The Lover the Grand Onmyoji Wanted to Marry But Couldn't

"..."

Shuten Douji froze there.

She completely hadn't expected to see such a thing at this time.

This was clearly the room she had left before, right?!

And—

She didn't know this fox demon at all.

How could it have become like this?!

Watching her friend Shuten Douji lying motionless on the window above, Ibaraki Douji's eyes were full of doubt.

"Shuten?"

"Why haven't you gone in yet?"

"Isn't this our room?"

"Eh?! This..."

At this moment, Shuten Douji completely didn't know how to answer the question Ibaraki Douji had asked.

"Wait a moment, Ibaraki!"

"Right now, we can't go in yet!"

"Why?"

Ibaraki Douji looked at Shuten Douji above with increasing doubt.

"Did something strange happen?"

"No! It's normal! Everything is normal!"

"Really?"

"Really!" Shuten Douji nodded repeatedly. "Ibaraki, you have to believe me!"

"...Alright."

Ibaraki Douji didn't say anything more, but silently waited.

Shuten Douji was also able to continue observing the situation inside.

Although the fox's eyes were covered and her hands and feet were bound by ropes,

Shuten Douji had to admit that this fox demon was quite beautiful.

Judging by what she had seen and heard, she was a beauty on the level of Minamoto no Raiko.

But—

It was still unclear why she was tied up like this.

The only reasonable explanation Shuten Douji had in her head was that the Grand Onmyoji was punishing this fox demon.

However—

Shuten Douji looked at the fox demon before her—she was too calm.

Rather than saying she was being punished, it was more like she was willingly tied up here like this.

After all, this was a fox demon. If she were caught by the Grand Onmyoji, she would struggle at least a little, right?

Something was wrong.

This was too wrong.

Realizing this, Shuten Douji dared even less to enter the room.

She was afraid there was something fishy going on.

One hour.

"Shuten, can't we go in yet?"

"No!"

Two hours.

"Shuten, it's been a long time."

"I said no means no! Ibaraki, just wait a little longer!"

Finally.

Heian-kyō fell into the deep of night.

The room Shuten Douji was secretly observing finally welcomed a new change.

With a soft rustling sound, the shoji door was pushed open.

The figure of the Grand Onmyoji appeared there.

[You entered Tamamo no Mae's room.]

[You came before Tamamo no Mae.]

[Looking at her motionless form, you felt a bit complicated.]

[You realized that her position in your heart had become somewhat different.]

"Tama-chan."

Abe no Taishin lowered his head, leaned close to Tamamo no Mae, gently stroked her hair, and said softly;

"I... want to try some tea."

Although unable to speak, Tamamo no Mae still nodded.

Her slightly flushed face indicated that although she felt ashamed, she was also happy because of it.

Of course.

Even though he said he was going to use that place to make tea, Abe no Taishin didn't actually pour boiling water into Tamamo no Mae's treasure.

After all, if he did that, she would quickly be ruined.

The Grand Onmyoji didn't want to see such a situation, nor would he allow it to happen.

He was there to reassure her, not to torment her.

So—

Abe no Taishin actually used a gentler method.

He was indeed using her treasure to brew tea.

But the water used wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable; it was the perfect temperature—warm but also able to steep the tea leaves.

As for the tea leaves, there was even less to say.

Abe no Taishin was originally worried about making Tamamo no Mae feel uncomfortable, so he used the best tea leaves that could be found in all of Kyoto.

In a sense—

This was more like using tea leaves to maintain Tamamo no Mae's treasure.

Taking out the already prepared white porcelain teacup, Abe no Taishin's fingers gently stroked Tamamo no Mae's lower abdomen.

The fox demon's body quickly reacted.

As the ropes touching her hands and feet trembled, the brewed tea slowly poured into the teacup.

It was a fine brew that had been steeping in the fox demon's treasure all night.

Abe no Taishin reached out and removed the towel that Tamamo no Mae was biting.

"Tama-chan, have a taste."

Although the fox demon's eyes were covered and she couldn't see anything, she still nodded.

The Grand Onmyoji brought the teacup to her lips.

Glug glug—

Tamamo no Mae's throat moved slightly.

"Abe-sama... this tea is really good."

"Yes."

Abe no Taishin untied the thing covering Tamamo no Mae's eyes.

Under her gaze, he turned the cup to the side she had just drunk from.

Glug glug.

The Grand Onmyoji took a sip of tea.

"Tama-chan."

"I really like your flavor."

Hearing these words, Tamamo no Mae's face turned red.

She replied shyly:

"In that case, please enjoy more of the tea brewed by me, Abe-sama."

[Talent Fox Demon Teapot has been strengthened to Fox Demon Teapot+: You received the "Demon" blessing from Tamamo no Mae.]

[You found that your body didn't reject this feeling.]

[You decided to savor this flavor more.]

The ropes were untied.

Tamamo no Mae, now free, looked shyly at Abe no Taishin, who was lying on top of her, enjoying the tea. Her fingers drew a heart shape on the tatami mat beside her.

She wasn't foolish.

Although he kept saying he wanted her to be his tea set, in reality, he was just using a different way to allow their contact.

This was clearly something that had touched his bottom line.

Tamamo no Mae understood this.

However—

It was a rare opportunity to be enjoyed by him in such a legitimate way.

The fox demon found that she couldn't refuse at all.

After all...

Like this now.

It looked very much like a wife satisfying her husband's quirk.

"Tama-chan," Abe no Taishin's voice sounded.

"Are you unhappy being treated like this?"

"..."

Tamamo no Mae shook her head.

"Not at all."

"Brewing a pot of hot tea and waiting for Abe-sama's arrival."

"Everyday life spent like this is already a continuous miracle."

"I already feel happy enough."

"Tama-chan..."

Abe no Taishin looked at Tamamo no Mae, who spoke such understanding words, and felt a little guilty.

"If the person who saved you wasn't me, you would probably be living a better life, right?"

"But besides Abe-sama, who else would be willing to lend me a helping hand?"

Tamamo no Mae smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Without Abe-sama, I'm afraid I would have already been killed as a demon who brought disaster to the government, right?"

[You didn't realize Shuten Douji's presence.]

[You didn't even think that she had witnessed the entire tea-tasting process.]

"This..."

Shuten Douji frowned slightly.

She initially thought this was a demon being tamed and subdued by the Grand Onmyoji in this room.

But looking at it now,

Things didn't seem to be like that at all.

This fox demon didn't dislike him at all; she was even very grateful that he came to taste the tea from there.

And—

He even called her "Tama-chan"!

That name was too intimate!

She had stayed by his side for so long, but he had never called her "Shuten-chan"!

The more Shuten Douji thought about it, the more agitated she became. In the end, she accidentally fell from the high window into the room.

She landed on the tatami with a thud.

Such a loud noise naturally caused Abe no Taishin and Tamamo no Mae to look in that direction.

Tamamo no Mae didn't understand what was going on.

Abe no Taishin recognized Shuten Douji at a glance.

"Shuten?!"

"You're back?"

"What's with that tone?!" Shuten Douji got up. "Did you not want to see me?"

"Or—"

Shuten Douji glanced at Tamamo no Mae, who was completely exposed beside the Grand Onmyoji.

"Did I interrupt your and this fox demon's amorous encounter?"

Hearing these words, Tamamo no Mae suddenly felt embarrassed.

She didn't mind Abe no Taishin seeing her entire body.

But if she caused him to lose face, that wouldn't do.

"I'm sorry, I'll put on my clothes now."

[Tamamo no Mae changed into her own clothes.]

[And Shuten Douji brought Ibaraki Douji in as well.]

[All of this was done as quietly as possible.]

[After all, in a sense, none of the people in the room could face Minamoto no Raiko alone.]

"These two are..."

Tamamo no Mae looked at Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji before her.

She could tell that they weren't human, but she didn't recognize them either.

Hearing Tamamo no Mae ask about their identities, Shuten Douji patted her chest, which was as flat as could be, and said with a proud expression:

"I am the Oni King of Mount Ōe!"

"How about it? Scared yet?!"

"..."

Tamamo no Mae showed an awkward but polite smile.

"It certainly sounds very powerful."

"But—"

"I haven't heard of that name before..."

"Right! I knew as soon as I mentioned... eh?"

Shuten Douji's eyes turned into dots.

"You don't know Mount Ōe?"

This wasn't something difficult to understand.

In the era when Shuten Douji was active, Tamamo no Mae hadn't been born yet.

And by the time Tamamo no Mae appeared in Kyoto, Shuten Douji had long since had her head chopped off by Minamoto no Raiko with a single sword strike.

Then there was her resurrection with the help of Abe no Taishin's body and her hiding from the "Algae Woman"'s search.

Theoretically, Tamamo no Mae shouldn't know Shuten Douji's name.

However—

For Shuten Douji at this moment, Tamamo no Mae's words pierced her heart deeply.

She had originally wanted to use the name of the Oni King of Mount Ōe to regain some face in front of this fox demon—after all, she had just fallen down hard.

But if the other person didn't even recognize the name, there was no point in saying anything more!

Seeing Shuten Douji looking so disheartened, Tamamo no Mae felt like she might have said something wrong.

She leaned close to Abe no Taishin's ear and whispered:

"Abe-sama, did I say something wrong?"

"Uh..."

Before Abe no Taishin could answer this question, Ibaraki Douji spoke first.

"I am Ibaraki Douji, Shuten's friend."

"You there."

Ibaraki Douji looked at Tamamo no Mae.

"May I ask you a question?"

"..."

Looking at Ibaraki Douji, who was much smaller than herself, Tamamo no Mae didn't look down on her because of it.

She nodded very seriously:

"Please ask. If I know the answer, I will definitely explain it clearly."

"Then—"

Ibaraki Douji glanced at Tamamo no Mae, then at Abe no Taishin.

"What is your relationship with this Onmyoji?"

"Eh? This..."

[Tamamo no Mae didn't know how to answer this question.]

[After all, from beginning to end, she hadn't dared to ask such a thing.]

[She looked at you.]

[You realized that she both hoped to know the answer to this question and was afraid to know the answer to this question.]

[But what she didn't know was—your heart already had a very clear identity for her.]

Abe no Taishin patted Tamamo no Mae's shoulder and said gently:

"Let me answer that."

Under Tamamo no Mae's gaze, the Grand Onmyoji looked at the confused Ibaraki Douji.

"Ibaraki."

"If I had to use one word to describe the relationship between me and Tama-chan—"

"Then it would probably be 'someone I want to marry but can't'."

"..."

All the gazes present fell on Abe no Taishin, but their thoughts were different.

Tamamo no Mae was pleasantly surprised.

She had originally thought that Abe no Taishin's answer would be more inclined towards pity.

But looking at it now...

It didn't seem to be entirely pity.

She had more or less made him have thoughts, right?

Shuten Douji was surprised.

Although before leaving, she had somewhat understood that this Grand Onmyoji wouldn't be as overly hostile towards demons as before,

However—

Did he actually have the idea of accepting a demon as his wife now?

Then, could she also...?

Ibaraki Douji was expressionless.

However, she glanced at Shuten Douji, then at the Grand Onmyoji, and suddenly understood something.

"That Onmyoji, can I understand this relationship as lovers?"

"Lovers?"

Abe no Taishin glanced at Tamamo no Mae and, seeing the expectation in her eyes, replied with a smile:

"Yes, you could say that."

As soon as the Grand Onmyoji finished speaking,

Ibaraki Douji suddenly prostrated himself before him with a thud.

"Then I beg you."

"Please also take my friend Shuten as your lover!"

"She has been talking about you day and night; I really can't stand it anymore!"

"Eh?!"

Shuten Douji's cheeks turned red in an instant.

"Ibaraki! What are you talking about!"

"I didn't do that; it's just..."

The more Shuten Douji spoke, the less confident she became—after all, in this past season, she had indeed been missing this Grand Onmyoji.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have returned to Kyoto as soon as spring arrived.

But the next moment, she heard an unexpected answer.

"Alright," Abe no Taishin smiled slightly.

"If Shuten is willing, it's not impossible."

"Eh?!"

Shuten Douji was stunned for a moment, then shouted with a red face.

"Who would want to be an old man's lover!"

"Rather, why did you, old man, end up in this kind of relationship with a fox demon?"

"Shuten, this is how it is."

[You told Shuten Douji about the series of events that had recently occurred.]

[She showed a surprised expression, but then thought of something.]

"Mister, you mean there's a mirror in Heian Palace that must be retrieved, right?"

"Yes," Abe no Taishin nodded.

"That's right."

"Then—"

Shuten Douji hesitated for a moment, then continued.

"Do you want me to help you retrieve it?"