Chapter 86 Her in a Parallel World 3

The moment the question was posed, the previously lively and relaxed atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point. The short swords looked at each other helplessly, and finally turned their pleading eyes to the head of the Awataguchi family.

Ichigo Hitofuri sighed, and was about to give a roundabout answer when [Kanshu] spoke up to ease the atmosphere.

"It's alright, we shouldn't just talk about the future." [Han Zhou] smiled and smoothed things over, actually already having a rough estimate of the answer to the question.

These child-like "spirits" are clearly more sensitive and simple-minded than the few sitting there drinking tea.

[Hanzhou] thought to himself

That's right, although she had let her guard down here, she hadn't stopped trying to gather information. Now, she had learned a crucial piece of information: her father and mother might encounter some kind of accident in the future.

Otherwise, their attitude cannot be explained.

After secretly memorizing this information, [Han Zhou] quickly noticed the little tiger beside Wu Hu Tui, and her eyes lit up.

"Can I touch it?"

"Yes, that's fine."

Wu Hu Tui handed the little tiger to Han Zhou, who took it and affectionately rubbed its cheek against it, then held it in his arms, stroking its head and scratching its chin. The comfortable little tiger even showed its belly in Han Zhou's arms.

She didn't stay in Awataguchi for long. After returning the tiger cub to Gokotai, she randomly chose a direction and ran away. Ran Toushirou's azure eyes held worry as he looked at his older brother.

"Really, are you okay?"

Their reaction was too obvious; the young lord had clearly noticed it. Wouldn't this have some impact on the future?

Ichigo Hitofuri patted Ran Toushirou's head reassuringly, his voice gentle as water.

"Don't worry about the chaos, there will be a solution."

Whether this unique memory can be preserved in the end is still unknown. He doesn't know if his lord will erase or seal [Kanshu]'s memories in the citadel.

[Kanshu], who had run off again, encountered a sneaky Tsurumaru. She stood there for a few seconds, pondered, and then immediately concealed her aura. With a wicked smile on her face, she tiptoed and quietly approached Tsurumaru Kuninaga.

Meanwhile, Tsurumaru Kuninaga, who was digging a hole, was completely unaware of the approaching "danger".

He jumped out of the pit, assessing its depth. After confirming it was deep enough, he looked around, preparing some dry grass to conceal it, unaware of the approaching [Cold Boat] behind him.

"Wow--!"

Startled by the sudden noise, Tsurumaru Kuninaga slipped and fell straight into the pit. [Kanshu], seeing the white crane fall into the pit, quickly went to the side.

Are you alright? I didn't mean to.

She didn't mean to scare the other person so much that they fell into the pit.

Tsurumaru Kuninaga's golden eyes clearly reflected [Kanshu's] figure. He chuckled, braced his hands on the edge of the pit, and jumped out with a powerful leap. However, his white inner robe and hair were stained with dust, making the whole crane look rather dusty.

"Hahaha, that was quite a scare!" Tsurumaru Kuninaga's eyes crinkled as he crouched down to face [Kanshu].

Two pairs of similar golden eyes silently met.

"You carry my scent too." [Han Zhou] suddenly spoke, tilting her head to examine the dusty white crane, muttering to herself, "Strange."

Tsurumaru Kuninaga raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, somewhat puzzled by the meaning of those words.

"We all appeared because of our lord's power."

【Hanzhou】shaked her head. Of course she knew that the spirits here had all appeared because of 'me', but a few of them were quite different.

"Hmm... I don't know how to describe it either." Her still-childish face scrunched up as she struggled to find the right adjective.

“You, and two golden-eyed cats with moon-like eyes, and an older brother with grape-purple eyes, are all quite different.”

As Tsurumaru Kuninaga listened, he began to guess the names of the blades mentioned by [Kanshu]: Higekiri, Hizamaru, Mikazuki, Yagen, and himself.

Aren't these all swords and blades that our lord used in the past?!

After struggling for a while and failing to express what she wanted to say, Han Zhou simply gave up. Anyway, it wasn't a bad thing for these "spirits".

After thinking it through, she finally asked, "Why did you dig the hole? Was it a prank?"

"Oh yeah, but I didn't expect you to give me such a fright," Tsurumaru Kuninaga stood up, looking at his unfinished trap. Just as he was about to finish it, a flash of golden light appeared before his eyes.

The pit "disappeared," and there was no sign of anything unusual about it.

"Wow!" Tsurumaru Kuninaga exclaimed with great emotion, "An illusion?"

"Hmph, I'm amazing, aren't I!" [Hanzhou] proudly raised his head, his hands on his hips, which made Tsurumaru Kuninaga laugh frequently.

Then, Tsurumaru Kuninaga rested his chin on his hand in deep thought. After all, he had never seen this wicked side of his lord before. It was indeed due to his young age and lack of experience. He smiled and looked at [Kanshu] beside him.

"Would you like to take a stroll around the citadel with me?"

He was subtly inviting Han Zhou to play a prank together.

"good!"

Having understood the unspoken meaning in Tsurumaru Kuninaga's words, [Kanshu] readily agreed.

However, when two troublemakers get together, someone is bound to suffer.

Two figures, one tall and one short, scurried furtively along the corridor of the citadel, their golden eyes gleaming with identical cunning. Tsurumaru Kuninaga quickly brushed the dust off his clothes and then began to plan his "scare route" with great interest.

“First, let’s go see Hasebe-kun!” Tsurumaru said in a low voice, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “The way he works so diligently is perfect for being ‘interrupted’.”

[Hanzhou] nodded vigorously. She was deeply impressed by the seemingly meticulous "spirit," and it would be very interesting to make him change his expression.

The two stealthily approached the office near the castle tower. Sure enough, Hasebe was hunched over his desk, writing furiously, with a tall pile of documents beside him.

"Watch me." [Hanzhou] twitched her fingertips slightly, and a faint golden light flashed. She gave Tsurumaru a "done" gesture.

Tsurumaru understood, and pulled a small paper ball from his pocket (heaven knows how he managed to hide something in his inner robes), flicking it precisely onto the top of a cabinet in the other corner of the room with a soft "tap".

Highly focused, Hasebe immediately looked up alertly: "Hmm?" He frowned and glanced around, finding nothing amiss, then shook his head, preparing to continue processing official documents. However, when he reached for the brush, he grasped nothing—the brush that had been safely placed on the inkstone had vanished.

"?" Hasebe was taken aback and started rummaging through the table.

Outside the window, Han Zhou covered her mouth and chuckled. With a flick of her hand, the calligraphy brush silently appeared on top of the stack of documents that Hasebe had just finished reviewing.

Hasebe found the pen, and although he found it a little strange, he didn't think much of it. But just as he picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and was about to put pen to paper—

"Clatter".

Books on the bookshelf suddenly fell to the ground.

Hasebe: "!!!"

He jumped to his feet, looking around warily: "Who is it? Tsurumaru Kuninaga, was it you?!" This was definitely something that habitual thief, Tsurukai, did!

A burst of suppressed, clear laughter, belonging to a child, came from outside the door, along with Tsurumaru's urging, "Run! Run!" Hasebe immediately rushed to the door and opened it, only to see two figures, one tall and one short, running quickly into the distance.

“Tsuru, Maru, Kuni, Nagata! And… Lord?!” Hasebe stared at the small figure, speechless for a moment. The words of reproach stuck in his throat, and in the end, he could only sigh helplessly and mutter to himself, “This… this is outrageous…”

With their first victory, the two pranksters were in high spirits.

Soon, they found a new target—Yamabagiri Kunihiro, who was sitting alone on the veranda, wrapped in a sheet and (trying) to enjoy a moment of peace.

“That’s easy.” Tsurumaru was confident; he was quite experienced in how to “disturb” his colleague. He gestured for [Kanshu] to stay put, while he crouched down, using the trees and bushes in the courtyard as cover, and quietly circled around to behind Yamanbagiri Kunihiro.

Yamanbagiri seemed to sense something and moved slightly, but did not turn around.

Tsurumaru seized the opportunity, suddenly reached out, and grabbed the corner of the sheet on Yamanbagiri's head!

"Wow!" he exclaimed at the same time, expecting to see Yamanbagiri jump up in surprise or pull the sheets tighter as usual.

However--

"Whoosh!"

He easily and completely ripped the entire bed sheet off!

Yamanbagiri Kunihiro froze, his exposed short blond hair and fair face turning red rapidly at a visible speed.

He whirled around, his azure eyes filled with disbelief and humiliation: "You! Tsurumaru Kuninaga!!!"

"Huh?" Tsurumaru was stunned. He looked at the light sheet in his hand, then at Yamanbagiri who was practically smoking. "How come it was so easy today..."

He suddenly remembered something and looked in the direction of [Hanzhou]. The little girl was making a "V" sign at him, her face beaming with a triumphant smile.

Clearly, she somehow "weakened" Yamanbagiri's obsession with the bedsheet, or perhaps she simply "severed" the connection between the bedsheet and him.

"What's so interesting about counterfeit goods!" Yamanbagiri Kunihiro was both ashamed and angry, and reached out to snatch the bed sheet back.

Tsurumaru reacted quickly, immediately hiding the sheet behind his back and saying with a grin, "Don't rush, Yamanbagiri. The weather is so nice today, it's good to soak up some sun!" After saying that, he turned and ran, not forgetting to call out to [Kanshu].

"Give me back the sheet!" Yamanbagiri didn't care about his image anymore and got up to chase after him.

Thus, a strange chase ensued in the citadel: a crane ran ahead carrying a white sheet, a flushed-faced blonde katana user chased after it, and a little girl clapping and laughing beside it, occasionally using small spells to create obstacles for the pursuer (such as a suddenly slippery floor or a suddenly drooping branch).

Finally, they arrived at the edge of the field near the kitchen.

Mutsu no Kami Yoshiyuki, sleeves rolled up, was energetically wielding a hoe, clearing a small patch of wasteland, humming an off-key Tosa folk song. Sunlight shone on his bronze skin, and sweat glistened on his skin.

“This one looks great, perfect for a lively surprise!” Tsurumaru remarked, stroking his chin.

【Hanzhou】her eyes darted around, an idea forming in her mind. She gestured for Tsurumaru to come closer and whispered a few words in his ear. Tsurumaru's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and finally he couldn't help but snap his fingers: "Brilliant!"

The two divided the work. Tsurumaru was responsible for diverting Mutsu no Kami's attention. He ran to the other side of the field and shouted, "Mutsu no Kami! Come and see! I dug up something strange. Is it the 'potato satellite' you mentioned last time?"

"What? A potato satellite? Let me see!" Mutsu no Kami's curiosity was piqued, and he put down his hoe and ran over.

Taking this opportunity, [Hanzhou] ran to the patch of soil that Mutsu no Kami had just loosened and gently pressed her small hand on the ground. The soil emitted a faint glow and quickly "grew" several plump, round, but strangely colored...purple radishes? Or perhaps the kind that shimmered with fine gold dust.

After doing all this, [Hanzhou] quickly hid behind a nearby tree.

On the other side, Tsurumaru casually pointed to a clod of dirt to fob him off, and Mutsu no Kami scratched his head: "Isn't this just an ordinary stone?"

"Haha, maybe I saw it wrong," Tsurumaru laughed.

Mutsu no Kami didn't pay any attention, returned to his original spot, picked up his hoe, and prepared to continue working. Then, he saw those few oddly shaped "radishes".

"Wow! What's this?!" Mutsu no Kami squatted down and curiously poked the largest purple radish. "I've never seen this kind before. Is it a new species?"

He pulled hard—

"Bang!"

With a soft pop, the "radish" instantly transformed into a cloud of purple smoke, enveloping Mutsu no Kami. When the smoke dissipated, Mutsu no Kami Yoshiyuki's once healthy bronze face had turned into a uniform, shimmering purple, with only the whites of his eyes and teeth remaining their original color, creating a striking contrast in the sunlight.

Mutsu no Kami was stunned, blinking blankly.

"Pfft—Hahaha!" Hanzhou, who was behind the tree, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga, who was next to him, finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs.

Mutsu no Kami then realized what was happening. He touched his face, saw the purple stain on his hand, and burst into hearty laughter: "Hahaha! This really gave me a fright! You two were behind this, weren't you? This thing is interesting!"

His reaction only made Hanshu and Tsurumaru find it more amusing.

The joyful noise attracted other swordsmen.

Seeing Mutsu no Kami with a purple face, Yamanbagiri chasing after Tsurumaru to ask for a sheet, and Hasebe walking from the direction of the office with a helpless and hesitant expression, the swordsmen were first stunned, and then couldn't help but laugh.

Honmaru was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

until--

"Mr. Tsuru, Ms. Kanshu." Shokudaikiri Mitsutada's gentle voice rang out as he stood on the veranda carrying refreshments. "Tea and juice are ready. Would you like to come and rest for a bit?"

His gaze swept over Tsurumaru and [Kanshu], a smile playing on his lips, yet also carrying a subtle hint of a reminder to "stop while you're ahead."

【Hanzhou】 and Tsurumaru exchanged a glance, knowing that today's prank time was temporarily over.

They gave each other a high five, then ran off with smiles to the snacks, leaving behind a somewhat chaotic but also vibrant afternoon scene in the Honmaru.

Ran Toushirou watched as Kanshu shared snacks with his friends and smiled broadly, and whispered to Ichigo Hitofuri, "Although... seeing my 'lord' so happy doesn't seem so bad."

Ichigo Hitofuri's gaze softened, and he gave a gentle "hmm." Perhaps, this brief and noisy memory, no matter what the future holds, is worth cherishing.

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Author's note: I'll be taking a two-day weekend break.