"That seems to be the case," Yukari said, reaching the same conclusion as Sū ěr while suppressing a laugh. "After all, the current golden age of monsters is linked to her birth. Perhaps because of this, she placed herself in the position of the rightful ruler of all monsters... yet no one bothered to pay her any mind. She's likely quite frustrated~"
Yukari tone had turned purely contemptuous.
"In the world of monsters, birth doesn't matter. If loyalty came from birth, how could monsters born of a change in heart exist?" Yūka concluded calmly over her tea.
"Ah... it seems no matter where we go, it's always trouble caused by Old Deuses [God-beings]," Think let out a long sigh of lament.
"No, they're far behind Old Deuses in terms of power, aren't they?" Sū ěr disagreed slightly.
"Only in terms of strength. I was talking about their knack for causing trouble."
"Ah, that's true... they're all collections of trouble."
Good. After a brief exchange, Sū ěr and Think had reached a consensus.
"Oh, and the names are different. One is 'God' and the other is... okay, I was wrong." Sū ěr flash of insight was coolly repelled by Think "smiling" smile.
Quite scary.
"...Other places?" Yūka suddenly caught a very interesting bit of information while watching the two across the hearth.
"Ah, yes. The place we were before also had gods. How to put it? They were all troublesome fellows," Sū ěr sighed with a smile. "I'm sure the lady beside you already guessed."
In a world where gods truly existed and could be seen, the mention of gods in their speech wasn't a rare thing.
"Indeed. Whether it's your lack of familiarity with Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, those novel powers, or the unseen trinkets in this room... the answer is quite obvious," Yukari didn't deny it. "Ah~ and perhaps I should add..."
She left the sentence hanging, but from the way she gestured toward her ears, it was clear what she meant—even in her soul form, Think long ears and the stone on her forehead showed her difference.
To these yōkai, whose perspective was somewhat narrow, the concept of "another world" hadn't occurred to them yet. They understood it as Sū ěr and Think coming from overseas or some unknown island.
"So that friend you said I resembled... was she in the place you were before?" Yūka suddenly understood.
"Uh, yes," Sū ěr scratched his head.
"Could you introduce me? Meeting someone with similar tastes would surely be interesting." Just like her polite compliment about fertilizer during their first meeting, without a fight, Yūka showed none of her bloodthirsty madness; she was actually quite well-mannered.
"It would certainly be interesting, but unfortunately, you won't be able to meet her," Sū ěr evaluated dryly. He didn't even need to think about what would happen if two or more battle-maniacs gathered. Just look at the God of War and his Flügel; it was a disaster for world peace.
That pink-haired Flügel would absolutely pitch their motto—"kill whoever you want"—to Yūka with a smile.
"Why?" Yūka was curious.
"For certain reasons, she does not currently exist in this world... do you understand that explanation?" Think interjected with a smile before Sū ěr could answer.
"I see. That is a pity." Yūka wasn't being polite; she was genuinely disappointed that she couldn't meet a yōkai who was likely stronger and shared her views. Yukari added a few hollow words of condolence beside her.
Clearly, these two yōkai understood "no longer exists in this world" as being ground to dust with nothing left. As for the reason, they didn't dare ask; one look at the strange smile on the translucent soul's face told them the waters here were very deep—perhaps this soul had done the grinding herself.
Fighting over love was common even in this era; for gods and yōkai who were more human than divine, seizing love through physical force was perfectly normal.
"Ah, yes, it really is a pity," Think sighed regretfully. "But seeing a yōkai who agrees with her philosophy... I'm sure she'd be quite comforted."
Good! It's her! Yukari and Yūka understood completely.
As for Sū ěr... Sū ěr was chugging tea. The fragrance was lovely; it tasted great.
"So, the figure in that picture... is it her?" Yukari asked, suddenly turning her head to look at the cabinet in the corner. Such a distance was no obstacle for a yōkai's vision. "Apologies, I've never seen such a thing..."
One could tell at a glance it had been burned. Between the charred edges and the overall yellowing, Yukari could see two blurred figures and a pair of very wide, distinct wings. The whole thing was too scorched to make out faces, but the fact that such a damaged item was protected in an exquisite bamboo frame behind an unknown transparent material said a lot.
In this bamboo house filled with delicate interiors she'd never seen before, this was the only thing Yukari could see that equated to "trash." To be so carefully preserved meant it was precious to these two.
What kind of yōkai has wings that large?
Yukari quickly tried to guess the race of the yōkai in the picture, hoping to determine where Sū ěr and Think had come from, but she remained stumped.
"...Ah, that's her," Sū ěr said slowly, his thoughts trailing off as he looked at the yellowed photograph on the cabinet.
Good, this look of lingering attachment... In Yukari and Yūka's minds, Sū ěr expression further confirmed their previous theory.
"If you don't mind, could I offer a small amount of help?" Yukari leaned forward slightly and said sincerely, "That picture looks severely damaged... and it just so happens my ability can play a role in repairing objects. Why not let me try?"