A vast, boundless sea of grass stretched endlessly in every direction.
Standing right in the middle of it, Ren Kuroda wore a completely blank expression.
He had already been walking across this prairie for an entire day—yet no matter where he looked, there wasn't a single building in sight. No roads. No villages. Not even a sign that anyone had ever lived here.
That's right. Ren had been isekai'd again.
And this time, he had been dumped straight into this grassland a full day ago.
Because this wasn't a "standard" transfer, the system hadn't bothered to tell him what world he'd been sent to.
All Ren knew was that the moment he left the Nura Clan's world and opened his eyes again, all he saw was an overwhelming ocean of green.
At first, his plan had been simple—pick a direction, walk straight ahead, find signs of civilization, and then slowly gather information.
What he hadn't expected was that even after walking nonstop for an entire day, he still hadn't found so much as a hut, a road, or a trace of human activity.
During that time, however, plenty of monsters had appeared.
There were all kinds—strong ones, weak ones, strange-looking ones—but in front of Ren as he was now, none of them posed even the slightest threat.
Based on the monsters he encountered, Ren quickly came to a conclusion.
This world was probably another high-fantasy setting—one overflowing with monsters—something along the lines of the so-called "Slime World."
Honestly, that made sense.
If the system wanted Ren to keep growing stronger through constant trials, there was no way it would send him to some laid-back harem slice-of-life world for a vacation.
Especially not this time.
After all, this transfer existed for one reason only—to pay the price for extracting Hagoromo Fox's soul. There was no way the system would let him slack off in a peaceful daily-life world under those circumstances.
Yes. In the Nura Clan's world, Hagoromo Fox had ultimately left together with Ren.
As for how?
Exactly as the system had proposed—by forcibly separating Hagoromo Fox's soul from Yamabuki Otome.
Separating two souls that had already begun to fuse together was, by any conventional standard, an absurdly difficult feat.
It was something that even Abe no Seimei himself might not have been capable of accomplishing.
Yet for that system, something that defied common sense—even to onmyōji—was effortless.
Hagoromo Fox's soul was cleanly extracted from Yamabuki Otome's body.
And with that, Yamabuki Otome naturally returned to being… just Yamabuki Otome.
As for Hagoromo Fox's soul after the separation, she was left with only two choices.
One option was to use her own power to search for a newborn infant and reincarnate once more.
The other option was to find a suitable vessel and attach herself to it.
According to the system's analysis, Ren currently possessed three items that were suitable for spiritual attachment.
The first was an SS-rank item: the Endless Gourd of Sake.
The second was his Nichirin Blade—Divine Favor.
And the third… was something Ren had never even considered.
The Sesshōseki—the Killing Stone.
All three were items capable of housing a soul.
However, Divine Favor already possessed its own blade spirit, and more importantly, it absolutely refused to allow any outsider to "enter its home."
That option was immediately eliminated.
So Ren placed the remaining two items—the Endless Gourd of Sake and the Killing Stone fragment—in front of Hagoromo Fox and let her decide for herself.
She hesitated only briefly.
Then, without the slightest doubt, she chose the Killing Stone.
Logically speaking, the SS-rank Endless Gourd far surpassed the mere S-rank Killing Stone fragment in both potential and raw power.
And yet, despite that, Hagoromo Fox chose the Killing Stone without hesitation.
Her reason was simple.
The Endless Gourd might be stronger on paper—but the Killing Stone felt right.
Its compatibility with her was far higher.
Hagoromo Fox could clearly sense it.
The power contained within the Killing Stone fragment originated from the same source as her own.
By choosing it as her vessel, she could not only travel alongside Ren across worlds, but also gradually restore her strength through the lingering power sealed within the fragment.
Given enough time, she wouldn't even need reincarnation to obtain a new body.
She could forge one herself.
Although Hagoromo Fox didn't state it outright, Ren understood.
The power she referred to came from one of the Three Great Yokai—
Tamamo-no-Mae.
Whether Hagoromo Fox and Tamamo-no-Mae were the same type of yokai, Ren couldn't say for sure.
But one thing was obvious.
They were both fox spirits.
The Killing Stone had already shattered into fragments.
While remnants of Tamamo-no-Mae's soul still lingered within it, the chances of her ever awakening again were extremely slim.
Hagoromo Fox's ability, however, allowed her to attach herself to suitable beings or objects and—true to the nature of reincarnating yokai—slowly merge with the host's soul.
Which meant…
Was it possible that Hagoromo Fox, now residing within the Killing Stone, would gradually absorb and fuse with Tamamo-no-Mae's soul fragments?
Just like how she once fused with Yamabuki Otome?
If so, what would emerge in the end?
A new Hagoromo Fox?
A reborn Tamamo-no-Mae?
Or something entirely different—something that was neither?
No matter which outcome awaited, one thing was certain.
Once Hagoromo Fox fully absorbed and integrated the power sealed within the Killing Stone, her strength would skyrocket.
That much was inevitable.
After all, the being she was merging with now wasn't an ordinary human like Yamabuki Otome—
It was Tamamo-no-Mae, one of the Three Great Yokai.
Hagoromo Fox had already been terrifyingly powerful in her prime—so much so that she once ruled the Nura Clan's world.
Now add Tamamo-no-Mae to the equation.
Ren didn't even dare imagine how absurdly strong Hagoromo Fox would become once she was reborn.
But the stronger she became, the happier Ren felt.
Because Hagoromo Fox had already signed the Demon King Contract with him.
That meant her submission was genuine.
Otherwise, the contract would never have been formed.
Back in the main world, the situation had been growing increasingly chaotic.
Yokai ranked A-class and even S-class—once exceedingly rare—were now appearing one after another.
And Ren had always felt that the defensive strength around his home was… insufficient.
Spider Princess had long reached A+ rank, yet for some reason she remained unable to break through to S-rank.
Yuki-onna wasn't weak, but she was slightly below Spider Princess—also hovering at A+.
As for the likes of Nurikabe and the Red Ogre…
They were fine for bullying rookies.
But against true powerhouses, they wouldn't even qualify as cannon fodder.
The yokai Ren had recruited from the Tokyo district were another issue.
Because he didn't want them learning about his dual identity, he couldn't rely on them to protect Ruki and Ayame.
Hagoromo Fox's arrival solved that problem perfectly.
Didn't she say she wanted to meet his mother?
Didn't she even want to ask for childcare advice?
Then she could simply stay behind and protect his mother and sister.
With Hagoromo Fox watching over them, their safety would be far more secure.
And that was exactly why Ren hadn't returned to the main world yet.
This second world traversal was the price he had to pay for successfully separating Hagoromo Fox's soul.
The world he was currently standing in—
Was that very trial.
Which was why he'd spent an entire day wandering a grassland, to the point where he'd begun to seriously wonder whether this world even had humans at all.
Thankfully—
Even at Ren's pace, after sprinting across the prairie for an entire day and night, he finally reached its edge.
And there, at last, he found a town.
Its name was Akuseru.
This town had a unique profession known as Adventurers.
As the name implied, adventurers functioned exactly like they did in most anime and RPGs.
They accepted commissions to earn money, bought equipment with their rewards, hunted monsters to improve skill proficiency, and steadily grew stronger through experience.
In short—
This world functioned almost exactly like an RPG.
And Akuseru Town was essentially the beginner village.
Most of the people moving about here were adventurers.
After acquiring some basic information about the world from a few "kind-hearted" bandits—and receiving a small amount of money thanks to their "generous assistance"—Ren headed straight for the town's only Adventurers' Guild.
The world quest hadn't triggered yet.
And with the limited information he had, Ren still couldn't identify exactly what kind of world this was.
After giving it some thought, he reached a conclusion.
Since Adventurer was the most popular profession in this world, he might as well register.
After all, no matter what world you were in, money was essential for survival.
Relying forever on "friendly" bandits knocking on his door wasn't a long-term solution.
He needed a proper source of income.
And becoming an adventurer would also make gathering information much easier.
Click—!
The moment Ren pushed open the doors of the Adventurers' Guild, a wave of noise slammed into him.
As the only guild in Akuseru, the place was packed.
But the scene inside… was not what Ren had expected.
In fact, for a moment, he wondered if he'd accidentally walked into a tavern instead.
Weren't adventurers supposed to be well-equipped, gathered in small groups, carefully discussing quest details?
Instead—
Some were getting drunk.
Some were bragging loudly.
Others were telling dirty jokes.
Someone was even performing some kind of talent act.
"Oi, that's a new face! Never seen you around Akuseru before."
A grinning veteran adventurer swaggered over.
"First time here, huh? You here to register?"
"You're lucky today. This big brother here likes your look."
"Hand over ten thousand En, and once you're officially an adventurer, I'll teach you a few really powerful skills. How about it?"
Thanks to Ren's striking appearance and calm demeanor, plenty of seasoned guild regulars had noticed him the moment he walked in.
And based on years of experience—
Plus Ren's behavior—
They could tell immediately.
This guy was a rookie.
Judging by his clothes, he was probably some noble brat out slumming it for fun.
And noble brats?
They were always loaded.