Chapter 114: Guidline for buying clothes

Yae Miko and the Raiden Shogun share a friendship that spans hundreds of years, though the exact number is unknown. This involves the age of a certain fox, and even for long-lived species, age is a particularly sensitive topic.

It's just like a certain purple-haired elder. Whenever the topic of her age comes up, she恨不得 makes the other person experience what it's like to faceplant into a keyboard.

But, if we think about it in terms of nested logic, perhaps this "sensitivity about age" is just a facade? Maybe Yae Miko doesn't actually care about her age deep down.

In her original character setting, the purple-haired elder doesn't care about age; it's only in secondary interpretations that she does. So, what would her real attitude be?

"I'm full. Little one, hurry up and eat. We're going to Ogura's shop later," Yae Miko said, resting her chin on her hands as she watched Li Mo.

"I have a feeling that Lady Yae is treating me like a toy now," Li Mo said. "Also, what do you plan to do with these documents?"

"Why bother dealing with them? Let's keep them for now. When my old friend decides to make some changes, I'll hand them over to her."

Inazuma belongs to the Raiden Shogun.

Li Mo learned this truth from Yae Miko.

Given his own limitations, he couldn't manage this matter… so he would just watch quietly. In the future, if he ever had the chance to face the Raiden Shogun directly, then all problems would cease to be problems.

Ogura's shop was a clothing store known throughout Inazuma for its kimonos. The shrine maidens' robes at the Grand Narukami Shrine were all made here.

As for the cost, Yae Miko didn't even bat an eye.

However, when they arrived at Ogura's shop, they saw the owner, Ogura Ryou, pointing fingers at a young man with white hair. If one looked closely, they would notice horns on his head.

—A red oni.

Having spent so much time in the shrine's library, Li Mo had absorbed enough knowledge to recognize this as a red oni from the oni tribe. Thinking about it, it was obvious. According to historical records, the only oni that existed among humans were the red oni. The blue oni lived apart from human society.

The blue oni had always hidden from humans, clinging to their pride.

Then, Li Mo remembered the young man's name.

Arataki Itto.

Li Mo didn't pay much attention to male characters, but Arataki Itto's laughter was too infectious—it was the kind of laugh that could brighten anyone's day.

The conversation between Ogura Ryou and Arataki Itto soon ended. After sincerely apologizing to the child beside him, Itto left cheerfully.

He passed by Li Mo like a gust of wind. Looking in the direction Itto was heading, Li Mo thought he caught a glimpse of something green…

Blinking, the green disappeared.

Maybe he had imagined it?

Or had it hidden itself?

Li Mo didn't dwell on it. He followed Yae Miko into Ogura's shop. The owner, or rather the proprietress, Ogura Ryou, was a cute woman with short pink hair.

Yes, the cute type. This was rare in Inazuma, making her quite fashionable. However, Li Mo wasn't particularly fond of this style.

"Ogura, have you prepared the designs for the shrine official robes I requested earlier?" Yae Miko asked.

"The designs are ready. Please take a look, Lady Yae."

Ogura Ryou pulled out a stack of papers from under the wooden counter and placed them in front of Yae Miko. They were filled with various clothing designs.

Unfortunately, Li Mo only glanced at them and found them hard to understand. He wasn't particularly interested. Clothes, to him, were like the fig leaves on Eve—meant to cover shame.

They also served to keep him warm, of course. As for the designs, the simpler, the better. He didn't care for anything too flashy.

External things were just that—external.

"Little brother, which one do you like?"

"How about pure white? Pure black would work too," Li Mo said after a quick glance. Ogura Ryou had clearly put a lot of thought into it, as there were plenty of solid-colored options.

Li Mo's first rule for buying clothes: go for pure white or pure black. Even if the design isn't great, these colors always look decent.

Yae Miko: "You really hate making choices, don't you?"

"I don't know what kind of clothes I like. I only know what I dislike," Li Mo said.

Li Mo's second rule for buying clothes: the more flashy and ornate the design, the less he liked it. Things like artistic fonts and metal accessories were best kept to a minimum.

In truth, since his transmigration, he had been wearing the original owner's clothes. Most of them were bought from Uniqlo, and he wasn't a particularly picky person.

Seeing that she couldn't rely on Li Mo's input, Yae Miko began discussing with Ogura Ryou on her own. When it came to fashion, women naturally had more interest than men. During the discussion, Li Mo had to pay attention to ensure Yae Miko didn't pick something too feminine, or he'd be in trouble.

Soon, the three of them settled on a design. Yae Miko then led Li Mo out of the shop, as if the sole purpose of their trip to Inazuma City was to get the shrine official robes.

Was there really no other purpose?

Li Mo didn't ask. He didn't feel like getting an answer from the old fox.

Too much effort.

Yae Miko seemed to enjoy the ordinary feeling of walking down the street, remaining quiet most of the way. Occasionally, passersby would glance at Li Mo.

The head shrine maiden of the Grand Narukami Shrine had existed for five hundred years. Everyone had seen her before. The Yae Publishing House she founded was in Inazuma City, and people often saw her entering and leaving it.

But Li Mo was a new face.

He noticed that people's gazes lingered on his head and back. After some thought, he realized that the people of Inazuma had mistaken him for a fox yokai.

—After all, Yae Miko was a fox, and she called him her younger brother. He was also a new face.

The conclusion they drew was that he was a fox who had just gained human form.

A newly transformed fox explained his unfamiliar face. Being a fox also explained why he was Yae Miko's "younger brother."

If he weren't the protagonist, even he might have believed it.

"Lady Yae, is this what you were aiming for?"

"Huh? Little brother, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

Yae Miko wore an expression that seemed confused but was actually hiding a smirk.

She didn't even try to hide it.

"Why?"

"Why does there have to be a reason? Let's get back to business. Little brother, do you remember the young oni from earlier?" Yae Miko changed the subject.

Li Mo, who didn't want to dwell on the previous topic, said, "I do. What about him?"

"Ioroi once entrusted Hanachirusato with a request related to the blue oni of the oni tribe. Do you remember, little brother?"

Yae Miko smiled as she asked.

She seemed to take great pleasure in causing trouble for Li Mo.