Chapter 123

On the next day, Karen and I went to that mountain again to know more about the situation, as that evil apparition Souki is going to be to resurrected soon .

"Alright, let's go . "

"Okay . "

As we informed our mother that we are going to the mountain again, we exited through our entrance door, and quickly teleported to the shrine . As you know that my[Space – Time Magic]allows me to teleport to any space and time, I was able to use that skill to directly go the shrine without having to go through that long tunnel again . Karen and I walked some noticeable distance from the house and then teleported to the shrine where we find that the small foxes were running and playing here and there .

"Waay!"

"Ahaha!"

"Wait for me!"

For some reason, it feels like that the numbers of foxes have increased since the last time we visited the shrine . Perhaps, they were afraid of us and were hiding last time . While some of them were chasing each other and playing, others were taking a midday nap; it was harmonious scenery . It felt like I was visiting a zoo .

"Ah, it's that human!"

"It's him!"

The moment our presence was realized by the foxes around us, we immediately got surrounded by them . The other foxes also noticed us and came running towards us .

"Why did you come today?"

"How did you come here?"

"Let's play together!"

Apparently, it looked that they were no longer afraid of us, and started talking and asking questions to us . I couldn't reply to all of them at once, so instead, I replied with a gentle smile . As for Karen, she was happily sparkling her eyes while being surrounded by the foxes . I couldn't help but reveal a smile from watching her crouching to pat them .

A few moments later, Ouka who heard the uproar appeared from within the shrine while seeming to be a little surprised . I took a quick glance at the inside of the shrine; the place she left just now looked like a room .

"Ara, Yato-sama and Karen-sama . "

"Hey . "

I casually greeted Ouka who was still in her human form . Before she asked me about I arrived at the shrine so quickly, she first helped me to get out from the foxes that were surrounding us .

"Come on now, our human guests are troubled . Let them pass . "

When Ouka requested the foxes to leave us pass with a soft and gentle voice tone, the little foxes replied with a 'woof' and opened a passage for us . From the looks of it, Karen looked disappointed when that happened . I believe that she wants to play with the foxes for a little longer, but I want her to bear with me for a now . Now that the little foxes opened a path for us, Ouka greeted us a second time .

"Welcome back, I hope we continue to cooperate today as well . "

"Yeah, sure . "

"I apologize for what the foxes did to you, they are still young . "

"It's fine, I don't mind it . That's how children should be, after all . "

I replied to Ouka's apology in a nonchalant manner .

"Can I ask you on how you came here, by the way?"

"Well, I used one of my abilities to get here . "

From the expression that she was showing, it looked like she didn't understand what I meant . To demonstrate my abilities, I teleported behind Ouka to give her an idea of what ability I used to come here . At first, she couldn't hide her bewildered expression when she realized that I teleported behind her, but soon after, she made a face as if she understood everything and replied .

"I see, that is quite reliable . Well then, shall we go then?"

"Yeah . "

I nodded to Ouka's suggestion, though, before I followed her, I turned to ask Karen about something .

"Karen, I'm going with Ouka now, are you going to stay here?"

"Yeah . I will be here . "

Apparently, she knew well that she doesn't have anything to do with the sealing of that evil apparition Souki . In fact, her true intentions for coming with me today was to spend her time with the foxes in the shrine . Moreover, I also don't want to put her life in danger by bringing her with me to the sealing room . Anyway, I leave her to do as she likes .

"Karen-sama, I will leave the children in your care . "

"Leave it to me . "

Karen replied by giving me a thumbs up . She has always been skillful at taming animals, so I guess that leaving her here won't be a problem; just like the time when I entrusted Rouga to her . As we were leaving the place, we could hear little foxes wishing us a good day . While calmly smiling to the foxes, Ouka and I headed to the room where the evil apparition Souki was sealed .

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"This is the sealing room . "

The place we arrived was deep in the mountains, and it was in a different dimension as well . It was an open space surrounded by trees and shrubs which were giving the natural impression that we were really deep inside the mountain . In the middle of that space, there was a giant rock that seemed as if it were restraining something .

"So this is the seal?"

Ouka nodded to my question while gazing at the rock . It's simpler than what I expected . I was expecting something like a shrine to be here .

"I didn't know that a place like this existed in this mountain . "

"This place is protected by a powerful barrier so that no one can enter here . So it can also be said that it is hidden from humans . "

I get it now . It's no wonder that I have not heard anyone talking about this place . Also, aside from the fact that the rock was bound by a rope, it looked just like an ordinary rock which you can find anywhere . Although, I'm wondering about the signs of resurrection that Ouka was talking about .

"From what I can tell, I don't see anything strange about this rock . "

"You will understand shortly after . "

What does she mean by that I will understand shortly after? I shifted my gaze to the rock while still thinking about Ouka's previous statement; when suddenly it happened .

"Eh!?"

As I was observing the rock carefully, the ground started to shake violently all of a sudden . Even the grass and trees in our surroundings were impacted by the shaking . It felt as if an earthquake were happening .

** ANGRY EVIL APPARITION NOISES **

I heard a howling voice coming out from the rock after a few moments later . The voice felt as if it were reacting to something, and it was firmly reverberating inside my head . The violent shaking which I believed to be an earthquake; it turned out that it was something different than that .

So this is the sign of Souki's resurrection .

I covered my ears with both of my hands to stop that annoying noise . At this point, I was certain that this earthquake phenomenon is only happening inside this barrier . If such an intense earthquake was happening every now and then, my grandparents should have noticed it as well . I analyzed the situation while enduring the trembling earth .

After enduring it for a while, the howling voice gradually fainted away and the earthquake started to fade away as well, and moments later everything returned to normal if nothing had happened . I turned to look at Ouka who then noticed my gaze and started explaining the situation .

"This was the sign . The last time when I came here, the shaking wasn't this intense . This is a proof that the seal is weakening as time passes . "

My doubts were confirmed by Ouka's brief explanation .

"It was a dreadful scream . "

I can't even imagine what could have happened if this voice reached the ears of the ordinary people . Apparently, the barrier has an effect of blocking the sounds inside from leaking outside . I continued to ponder while looking at the rock . Before I realized it, Ouka was placing her hand on the rock while revealing a tragic expression .

"Did you know? Souki was a normal Youkai like me before it turned into an evil apparition . The only thing that was different about it was that it was a little bit stronger than a normal Youkai . That was all . Yet, at one day, the humans who feared his power came to assault us . We did not do anything harmful to them in any way . All that we did was living a normal and peaceful life . Souki, who had his family murdered by them, lost his calm from the intense wrath and hatred and turned into an evil apparition . "

I quietly listened to Ouka's story . Such an unpleasant story . I closed my eyes and contemplated the story she told me for a short while .

"If you don't mind me asking but can you tell me something; why do you still like humans?"

When I asked her a question that occurred to me out of nowhere, Ouka was taken aback while looking somewhat embarrassed with her cheeks turning faintly red .

"Not all humans are evil, and besides..."

"Besides?"

"... I-I like... Err . . Nothing . "

(TLN: c'mon !! you too? How? Why? Don't tell me!!?)

She abruptly stopped ended her speech . I believe she said something about liking something . I wonder what she wanted to say . I got a little curious, but decided to not to force her for an answer .

"Let's make sure to seal it properly tomorrow . "

"Yeah, sure . "

I was reluctant at first, but now that I have been entrusted by this request I can't let her lose faith . That is what I thought while looking at Ouka changing her bitter expression into a cheerful one .

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After having a long conversation with Ouka, we went back to the shrine . However...

"What is this..."

The first thing that attracted my attention in the shrine was a pyramid formation of foxes .

"Ah, welcome back . "

For obvious reasons, Karen who was gazing at the pyramid with a satisfied expression on her face .

Just what happened in the short while we were gone?

The pyramid was over 2 meters tall, which was formed by a huge number of little foxes . It was so perfect that it didn't even flicker a tiny bit . It looked like a work that requires consistent everyday training to achieve . Even the little foxes were not even flinching .

"How did you manage to do that?"

"I did my best . "

Well, that was not the answer I was expecting from her .

Just what in the world is this girl doing the foxes of another person?

I can no longer sense the innocence that the little foxes had while running and playing around only recently . I slowly turned towards Ouka to see how she was reacting to what Karen did .

"Haha... It looks like things turned out to be great . "

I spoke with a bitter smile on my face .

"I'm sure that they can do even much better . No doubt about it . "

Karen who interpreted my line as words of praise answered with an elated spirit . Didn't she look at Ouka's shocked face? Her expression stiffened up from the extreme surprise .

"Look . "

As if the pyramid weren't enough, Karen sent a signal to the foxes to show me the fruits of her hard work . The moment she clapped her hands once, the foxes started jumping down starting from the top of the pyramid . The way they all jumped with a constant rhythm made them look like some well-trained soldiers .

With refined moves, they formed a single line and began rolling on the ground . They even stood on two legs making the formation look more toned and perfected . It had too many details .

"Rouga can't do this alone, so..."

Karen looked totally satisfied . Well, it would be impossible for Rouga to do all of this alone, but that doesn't grant you the permission to make soldiers out of poor little foxes .

Perhaps she has a talent in training animals . I don't think I can do something like her even if I had a skill for training them . I was honestly impressed by the refined moves and the perfect formation she was able to make them deliver, as for Ouka...

"Aah, my children..."

(ED: Poor Ouka)

As for Ouka, she revealed a heartbroken expression, as if her children were stolen from her . I turned towards her to apologize .

"Um, I'm sorry for what my little sister did . "

"N-No, I was the one who entrusted them to her..."

"I'm sure Karen didn't have any malice when she trained them; as you said, not all humans are evil..."

My comforting words didn't seem to have any effect on her as she kept making the same gloomy face . The cheerful mood she was exuding just now disappeared immediately . As I gazed at the former innocent foxes, I let out an awkward smile while being worried about what may happen next .

It should be alright, yeah .

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Bonus

Rivals

"The little foxes were great . "

"I know right . "

"Ugh~"

"What's wrong, Rouga?"

"... I want to be able to move like that too . "

"You mean like the little foxes? That's impossible... physically . "

"No, I want to!"

"It's a problem of numbers, can't be helped . "

"Make more copies of me then!"

"Stop asking for the impossible . "