"How's that, you want to keep me all to yourself forever?", Hikari raised his hand familiarly and gave a smack to the firm, upturned jade butt under her skirt.
"Ah!", Aoi let out a wavering cry. Thinking about the terrifying torment she would suffer if she faced Hikari alone, she honestly shook her head, "Forget it, I don't mind. More sisters just means more sisters. I'm generous enough, right~"
After their first intense, in-depth clash, Aoi had already understood.
That saying about there being no land that can't be ruined, only oxen that die of exhaustion, was completely invalid when it came to Hikari.
If there were really only her one plot of land, she would absolutely be plowed to death by him. So even if she felt a bit jealous, she didn't really mind having a few more sisters who shared the same fate and cried together.
Hikari didn't expose her thoughts. He smiled and kissed her on the face, praising her, "Mm, Aoi really is generous."
"Then how about letting me sit in the position of the main wife?", Having received his praise, Aoi immediately took advantage of it.
Hikari felt both amused and helpless inside, but still said, "Mm, I'll consider it."
Whether she believed him or not was unclear, but Aoi looked very happy.
The two of them held hands and walked downstairs together.
"Hikari-kun, Aoi, come eat," Suiren called out to them after she had just untied her apron, seeing the two come down from upstairs together.
"Okay~", Aoi answered with a smile, tugging Hikari along as she quickly went downstairs.
Seeing the two still holding hands so clingily at home, Suiren turned her head away and pretended not to see. If it were before, she might have said something.
But maybe because several things had happened that afternoon, she simply acted as if she hadn't noticed.
The three of them sat down at the dining table and started eating dinner together.
Having expended his energy several times today, Hikari ate very seriously, properly replenishing his body with nutrients.
And perhaps because of those awkward things that had happened with Hikari that afternoon, Suiren looked a bit shy and reserved.
Aoi, on the other hand, had already had deep exchanges with Hikari and was even more relaxed than before.
On top of that, with Suiren keeping her head down and eating seriously, Aoi naturally started her usual mischief under the table.
After all, having just been plowed, Hikari knew that Aoi's little mouth was probably still a bit swollen right now.
So in response to her provocation, Hikari endured it for the first time and didn't counterattack, just focused on eating.
Just as they were about to finish the meal, Hikari's body suddenly trembled slightly.
Aoi thought her skills had improved and happily curled the corner of her lips.
But in fact, Hikari's movement had nothing to do with her at all. After all, his long spear had fought its way through countless battles among humans, demi-humans, and supernatural races alike. How could it be so easily scared into surrender by just one hand.
The reason Hikari moved slightly was because a system prompt had just sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Anti-cuckold alert!]
[Your childhood sweetheart Jinno Ai's mother, Jinno Sumire, has already been targeted by Yoshizawa Eigen. Eigen is about to carry out despicable cuckold behavior. The NTR probability is high. Please respond appropriately!]
Hearing the pure-love paper-crane warning prompt in his mind, Hikari raised an eyebrow slightly.
'So it is about Yoshizawa Eigen. This guy has finally made a move.'
Hikari had been waiting for quite some time.
After killing his son, Yoshizawa Takeo, Hikari had known that Yoshizawa Eigen would sooner or later try to take revenge on him or on Aunt Miyuri. He had been waiting for the man to show his hand so he could kill him.
But this time, the target Yoshizawa Eigen had his eye on wasn't Aunt Miyuri, but Jinno Sumire.
That surprised Hikari a bit at first.
However, after thinking it over carefully, he roughly guessed Yoshizawa Eigen's thinking.
After failing to kidnap Jinno Ai, Jinno Sumire had launched fierce retaliation against Yoshizawa Eigen.
Lately, Yoshizawa Eigen was probably having a pretty hard time, so he set his sights on Jinno Sumire.
But for any woman who might have even the slightest risk, Hikari would bind a pure-love warning paper crane to them.
So even though Yoshizawa Eigen wasn't making a move against Aunt Miyuri, Hikari still clearly received the warning.
After thinking it carefully, Hikari didn't hesitate much.
He directly put down his bowl and chopsticks and prepared to leave to stop Yoshizawa Eigen's sinister plan.
"Suiren-nee, Aoi, I'm done eating. I've got something to take care of and need to head home for a bit," Hikari said as he stood up.
"Okay. Hikari-kun, just leave the dishes here. I'll wash them later," Suiren nodded at him.
Aoi followed Hikari out of the house, saying she wanted to see him off.
"All right, Aoi, I've got things to do. I'm heading out," Hikari said, looking at Aoi who kept close behind him. Preoccupied with Yoshizawa Eigen's scheme, he didn't hug or cuddle her like usual.
Seeing Hikari about to leave, Aoi suddenly grabbed his sleeve and said, "Um, Hikari-kun, my mom doesn't seem like she's coming back tonight. Are you coming back to stay over at my place tonight?"
"Depends on the situation," Hikari said after a moment of thought.
"No, you have to come back and stay at my place tonight," Aoi said firmly.
Hikari looked at her and asked strangely, "Why do I have to stay over at your place? You want it again? Can you still handle it?"
Seeing Hikari glance over the vital spots that he had broken through again and again during battle, Aoi's pretty face flushed red. She shot him a glare and said coyly, "Who… who can't handle it."
"And that's not what I want to talk to you about anyway. The reason I want you to come back and sleep here tonight is because I want your relationship with my sister to go further."
"Hm?", Hikari looked at Aoi in confusion.
"Stop playing dumb. It's not like I didn't see it. You already had my sister use her hands and mouth on you…"
"She even had to clamp you while biting at the same time. She worked so hard serving you. You're not planning to take responsibility for my sister, are you?", Aoi put her hands on her hips and questioned Hikari like she was calling him to account.
"What exactly are you trying to do?", Hikari asked.
"I want you and Suiren-nee's relationship to go deeper. Don't ask so much. Just come back home and sleep tonight, that's all," Aoi waved her hand.
"All right, all right. If I've got time, I'll come back," Hikari said helplessly, shaking his head at her.
Satisfied with his answer, Aoi happily walked back into the house.
Hikari, on the other hand, left the Asakawa home and headed straight toward Ino Shrine.
———
Although the distance from the Asakawa house to Ino Shrine was shorter than from Hikari's own home, it still took some time to get there.
To shorten the time, Hikari didn't take the flat but longer main road.
Instead, he chose a shorter shortcut.
However, this shortcut hadn't been used for years. It was poorly maintained, full of potholes, had no streetlights installed, and there was quite a bit of overgrown grass on both sides.
Most people wouldn't choose to walk this road under normal circumstances. So walking alone on it, Hikari felt the surrounding atmosphere was quite desolate.
The night sky was dark, with only a bit of moonlight spilling onto the ground for illumination. Faint gusts of wind blew past, making whooshing sounds that were unsettling. Timid people might even be scared into having their legs go weak.
But Hikari was skilled and bold, so he naturally didn't care.
Just as Hikari had thought, although this road wasn't easy for ordinary people to walk, it posed no problem for his physical condition. He had already walked more than half the way without any incidents.
But just as he felt he was nearing the shrine, with only a few hundred meters left, a black shadow suddenly appeared by the roadside ahead.
Hikari frowned and walked forward to take a look.
The black shadow was a large stone split in two, about as tall as more than half a person. There were a few words carved into the stone.
"Suppressing demon… stone?", Hikari barely made out the blurred, weathered characters.
If this were his previous life, he would definitely have laughed it off.
But in this inner world, this suppressing demon stone might really have been holding down some kind of demon.
From the looks of it, it seemed to have escaped.
As for what kind of demon it was, why it escaped, and what its purpose was, Hikari didn't care right now.
Because although he had the power to slay demons and exorcise evil, that wasn't his main job. He only dealt with such things occasionally when he happened to run into them, like Hiraki Hanako and Mary-san.
Hikari's main objective right now was still to hurry to Ino Shrine and stop Yoshizawa Eigen's cuckold scheme against Jinno Sumire.
So after casually glancing around the suppressing demon stone and finding nothing unusual, Hikari turned and left.
On the pitch-black country path, Hikari quickened his pace, preparing to reach Ino Shrine as fast as possible.
With Hikari's physique, his current sprinting speed was already very fast, comparable to an ordinary adult male going all out.
But suddenly, a set of footsteps appeared behind him, closely following him.
On an empty, deserted path, a mysterious set of footsteps suddenly appeared behind him, moving at great speed, clinging to him like a shadow.
Although he didn't feel afraid, Hikari still turned around helplessly and looked behind him.
Whoosh!
A gust of wild wind rushed toward him, blowing his bangs into disarray and making the roadside weeds rustle loudly.
But when he turned back, there was nothing there at all, completely empty.
"No one? Were those footsteps just an illusion?", Hikari muttered to himself in confusion, shaking his head helplessly.
In the blind spot of his vision behind him, however, there was a grotesque, wildly twisting figure with a ferocious expression, grinning as it quietly approached his back.
Just as this bizarre black shadow rapidly reached Hikari's back and stretched out a pair of arms twisted like braided rope, about to strangle his neck, Hikari suddenly turned around. Golden light flared on his arm as he slammed down with a fierce punch.
BANG!
The black shadow that was about to launch a sneak attack from behind was instantly sent flying by Hikari's powerful punch.
"AHHH! AHHH!"
The shadow that was sent flying let out shrill screams.
From the moment he saw the suppressing demon stone shattered, Hikari had been on guard.
So after sensing a strange presence approaching, he had stayed alert the whole time.
After guessing that some kind of urban legend monster was trying to sneak attack him, Hikari deliberately turned around to expose an opening, and sure enough, he lured this thing out.
Hikari took a few steps back. By the sparse, pale moonlight in the sky, he finally saw clearly what kind of creature this peculiar black shadow actually was.
This shadow that attacked him looked extremely strange. Although it vaguely had a humanoid shape, it had nothing in common with a human appearance.
It was about half a person tall, like a humanoid with twisted limbs and only a torso. Its entire body was white and incredibly smooth, with no neck and no head. Yet on its chest, there was a ferocious, terrifying face.
On its lower body, there was only a single foot, twisted and contorted like a braided rope.
At this moment, the twisted monster was letting out strange cries while writhing about wildly.
It hopped on one foot while flailing its arms and charged toward Hikari.
Seeing this headless, chest-faced monster, Hikari subconsciously thought of a legend from his past life in the east, but he quickly denied it, "This thing is Yamanoke!"
Because he had consecutively encountered things like the snow woman and Hanako of the toilet, Hikari had previously learned about many Japanese urban legends.
The completely white creature in front of him, with twisted limbs, no head, and a face on its chest, perfectly matched an urban legend monster known as "Yamanoke."
"Did this thing escape from that shattered suppressing demon stone?", Hikari frowned as he sensed the aura of this "Yamanoke."
Actually, its aura didn't feel all that overwhelming to him. It wasn't even as strong as the unknown urban legend presence he had sensed during the test-of-courage event in the back mountain of Ino Shrine, the one that left behind giant footprints.
Of course, for ordinary people, encountering a "Yamanoke" would probably mean certain death.
It was said that this thing would crawl into a person's body, twisting it into a shape like its own, and it especially liked to possess women.
But facing this horrifying "Yamanoke," Hikari wasn't too afraid.
After all, this wasn't his first time exorcising evil. Not only was his physical condition far beyond that of ordinary people.
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