Chapter 54

Kunou had taken a good shower to get rid of any blood stains and then used her magic to fix her shrine maiden outfit so when she came out of the bathroom she looked a hell of a lot better without half of her chest being dyed red in her blood.

"You look a lot better Kunou. So how are you feeling?" I asked with some concern.

Kunou's golden eyes met mine and she smiled with a small flush entering her cheeks as she responded happily. "I am feeling great honestly! But uhmmm I am rather hungry."

I blinked hearing that and said easily. "Alright, let's go get some food then." Standing up I mused on whether I should jump straight into going after the Demon Lord General in the area but then shook off the thought as I wasn't overly worried about it.

As we walked to the door I felt something on my wrist and I looked down and saw Kunou kinda blushing as she muttered knowing I was looking at her as she had gingerly pinched the sleeve of my jacket at my wrist.

"I don't want to get lost, and momma always made me hold her arm or hand when we walked around the streets of Kyoto." She said in clear embarrassment making me want to coo at the adorable younger girl.

But I didn't make her more embarrassed and only smiled as I gently took her small hand into my own as I said gently. "That's a lovely thing to do. But don't worry, I don't mind if you need a hand, I will protect you and take you home as soon as a week passes by." 

She looked back up at me and I saw a bevy of emotions in her eyes before she bit her lower lip and nodded before looking down away from my gaze. I then led us out of the room with us leaving the inn to go to a nicer restaurant next door to the adventurers guild.

-

'He was too nice!' Kunou thought with a heavy heart as she looked at her savior who was bringing her a plate of more European style than she was accustomed to but thankfully you could never go wrong with plenty of eggs and toast.

She watched her savior with confused eyes as so many thoughts ran through her head. At first, she honestly thought as she awoke that her injuries were an illusion or something. And that her death was magic that managed to ensnare her mind while her beloved mother was kept busy by that nasty turtle!

But as she went into the bathroom and washed the blood off herself. First, she realized that the blood was her own, as her youkai kitsune senses were far stronger than any humans and she knew for a fact that the blood covering most of her body under clothes was almost entirely her own. And secondly... She remembered all too painfully the horrible, horrible feeling of her life slipping out of her body just as he landed in the clearing to save her.

She barely held in a shiver as the memory of a literal reaper coming to her before Jake managed to seal her wounds and then the reaper holding an arm out at her in confusion as Jake leaped through a portal and she truly lost consciousness then. 

'That dummy! How dare he save the princess of the youkai by getting such a debt!"'She mentally yelled feeling all the weight of such a thing falling on her own shoulders as she truly felt bad. As being the the future heiress of all Youkai she was well aware that... Gods were pardon her language but complete assholes one and all!

She shuddered to think of the horrid tasks that the cruel capricious goddess would cunningly force him to do to break his heart, mind, and spirit for their amusement. Oh, how terrible the journey he would have to partake in to repay the divine favor of her resurrection.

Kunou watched Jake eat his toast and she held in a squeal at how... Hot he looked with those glowing eyes of his that seemed to have seen through so much and then after a moment she shifted and realized something. 'Maybe momma can help him get that bitch goddess off his back? Plus momma needs a good friend who isn't some weirdo who wants her to make more nine-tailed foxes hmph!'

But the young kitsune's thoughts were cut off as Jake shifted and after putting down his fork he spoke. "So Kunou, you want to go blow off some steam and blow up an old castle that is filled with monsters?"

For a moment she gaped at the young man's grin at how crass such a question was. To ask her, Kunou the ninetailed fox daughter of Yasaka the darling flower of Kyoto to go and just blow up a castle...

Kunou smiled beautifully with her tails dancing back and forth hypnotically as she responded excitedly. "Of course! I need to train my fox fire to get revenge after I go back!"

-

The little kitsune priestess was an adorable little spitfire so knowing that Kunou had her pride, I decided to help her get a bit stronger if I could while she was with me.

With Kunou riding on my back in a piggyback ride I flew out of the city of Axel after I got a map of the area and the surrounding lands.

Which thankfully included the old border castle that Beldia was going to be in we made good time to reach the castle itself as it was only a good half an hour's walk from the town of Axel and thus by flying it was far easier to get there seeing as we were flying over the surrounding forestry.

Once we got to the castle I took us to a nice hill with an opening in the trees that led to the castle and I smiled saying. "Alright Kunou, go ahead and blast away haha." I joked and as Kunou created some magical glyphs that absorbed her fox fire I had an idle thought running through my mind as Kunou still was holding onto my hand with the hand that wasn't creating magical glyphs. 'Oh dear, she is latching onto me.'