The girls all looked curious.
Arthur glanced once at the frozen "fox mountain god," then looked back at Yotsuya Miko and the others with a small smile.
"Pretty obvious, right? That female 'divine envoy' was a victim this mountain god killed and then enslaved," he said. "She wasn't an ordinary human when she was alive, so she could retain a bit of will. The other one's self-awareness was completely gone."
"I see…"
The girls all nodded thoughtfully.
Miko frowned a little. "So… is this thing actually a god?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help looking at the grotesque "fox god." It looked no different from a high-tier monster.
Akasha and the others also blinked, clearly wondering the same thing.
Tohru's eyes flashed. She actually could sense a trace of divinity from the fox — but it was so weak it was basically nothing. Compared to the gods she knew, it was sand vs. stars.
Arthur chuckled. "You can say yes, and you can say no."
"Ah…"
They froze for a second, then immediately understood what he meant — "god" in name, filth in nature.
Arthur looked at Miko again. "Anyway, once you and Yurikawa Hana went there, it had already set its eyes on you two."
Miko's expression tightened.
But then she thought of what was about to happen to this "fox god," and all that worry just… passed.
"I'll finish it," Miko said, eyes going cold.
A sea-blue spiritual aura flared around her right fist and she punched out.
She used full power — this thing clearly wasn't just a wandering ghost, it wouldn't die easily.
Her fist-light roared out like flame.
Right when her aura was about to hit the mountain god…
Arthur's mouth quirked up.
A wisp of mental power flashed.
Tohru and Akasha both sensed it and glanced at him.
The attack landed.
Blue light exploded.
The mountain god's huge fox body blew up like a balloon — with a single muffled pop — and turned into a few wisps of black miasma that dispersed.
Seeing that, Tohru and Akasha — who had noticed Arthur's interference — both had a flicker in their eyes. They were curious.
Arthur just gave them a mysterious smile.
Then he walked into the shrine.
Inside, there was a skull.
Arthur's thought moved, and a Purification Card appeared in front of him.
Invisible purification flowed out.
The skull turned into drifting white light.
A woman in a shrine maiden outfit, face veiled, appeared for a brief second, bowed slightly to Arthur, and then vanished.
Arthur smiled faintly.
Then he turned and walked out.
"What was inside?" the girls all asked at once.
"Another unlucky person," Arthur said with a smile. "But she should be on her way to reincarnate now."
They all nodded, expressions softening.
Arthur looked over them. "So. Any plans after this?"
"Not really…"
Miko and the other six all shook their heads.
"In that case," Arthur smiled, "let's go shopping together. I still have to buy a few daily things for you."
"Shopping! Yes!"
All the girls' eyes lit up.
"Let's go back and grab my wallet first."
Arthur said it, flicked his fingers, and a Space Card appeared.
Seven people vanished on the spot.
They reappeared back at the house; Arthur picked up his wallet, then went out again — this time with six completely-different-type beauties around him.
Once they were outside, Arthur put an ignore/obfuscation effect on everyone.
That way, ordinary people wouldn't pay too much attention to a group of seven eye-catching freaks, and it'd save a ton of trouble.
…
Meanwhile, in Tokyo's Kita Ward.
Yurikawa Hana, who had come back from Kawaguchi, had already tossed the "Miko + Arthur" issue to the back of her mind and started thinking about food again.
Not because she was hungry.
Because she was greedy.
So she didn't go straight home — she detoured to the food street.
Thirty minutes later, satisfied, she finally headed back.
On the way through the shopping street, she saw a familiar figure up ahead.
"Huh? Aunty!"
It was Miko's mom buying groceries.
Hana's eyes lit up and she ran over to greet her.
"Oh, Hana-chan."
Miko's mom smiled. Then she noticed Miko wasn't with her and asked, puzzled, "Where's Miko?"
Hana's eyes flashed. She grinned. "Miko just split with me. She said she was gonna go buy something."
"I see."
Miko's mom nodded.
Then she handed over a bag of sweets. "Here. Take this."
"Huh? That's too much—" Hana was stunned. Why the sudden gift?
"It's fine, take it," Miko's mom said gently. "Miko's been staying over at your place a lot lately. She's probably troubled you. Just a little thank-you."
"Ah…"
Hana froze.
…Staying over… at my place?
Since when? Why don't I know about this??
Wait. Don't tell me…?!
She suddenly remembered Miko and Arthur's situation.
Could it be Miko had been using "I'm sleeping at Hana's" as an excuse… and was actually going to Arthur's… and even staying the night?!
Hiss— oh my god.
Not just once. Several times.
Did Miko already do that with Arthur?!
Hiss. That's fast.
Bold. Too bold.
Hana's heart thumped as her mind instantly filled with R-rated scenes.
"Hana-chan? What's wrong?"
Miko's mom saw her expression and got confused.
"A-ah, it's nothing, I just spaced out."
Hana snapped back, chuckled awkwardly, and said, "Then I'll accept it. Thank you, Aunty."
Since Miko had used her name as a cover that many times, this bag of sweets… could count as hush money.
"I'm going home now. How about you, Aunty?"
"I still have to get some vegetables. If you're going home, go ahead."
"Okay, bye Aunty."
"Bye-bye."
After they split, Hana was still buzzing inside.
She pulled out her phone, opened LINE, and sent Miko a message.
…
On the other side — Shinjuku Gyoen, central rest area.
Yotsuya Miko took out her phone.
Hana: "Miko, I just ran into your mom."
Miko's eyes tightened.
Miko: "What did you talk about?"
Hana: "Nothing much."
Miko's heart eased.
But the next message came right away.
Hana: "We just talked about how you've been coming to MY house to sleep over a LOT lately, even though I had no idea."
"!!!"
Miko's eyes went round.
She was busted!!
"What's wrong?"
Arthur and the girls all noticed Miko's weird expression and looked over.
"I'm chatting with Hana," Miko said quickly, fingers flying as she typed back to her friend.
Arthur saw that it involved Miko's mom and Hana, so he just smiled. "Then let's take a break here."
No one objected.
It was a rest area anyway, so they picked an open spot and sat down.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/ZeusOp