"Please don't misunderstand."
Bai Jie, afraid she would misunderstand, quickly explained to Ayaka.
"The temperature here is very low, and our clothes are soaked… it's best to take them all off and dry them with this portable stove."
Originally, if his spiritual power consumption wasn't so high, he could directly use the Fire Luo Technique to dry his clothes.
However, Ayaka is an ordinary person, and she can't use spiritual power to protect herself. Directly using the Fire Luo Technique on her could easily cause burns.
"I understand."
Ayaka nodded obediently.
She still trusted Bai Jie quite a bit, but the thought of taking all her clothes off made her feel a little resistant.
"It's okay."
Bai Jie took out a black cloth and blindfolded himself.
"By covering my eyes like this, I won't be able to see, and Miss Ayaka can take off her clothes with peace of mind."
Ayaka said softly, "Now that we're at such a critical juncture, I wouldn't be foolish enough to fuss over such a small matter…"
As she said this, she still used trembling hands to untie her belt, and the outer coat for warmth, as well as the apricot-yellow crepe silk kimono, were loosened.
"It's okay, I already had the Qi Luo Divine General set up a barrier talisman just now."
Bai Jie explained after blindfolding himself.
"Although I can't see, I can sense the surrounding spiritual power wavelengths and roughly judge the activity of surrounding objects… Of course, if it were Lord Yeming or an even more powerful exorcist, they should be able to sense it more clearly—"
"Eh? Ha…"
Ayaka's face turned pale, and she trembled slightly.
Her two fists clenched tightly.
"T-This also means…"
She took another deep breath, her face so red it seemed like steam would burst out: "N-No matter if you're blindfolded or not, you can… see… me."
"No, no, no."
Bai Jie said with a smile, "I can mostly only sense that something is approaching and can identify the outline and size. I can also perceive the movement of people's limbs, but I can't sense colors, so you can actually say that I can't see…"
"Even so, that's already very serious."
Her tone was anxious.
Saying he can't see, but he can feel it, that's what's called using spiritual power to detect.
Although she didn't quite understand, wouldn't that mean that even when wearing clothes, he could sense what's under other people's clothes—
She shuddered.
According to this, wouldn't exorcists be equivalent to peeping at others every day? Everyone is basically naked in their eyes.
"No, isn't this just wild thinking?"
However, Ayaka still tried her best to calm her brain, and her face was very red.
"Miss Ayaka, your body temperature has risen, it seems to be concentrated on your face."
Bai Jie persuaded her.
"You're a bit far from the fire, why don't you get a little closer and sit here to warm up, and spread out the clothes you took off."
"Ugh…"
Ayaka, who had taken off her clothes, felt so ashamed she wanted to disappear when she thought about her situation.
She couldn't help but sigh, but she swallowed it back.
"Never mind."
Thinking about it carefully, the other party is not the kind of person who would think that way at all.
He is a sensible person with a stable personality.
Thinking in that direction is clearly judging a gentleman with a petty person's heart.
'After all, he has saved me many times and helped me and my elder brother… When will I be able to change my bad habit of being so suspicious?'
She was sure that she could trust this man and felt guilty about her petty thoughts.
Huff.
She let out a breath, and because the temperature was low, the exhaled breath turned into white mist.
Ayaka picked up her haori coat again, put it on, and leaned closer to Bai Jie.
"Um… Can I sit closer?"
She moved her body, almost touching Bai Jie.
"Because it's cold… If I get a little closer, it should be better."
"Is that so?"
Bai Jie smiled slightly.
His natural smile made Ayaka's heart beat wildly.
She quickly lowered her head and looked away.
This person is really dangerous.
—A gentle person often causes misunderstandings.
She sighed in her heart.
At this moment, Ayaka understood why her brother. No, it should be said that her stepsister was so infatuated with him.
He unconsciously exudes warmth to the people around him. For people who originally lack that kind of warmth, crave warmth, and whose love for others is almost like hunger, it is simply like a moth to a flame, attracting them to fly into the fire.
'Yeya, Sister, and Miss Hiruko… It seems to be the same for all of them.' She murmured in her heart.
Besides them, there should be other women as well. It feels like this man's luck with women won't be so simple. If he doesn't know how to restrain himself, he will definitely attract attention everywhere unconsciously.
Ayaka felt worried about her sister Yeming's future. If she really gets together with Bai Jie, she will definitely be troubled by it in the future.
'As for me, I won't fall into his trap… That's right, I can't fall so easily.'
Ayaka desperately warned herself.
She must ensure that her heart does not go against her will.
She won't like someone she shouldn't like without considering it.
'I just need to… properly protect my stepsister and protect her back.'
She seemed to have made some kind of determination and nodded to herself.
…
Ayaka fell asleep, leaning against my shoulder.
Her breathing was very light, and she even made a slight snoring sound.
At this moment, Hyakusuke could see the girl's profile; her sleeping face was as peaceful as a child's.
"Today was really hard on her..."
He didn't hesitate at all to help Ayaka.
However, putting aside his companions... if it had been Tuck or his daughter, Lyra, who had fallen.
Hyakusuke wouldn't have been saintly enough to jump down and save them.
Moreover, although Ayaka wasn't a member of the main group and wasn't a combat NPC, her identity was very important in the game's main storyline—from a certain point of view, she was Tsukigakaryo Yomei's stabilizer.
Basically, she was often mentioned in the later stages of the main storyline and was a very important person to the protagonist.
Not to mention that Ayaka was Kuzutsu Ikki's younger sister, and her importance would be evident in the Kyoto storyline in the future.
"After all, she's considered an important character, so naturally, I can't leave her alone..."
Hyakusuke shook his head and focused his energy on analyzing the situation ahead.
The delayed rescue was a troublesome matter.
He also didn't know how Yomei was doing or whether the others had reunited with her.
'However, I don't need to worry about Tuck and Lyra having problems. On the one hand, Lyra has clearly exposed herself. On the other hand, I left behind the three of Tsuru-an. They are from the Shell Serpent Troupe and act more cautiously. I also secretly warned Tsuru-an to be careful of the father and daughter duo.'
Hyakusuke would definitely have backup plans. He couldn't allow danger to occur. If it weren't for Mikado Tenzen and the fox girl suddenly appearing, his plan could be said to have been foolproof.
"That's right, those two troublesome enemies also fell down."
Originally, the most dangerous enemy in the third level of the underground cave was naturally the two-headed serpent, Abe no Mimaru, but as long as the battle storyline wasn't triggered, it shouldn't appear.
However, now that the people from the Eight Blessings Society had also fallen down, it was something to be aware of.
"Hopefully, we won't run into each other. We fell in different locations, and there are many large frogs, so we shouldn't encounter them easily."
Hyakusuke looked at the bonfire in front of him. He had applied cognitive interference to the barrier talisman, and the barrier's effect should last for a while. He had learned a lot from the barrier master, Mikado, recently.
"I'll sleep for a bit."
Hyakusuke decided to take a short nap.
He wasn't doing it to be lazy. In fact, with his current energy, he should be able to stay awake and not eat for three or four days without any problems.
However, he needed to contact the team as soon as possible. To do this, he needed to "dream."
Hyakusuke awakened his first shikigami, the dream-eating Baku, "Ko Baku."
"Ko Baku~~ Wake up... Also, please help me enter a dream."
He whispered to his shikigami.
The tattoo on his right arm began to move. Ko Baku, who was a bit larger than before, flicked its nose, and a faint mist permeated its entire body.
Hyakusuke's consciousness was covered by the hazy mist, and in the blink of an eye, he stepped into the dream.
The world in the dream was filled with a vast white mist.
In a daze, Hyakusuke found himself in it.
As he was still thinking about where he was, he heard an excited voice.
"Master~~~\
,"Before he could react, a figure fell from the sky and crashed into Hyakusuke's chest.
Crack.
The sound of a fractured sternum came, and Hyakusuke almost woke up from the dream in pain, but in an instant, his neck was tightly hugged by slender arms.
"You've finally returned to the dream~~ Ko Baku has been waiting for you for so long..."
The blonde, blue-eyed girl let out a sweet laugh, hugged his neck, and spun his body almost together.
"Okay, okay... Ko Baku, please get down! ?"
Hyakusuke couldn't bear it. The injury to his chest hadn't healed yet, and the pain in the dream was no different from reality.
"Eh... Ko Baku seems to want to continue playing with Master?"
The little girl pouted and puffed out her cheeks.
"That's enough, get down first."
Hyakusuke put her down.
"I'll play with you next time."
"Okay, Master said it himself. I hope you won't go back on your word."
The girl, who had landed on the ground, smiled mischievously with her blue eyes, which also hid a hint of slyness.
This was a little girl of about ten years old, much younger than Yae and Ayaka. She had golden curly hair and wore a white dress. She was an angelically cute little girl.
She was Hyakusuke's shikigami, "Ko Baku." From her appearance, she was clearly of European descent, which could be said to be out of place with Eastern monsters.
'According to her own explanation, it seems that the dream-eating Baku in this world and the Western incubus have some kind of similar nature... so Ko Baku's transformation after growing up also has Western characteristics—'
However, this game, "Oboro Tsuki no Mei," also has many elements of mixed cultures, so there's nothing to fuss about.
"Ko Baku, could you please connect me to Yuki Onna-hime-sama? I need to ask that lady for a favor?"
He stated the reason for entering the dream.
Bai Jie, afraid she would misunderstand, quickly explained to Ayaka.
"The temperature here is very low, and our clothes are soaked… it's best to take them all off and dry them with this portable stove."
Originally, if his spiritual power consumption wasn't so high, he could directly use the Fire Luo Technique to dry his clothes.
However, Ayaka is an ordinary person, and she can't use spiritual power to protect herself. Directly using the Fire Luo Technique on her could easily cause burns.
"I understand."
Ayaka nodded obediently.
She still trusted Bai Jie quite a bit, but the thought of taking all her clothes off made her feel a little resistant.
"It's okay."
Bai Jie took out a black cloth and blindfolded himself.
"By covering my eyes like this, I won't be able to see, and Miss Ayaka can take off her clothes with peace of mind."
Ayaka said softly, "Now that we're at such a critical juncture, I wouldn't be foolish enough to fuss over such a small matter…"
As she said this, she still used trembling hands to untie her belt, and the outer coat for warmth, as well as the apricot-yellow crepe silk kimono, were loosened.
"It's okay, I already had the Qi Luo Divine General set up a barrier talisman just now."
Bai Jie explained after blindfolding himself.
"Although I can't see, I can sense the surrounding spiritual power wavelengths and roughly judge the activity of surrounding objects… Of course, if it were Lord Yeming or an even more powerful exorcist, they should be able to sense it more clearly—"
"Eh? Ha…"
Ayaka's face turned pale, and she trembled slightly.
Her two fists clenched tightly.
"T-This also means…"
She took another deep breath, her face so red it seemed like steam would burst out: "N-No matter if you're blindfolded or not, you can… see… me."
"No, no, no."
Bai Jie said with a smile, "I can mostly only sense that something is approaching and can identify the outline and size. I can also perceive the movement of people's limbs, but I can't sense colors, so you can actually say that I can't see…"
"Even so, that's already very serious."
Her tone was anxious.
Saying he can't see, but he can feel it, that's what's called using spiritual power to detect.
Although she didn't quite understand, wouldn't that mean that even when wearing clothes, he could sense what's under other people's clothes—
She shuddered.
According to this, wouldn't exorcists be equivalent to peeping at others every day? Everyone is basically naked in their eyes.
"No, isn't this just wild thinking?"
However, Ayaka still tried her best to calm her brain, and her face was very red.
"Miss Ayaka, your body temperature has risen, it seems to be concentrated on your face."
Bai Jie persuaded her.
"You're a bit far from the fire, why don't you get a little closer and sit here to warm up, and spread out the clothes you took off."
"Ugh…"
Ayaka, who had taken off her clothes, felt so ashamed she wanted to disappear when she thought about her situation.
She couldn't help but sigh, but she swallowed it back.
"Never mind."
Thinking about it carefully, the other party is not the kind of person who would think that way at all.
He is a sensible person with a stable personality.
Thinking in that direction is clearly judging a gentleman with a petty person's heart.
'After all, he has saved me many times and helped me and my elder brother… When will I be able to change my bad habit of being so suspicious?'
She was sure that she could trust this man and felt guilty about her petty thoughts.
Huff.
She let out a breath, and because the temperature was low, the exhaled breath turned into white mist.
Ayaka picked up her haori coat again, put it on, and leaned closer to Bai Jie.
"Um… Can I sit closer?"
She moved her body, almost touching Bai Jie.
"Because it's cold… If I get a little closer, it should be better."
"Is that so?"
Bai Jie smiled slightly.
His natural smile made Ayaka's heart beat wildly.
She quickly lowered her head and looked away.
This person is really dangerous.
—A gentle person often causes misunderstandings.
She sighed in her heart.
At this moment, Ayaka understood why her brother. No, it should be said that her stepsister was so infatuated with him.
He unconsciously exudes warmth to the people around him. For people who originally lack that kind of warmth, crave warmth, and whose love for others is almost like hunger, it is simply like a moth to a flame, attracting them to fly into the fire.
'Yeya, Sister, and Miss Hiruko… It seems to be the same for all of them.' She murmured in her heart.
Besides them, there should be other women as well. It feels like this man's luck with women won't be so simple. If he doesn't know how to restrain himself, he will definitely attract attention everywhere unconsciously.
Ayaka felt worried about her sister Yeming's future. If she really gets together with Bai Jie, she will definitely be troubled by it in the future.
'As for me, I won't fall into his trap… That's right, I can't fall so easily.'
Ayaka desperately warned herself.
She must ensure that her heart does not go against her will.
She won't like someone she shouldn't like without considering it.
'I just need to… properly protect my stepsister and protect her back.'
She seemed to have made some kind of determination and nodded to herself.
…
Ayaka fell asleep, leaning against my shoulder.
Her breathing was very light, and she even made a slight snoring sound.
At this moment, Hyakusuke could see the girl's profile; her sleeping face was as peaceful as a child's.
"Today was really hard on her..."
He didn't hesitate at all to help Ayaka.
However, putting aside his companions... if it had been Tuck or his daughter, Lyra, who had fallen.
Hyakusuke wouldn't have been saintly enough to jump down and save them.
Moreover, although Ayaka wasn't a member of the main group and wasn't a combat NPC, her identity was very important in the game's main storyline—from a certain point of view, she was Tsukigakaryo Yomei's stabilizer.
Basically, she was often mentioned in the later stages of the main storyline and was a very important person to the protagonist.
Not to mention that Ayaka was Kuzutsu Ikki's younger sister, and her importance would be evident in the Kyoto storyline in the future.
"After all, she's considered an important character, so naturally, I can't leave her alone..."
Hyakusuke shook his head and focused his energy on analyzing the situation ahead.
The delayed rescue was a troublesome matter.
He also didn't know how Yomei was doing or whether the others had reunited with her.
'However, I don't need to worry about Tuck and Lyra having problems. On the one hand, Lyra has clearly exposed herself. On the other hand, I left behind the three of Tsuru-an. They are from the Shell Serpent Troupe and act more cautiously. I also secretly warned Tsuru-an to be careful of the father and daughter duo.'
Hyakusuke would definitely have backup plans. He couldn't allow danger to occur. If it weren't for Mikado Tenzen and the fox girl suddenly appearing, his plan could be said to have been foolproof.
"That's right, those two troublesome enemies also fell down."
Originally, the most dangerous enemy in the third level of the underground cave was naturally the two-headed serpent, Abe no Mimaru, but as long as the battle storyline wasn't triggered, it shouldn't appear.
However, now that the people from the Eight Blessings Society had also fallen down, it was something to be aware of.
"Hopefully, we won't run into each other. We fell in different locations, and there are many large frogs, so we shouldn't encounter them easily."
Hyakusuke looked at the bonfire in front of him. He had applied cognitive interference to the barrier talisman, and the barrier's effect should last for a while. He had learned a lot from the barrier master, Mikado, recently.
"I'll sleep for a bit."
Hyakusuke decided to take a short nap.
He wasn't doing it to be lazy. In fact, with his current energy, he should be able to stay awake and not eat for three or four days without any problems.
However, he needed to contact the team as soon as possible. To do this, he needed to "dream."
Hyakusuke awakened his first shikigami, the dream-eating Baku, "Ko Baku."
"Ko Baku~~ Wake up... Also, please help me enter a dream."
He whispered to his shikigami.
The tattoo on his right arm began to move. Ko Baku, who was a bit larger than before, flicked its nose, and a faint mist permeated its entire body.
Hyakusuke's consciousness was covered by the hazy mist, and in the blink of an eye, he stepped into the dream.
The world in the dream was filled with a vast white mist.
In a daze, Hyakusuke found himself in it.
As he was still thinking about where he was, he heard an excited voice.
"Master~~~\
,"Before he could react, a figure fell from the sky and crashed into Hyakusuke's chest.
Crack.
The sound of a fractured sternum came, and Hyakusuke almost woke up from the dream in pain, but in an instant, his neck was tightly hugged by slender arms.
"You've finally returned to the dream~~ Ko Baku has been waiting for you for so long..."
The blonde, blue-eyed girl let out a sweet laugh, hugged his neck, and spun his body almost together.
"Okay, okay... Ko Baku, please get down! ?"
Hyakusuke couldn't bear it. The injury to his chest hadn't healed yet, and the pain in the dream was no different from reality.
"Eh... Ko Baku seems to want to continue playing with Master?"
The little girl pouted and puffed out her cheeks.
"That's enough, get down first."
Hyakusuke put her down.
"I'll play with you next time."
"Okay, Master said it himself. I hope you won't go back on your word."
The girl, who had landed on the ground, smiled mischievously with her blue eyes, which also hid a hint of slyness.
This was a little girl of about ten years old, much younger than Yae and Ayaka. She had golden curly hair and wore a white dress. She was an angelically cute little girl.
She was Hyakusuke's shikigami, "Ko Baku." From her appearance, she was clearly of European descent, which could be said to be out of place with Eastern monsters.
'According to her own explanation, it seems that the dream-eating Baku in this world and the Western incubus have some kind of similar nature... so Ko Baku's transformation after growing up also has Western characteristics—'
However, this game, "Oboro Tsuki no Mei," also has many elements of mixed cultures, so there's nothing to fuss about.
"Ko Baku, could you please connect me to Yuki Onna-hime-sama? I need to ask that lady for a favor?"
He stated the reason for entering the dream.
