The Apprehensive Tamamo no Mae

"..."

Abe no Taishin wasn't surprised by Tamamo no Mae's answer.

After all, the initial vow he had made with her was about that treasured mirror she had inadvertently lost on her escape.

But looking at it now, things didn't seem as simple as they appeared on the surface.

Tamamo no Mae's mirror might not have been lost accidentally at all.

Rather, the Onmyoji hidden behind Fujiwara no Tokuko had done something unknown to others.

However, it was best to ask clearly first.

"Tama-chan, if I understood you correctly, you're saying that the Onmyōdō formation within Heian Palace is related to the mirror you lost before, right?"

"Yes," Tamamo no Mae nodded.

"My mirror inherently possesses the ability to communicate with Yin and Yang."

"However—"

"Generally speaking, only I can bring out this effect. How that Grand Onmyoji managed to do it... I might need to see the actual site to know."

"..."

Abe no Taishin nodded.

"I understand."

"Tama-chan, then let's go take a look tomorrow."

"Take a look?"

Tamamo no Mae blinked her golden eyes, looking somewhat surprised.

"Yes, since Tama-chan said we need to see the actual site, then let's go take a look."

Abe no Taishin gently stroked Tamamo no Mae's cheek—it was an extremely smooth and refreshing touch.

"By the way, let's just consider it as taking Tama-chan out for a walk."

"Tama-chan, you haven't been out for a long time, have you?"

"Is that really alright?"

Tamamo no Mae glanced at the closed shoji door—Minamoto no Raiko was fast asleep in the room across the way.

"What if Madam Raiko finds out?"

Abe no Taishin shook his head.

"No, Tama-chan."

"Raiko has to go to court tomorrow. If we return a little earlier, she won't find out."

"Abe-sama, but isn't this making you do something bad?"

Tamamo no Mae lowered her head, her ears drooping as well, looking somewhat uneasy and guilty.

"As expected, I'm still a burden to Abe-sama."

"..."

Seeing Tamamo no Mae like this, Abe no Taishin thought for a moment, then said with a smile:

"No, Tama-chan, if you put it that way, I should be the one who did something wrong."

"You're just keeping the promise you made to yourself, aren't you?"

"The promise I made?"

"Yes," Abe no Taishin nodded.

"Tama-chan, you did say you would seduce me."

"Right now—"

"Isn't this just Tama-chan showing that she keeps her word?"

"Abe-sama..."

Tamamo no Mae certainly knew that the Grand Onmyoji before her definitely hadn't been "seduced" by her.

After all, if that were really the case, he wouldn't have said he would only come over in the middle of the night.

The current situation—

Felt more like he was taking pity on her.

"Alright, that's enough, let's leave it at that."

Abe no Taishin patted Tamamo no Mae's head.

"Come out with me tomorrow."

"Okay, okay!"

Silence returned to the room.

And Tamamo no Mae looked at the prayer beads that had just been pulled out of her treasure—there were still traces of her fluids on them.

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

It was a way that could make her feel more fulfilled.

[You spent a not-so-peaceful night.]

[Your heart was still concerned about Tamamo no Mae.]

[You didn't know if your explanation had reassured her even a little bit.]

[This even slightly affected your condition the next day.]

"Husband, what's wrong with you..."

Minamoto no Raiko, standing at the entrance, looked at Abe no Taishin before her, her brows furrowed with concern.

"Didn't you sleep well?"

"A little, yes."

"Then..." Minamoto no Raiko's cheeks flushed slightly, "was it because I demanded too much from husband?"

"Or is it that the Empress's matter has made husband anxious?"

"Neither."

Abe no Taishin responded to Minamoto no Raiko before him.

"My lady, don't think too much. I simply didn't sleep well."

"However—"

The Grand Onmyoji looked around, confirming that no other servants were watching them, then continued.

"My lady, although we already know the Empress's intentions,"

"It's best not to make it public yet. It's not too late to expose her after we're prepared."

"Yes," Minamoto no Raiko nodded. "I understand."

"Husband, please rest assured, I will be very careful."

"Then—"

Minamoto no Raiko looked at the Grand Onmyoji before her, her eyes filled with only him.

"Husband, can you give me a good morning kiss?"

"Isn't that a matter of course?"

After kissing each other's lips at the entrance, Minamoto no Raiko left the residence with satisfaction.

[Spending time with Minamoto no Raiko certainly made you feel happy.]

[But you didn't forget what you were going to do with Tamamo no Mae today.]

[You arrived at the door of her room.]

"Tama-chan, it's alright now."

"Raiko has left. We can go."

"Abe-sama, please wait a moment longer!"

Tamamo no Mae's reply came from inside.

"Migu!"

As the fox demon uttered that familiar word, the shoji door slowly slid open.

Tamamo no Mae walked out.

However, the moment she met Abe no Taishin's eyes, she immediately turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.

The Grand Onmyoji naturally noticed this strange behavior.

"Tama-chan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

Tamamo no Mae shook her head repeatedly.

"Abe-sama, let's leave immediately!"

Abe no Taishin shook his head as he followed her.

[You weren't the kind of person who would keep asking about a problem.]

[If Tamamo no Mae didn't want to say more, you naturally wouldn't keep asking.]

[As agreed beforehand, you arrived outside Heian Palace.]

Heian Palace was the Emperor's residence and the place where he met with his officials.

So even knowing that he was within a formation, Abe no Taishin understood that this was definitely not a place where one could intrude casually.

The so-called actual site was just bringing Tamamo no Mae to a street closest to Heian Palace.

After all, the Grand Onmyoji understood that in the current situation, it was best to keep all actions secret.

However—

This was already enough for Tamamo no Mae.

The moment she stepped onto this street,

The fox demon's golden eyes reacted.

"Abe-sama."

"Tama-chan, what's wrong?"

"I... I can feel the mirror's presence."

"..."

Abe no Taishin looked around, confirming that no one was paying attention to him and Tamamo no Mae, before continuing to ask.

"Really?"

"Yes," Tamamo no Mae nodded. "Although it seems a part of the connection has been severed by something... I can indeed feel that the mirror is currently within Heian Palace."

Tamamo no Mae had no reason to lie, and she wouldn't lie to him.

Knowing this well, Abe no Taishin didn't doubt what she said.

However, he also thought of a question.

"Tama-chan."

"Since you can feel the mirror's presence, didn't you have this feeling before?"

"I really didn't."

Tamamo no Mae looked at the huge Heian Palace before her.

"I didn't dare to come to this place before... This time, it was only because Abe-sama was with me that I was able to reach here."

[This wasn't something difficult to understand.]

[After all, Tamamo no Mae had almost been taken back to Heian Palace in a prison cart before, so she would naturally be afraid of this place.]

[However, this was enough to prove that the foundation of this formation was Tamamo no Mae's mirror.]

[You knew that this meant there was indeed a powerful Onmyoji within the palace.]

Looking at the walls of Heian Palace, Abe no Taishin thought for a while, then said:

"Then Tama-chan, since you can feel the mirror's presence, is there a way to retrieve it now?"

Tamamo no Mae shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Abe-sama."

"I can feel that it's fixed in a certain place... With my current abilities, there's no way I can do that."

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

Abe no Taishin smiled slightly and patted Tamamo no Mae's head.

"After all, if you could do that kind of thing, you wouldn't be by my side now, would you?"

"Hmm..."

Tamamo no Mae, whose head was being patted, looked slightly happier.

"Then Tama-chan—"

"Let's leave here for now."

"I understand."

[You left the street near Heian-kyō.]

[Due to the Minamoto clan's status, the Minamoto residence located in East First Avenue wasn't too far from Heian Palace.]

[But you noticed that Tamamo no Mae seemed a little off.]

Actually, Abe no Taishin had noticed it a long time ago.

From the moment Tamamo no Mae came out of the room, she seemed a little strange.

But he felt that Tamamo no Mae didn't want him to notice, so he could only pretend not to see it.

But her current appearance looked wrong—it was obvious that she was almost unable to hold back.

Abe no Taishin knew what this meant.

The Grand Onmyoji took Tamamo no Mae to the sake shop where they first met.

The shoji door was closed, and the fox demon, feeling unwell all over, became a little uneasy.

"Abe-sama, this is..."

"Tama-chan."

Abe no Taishin looked at Tamamo no Mae's beautiful skirt before him.

"Did you put the prayer beads inside yourself?"

"Eh?!"

Tamamo no Mae's pupils widened slightly at that moment.

"That's not true! I didn't do such a thing!"

"Lift it up," Abe no Taishin ordered.

"..."

After hesitating for a long while, Tamamo no Mae finally did as Abe no Taishin commanded.

Just as he thought.

Under the purplish-red mark on her lower abdomen, both of Tamamo no Mae's treasures were filled to the brim.

The upper treasure was filled with a white towel—it was already soaked with the water flowing from the treasure.

The lower treasure, as before, revealed a small section of the prayer bead string.

"Abe-sama, I'm sorry."

Knowing that everything could no longer be concealed, Tamamo no Mae felt both ashamed and scared.

"I..."

Before Tamamo no Mae could finish speaking, Abe no Taishin had already spoken first.

"Tama-chan, do you really like this?"

"..."

Tamamo no Mae shook her head.

"Actually, I don't like it that much."

"It's just that this way... makes me feel like I've helped Abe-sama."

"After all—"

"Abe-sama said he really liked the way I performed."

"..."

Hearing these words, Abe no Taishin sat down in front of Tamamo no Mae.

He reached out and tugged at the prayer beads, sometimes pulling them out a bit, then pushing them back in.

Tamamo no Mae first bit her lip tightly, but later couldn't hold back and had to cry out.

"Migu!"

Her legs trembled, and the towel gradually became swollen.

But she didn't refuse this play.

It wasn't because Tamamo no Mae derived enough pleasure from it, but because this allowed her to feel that she was truly being needed by him.

Even if—

Everything wasn't quite normal.

"..."

Abe no Taishin gently pulled out the towel.

The fox demon's legs became the riverbed of a clear spring.

She slowly drew a beautiful waterscape on the tatami mat.

Looking at Tamamo no Mae, Abe no Taishin said:

"In that case, Tama-chan, I think I really need you to help me make tea."

"Okay," Tamamo no Mae nodded. "I will work hard to learn the art of tea ceremony."

"No," Abe no Taishin shook his head.

"You don't need to learn that kind of thing."

"Why?" Tamamo no Mae tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Because—"

The Grand Onmyoji gently stroked the fox demon's already developed treasure.

"What I lack is a tea set."

"Tama-chan, can I use your treasure to make tea?"

"As long as the taste of the tea is good enough... then there's no need to worry about losing the meaning of staying, right?"

"Eh?!"

Tamamo no Mae's face turned red, but she still nodded.

"I... I'll try."

[Talent Fox Demon Teapot Acquired: You further developed the way Tamamo no Mae's treasure is used.]

[She became your exclusive tea set.]

[This was a secret only you and she knew.]

A few days later.

Two small figures cautiously moved forward on the night streets of Kyoto.

They were Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji.

"Ibaraki."

Shuten Douji, who was leading the way, looked at the restored streets of Kyoto with a smug expression.

"I told you the Heian-kyō matter would definitely be resolved! That mister is so strong; this is nothing for him!"

"Yes."

Ibaraki Douji nodded.

"I also know that Onmyoji is indeed very powerful."

"But Ibaraki,"

"We've already returned to Mount Ōe. Why did we have to come back to this Heian-kyō?"

"Eh, that?!"

Shuten Douji, whose sore spot was touched by her friend Ibaraki Douji's question, looked a little embarrassed.

After a long while, she finally squeezed out a sentence:

"Ibaraki, we need to have some ambition!"

"This Heian-kyō is the place we're going to occupy in the future, so isn't it normal to come back early to check out the situation?"

"Oh... I see."

A look of sudden realization appeared in Ibaraki Douji's eyes.

"I thought you were missing the mister's big stick!"

Hearing this, Shuten Douji's face turned red.

"No, let's not talk about that!"

"We have to hurry back to the mister's residence."

"Now?"

Ibaraki Douji looked up at the star-studded sky.

"Shouldn't this be the time for humans to rest?"

"Won't we be disturbing them if we go back at this time?"

"Hehe, Ibaraki, you just don't understand, do you?"

Shuten Douji put her hands on her hips.

"I have a secret passage."

Shuten Douji's secret passage wasn't actually that secret.

In reality, it was just climbing over the wall, then climbing over the roof, and reaching her room in the Minamoto residence directly through the window—just a "road."

However, because only oni like her and Ibaraki, who were small and agile, could climb up and down, it was indeed quite secret.

But—

When Shuten Douji climbed onto the window of the room, she saw a scene that puzzled her.

A fox demon was leaning against the pillar of the room.

Beside her was a neatly folded set of clothes and a small teapot lid.

However, rather than calling it a small teapot lid, Shuten Douji felt that the mushroom-like shape looked more like something inserted and then used to cover a place.

The fox demon's eyes were covered, and there was white silk from a towel at the corner of her mouth.

Her hands and legs were raised together to a position near her ears, and ropes pulled them towards the pillar of the room.

This made her unable to move, only her body occasionally swaying.

The whole scene looked like the Grand Onmyoji had caught a demon and tied her up here to make her feel remorse and shame.

But what surprised Shuten Douji the most wasn't her shameful posture.

It was the faint tea fragrance that permeated the room, coming from the treasure that had the shape of a manjū.

Was he—

Using this fox demon to make tea?