Shuten Douji Confirms Another Oni

[You have woken up.]

[This is great news for Minamoto no Yorimitsu.]

With a bang.

The tray and the medicine on it fell to the ground, breaking into black and white flowers.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu's eyes trembled.

She rubbed the corners of her eyes several times, confirming the scene she saw over and over again.

Seeing this, Ian smiled calmly and said:

"Wife, you don't have to doubt it anymore."

"It's me."

"Husband—!"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu came to the man with tears in her eyes and hugged him tightly.

"You're finally awake..."

"I've been waiting for this day for a long time."

"Sorry, it's my fault."

Ian stroked Minamoto no Yorimitsu's smooth long hair, his eyes gentle.

The two's eyes met, and only each other's existence remained in their eyes.

The release of emotion became a necessary action.

The two's lips touched, forming a closed and moist space.

The tongues wriggled like intricate tree roots, until they intertwined with each other.

After a long time.

The warrior reluctantly let go of the great onmyoji, gently pulling out a few strands of saliva.

And her eyes still had an inseparable attachment.

Ian certainly understood why Minamoto no Yorimitsu's emotion appeared.

He said with a smile:

"Wife is as enthusiastic as ever, I feel like a few of my ribs are about to be broken by you."

"Then does husband hate me for doing this?"

Minamoto no Yorimitsu looked at him with a bit of worry in her tone.

"How could I hate it?"

Ian rubbed the smooth purple hair, feeling the delicate texture.

"Rather, my wife's sadness was caused by me."

"I should have woken up sooner."

"That's not true." Minamoto no Yorimitsu shook her head. "This is not something you can decide."

"Being able to meet again like this is much better than I imagined."

"...That's true."

Ian's eyes fell on Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who had been taking care of him diligently for more than two years, and his eyes were very moved.

"Wife, then please tell me what happened in the past two years."

"No problem."

[Minamoto no Yorimitsu happily told you what happened in the past two years.]

[You learned about some major changes in the Minamoto clan.]

[For example, the death of Minamoto no Mitsunaka, and the promotion Minamoto no Yorimitsu received after taking over her father's position.]

[She is already a unique existence in Kyoto.]

[You realized that she was bearing a lot of pressure alone.]

[But she never gave up taking care of you during this period.]

[You can feel the fatigue in her eyes.]

[She really worked hard.]

"Thank you for your hard work, wife."

"You have indeed become much stronger."

Ian looked at her and did not hesitate to praise her.

"But—"

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Husband doesn't need to be so careful." Minamoto no Yorimitsu responded gently. "I am your wife, answering your questions is a matter of course."

"Then—"

Ian looked directly at Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

"Wife, are oni still prevalent in Heian-kyo now?"

He didn't just think of this question by chance.

When returning from that place of lingering life and death, Ian felt that the era of the night parade of a hundred oni had not ended with the death of Shuten Douji.

On the contrary, the entire Heian-kyo seemed to have become more noisy.

This was not a good thing.

Ian had a bad feeling.

This feeling soon turned into reality.

Minamoto no Yorimitsu hesitated for a while and nodded.

"Yes, husband."

"The scene of the night parade of a hundred oni has not disappeared, and..."

"And what?" Ian asked.

"Wife, there is no need to keep anything from me."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu looked at the man in front of her and nodded with a smile.

"Yes, husband, you're right."

"I... think these new oni are very purposeful."

"Very purposeful?"

"Yes." Minamoto no Yorimitsu nodded again.

"They seem to be here to destroy Heian-kyo."

"This is a more radical action than last time."

"..."

Ian was silent for a moment, and then asked:

"Then wife, during the time I was unconscious, nothing major happened in the capital, right?"

"No."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu showed a gratified smile.

"Tsuna and the others have been working very hard to share the responsibilities they should have for me."

"So although the oni's attack is quite fierce, it can actually maintain the same scene as before."

"That's great."

As the two were talking, a voice came from outside.

"Lady, it's time, you should go to court."

The servant outside the door naturally didn't know that Ian had woken up.

So—

This was to remind Minamoto no Yorimitsu not to forget the time because she was worried about Ian.

"..."

Listening to the call from outside, Minamoto no Yorimitsu looked at Ian with reluctance in her eyes.

But the latter was quite open-minded and reached out to comfort her:

"Wife, business matters are important."

"Lord is no longer here, the Minamoto clan can only rely on you to maintain it now."

"If I delay business matters because of me, I will become a sinner of the Minamoto clan."

"..."

"What husband said is reasonable."

Minamoto no Yorimitsu leaned forward and gently left a kiss on Ian's face.

"Husband, if you have any questions, send someone to call me as soon as possible."

"Also... I will tell the good news of your waking up to others."

"Yes, I know."

[You are alone in the room.]

[In fact, if possible, you also want to stay with Minamoto no Yorimitsu for a while.]

[But you know that you have more important things to do than this beautiful warmth.]

[Talent Shuten Douji's blessing activated: You released Shuten Douji, who was locked in your consciousness.]

[You have something to ask her.]

"Eh?"

Shuten Douji, who was released, couldn't recover for a while.

She touched her head several times before realizing what had happened.

"I'm out?!"

"Mister~ you're really nice! You can't bear to keep me locked in your head!"

"Shuten Douji, you seem to have misunderstood something."

Ian looked at the petite girl in front of him, his expression very serious.

"I didn't call you out because I'm so nice."

"It's—"

"I have a question to ask you."

"..."

Shuten Douji turned her face away, looking a little unhappy.

She muttered:

"This tone is too annoying, I'm not your subordinate."

"First question."

"So you didn't listen to me at all?!"

"Yes."

Ian looked directly at Shuten Douji, who had been deprived of all her power.

"You should know that you don't have the right to choose now."

"And—"

"If you want to figure out what I am, shouldn't you try your best to help me?"

"..."

Ian's words silenced Shuten Douji.

Finally, she nodded.

"Okay, I know."

"But let me tell you first—"

"I am just the oni king of Mount Oe, not a god who knows everything."

"I may not be able to answer the questions you ask!"

Ian nodded.

"I know."

"I didn't say I want you to answer all the questions—but at least, you have to be honest."

"Okay, okay." Shuten Douji waved her hand. "You don't have to say these words."

"Ask me quickly."

"Okay then."

Shuten Douji was not confused, and neither was Ian.

"After you died, there are still oni appearing in Heian-kyo... are your subordinates avenging you?"

"Eh?"

Hearing Ian's words, Shuten Douji looked a little surprised.

"There are still oni appearing?"

"Yes." Ian nodded. "And it's a little more powerful than before."

"I'm wondering, could this be something your subordinates did?"

"This..."

Hearing Ian's words, Shuten Douji fell into deep thought.

She shook her head and answered:

"I don't think that's possible."

"Why?"

"Because—"

Shuten Douji scratched her face, looking a little embarrassed.

"Although I was constantly sending my subordinates to Heian-kyo at that time."

"But if it's after I died, I don't think they would dare to continue doing this."

"After all."

Shuten Douji put her hands on her waist.

"I am the oni king of Mount Oe."

"If even the oni king is killed, even if there are oni under me who want to cause trouble, I'm afraid they don't have the guts."

"Heh."

Ian suddenly found it funny.

"It's obviously a fact of being defeated, why do I feel like you're still a little proud?"

"Being defeated depends on the situation!"

Shuten Douji argued unhappily.

"If I were defeated by an ordinary person, I definitely wouldn't say there's anything worth showing off."

"But—"

"Being able to make that big-breasted woman burst out with such power, and being defeated only when she was attacked, I can be considered a bit capable, right?"

[You don't deny Shuten Douji's words.]

[Although the memory is a bit blurry, you can still vaguely recall Minamoto no Yorimitsu's appearance at that time.]

[You are sure that was definitely not the ability she could use normally.]

[However, you still have some thoughts about Shuten Douji's words.]

"Are you sure no oni will avenge you?"

Ian asked again.

"It's impossible that the entire Mount Oe, except you, is useless, right?"

"..."

"Why do I feel like you're secretly stepping on Mount Oe?"

Although Shuten Douji muttered like this, she still thought seriously.

The pair of angry horns on her head were also flashing.

Soon, she answered:

"If you put it that way, I do think there is one oni who can do this."

"Who is it?"

"Ibaraki... you should call her Ibaraki Douji, right?"

Shuten Douji said casually.

"If there is anyone in the entire Mount Oe who has the ability to cause trouble after I die, it's only her."

"Then can you be sure if she did it?" Ian asked immediately.

"Mister, don't give me a hard time, okay?!"

Shuten Douji was a little anxious.

"I'm not a god, how can I know so easily?"

"Then if—"

Ian looked at the petite oni girl in front of him.

"I can let you look around in the capital?"

"..."

Shuten Douji was not slow-witted.

She quickly understood what Ian meant—he wanted to take her to the places where oni had been to see.

In this way, the previous statement can be confirmed.

"Mister, you're really using me as a tool."

"Don't say these useless things, just tell me if you can or not?"

"...Let's try it first."

"I'll try my best."

[Talent Mountain and River Flowing activated: Under your influence, Shuten Douji was recognized as a servant in the mansion, and no one doubted it.]

[And compared to figuring out why there is another "person" beside you, the servants in the mansion want to know how you woke up.]

[But you don't have the mind to explain these things to them at the moment.]

[You just want to know who is harming Heian-kyo.]

[You absolutely will not allow any oni to harm Minamoto no Yorimitsu.]

[You took Shuten Douji outside.]

"Eh?!"

Shuten Douji looked at the wine Ian bought for her, blinked her eyes, and looked very surprised.

"You're giving this to me?"

"Yes." Ian nodded.

"Shuten Douji, I'm not the kind of onmyoji who only knows how to exploit."

"If you do your job well, I will definitely not treat you badly."

"This is one of the fine wines of Kyoto—I'll give it to you as a sign of sincerity."

"..."

Shuten Douji hugged the bottle of wine tightly.

"You said that!"

"I don't like liars!"

[Talent Great Onmyoji++ activated: Although you have been in a coma for more than two years, you have not forgotten what you can do as a great onmyoji.]

[You took Shuten Douji to tour the streets of Kyoto, constantly visiting the places where oni had appeared.]

[You hope this can directly help you determine who the oni who caused trouble after Shuten Douji is.]

[But things are not as simple as imagined.]

"No."

"None of them."

Shuten Douji, holding the bottle of wine, kept shaking her head.

"Okay!"

"You don't have to take me to other places!"

"This is definitely not what Ibaraki did—she won't use this kind of method."

"..."

Ian did not doubt Shuten Douji's words.

After all, for her, lying about this kind of thing made no sense.

But in this way, a new problem was placed in front of Ian.

If it wasn't Shuten Douji's subordinate Ibaraki Douji—

Then who was it?

Seeming to see Ian's concerns, Shuten Douji continued:

"Hey, mister!"

"Don't be so disappointed!"

"Although I know it's not Ibaraki Douji, I didn't find nothing~"

"..."

"Don't look at me like that!"

"I'm not kidding."

Shuten Douji looked at the place that had been repaired after being destroyed by the oni.

"I think..."

"Behind these oni, there seems to be an existence very similar to your big-breasted wife~"

"What did you say?"