Ōmine Zenkibō, who took the leather pouch from Lancer, first inspected the sake to confirm there were no traps, then he directly pulled out the stopper, and then ——————
A strong aroma of sake rushed out from the mouth of the pouch. Of course, this was how Lancer and 'Ōmine Zenkibō' saw it. In the eyes of the funashiyaku, who only occasionally drank light sake, an extremely pungent smell of alcohol rushed towards him. He almost instinctively covered his eyes with his fan.
But then he seemed to realize that he shouldn't be doing this and quickly put down his fan to look at 'Ōmine Zenkibō'. One must know that he was not only one of the strongest people in the Tengu Clan but also the one closest to humans among all Tengu. It could be said that he played a crucial role in preventing large-scale friction between ordinary people and Tengu.
But when he really put down the fan, he found that the other party didn't pay attention to him at all, because the other party was staring at the leather pouch in his hand with wide eyes. His eyes were even slightly red due to the strong aroma of the sake, and his constantly twitching nose and bobbing Adam's apple showed his owner's excitement.
Ōmine Zenkibō could bet his life that he had never drunk such strong sake in his life. Even the 'Oni Killer Sake' he drank before was definitely not as terrifying as the sake in his hand, but it was precisely because of this that he became increasingly unable to control himself.
'Just one sip! I'll just try one sip...'
——————
"Clap~ Clap~ Clap~"
Under the bright night sky, the flushed Ōmine Zenkibō was constantly patting Lancer shoulder vigorously.
"You brat are very good! I like you a lot! I'll take you to Youkai Mountain to visit if I have the chance... if I have the chance!"
Because he was drunk, the other party's speech was already a little unclear. His flushed face was almost the same as the legendary 'Long-Nosed Tengu'.
Lancer, on the other hand, just glanced at the funashiyaku sitting opposite him, and the other party shrugged, indicating he could not help.
"Let's talk about it if there is a chance later..."
As mentioned before, Lancer was the standard type who responded well to gentleness but poorly to aggression. Although the 'Ōmine Zenkibō' in front of him looked incredibly crude, he was very 'sensible' in both his words and actions. Even now, the feeling he gave was more of 'boldness' rather than 'trouble'.
And undoubtedly, he preferred interacting with straightforward people rather than those who were good at conversation. At least it wasn't too tiring.
However, the other party didn't seem very satisfied with Lancer reaction. After taking a big gulp, he first burped and then waved his hand.
"You people are really troublesome~ Just like that woman, insisting on waiting and stuff..."
Although the other party just mumbled softly, Lancer, with his sensitive five senses, immediately noticed the oddity in the other party's words.
"That woman?"
Facing Lancer rhetorical question, the originally drunk Ōmine Zenkibō instantly sobered up by more than half.
"Cough cough~ Nothing."
There was no doubt that even Lancer could use his blood energy to dispel the alcohol in his body. How could the strong man in front of him, who seemed even stronger than him, not have similar methods? However, perhaps because the other party was not good at lying, although he said 'nothing', his expression did not look like 'nothing' no matter how you looked at it.
However, Lancer didn't say anything more and just quietly kept this matter in mind, planning to figure it out if he had the chance later.
But perhaps because of the 'drunk ramblings', this sudden drinking party also ended abruptly. However, when Ōmine Zenkibō was about to leave, Lancer gave him quite a few bottles of 'Dwarf Strong Ale'.
For Lancer, it was just some points, but the other party felt a little embarrassed. After all, he was the one who asked for the sake, and he was also the one who caused the drinking party to end early. Especially since Lancer even gave him a lot of sake, the slightly embarrassed Ōmine Zenkibō hesitated for a while and then decided to tell the other party some 'less important news' in return.
"I am quite familiar with those guys from the 'Oni Clan'. Using this sake as a trade should allow you to obtain something, right?"
After saying that, the other party carried several bags of Dwarf Strong Ale and flew into the distance.
Lancer only turned around after even his 'Eagle Eye' could no longer see the other party's figure.
"By the way, who was that guy just now?"
The funashiyaku, who was also looking at Ōmine Zenkibō's departure with a look of admiration, froze for two seconds after hearing Lancer words, and then stared at Lancer with wide eyes.
"You don't know Lord Zenkibō?!"
"Uh... is the other party an Oni?"
From the faint aura emanating from the other party, Lancer knew that the other party's strength was definitely not weaker than his, and even stronger. Such a strong person would generally not be an unknown figure unless they popped up suddenly like him, but unfortunately, Lancer had been in this world for less than a month, coupled with the touching information transmission efficiency of this world, Lancer really didn't know the other party, only guessing that the other party should be related to 'Oni' based on the name.
The funashiyaku, seeing Lancer slightly awkward expression, also looked a little helpless, but then he helped him explain.
"Lord 'Ōmine Zenkibō' was indeed an 'Oni' before, and he was the former Shikigami 'Zenkibō' of Lord En no Gyōja. After Lord En no Gyōja left, the other party was free, but he did not continue to commit evil as before and chose to help us. As for why he turned into a Tengu, I am not very clear. After all, this matter is very secretive. The only thing known is that 'Lord Zenkibō' had already turned into a 'Great Tengu' when he reappeared after being missing for a long time."
"Wait?! Are you saying that the other party was once an 'Oni' and a very strong Oni, but later turned into a 'Tengu'?!"
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Different worlds have different rules. Lancer had not had contact with Youkai, so he naturally couldn't say much about it, but then he touched his chin with a strange expression. He really didn't expect that one type of Youkai in this world could transform into another type of Youkai.
And the funashiyaku, seeing Lancer seemingly contemplating something, stopped saying more. Lancer was full of secrets, and there were many strange things about him. What he was considering now were the words Ōmine Zenkibō said before leaving.
'Giving sake?'
In fact, the Onmyōryō had discussed this option before, but it was rejected in the end. Although they always used various reasons to explain, it was undeniable that the reason why they chose to provide food and sake to the Oni Clan initially was because they were not confident in fighting the Oni Clan.
And the reason for the rejection of this proposal by one person was very simple ——————
'If we send them things now just because they showed some abnormality, won't it make those Oni feel that we are easy to bully? Then what should we do if similar situations arise in the future?'
But now that they had the hint from 'Lord Ōmine Zenkibō', perhaps they could try it?