"Is it finished yet?" Yasaka tiredly asked, her bubbly ass planted on the ground with her back on the sturdy yet jagged walls of the cave.
In front of her was Kenshin, fingers on his chin and eyes darting across the surface of the metallic gate. He's studying the runes flowing in every piece of the gate, correlating and flowing in harmony.
It's been an hour since he started decrypting the metallic gate and so far, he's 50% done. But the more he advances, the harder it becomes.
Kenshin furrowed his eyebrows and murmured to himself, "Who the hell designed these runes?"
"Sounds like the great Grand Magician Alistair Abara is having a hard time." Of course, Yasaka wouldn't miss out on teasing him.
Kenshin chuckled and replied, "Hah! Me? Having a hard time? Just wait and se—" only for him to stop midway when a screen popped up.
[Mind +2]
Fuck! Kenshin cursed. As much as he appreciates the increase in his mind stat for the fifth this day, it just proves Yasaka's point.
"What's wrong?" Hearing his abrupt stop, Yasaka raised a brow and was about to approach him when suddenly, Kenshin yelled.
"I understand it now!"
Thanks to the increase in his mind stat, which in turn, unlocked more of his Rune Magic skill, the previously impossible-to-solve runes on the metallic gate were solved.
"Really?" Her face beamed as a smile burdened her face.
Without answering her, Kenshin simply turned his head towards her while his hand pushed the metallic gates.
Creak!
His answer came in the form of the metallic gates opening and showing the scene inside.
To their surprise, it was empty or at least it's physically empty but to their senses, it's more than what it's physically shown as.
"T-This is!?" Yasaka stepped back slightly as a wave of nausea and dizziness engulfed her.
Although Kenshin also felt it but not as much as Yasaka. His reserves were a few times more than hers and not to mention this isn't his first time being exposed to thick and potent energy.
"Are you okay?" Instead of being affected by the Leyline energy, he was more worried about Yasaka.
Yasaka nodded her head and replied, "Yeah, I think I'm fine. I was just….surprised, that's all."
This time, it was Kenshin's turn to tease, "I see, do the great Yasaka, Queen of the Yokais, is surprised and unable to handle nausea? Understandable."
"That's not it! It's this energy of the Leyline! It's like punching you in the guts!" Yasaka quickly retorted.
Kenshin nodded his head in understanding, "Right, right. The Queen also can't handle a punch in the gut. I'll make sure it keep it in mind."
"Arrghh!" Seeing that there's no point arguing with Kenshin, Yasaka could only grit her teeth and endure it.
Fortunately for her, Kenshin was kind enough to change the subject, "Looks like the Peacock was cautious enough to not place any guards inside. Well, even if there is, I doubt they'd surprise an hour trapped inside this place."
Yasaka nodded her head, "I already expected such a thing. Not even I could survive trapped in this place for an entire day."
The two of them then spread their senses around and to their surprise, the empty cave wasn't as empty as one might see it.
"That's…." Kenshin's voice trailed.
Before they both finished it in unison, "Thick as fuck!"
Using their senses, they were able to distinguish the magical Leyline in the form of a huge purple line that occupies the entire room.
Not only was it big, but its appearance is also fascinating. It looks similar to one of those energy flows shown in films where the energy flows in a certain direction which makes it look like a river.
So this is what Leylines look like. No wonder barely anyone could find it. Not only can those sensitive to Ki sense it but that doesn't mean finding them is guaranteed. Not to mention, they're placed at the center of a cave surrounded by its thick and potent energy, which makes it harder to find tenfold, murmured Kenshin under his breath as he walked forward to further assess the mysterious Leyline that radiates near infinite amount of energy.
He continued, If I didn't meet that Ophis Dragon God, I would've thought that this Leyline is the biggest source of energy there is in the universe aside from me.
"Fascinating. It looks just like the same as the Kyoto Leylines but different in color. This one is violet while Kyoto's blue." Yasaka was not far behind him, her voice carrying a sense of pride and bewilderment.
"I'm curious how your mother will make you inherit the Leylines…Do you do it like…eating it? Or maybe just touching it and it'll be yours in an instant." Kenshin didn't show any hesitation in asking just to curb his curiosity.
Yasaka giggled, "No silly! Mother told me it's a ritual. It involves using a drop of my blood to recognize myself as the new owner." Kenshin felt like it was way too easy to possess a Leyline.
Before Kenshin could say something about it, Yasaka interrupted him, as if she already knew what he was about to say.
"No, it's not that easy. Just a drop of blood won't instantly make you the new owner of a Leyline." Yasaka chuckled when Kenshin's face deflated like a child when his mother refused to buy him his favorite toy.
"So how are we going to do the ritual? Should we do it now right here? Or…" Kenshin rubbed his palms together and asked eagerly.
Yasaka slightly blushed as she looked away, "I think you can go home now, thank you for your help, Kenshin…Mom and I are going to handle it from here…"
Kenshin squinted his eyes at her, his voice trailing, "Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me…it's about the ritual, isn't it? Come on, you can tell me about it."
Approaching her, Kenshin tugged her sides with his elbow and wiggled his eyebrows at her, doing his best to convince her.
"…I-It's complicated…" Yasaka first looked at his eyes before turning away again.
However, that didn't budge Kenshin. He remained silent, standing still and his eyes fixed on her.
Knowing just how stubborn he could be, Yasaka finally sighed and relented.
"Fine….My mother told me about the ritual she did with her mother, or my grandmother. It requires three things from me. If the Leyline has no owner, it only needs my blood and….saliva."
As soon as she was finished, Kenshin chuckled a few seconds before speaking, "That's it? Come on! I thought it was going to be worse than that." Seeing her hesitant look, Kenshin continued.
"The next one would be worse, isn't it?" Her nod of the head just confirmed his suspicion.
"But when it comes to transferring ownership. It needs the blood and saliva from both the owner and the person they'll transfer it to. And also…"
Kenshin leaned forward in eagerness to know the answer, "And?"
"And our breast milk…"
Kenshin didn't respond for a few seconds and cleaned his ears first before asking, "…I'm sorry can you repeat that?"
"The ritual would need our blood, saliva, and breast milk."
"….I shouldn't have asked, didn't I?" She nodded her head.
"Fuck…" Kenshin rubbed his forehead, sighing heavily.
Yasaka fiddled with her index fingers and muttered, "Sorry…That's why I said you should leave it to me and Mo-"
His reaction however, took her by surprise, "What do you mean I should leave? And miss this opportunity? Hell nah!"
"W-Wha—!? Y-You pervert!"
———
In the end, Kenshin was forbidden to enter the cave with Yasaka and the latter has now called her mother for the success of the mission.
"Dammit! I wouldn't call myself a man if I miss such an opportunity!" Kenshin clicked his tongue and kicked the poor pebble on the ground.
He pouted, "What's wrong with me watching them? I'm just going to guard then in case something goes wrong, right?"
Outside the cave, Kenshin saw that the sun was about to go down—it's nearing night and he hasn't visited his students yet.
"Can't let them stay idle. They have to grind like what I used to do." He muttered to himself before teleporting near Alya's home. She's the nearest to him currently after all.
Arriving just outside her home, his nose was immediately met with an aromatic smell that made him salivate.
He wondered, "Is Maria-san cooking again?"
Approaching the front porch, Kenshin knocked on the door before it was quickly opened by none other than Alya.
"Kenshin?" Surprise flickered upon her face before beaming up.
"О нет! Он здесь! Я просто практиковался в кулинарии!"
Which roughly translates to, "Oh no! He's here! I was just practicing with my cooking skills!"
Kenshin chuckled in amusement. Despite being already exposed to magic and such, Alya remained oblivious to the fact that he could understand her words in Russian.
Doesn't she even think that maybe there's a magic spell that translates unfamiliar languages to the one they're familiar with? Murmured Kenshin while he waved his hand at her.
"Am I not welcome perhaps?" Kenshin leaned forward and rested his hand on the door frame before winking at her.
Unfortunately, Alya just stared at him, unamused by his antics.
In the end, Kenshin relented and stated his real purpose, "Fine, I'm here for your…magical lessons…" Kenshin leaned close to her ear and silently whispered—they don't want her sister to hear him after all.
"Sigh, come in…" Alya rolled her eyes and opened the door wide, ready for her magical lessons.
Upon entering, Kenshin's nostrils were instantly bombarded with an array of various aromas and scents. Some, he smelled from Alya herself while the others from the kitchen.
"You're cooking?" A simple question and it immediately triggered Alya.
She instantly backed away and accusedly pointed her finger at him, "W-Wha—!? Who told you that? Were you spying on me? Y-You pervert!"
"…I just sensed that Maria-san isn't home and no one else is here aside from you. So I just assumed you were the one cooking…Are you okay?" As if to simply mock her or he's just truly concerned, he even planted his palm on her forehead to feel if she has a fever.
Slap!
Alya huffed and slapped his hand away, "Fine, I was cooking but the portion is just enough for me and Onee-san. I didn't know you were coming so…."
"…you can just have mine…"
Kenshin felt his heart pierced with multiple blades. The cuteness overload is too much for him to handle!
"Don't worry. A replicating magic spell will do the job!" He didn't even show any hesitation when he placed his palm on the top of her head and patted her.
To his surprise, she didn't resist—she even looked like she was enjoying it as her eyes were closed and her body was slightly swaying around to match the rhythm of the pat.
If she were to have a tail right now, it would definitely wag violently.
"So, show me your food. The savory aroma is making me salivate." Kenshin licked his lips and he followed her to the kitchen.
Inside, as soon as they got to the kitchen counter, Kenshin stopped in his place, his bloodshot eyes staring at the bowl on the counter before turning to Alya by his side, "Alya…."
"Hmm?" Alya cutely looked down at the ground as she shyly twirled her white-hair.
Kenshin turned his attention back to the bowl.
It smells good yes. But the contents of the bowl look like a troll and an ogre puked together and scooped it with a bowl before mixing it with dirt!
Kenshin instantly realized why it smelled good.
Alya-san! This is an abusive use of magic! You don't just use it to mask the foul smell of this absolute garbage of a food! Is this even food?! What kind of ingredients did you use!? Kenshin mentally yelled. Can you believe it? He was screaming in his mind and yet his voice sounded strained and cracked.
That shows how worse the situation is!
This shall go under the Constitution of Banned Use of Magic law, Article 69, Section 96! A brand new law was created thanks to you, Alya!
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[Next Chapter: Ch. 64 - Yuta wants to be my what!?]