"Elliot! Who are you calling a strawberry dalieba?!"
Yae Miko's furious roar echoed. Her pink long hair bristled, her tails emerged from behind her, and the fur on them stood on end, making her look like a fox whose tail had been stepped on.
She charged over furiously, clutching a broom she had somehow pilfered, looking ready to flatten Elliot into a Hilichurl Meat Pie on the spot.
However, just as she was about to reach Elliot—
"Kitsune Saiguu-sama?!"
Yae Miko's pupils suddenly constricted, her steps abruptly halted, and she froze in place as if struck by lightning.
The next second, her ankle twisted, and her body uncontrollably lunged forward—
"Holy crap!"
Before Elliot could react, Yae Miko crashed into him. The two of them, like stones launched from a catapult, slammed into a distant abandoned teahouse with a "boom," smashing the tables, chairs, and benches inside to smithereens.
"Pfft—!"
Kitsune Saiguu desperately covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling violently, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes from holding back laughter.
But others weren't as restrained—
"Hahahaha! Oh my goodness!"
Jesse laughed so hard he rolled on the ground, his vacuum cleaner abandoned to the side, slapping the ground and roaring with laughter: "Elliot! Words lead to trouble! Hahaha!"
Lumine hugged Paimon, laughing so hard she couldn't straighten up: "Miko... Miko's expression just now... hahahaha!"
Paimon frantically kicked her legs in the air: "I'm dying of laughter! The karma for calling her strawberry dalieba!"
Although Hanachirusato didn't laugh out loud, after removing his mask, the corners of his mouth were already uncontrollably upturned, and his eyes were filled with a helpless yet amused expression.
Seeing everyone else laughing, Kitsune Saiguu finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst into laughter: "Hahahaha! Miko! Five hundred years later, why are you still so clumsy!"
"Bang!"
From the ruins of the teahouse, Elliot struggled to push Yae Miko off him, his face filled with despair: "Who did I ever provoke...?"
Yae Miko, however, completely ignored him. She scrambled to her feet, dusted herself off, and then—
"Saiguu-sama!!!"
She lunged forward, directly embracing Kitsune Saiguu, tears streaming down her face: "You really came back! I thought... I thought..."
Kitsune Saiguu gently stroked her head: "There, there, didn't I come back?"
Then, she suddenly leaned into Yae Miko's ear and whispered: "But... the nickname 'strawberry dalieba' actually suits you quite well, doesn't it?"
Yae Miko: "..."
"Kit! Su! Ne! Sai! Guu! Sa! Ma!"
Elliot walked over at this moment, proudly shaking the small vial in his hand. The pale pink liquid shimmered with an eerie glow in the sunlight: "This stuff works pretty well, doesn't it? I call it the 'Truth Serum Potion.' It makes people speak their minds and irresistibly do what they most want to do."
Matt's gaze focused on the vial: "You used it on Yae Miko? When was this?"
"Just now when I went to pluck her fur."
Elliot replied casually.
"I just dropped two drops on her, conveniently."
He completely failed to notice the fur on the pink-haired fox in Kitsune Saiguu's arms suddenly bristling behind him.
Yae Miko's ears shot straight up with a "whoosh," and the entire fox froze in Kitsune Saiguu's embrace.
She finally understood why she had uncontrollably chased Elliot—when had she ever been so impulsive!
"Oh?"
Kitsune Saiguu dangerously narrowed her eyes, gently stroking Miko's fur.
"So my little Miko was so enthusiastic just now because..."
"No! I wasn't! Don't talk nonsense!"
Miko scrambled out of her arms, her fur bristling as she frantically waved her hands.
"Saiguu-sama, please let me explain!"
Jesse suddenly leaned in: "Then tell us, what was the thing you most wanted to do just now?"
"Of course it was..."
Miko's words suddenly caught in her throat. The lingering effect of the potion made her blurt out uncontrollably: "...to pounce into Saiguu-sama's arms and rub against her to my heart's content, then lock her in the shrine so no one else can see her!"
The entire scene instantly fell silent.
Kitsune Saiguu's smile grew even brighter: "Oh my ~"
Miko despairingly covered her mouth, her entire face flushed crimson. She suddenly turned and pounced on Elliot: "You damned Hilichurl! I'm going to turn you into a filling for Fried Tofu!!!"
Elliot took off running: "Help! The fox is eating people!"
The two chased each other around the Tenshukaku, Miko's talismans relentlessly bombing Elliot's backside.
Zane calmly pulled out a notebook and recorded: "Potion duration 30% longer than expected, suggest lowering concentration..."
Hanachirusato quietly asked Lumine: "Should we help?"
Lumine looked at Elliot, whose hair was now an explosion, and stifled a laugh: "Wait a bit longer, I want to hear what other juicy details Miko can blurt out."
Sure enough, Miko, still in pursuit, uncontrollably shouted again: "I hate dealing with official documents the most! Those believers' wishes are just trying to cause trouble! Last time, some guy actually asked me to bless him so he could date eight girlfriends at once!"
Kitsune Saiguu collapsed laughing onto Hanachirusato's shoulder: "This child... hasn't changed a bit..."
"This child... hasn't changed a bit..."