Ueno Inari Shrine.
Amidst the sound of footsteps, a woman in a dark blue nun's habit, her golden hair fluttering, passed through the bright red torii gate.
After traversing multiple torii gates, Sharon finally stopped before the shrine's main courtyard and gazed at the figure who had been waiting in the yard for some time.
"Are you the Familiar Spirit sent by Abe no Ariyuki?"
Kyokotsu, holding a human-shaped skull with a green snake coiled around her shoulder, narrowed her eyes at the Western nun before her.
"To dress up as a Western nun... what a peculiar preference."
"Hmm~~"
Sharon placed a hand on her hip, looking rather amused at Kyokotsu:
"The yokai Kyokotsu, is it?"
"That's me."
The snake on Kyokotsu's shoulder hissed before she turned around and said calmly:
"Follow me. Sister is just ahead."
"But let me warn you in advance—Sister seems unwell today. Don't make any unnecessary moves later, or else... You know the consequences."
Kyokotsu shot Sharon a threatening glance before turning away and walking towards the shrine's main hall without another word.
Sharon, seeing this, curled her lips:
"What an interesting little girl."
'But Hagoromo Gitsune is unwell? A Hero Rank yokai like her is practically a Great Yokai among Great Yokai, isn't she? Even such a being can fall ill?'
With some puzzlement, Sharon's long boots tapped against the stone bricks as she followed Kyokotsu.
The two passed through the main gate, turned down a corridor, and finally arrived at a room deep within the shrine.
Upon reaching the door, the snake on Kyokotsu's shoulder knocked twice with its head, producing crisp sounds.
Thud! Thud!
Amidst the snake's hissing, the knocking echoed.
"Sister, I've brought her."
From inside the room, a magnetic, bewitching voice slowly drifted out.
"Is that Kyokotsu? Come straight in... I... Achoo~"
Standing at the scene, Sharon's expression turned exceptionally peculiar upon hearing the sneeze interrupting the voice mid-sentence.
Beside her, Kyokotsu, who'd also heard the sound, wore an equally odd expression as she swiftly pushed open the sliding door.
The door slid aside.
There sat a strikingly beautiful yet cold woman, draped in a black silk outer robe over a plain white kimono, perched upon the tatami while delicately covering her delicate nose, her eyes slightly reddened.
Seeing Hagoromo Gitsune in such a vulnerable state, Kyokotsu momentarily froze before stepping into the room with visible concern, asking:
"Lady Sister, are you feeling alright?"
"My body... has a rather peculiar sensation."
Hagoromo Gitsune's voice remained unchanged, yet her expression carried a hint of confusion:
"I don't feel weak, and my temperature seems normal, yet I strangely can't control my body properly, especially the reactions in my nose... What illness is this?"
Kyokotsu's face filled with concern upon hearing this: "Lady Sister, should we call a doctor?"
Since yesterday afternoon, Hagoromo Gitsune had been in this state, leaving Kyokotsu deeply worried about her condition.
After all, Lady Sister had expended considerable power to restore her youthful form and was still in a weakened state.
Just then, a woman's voice came from the shrine's right-side yin-yang boundary:
"It feels rather like a pollen allergy, doesn't it? How peculiar."
Sharon turned towards the sound and immediately spotted a woman with heavily made-up features, wearing a frilly lolita dress, her brown curls bouncing as she observed Hagoromo Gitsune's condition while twirling a parasol indoors—clearly surprised by the illness.
Yuiyui Gokadoin!
Sharon's eyes narrowed slightly, recognising her as the former head of the Gokadoin Family mentioned in Luo Shu's intel, whose speciality was puppet techniques.
At that moment, Sharon suddenly extended her nails, slashing several times through the air.
Silver trails appeared where her nails passed.
Then, several thin silver threads materialised mid-air, swaying gently before drifting downwards.
Observing the Spiritual Power-infused threads, Sharon raised her head, her expression amused as she regarded Yuiyui Gokadoin:
"Your greeting is rather... intimate, Yuiyui Gokadoin."
"Abe no Ariyuki's Familiar Spirit, is it?"
Yuiyui showed no surprise at her puppet technique's failure, instead gazing at Sharon with keen interest:
"As expected, you're just as troublesome as ever."
She sighed dramatically, her face adorned with a classic 'villainess' smile:
"And what a shame—such a lovely girl not being turned into an eternal doll is truly a waste."
Sharon quipped in response: "The real waste is becoming the Familiar Spirit of an old man who pretends to be a youth, isn't it?"
Yuiyui paused, then broke into a grin:
"Honestly, I'm starting to like you."
A Familiar Spirit daring to mock Abe no Ariyuki was a rare find.
Yet Yuiyui knew all too well that she stood no chance of taking anything from Abe no Ariyuki's grasp.
She sighed softly:
"Really, why must those old men hoard such fine resources?"
Clearly, Yuiyui harboured her own grievances against Abe no Ariyuki, finding common ground in mocking him.
However, Sharon didn't reply—instead, she and Yuiyui both froze simultaneously.
Both raised a hand to cover their noses.
"Achoo~~~"
Kyokotsu, still fretting over Hagoromo Gitsune, turned at the sound, eyeing them curiously:
"Did you two also catch that... pollen allergy thing?"
"...Seems so."
Yuiyui faintly sensed something amiss, inwardly cursing that wretched old man.
Unlike Yuiyui, who suspected Abe no Ariyuki's proximity, Sharon knew exactly who the real culprit was.
"What a petty god."
After just one slanderous remark about that old man pretending to be young, he'd immediately retaliated. Sharon gained a profound impression of Luo Shu's pettiness.
After sneezing again, Sharon turned to Hagoromo Gitsune and asked:
"Given our current condition, is it still appropriate to depart for Kyoto?"
Hagoromo Gitsune, who appeared fragile but was actually completely unaffected, merely glanced at Sharon before replying:
"Let's take human transportation."
Their original plan had been to ride Yuiyui Gokadoin's puppets, gliding directly over sparsely populated forests towards Kyoto.
But now, they'd reconsidered.
After all, doing so would mean Japan's pollen-filled forests would teach them a harsh lesson.
Hearing this, Yuiyui Gokadoin, who'd spent considerable time examining how Abe no Ariyuki had sabotaged them without success, said somewhat gloomily:
"I suppose that's our only option."
...
Not far from Ueno Inari Shrine, atop an apartment building.
Two figures stood silently.
The one closest to the edge was none other than Luo Shu.