Chapter 200: Tamamo-no-Mae Feels That She Has Changed
Tamamo-no-Mae left in the morning, and by the time she returned, it was already night.
Little Kiara hadn't gone to sleep yet, and she saw Tamamo-no-Mae bringing back over a dozen children.
"Kiara, still awake?"
"Mhm... Teacher Tamamo-no-Mae, who are they~?"
Hearing Little Kiara's question, Tamamo-no-Mae smiled and introduced each child to her one by one before finally answering her question.
"I originally went out to take care of some matters this time, but I happened to come across these children. I couldn't just leave them be, and since we still have space here, from now on, they'll be your companions."
Little Kiara nodded, after which Tamamo-no-Mae asked her to show the children around and introduce them to the other children.
Tamamo-no-Mae had great trust in Little Kiara.
This child, who had been spirited away to the Heian Capital alongside her by that Distortion, wasn't the oldest among the hundred or so children here, but she was indeed the most reliable.
She was clever, sensible, and had a certain degree of independence.
So, Tamamo-no-Mae watched with complete peace of mind as Little Kiara led the children away. Then, she leaned against the doorframe, deflating like a punctured balloon, slowly sliding down the wooden door until she sat on the floor.
"I really messed up this time... If I hadn't recovered one more tail, I might have died under the defense mechanisms of the Great Yata Barrier."
At this thought, Tamamo-no-Mae sighed.
"Are the instances of being spirited away becoming more frequent...? If this continues, even I won't be able to hold on..."
Since arriving in the Heian Capital, she had lost count of how many times she had said this.
At least two or three times in her own memory.
But each time, it was just talk.
Whether injured or otherwise... when the next instance of being spirited away occurred, she would still do what needed to be done.
"When did I, a once-wicked Great Yokai, become like this...? Perhaps it started when I met Little Kiara."
Lost in thought, Tamamo-no-Mae leaned against the door and slowly closed her eyes.
She was truly exhausted.
And the injuries inflicted by the flames of the Great Yata Barrier would take time to heal.
"At first, being spirited away never brought children, then one or two, then three or five, and now over a dozen... Will the next instance bring even more?"
"Hmm... It'll take at least half a year before I can start seizing the Great Bounded Field. Should I try to recover another tail during this time?"
At this thought, Tamamo-no-Mae opened her eyes, her gaze somewhat troubled.
Because she had already recovered three tails...
It might not sound like much, but for her, this was almost reaching a limit.
If she continued to recover... four tails would already be dangerous. If, after that, she lost control and spontaneously recovered a fifth tail, would she still be the same self she was now?
Ah!
With this thought, Tamamo-no-Mae let out a long sigh and made her decision.
"No matter what, I must try... Four-Tails, with the power of four tails, it should be nearly enough!"
"But to prevent me from going berserk, I must make preparations for the children before regaining my power... If I do lose control after that..."
Thinking this, Tamamo-no-Mae narrowed her eyes.
"When that time comes, whether it's the Great Bounded Field, the Heian Capital, or the Heavenly Fox... don't think things on this side will end so easily."
"After all, foxes hold grudges."
Little Kiara was quite experienced in handling matters related to these children.
This wasn't the first time Tamamo-no-Mae had brought children back, and just as Little Kiara had managed before, this time was no exception.
However, after she had settled the children and planned to go back to Tamamo-no-Mae to relay Mr. Blue Lancer's message, she found that Tamamo-no-Mae had gone out again.
"Going out so late... that's a bit unusual."
Little Kiara thought this, then went back to sleep.
The next day, breakfast and lunch were prepared by her and a few children who had been living there for a long time. It wasn't until the afternoon of the second day that Little Kiara saw Tamamo-no-Mae return.
But this time, Tamamo-no-Mae felt somewhat different to her.
Normally, Tamamo-no-Mae was filled with bright and warm colors. If seeing her display other colors last time was a first for Little Kiara, then this time, when she saw Tamamo-no-Mae, she noticed that the colors surrounding her were completely different.
Those bright and warm colors were not overwhelmingly dominant as usual; although they were still the most abundant among all the colors, they only made up about forty percent of the whole.
The remaining parts were mostly black, followed by blue, and finally, the least abundant but most noticeable red.
If blue gave off a cold feeling, then this red felt scorching hot!
That kind of impatience, anger...
But soon, Little Kiara noticed that after Tamamo-no-Mae saw her, those bright and warm emotions clearly increased, surpassing half of the whole. Then, at least the expression on Tamamo-no-Mae's face returned to a state no different from usual.
"Little Kiara, sorry about that. Yesterday, I suddenly wanted to drink, so I went out for some alcohol. Ah, I didn't expect that after not drinking for so long, I ended up drinking until noon before getting up [hehe]."
Hearing Tamamo-no-Mae say this, Little Kiara moved closer to her.
There wasn't a hint of alcohol on her.
But Little Kiara didn't expose this; she just smiled and shook her head at Tamamo-no-Mae.
"It's nothing. Would you like to eat, Tamamo-no-Mae-sensei? I prepared your portion too."
"That's great... After drinking all night, I am indeed a bit hungry."
Little Kiara led Tamamo-no-Mae toward the kitchen, and then she saw that after having such a conversation with her, the bright and warm emotions around Tamamo-no-Mae increased even more, while the blue and red emotions diminished.
Hmm... emotions that lessen when cared for or understood... but the black didn't diminish this time.
Little Kiara watched Tamamo-no-Mae like this, then began preparing food for her. Afterward, while Tamamo-no-Mae was eating, she chatted with her intermittently.
During this process, that bright and warm color returned to fullness, while the black and red colors completely vanished.
There had always been a bit of blue, but after studying it and resolving it through conversation, Little Kiara understood.
Now Little Kiara roughly understood.
The blue color seemed to represent emotional sadness, the red color appeared to signify anger and impatience, while the black emotion seemed to be the opposite of that bright emotion—one representing most positive thoughts, the other silently indicating the emergence of negative emotions.
Only after the black emotion appeared would the blue and red emotions increase, becoming easier to accumulate.
Without the foundation of black emotion, both blue and red emotions, even if they appeared, would quickly fade away.
After understanding this, Little Kiara ended her conversation with Tamamo-no-Mae.
She felt she had likely helped Teacher Tamamo-no-Mae, and for this, she experienced a distinctly noticeable happiness.
Though perhaps not as joyful as when listening to fairy tales, but... hmm, it should be about as happy as when eating ohagi~
Little Kiara savored this happiness and decided to continue like this in the future.
After she left, Tamamo-no-Mae watched Little Kiara's departing figure, squinting her eyes, feeling considerably more relaxed.
"Indeed, it was from meeting this child that I began to change... With this child around, even in a four-tailed state, I feel I won't generate too many negative emotions."
Thinking this, Tamamo-no-Mae smiled and stretched lazily.
"In that case, this Tamamo can still make a bit more effort~!"
"But if I could find a reliable lover to rely on, I'd be much more at ease. It's just a shame such a thing is utterly impossible in this Heian Capital, alas!"