[Inorin's Note: Hey everyone, quick apology for the quiet week here! Over the last few days, we've been working behind the scenes to officially launch our own dedicated reading site.
Moving forward, Elysian Reads (elysianreads[.]com) is going to be our primary hub for all novel releases. (P.S. Just swap the [.] with a regular dot . to open the link!) It's packed with some really neat custom features designed to make reading way more enjoyable.
That being said, Webnovel isn't getting left behind. I'll be dropping a mass release here shortly to clear out the missed chapters, and our regular updates will be right back on track. Thanks a ton for hanging in there with me!]
Chapter 125: Let's Duel!
The effects of the blood tea were significant, to say the least.
After downing half a pot, Haruto felt invincible. It was a dizzying, blood-pumping sensation; raw power surged through his body, making him feel like he could knock out Yakumo Yukari with a single punch.
Strong liquor bolsters one's courage, and this potent blood tea had much the same effect.
Ignoring Yakumo Ran's frantic attempts to stop him, Haruto stormed straight to the door at the end of the corridor and gave it a violent kick.
Bang—!
The explosive sound echoed through the residence. Yakumo Yukari, who was halfway into a Gap and busy with who-knows-what, trembled in fright. She snapped the Gap shut, and her expression immediately darkened upon seeing the culprit.
"I haven't been watching you for half a day, and what kind of trouble have you gotten into now, you brat?"
How painfully familiar this scene was.
Outside the door, Yakumo Ran silently retreated to a safe distance.
Haruto didn't answer. Instead, under Yukari's bewildered gaze, he walked step by step to her bed and reached out, hooking a finger under her chin to lift her face.
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
Not only was Yukari stunned, but even Ran, guarding the door, froze in place. 'What is he doing?'
Gulp…
Facing the boy's clean-cut face as it drew closer and closer, Yakumo Yukari unconsciously swallowed. A wild thought flashed through her mind. Was the little guy she'd raised finally about to confess to her?
As it turned out, she was overthinking things.
Haruto's gaze suddenly sharpened, and he bellowed—
"Old hag! Let's duel!"
The atmosphere shattered instantly.
The corners of Yakumo Yukari's eyes twitched violently. Outside the door, Yakumo Ran secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Smack—!
A crisp, decisive hand-chop slammed onto the top of Haruto's head.
Half an hour later, Haruto woke up leisurely on his own bed. He rubbed his throbbing temples as he looked around, finding himself back in his room.
His memory was a bit blurry… like he had gulped down several pounds of cheap liquor.
"Haruto-sama, you're awake?"
Yakumo Ran entered the room carrying a bowl of sobering soup.
"What happened to me? Why is my head spinning?" Haruto mumbled, still groggy. "I didn't drink any alcohol. Remi didn't give me some fake tea, did she?"
He couldn't recall anything clearly; he only remembered drinking half a pot of tea before everything went black.
"What Lady Remilia gave you was naturally the real deal," Ran explained, sitting by the bed and gently stirring the contents of the bowl. "It's just that you drank too much at once and got drunk on it, Haruto-sama. Given your current strength, you can only handle a few sips at a time."
Haruto sat up and clenched his fists. He found that not only had his youki increased significantly, but his physical strength had also received a major boost and was still slowly rising.
Even so, he was still puzzled.
"Then why does my whole body ache? It feels like… I was beaten up by someone." He paused, a dreadful thought occurring to him. "I didn't get drunk and go challenge the Lady of Hakugyokurou, did I?"
At the mention of such a reckless act, Yakumo Ran's eyelids couldn't help but twitch. She quickly denied it.
"No, Haruto-sama. You've been at the Yakumo residence the whole time."
"Oh, that's good."
Haruto breathed a sigh of relief and took the bowl from Ran. Eschewing the spoon, he raised it to take a large gulp, but in the next moment, he heard her continue.
"But you did kick open Lady Yukari's door and challenge her to a duel."
"Pfft—!"
Haruto spat out a mouthful of sobering soup. After a fit of coughing, he stared at her, aghast.
"Didn't you try to stop me? And Yukari… couldn't she have gone a bit easy on me?"
No wonder he woke up feeling sore all over. Even if he'd drunk fake alcohol, it shouldn't have been this bad.
Yakumo Ran calmly took out a handkerchief to wipe the soup stains from her cheek.
"Ran tried to stop you, but I truly couldn't. You insisted on finding Lady Yukari, and you kept emphasizing that you would win this time. Absolutely win."
"Then… then… why couldn't she go easy on me? There's no way she didn't see it coming, and she definitely could have dodged."
A hint of embarrassment flashed in Ran's eyes as she explained.
"Lady Yukari seemed to be… waiting for something at that moment. She couldn't react in time, so you… well, you surprised her."
"Waiting for what? For me to confess?" Haruto grumbled indignantly. "Does she think she's some old tree blooming again in spring? She was clearly just making up an excuse to beat me up!"
With Yukari's power, even if he were ten times faster, he probably wouldn't even be able to touch the hem of her dress.
Yakumo Ran didn't respond.
In all of Gensokyo, apart from Lady Eirin, Lady Yuuka, and a few others, only her Haruto-sama would dare to say such things.
Haruto muttered and complained for a while longer, then seemed to remember something. He took out his Ghost Phone, which showed an incoming delivery in four hours.
"Ran, could you help me receive a package when it arrives?"
"Is it the same kind you and Reimu received last time?"
"Yeah, a ghost courier. It'll be here in four hours. Reimu already taught them a lesson last time, so they'll probably behave."
He didn't have the energy to send another poor soul to the Yama; as long as they didn't come looking for death, it was fine.
After finishing the soup in one gulp, Haruto gathered all the food he could find at home, then had Ran open a Gap to Hakugyokurou before stepping through.
Youmu was still practicing her sword.
She stood quietly under the Saigyou Ayakashi, her left hand resting lightly on her scabbard, her right hand gripping the hilt, her eyes slightly closed.
The surrounding temperature gradually dropped. A faint, chilling mist seemed to escape from her lips as her posture slowly sank.
Illusory cherry blossom petals suddenly began to fall, fluttering endlessly through the air.
Whoosh—
The sword was already drawn.
Even though Haruto's strength had improved significantly, he still couldn't see the movement clearly. He only caught a glimpse of a silver flash before the Roukanken was sheathed again.
All of this happened in the space of half a breath. The pink cherry blossoms were still fluttering down as if nothing had happened.
Suddenly, as the petals fell to the height of Youmu's shoulders, they split. Each one cracked neatly down the middle, separating into two perfect halves before drifting to the ground.
Clap, clap, clap—
Haruto applauded, his eyes sparkling with excitement. With Youmu joining the next instance, wouldn't it be a guaranteed win?
After the previous four instances, he had figured out some of the patterns. The Death Game most likely suppressed non-human species—no, rather than suppressing the species themselves, it was more like it suppressed energies such as youki and spiritual power.
Unless one was as powerful as Yukari, who could rely on absolute strength to forcibly break through the suppression, their power would be greatly reduced.
Although Youmu was a half-ghost and used spiritual power, she was also half-human. More, she relied primarily on her swordsmanship; her spiritual power was just a bonus.
Even if she was weakened, it wouldn't be by much.
, her Roukanken specialized in cutting down spiritual bodies, while her Hakurouken cut physical ones. Whether they faced ghosts or ghost-like monsters, Youmu was their natural nemesis.
Thinking this, Haruto grew even more excited. The next instance would definitely be a breeze!
And if it wasn't…
He'd just have to challenge the Lady of Hakugyokurou to a one-on-one fight
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