Chapter 231: Alliance ; Alluring Fox ; Family Picture (1/2)
Walking through the gateway created by Yuno, I find myself in the wooden house in Kyoto.
Then, I make use of Clairvoyance to examine the state of affairs, only to be a little startled by the sight of numerous Youkai training their powers and abilities.
Fortunately, they're training in a secluded section, so there won't be any supernatural-related news anytime soon.
As I continue to look around, my sight comes across Kunou who is making her way back to the main house.
Seeing that, a small smile forms on my lips before I exit the house and 'jog' over to her.
Before Kunou can realize what's going on, I've already swept her off her feet and holding her in a princess carry.
Initially, she was extremely distressed, but upon realizing that it's me, she pressed her head against my chest.
”Hello, Kunou. Have you been doing well?”
”Mn,” she hums as confirmation before asking, ”Are you here to see mother?”
”Yes,” I respond, ”She is in the 'main house', right?”
”Mn,” she hums once again before closing her eyes, seemingly enjoying the way she's being held at the moment.
The smile on my lips grows as I begin walking toward the main house while attracting the attention of anyone within the vicinity.
Soon, I find myself right in front of the main house's door. Telekinetically opening the door, I step inside without hesitation and make my way to the room Yasaka would converse with me in.
Unfortunately, Yasaka isn't there, so I set Kunou down and sit close to the round-table in the room, intending to converse with her while waiting for Yasaka.
”Say, Kunou,” I begin, ”What's your ability revolved around?”
Hearing this, Kunou's fox ears pop out and twitch as she directly begins to demonstrate her ability.
Raising her right arm, Kunou has a serious look on her face as a ball of blue flames surround her hand.
”Interesting,” I say with an intrigued expression, ”Hurl it at me.”
An odd look appears on Kunou's face upon hearing my words. She glances at the flames surrounding her hand then at me before she does as she was told.
Seeing the ball of flame approaching me, I attempt to manipulate it using Pyrokinesis, but it seems to not register as flames that can be influenced.
Sensing the potency of the ball of flame, a grin forms on my lips as I raise my hand and grasp it while covering my hand in Destruction.
My action results in the ball of flame 'exploding' before disappearing without a trace.
Kunou who had a slightly anxious expression on her face before is now looking at me with awe.
Seeing this, I issue a light chuckle before saying, ”I can tell that your fire isn't normal, but not in what way. Care to tell me?”
As a response to my inquiry, Kunou opens her mouth to respond, but before she can utter a word, a voice resounds in the room, ”That's foxfire.”
Turning toward the source of the voice, I am met with the sight of Yasaka gracefully entering the room and making her way to the round-table.
”Good morning,” I greet her while smiling.
”Good morning,” she greets back with a composed look on her face.
Observing her closely, I notice that the aura she is giving away right now is different from before.
For some reason, I'm more comfortable with her the way she is now.
”So, Mr. Victor, what has brought you here today?”
”Are you aware of the matter with devils planning to wage a war against me and the other two 'major' factions?”
Nodding her head, Yasaka says, ”Two days ago, a representative of one of the devil clans visited us in hopes of forming an alliance with us for the 'inevitable' war.”
”I see. Did they offer any interesting insight to tempt you to accept their offer?”
”Indeed. They claimed to have the support of an Asgardian goddess and some other gods as well as... a 'Phantom'.”
Upon hearing the last word, I squint my eyes and ask, ”Did he go into any detail regarding the Phantom?”
Is it a Code or an Unknown? Other beings are unable to differentiate between our existence, making it quite troublesome to figure out my opponents' identities.
At this moment, I feel a slight nudge on my shoulder before Kunou moves over and takes a seat on my lap.
Letting a small sigh, I pat her head while gazing at Yasaka and saying, ”How did you respond to their offer?”
”Isn't that obvious?” Yasaka says while smiling, ”I rejected it.”
”Wouldn't have been better for you to show uncertainty?”
”It might indeed seem like that would be for the best, however, the reality is quite different. By showing our standing, they would have to think twice before launching an attack on us. After all, from what I could tell, they were afraid to face you without proper preparation.”
”Not surprising,” I say once Yasaka is done explaining, ”They're most likely just a bunch of headstrong cowards.”
At this moment, Kunou gets off my lap and leaves the room without uttering a word, baffling me a little.
A few seconds later, Yasaka lightly chuckles and says, ”I see that Mr. Victor gets along very well with my daughter.”
”Well,” I say with a serene expression, ”I treat her like I do my real daughters.”
”I see,” Yasaka says with an understanding expression. From the looks of it, she thinks that I'm speaking of all my female angels through my usage of the word 'daughter'.
There is no point in clearing this misunderstanding as the reality is much more confusing. I mean, there is Irene and AI who both act as the souls of my system. At first, the two of them seemed to be one entity, but after a while, I found out they were separate beings.
AI is an 'artificial' version of Irene. I'm curious regarding what is that has made her be categorized as artificial. Was she creating differently from Irene?
Shaking my head to clear my mind of such thoughts, I say, ”Ms. Yasaka.”
The dignified woman is a little startled by me calling out to her in such a direct manner, but she quickly regains her composure and responds, ”Yes, Mr. Victor?”
”I am sure that you know of the reason I am here by now.”
”Correct. You're here to see if we will pledge our alliance to you.”
”So?”
”Naturally, we were already planning to do so.”
Hearing her response, I beam a smile and say, ”Very well then. You know who to call for once an issue arises.”
The next moment, I dissuade the stiff posture that I had taken for the last minute and say, ”Now that formal matters are out of the way, how have you been doing, Yasaka?”
A glint flashes through Yasaka's eyes as she loosens her shoulders as well and responds, ”I've been doing fine, however, I would be doing better if you would visit us more often. My daughter often speaks of you and expresses her desire to spend time with you.”