hello friends, here I am again.

This chapter was supposed to be a collection of short stories to show Lucius's time in Urakyoto, however, I ended up writing more than initially planned. To not end up posting another long ass chapter I decided to split things.

Anyway, here's a new chapter.

PS: I updated some dates in previous chapters and changed the name of the MC's father from "Pedro" to "Miguel". I made an album with some arts of the story, link in my profile.

DISCLAIMER: I don't know if I should do this or not but whatever, I don't own anything here apart from my OC's.

May have grammar errors

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February 11, First Year – Lucius's room, Urakyoto.

After Master Takemikazuchi's training, I can safely say that I was drained.

The older god wasn't kidding when he said I had to train my sword swings for as long as I could. It was only when I was utterly exhausted and on the ground that my Sensei, the god of swords and thunder, Takemikazuchi, appeared declaring my training for the day done.

I honestly don't know for how long I was inside that room training; it could have been for a couple of hours or even days.

This wasn't just me being dramatic, but an actual possibility.

Later Yasaka regaled me the information that the 'Room of Serenity', the room where I was training, had a magic formation around it. Said formation not only twisted space, making the room's interior a pocket dimension somewhere in void space, but it also twisted time.

Like, for real for real.

The flow of time inside the room was faster than outside, meaning that no matter how much time you spent inside only a fraction of that would've gone in the real world.

A true godsend in terms of saving time, it was something that Yasaka herself commissioned centuries ago (from someone that she refuses to tell), and I was given a free pass to use it.

Talk about luck!

The only trick part was that she refused to tell me the ratio at which time was being twisted.

Was it two times? Four times? Ten times?!

She wouldn't tell me.

Her refusal was something that she and Takemikazuchi decided upon, according to them I shouldn't be concerned about that, to not focus on how much time exactly I spent inside the room and to focus on my training. Should I do that, even if I were to spend millennia inside the room I'd still feel like just a couple of hours went by.

I could see the truth in their words.

When first entering the 'Room of Serenity' I did try to gauge how much time had gone by, an attempt to see how much longer I had to stay there.

However, there was no sun or moon in that room, no changing sky or moving clouds, no wind, no movement, nothing that I could use to tell the passage of time. Even the flow of energy inside the room was constant and unchanging.

Seeing the futility of my actions I focused back on my training, doing so after a time I entered a mystical mind place where all distractions went away and only my training was in my mind.

You could say I entered a true 'serene' mood and trained away without distraction, time truly stopped being a concern for me and I trained away until my body gave in.

So yeah, not focusing on the time truly did help… Having said that, I still wished to know the time ratio though.

What? It's time manipulation folks, how wouldn't I be curious?!

"It is more than 3:1 and less than 1000:1. Is that good enough of an answer for you, Young Master?"

No, it was not!

I guess Yasaka wasn't kidding when saying she wasn't going to tell me how much time was being warped inside the room.

Oh well, guess I can put my curiosity aside for the time being. So long I don't walk out of there with wrinkles and a beard I'll be good.

Time began to pass and I slowly but surely became used to my new life's routine:

Wake up, train my divine and youkai powers with Yasaka and the others during the morning, in the afternoon train the way of the sword with Takemikazuchi, and between all that during my free time explore my new home.

This will be my routine for the next two weeks, and during this time some interesting events came to happen.

Here are some of them, here is my life in Urakyoto:

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February 14, First Year - Commercial District, Urakyoto

This particular part of the city was quite lively, buzzing with life and activity the thriving commerce of the city of Youkais was in full bloom before everyone's eyes.

Streets and narrow alleys wind between marketplaces, lined with an array of shops and stalls that sell everything from rare enchanted artifacts to the finest silk woven by the Tsuchigumos.

Like the rest of the city, the place's architecture is a mix of traditional Japanese aesthetics with fantastical elements.

Buildings have pagoda-like roofs adorned with shimmering tiles that change colors under the dim, ambient light. Lanterns of all shapes and sizes hang from eaves, casting an ethereal glow in hues of deep red, purple, and gold.

Some structures appear to be carved from living trees while others seem like they rose from the ground itself, with a building or two floating through the sky (Still amazed by that). Some modern elements from the human world like skyscrapers also became part of this mix in recent years, making the city look even more amazing.

"Man, this yakisoba is delicious!"

"I know, right? Old man Takozen truly does know his stuff"

"Undoubtedly"

"Have you tried this takoyaki? What a flavor…!"

In a corner of this buzzing district, you could find a food stall. Of a modest size it was adorned with certain nautical themes, decorations such as seashells, driftwood, and colorful banners featuring octopus motifs. A large tentacle-shaped sign hangs above the stall announcing the stall's name, 'Takozen's Palace', in bold letters.

The stall's owner and chef was a 'Tako nyūdō' of the name 'Takozen', a humanoid youkai with the appearance of an elderly human man with cephalopod-like features.

The back of his head was bulbous like that of an octopus, his skin was reddish purple, and he had six tentacles for arms. Wearing a traditional chef kimono with an apron stained with some ingredients, he overall truly looked like an amiable old-looking man, white beard and all.

With a happy smile, he used his six arms to prepare multiple dishes simultaneously, his tentacles moving with remarkable skill between the hot grill and the other parts of the stall.

Sitting on the other side of the stall were three figures, two of them were men in black suits, and the third one was a young man wearing a jacket with a white fur collar.

These three, of course, were me and my two tengu bodyguards Kurogami and Kurohashira.

It's been some three days since my training with Takemikazuchi began, soon it will be around half a month since I awakened and joined the supernatural side of the world.

Apart from training many aspects of this new me, I also finally began going out of the palace and exploring Urakyoto at large. Walking through the city of Youkais was amazing and I witnessed many new sights that left me gasping in wonder.

During my first sightseeing Yasaka was beside me at all times, like a guide for a 1st class tour she introduced me to many of the wonders of Urakyoto. She was however the leader of the 'West Youkai Faction', and with many responsibilities to attend to she didn't have the free time to accompany me at all times.

Eventually, Kurogami and Kurohashira got assigned the role of being my guides, which is how I eventually learned of this particular stall.

One of Hashira's favorite spots to eat he brought me here when I said I'd like to taste some local cuisine, that was just some days ago but I was already addicted to the food here.

I'll admit that old man Takozen's cuisine weirded me a little at first, not exactly used to seafood and such (And his octopus-lie appearance also did weird me out initially), but the food's amazing quality however soon won me over, before I knew I was in love with it.

Bang!

"SO FUCKING GOOD!"

I loudly declared while slamming my hand at the table, the flavor of the yakisoba paired with takoyaki melting in my mouth in a spectacular explosion of flavors.

Looking up from my plate at the smiling elderly youkai I said.

"-I know I have said this before, but your food Takozen is certainly one of my new favorites"

"You flatter me with your words, Young Master Lucius!" said the elderly youkai with a smile, his many arms still moving around with great dexterity "Hearing the 'Makami' praise my food like this is an immense honor, truly."

"I say nothing but the truth"

"Thanks, Young Master. By the way, your request is almost ready. Do you wish to take it with you now or should I send it to the palace like before?"

Hearing his question I paused to ponder for a moment before answering "Hmnn, I will be going somewhere else so probably better to send it to the palace. Sorry for the trouble"

"What trouble? Servicing my customers is my pleasure!"

Hearing the enthusiasm in Takozen's voice my lips widened into a smile, the happy glow coming from his soul through his eyes making me happy too.

The burly Hashira sitting to the side gazed at me with a smirk "Planning in having Old man Takozen's food for dinner again Young Master? At this rate, the chefs in the palace are going to become jealous"

Snorting I lightly elbowed him in the arm "Very funny of you. But what can I say? I do love me some street food"

I was having a blast tasting the cuisine of this Far East land, a type I didn't get to taste much before.

It also helped my case that my body now could easily handle copious amounts of food without any problem.

Funnily enough, I don't need to eat all that much, as a youkai god if I don't go about wasting my energy my body could go on without food for periods that would kill a normal human without a problem.

Quite convenient.

"If you two have finished your food, we should start moving soon otherwise we might miss the scheduled time," Said Kurogami after looking at his wristwatch.

Nodding I slurped the last bit of my food, wiping my mouth clean I stood up "Thanks for the food" Reaching into my pocket I grabbed some money "Here, you can keep the change"

"Thanks for your patronage!"

Bidding the cephalopod youkai goodbye our group turned around and strolled away, as we did so the crowd of youkai walking around politely gave us passage without us even needing to ask.

It was approximately an hour's walk from Takozen's stall to where we needed to go, less than fifteen minutes however if we took a transport or simply flew there.

Why did I choose the longer option if I had an appointment to attend? Well, the reason for that is quite simple actually…

"Hi Young Master, sightseeing again?"

"I can't resist! Still have so many amazing wonders to see here, so many nice people to meet"

"Yo, Lord Makami. The latest RTX arrived at my store, wanna check it out?"

"Oh? Not gonna lie, that's honestly tempting! But I have to do something now, so maybe later"

"H-hewwo, young mashther luciush. I drew you, shee!"

"Gasp-! A drawing of me? What an honor!"

"Oh my, Lord Makami. Looking handsome as ever I see. Are you still going to attend my recital tonight?"

"As if I'd miss such a chance! Don't worry madam, I WILL be there. Mark my words!"

"Hey Young Master…"

-It is the people.

One could say that given how much of a famous figure I was, openly walking through the streets wasn't the smartest of ideas- And you're probably right.

I mean, just look at how much commotion some celebrities can cause by simply going to the mall, and by all accounts my situation should be even worse.

I was, after all, the god of all the inhabitants of this place. You could barely imagine how excited the inhabitants were at the thought of seeing their actual god walking past them in the street.

Yasaka and her people also had this concern, if going by their initial plans I'd have a sizeable escort when going outside. That or I'd need to disguise myself to not attract much attention.

I however strongly objected to that notion.

Why you might ask? Well, while I understand their concerns the thought of having to hide from the people, or worse, have to keep them away was one that brought me no small amount of discomfort.

This place will be my new home from now on and I didn't want to have to hide my face every time I went outside, to have to keep an escort around at all times. I wanted to walk through Urakyoto openly, I wanted to interact with the people openly and without fear.

What If they became a bit too excited when seeing me? They are in their right to do so.

I honestly feel beyond honored that my presence can invoke such wonderful emotions in them, I truly do. I believe that straying away from these sincere showings of positive emotions, from these smiles, would be incredibly rude on my part.

Here in this place, this society of supernatural beings, is where I feel truly complete.

Living all my life in a normal society I had more than enough time to get in touch with my human side, my human roots. My youkai side however is starving for the same opportunity, like a dying man in the desert in need of water it cried out for such an opportunity.

Standing here in this land, walking past these people, I am finally getting in touch with my youkai roots.

A hunger I seemingly always had but never was able to satiate was now finally being solved. As such to me openly walking through Urakyoto is not only returning the care and kindness of the inhabitants, but also truly therapeutic for my youkai side.

Whenever I go people would still stop to look at me, sure.

I still need the two tengu around me, yeah.

But after doing this for some days I feel like the people here are getting more understanding of the situation and are not crowding around me anymore.

-Well, at least not as much as before as to get the street clogged. Give it some more time and they will probably get more used to seeing me openly walking around.

'I have to say. Being famous? Not bad of a feeling, not going to lie…'

It's honestly a bit weird when I stop to reflect more about it.

Back in my hometown in Brasil I wasn't usually like this, I had my share of friends sure, but overall I wasn't a social butterfly either.

Here at this place, things are different though, here I interacted with people as if I had known that for ages already.

I wouldn't necessarily call that a jaw-dropping change, not really, but it is a difference from how I was before (Though I'll admit that my human side at times still feels weirded out with some of the sights around here).

'At this point given how much my life changed in just one week, I am honestly not even surprised anymore…'

"So this is the place…" I muttered as I looked at our destination.

Right now after a one-hour-long walk I along with my two tengu "bodyguards" stood before a particular building, one that was able to stand out amidst the other ones around.

The four-story building was a clothing shop that had a more modern look to it while simultaneously keeping some of the aesthetics of old Japanese buildings, looking inviting and refined it wouldn't be out of place in a mall of modern human society.

The shopfront is adorned with delicate paper lanterns shaped like cranes, casting a soft, warm glow. The sign above the entrance featured the shop's name, 'Crane's Grace Atelier', which was written in elegant flowing calligraphy. Large windows displayed beautiful clothes, from traditional kimonos to sleek dresses you'd see nowadays in a fashion show.

"Whistle This place looks fancy," I said with an impressed tone, as said the place invoked an aura of elegance that was head-turning.

Kurogami nodded "Indeed. Lady Aiko is the most famous 'Hōseishi' (Seamstress) of Urakyoto, to not say the most famous of all Japan. Most of our high society is a client of hers, with Lady Yasaka being one of her oldest and most illustrious clients."

I hummed in understanding "Well, thanks Yasaka for that. Probably saved us a lot of time"

Having my fill of gawking at the forefront's elegance I gestured for the tow to follow me and stepped inside the shop, passing through the elegant double doors I moved my gaze all over the place and took in the shop's interior.

The interior was big and it exuded a sense of tranquility and refinement. The walls are decorated with traditional Japanese paintings, many of them depicting serene landscapes or cranes in graceful flight. Some of them however seem to show foreign locations.

Like, one of them was a painting of Paris. The style was different and one could even clearly see the Eiffel Tower in the background.

The wooden floor was polished to a high sheen, quite impressive, and shelves and display stations could be seen all over displaying many amazing pieces of clothing. Subtle magical lights and actual digital screens are strategically placed around the shop showing videos of the many clothes and garments, while also at times showing live feeds of idyllic landscapes across the land.

'There's also a faint scent of cherry blossoms and sandalwood drifting through the air here, rather nice and soothing' I pondered after instinctively giving the place a sniff, my one-of-a-kind enhanced sense of smell making me appreciate the ambiance smell here that much more.

"Hey, isn't that the Young Master…?"

"Yes, it is him!"

"Lord Makami is here…!"

Just as I was looking around the shop's interior, others were looking at me. Though far from crowded the shop at that moment did have a respectable number of people, of clients, inside browsing around through the many master-crafted pieces of clothing.

Once these Youkais glanced our way and saw me they began muttering among themselves in wonder and awe- An expected reaction honestly.

They were all well-mannered and didn't initiate a big commotion or anything, nonetheless, the atmosphere in the shop became a bit livelier.

"Well…" giving the place another glance I sorted my thoughts before asking "What now?"

Kurogami, the smarts of our little group, when hearing my question promptly went to answer it. Humming a bit he once again checked his wristwatch "We're on time for our scheduled time, which is good. Now we go to the front desk and announce our arrival, we should then soon be taken to Lady Aiko."

I was glad to hear that we arrived on time, though it probably wouldn't be a big problem if I was late given my status, however, I am not keen on pulling that card. For these types of things, I prefer to go the proper way. I have a scheduled time so I'll arrive at the scheduled time.

I may be called a 'Young Master' now, sure, but I sure as hell don't want to be acting like the stereotypical 'Young Master' I see in novels and such.

"Let's do that then…. -Or we could also talk with the lady above us"

"-Ufufufu~ Quite perceptive of you, Young Master Lucius"

My two tengu bodyguards at first looked confused at my words, but after hearing the new voice a light of understanding flashed in their eyes.

Coming from a crystal-like string attached to the ceiling the owner of that voice (a voice that had a clear sultry tinge to it) made her descent, touching the ground she stood before us and gazed at me with her many red eyes.

Yes, I said 'many' eyes.

The person before us had the body of a young woman with short lavender hair that covered the right side of her face, quite the beauty. She had six pupil-less monochromatic red eyes, her mouth curved into a smile showed her sharp teeth.

Though the most attention-grabbing aspect about her was the giant spider's body connected to her humanoid lower body, said spider's body was covered in a black carapace with a glint similar to a metal sheen. She also had this same carapace covering her arms from the shoulder down, and long fingers with gauntlet-like platting on her hands that ended in sharpened points.

Her attire looked to be of high quality, though it was also… quite skimpy. Consisting of a revealing halter top (not sure if that's the name) with shoulder-less sleeves, and a black, gold, and white loincloth.

She was a type of spider youkai (obviously), a 'Jorōgumo' to be more precise.

'Damn… she sure is hot!' I declared in my head.

Her outfit did her figure justice, especially to her impressive size chest. The pull to look at her up and down was strong but I got a hold of myself and kept my posture (Having Yasaka and the maids in my life did help me here).

I don't know if she noticed anything, she didn't show any reaction hinting at anything so maybe.

Her mischievous smile going strong she looked at me and said "-And here I thinking I'd be able to catch you by surprise, Young Master"

Isn't that cute?

"Haha Nice try, but no" With a smirk I lightly tapped my nose "I have quite the sharp nose after all"

She chuckled "Guess it was too presumptuous of my part to assume I could go unnoticed by the nose of the 'god of wolves' "

"I mean, you also did position yourself right above our heads. Kind of hard to miss"

"-That too" Here she sighed lightly.

To be honest, her attempt at a jump scare wasn't a bad one.

I could sense that she had used some power, maybe an innate ability or spell, to conceal her presence there, as much can be seen by how both Kurogami and Kurohashira only noticed her after I called her presence out.

The two weren't actively looking out for her, sure, but the fact remains that she did elude their senses for a moment there thus showing that she indeed has some skill.

Unfortunately for her plans of a light prank, my sense of smell isn't easy to fool. I am, after all, a wolf.

A wolf god to be exact.

Putting that matter aside the woman did a proper bow and greeted us "It's a pleasure to be able to meet you, Young Master Lucius. This one's name is 'Kagehana', but you can call me just 'Hana'. I work for Lady Aiko as her assistant and was instructed by her to wait here for your arrival."

"Oh?" I raised my eyebrow at that in some surprise "You been waiting for me here? Like, since morning?"

She nodded with a smile "But of course! We couldn't let the 'Lord Makami' waste his time waiting at our reception now, could we?"

Damn, that's some VIP treatment right there. Still not exactly used to it but I sure will not be complaining.

"I greatly appreciate your gesture. Thank you, Hana," I said to her with a sincere smile "Man, having such beauty waiting for me is nice!"

Hearing my words her eyes widened a bit in surprise. She giggled "Ufufufu~ Seems like the rumors are true, the Young Master indeed has a certain way with words~"

I was taken aback by that, baffled I asked "Rumor? What rumor?!"

"Since you started appearing in public a few days ago and began talking with people this rumor has been going around. It says you're a warm and nice person, quite easy to talk to. And that you also have a way with words, that you say quite the honest and sweet compliments"

"R-really?"

After her words, I could hear both Kurogami and Hashira cackling a bit beside me. I could do was smile sheepishly while scratching my wolf ear.

Did I give rise to such a rumor?

In the past Mom did call me a 'smooth talker' but I always saw it as just a joke, but it seemed like her words had some truth in them.

Well, guess I truly did become a more social person since my awakening.

Standing before me Hana chuckled a bit more, turning around she beckoned at us "Come, let me take you to Lady Aiko."

Nodding we began following her.

With Hana leading us we walked through the floor, passing by some people doing their shopping, all the way to the end of the floor where we entered a 'Staff Only' elevator (They do have those here, yeah).

It was quite spacious, probably to accommodate the large frames some Youkai have. Even with the four of us inside (One that was a big spider lady) the elevator still had plenty of space left.

Hana pressed the glowing button for the fourth floor, and with that, the elevator came to life and took us on a smooth journey.

'Lady Aiko was the boss so makes sense she's on the topmost floor'

As the elevator began ascending Hana turned around and looked at the two Tengu "It's nice to see you two again. Wearing and keeping my suits in pristine condition, huh? That's wonderful to see."

Oh?

"You three know each other?"

I asked them with a curious tone clear in my voice.

"We know each other for some time now, yeah" Hearing my question Kurogami nodded "We're elite tengu. In the past wishing to dress the part we visited this story and bought some custom-made suits from Hana, which are the ones you see us wearing now. What do you think Young Master? They are pretty nice, right?"

Said 'Gami' with a proud tone while adjusting his tie looking all proper, to the side Hashira had the opposite look. He grumped "Nice they are, but man if they didn't cost us a pretty penny" he then threw Hana the stinky eye "Can't believe you convinced us to pay so much for these suits"

At Hashira's reminder of how much they paid for their suits even Kurogami deflated, at their dismayed expressions Hana only lightly chuckled before saying "What can I say? High-quality stuff isn't cheap."

"I agree. But there's 'not cheap' and here's what you charged us!"

"I do have some expensive hobbies. What? Are you going to say my work isn't worth that much?"

"T-that's not what we said. It is some topnotch work bu-"

"You think so? I know you'd see my point~"

Ting

"-Anyway, here we are"

As the doors of the elevator opened I stiffened my laugh from seeing this funny interaction, with Hana still leading us I walked through the door and stepped into Lady Aiko's atelier.

The place was… surprisingly about exactly what I expected.

A graceful and elegant room, enormous it boasted a most refined old Japanese aesthetic, similar to what I saw on the ground floor but somehow more 'profound'. It was honestly hard to put into words, but the whole place just evoked a feeling that was more, more… something.

The room also had some element of foreign origin; A painting of Britain here, and a modest-sized Greek statue there, these decorations showed that the room's owner was someone well-traveled and with an appreciation of artistic displays of many cultures outside her own.

I also saw some mannequins in a corner and some shelves with those fabric rolls, but for some reason no matter how I looked I couldn't any spot works station, no loom, or anything that could be used in the creation of clothes.

Maybe they're somewhere else?

From the corner of my eye, I also saw something similar to those glow sticks and banners people use in 'idol shows' peeking out of a drawer in the corner, clearly a trick of the light so I ignored that.

"Welcome to my atelier, Young Master Lucius. This one's name is 'Tsuru no Aiko' and I am delighted to have you here"

As I stepped forward a graceful and elegant woman's voice sounded across the room, soothing like a gentle caressing it instantly piqued my attention.

The owner of this voice was a woman standing in the middle of the room, waiting for us when she spotted me arriving she greeted us with a proper lady bow.

She was a woman of amazing beauty. Her eyes were clear like gems and her long red hair glistened like gold. Her skin is clear and unblemished like snow, her smile elegant like a flower.

She wore a long white kimono, the obi on her waist was black with golden lining and a red rose attached to it. The edges of her kimono are black and the interior red, at her feet she wore black socks and those traditional Japanese sandals (Zori).

The woman had white crane wings coming out of her lower back, with an elegant white pelt with a natural art in them draped over them these wings gracefully trailed beside the woman.

'What an elegance, what a beauty…'

Looking at the woman before me I was genuinely mesmerized.

She had a sort of otherworldly aura to her similar to that of Yasaka, however though similar it had its unique flavor. Yasaka had the mesmerizing aura of authority and dignity of a ruler, of someone in power. The woman before me had an aura that invoked in me the image of a noble lady, graceful and elegant.

'She looks like someone straight from a fairy tale…'

Having finished taking in her image I returned the woman's gesture.

"Thank you for receiving me. I know you're a busy woman so I appreciate you opening room your schedule to attend to me, sorry for having sprung this request on you out of nowhere"

Returning her greeting I did the bow Yasaka taught me, a not too servile nor too casual gesture that was befitting of my status, something that allowed me to display respect for others while still keeping the dignity of a god. Behind me, my tengu assistants did a proper bow of their own.

I am honestly still new to this life and the norms of conduct expected from me, though I had good manners as taught to me by my parents there's still a distinct difference between those and the ones I 'should' know now. Yasaka did teach me some of the manners I as a 'god' should know, it hasn't been many days since I arrived here however so I'm not so sure how good this bow of mine was.

Though my face didn't show internally I was nervous about my performance, my worries however didn't last long as I soon saw the woman before me smiling at me. Her lips curving in a warm expression she said:

"You are too kind, Young Master Lucius. It's this Crane's great honor to be able to have the divine guardian of our people visiting her. I'll always open a spot in my time to be able to receive you" She chuckled "Furthermore Yasaka is a great friend of mine, and being able to lend her a hand is always a pleasure"

Hearing her words I smiled, relieved that she indeed wasn't bothered by my last-minute appointment request.

"Glad to hear that," I said to her with a smile.

Aiko nodded at me, turning her head she gazed at Hana "I believe you already got introduced to Hana, my assistant, and right-hand woman. Hope she hasn't caused you any trouble, she can be mischievous at times"

"Lady Aiko, what gives? Gonna put me on the spot in front of the Young Master like that?!" exclaimed Hana with a fake exasperated tone.

Everyone gave a good-natured laugh at her reaction.

"Don't worry about that, Hana was most lovely. If anything I believe I was the one that gave her some problem, ruining her attempt at a small prank"

At the memory of what happened when I arrived, I lightly touched my nose once again.

The spider woman Hana had walked forward so she could stand beside Aiko, hearing my words she turned her gaze of many eyes to me.

"Ufufufu~ That's right Young Master, you did cause me some trouble, messing with my 'good-natured prank' like that. But don't worry, I'll train hard so I can be able to catch you next time. Just. You. Wait~"

Smiling Hana's sharp teeth once again came into display. There was no malice in her words, her voice carrying that same mischievous feel as before.

-Yet, as I heard her proclamation and looked at her expression a certain sudden chill went down my spine, which was weird since I never felt cold since my awakening. It was something from my soul, my transcended wolf instincts telling me her promise wasn't hollow.

'Seems like I'll need to keep an eye out for a spider from now on' I thought half-worried half-joking.

Again, she didn't have any malice when saying that, and ultimately all Hana was saying was that she planned to try prank me again in the future.

Shaking my head I returned her smile "Well, I'll be waiting to see the result of your training"

Hana didn't say in return, but I could feel her smile getting sharper.

Yeah… moving on.

Turning my head around I gave the entire room another glance, my eyes shined with genuine wonder at the room's beauty and elegance.

"You probably already heard this a lot Lady Aiko, but I gotta say- This place of yours is truly something else, quite elegant. It partially reminds me of the palace, it has a somehow similar vibe, yet still genuinely unique"

"You're not wrong in your assumption, but it is still incredibly good to hear such words coming from an individual such as you. To me, the idea that my humble abode would remind you, Young Master, of the palace, makes me happy" Aiko's eyes showed a look of appreciation at my words "Also, you can drop the 'Lady' and just call me 'Aiko'. You don't use that with Yasaka so you don't need to use that with me as well"

When saying the last part, the part about how I call Yasaka, Aiko's voice gained a certain… competitiveness to it.

It was something well hidden beneath her usual elegant tone, but thanks to who I was my ears still picked that.

So Aiko's and Yasaka's friendship has some 'rivalry' traits to it, huh? Didn't expect that but honestly don't see any problem with it.

"Right, Aiko" I briefly glanced at a statue in the corner "I saw that you have many pieces of art from foreign lands, that's fascinating. I can feel your care emanating for them, you must see them as extremely important"

"Perceptive of you Young Master."

Gazing her collection of arts Aiko sighed in remembrance.

"As a crane, I have a fondness for flying around the land. But at one point just flying through our land wasn't enough for me, spreading my wings I flew to far away foreign lands. From each place I went, I brought back a piece of art of its local culture, mementos, proofs of the diversity of art born on this planet"

As Aiko said those words I could feel the emotion in her voice.

Peering into her eyes I could see in my mind the image of an elegant white crane gracefully flying through the clouds, soaring high and above to far away lands where she saw the most diverse types of art.

The light of her soul, her appreciation of arts, was remarkably pure and genuine.

I wouldn't quite call me an appreciator of fine arts and stuff, but as I stole a glance at the light of her soul I felt myself growing to like them more as now I understood them a bit more.

'The phrase [… The Makami knows the nature of each being…] do be a truth. Though I have not fully developed this divine ability yet, gazing deeply into one's eyes does allow me to understand them more.'

My lips gently curved into a smirk, this Aiko's truly gaining my admiration due to how I saw her soul to look like.

"They're all amazing indeed"

"Oh Thank you, Young Master. I believe you would be elated to know I even acquired some pieces of art from Brasil in my collection."

"You do?!"

I exclaimed, eyes widening I saw her nodding in confirmation.

"I do, yes. From many regions of Brasil at that. Like some decorated pottery from the north, and a few paintings from artists in the southeast "

Hearing her words my smile became larger "You just secured a lot of points with me!" I exclaimed, "Hot damn, you truly travel far and wide."

She chuckled "I am a crane, after all, we had been known to fly quite long distances"

"True, True…" I nodded at her. Sheepishly scratching my wolf ear I commented "Hope this doesn't sound rude to you but honestly, I didn't even know crane Youkais was a thing until now"

"Haha No offense taken Young Master"

Luckily Aiko only chuckled in amusement at my dumb words.

"My species is called 'Crane Maidens', in the human world we're mainly known due to the old story called 'Tsuru No Ongaeshi'. Not bad of a story if I do say myself"

Explained Aiko to me, following her words the spider woman Hana butted in and added "There are other versions of this story, like the 'Tsuru Nyõbõ', though in reality these are all different stories altogether and each youkai in them is distinct from the other"

Hearing the explanation I nodded, with some wonder in my eyes I looked at Aiko and asked "Did you appear in any of these stories?"

"Haha No, I do not" replied Aiko with a laugh "The 'Crane Maidens' that appear in these stories are unrelated to me. I do however share their skills and sense of duty"

"That's interesting, very interesting. I will make sure to add those stories to my 'to read' list" Having said I decided to change the subject "As much fun I am having speaking with you Aiko, I believe we should move on to what I came to do here"

"As you wish, Young Master. Though we can always resume our chat afterward"

I nodded at her with a smile, I then brushed my hand across my clothes to bring attention to them.

"As you probably already guessed, I came here to talk about clothes. Some days ago, during one of my trainings, it came to my attention that my clothes can be torn or ripped apart during an actual fight. But I would much prefer for that to NOT be a possibility"

It seems pretty obvious in hindsight but I only came to realize this point a few days ago, during a youjutsu training I messed up a spell a bit and got the whole thing to blow up in my face.

I didn't get a single scratch, however, the clothes I was wearing at the time on the other hand did get roughed up.

Later it was taught to me that I could extend my energy to cover my clothes and make them more resistant. That tech did help, yeah, but it wasn't a surefire solution.

That was when Yasaka told me of this amazing tailor/seamstress who lived in Urakyoto, Aiko, and how she could help me with that.

"I see" Aiko then gave me an up-down assessing look "Normally by now I'd have asked you about the type of enchanted clothes you wanted me to make, but given the affection I see to emanate from your clothing, I believe that isn't the case here. You want to enchant your current outfit, is that right Young Master?"

I nodded at her "You're spot on"

Raising my arm and looking at the sleeves of my jacket (Which are now lowered) I felt my eyes getting warm. Affection flashed in my eyes as my mind drifted back to the person who gave me these clothes, back to my mother.

I was not afraid to admit that I was a sentimental person, especially so when it comes to my family. I see family bonds as something quite important, my parents are the most important people in my life and the love I felt for them couldn't truly be put into words.

So it honestly shouldn't come as a surprise that their absence in my new life is hitting me especially hard, I may not show that and some might even think I'm not that bothered by this, but the truth of the matter couldn't be further from the truth.

The reality is that I missed my parents dearly!

Though I might have decided to come to Japan, to accept this place as my new home, to embark on this new life, the truth is that my mind constantly goes back to Brasil, back to my Mom and Dad.

The clothes I wear were all picked and bought for me by my parents, by my mother, and as such are exceedingly dear to me.

In this faraway land, this 'Land of the Rising Sun', where all is new to me these clothes of mine are a physical, tangible representation of the bond and love I share with both my parents. I very much plan to keep using them even when going out on missions, but that incurs the risk of them getting damaged beyond repair.

And that… that wasn't going to be something I'm willing to let happen.

"-I could just use other clothes, yes, I could buy new clothes, yes. But… I don't want that. I want to be able to keep wearing the clothes my parents gave to me, to be able to feel our bond at all times. So please, could you help me with this?"

As I finished my little speech I felt Aiko growing silent, her gaze trailed from my clothes to my face, gazing deeply into my eyes she began gauging something about me.

After a time, her lips curved into a gentle smile, her expression going soft she said "I admire the love you feel towards your clothes. The bond you share with your loved ones through these clothes resonates with me. Don't worry Young Master, I'll gladly help you"

"Nice!"

Though it was more or less given that she'd be lending a hand with this, hearing these words of confirmation from her mouth was still good.

"Now, please come closer, Young Master. I'll start my work right away"

I nodded at her, glancing behind me I gave the two tengu a signal to give us some space. My two friends consented, they didn't need to do anything anyway so they just nodded at me and then backed away until they stood beside the elevator's door.

Aiko then walked to the side to a table in the corner, there she began consulting something in what appeared to be a sketchbook, though given the energy I felt pulsating from the thing I bet it was a grimoire of sorts. Aiko's grimoire, to be exact, given that she and the book had the same youki.

'Guess I should take these off…'

Believing that Aiko would soon be asking for my clothes so she could enchant them, I decided to go ahead and take some of them off.

Speed things up you know.

Going to take my jacket off I glanced to the side and saw Hana looking back at me, lips curved into an amused grin the light in her eyes when looking at me was one of great interest.

I was a bit confused as to why she had that look on her face, the answer to that question however soon came.

"Sorry for the wait, Young Master. Given the importance of this request, I decided to check my notes again, to make sure the enchantment would come out perfect. Now, let- "

Having done checking her sketchbook Aiko at that moment turned around, as she did that her eyes caught sight of me midway through taking my jacket off. With a genuinely confused look in her eyes, she asked "What're you doing Young Master?"

Now it was my turn to be confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you taking off your clothes?"

"You'll be enchanting my clothes, right? So I'll take them off so you can do that. Speaking of which, I'm quite curious to see how you do enchanting. Do you draw some runes in the clothes? Perhaps treat them with some magical solution? Or- Why are you still looking at me like that?"

"You don't need to take your clothes off"

"… really?"

"Answering your question about how I'll do the enchantment. The method I use allows me to enchant your clothes even while you're wearing them."

"…"

I believe no word in existence could describe my level of embarrassment at that moment, my face heated up and became a color of red so intense that it was amazing.

Looking at me Aiko just gently shook her head, Hana kept looking at me with her smile, and back near the elevator, I could pick up the sound of the two Tengu stifling a laugh under their breath.

Red with embarrassment I hurriedly put my jacket back.

"Lady Aiko, Couldn't have you waited a bit more to tell him that? We almost got an eye candy" said Hana with some bit of grievance in her voice.

Aiko shook her head and stepped forward, positioning herself two meters away from me. Glancing at Hana, she said, "Some threads, please."

The spider woman nodded. Hana clapped her hands together, intertwining her fingers as she channeled her 'youki.' As she slowly pulled her hands apart, crystal-like spider webs began to coalesce from the tips of her fingers, shimmering with an otherworldly luster.

The threads gleamed like a constellation of stars twinkling in the dark expanse of the cosmos. These [Star Crystal Spider Webs] were a unique ability of Hana's youkai species, known for their incredible resistance and ability to conduct energy.

"Amazing work as always, Hana," Aiko praised, her eyes reflecting approval.

"Anything you ask, Lady Aiko," Hana replied with a respectful nod.

Aiko beckoned to the threads, and a lone tip sailed through the air, dancing like a star before reaching her. What Aiko did next surprised me.

With a swift motion, Aiko plucked a pearly white feather from her wings. She connected its tip to Hana's crystal thread, creating a makeshift sewing needle.

"I'll weave in you a tale of bond, a tale of love, of gratitude. May the connections you represent strengthen you…" Aiko intoned, her voice carrying a melodic chant.

Her hand moved gracefully through the air, weaving the crystal thread. Light emanated from the feather, a gentle white glow that seemed straight out of a fairy tale. This light infused the thread as Aiko moved her hand, forming a continuous line of mystical symbols in the air.

The symbols were tiny, almost invisible to the human eye. All that could be seen was a thread of light, swirling through the air like the Milky Way in the night sky. An aura of deep mystique surrounded Aiko, the crane youkai.

The line of mystical symbols made its way towards me, and upon contact with my clothes, it began to fuse seamlessly. The thread and my clothing became one, the transition so perfect it was hard to tell they had ever been separate.

A soft hum filled the air as the last part of the thread merged. My clothes glowed with a warm, creamy white light, the humming sound surprisingly pleasant to the ears. Moments later, the light and hum faded away.

Visually, my clothes appeared unchanged, but I could instantly feel a profound difference. A surge of power and protection enveloped me, far beyond what I had known before.

"It feels lighter…"

Before the weight of my clothes already wasn't a huge deal, it didn't hinder me much, however, after what Aiko did the weight became even less of a problem, it became negligible-no, nonexistent.

To test it out I began doing a few moves, entering the rhythm of 'Ginga' I performed some of the classic moves; A few kicks, the cartwheel 'Aú', finishing with a couple of normal jabs.

Anyone who saw me doing these moves before would be able to spot a difference, able to see greater fluidity and agility in which I performed these moves.

The difference wouldn't seem that much for normal people, but anyone with actual training would spot this subtle, but impactful difference. In a fight victory and defeat can be decided in a split moment, and so even minute changes can make an impact.

That was not all.

"I feel like both my 'youki' and 'divine energy' are flowing better now…"

Extending my right arm out, I ignited it with azure flames. Gazing at my flames of frost I reflected "My clothes aren't in the way anymore, in fact, they now help me with the channeling of energy"

Like a second skin, they now helped channel my powers, making the process smoother. Now acting as a true conduit I could feel a subtle, but certainly noticeable difference between now and before.

'-And most important of all…"

Putting away my flames I grabbed the sleeve of my jacket and did some pulling, starting weak I slowly increased the strength behind my pull until I reached a point where I knew for a fact my jacket should've exhibited signs of being torn apart.

In the end, however, nothing happened.

"My clothes essentially became armor" I muttered.

Seeing all the changes that happened, I couldn't contain my happiness. With a broad smile on my face, I turned to Aiko and uttered a "Thank you"

True, untainted, genuine gratitude was in my voice at that moment.

Two words, just two simple words that however carried a lot of emotion.

"You are welcome, Young Master."

Said Aiko with that elegant and gentle voice of hers, a radiant smile was on her lips.

"You did one amazing work here Aiko, amazing indeed"

"You flatter me with your words, Young Master. I did nothing more than make the love that your clothes carry more tangible, it could be said that it was your and your parent's emotions poured into these clothes that made them stronger. All I did was make that which was already there more tangible"

So that's what she did? Take the love for my parents that these clothes represent and make it 'tangible' an actual source of power that strengthened my clothes.

THAT. IS. AMAZING.

And I could feel it too. It was warm and emanating from my clothes, pulsating with love and protection.

Closing my eyes I could feel my body being hugged by my parents, it was as if I was embraced by their arms and actively protected by their love.

'Quite bonkers too when thinking about it. Taking something like love and turning it tangible? My jaw would be on the floor if not for the need to maintain image'

That's what I call one fucking impressive enchantment.

"You say that, but all that your words managed to do is make me even more impressed with what you just did. Such an amazing work deserves a reward. Originally I was going to use money to pay for your services, however, money alone can't properly reward such high-level work!"

My eyes unconsciously glowing with divine power and my voice rumbling with authority I extended my hand towards her and proclaimed.

"'Tsuru no Aiko', Great seamstress. I, the 'Okuchi-No-Makami', the 'Horkew Kamuy', owe you a great favor. Proclaim your wish and I, 'god of wolves', will do my best to fulfill it!"

The look that Aiko had on her face at that moment was one of complete startlement, in fact not only she but I could feel that everyone in the room now sported that same look.

I was surprised with what I was doing as well.

My divine side was more present in the moment guiding my actions, each of my words making the very world around us shake some in response. I could see that being on the receiving end of them at that moment would be quite the experience.

"T-there's no way to do that, Young Master. Being able to be of use for the god of our people is already enough payment, already enough honor." Hurriedly said the Lady in white in a panicky tone "A favor from you is too heavy for this crane to bear, I can't possibly accept it!"

Sigh…. I had the feeling it would be like this.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance "Tch Figured you'd say that, still annoying though" I directed a pointed glare at her "I can understand your reasoning, I do. But I believe you forgot an important detail here"

"What that would be?" she tentatively asked.

"If you refuse my favor you'd be making me break my words, would sully my divine prestige"

And with that the crane youkai became dumbfounded.

"…What?"

"Exactly what you heard. I already proclaimed on my divine name that I owed you a favor, and the words of a god carry much weight. You refusing my favor is refusing my words, you'd be making a fool of me" Looking at her I gave a true 'wolf smile "You see, Aiko. You can't refuse my favor"

Aiko's expression was quite complicated at that moment, a myriad of emotions flashed through her eyes; Confusion, doubt, a bit of anger, frustration. In the end, however, her expression settled in a look of exasperated resignation.

"As you said it doesn't like I can refuse, can I?" Her lips then curved into a smile "To think that Young Master Lucius would be so forceful. Haha, I bet this something even Yasaka doesn't quite know."

Tell me about it.

Using my status as a god to bully a beauty into accepting what I said? Yeah, not even I expected that from me.

Well, at least it wasn't for something bad. Besides, I genuinely believe a work of the level that did deserves a more proper reward.

I also did notice that she plucked one of her feathers to do the enchantment, I don't know how damaging that might be but something tells me it probably isn't a thing she does often, which to me translates into 'she deserves a proper reward'.

"So you'll accept my favor?"

"Yes, I will" Bringing a hand to her chin Aiko contemplated the matter "Hmnn… How about naming me your official ''Hōseishi' (Seamstress)? What do you think, Young Master?"

You will never catch me complaining about that.

"Sure! I highly doubt that there's anyone more qualified than you, so consider that position yours"

"Thank you, Young Master!"

Happy with the result of that I turned to the side and gazed at Hana "I'll be also owing a favor to you, Hana. As you saw I don't accept a 'no' when it comes to this, so just accept the favor"

Hearing that I now owe her a favor Hana's reaction was different from that of Aiko.

Hana's reaction was different. "As if I'd refuse such a gift! A favor from a god? I'll cherish it!".

Her smile was sharp and mischievous. I wondered what she'd ask for in the future.

Well, that's a problem for future me.

Satisfied with the outcome, I smiled and glanced at the fabric rolls around Aiko's workshop. An idea struck.

"Given that you're now my official 'Hōseishi', how about a few more orders?" I suggested warmly "I believe my parents are deserving of a few souvenirs from Japan- A couple of clothes made from the hands of such skilled 'Hōseishi'"

Hearing my request Aiko smiled elegantly and nodded.

"It will be my pleasure!"

"Good! I'll be sending you their measurements as soon as I can"

"What about you, Young Master? Fancy some original works?"

I pondered a moment before answering "Sure, why not? I was going to just ask you to enchant the rest of my wardrobe anyway"

"Good" With a smile Aiko produced a measuring tape from somewhere and began approaching me "Now spread your arms open and stand still"

"-What are we doing now?"

"Taking your measurements, of course. I'll not be able to make you new clothes without those"

"Hmm, makes sense"

"See? Now please take your jacket and shirt off"

"Sure" I paused "-what did you say?"

"Didn't you know? The best values are only get when the subject isn't wearing their clothes. And I always strive for perfection!"

"Right- Hey, when did you get behind me, Hana?"

"Just here to help, Young Master!"

It was at that moment that I learned how excited Aiko can get when it comes to creating clothes, her enthusiasm going high her 'elegant' demeanor goes away a bit.

Overall she's indeed one amazing 'Hōseishi', later that day I went back home quite happy with my gains.

Title: [The Wolf and the Crane]


...

That was the chapter.

As said before originally this was all supposed to be a collection of short stories showing Lucius in his time in Urakyoto, after the previous chapter a week time skip would occur but as to not just jump this period and waste it I opted to make some short stories to fill in some of the events of this time skip.

However, things went beyond what I planned for and the short stories became bigger than expected. To not post an essay again I decided to split things.

This chapter here worked well to explore a bit of Urakyoto and some characters I had in mind, the whole thing being born from a random idea of mine. It was honestly fun to write, interactions between multiple characters can be fun. The youkais side of things in canon was left more or less barebones, which while annoying at times does provide me plenty of room to create my own things.

Anyway, that's it for now. Next chapter we will see more stories of Lucius in Urakyoto, like his meeting with a certain princess and his learning of an unexpected fact about his physiology.

Thanks everyone for the constant support, you all are awesome.

Constructive critics are always welcomed.

Fiquem Bem!