Chapter 67: Remilia Jumping into a Pit of Her Own Making.
....
Kihara, Lala, and Nana were in the kitchen washing dishes when the doorbell suddenly rang. Thinking it was Momo returning, he walked over to open the door.
To his surprise, two figures holding parasols—one tall and one short—appeared before his eyes, leaving him standing dazed in place, staring blankly at them.
Remilia raised her haughty chin with pride. "Kihara, I took the trouble to come over specifically to see you. Why aren't you inviting me inside yet? Standing stupidly at the door is far too impolite, isn't it?"
"My apologies. I didn't expect you and Yuuka to show up here. Please come in, I'll go brew some tea."
"That's more like it. I want black tea, with sugar and milk."
"Give me a cup of... coffee, please. I heard Tatsumaki mention that this peculiar drink is quite refreshing, so I'm rather curious about it."
Yuuka Kazami's choice was rather unexpected.
"No problem. However, coffee is quite bitter. Do you want milk and sugar as well?"
Seeing Kihara treating her like Remilia beside her, Yuuka twirled her flower parasol with dissatisfaction, the corners of her lips curling into a dangerous smile. "It seems I've been mistaken for a little child by my rebellious disciple. Is it just my imagination?"
"Not at all! I'll go brew the tea right away!"
"Wait a moment, flower yokai! Were you secretly insulting me by calling me a child?!"
"I never said that. Don't go applying the label to yourself."
"You...!"
Remilia stomped her feet in sheer frustration. Ignoring her entirely, Yuuka closed her flower parasol and walked gracefully into the house.
Before long, four distinct, beautiful girls were seated together in the living room. Lala's curious gaze lingered on the black wings behind Remilia's back, while Nana directed a subtle, angry glare straight at Kihara.
'This guy... How can he manage to attract pretty girls even while staying at home?!'
"Let me introduce them. This is Remilia, and this is Yuuka Kazami. Just like Suika, they are both yokai."
"Brother-in-law, why do all these yokai keep coming to see you?"
"Brother-in-law?" Yuuka raised her eyebrows slightly, quite surprised to hear such a form of address.
Nana assumed a firm stance. "That's right! Big sister and brother-in-law are lovers and betrothed! If you yokai have any self-awareness, stop dropping by our house for no reason and disturbing our normal lives!"
"Heheh~" Yuuka cast a playful glance at the long, slender tail behind the twin sisters. "From where I stand, you two don't look like humans either. Aren't you yokai as well?"
"Not at all! We are aliens!"
"Ho~ Aliens."
Those words reminded Yuuka of the two Moon People residing in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. At the same time, she sensed the immense energy contained within Lala's body, causing a fiery battle spirit to ignite within her crimson eyes.
When the yokai of Gensokyo arrived in this world, they could retain a single special ability at most, while the rest remained suppressed inside their bodies.
As a powerful Flower Great Yokai, Yuuka's entire skillset relied on physical martial arts and a vast, seemingly endless reservoir of yokai power. As such, she hadn't suffered many restrictions beyond being unable to casually fire her Master Spark using her flower parasol.
As her sole disciple, how could Kihara fail to see that her hands were itching for a fight? He hurriedly spoke up, "Yuuka! If you want to fight Lala, go to the dance studio to fight! Don't end up wrecking my house!"
"A dance studio? Do we have a place like that in our house?" Lala tilted her head in utter confusion.
"Forget it. Considering how pitifully you're begging me, I'll temporarily postpone this matter for now."
Having spent plenty of time around Kihara, Yuuka could understand the gist of the strange phrases that occasionally came out of his mouth. This world wasn't like Gensokyo; if a building got wrecked, you couldn't simply call Kappa Heavy Industries to fix it up within minutes.
A qualified master would never bring unnecessary trouble upon her disciple—unless that disciple was planning to act like a rebellious master-attacker again.
"Hmph~ How boring." Remilia drained her black tea in a single gulp, shooting a sidelong glance at Kihara. "I'm hungry. Where is your bedroom?"
"Go up to the second floor, the first room on the right."
"Got it. I'll wait for you inside. Make sure to come over quickly."
Saying that, Remilia walked out of the living room at an unhurried pace. It was only after she completely vanished from their sight that she put on the expression of a curious child, looking all around to check if there were any novel gadgets inside the house.
"Brother-in-law! Why did she call you to the bedroom just because she's hungry?! Give me a proper explanation!"
With a darkened expression, Nana walked up to Kihara. Kicking off her right slipper, her foot—clad in a white loose sock—stepped onto the sofa beside his leg. She leaned her body forward slightly, putting on the full demeanor of an interrogator.
"Don't be angry. Remilia is a vampire; naturally she needs to drink blood when she's hungry."
"There's no need for her to seek you out to drink blood, is there? She could just grab anyone off the street!"
"She's a picky eater."
"A vampire who is a picky eater?!" Nana's eyes widened in complete shock.
"Although it sounds hard to believe, it's the absolute truth."
A sparkling light of excitement lit up in Lala's eyes. "How interesting! Then what kind of yokai is Miss Kazami?"
"I am a flower yokai."
"Big sister! Now is not the time to focus on that! Your boyfriend is about to have his blood sucked by a yokai who popped out of nowhere—aren't you worried in the slightest?!"
"But I can't feel any malice coming from them at all. Nana, you must feel the exact same way, right?"
Nana bit her lip in frustration, yet had no choice but to nod in admission. "...It's... indeed like that."
"It's getting late. I'll hurry upstairs to feed Remilia, then head to school together with Lala. You two wait for me in the living room."
Kihara reached out to pat Nana's head comfortably twice.
"W-What are you doing, suddenly rubbing a girl's head...?" Realizing what was happening a second too late, she ducked her head away, then put her hands on her hips with a fierce pout. "Watch out or I'll bite your hand!"
"Heehee~"
Noticing her younger sister's flushed face and stubborn, tsundere reaction, Lala giggled softly.
"Big sister! What are you laughing at?!"
"Nothing at all~~"
...
The moment Kihara pushed the door open to step into the bedroom, Remilia—who had just been standing on her tiptoes attempting to reach the Gundam model on the bookshelf—instantly leaped back down onto the rug, sitting up straight and well-behaved.
"Hmm? Why are you sitting on the floor?"
"Ahem... Where I sit is my own freedom!"
"As long as you're happy. Young Miss, hurry over to drink blood; I still have to accompany Lala to school."
"Then I won't be polite!"
Gazing at Kihara as he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal half of his exceptionally mouthwatering shoulder, Remilia secretly swallowed her saliva. Leaping up into his arms, she took a bite out of his shoulder with a sharp nom.
Gulp, gulp~
After drinking roughly five milliliters of fresh blood to her heart's content, she opened her small mouth and let out a satisfied burp. Only then did she recall that Sakuya Izayoi hadn't accompanied her this time—which meant there was no one around to handle the side effects after Kihara had his blood sucked.
"Kihara, this time I shall show great mercy and handle the side effect for you myself!"
"Hmm??"
"What are you so surprised for? Do you actually think I'll do a worse job than Sakuya?"
"Uh... Strictly speaking, yes, you will."
Remilia proudly placed her small hand over her chest. "Hmph! Betting on the honor of the Scarlet family, I will definitely handle the side effect perfectly for you!"
"Since you put it that way, I'll come find you after I get back from school."
"No problem!"
Kihara felt as though the corners of his mouth were about to twitch from holding back his laughter. To prevent her from noticing anything off, he hurriedly got up and departed from the room.
....
Thank you for reading.