after her husband's death...

I thought about it for a while, but I still couldn't come up with a solution.

Fujiwara Izaya turned his thoughts back to Kawashima Miki's performance tonight. Whether it was her demeanor or her clothing, she seemed to be deliberately seducing him tonight. Her words were full of hints, and her actions were not innocent.

And that cocktail called Empress.

In that environment on the third floor, Fujiwara Izaya couldn't discern anything at the time. Now, after calming down and thinking carefully, he suddenly realized that there was a big problem with the wine.

After drinking it, my body felt like it was on fire, and my mood became restless.

While he was becoming delirious, Kawashima Miki brought up the Asakusa Shrine, asking if he wanted to sell it. As he became even more confused, her demeanor subtly shifted to a cold and aloof one, and she even asked him to stay by her side and serve her.

Looking back now, her expression at that time was one of superiority and contempt, like a master ordering a servant.

That's interesting.

It just so happens that the day I went to the Onmyōryō (the monastery of Yin and Yang) was also about the renovation of the shrine.

Could it just be a coincidence?

Fujiwara Rin wasn't the type of yokai who was exceptionally gifted, but Kawashima Miki's series of actions definitely contained some ulterior motive. By connecting the events together, he could roughly piece together a few keywords.

Shrine plots, Empress, Jorogumo, Spider Demon...

Is there any possibility?

Fujiwara Izaya pondered for a moment, asking himself the same question.

Is Kawashima Miki the same as Jorogumo?

Was that bald spider from before her husband?

Is the mother spider coming to seek revenge?

of course.

All of the above are just speculations.

Perhaps Kawashima Miki only knew Jorogumo.

Without solid evidence, Fujiwara Rin wouldn't take speculation seriously.

But once a guess is made, it is necessary to steer things toward that guess in order to investigate and test the waters.

"Let's see who the prey is, Miss Jorogumo." Fujiwara Izaya licked his dry lips, snapped his fingers, and said, "Little spider, come out and have some fun."

※※※※※

In the restroom, Kawashima Miki scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on her face.

Water splashed up and spread out. Looking up at herself in the mirror, she took a deep breath, then pursed her lips, trying to put on a calm and composed expression.

However, after many attempts, I still couldn't succeed.

At this moment, no matter how you look at it, I look like a wronged woman who has been taken advantage of by a man and has nowhere to seek justice.

finally.

Kawashima Miki pouted and choked back two sobs, feeling wronged.

She covered her face with her hands, made no sound, her shoulders trembled slightly, and wept quietly—the kind of weeping where she didn't want anyone in the world to notice that she was crying.

"You bastard!"

"How dare a mere priest treat me so disrespectfully... I'm so angry..."

Forced herself to accept this established fact, Kawashima Miki made some emotional adjustments in her mind, during which she kept rubbing her temples with her long, thin fingers.

After finishing these actions, she dried the water off her face and began to touch up her makeup.

She has to maintain a charming demeanor.

During her interactions with Fujiwara Izaya, she sensed that the young priest harbored some kind of secret, which was why he intentionally kept his distance from her. His seemingly refined and innocent appearance was half an act; perhaps a ferocious monster lurked beneath.

Kawashima Miki understood this principle.

So she knew she had to maintain her composure and not let Fujiwara Izaya notice anything amiss. Maybe he would take advantage of her a little more, or make a fuss over her, but it didn't matter. As long as she got the land, she would kill him—no, she would torture him properly… Thinking this, Kawashima Miki felt a sharp pain in her heart, like being pricked by needles.

hateful!

No matter how much money we earn, it will never be enough to make up for today's losses!

After taking the time to touch up her makeup, Kawashima Miki took a few deep breaths, straightened her uniform, and walked out of the restroom, only to be suddenly startled.

“Uh, Sister Mei,” the red-haired woman looked at her worriedly, “I saw you go in for a long time, and I was worried that something might have happened to you.”

"Go ahead and do your thing," Kawashima Miki said coldly as she turned away.

After walking a few steps, she turned back and said, "Get ready, you'll be giving my guest a bath later."

"Ok!"

"He's a priest, remember not to reveal it."

“Understood,” the redhead patted her chest. “Don’t worry, Sister Mei, I guarantee I’ll make sure he can’t straighten his legs when he leaves the house.”

Kawashima Miki turned around and went back to the bathhouse.

She stood at the door for a long time, but didn't go in. Instead, she kept trying to find reasons to convince herself.

Ok.

Actually...

That kid is at least good-looking.

Moreover, he possesses many abilities that other men do not have.

For example, his kind and gentle smile, witty conversation, and strong arms made it feel nice to snuggle against him. Kawashima Miki thought to herself that it was normal for men to want to understand her, and in that sense, Fujiwara Izaya was just acting normally, not particularly perverted. From another perspective, he could be considered an ideal partner.

At least she could endure his advances; with any other man, she would probably have turned into a murderer long ago.

Just treat him like a monkey... Kawashima Miki straightened her back, placed her hands in front of her, and interlaced her fingers tightly.

After calming herself down, a perfect smile returned to her face as she stepped into the bathhouse.

"Little mage, have you discovered anything...?"

The sound stopped abruptly.

The charming smile froze on his face, his expression like a roasted turkey.

“Madam,” Fujiwara Izaya said with a smile, waving and greeting her warmly, “Come over here, let me introduce you to my shikigami, Jorogumo.”

Kawashima Miki showed no expression.

She stared blankly at the spider girl who was hugging Fujiwara Izaya from behind, at the face and body that were exactly the same as her own yokai form, at the ambiguous action of pressing Fujiwara Izaya's head against her chest, and vaguely, her own body seemed to resonate with it.

“Little spider,” Fujiwara Izaya turned around and patted Jorogumo’s rounded shoulder, “I’ll feed you well after Master is done with his work.”