Chapter 4

"Once again, thank you for helping us."

Yasaka bows at me once again while her people take care of the mess that the group of kidnappers leaves behind.

"Don't mention it. Who are they, by the way?"

"I don't know. They said something about Hero Faction, but I never heard something like that before. However, I know who they are."

"Really?"

"Yes. They introduce themselves to me."

"Truly? Are they idiots?"

"No. Arrogant. They think that I can't do anything to them."

"And that makes them idiots. They want to kidnap someone and decide to tell you their name?"

"Fair enough. The leader is Cao Cao, the direct descendant of the Legendary General Cao Cao. The sub-leader is Georg, the direct descendant of Johann Georg Faust, who makes a pact with a powerful devil, Mephisto Pheles. The third one is Jeanne, the Spirit Inheritor of Jeanne d'Arc. The fourth one is Heracles, the Spirit Inheritor of Heracles of Greece. The last one is Siegfried, I don't know what he is, but I know he is not human. He is tainted."

Right. What the fuck is Spirit Inheritor? Some kind of reincarnation? But only their soul and not their memory?

"I see. They are rather powerful."

"Yes. However, that is mostly their Sacred Gear. All of them have one. Their physical power only reaches the Mid-Tier. Cao Cao and Georg are the only ones who reached the High-Tier in Physical for Cao Cao and Magical for Georg. Without his spear, Cao Cao would be dead by your attack."

I see. Sacred Gear is their weapon—a spear for Cao Cao, Sword for Jeanne, and many swords for Siegfried. I don't know what the others have. Is the purple smoke a Sacred Gear? As the name implies, it needs to be something that means that purple smoke is some sort of magic.

I release a sigh and say.

"And now what?"

"Now? I don't know. It is up to you. I will not hold someone who helps us, but I prefer if you stay in my place for a few days, maybe a week, so I can show you how grateful I'm for rescuing my daughter."

"You don't need to do that, Yasaka. I'm happy to help."

I can feel someone tugging at my shirt, and Kunou looks at me with teary eyes.

"You don't stay?"

I can only sigh in defeat as Yasaka giggles at the sight of me. You are supposed to help here, Yasaka! Oh, well. She is her daughter, after all.

I smile at her and give her a pat on the head.

"I will stay."

"Yay~"

She hugs me, and I look at Yasaka.

"I will accept your offer. I think I will stay for a few days."

"Great! Come on, follow me. I will show you the room you will stay in."

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|Yasaka - Queen of the Kyoto Youkai Faction|

"How is it? What do you get from your investigation?"

I look at the old weasel Youkai, the leader of an information-gathering squad.

"He is clean."

I sigh a little at his words. He is one of the best information gatherers in the world but doesn't like to talk. He prefers writing his report for me to read.

"Can you tell me more? Make sure to be as detailed as possible."

I can hear him sigh in annoyance and say.

"His name is Jordan Barnett from a small town called Hollis in New Hampshire, US. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire and worked in the local town for two years."

"That is good and all, but I want to know what kind of magical education he has and why he came here."

"I'm getting there. He has a magical license from the local magical community. The license says that he is an Elemental Magician. As for who is the one training him… I don't know. I need a week to a month to dig deeper. Do you want me to do it?"

"No. You don't need to do it."

I don't want to do this as he saved Kunou, and I don't want to dig into someone who will save my family. However, as a leader of Youkai, I need to make sure he is not a threat, and I'm glad he came clean.

I'm slightly curious about the origin of his magic, but I will not snoop into his personal life as long as he is not a threat to my family and people.

"Anyway, what is the reason why he came here?"

"Vacation."

"Vacation, eh? That's good. I will make sure his vacation is memorable."

I smile a little and get up.

"Kuro, be a dear and make sure to search for any lead on the Hero Faction, okay?"

"I'm older than you."

I chuckle a little when he says that. I can see him disappear and cannot feel his presence in this palace even when I use Senjutsu. That is how good he is at his job. I shake my head and walk to the meeting room. I walk through the corridor and arrive in front of the guest room.

As I open the door, I can see Jordan playing with Kunou. I can see her flying around the room, laughing. I can feel the wind around her body that lets her fly around the room. When my guest saw me coming, he smiled and slowly put Kunou down.

"Aw~ Again!"

The little vixen shouts in disappointment and demands more.

"Your mother is here, Kunou."

Kunou turns around and quickly runs to me.

"Mother! Are you done?"

"Yup. I'm done for the day."

"Good! Let's play!"

"A moment, dear."

I look at Jordan and say.

"You said that you want to show me something?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Here."

He snaps his finger, and suddenly a body falls to the ground. It is the body of Jeanne, one of the people who attacked me. I look at it in shock and notice something a second later. Her body is wet as if she died drowning.

"How?"

"Magic. Anyway, what do you want to do with her?"

"We cannot do anything to her now as she has died."

"Shame. Also, I want to show you this."

Jordan takes out a crystal with the shape of a short sword. The crystal has a golden glow inside of it and this familiar energy.

"What is that?"

"This is coming from her."

Jordan points his finger at the dead body.

"When she died, this thing tried to get out of my magic, and when it couldn't, it crystallized and became this."

"Wait! You said that this thing is coming from her?"

"Yup."

"You can extract Sacred Gear?!"

"I guess."

I look at him with a shocked expression and know his value gets higher by the minute with this knowledge. I need to make sure he makes connections with my people. Someone like him is important to my people.

Kunou looking up to him is a nice first impression. I can work with this. It did not help that he had a pleasant face and powerful magic.

I wonder if Kunou wants a new father or if she wants to give me grandkids. No matter. In the end, the vixen gets their prey.