Chapter 69

The group of yokai were all drunk, but when they saw Takashi Natsume, they still recognized him and greeted him with a swaying head.

The beautiful woman downed a glass of wine in one gulp, her face beaming with smiles. "What fine wine! Oh, Natsume's here too~"

The kappa staggered toward the trembling Sawada Tsunayoshi and his companions, shouting, "Natsume-sama!"

The intermediate-level yokai and the man with the mustache, their faces flushed from drinking, were now sitting there waving at him. The most despicable of them all was the big fat cat, who released the bottle from its hand, balanced it on its head, and, like a circus performer, stood upright, spun around on one leg, and slowly made its way to Natsume Takashi's side.

It kept moving, saying, "Yo, Natsume, you're here too! Come on, have a drink, this wine is really good~" As it spoke, it let out a burp.

A strong aroma of alcohol wafted over, and Natsume Takashi suddenly remembered Rokudo Mukuro saying that these were top-quality red wines, very expensive. He thought that even if he sold Nyanko-sensei, he couldn't afford to pay for them.

Looking at the ruined food and the room ravaged by these monsters, Takashi Natsume grew angrier and angrier, while Nyanko-sensei kept circling around him.

Veins throbbed on his forehead as he grabbed the empty wine bottle that Nyanko-sensei had been holding up his head, and punched it.

The cat teacher's round body slammed heavily to the ground, a bump rising on its head. Its drunkenness had subsided somewhat, and seeing the situation, it knew it had probably caused trouble, but it still stubbornly insisted, "Natsume, you've gone too far! Who's always protecting you? You beat me up all the time; you'll be punished by heaven..."

At this moment, Takashi Natsume remained silent. He desperately wanted to tell the group behind him that it was all their hallucinations, their auditory hallucinations, but he didn't know if they would believe him. He was already considering the feasibility of keeping these yokai at the inn to work and pay off his debts.

Rokudo Mukuro stepped forward, a flash of indigo light from his fingertips, and the packaging of the bottles of red wine in the corner completely changed. He glanced at the babbling fat cat on the ground and the group of yokai who seemed to have sobered up a bit; it seemed the yokai were not what he had imagined.

He looked at Natsume Takashi again and then said, "You know these yokai?" Although he said this while looking at Natsume Takashi, he was actually saying it to that fool Sawada Tsunayoshi.

After all, that idiot Sawada Tsunayoshi was still looking at those monsters with a nervous expression, trying his best to stand in front of them.

Upon hearing Rokudo Mukuro's words, Sawada Tsunayoshi's mind, which had been dazed by the monster, began to function again. He stared at Natsume Takashi with a horrified expression, his eyes wide, "You're with these monsters?! Are you human or a monster?!" He quickly took a few steps closer to Rokudo Mukuro, feeling safer by Mukuro's side.

"I am human, but Sawada-kun, can you see these yokai too?" Natsume realized at this moment that the people in the inn seemed to be able to see the yokai and the intermediate-level yokai.

"With so many huge monsters, who wouldn't see them?" Gokudera Hayato clutched his stomach, trembling to the side. He glanced at the monsters, then quickly looked away, clasped his hands together, and muttered something. He glanced at them again, then repeated the same action...

Rokudo Mukuro looked at the drunken yokai and said with a serious expression, "No matter what you are, trespassing and damaging other people's property are illegal!"

Everyone present, both human and demon, was stunned. So, it was illegal for demons to trespass on private property and damage it? Wait, could human laws even apply to demons?

Takashi Natsume was the first to react. With his strong sense of morality, he was at a loss for words. He begged them not to call the police and offered to compensate them for their losses at the original price. But looking at the empty bottles on the ground, he realized he probably wouldn't be able to leave the hotel that day.

The cat teacher lying on the ground rolled her eyes, a puff of smoke flashed from her body, and suddenly a huge white beast appeared in the room. It was pure white, with some red markings on its forehead and the corners of its eyes, and looked noble and elegant.

But it shattered this elegance the moment it opened its mouth: "Since you've discovered me, I'm going to eat you all up!"

Its menacing appearance finally gave people a sense of familiarity with the fat cat in this ferocious beast.

But Rokudo Mukuro's eyes lit up. He had fought so many battles, but he had never fought a monster before. So, he stepped forward eagerly.

"Kufufufu~ Then you should give it a try..."

He could sense that these monsters meant them no harm; they were just trying to scare them. But his desire to test his skills against the monsters was genuine.

Sawada Tsunayoshi tried to stop him, "Mukuro, don't go over there."

Natsume Takashi also sensed something was wrong, "Nyanko-sensei, quickly change back."

The two people who were being advised wouldn't listen at all, and the monsters behind them were even egging them on.

"Go, Lord Ban!"

"Let's teach that human a lesson!"

"Capture that human and trade him for wine with his companions. Human wine tastes really good!"

"..."

Takashi Natsume wanted to cover his face and pretend he didn't know those monsters at all.

Nyanko-sensei blew a breath at Rokudo Mukuro, trying to blow the frail boy in front of him away. Its idea was simple: first, intimidate these humans, then run away with Natsume. Trespassing and damaging property—what did a weak, innocent little kitten like it know about such things?

What it didn't know was that its appearance lacked any of the ferocity of a monster; instead, it exuded holiness, and some would believe it was a divine beast. Far from frightening anyone, several girls stared at its beautiful figure with shining eyes, looking as if they really wanted to touch it.

Only Gokudera Hayato lay down, his hands in his usual position, muttering, "Beast God, please calm down, Beast God, please calm down..."

Rokudo Mukuro was also filled with fighting spirit. It was rare to encounter a yokai, especially one with considerable strength, and he couldn't hide his curiosity.

The trident that materialized in his hand gently touched the ground, and lotus vines sprouted from the ground, tightly wrapping around the limbs and body of the white behemoth in the blink of an eye.

The cat teacher was slightly taken aback and put away his contempt. This human was very strong. If the vines that were entangled around it didn't use some real skills, it really wouldn't be able to break free easily.

Just as Nyanko-sensei arched his back, preparing to get serious, Natsume Takashi quickly stepped in front of him, and Sawada Tsunayoshi also grabbed Rokudo Mukuro's waist as if his life depended on it.

"Mukuro, don't fight! That's a monster!"

"Kufufufu~ It's just a mere monster."

"What mere monster? I am a noble and elegant great monster of pure blood. Human, I will devour you..."

From the move Rokudo Mukuro just displayed, everyone could see that he was exceptionally strong, capable of holding his own even against a demon.

"No, no, we're in a hotel right now." If this place gets destroyed, we'll have to sleep on the streets tonight.

"...Damn humans, how dare you ignore me!"

No one paid any attention to the white behemoth.

Rokudo Mukuro reluctantly withdrew his hand, and the vines that were wrapped around the white behemoth turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into the air.

Natsume Takashi ran over and punched Nyanko-sensei on the head where he was lying. Instantly, the white behemoth turned back into a chubby fat cat.

Nyanko-sensei shouted in dissatisfaction, "Natsume, you idiot!"

Natsume clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, saying, "Nyanko-sensei, you idiot."

"What?!"

"If you fight in the room and destroy it, can you afford to pay for it?"

The cat teacher rolled its round body on the ground, "How dare a mere human make me, a noble great monster, pay compensation?!"

Rokudo Mukuro glanced at the fat cat on the ground and said with a wicked grin, "A luxurious five-star meal, top-quality Italian wines, and various kinds of sake. Oh, and the cost of your room—I'll give you a discount; let's say 2 million yen."

"Sawada-kun, you don't have any objections, do you?" His gaze swept over Sawada Tsunayoshi, who was still clinging to him tightly, a hint of threat flashing in his eyes.

Sawada Tsunayoshi quickly released him and hurriedly shook his head, "No objection, no objection." He swallowed hard, feeling that if he said he had an objection, he would definitely be in big trouble.

The cat teacher raised its non-existent neck high and said imperiously, "Only 2 million yen, Natsume, give it to them quickly."

Natsume Takashi was almost laughing in exasperation. "Nyanko-sensei, do you know how much 2 million yen is?" He didn't expect this fat cat bodyguard who only knew how to drink and eat delicious food to answer. "2 million yen can buy you steamed buns from Shichisenya every day, and buy a human's entire life."

The cat teacher was dumbfounded. It realized Natsume didn't have that much money. It turned back to its drinking buddies, stunned. The intermediate-level yokai and the other yokai quickly lowered their heads, pretending not to see anything. How could yokai possibly have human money?

"Kufufufu~ How come the esteemed great demon has no money to compensate?"

Nyanko-sensei wanted to argue, but seeing Natsume's angry face and thinking about the principle that one has to bow one's head when under someone's roof, he finally lowered his noble head as a great yokai. He jumped into Natsume's arms without saying a word. He was just a pet cat, where would he get 2 million yen?

"C, why are you here?"

The beautiful woman, dressed in a kimono, had already put down her wine glass. Upon hearing Natsume's question, she gave an awkward smile and said, "Master Ban said that a yokai inn has opened here. A yokai inn, a yokai inn. It sounds like it's for us yokai, so we came here to hold a party."

Takashi Natsume: ...Okay, the culprit is definitely this big fat cat in my arms.

Bing hesitated for a moment and said, "These humans won't really ask us for compensation, will they?" These monsters don't have money and aren't human, but given Natsume's sense of responsibility, he'll definitely take responsibility on his own.

She didn't want to see her beloved Natsume being threatened by humans with leverage over him. She already disliked most humans besides Natsume, and if these humans went too far, she…

“Of course you don’t need to pay me back.” Reborn jumped onto Sawada Tsunayoshi’s head. “However, since we’re here for tourism in Hachihara, you can be our tour guides as compensation.”

"They are monsters..."

"Our school trip is centered around finding monsters!"

"They are very fierce..."

"We're not weak either!"

Natsume struggled again, asking, "Are you exorcists?" In his mind, only exorcists, like him, could see yokai. If they were exorcists, he would never act as their guide; these yokai, whether strong or weak, were all his friends.

"Don't worry, Natsume. They're not exorcists, and they won't harm any yokai." Nyanko-sensei, who had been pretending to be dead in his arms, stared intently at Rokudo Mukuro and his group, his eyes curving into crescent moons, and suddenly spoke.

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 12:00:00 on April 22, 2024 and 12:00:00 on April 29, 2024!

Thank you to the little angel who watered with nutrient solution: Mu Mengye (10 bottles);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!