However, her gaze was unexpectedly peaceful. At the very least, it was nothing like the "join or die" ultimatum Yukari had described. There was no overbearing display of dominance. In this regard, the blonde youkai had indeed lied, as Sū ěr expected.
Had Sū ěr, believing he lacked sufficient power, chosen to launch a sneak attack the moment the Nine-Tails appeared to gain an advantage, things would have gone exactly as the cunning youkai desired.
But Sū ěr didn't hold a grudge. After all, Yukari was a youkai, and... well, you know how they are. It wouldn't be right for a youkai not to plot. Furthermore, when she gave him that information, she hadn't yet witnessed his true power.
This downward gaze lasted only a few seconds. Before her subordinates further away could notice the movement and approach, the Nine-Tails signaled them to retreat. She then lay down again, watching Sū ěr and Think from an eye-level position.
She didn't lower herself completely, yet she didn't put on airs. Sū ěr liking for this fox rose another notch—though that liking was already high due to her jade-like beauty.
Isn't there a saying? A beautiful exterior requires a beautiful soul for support.
What now? Even he wanted to keep her as a pet.
"Thou... what art thou?" the great fox inquired curiously. Her voice was slightly firmer than Sū ěr had imagined, yet it retained a feminine softness—very peaceful, steady, and calm.
Unlike that tactless blonde youkai who insisted Sū ěr and Think were youkai, this Nine-Tails saw the truth from the start.
"Human. Call me Sū ěr. She is Think," Sū ěr replied with a polite nod of introduction.
However, his honesty was not accepted. The great fox simply furrowed her brows and sniffed—well, Sū ěr couldn't see her eyebrows, but he saw her eyes narrow slightly.
"Loth to reveal thyself?" She made this judgment because she knew what the human race was like. However, she wasn't angry; hiding one's racial identity was common in this era. "To what end hast thou come?"
A youkai's origins often revealed their weaknesses, which is why most kept them a secret. The Nine-Tails didn't mind such a small thing.
"Well, I'm not lying." Sū ěr scratched his head awkwardly, finding it a bit difficult that no one ever believed him when he introduced himself. He suddenly realized that after specifically coming to the Nine-Tails, he didn't quite know how to start.
Was he supposed to say: "We saw you were pretty, so we came to make you a pet"?
Or: "Izumo is about to attack. we're here to evaluate both sides to see who we like better, or if we should just kill you both"?
Sū ěr IQ and EQ weren't that low. Such arrogant, condescending words would likely make even the most patient person... youkai... fly into a rage. Today would not end without a death.
"Do you know what happened in Yamato?" While Sū ěr was stuttering, Think spoke up directly and bluntly.
From her serious demeanor, one would never guess that this woman was currently screaming in their mental link about how she wanted to keep the fox.
"...I see. I am somewhat inclined to believe thou art human." After Think spoke, the great fox unexpectedly gave a slight nod. It was unclear how she reached that conclusion.
"For humanity, the Yamato of today is perhaps the finest era since its founding." Clearly, she knew exactly what the humans had endured there over the centuries, as her tone grew somber, as if mourning those lost souls.
Like a warm sun—in this regard, she truly lived up to her origin as an aspect of the Sun... even if Sū ěr had yet to see her "Shadow."
"Maybe," Sū ěr replied dryly, unable to feel the same pain. "You know, don't you? In the East, the army sent by Izumo is approaching. Barring some unforeseen outburst, their combined force of youkai and gods far exceeds your side... aren't you going to leave?"
As he spoke, Sū ěr gaze drifted toward the ragtag bunch of subordinates the Nine-Tails had gathered. His meaning was obvious: an army containing the top power of Izumo was not something she could withstand.
Even if she was an aspect of Amaterasu, unless Izumo chose to fight her one-on-one, she would be no match for a horde of gods and youkai—and that obviously wouldn't happen. Neither gods nor youkai were particularly honorable.
"...Hast thou come to warn me?" Her eyes softened, and the jade fox pawed at her face quite adorably. "I thank thee."
"I thank thee for thy kindness... yet it is no longer necessary," she refused calmly. "I am but a pathetic life escaping from a delusion... and on the path to death, I shall not be alone."
She seemed to have foreseen her own death and accepted it calmly, even ritualistically, as if sacrificing herself.
Sū ěr and Think could feel that her words alluded to something deeper. But no matter how much he probed, the fox, who was quite kind to them, refused to elaborate. Forcing her was meaningless; who can force someone who is determined to die?
Sū ěr had no leverage to threaten her.
Delusion? Escape? Pathetic?
The fox seemed to want to take all the secrets she knew into the ground with her death. All she revealed were these verbal musings. From this perspective, the Izumo expedition had a different purpose entirely.
"Can you tell us about Amaterasu? Your god," Sū ěr asked gravely, sitting cross-legged before her. "The more detail, the better."
He wanted to know more about Takamagahara. While Sū ěr was being polite, Think was already rolling around in the big fox's fur, and the fox didn't mind at all, letting her play.