Chapter 14

Third person perspective.

"Tsurumaru," Fuyuki sighed.

"Um?"

Tsurumaru Kuninaga crouched down in front of her, smiling, his golden eyes shining brightly, standing out in the alley.

Fuyuki didn't want to talk anymore. She pushed his face away and looked at the spiritual power flowing continuously from her body to the tsukumogami in front of her. She wanted to sigh again.

What kind of situation is this?

She crouched down, picked up the nearest Five Tigers, and channeled her spiritual power into it. The pink cherry blossoms dissipated, turning into specks of light and disappearing. The white-haired tsukumogami and five little tigers stood before her.

Gokotai, with his original form at his waist and a small tiger in his arms, looked timidly at the Saniwa before him with golden eyes: "Master...?"

Dongshu responded.

Gokotai hugged the little tiger tightly and secretly glanced at Tsurumaru Kuninaga, whom he was meeting for the first time. Tsurumaru Kuninaga noticed and returned his smile with a bright smile.

Gokotai quickly looked away. He recognized this tsukumogami; it was the former 197th Honmaru.

...It's Lord Tsurumaru.

However, it feels a little different.

Fuyuki looked at the short swordsman who was only slightly taller than her, stood on tiptoe, and patted his head.

She thought she probably knew why the spirits had returned to their original forms; she had sensed it during the teleportation to this world.

The spiritual energy that was originally flowing in all directions along the contract suddenly stopped in an instant, leaving only one direction that did not always exist.

When she opened her eyes and saw the white crane in front of her, she probably understood, and Goko's successful return to human form also confirmed her guess.

For some reason, Tsurumaru Kuninaga came to this world with her. For some reason, her spiritual power could not be stored and was automatically bound to her. Because there was no contract, the consumption of spiritual power was particularly large, which resulted in her supplying all her spiritual power to Tsurumaru Kuninaga for a moment.

The spirits that followed her into battle also reverted to their original forms due to the momentary lack of spiritual energy supply.

There's nothing seriously wrong. We just need to reintroduce spiritual energy. If we don't do anything, the contract will automatically repair the anomaly, and everyone will be able to return to human form in a little while.

"Retreat, it's okay."

Looking at the little dagger in front of her, which seemed somewhat worried, Fuyuki felt a little helpless. Given the current situation...

Perhaps it's not necessary for everyone to be by your side all the time when going into battle; you can teleport over via the sword tent when needed.

Once a decision is made, it's time to take action.

She teleported the surrounding swords back to the citadel one by one. The citadel, which was maintained by her spiritual power, was filled with spiritual energy. Once teleported back, everyone could return to human form.

The little tiger was snuggling at her feet, and even the one in Wu Hu Tui's arms jumped down to join in, its tail wrapping around her exposed ankle, its little paws avoiding its sharp nails, and gently patting her with its soft paw pads.

Even though they are clever little devils who can easily jump onto her, they only act cute at her feet when she doesn't take the initiative.

They're all well-behaved kids.

"Then..." Fuyuki hugged the small dagger in front of him, her voice gentle, "You must protect me well, then retreat."

She nuzzled his cheek, her hand rubbing the tip of the small knife, her neatly combed white hair becoming slightly disheveled.

Gokotai is a shy and sensitive short sword, but also the one with the highest combat power among the short swords of the citadel.

He was both shy and happy about the trust placed in him by the Saniwa, and he hugged her back.

—Master, I like it very much.

The sight of the two children embracing left an impression on Tsurumaru Kuninaga, who stood there, somewhat lost in thought.

"That's nice..." he said softly.

Fuyuki looked up at him: "Hmm?"

Tsurumaru Kuninaga smiled and said, "No, it's nothing."

Dongshu was a little confused and wanted to say something more, but a strange feeling suddenly came over him.

This is?

She released the small dagger, dispersed her spiritual energy, and then carefully sensed it.

"Over here!"

After saying that, she suddenly started moving in one direction, but before she had run two steps, her gaze suddenly rose higher.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga: "Master, please show me the way."

Fuyuki nodded; she wasn't as fast as the Tsukumogami.

She sensed the target location, and the area formed a mental map, easily planning the shortest route as they moved between the buildings.

The road was extremely desolate; the buildings were dilapidated, and the environment was far from pleasant, as if the place had been abandoned.

Soon, the target appeared in front of him. He held the phone to his ear and spoke to the other end.

But there's still some distance to go.

Something rushed towards him at breakneck speed from the scene he had conjured in his mind; its target was—

This power is very strong.

Dongshu was startled: "Back off! Pull that person away!"

That strange feeling I had earlier was definitely true; the world's buffs are indeed very useful.

This dangerous aura, coupled with her fragile target, meant she might not die, but would only be severely injured. However, she couldn't gamble on it and had to avoid it.

"Yes...yes!"

When the voice of the short knife came, he made full use of his mobility, rushed forward, and pulled the black-clad boy who was on the phone away.

The boy was somewhat surprised, and his iris-colored eyes widened slightly when he was pulled back: "Eh?"

Immediately afterwards, with a "boom," danger narrowly missed the boy, generating a large amount of dust that then quickly dispersed.

When the dust settled, another boy appeared, with short, ochre hair that fluttered in the air. His blue eyes looked at the target he was about to attack but had been pulled away from:

Did you dodge it?

"Ah, two little devils, so short-staffed, it's truly heartbreaking, Port Mafia."

The boy's tone was sarcastic.

Fuyuki and Tsurumaru Kuninaga arrived at this time. She hurriedly jumped down from Tsurumaru Kuninaga's arms, but did not go forward. She just stood to the side.

"retreat."

Wu Hutui stood in front of her, lowered his head to reveal the top of his head: "The... mission seems to be completed."

Dongshu patted his head: "Well done, now back to work."

The little knife smiled as he received the praise.

"Reinforcements?" The ochre-haired boy glanced at them, his gaze settling on Fuyuki. "More kids. The Port Mafia really has no one left."

Fuyuki glanced at him but didn't say anything. Her mission was to protect the boy with the iris-colored eyes, namely Dazai Osamu.

She didn't care much about the rest; being seen as someone from some powerful group didn't matter to her.

She simply looked at Dazai Osamu carefully, and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he was alright.

Seeing that she didn't speak, the ochre-haired boy just clicked his tongue, while Dazai Osamu looked over again.

But he didn't say anything.

The ochre-haired boy, Nakahara Chuu, hadn't forgotten his purpose in coming here. He looked at Dazai Osamu.

"Tell me all the information you've gathered about Arahato."

"Oh, it's Arahabaki."

Dazai Osamu stood opposite him, his tone indifferent, but then suddenly the corners of his mouth curved into a smile, as if he had understood something.

"I see, it's Arahato."

"It seems you know."

"No, this is the first time I've heard of it."

"Thump—"

Seeing that the two people in front of him started fighting without saying a word, Fuyuki silently surrounded Dazai Osamu with a layer of spiritual energy.

She was only concerned with being able to survive in this kind of armed struggle without being easily detected, but she was still afraid that this guy who didn't seem to have much training would die here.

She stepped back a little; getting caught in the crossfire was not something she wanted.

There wasn't enough time before, but now, even though it's so close, and the aura isn't as terrifying as before, she can completely ensure her survival without touching it.

Fuyuki didn't see that Dazai Osamu's gaze shifted for a fleeting moment when she made her move.

Anyone who invades the territory of the sheep will suffer a fierce counterattack, including the sheep king of this phase, the gravity manipulator, Nakahara Chuuya.

Dongshu thought to himself silently.

She did indeed have some understanding of this world, but why was that? She didn't understand.

Feeling a poke on his arm, Fuyuki turned his head and saw Tsurumaru Kuninaga crouching down.

"Master Saniwa, aren't you going to do something?" His voice whispered in her ear.

Dongshu shook her head, covered her mouth with one hand, and whispered, "It's probably not necessary."

Tsurumaru Kuninaga was unaware of the Saniwa's mission. He looked at the boy who had just been ordered by the Saniwa to be helped by Gokotai.

"But... that person was being beaten down."

Before he could finish speaking, Fuyuki patted him on the shoulder: "It's okay."

Tsurumaru Kuninaga understood what she meant.

Hirotsu Ryūnō, who was with Dazai Osamu, quickly seized the opportunity and joined the battle.

The red and purple supernatural powers enveloped Hirotsu Ryūran and Nakahara Chūya, their repulsive forces colliding with gravity before bouncing away.

The tide of the game kept turning, and Fuyuki pushed himself further back until he was hiding behind a building, quietly observing.

Then, the old man suddenly appeared.

Fuyuki suddenly straightened up, and her spiritual power quickly reached in front of Dazai Osamu, maximizing its output in an instant.

shield!

The thick spiritual energy shield wasn't large; it was only enough to cover Dazai Osamu alone.

The massive impact blew everything around it up, smashing the ground and smashing through various debris that had been blocked by the spiritual energy shield, the sounds of banging echoing in our ears.

...if the world is kind to us.

Dongshu coughed twice, realizing for the first time the power of the world.

This thing... won't harm the World's Chosen One in the slightest.

[Author's Note]

*Original dialogue, with some modifications.