Although the idea sounded nice in theory, reality was far less forgiving. In Lord Ren Kuroda's eyes, Lady Ayami and Lady Ryuki were even more important than his own life.
It was precisely because he trusted her that Lord Ren had entrusted her with the responsibility of protecting his family.
Spider Princess didn't want to disappoint Ren's expectations—but at the same time, she was unwilling to remain stuck at home forever, unable to stay by Ren's side day in and day out like the Sword Shrine Maidens did.
In the end, it was all because those Nurikabe were completely useless. Despite all of them having reached A-minus–class yokai power—supposedly the strongest Nurikabe around—their personalities were still cowardly to the extreme.
As for those Red Oni, their limits were even lower. After barely reaching B-minus–class yokai power, they seemed to have hit a hard ceiling.
One A-minus–class yokai and four B-minus–class yokai—such a protective force would already be considered outrageously luxurious for most families.
And yet, as one of the people under protection, Miss Ryuki herself possessed considerable combat strength. Even so, Ren was never fully at ease, which was why he had Spider Princess remain behind to protect his mother and sister.
"I really wonder where that Futakuchi-onna went… And Lord Ren really isn't taking this matter seriously enough.If we could just trick her—cough, I mean, recruit her into Lord Ren's Hundred Demons faction, then she could take my place protecting Lady Ayami and Lady Ryuki, couldn't she?"
Spider Princess was still lost in her wandering thoughts when, without any warning at all, the door in front of her suddenly opened with a sharp click.
The moment she saw the figure stepping through the doorway, a captivating smile bloomed across her face—because the person she had been yearning for day and night had finally returned.
Unfortunately, her happiness didn't last long.
Very quickly, Spider Princess realized that Lord Ren had not come back alone.
Behind him was a breathtakingly beautiful girl with long white hair, dressed in a pure white kimono, her beauty almost suffocating. She followed closely behind Ren, step for step, as they entered the house together.
And beside Ren and the white-haired girl were several little girls, their features delicate and refined, like porcelain dolls.
Because they had already grown familiar with Ren during the journey back, these little girls were completely uninhibited now. One clung to Ren's back, laughing with a bell-like giggle, while the other two held onto Ren's and the white-haired girl's hands respectively.
Seeing this scene, Spider Princess's previously radiant smile froze solid on her face. Even the "Welcome home" she had been about to say got stuck in her throat.
She had just barely sent away one Sword Shrine Maiden who had designs on Lord Ren—and now another one showed up?
And this time, the opponent had even brought kids along!
Looking at Lord Ren and Snow Princess now, together with those adorable Snow Children beside them, it looked for all the world like a blissful family of four!
Logically speaking, Ren had only been away from home for a single week. Even if something had happened between him and Snow Princess, there was no way they could already have children—and ones this grown, at that.
But Spider Princess knew better.
Every time Lord Ren traveled to another world, no matter how long he stayed there, only a single week passed in this world when he returned.
And right now, Spider Princess had no way of knowing whether this breathtaking white-haired girl was someone Ren had brought back from another world.
Looks like it wasn't just human women she had to guard against anymore—even beautiful female yokai were threats now!
"Welcome back, Lord Ren. And… may I ask who the lady behind you is?"
Despite the turmoil in her heart, Spider Princess couldn't help but focus on Snow Princess's identity and voiced her question.
"Oh, her name is Snow Princess. She's a Snow Woman yokai. The ones beside her are her younger sisters—the Snow Children.Anyway, a lot of things happened after I came back, so Snow Princess has now joined my Hundred Demons as well. She'll be living with us from now on."
After answering Spider Princess's question in an offhand manner, Ren turned and walked into the house. To be honest, he missed his family dearly.
To Ayami and Ryuki, Ren had only been gone for a week.
But for Ren himself, he had crossed two entire worlds during that time.
He had even asked Snow Princess to wait for a moment on the way back while he took a detour to buy a pile of gifts—just to make his mother and sister happy.
Ren had assumed that, after such a long separation, he would be greeted by enthusiastic hugs from his family.
Instead, he found himself being completely ignored.
Ayami Kuroda was currently deep in conversation with her close friend, Saori Jingu, discussing whether she knew any outstanding young women who could be introduced to Ren.
After Yamato Miku's departure, the more Ayami thought about it, the more she felt Spider Princess had been right. Letting a half-demon like Ren marry into an exorcist clan was simply too absurd.
And judging from Yamato Miku's attitude earlier, it didn't seem like the other side would give up so easily.
So Ayami came to a simple conclusion: if Ren wasn't single anymore, the root of the problem would disappear!
Her friend Saori Jingu was a noble young lady herself and knew plenty of human girls. Surely there was someone suitable among them.
As a result, Ayami and Saori were chatting away enthusiastically, with absolutely no time to spare for the son who had just returned home, beaming with joy.
Having failed to receive his long-awaited maternal affection, Ren could only take the expensive plush doll he had carefully selected and go look for his ever-clingy little sister instead.
"That girl Ryuki is probably going to be over the moon this time. This doll cost a freaking fortune… If my salary from the Special Countermeasures Division weren't this high, I really wouldn't have been able to bring myself to buy it."
But when Ren, holding his so-called "expensive" doll, finally found his sister Ryuki, the smile on his face instantly stiffened.
Because he saw that Ryuki was surrounded by a mountain of toys—big and small—and no matter whether it was their design or craftsmanship, every single one of them looked far more high-end than the "expensive" doll hidden behind his back…
Have you ever seen a plush doll with gemstones embedded in its eyes?
What was even more outrageous was that some of these dolls had clothes adorned with actual diamonds!
A stupid doll wearing clothes more expensive than what he was wearing himself—no, scratch that. The combined total value of all the bargain-bin junk in Ren's room probably didn't even equal the price of a single button on that doll's outfit!
"Big Brother, you're back! Ryuki missed you so much!"
A little cotton jacket might occasionally let the wind through, but it was still a cotton jacket in the end. Ryuki, who had been dazzled by toys just moments earlier, immediately threw everything aside when she spotted Ren. Like a human cannonball, she slammed straight into his arms.
With Ren's current physique and strength, there was no way he'd be hurt by a reckless little girl.
After enjoying the long-overdue warmth of family affection, the little girl smoothly extended both hands toward him, asking for her gift with practiced ease. The once-thoughtful cotton jacket had officially started leaking again…
Ryuki loved acting spoiled toward her brother not only because, in her eyes, her brother and mother were the most important people in the world—but also because every time she did so, she was rewarded handsomely.
Her mother Ayami no longer fell for that routine, but her brother Ren Kuroda? It worked on him every single time.
And now, faced with Ryuki standing on tiptoe, arms outstretched, Ren's expression turned painfully awkward.
The gift he had prepared… simply couldn't compete with the pile of luxury toys scattered all over the floor.
Seeing her brother's troubled expression, the anticipation on the little girl's face slowly faded into disappointment.
"Brother… you didn't forget to bring Ryuki a present, did you? You promised me before you left."
Uh-oh. She wasn't even calling him "Big Brother" anymore—she'd switched to the formal "Brother." Clearly, her mood had taken a sharp dive.
"I'd never forget to bring you a gift," Ren said quickly. "It's just that this time, the gift is a bit special. You'll need to earn it with your own effort."
Dealing with his troublesome sister, Ren suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of the Snow Children beside Snow Princess.
The Snow Children were slightly younger than Ryuki, but overall they were about the same age.
All this time, Ryuki's only playmate at home had basically been Nurikabe. Even at school or outside, her special identity meant she rarely had what one could call real friends.
The Snow Children who came along with Snow Princess, however, matched Ryuki in both age and background. There would be no barriers between them. And Ren felt that it would be a good thing for Ryuki to finally make friends her own age.
Reality quickly proved Ren right.
Because of their similar ages—and the fact that they were all little girls—it didn't take long at all for Ryuki and the Snow Children to become inseparable.
She even willingly shared the toys she usually treated like priceless treasures.
The most miserable one, however, was undoubtedly Nurikabe.
In the past, he had only been bullied by Ryuki alone. Now, there were three additional little demons in the mix, turning his days into sheer misery.
And what made it worse was that he couldn't even fight back against the three new Snow Children—after all, they had backing too.
Judging by the order of joining the Hundred Demons, Nurikabe was unquestionably a veteran. But in reality, nobody cared about that "senior" status. Whoever had the stronger fists made the rules.
And no matter how you looked at it, whether in yokai power or overall strength, Nurikabe clearly wasn't a match for Snow Princess.
So he could only swallow his pride and resign himself to becoming the plaything of four little girls.
Later, Ren learned from Spider Princess that the reason Ryuki suddenly had so many high-end toys was entirely due to a recent visit from Yamato Miku.
What truly sent chills down Ren's spine, however, was that the woman had come to discuss his marriage to Yamato Kyoka—and that Ayami had almost agreed.
Give me a break.
He admitted that he did have a bit of fondness for Yamato Kyoka. But the reason he had pretended to be her boyfriend and gone back with her to meet her family was simply because he had agreed to fulfill three of her requests.
So why did things suddenly seem to be spiraling out of control now?
It was starting to look less like an act… and more like it was becoming real.