Chapter 8: Kyoto - A Lousy Meeting
- Ars Bune -
After the entire fiasco we were being escorted by guards to follow Yasaka who was currently consoling Kunou in her embrace.
The anticipation within me grew with each step. The guards adorned in traditional attire led the way towards the grand japanese-style hall alongside a nervous Ingvild and Hertlinde.
The sound of my footsteps echoed through the vast hall as I passed a series of elaborately decorated corridors with a bunch of sliding doors adorned with intricate symbols on each side. The faint scent of old hinoki filled the air, heightening the ancient ambience from the surroundings.
The interior of the mansion was a blend of traditional Japanese elegance and supernatural beauty.
Glowing orbs illuminated the hall, casting an otherworldly light upon the polished marble floors.
Paintings depicting various yokai adorned the walls as their vibrant colors and beauty captivated my senses.
One that particularly caught my attention was a picture of an alluring black-haired woman with an elegant black kimono, along with a set of pure white nine tails spouting in her back.
[Oh, so they kept her picture in here.]
[Amusing.]
[Even if she got betrayed in the end.]
Even without Azi explaining who the woman in black garments is, I knew who she was. Even in my world, she was very infamous as one of the three great evils in Japanese mythology. I guess she's also famous in this world as well, even though her appearance in the novels was nothing but a mere mention that she got sealed by the Five Principal Clans.
She was known as Da Ji in Shang dynasty, but she changed her name into Bao Si during Zhou dynasty. And above all, her most infamous identity was Tamamo-No-Mae, the legendary fox yokai who was infamous for causing misfortune and death across the continents, before continuing her reign of terror in Japan in the Heian period, until her atrocious deeds were finally ended after eighty thousand soldiers chased her and eventually she was killed by those soldiers, where her body was later sealed inside the Sesso-seki.
Then again, a particular word from the three-headed dragon caught my interest.
'What do you mean by betrayed?' I ask Azi in curiosity.
[Your legends differ from what happened in this world, brat.]
[While she indeed has the same identity as Da Ji and Bao Si like you mentioned before, she is not the same woman who ended three dynasties in this world.]
[It's here, she was infamously known as the Yokai who once reigned over the entirety of Japan under her ironclad rule.]
Azi's explanation got me interested.
This version didn't even get explained at all during my time reading this series.
[Of course it didn't, in that pathetic excuse of a novel, Tamamo-No-Mae is only briefly mentioned if at all!]
[While in here, she's known as the strongest yokai that ever graced the eastern region!]
[Disgustingly strong that she could challenge the shinto faction, and probably could have triumphed over them had she actually tried with necessary preparation or any extra shit!]
'... You thought highly of her,' I inwardly said in surprise. 'Do you have some respect for Tamamo?'
[Piss off! I would sooner rather lick my own tails over acknowledging that whore!]
[Despite having that much power, she fell into stagnation in her reign as a leader! What a sorry excuse for a woman!]
[That's also the reason why she ended up being betrayed by her families and her generals, it's all because of her refusal to accept how the world moves, choosing to be a conservative!]
I stayed silent while digressing every one of Azi's rants about Tamamo-No-Mae.
What he said is actually true. As a leader, you cannot stay in the same leadership for a long period. It eventually causes the region under your rule to stagnate, unable to develop, and will end up left behind under the visage of time.
But despite her poor leadership, she was still a powerful Yokai according to Azi.
[She could probably have transcended into the realm beyond god, reaching the strength of Heavenly Dragons if she was still alive today.]
[Alas, her stubbornness brought her own demise.]
[In the end, she is also nothing but a victim of her own ego.]
We arrived at a set of towering double doors guarded by two formidable statues, representing mythical creatures from Japanese folklore.
The guards, standing tall and unwavering, positioned themselves on either side, their presence a testament to their loyalty and dedication while their eyes scanned the surroundings, ever watchful for any signs of danger.
Naturally they looked at us with suspicion.
"These devils are guests of mine." spoke Yasaka.
In a silent understanding, they moved to open the massive doors. With synchronized movement, the guards pushed open the doors, revealing a colossal hall and granting us passage into it.
As I entered the hall, the guards took their positions on both sides of the door, closing it after letting us in. I watched briefly as female attendees quietly walked outside, while holding a sleeping Kunou, presumably towards her own room for some rest.
One thing that amazed me was that not one of these guards spoke or inquired about our presence. They sat firmly, waiting patiently for Yasaka to give them a chance to speak.
Yasaka's gaze locked at the retreating figure of Kunou, eyes filled with determination and concern. She then took her place at the far end of the hall in an ornate throne, eyes stared directly at me.
"Now that we have our own privacy," Yasaka spoke in a regal manner, her eyes glowed briefly. "Speak, Ars Bune."
Unfettered, I began explaining. "It started from a coincidence when I stumbled upon your daughter walking around a human residence alone without any guards accompanying her, alone and lost. I took her for lunch briefly then intending to bring her back to yokai territory when we met with those creatures, wearing what Kunou confirmed as her aides' skin."
Yasaka drawled in disgust, but let me continue with my story.
I added my thoughts about this matter. "From here, I assume they were trying to lure Kunou away while posing as her aides before taking her away. And given the situation, I dare to say this will not be the only attempt to abduct Kunou, whoever the perpetrator was."
Hummed in low tone while crossing her arms under her sizable breast, Yasaka then replied to my statement. "So you say there will be another case where Kunou will be targeted again in the future?"
I nodded at her, trying my best to not glance at her enormous breast which was loosely hanging on the edge, threatening to slip out from her kimono.
[A massive pair of badonkers for sure.] snorted Azi inwardly in a burst of laughter. [Definitely not trying to peek at its soft and pink pappila huh?]
'Shut up,' I inwardly scowled. 'I'm trying here asshat…'
[Hah! Why are you acting so boorish? You're a Dragon like us, bend her over a desk and claim her like one!]
[Fuck her senselessly until her face is filled with nothing but ecstasy! Conquer both her body and mind!]
[Even better, take her daughter as well and you get a mother and daughter combo! Oyakodon for the highway, baby!]
'... For Lucifer's balls, how far did you actually dig into my memories?'
[Enough for a lifetime of blackmail, bitch!]
I decided to cut off the conversation after hearing that.
I feel like I began regretting my decision to share my memories with this crazed, deranged three-headed Ghidorah wannabe inside my head.
[Screw you, that thing is mid! I am the better version!]
"... Are you okay, Ars-kun?"
Hearing Yasaka calling my name, I quickly cut the conversation with Azi while quickly replying to her. "I am fine, my apologies Lady Yasaka, just have something in my mind."
"I guess you're still young despite your well-mannered behavior when talking with me." said Yasaka while huffing softly.
I looked at her confused.
"Then again," she continued. "I am the leader of West Yokai and also mother of my dearest Kunou at foremost, so I have to treat you appropriately while being impartial, young Bune."
"I do not mind at all," I replied to her. "I am nothing but a stranger who brought your daughter home while informed that she was almost kidnapped, it's understandable that you would be wary of me."
Yasaka nodded at my statement, before standing from her throne as she walked to approach me. She then sat in front of me, taking my hand with both of hers while smiling. "I haven't had any chance to say this, but I bid you my utmost gratitude for saving my daughter. She's the only one that I have, and I couldn't even think about someone taking her away from me…"
I could feel her trembling hands, as if showing how much she meant about her fear of losing Kunou.
I grabbed her arms with my free hand. "No need for that, Lady Yasaka. I am just doing what I believe is right. Also, this is an unfortunate incident which also involves me along with my people here."
I said while gesturing to Ingvild and Hertlinde who both looked at Yasaka in confirmation. Though I did briefly see an unpleasant expression plastered on Ingvild's face.
I guess she is also being affected by this.
Taking her hands off mine, Yasaka nodded gratefully. "It's unfortunate. But alas, it's already happened. Kunou is also pretty affected by this since she's pretty close with her aides… I just hope that she can recover from this traumatic incident."
"I can't say much about that, Lady Yasaka."
"I know," replied Yasaka. "And I didn't blame you for that."
"Kunou is a good girl. Despite only meeting for such a short time, we did have a pleasant chat with each other. I am sure she can recover from this." I said while trying to console Yasaka, as currently she is not the leader of Western Yokai, but only a mother who is worried about her precious daughter.
Yasaka once again nodded with a mesmerizing smile which caught me off-guard.
"If this were not such a dire situation, I'd have assumed you were trying to court my daughter."
I looked at Yasaka with a dumbfounded look.
But as I am about to reply to such an incredulous statement, I suddenly feel a chill from behind me. As I looked back in trepidation, I found Ingvild just staring from me, but with a chilling aura surrounding her body while she pouted.
"Oh my," Yasaka drawled in amusement. "Seems like your girl apparently took offense on my assumption, my apologies dear~"
I facepalmed.
Yeah, this is Yasaka that I knew pretty well. Even though she posed herself as a leader, it still didn't stop her from occasionally teasing someone, or anyone younger than her, me included.
"The generals have arrived, my lady!" A voice can be heard from outside the door as one of the guards informed Yasaka with a loud voice.
A sigh escaped from Yasaka's lips. "I guess that ends our time for exchanging pleasantries, maybe another time."
This aroused my curiosity. But before I had any chance to ask, the door suddenly opened wide by both guards, as several figures walked inside.
Yasaka reacted quickly by donning a firm expression, her eyes narrowed in anticipation, exuding a regal appearance which contrasted from her previous image as a loving mother.
The first one who walked across the hall was a male white kitsune yokai donning the same kimono as the other, while also wearing haori as an extension.
His eyes landed on the three of us with nothing but a sneer for being unforeseen guests.
Another one was a familiar Karasu Tengu who I once saw during my time watching season four. Unlike the kitsune, he stood then bowed at Yasaka, while also giving the same treatment towards us while taking his seat on the opposite side
What a well-mannered fellow, unlike the male kitsune who snorted in a prudish way. But one glance at Yasaka was enough to make him quiver and look away.
That cannot be said of a dog-headed yokai yokai who walked past me and immediately took a seat in front of Yasaka. I could see some discontent coming from him, but he didn't say anything or even glance toward us.
[Inugami, quite a powerhouse among all yokai, especially the winged ones.]
Another one arrived, a female yokai with raccoon ears who glanced at us with curiosity.
[Tanuki, they are quite the hedonistic tricksters]
Another one followed soon, a man with a weasel head and a skinny figure. "A rather unexpected guest."
[Kamaitachi, they're infamously known for their ambushes with wind-based attacks.]
A rather enormous male yokai with a wolf-head arrived while giving us a sidelong glance for a while. He took the seat beside the Inugami.
[Huh, I didn't expect for an Okami to be here, they're well known for traveling around.]
Lastly, a female yokai with snake skins stopped beside us with curiosity. "I didn't know we had a guest for today's meeting."
[Hebi, and quite young for her age.]
She sat in the middle where she was flanked by other yokai in a variety of sizes between anthropomorphic and humanoid forms.
With a calm yet assertive voice, Yasaka began the meeting as the empty seats were all occupied. "I bid my gratitude for your arrival at this meeting. Before we start, I would like to announce that there will be another matter that I need to urgently discuss at the end of our meeting later."
"Then I will also enact my statement here," spoke the white fox yokai who was giving a hostile look toward us from the moment he arrived. "Why are there filthy devils in our sacred meeting ground? And all sat beside you, Yasaka-sama?"
A predictable reaction, but very unfortunate as it drew the reaction from other generals, with most of them following his gesture with varied amounts of suspiciousness along with a trace of hostility.
"There he is at it again." the Okami yokai said his piece while rolling his eyes. The same thing was also shared by other generals like the Kamaitachi who also sighed while muttering something.
The only ones who didn't give the same reaction were the snake girl yokai who looked at us with morbid curiosity, the Inugami who barely looked at us, and the Karasu Tengu who quickly stood and defended us.
"Cease this embarrassing hostility, Hakumo!" declared the Karasu Tengu with a loud voice. "These honored people were coming in here with nothing but good will as they were the ones who saved Princess Kunou from being abducted!"
His declaration is responded with a varied stage of reaction. Particularly the White fox named Hakumo who looked unimpressed.
"Oh? Then I may ask for an explanation for the entire ordeal, old man." said Hakumo who glanced at me, full of arrogance. "What kind of trickery would you believe from these liars, that they were saving our esteemed princess Kunou from being abducted? Don't you think they just made up with deceitful lies to sway our dear Yasaka-sama to believe them?"
"How dare you!?" roared the Karasu Tengu in sheer anger as he rose from his seat. "These people saved our esteemed Princess, and you dare to sully their good will by tarnishing their name!?"
"Look old man, I know you are a loyalist at heart, but use your head for a bit." said Hakumo in nonchalant manner, as his lips turned into sneer when his eyes glanced at me.
And before the Karasu Tengu was about to retaliate, the white fox immediately turned his attention toward Yasaka. "Yasaka-hime, I believed that you said that these guests of yours saved Princess Kunou from 'kidnappers'."
"That's what they had told me." spoke Yasaka in a regal tone.
A smirk appeared in Hakumo's face.
"While these strangers saved our esteemed Princess Kunou, don't you think this is not a mere coincidence?" Isn't it convenient that they just happened to be around Kunou exactly when she was getting kidnapped?" spoke Hakumo in a booming voice which reeks of arrogance.
Much to my annoyance, few generals are starting to pay more attention to his words while occasionally glancing at us.
Particularly the Kamaitachi, as he looked directly at my eyes, before strangely he flinched in morbid shock while quickly turning away from me in agitation. At the same time, I could hear Azi sneering in a menacing way inside my subconsciousness, to which I asked him what caused him to react in such a manner.
[No need to deal with it.]
[Just focus on this retarded drama for now.]
[Even though we really want to rip this mutt into pieces!]
Sensing his mood, I wisely shut up while ignoring him for now.
Despite the fact that Hakumo is trying to frame me, Yasaka didn't move an inch from her throne, or voiced anything to support me. While other generals also voiced their doubts about Hakumo's accusation towards me.
"Hakumo-dono, while your aspiration is convincing, you cannot really accuse these guests without any enough evidence." spoke the Inugami for the first time since this meeting was being held.
"And why is that, Yashamaru-dono?" Hakumo in turn is unimpressed by the Inugami's remark. "Is it wrong for me to be suspicious of these devils who dared to show themselves and think they're worthy of being our princess' guests after this incident?"
Yashamaru just shook his head. "I would not stop your ordeal, Hakumo-dono. But I suggest speaking more politely in front of Yasaka-hime because it's very shameful for us to bearing your insolent behavior any further."
"Typical Hakumo," spoke the Hebi in nonchalant manner while shrugging her shoulders. "Always trying to shine in front of Yasaka-hime."
A tick mark appeared on Hakumo's head, but he managed to reign his emotion. "
"Have you thought about this for a second, Yasaka-hime? Most guests of yours are devils, a race who created tools to enslave and take people left and right for their own agenda! And they allegedly said that they saved Princess Kunou from kidnappers?" continued Hakumo, as he stood while pointing his finger at us. "Lies! It's nothing but a mere facade created by this wretched creature to ensnare you in their whim! They could be using this 'kidnapping' as an excuse to get close to you!"
Hakumo's booming voice took immediate effect, as the other generals were now starting to voice their doubts on us.
Even the Karasu Tengu who previously stood against us, is now looked in doubt as he was also affected by this male fox's speech.
"Or maybe," added Hakumo in a low voice, while he slowly walked toward me. "Maybe Kunou was never the target? And the whole kidnapping thing was orchestrated by them just to get something that they wanted? Something precious for us, West Yokai."
There were murmurs from behind Hakumo, as the other generals began to take his statement into consideration. From the corner of my eyes, I also saw that the Karasu Tengu even turned his head away as he didn't have anything to retort against Hakumo's.
"What Hakumo-dono said does have some merit, considering the timing of the situation is quite odd as well." The Tanuki said while covering his face with his bamboo fan. "I share the same sentiment with Hakumo-dono."
With our eyes met and with his smirk turned into a victorious glee, Hakumo asked a question as if he dropped the final nail. "Now, devils. Speak. What do you want?"
Naturally I narrowed my eyes at his accusation. And from behind me, I also can sense the subtle glare from Ingvild.
'This dude is an asshole, but he had a way with his words.' I begrudgingly admitted, albeit with sheer annoyance creeped over me. On the other hand, I commend his ability to quickly create a scenario that puts me as a suspect while also creating doubts and suspicion from other generals.
'Now I have to come up with something to defend myself,' I hummed in my thoughts. 'How unfortunate that I can't directly bash this fucker's head, lest I get even more unfavorable position in this meeting.'
Suddenly I heard Azi lazily comment inside my head.
[Why even think about what this ass-kisser had just said when you have every piece you need to shut him down.]
[And he thinks he's a bigshot from belittling you in front of these weaklings.]
[Heh, now that I checked again, The MIlf got annoyed as well, but gotta give her some credit 'cuz she can keep her emotions in check.]
'How unfortunate, I would prefer her to clap this sorry excuse of a son-of-a-bitch.' I inwardly smirked at the image, which Azi also roared in laughter.
[Starting to get chummy with your new MILF yokai, brat?]
[Here I thought that you were a loyalist for one, but I didn't expect you to chase another piece as well!]
[But I really underestimate you, I guess you have grown to be more like a devil than your previous human-self!]
'Shut up, I have a dickhead to deal with now.' I rolled my eyes while cutting connection with Azi, not before they gave me a last roaring laughter.
"Ligma." I casually said while taking a chug of my now lukewarm tea.
This caused confusion amongst the generals, which included Hakumo as he narrowed his eyes while repeating what I just said. "What is Ligma you just spoke about?"
Yasaka took a sip from her cup
"Ligma balls, bitch."
And proceeded to spit it directly on my face after I said that.
"Rude." I said in a flat tone while wiped my face.
The female Hebi roared in laughter as she clutched her stomach while repeatedly smacking her palm on the floor. "You didn't just say it casually like that-! Damn it my stomach hurts!"
Hakumo on the other hand is bristled in anger. "Did you just insult me?"
"No shit, Sherlock," I said. "Even if you're too stupid to comprehend the modern lingo, you should at least understand that from the context clues. What, has your Alzheimer started setting in already, boomer?"
"How dare you filthy de-!"
"Also, being racist does not make you a cool man, you're a few thousand years too late. Were you even there for the last war, or are you one of those bitches who think they're hot shit and are looking for excuses to kill others?"
"Listen here you filth when I'm talki-!"
"Look here, boomer, you think coming up to me and acting like a hot shot is going to get you into Yasaka's bed? Like how if you had taken a few seconds to stop thinking about Yasaka's tits you'd know that?"
The male kitsune spluttered as his face reddened even more in anger and embarrassment before trying to reject these accusations. "W-What?! I am simply trying to uncover the truth of what happened here, insolent brat!"
"Don't try to deny that, we could all see where your eyes went the second you entered this room. Did you really think that you were being subtle? Because if yes then that's hilarious. Listen, everyone here knows that your dear leader Yasaka is smokin' hot. She's got the personality, the bombshell body and the motherly vibes," I took an appreciative look at Yasaka's fine assets. "In short, she's a grade A MILF and thus totally out of your league."
Near the end of my rant Hebi was near busting her gut laughing even harder, which managed to tease out a few chuckles from the other generals. Though I did feel a little sorry for the Karasu Tengu who looked like he just got slapped in the face.
Just a little though, and it was worth the satisfaction I got seeing Hakumo's flabbergasted expression.
"Ars-dono, would you please stop your endeavor about shaming my general in front of me?"
Unfortunately, my actions didn't go well with Yasaka, as she spoke in a firm tone after regaining her composure, as her eyes bore directly at my figure with regal expression. "While I appreciate your compliment, I do not condone this shameful behavior during this meeting."
The moment she finished speaking, an enormous pressure suddenly enveloped the entire hall, crushing any poor souls who couldn't withstand the immense force that instantly put almost every general on their knees, as sweats flowed in their writhing face, trying their best to fight the pain with coating themselves with each of their own Youjutsu.
Even Hertlinde doesn't get spared, as she also released her demonic power in order to lessen the pressure.
Poor Hakumo, he got the worst treatment as he immediately fell with an audible thud, face first.
Despite the killing intent emitted from Yasaka, there are few people who still stood unaffected by its crushing force.
The first person being the Inugami who looked tense but he's mostly able to keep his cool despite sweats flowing on his face, color me surprised.
Though he isn't even compared with Ingvild, who just sat while looking around in concern to the downed youkai spiraling on the tatami, while completely unaffected by Yasaka's aura pressure.
Honestly, I'd say that I remained fairly composed. Compared to the pressure I was usually under while a certain black dragon 'trained' me, this was nothing.
Compared to Crom? Yasaka felt like a large river, instead of the dark abyss of energy which was the Black Dragon.
If Yasaka noticed that I was entirely unaffected by the pressure she was emitting, then she did a good job keeping her poker face.
Surreptitiously, her eyes meet mine. There was a glimmer of mischief as she looked at me with her doe eyes, beseeching me to do something. I didn't know what she's up to, at least until she blinked and glanced at the people standing behind us. I quickly realized just what she wanted me to do.
She wanted me to play along. What a devious fox.
Fine, I guess I will be gracious enough to play along with my host.
Staggering backwards as if 'blown away' by some unseen force, I rooted myself firmly to the ground and bowed deeply in front of Yasaska.
"My apologies," I said, in front of the disbelieving crowd of yokai, "I should not have gone so far with my choice of words."
I caught a hint of surprise in Yasaka's face too, as if she didn't expect me to go this far with the little play we had set up, but she smoothes her face too quickly for anyone further away to notice.
Did she smirk at me for a moment there, or was that just a trick of the light? Her face remained as regal as it ever was. It annoyed me a little, but I held my posture so that nobody managed to catch a hint of our trickery.
With a subtle bit of magic, I managed to sneakily watch the other generals, who looked rather unsure of themselves at the moment. I saw Hakumo open his mouth, surely gloating about finally winning against a child, when some yokai next to him kicked him in the shins. Hakumo stopped for a second, seemingly considering what he was about to speak, and then thought better of it, and hastily bowed his head with a pale look on his face.
Honestly, I couldn't see why Yasaka kept him around.
He was practically an entire circus rolled into one.
"Ars, as a guest of mine I would like to request you to not lower yourself like this while within these halls. Please, do not be offended, as I would like to offer you an apology on the behalf of Hakumo-dono's rude insinuations towards you."
[So basically: her subordinate is an idiot, his insubordination is unacceptable. I have given up on him, but please don't lower yourself to his level.]
[Seriously, what a ruthless woman!]
[She's basically insulting him in public, and there isn't anything he can say about it without coming off as an even bigger idiot than he just did!]
I snickered at Azi's remark.
She was truly a devious woman, which wasn't surprising considering her origin as a fox youkai.
After all, fox yokai were rather infamous for their cunningness, which is enough to bring entire countries down, courtesy of Tamamo-No-Mae.
It wasn't something you saw much of in canon, which was hardly surprising as I was pretty sure her tits got much more screen time than she did.
The series was just that, a window to the world of DxD and nothing more. There were plenty of things which you would miss if you based everything off meta-knowledge.
[No shit, Sherlock. Oh, and by the way, look sharp. Your girl's approaching.]
'What?'
While I was thinking of Yasaka, I didn't realize that Ingvild had walked right up to Yaska and was standing beside me while bowing towards her as well.
"I-I would like to apologize for Ars' inappropriate behavior!" she exclaimed. Yasaka, seemed a bit taken aback by her sudden experience, but quickly shot me a smirk. Goddamn it, you win this time you crazy fox.
Behind me, I can see Hakumo's eyes were glued to Ingvild's rather shapely posterior as she bowed towards Yasaka. I subtly moved behind her to stop him from leering at her, before shooting Yasaka an annoyed look.
Just a thought I had, if she is bowing in front of Yasaka and everyone's standing behind her
Noticing the annoyed look on my face, Yasaka quickly raised her right hand, stopping Ingvild from bowing any further.
"Enough," she said, "I have already forgiven Ars-dono for his inappropriate behavior before." Everyone in the room nodded, and Ingvild stood up with a radiant shine on her face, to the disappointment of Hakumo who had missed quite the show earlier. It was vexing, but I managed to keep my composure.
For now, at the very least.
I am just looking for an excuse at this point, he tries this shit again and none of the yokai will stop me from straight-up killing him, the consequences be damned.
"Besides," Yasaka continued, "Ars has already informed me of this matter earlier, and in his talks he provided me with the proof exonerating him and pointing me towards the real culprit. I dragged Ingvild off the dais while glaring at Hakumo, who still had his head lowered while listening to Yasaka's speech.
Wait a fucking second, was this dumbass staring at her tits now?
[Holy shit, this guy either has a mentality of steel or just plain shameless.]
"Well, if that was the case, then why didn't you inform us before this farce took place, Yasaka-dono?" the Karasu Tengu asked in an upset tone.
"I would, if I didn't keep getting interrupted when I attempted to introduce my guests."
Hakumo didn't react as Yasaka said. Wow, what an impressive poker face. Either that, or he was too engrossed trying to commit every detail of Yasaka's breasts into his memory.
"Ars-dono, mind presenting the proof to everyone?" asked Yasaka.
Naturally, there was no reason for me to refuse her request. I noticed the guards in the corner tense as I summoned the corpse of Kunou's aide right in front of Hakumo, breaking him out of reverie by the sound of blood splattering on his very expensive kimono.
"Apologies, I am not proficient in summoning magic, yet. It was an accident." I said it with a flat tone, completely enjoying the expression of fury in Hakumo's expression.
Hakumo just sneered in disgust, muttering something about devils and magic.
Does he really think I am bad with summoning magic? Man, my acting is really convincing that it could even fool him. He took a step backwards, and walked out of the hall without even announcing his departure.
Yasaka looked at his back with an annoyed look on her face. He did just leave without even asking for leave from her, after all. And that's considered very disrespectful in Japanese culture.
Much to my surprise, the other generals didn't even bother to look back at him, while the Hebi was just snickering while looking at the retreating figure of Hakumo.
'I guess they also didn't hold him in high regard as well.' I inwardly mused in amusement.
"Ignore him," Yasaka said neutrally. A little too neutrally, in my opinion, it felt like she was trying too hard to stop her anger at Hakumo's insolence from leaking out in her voice.
"I shall deal with him later. Back to our topic," she said, "as you can see, this is the corpse of one of Kunou's aides, given to me by our esteemed guest here not too long ago."
This got some murmurs from the generals, their demeanors turning much more serious. Inugami was the first to respond.
"It's faint," he said, "but I can sense trace amounts of youki emanating from this corpse."
"It just means that anything Hakumo-dono just said about Ars-dono is nothing more than baseless accusations," added the Ookami, taking a long drag of his cigar and clicking his tongue. "Foolish boy."
"He has always been like that, trying to puff himself up to look better in front of our Yasaka-sama," Hebi chimed, adding her own thoughts about the departed kitsune. "It feels much more homely now that he is gone, thanks to our dear esteemed guest, of course~"
She said this with a weird sing-song voice, while giving me a quick wink much to my amusement, and discontent from Ingvild.
With a frown on her face, Yasaka quickly reprimanded her.
"There's no need for this much spite, Asaka," she said, "Hakumo is expected to do his duties, despite asking to be acknowledged without the appropriate level of respect. To spite him right in front of me is akin to insulting the position of your peers."
"I-I shall bear that in mind, Yasaka-sama," Asaka the Hebi said, having the decency to look suitably chastised after being scolded. But something gave me the impression she didn't really change her opinion of Hakumo, notably, the fact that she merely said she'll bear that in mind, not be disrespectful of him.
Karasu Tengu raised his right arm. "May I speak, Yasaka-sama?"
"You may."
"From this old man's perspective," he began, "this case seems mighty odd. While the matter of Kunou-sama's abduction was prevented thanks to our esteemed guest, another attempt is highly likely in the future."
"I concur," said the Tanuki, while everyone else nodded in response.
"I'd like to thank you for your support, Tanuki-dono, but please let me continue speaking for a bit longer," said Karasu Tengu.
"My apologies,'' Tanuki nodded in apology. "Please continue, Karasu Tengu-dono."
Karasu Tengu nodded, and then looked directly at Yasaka. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself before speaking.
"I believe that this is not just the result of a nefarious plot by our enemies lurking in shadows far beyond our territory, Yasaka-sama. But instead, I believe that-"
But before he could even manage to finish his speech, Yasaka spoke up to cut him off.
"-there is a traitor among us..!"
[Spicy.]
[Expected, but it's still spicy.]
[Loyalty is merely a word when other, more important things are at stake.]
I couldn't agree more with all of Azi's statements, as I watched the drama unfold.
"Ars," I heard Ingvild call out my name as her fingers wrapped around the edge of my sleeves. "Will we be okay?" she said, concern apparent in her voice.
I did not answer her immediately, instead choosing to gather my thoughts for a moment. I raised a hand and gently caressed her cheek absently, which she seemed to enjoy as her hands were now wrapped around mine on her cheeks.
"I don't know, but I will make sure no one even thinks of doing anything harmful against us."
[Sweet talking to her, how poetic!]
[Makes me want to puke!]
[Just unleash her strength, you know how loyal she is to your own very being!]
Her soft humming was the only answer I got as I wisely ignored Azi's provocative remark. As the meeting continued, I narrowed my eyes, trying to dismiss this unpleasant feeling that I have as I felt that we'd be facing much worse events in the future.
_x_x_
Beta Reader: LuluViBritania (FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Author Note: Apologies for not updating for a while, got some problem with real life, especially when my mother's condition suddenly dropped which I need to take care of her for few months plus working overtime as well. Thankfully her condition got better and I got myself some time to write again. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.