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Yukino Mifuyu is a Yuki-onna.
However, she is slightly different from the Yuki-onna in traditional stories.
There are many legends about Yuki-onna: subordinates of mountain gods, sucking men's souls through kisses, taking their beloved men back to their caves to freeze them...
Most ancient legends are mixed with gore, inspiring both fear and fantasy.
In modern two-dimensional creations, the Yuki-onna has almost become an object of praise.
White-haired, blue-eyed, loyal, and beautiful...
Some manga artists even drew strange manga with Yuki-onna as protagonists, making Yukino Mifuyu's already meager fortune even poorer.
Hmm... she bought them all.
As for the reason, this is the special characteristic that she, herself, cannot articulate, which distinguishes her from other Yuki-onna.
Mrs. Yukino is cold, not straightforward, sensitive, and has a prickly wariness towards strangers.
However, she also has good habits.
For example, a regular routine.
Just like three meals a day, Yukino Mifuyu would not miss a single meal while reading manga.
But after meeting Kisaragi Rin, she had lost her regular routine, constantly disturbed by various things.
Back to the present.
For some reason, Kisaragi Rin's figure suddenly appeared in Yukino Mifuyu's fantasy.
He said he was the new landlord, but he rudely barged in.
And... he even grabbed her toes.
Recalling the scorching heat of his palm, Yukino Mifuyu tightly shut her eyes in extreme shame, forcing herself to stop thinking.
However, the more one tries not to care about something, the more one tends to care.
Kisaragi Rin's scent seemed to be right beside her...
A few seconds later, Yukino Mifuyu's dazed mind suddenly realized something.
The scent wasn't just 'seeming' to be beside her; she genuinely smelled Kisaragi's scent.
Kisaragi Rin put down the cream puff he was carrying and said oddly, "Mrs. Yukino can continue; don't mind me."
After she was subdued by him, Mrs. Yukino naturally lost ownership of her room.
Earlier, Kisaragi Rin had come down the stairs.
A burning shame rose from her face, and Yukino Mifuyu slowly tried to retract her actions.
"No... I'm not..."
A moment later, Kisaragi Rin's palm emitted a golden light, restoring the sofa to dryness. He glanced at the silent bathroom and said in a calm tone, "Mrs. Yukino, since I've already seen it, don't hide in the bathroom anymore."
There was still no movement inside, so Kisaragi Rin sighed and prepared to open the door.
Yukino Mifuyu then trembled as she replied, "Help me get my underwear; I forgot to bring it in."
"Where?"
"In the bedroom closet."
The bedroom was clean and tidy, and Kisaragi Rin found folded clothes in the closet.
Black, purple, and blue, as well as special lace patterns.
He picked a normal blue one for Mrs. Yukino, who was in extreme shame, and knocked on the bathroom door.
A pair of fair, tender hands reached out from inside, took the item, and immediately retracted.
...
"That's how it is... This is due to my body as a Yuki-onna, so I... I..."
After 'I...', Mrs. Yukino couldn't bring herself to say more. Rather than let Kisaragi know about her shameful constitution, Yukino Mifuyu wanted to explain her earlier behavior; she was not an immodest woman.
"I know."
Seeing Yukino Mifuyu's appearance, Kisaragi remembered this inarticulate widowed Yuki-onna.
He had also looked for that cursed ring but didn't find it, which was reasonable, as that ring, capable of controlling Yokai, was an offering at the shrine before the apartment was built in the original plot.
And the apartment Kisaragi Rin was standing in now was not the one from Yukino Mifuyu's story.
Kisaragi Rin opened the package, handed over a cream puff, and asked her, "Do you want to eat?"
Yukino Mifuyu took it and glanced at it, a little dazed. This was her favorite thing. She lowered her head, regaining a bit of composure, and said awkwardly, "Thank you."
The cream puff was indeed very sweet. Yukino Mifuyu ate it in small bites, not letting even a bit of cream on the corner of her mouth go to waste.
After she finished one cream puff, she heard Kisaragi Rin's calm voice beside her.
"It's time for business, Mrs. Yukino."
The so-called 'business' was, of course, genuinely business.
Kisaragi Rin wanted to question this Yuki-onna when he caught her on Sunday, but unfortunately, Yukino Mifuyu seemed determined to die rather than comply.
Now, two days later, Yukino Mifuyu had somewhat understood her situation and calmed down.
Kisaragi Rin took down the photo placed in the apartment, under Yukino Mifuyu's struggling gaze.
In the slightly old photo, Yukino Mifuyu was pressed close to another woman, and even as they looked at the camera, they secretly gazed at each other.
Purple hair, red eyes, beautiful appearance, excellent figure. Overall, there were no obvious distinguishing features.
"Who is this?"
Kisaragi Rin asked Yukino Mifuyu.
Yukino Mifuyu said sadly, "She is Nanase Haruko; she is... the Oni who brought me to this world."
"Nanase Haruko?"
Kisaragi Rin felt a little familiar with the name. After thinking carefully, he recalled who she was.
Compared to Nanase Haruko, the names Nanase Karin and Steel Lady Nanase would probably be more familiar.
From 'Kyokou Suiri' (In/Spectre), she was an idol who was crushed to death by steel bars, and after her death, she became an urban legend formed by imagination.
Nanase Haruko was her real name, while the latter two were the stage name and urban legend name that Kisaragi Rin was familiar with.
"Has she become an urban legend? A non-human player?"
Kisaragi Rin noticed that Yukino Mifuyu used the term 'Oni'.
Kisaragi Rin had seen many non-human players: Lizard, Shikanoko, and those odd existences from the zoo.
An urban legend becoming a player?
This was the first time Kisaragi Rin had seen one, although this one seemed to have died again.
"Yes, Haruko is an Oni." Yukino Mifuyu nodded in affirmation, then added, "However, Haruko never harmed anyone; instead, she rented this apartment with me and lived peacefully."
Yukino Mifuyu is a follower; after all, a Yuki-onna with her peculiar constitution probably doesn't exist in the Main World.
Nanase Haruko, as always, became an urban legend in this world, then became a player, and brought her follower, Yukino Mifuyu, from another world.
"But if that's the case, who does Yukino Mifuyu's 'widowed' status refer to? Her husband before she was brought out, or Nanase Haruko?"
With this question, Kisaragi Rin asked her.
Yukino Mifuyu replied with a blush, "Before Haruko brought me out, I didn't have a husband..."
Because she was a Yuki-onna, from her perspective, Nanase Haruko, who brought her out, had already become the 'husband' figure. With Haruko's passing, she also became the widowed Mrs. Yukino.
"So it refers to Nanase Haruko. She doesn't have a deceased husband, but rather a deceased woman?"
This outcome made Kisaragi Rin's expression a bit strange. No wonder Mrs. Yukino seemed so practiced earlier.
Kisaragi Rin asked the last question: "So, how did Nanase Haruko die?"
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