In the present-day Tokyo District, every place that could be explored by humans had already been thoroughly explored.
However, there were still certain locations that—after yokai began appearing in large numbers—had turned directly into dead zones.And the Great Snow Mountain mentioned by Yuto was undoubtedly one of those forbidden regions within Tokyo District.
More than that—it was absolutely the most dangerous dead zone in the entire Tokyo District. No exceptions.
The reason the previous Tokyo District War had erupted in the first place was nothing more than the subjugation of the Snow Mountain's yokai—the Yuki-onna—because of the Killing Stone.What followed was the exposure of an even more terrifying existence: Hyakuyaki, an immensely powerful and dangerous yokai.
During that Snow Mountain extermination campaign, only a handful of people survived. And because of those events, the people of Tokyo District came to understand one thing clearly:
The Yuki-onna of the snow mountain was a ranking officer under Hyakuyaki.
After the Tokyo District War ended, everyone living there knew full well that the yokai residing on the mountain were Hyakuyaki's subordinates—yet all of them tacitly pretended not to know.
There was no other reason.
The pressure Hyakuyaki brought was simply overwhelming.
Although it was said that Tokyo District had "repelled" him, that was nothing more than a face-saving statement for public consumption.
From beginning to end, Hyakuyaki had withdrawn calmly and at ease, not in disgraceful defeat.
And if he hadn't already been injured when the war began—then later caught in their barely passable schemes—Tokyo District would likely have already fallen.
Given the current circumstances, the fact that Hyakuyaki wasn't actively causing trouble was already something to be grateful for. How could anyone possibly take the initiative to provoke him?
It was precisely for this reason that the Great Snow Mountain became a dead zone—so desolate that almost no one ever went there.
If Spirit Power Crystals truly existed, then it wasn't impossible that they could remain undiscovered in a place like that.
After leaving the auction, Yuto took out the B-rank yokai serum that Kuroichi had given him earlier, along with several bottles of recovery potions, and handed them to Yui Yako.
"Even though I don't know your sister's exact condition, start by stabilizing her with these recovery potions first.After that, use the B-rank yokai serum—there shouldn't be any problem with a full recovery.
"As for A-rank serum… given your sister's strength, it's best not to try it lightly.If her willpower isn't strong enough, it's very easy to be completely consumed by yokai corruption."
After bidding the girl farewell, Yuto made a detour to the Great Snow Mountain.
At several locations near the summit, he casually tossed down a few Spirit Power Crystals before finally leaving.
Yuto wasn't someone who lied.
If he said there were Spirit Power Crystals on the Great Snow Mountain, then there were Spirit Power Crystals there.
As for how many?
Well—he never said.
If they couldn't find them, that was just bad luck.
As long as someone managed to discover even one Spirit Power Crystal, it would prove that Yuto hadn't lied—and the Yui Yako sisters wouldn't be dragged into trouble because of it.
After circling around for quite a while, Yuto finally decided to head home.On the way, he planned to inform the Yuki-onna that the Great Snow Mountain was going to become extremely dangerous in the near future—and that unless she had a pressing reason, it would be best not to return there for now.
However, once Yuto actually arrived home, he realized his warning was completely unnecessary.
Because Yukihime had already treated Yuto's house as her own and showed absolutely no intention of returning to the snow mountain.
The moment Yuto stepped through the door, his body was instantly covered by several same-aged lolis clinging to him, all clamoring for toys at once.
Each of these girls had long blue hair, their appearances resembling exquisitely crafted porcelain dolls.
…Well, almost all of them.
Among the group was a single loli with red hair, different from the others. She was also the first to throw herself at Yuto, which prompted the others to follow suit and pile onto him.
Needless to say, the red-haired girl was Yuto's younger sister—Tenjoin Ruki.
As for the rest, the blue-haired lolis were the Snow Children from the mountain.
"Ruki, how many times have I told you? You're already in middle school—you can't keep clinging to your brother like a little kid.
"And look at this—you've corrupted all the Snow Children in the house because of it."
Aside from the yokai Yuto had subdued in Tokyo District earlier, his household had grown quite large.
Spider Princess, Nurakabe, Yukihime, several Snow Children, and the three members of the Tenjoin family—
All together, it was already a sizable household.
What? You're asking about the Red Ogres?
Due to lack of room inside the house—and under the overwhelming pressure of Yukihime's authority—those guys had been sent outside to act as security guards.
And even so, those big idiots were actually thrilled, feeling like they'd been entrusted with an important mission.
When the Snow Children first arrived, they'd been timid and shy—after all, that was the natural temperament of Yuki-onna-type yokai.
But after spending so much time hanging around Ruki, they'd become incredibly mischievous. It was hard to imagine what kind of personalities they'd develop once they matured into full-fledged Yuki-onna.
Yokai matured very slowly.
Back when they first arrived, the Snow Children looked about the same age as Ruki. Now Ruki had grown into a young girl, while the Snow Children were still stuck in their original loli forms—adorable to the extreme.
Because she'd always harbored resentment over never getting to hold a grandson, Tenjoin Masami had completely taken these Snow Children into her heart.
As for the troublesome Yuto and the rowdy Ruki?
They had clearly fallen out of favor entirely.
After a pleasant dinner, Spider Princess and Yukihime began reporting to Yuto about what had happened during his absence.
Since Spider Princess was technically the shikigami of Yuto's public persona, the yokai of Tokyo District were now fully under Yukihime's management—while Spider Princess had taken charge of intelligence gathering.
"Because of the previously distributed Demon Power Crystals, the yokai in Tokyo District have stopped causing trouble.
"However, since you haven't appeared for a long time, Lord Yuto, some of them have grown quite uneasy.If possible, we hope you can make time to show your face again—to reassure them."
"And due to the effects of the Demon Power Crystals, while their strength has increased significantly, some of these yokai have also developed ambitions they shouldn't have.
"These troublemakers have been stirring others up, calling for a counterattack against Tokyo District. According to our investigation, most of them are yokai who were unwilling to retreat in the past.
"Now that you've been absent for so long—and their power has grown—they want to return to being regional yokai kings."
Originally, Yukihime had wanted to personally eliminate these troublemakers.
But Spider Princess stopped her.
In Spider Princess's view, the yokai of Tokyo District had only just been brought under control. Excessive slaughter would only breed fear and cause others to become disloyal.
But expelling them all would waste the previously distributed Demon Power Crystals—and would be far too lenient on those ingrates.
"Oh? There are quite a few like that?"
Yuto wasn't surprised.
He'd made an example out of a few earlier, but there were undoubtedly many who'd harbored resentment yet stayed quiet purely to survive.
After being wounded by a divine weapon, disappearing for a long time, and watching their own strength soar thanks to Demon Power Crystals—this shift in balance made their rebellion almost inevitable.
After all, who actually likes being a subordinate when they could be the boss?
"Those who don't understand gratitude are naturally not very numerous—but none of them are weak.
"As long as you give the order, Lord Yuto, Spider Princess and I can easily wipe out those ungrateful fools!"
When Yukihime said this, killing intent poured off her in waves.The temperature in the room dropped noticeably as her demonic aura spilled out—making it obvious just how furious she was at these yokai.
"No, no. What Spider Princess said earlier was right.
"Killing them would work—but it would also scare the others and drive them away.
"And they haven't committed any obvious acts of betrayal yet. We don't even have a proper justification to kill them."
Violent suppression was an option—but it wasn't what Yuto wanted.
A Hundred Demons united purely through fear would never truly hold together.
"But Lord Yuto, are we really just going to let them stir up trouble and drain our resources to grow stronger?"
Yukihime had already cut off the Demon Power Crystal supply to these agitators.
Even so, over the past few days, they'd begun inciting others—pushing Yukihime to the brink of killing them more than once.
"If they're so eager to fight, then let's give them an opportunity."
Yuto smiled faintly.
"Yukihime, pass down an order. Have those troublemakers head to the Great Snow Mountain and wait there.
"They are to slay any exorcists who trespass.
"If they complete the task, their Demon Power Crystal supply will be unlimited from then on."
Bringing all of Tokyo District's yokai under control in one sweep had certainly made his forces stronger—but it had also created numerous hidden problems.
Just as Yuto was pondering how to deal with these troublemakers, the events at the auction suddenly came back to him—and he smiled knowingly.
Although everyone in Tokyo District knew the Great Snow Mountain was territory belonging to Hyakuyaki's officer, the Yuki-onna—
Yuto was certain that faced with the temptation of Spirit Power Crystals, plenty of people would still choose to take the risk.
Because that was simply human nature.
Besides, the yokai living on the mountain were only Yuki-onna—not the terrifying Hyakuyaki himself.
And even if you looked at it pessimistically, Hyakuyaki had been heavily injured when he withdrew. He might not even dare to show himself openly now.
The emergence of Spirit Power Crystals was undoubtedly a massive turning point for humanity.
Yokai were growing stronger at a terrifying pace—if humans lacked any effective countermeasures, it was only a matter of time before they were pushed off the stage entirely.
And the exorcist families of Tokyo District had no choice.
If other families obtained Spirit Power Crystals from the mountain while they stood by and did nothing, their clan strength would inevitably fall behind.
To maintain their current standing—and from a long-term perspective—they had to compete for Spirit Power Crystals.
As for Yuto?
He'd already wanted to dispose of those troublemaking yokai—but didn't want to dirty his own hands.
So why not let Tokyo District's exorcists do the work for him?
After all, it wasn't like he was asking them to work for free.
There were Spirit Power Crystals on the Great Snow Mountain—He had personally placed them there.
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