At the very least, Sū ěr didn't have to debate whether he should intervene.
The sight of seven giant ropes tethering seven islands to the mainland city made Sū ěr think of flying a kite. It looked as though the islands would fly away if they weren't tied down.
He intended to visit all seven islands, but before that, he wanted to explore the market.
"How about this?" Picking up a pendant from a stall, Sū ěr turned to measure it against Think neck. "Does it have that 'Western Wilds' vibe?"
The pendant was made of sharp teeth of varying sizes. Compared to the other stalls where meat still clung to the bones and teeth, this was high-quality. Furthermore, the meticulous youkai had smoothed down the sharp edges. It looked quite rounded in the sunlight and felt good to the touch.
"..." Think said nothing. She just smiled.
"Not only that, look here! This guy even inlaid gems?!" Sū ěr was thoroughly impressed. He hadn't noticed before, but the curves of the teeth were inlaid with translucent gems—blue, red, green. It was a true work of art.
He hadn't expected to find a "youkai artist" in this barbaric era. Sū ěr tapped the shoulder of the stall owner, who was bowing and scraping. You've done well!
"..." Think still didn't speak, but her fist clenched.
Before Sū ěr skull could suffer a "bloodshed event," a necklace was suddenly held out before them.
"Why not try this one?" a familiar voice suggested.
Compared to Sū ěr pendant of "primitive wild beauty," the necklace held in this new hand was exceptionally refined. Four delicately carved golden flowers matched with four silver flowers, and between these metal blossoms were flowers carved from pale-purple gems, shimmering with literary elegance.
It was beautiful, but Sū ěr was more concerned with which youkai had interrupted—green short hair, red eyes. Unlike the rags she wore at their first meeting, she was now dressed in a clean white gown. The purple dress Yukari had been forced to give her had likely been tossed into some trash heap. It was the battle-crazed flower youkai, Yuuka Kazami.
"What are you doing here?" Conditioned to being stalked by a certain annoying blonde youkai, Sū ěr asked with a hint of suspicion and annoyance.
"What am I doing here?" As if she hadn't expected the question, Yuuka smiled and gestured toward the low building beside them. "I've always been here... this is my territory."
She spoke with complete transparency, without a fear of being questioned. Following her gesture, Sū ěr saw a shop entirely occupied by flowers—or was it a street-front store?
Red, purple, pink, orange... all manner of flowers competed to bloom within the shop. They had even spread to the road outside. (Sū ěr used the word "spread" because the vitality of these flowers was abnormally lush.)
They weren't youkai yet, but the excessive vitality gave them a degree of animal-like spirit. As Yuuka introduced them, Sū ěr even saw some flowers waving at him—waving their petals.
Wait, now wasn't the time to marvel at the flowers, but rather to be shocked that a war-maniac similar to Jibril was running such a refreshing flower shop?!
Even after having her heart crushed by Sū ěr and being buried as fertilizer for months, she held no resentment. For this battle-junkie, her heart held only the desire to get stronger... and yet here she was, selling flowers.
Sū ěr had assumed that Yuuka disappearance after the Yamato trip was because she was off training somewhere after being stimulated. It turned out she was training her business skills?!
The sense of disconnect made Sū ěr sigh with emotion. It was like seeing Jibril selling grilled skewers on a street corner—an unimaginable image that demanded a thumbs-up. Jibril, you better learn from this!!
Both are war-maniacs, but one balances battle and life. Look at you!
Thinking of Jibril made Sū ěr sigh. After all this time, he somewhat missed that eccentric Flügel. He still hadn't gotten used to a life without her wild laughter and unconstrained ideas.
"Spacing out here... thinking of some unforgettable person?" Sharper than many enemy youkai imagined, Yuuka didn't retract her hand; instead, she placed the necklace in Sū ěr hand and spoke peacefully.
Before she started fighting, this youkai was always unhurried, matching the nature of a plant-type youkai. From her words, she was surprisingly insightful.
"...Got proof?" Lifting the necklace, the colored gems sparkled in the sun. Without denying it, Sū ěr draped the necklace around Think neck.
"Ah, at the very least, I look like that when I think of opponents I can't forget. Regret, wanting to pull them out of the dirt... Not bad. It's quite pretty on you." Yuuka shared her personal experience, then nodded at Think in praise.
This green-haired youkai really knew how to talk.
"Thank you... well, what do you think?" Think responded politely, then gave a little twirl in the air, striking an elegant pose and asking Sū ěr—she knew she was pretty, but it was different when the words came from a certain guy.
"...My heart is skipping a beat!" Without hesitation, Sū ěr gave a thumbs-up. He then pressed his hands against the band of the necklace around Think neck.
Like ink dropping into a glass of water, the entire necklace was saturated and infected until it turned the same translucent color as Think body, truly becoming her possession.
Everyone was happy, except for the minor youkai standing nearby—the former owner of the necklace. He looked like he was about to cry.