"Lolicon? Funasada, how can you defile someone's innocence out of thin air!"
Lancer expressed denial of Funasada-yaku's words. In his view, he was a standard "onee-san" lover. Even if he dropped down a level, it would at least be the level of an "otome" . Lolicon? Impossible.
Funasada-yaku, as an Onmyoji, was actually somewhat resistant when invited by Lancer to Youkai Mountain to drink today. After all, an Onmyoji going to the Yokai headquarters to drink seemed bizarre no matter how you looked at it. But after one cup of wine (Life Water) went down, his head completely turned to mush, even to the point of being able to do things like pulling Yokai to drink together. One has to say that being drunk is a truly terrifying debuff. So at this moment, facing the solemn and just Lancer, he acted as if he hadn't seen it at all and instead poked Lancer shoulder with his finger.
"Ha? Do you believe your own words? Sending a girl who hasn't left the inner chambers... oh, wait, forgot, after tonight the other party is a mature lady. You think there's no problem with your behavior? Or do you think sending clothes is normal? If a man suddenly sent your wife a set of well-fitting clothes, what would you do?"
What would I do? Smash that guy's head first!
After retorting, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. Usually generous and careless, he finally realized the abnormality of his actions.
Because of the issue with his worldview, Lancer hadn't considered this matter, but Fujiwara no Mokou couldn't have failed to realize it, right?
But even so, she didn't refuse. Could it be...
"Impossible, I'm definitely overthinking it. Mokou only didn't know how to refuse because of shyness. It's all because of Fujiwara no Fuhito and that group of lolicons that my thought process has also developed problems. I'll apologize to the other party later... after all, this was poorly considered on my part."
But thinking carefully, he made a total of two sets of kimonos. One was sent to Fujiwara no Mokou as a birthday gift, and the other set was given to Hoshiguma Yuugi...
'Haha~ One more bottle!'
Looking at Hoshiguma Yuugi, who had one foot on the table and was holding up a bottle of "Life Water" gulping it down (dun~dun~dun~), Lancer couldn't help but let out two drops of cold sweat.
The other party probably didn't consider this matter at all, right? After all, Yokai and humans are still somewhat different—not to mention the Oni tribe, who are considered mavericks even among Yokai.
While Lancer was considering how to apologize, Fujiwara no Mokou on the other side had followed Shirayuki to an empty room.
"Miss Mokou, do you need me to help you change clothes?"
Shirayuki's respectful attitude made Fujiwara no Mokou feel a bit strange. Although she was long accustomed to the respect of others, remembering the unrestrained atmosphere in the tavern just now, she shook her head.
"Just call me Mokou. I'm just an ordinary person, and... um... Miss Shirayuki, do you know about Mr. Lancer..."
Initially, when she learned that the protagonist of tonight's banquet was the daughter of a court noble, she wasn't very happy. Because she had lived in the deep mountains with her mother all along, she didn't have much goodwill toward humans—not to mention court nobles, who generally served as the dark and evil forces in stories. But seeing the Fujiwara no Mokou of now, who was shyly tugging at her sleeve, she couldn't help but reveal a slight smile.
Perhaps it was just as her mother said: whether human or Yokai, one must see them with one's own eyes before knowing what kind of existence they are. However, what made her even more curious was Fujiwara no Mokou attitude. Even though she had stayed in the mountains all the time, she could see the strangeness of Fujiwara no Mokou attitude—especially since the feeling the other party gave off was almost identical to the feeling her mother had when talking about her late father.
"I don't know much about Lord Lancer. What I know is from hearing my mother and others talk..."
"Then can you tell me about it?"
What Fujiwara no Mokou knew about Lancer were all things her father told her. Even the things Lancer said were often intermittent. She longed to know more about Lancer.
"No problem."
——————
Just as Lancer was considering how to apologize, a burst of exclamations suddenly rang out from afar. Quite a few people even stood up. Lancer, because of the crowd blocking his front, couldn't see what had happened at all. But soon he knew, because the source of the commotion was getting closer and closer to him.
Finally, the crowd was parted, and Lancer finally saw the Fujiwara no Mokou of now.
Because he was giving a gift to a "child," Lancer specifically chose fabric with relatively bright colors. The pattern was not those gaudy flowers but rather clusters of small flowers.
At this moment, because of being watched by everyone, the shy Fujiwara no Mokou noticed Lancer straight gaze and felt a bit embarrassed, turning her body slightly to the side. At this time, Lancer realized his rudeness and also hurriedly gave two dry coughs to hide his embarrassment.
"It suits you very well. It seems my taste is still pretty good."
"Mhm~"
Lancer tried to shift his attention through talking, but Fujiwara no Mokou brilliant smile made Lancer once again unconsciously stunned. He hurriedly picked up the wine cup in front of him, took a sip to calm his nerves, and then stood up.
'I'm not a lolicon, I'm an onee-san lover. That's right, I'm not a lolicon, I'm an onee-san lover...'
"It's also getting close to midnight now. Let's go out for a stroll first and then come back for a second round of drinking?"
He seemed to be talking to himself, but in reality, he intended to use this method to hide his embarrassment. However, the people around didn't care and instead stopped their actions.
Although Lancer didn't ask them to follow, since even the host and the celebrated one of the wine party were gone, what was the point of just drinking? So everyone also very decisively followed.
Even 'Zero', who had two large stacks of plates piled beside her, very skillfully climbed up his left leg to his shoulder.
Looking at Lancer, who lowered his head to ask for her opinion, Fujiwara no Mokou seemed a bit disappointed because she found that Lancer had no intention of taking the initiative to hold her hand. However, a young girl's reserve made it impossible for her to actively speak or move, so she just nodded with a red face and followed behind the other party.
A group of people left the izakaya in a grand manner. Immediately, the Yokai on the street also unconsciously gathered their gazes over.
Fortunately, the "Tengu" reputation was also resounding enough. Although the Yokai on the roadside felt under immense pressure, at least they weren't too fearful, because they believed that even the Akagaki could not cause trouble here without reason. But it was also a fact that everyone became restrained.
Standing on the tops of the buildings, several Tengu couldn't help but frown as they looked at the grand flow of people below.
"Lord Great Tengu, this Akagaki... do we not need to intervene?"
Facing the inquiry of his subordinate, that Great Tengu just crossed his arms and looked below solemnly.
"The other party hasn't done anything. What can we do? Just watch. Our job is to prevent accidents. As for what Akagaki himself does, it has nothing to do with us."