The Great Onmyoji's Other "Home" in Heian-kyō

[You found a house for Tamamo-mae in Heian-kyō.]

[This was something Tamamo-mae could never have done on her own.]

[But with your help, it was no longer a problem.]

[It was a mansion that hadn't been used for a long time.]

[You spent some money and bought it.]

[This will serve as Tamamo-mae's temporary residence—in a sense, another "home" for you.]

Inside the mansion.

Tamamo-mae frowned slightly at the dirty scene before her and couldn't help but say softly,

"This place seems to have been around for quite a while."

"Indeed."

Ian also looked at the scene before him.

"But this place is relatively remote. If you live in this mansion, it should be safer."

"However, Miss Algae Woman, do you not like this place?"

"If so, it's still early, and we can still change places."

"No, no, no~"

Tamamo-mae waved her hand slightly.

"I'm already very satisfied to have a place to stay!"

"But it's so dirty, we can't just live here. I have to clean it up properly."

"..."

Ian hesitated for a moment and said,

"I'll help you too."

"Eh?"

Tamamo-mae looked a little surprised.

"Mr. Abe, do you also know how to clean a mansion?"

"What are you talking about?" Ian gave a wry smile. "Onmyoji also have daily lives, right?"

"Besides—"

"Even if you don't know how, as long as you are willing to learn, you will definitely be able to master it."

"That's true~"

"Come on~ let's start cleaning!"

[You and Tamamo-mae start cleaning this old mansion.]

[It's not complicated, but it's tiring.]

[After all, there are only two of you.]

[You worked from noon until evening to barely finish cleaning it.]

[You deeply realize that this is not an easy task.]

"Finally done."

Ian looked at the mansion, which was not exactly brand new, but at least a little more pleasing to the eye, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, indeed."

Tamamo-mae brought a basin of hot water with a clean cloth floating in it.

"Mr. Abe, please let me wipe your sweat."

"..."

Before Ian could answer Tamamo-mae, she had already actively wrung out the cloth and began to wipe the sweat from his head.

It was a careful and extremely gentle gesture.

"Hmm."

After wiping Ian's sweat, Tamamo-mae put down the cloth, put her hands on her hips, and looked very happy.

"Okay~"

"Mr. Abe looks much more handsome now!"

[You realize that Tamamo-mae is not naturally melancholic.]

[She is actually a very lively girl.]

[This makes you wonder what she has been through.]

[You feel that your decision has some meaning beyond the exchange of benefits.]

"Then let's leave it at that for now."

Ian stood up.

The tall Grand Onmyoji opened a crack in the shoji door.

He squinted his eyes in the setting sun outside.

"I'm going back first."

"Miss Algae Woman, be careful."

"Migu!"

Tamamo-mae nodded.

Having found temporary shelter, she looked much more relaxed than before.

"Be careful on the road~"

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly realized something.

"Um, Mr. Abe, can I ask you for another favor?"

"...Speak."

"It's—"

Tamamo-mae pointed to herself.

"In the future, please don't call me 'Algae Woman' anymore."

"That's a very uncomfortable name for me."

"Then what should I call you?" Ian looked back at the fox demon.

Tamamo-mae smiled slightly.

"Please call me Tama-chan~"

"Okay, sure."

[You leave the mansion under Tamamo-mae's gaze.]

[You return to your and Minamoto no Raiko's mansion.]

[As mentioned before, Minamoto no Raiko has become even busier.]

[She didn't return to your mansion at the usual time.]

[You decide to use this time to sort out your thoughts.]

Tamamo-mae's origin should no longer be doubted.

But the key issue is the strange attitude of the Emperor of Heian-kyō towards her.

Frankly.

Although he had almost no contact with this Emperor, Ian didn't think he would be the kind of person who would launch such a large-scale search for a fox woman from the mountains.

After all, if that were the case.

Minamoto no Raiko, as the lord of Mino Province, would inevitably complain—she wanted to revive the Minamoto clan and naturally didn't want to be ordered around by a mediocre lord.

But if you think along these lines—

Ian would face a new problem.

Besides being a "woman," what else could make the Emperor order a massive search?

The Grand Onmyoji felt that things were not as simple as they seemed.

In addition.

Although he had agreed to help Tamamo-mae, Ian had no idea what to do at the moment.

How to make the Emperor stop the pursuit?

How to return Tamamo-mae to her home?

These were not easy things to do, and they also involved great risks.

But—

If he could get a chance to "contact" Minamoto no Mitsunaka, he would have to try no matter what.

That was the key to preventing Minamoto no Raiko from becoming an cold queen.

Ian rejected that future.

[You sorted out your thoughts.]

[You realize that a lot of time has passed.]

[Minamoto no Raiko returned to the mansion.]

[She looked very tired—it seemed that the affairs of the court had indeed increased a lot.]

"My lady, you're back."

Although she looked very tired, Minamoto no Raiko still cheered up and greeted Ian when she saw him.

"Yes, husband, I'm back."

After saying this, she hugged Ian.

For her, this was the most relaxing moment of the day.

However—

Minamoto no Raiko quickly raised her head.

There was a hint of confusion in her beautiful purple eyes.

"Husband, did you go somewhere today?"

"Eh?"

Ian didn't expect Minamoto no Raiko to suddenly bring up this topic.

"My lady, what do you mean by that?"

"Husband's smell is different."

Minamoto no Raiko stared at Ian and replied.

"Husband, you don't usually smell like this—you must have done something and sweated a lot to become like this."

"Husband, you wouldn't be secretly doing something, would you?"

"..."

Ian realized that when Minamoto no Raiko hugged him, she wasn't just enjoying the action, but also the smell.

But he didn't panic.

"My lady, have you forgotten?"

"Because of you, I now have to lead some foot soldiers on patrol—maybe that's why I smell different to you?"

"...Oh, right."

Minamoto no Raiko tapped her head and smiled apologetically.

"There are too many things to remember, I forgot about this."

"But—"

The warrior raised her head, looked at the Grand Onmyoji in front of her, and said very seriously:

"Husband, don't be so intimate with other women."

"Otherwise—"

As her words continued her eyes had a darkness that almost felt scary.

"I will definitely kill that person."

Ian was about to answer when he found that Minamoto no Raiko had fallen asleep on his chest.

It seemed that she was really exhausted today.

But that didn't change the fact that what she said just now was her true feelings.

It seemed that it was better not to mention Tamamo-mae's matter to her.

Lest it cause some unpredictable problems later.

Looking at Minamoto no Raiko's labored breathing in his arms, Ian felt a pang of heartache.

He gently stroked her hair and kissed her fair forehead.

"Don't worry."

"My lady, you will definitely have days to relax in the future."

[The Emperor's massive search continues.]

[Thanks to your protection, Tamamo-mae has not encountered any danger.]

[After all, the place she lives is a mansion bought in your name.]

[The foot soldiers in charge of the search, even if they don't think of you, have to give Minamoto no Raiko some face.]

[But you are not relaxing your vigilance.]

[You know the Emperor will not give up so easily.]

"Migu!"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Abe!"

Tamamo-mae knelt down in front of Ian, her big tail standing up behind her.

"If it weren't for Mr. Abe, I would still be worried sick on the streets."

"You understand that much is good."

Ian helped Tamamo-no-mae up.

"Tama-chan, although things are calm for now."

"But—"

"You should know that this matter isn't over, so you still need to be careful during this time."

"Yes," Tamamo-no-mae nodded.

"I understand."

"I know my position, so I will not leave this place no matter what when Mr. Abe is not here."

"That's good."

Ian stood up.

"I've brought you everything you need... if there's nothing else, I'll be going."

"Um—"

Tamamo-mae hesitated.

Seeing her like this, Ian asked proactively.

"What is it? At this point, just say what's on your mind."

Tamamo-no-mae looked troubled.

"I suddenly feel that these words are not suitable to be said at this time."

"..."

Ian reached out and flicked Tamamo-no-mae's forehead.

After she covered her forehead and said "that hurts," he continued:

"Tell me what's on your mind now, don't hold back."

"Tama-chan, you need to know that your current situation is very dangerous."

"If you make a mistake, it won't just be you who gets into trouble, but an entire clan."

"So—"

"Just say it directly."

"As for whether it's reasonable, that's for me to judge."

"Then—"

Tamamo-no-mae looked expectant.

"Tomorrow at noon, can Mr. Abe have a meal with me in this mansion?"

"It's okay if you can't... I'm just asking, so if you don't come..."

Before Tamamo-no-mae could finish speaking, Ian had already replied:

"I'll come, wait for me."

"But I have to go now."

Hearing this answer, Tamamo-no-mae was overjoyed.

"Yes!"

"I'll prepare well!"

[Your permission comes entirely from your concern for Tamamo-no-mae's condition.]

[After all, if she can't bear this situation and chooses to do something, you're worried you won't be able to control the situation.]

[So you know you have to take her feelings into account.]

[This is both solving her problem and solving your problem.]

The next day.

Ian arrived as promised.

As soon as he opened the shoji door of the old mansion, he saw Tamamo-no-mae's busy figure—she really valued this lunch.

Seeing the Grand Onmyoji arrive, Tamamo-no-mae stopped temporarily.

Sweating from being busy, she still smiled happily and said:

"Mr. Abe, please wait a moment."

"I'll be ready soon."

"Yes, I understand."

[You found a place on the tatami mat and sat down.]

[Tamamo-no-mae was busy in front of you.]

[She didn't seem to mind doing this, and even looked happy.]

[Soon, she prepared a table full of dishes.]

[Her cooking skills were comparable to those of a sake house.]

"Mr. Abe."

Tamamo-no-mae brought the last dish to the table in front of Ian.

"Please try my cooking."

"..."

"Mr. Abe, what kind of look is that?" Tamamo-no-mae looked a little worried. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

Ian shook his head.

"I just vaguely remember you saying you didn't like serving people and were planning to help."

"But looking at it now, you're not exactly clueless about this kind of thing."

"And just now, you looked very happy."

"..."

Tamamo-no-mae held her cheeks, put her hands on the table, and smiled slightly.

"Mr. Abe, you're wrong."

"I don't dislike serving people... I just haven't met someone worth doing it for."

"And now—"

The fox demon looked at the Grand Onmyoji in front of her.

"Mr. Abe is my only benefactor."

"So I think you deserve to enjoy this kind of service."

"Please enjoy these dishes that I made with my efforts."

"..."

Tamamo-no-mae's eyes were full of anticipation.

Ian hesitated for a moment and didn't refuse her kindness.

He began to taste the dishes.

It must be said.

Tamamo-no-mae's skills were as good as she said.

Ian couldn't find any fault with them.

"Tama-chan, your cooking is really good."

"Of course."

Tamamo-no-mae looked very proud.

"I worked very hard for today's meal."

"By the way."

The virtuous fox demon got up and brought the sake jar from the side.

"The sake you brought last time hasn't been opened yet."

"Today—"

Tamamo-no-mae put the sake jar on the table and sat next to Ian.

"Mr. Abe."

"Would you like to have a few drinks with me?"