In a street-side café.
Luo Shu sat alone by the window, reviewing the events at the Keikain residence.
Just then, a breeze carrying strands of black hair brushed against his face.
"Hehe, how does it feel to be labelled a lolicon, my dear Lord God?"
Luo Shu turned slightly and saw Kurumi Tokisaki standing beside him, holding two cups of coconut latte.
"Stop joking around. You know I don't like little girls."
"Then what about Suzuka Dairenji?" Kurumi blinked.
Luo Shu was momentarily at a loss for words.
Flustered, he glared at Kurumi before reaching out to take the coffee:
"What do you think of that shrine maiden from the Asakura family?"
Kurumi handed him the coconut latte and sat down beside him, resting her chin on her hand:
"According to you, Shu-kun..."
"The Asakura family has made it their lifelong mission to thwart Hao Asakura's ambitions."
"If that's the case, could Anna Kyōyama's approach to you also be about dealing with Hao Asakura?"
"Do I look stupid?"
Luo Shu took a sip of his latte and rolled his eyes:
"Risk facing a Demigod for a woman who might not even become my Familia?"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"Hao Asakura literally has nukes!"
Kurumi chuckled at Luo Shu's cowardly demeanour, finding it amusing:
"But didn't you say the Asakura family has already 'buried' Hao Asakura twice?"
"If you're referring to him choosing to train in Hell after dying of old age, or returning to Hell again after seizing the Spirit of Fire because he felt he could still improve—then yes, the Asakura family buried him twice."
Luo Shu's tone carried a hint of mockery.
Others might not know how the Asakura family "buried" Hao Asakura, but he, having read the original work, knew all too well.
The first time, Hao Asakura left Japan for America to participate in the Shaman Fight and never returned. To cover up his disappearance, the Asakura family claimed their patriarch had rebelled and was slain by his own son.
The second time, the Asakura family did join the fight. They sent Yohken Asakura, a prodigy unseen in five hundred years, along with Hao's former Guardian Spirit, Matamune, and their allies, to successfully defeat Hao Asakura once.
But whether Hao Asakura had held back that time, only he himself knew.
His purpose in reincarnating was to obtain the legendary Spirit of Fire, which he ultimately achieved, turning it into his Guardian Spirit.
In the end, although Hao Asakura died, his soul still returned to Hell to continue his cultivation.
The fact that a Shaman who manipulates souls fought without destroying the soul speaks volumes.
Yohken Asakura might indeed be strong, but he might not necessarily have been capable of killing Hao Asakura.
So in Luo Shu's view, the second subjugation didn't count either.
Under these circumstances, asking him to acknowledge that the Asakura family had subjugated Hao Asakura twice—killing the same Demigod twice—was something Luo Shu would never accept.
Kurumi Tokisaki also found it highly suspicious, as she understood all too well the difference between a Demigod and those below that rank.
If beings below Demigod could still be considered human, then Demigods were no longer conventional lifeforms.
They had begun to shed the weaknesses of natural life, stepping into the realm of concepts and dabbling in divine authority.
Facing a powerhouse of this level was an immense challenge for those below Demigod, let alone killing one.
Even Kurumi herself had no confidence in killing a Demigod—at best, she could remain undefeated.
Thus, even if the Asakura family had truly produced a strong enough figure to stop Hao Asakura, Kurumi only suspected they might have someone who had reached Demigod Rank.
This was plausible, as Yohken Asakura, although dead, might have continued to protect the family as a Guardian Spirit.
Given that this figure had fought Hao Asakura five hundred years ago without dying, Kurumi strongly suspected he had attained Demigod Rank.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been a stalemate where neither perished.
It couldn't be that Hao Asakura couldn't even defeat a mere Hero Rank, resulting in mutual victories and defeats, could it?
She had defeated Abe no Ariyuki—a skilled Hero Rank—with just one move.
"So, Luo Shu, you're saying you don't plan to meet Anna Kyōyama?"
"Delay it for now," Luo Shu replied without hesitation. "Even if we meet, we need preparations to prevent Mind Reading."
"After all, that Anna Kyōyama is a shrine maiden born with the innate ability to read minds."
Though Luo Shu hadn't personally experienced how terrifying Mind Reading was, he had read enough novels to understand the overwhelming advantage of such an ability.
Meeting Anna Kyōyama without precautions would likely result in having every secret laid bare the moment they met.
Seeing Luo Shu so wary of a woman, Kurumi felt both jealous and amused:
"And what about the Keikain family? What are your thoughts?"
"...Still delaying."
Luo Shu's response to the Keikain family was unusually calm:
"Right now, it's the Keikain family who needs something from me, not the other way around."
"Heh, a family so favoured by the imperial family of Japan, yet so scarce in numbers and struggling with fertility... how privileged the Keikain family is~"
A hint of mockery crossed Luo Shu's face:
"Such a privileged lineage, yet they can't even secure a position in the Onmyou Agency. How considerate of the Shrine Faction, truly."
Within Shinto, nature worship, ancestor worship, and emperor worship stand as three pillars.
Even among the Shrine Factions, the situation was complex.
The Inari faction worshipped deities, the Tsuchimikado faction venerated ancestors, and the Imperial faction revered living gods—these three were locked in constant struggle.
The Keikain family belonged to the Imperial faction, yet it was the Tsuchimikado family that stood at the pinnacle of the Onmyou Agency.
And the Keikain family didn't even have a single Divine General to their name.
The Onmyou Agency Director wielded classical Onmyōdō with such mastery that even the Twelve Divine Generals found it hard to breathe under his pressure. Recently, he had even acquired knowledge of Demon Power concepts from the Dog Tribe in the Abyss Warring States. It wouldn't be long before he could delve into conceptual domains.
By then, the Director might very well touch upon the realm of creating his own Class.
Such prowess placed him firmly in the top tier of Hero Rank.
And even with all this, the Director had the full backing of the entire Tsuchimikado family behind him.
After all, he was the progenitor of the Tsuchimikado lineage—the founder of the clan, the source of its bloodline, who had controlled the family for centuries. One could say he commanded the collective strength of his entire lineage.
For the dwindling, half-crippled Keikain family to contend with such a figure... the outcome was obvious even without thinking.
"Delaying tactics again?"
Kurumi Tokisaki somewhat grasped Luo Shu's intentions, her expression tinged with amusement:
"I wonder what the Keikain family was thinking, not seeking your help to lift the curse of Hagoromo Gitsune. It's not like they lacked the means to find out."
"Perhaps it's simply fate?"
Luo Shu swirled his cup before downing the last of his latte.