Inside the dark wine vat, Kenji Yamamoto felt his heart beating faster and faster.

Perhaps because it was so quiet, Kenji Yamamoto felt that his wine vat vibrated slightly with every step the guy outside took. The guy circled the wine cellar, his footsteps fading into the distance before quickly returning to the doorway.

At this moment, it spoke up: "It doesn't seem to be in the wine cellar."

It was a voice that was neither gender-specific, very sharp, almost piercing Kenji Yamamoto's eardrums.

"I wonder where that thief has gone."

At that moment, another voice sounded coldly and deeply, yet it exploded in Yamamoto Kenji's ears like a thunderclap, because the owner of this voice made no sound of footsteps at all.

Is it a ghost-type monster?

Kenji Yamamoto didn't dare to speak, and could only speculate in his mind about the source of the voice. There were no footsteps, nor any dragging or rubbing sounds, indicating that it was something floating in mid-air.

It's not that there aren't any monsters that fit this description.

"Having stolen the gourd from the kitchen, the only possible destination is the wine cellar, after all..."

Kenji Yamamoto couldn't hear what was said after that, but just from the words "the gourd in the kitchen," he subconsciously placed his hand on the gourd at his waist, suddenly remembering the sixth rule of the Ōeyama Royal Palace:

[Free time is from 2 PM to 4 PM daily. You are free to move around within the Oeyama Royal Palace, but vandalism, fighting, theft, and other such acts are prohibited.]

He only wanted to "borrow" the gourd, but he didn't expect to be discovered so quickly.

If this is considered a violation, then he will probably have to be even more careful from now on. If he is discovered by these monsters, he might not even have time to meet the Unspeakable One and sincerely surrender before he is already dead and leaves this world.

Although the fate of the Sakura Kingdom was none of his concern, it wouldn't be worth sacrificing his own life for it.

Kenji Yamamoto focused his attention and quietly used his green talent to bring a bottle of wine on the shelf to life, making it "step" off the shelf.

"Bang!"

A bottle of wine suddenly moved on its own without any wind, bumping into a nearby bottle and making a crisp sound.

The sound clearly attracted the attention of the two monsters outside. Yamamoto Kenji heard a series of footsteps and headed towards the source of the sound.

"Bang!"

"Smack!"

With renewed vigor, Kenji Yamamoto made the bottle "jump" off the shelf, smashing it to pieces on the ground. Countless liquids splattered everywhere, resembling a pool of blood in the dim candlelight—the ground here was also dark red soil.

"How did this bottle of wine fall down?"

The sharp sound was so piercing that it made you want to cover your ears.

"Who knows?"

The deep voice was flat, and the distance and the wine vat made it hard to hear clearly. Fortunately, it was quiet enough for Kenji Yamamoto to hear it.

"Could it be that little girl is trying to use a diversionary tactic?" The sharp voice suddenly rose in volume. "She took advantage of the fact that we've all left the doorway to sneak out?" Its guess was reasonable, and even the deep voice agreed: "That possibility cannot be ruled out."

"What are you waiting for? Let's chase after them!"

Next, a series of hurried footsteps brushed past Kenji Yamamoto's jar and rushed up the stairs outside the door.

Kenji Yamamoto did not rush out.

He held his breath and silently counted in his mind inside the wine jar until he reached 600. Only after confirming that it was quiet outside and there were no other sounds did he breathe a sigh of relief and push the stopper of the wine jar upwards.

The light from outside the wine vat shone into the pitch-black vat.

A bunch of eyes came into view of Kenji Yamamoto.

It was a monster resembling a lump of mud, currently perched atop the jar where Kenji Yamamoto was hiding, its slime-like body covered in eyes. Upon seeing Kenji Yamamoto, its eyes narrowed slightly, and a grin spread across its head: "Got you."

Simultaneously with the sound, a tentacle suddenly stretched towards the mouth of the cylinder.

"Baka!"

Kenji Yamamoto quickly manipulated the stopper to come to life, covering the wine jar again and breathing heavily inside.

He knew that doing this was nothing more than a slow death.

But so what?

If he lives for even one more second, he might have a little more hope of survival; if he dies now, he'll have nothing left.

Kenji Yamamoto began chanting incantations at the bottom of the jar: Jesus, Buddha, Amaterasu, the unspeakable... whoever it is, please come quickly and save him, so that he can find a chance to leave this place alive.

Was he only exposed because of the gourd?

How did this multi-eyed monster find its way to its location?

Silence reigned outside, but this time, Kenji Yamamoto knew perfectly well that the monster was waiting for him to emerge from the jar, its countless eyes undoubtedly eagerly anticipating his arrival.

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps began to be heard around him. The only thing Kenji Yamamoto could do was to make sure that the lid of the jar wouldn't be opened so easily, lest he be picked out of the jar like sauerkraut in a kimchi jar and put directly into the mouth by a demon.

Finally, it was quiet outside once again.

A brief moment of silence.

Kenji Yamamoto heard a girl's clear voice, tinged with an undeniable malice: "You mean, there's a ghost servant here who's broken the rules?"

The deep-voiced, multi-eyed monster immediately replied:

"Yes, Lord Shuten-dōji."

...

Kenji Yamamoto cannot see anything outside, but the audience in Japan can.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!