— — — — — —
Algol, huh… that's something.
Aside from Shiroyasha in the chat group and Queen Halloween he'd already met during the "Eden" ceremony, Veyron really didn't expect to see the last of the "Three Problem Children of Little Garden" like this.
...
The Main World
"Master?"
Sensing his distraction, the little snow-white fox brushed her head against his palm.
"…So this is the one?"
Veyron snapped back to focus and asked softly.
Holding the tiny fox in his arms and sitting astride a massive silver puppy, he hovered above an estate in Fujiwara-kyo—what people of this era might call a fine mansion.
Below them, inside the house—
A woman drenched in sweat screamed in agony. After what felt like an eternity, the old midwife suddenly cried out, "It's out! It's out!" The mother collapsed back onto the mat, exhausted yet smiling faintly at the ceiling.
But that smile vanished almost instantly—
"Madam, the baby… she's not breathing…"
The midwife, who had delivered countless children in her decades of experience, froze. She was just about to perform the usual slap on the newborn's back—waiting for that sharp wail that would bring joy to everyone outside—but the infant lay silent and still in her arms.
The old woman trembled as she whispered the truth to the mother.
High above the house, the little fox nodded firmly. "It's her. My instincts tell me—she's the first one."
"Then go," Veyron said. "With your current strength, even if you enter the baby's body, your power won't be much restrained."
"Goodbye, Master."
The fox, Hagorome Gitsune, affectionately nuzzled his cheek, earning a bored side-eye from the silver dog below. Then she leapt lightly forward—phasing straight through the roof and walls—into the body of the stillborn child.
A heartbeat later—
"Madam! Madam! The young lady's smiling!"
The midwife's shout turned joyous, followed by the baby's first cry echoing through the house.
"…So next time we meet, she'll have a different face?"
Hovering outside, Inukimi yawned and glanced over at Veyron.
"Not exactly," Veyron replied, shaking his head. "She'll probably have two forms coexisting—one we're familiar with, and the other… this one."
"Seriously, I'll never understand how her mind works."
"Maybe it's nostalgia," Veyron said with a faint chuckle.
After reaching the rank of Great Youkai—with both Veyron and Eirin Hagorome's help—the Fox had somehow sensed what she needed to ascend from her original one tail to the fox race's supreme form: nine tails.
That condition was reincarnation.
By being reborn as a human, she could absorb the hatred, jealousy, anger, and despair that radiated from that center of human conflict—growing stronger each time.
Each successful reincarnation added to her power, and another tail would appear on her true form.
Of course… that was under normal circumstances.
Given that she and Inukimi had already shared the absurd reserves of Almighty Serum that Eirin had stored for centuries in her underground lab—hundreds of barrels of the stuff—it wasn't like the Fox needed to reincarnate at all. She could brute-force her way to nine tails if she wanted.
Which was exactly why Veyron thought her decision came from a sense of nostalgia. Maybe she wanted to see what would've happened if she'd never become his pet through Yukari Yakumo's meddling—how she'd have grown her other eight tails on her own.
And since she'd asked so sincerely, Veyron saw no reason to refuse.
He was actually curious to see who she'd pick in this mash-up world of overlapping universes—would she still choose her canonical target, Yamabuki Otome, or someone entirely different from another world altogether?
"…Looks like we've got some familiar faces nearby," Veyron said, glancing toward the city. "Want to come along and say hi?"
Inukimi followed his gaze, squinting slightly. "Ah… her."
With a thoughtful hum, she shifted into human form beside him.
It happened to be market day—once every few days, people from nearby villages would gather here, bringing mountain goods and harvests to trade. The streets were bustling with life.
Veyron, who wasn't exactly fond of crowds, casually cast a "no-loitering" charm, causing anyone who came within a meter of him or Inukimi to subconsciously step aside.
Naturally, this made their presence impossible to ignore for their intended target.
"…It's you two."
Noticing them approach, the woman gently patted the little girl by her side to calm her. She was still wearing her red-and-white shrine maiden outfit—though without the armor she'd once worn over it. Midoriko nodded in greeting. "Didn't expect to run into you here."
"From the sound of it, you've been around this area for a while?" Veyron asked.
"Mm. A few months now," Midoriko replied with a small nod.
It all traced back to the lunar war Veyron had stirred up—mainly to help Kaguya Houraisan vent her frustrations, following the groundwork Yukari Yakumo had laid centuries before.
With Veyron backing her, Yukari had gathered a host of youkai to storm the moon. Before sending them off, she'd called out every "unstable element" she'd observed over the past few centuries.
But before any of them even set foot on lunar soil, they were wiped out—Kaguya didn't want her moon "stained" by such rabble.
From that day on, Midoriko realized something: unless she clung to an extreme, hardline belief that humans and youkai could never coexist, there simply weren't many monsters left in Japan worth purifying.
So she made another round across the land, cleaning up the remaining stragglers. Once that was done, she came to Fujiwara-kyo—the new political and economic heart of the country.
Compared to the scattered little monsters that spawned in remote regions, this city was far more likely, in her opinion, to "breed" something truly catastrophic. After all, where power gathered, so did resentment—hatred, envy, anger, despair. All the perfect ingredients for birthing a great calamity.
"Well, isn't that a coincidence," Veyron said with a raised brow after hearing her story, then casually mentioned the recent reincarnation of Hagorome Gitsune.
Midoriko blinked.
To be honest, if Veyron hadn't personally vouched for that fox, she would've easily classified it as exactly the kind of target she came here to eliminate.
"Midoriko! I found that thief!"
The voice of a little girl broke Midoriko's silence.
Following the girl's pointing finger, Midoriko spotted a small, sneaky hand reaching toward a street vendor's stand, snatching a steaming piece of fried tofu before the shopkeeper or customers even noticed.
"…And this is?" Veyron asked curiously.
He recognized the girl immediately. They'd met months ago, back when he and Midoriko had traveled together from the western regions. After parting ways in Fujiwara-kyo, it was this same girl who'd helped him find the family slaughtered by a youkai, and who told him the story behind it.
So… why were they hanging out together now?
"Lately, there've been a few petty thefts around Fujiwara-kyo that don't really seem like something humans would do," Midoriko explained, locking her spiritual sense on the thief but not rushing to act. "Since the victims were just ordinary folk and the stolen goods weren't valuable, the Onmyō Bureau basically shrugged it off with a 'Got it' and did nothing. I had some free time, so I figured I'd look into it myself."
Veyron's expression darkened.
Disgraceful.
And no, he wasn't referring to the Bureau. He meant the thief.
Because he knew exactly who that thief was.
A few months ago, right after he'd taken Hagorome Gitsune under his wing, Yukari Yakumo had also snagged herself a prize—a powerful fox youkai she'd been eyeing for ages, turning it into one of her familiars.
It was a golden-furred, white-faced fox with an incredibly pure bloodline—one that could reach the coveted nine-tail stage purely through talent, no reincarnation needed.
In Yukari's eyes, this familiar was the perfect combination of utility and prestige.
Utility: A top-tier youkai, right on the brink of becoming a millennium-class yokai, strong enough to handle 99% of Yukari's daily business while she lounged around enjoying life.
Prestige: Having a yokai that powerful serve as her shikigami made her "Youkai Sage" title shine even brighter.
That is—if said familiar hadn't just been caught stealing tofu in public.
"Leave this one to me," Veyron said casually. "I know her… parents."
Before Midoriko could respond, he stretched out his hand. Space rippled, and his arm reached straight through it to grab the back of the culprit's neck.
"So. Enjoying the tofu?"
"It's delicious—wait, V-Veyron-sama?!"
The golden-furred fox froze like she'd been struck by lightning, the fried tofu slipping from her hand.
Veyron caught it effortlessly before it hit the ground, took a bite, and chewed thoughtfully.
"Hmm. Not bad," he said, nodding.
The fox—Ran Yakumo—looked on in horror, eyes shimmering with tears.
"Alright then, I'll take her off your hands," Veyron told Midoriko, still holding Ran by the scruff. "You can handle the aftermath here. And when you've got time, drop by my place for a visit."
He opened a shimmering portal to Hakugyokurou, handed Midoriko access to the chat group's shared space, and stepped through—Ran dangling helplessly in his grasp.
When the portal vanished into thin air, the little girl turned to Midoriko. "What do we do now, Midoriko?"
Midoriko smiled. "First, we go around and pay back everyone that fox 'borrowed' from lately."
Taking the girl's hand, she started down the street toward the nearby shops. "Oh, and by the way, Moeko… have you ever thought about learning exorcism from me?"
"Eh?! Really?!"
The girl—Fujiwara no Mokou—looked up with wide, sparkling eyes.
"Of course," Midoriko said with a gentle nod. "You've got talent. I can feel it."
.
.
.