'At this hour, doing it directly on the sofa—isn't that a bit too stimulating?'
The invited Luo Shu instinctively thought this, but was immediately brought back to reality by Miss Kisara's displeased high-pitched voice.
With rapid footsteps approaching, Luo Shu turned to see Kisara—wearing a blue kitchen apron over her Toyogasaki High School uniform—angrily marching towards Hagoromo Gitsune with a spatula in hand, her eyes devoid of light as she stared at her:
"I tolerated you eating the food I prepared for Shu-kun."
Luo Shu blinked, glancing towards the dining table where he saw the aftermath of a feast, suddenly understanding.
"I even endured you ruining the surprise I left for Shu-kun."
'What surprise?' Luo Shu instinctively wondered.
"Again and again, now what are you trying to do on my sofa?"
Hearing Kisara's resentful voice, Hagoromo Gitsune lazily turned sideways, looking up at her:
"Oh, thank you for your hospitality earlier, little girl."
"Thanks to the meal you provided, my strength has mostly recovered now."
Kisara glared resentfully at Hagoromo Gitsune: "...What's the point of saying this now?"
Yet Hagoromo Gitsune seemed not to hear her at all, smiling as she said:
"Could you prepare the same amount of supper after midnight? After all, I'll need to regain my strength by then to properly conceive Luo Shu's offspring."
"Conceive... offspring?" Kisara's eyes instantly glazed over.
It was only then that Hagoromo Gitsune appeared to hear Kisara's words, asking with some surprise:
"He didn't mention it to you?"
"Your lord previously invited me to bear his child."
As Kisara listened to this shocking truth delivered in Hagoromo Gitsune's elegant tone, the spatula in her hand clattered to the floor.
She turned her head blankly towards Luo Shu, her gaze empty and lifeless as she asked:
"Shu-kun, is this Fox spirit telling the truth?"
"Tell me she's lying, right? She absolutely must be, right?"
Seeing Kisara's reaction, Luo Shu shot a glare at Sharon, who was snickering in the corner - clearly holding her responsible as the prime culprit.
But now, his priority was calming Kisara down.
After a moment's thought, Luo Shu suddenly spoke:
"How about Kisara bear me a child, too?"
"Eh?!"
Kisara froze momentarily before blushing, nervously clutching her skirt as she said:
"B-bear a child?! Well, I'm not quite prepared... wait, no, I'm completely prepared!!"
Mid-sentence, she shot Hagoromo Gitsune a fierce look, adding with deliberate sarcasm:
"At least I'd be far more suitable for bearing Shu-kun's child than this black fox brought here by some blonde fox!"
"Oh?"
Hagoromo Gitsune raised an eyebrow but paid little mind to Kisara's words, merely smiling playfully:
"There's no need for such tension."
"To me, your beloved Shu-kun is merely a genetic donor."
"Once conception is confirmed, I've neither intention nor interest in disturbing your little world."
Unconvinced by this logic, Kisara looked at Hagoromo Gitsune with disdain:
"Liar."
"First, pretending you don't need a man, aiming to keep the child but discard the father. Then, once pregnant with Shu-kun's child, you'll use it to force his submission. Hmph, I've seen through your tricks!!"
Watching Kisara's triumphant expression, Luo Shu couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Truthfully, he somewhat believed Hagoromo Gitsune's words.
While something had indeed happened between them yesterday, that was Luo Shu taking advantage of the situation to induce it.
Now that Hagoromo Gitsune had cooled down, she likely wouldn't fall for such schemes.
For a yokai driven by maternal instincts, he might genuinely just be a sperm donor.
But Kisara saw things differently.
To her, every woman around Luo Shu was a thieving cat after her man.
The only difference was between those who'd succeeded and those who hadn't.
Like Utaha and Eriri.
Compared to Kisara's shrewdness, Hagoromo Gitsune merely glanced up at her before reclining lazily against the sofa cushions, remarking calmly:
"Seen through my tricks, have you?"
"What an interesting remark."
After saying this, Hagoromo Gitsune glanced at Luo Shu before continuing:
"I'll leave this young girl's matter to you, my dear collaborator."
"I presume you wouldn't want our cooperation to fail, would you?"
'With a line like that, the scent of being Japanese is a bit too strong, isn't it?'
Luo Shu inwardly complained before turning to face Kisara, whose cheeks were slightly puffed, and said helplessly:
"Due to certain circumstances, I did reach an agreement with Hagoromo Gitsune. Well, though it's strange to make such a deal, that's just how things turned out."
Hearing this, Kisara's face darkened. After hesitating for a moment, she gritted her teeth, seemingly ready to accept the situation.
After all, how could she ask Luo Shu to break the agreement? What if doing so would cost him dearly?
But before Kisara could speak, Luo Shu suddenly leaned in, closing the distance between them, and whispered softly in her ear:
"No matter what I did with Hagoromo Gitsune, I'll make it up to you twice over. So... forgive me, Kisara. This is the last time."
Feeling his breath so close and inhaling his familiar scent, Kisara instantly melted against Luo Shu's shoulder, murmuring:
"Then... It's a promise."
'Twice...' Kisara's breathing grew slightly erratic, her body softening even more.
Hearing this, Luo Shu reached out and wrapped his arm around Kisara's back, giving it a gentle pat before shooting a fierce glare at Sharon nearby.
Seeing this, Sharon could only shrug and explain:
"Even if you glare at me like that, I can only say this was the result of following your instructions."
"Oh?" Luo Shu narrowed his eyes, looking as though he was waiting for her excuse. "As far as I recall, I only asked you to look after Hagoromo Gitsune?"
In response, Sharon smiled faintly:
"Did you expect me, a wanted criminal who's terrible at cooking, to go out and buy food for Hagoromo Gitsune?"
"Besides, the safe house with stored food is in this apartment building."
Luo Shu turned to glance at Hagoromo Gitsune, who was sitting on the sofa.
"Then how...?"
How did this fox end up in his home? The safe house wasn't even on this floor, was it?
Sharon then hinted meaningfully: "You know, a fox's sense of smell is quite sharp."
'She caught my scent and came looking for me?' Luo Shu's lips twitched. Before he could react, he felt his legs being wrapped in soft, fluffy fox tails.
The mix of awkwardness and practised clinginess in the gesture reminded him irresistibly of last night.
Luo Shu wanted to pull away, but just as he tried, Kisara suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing against his chest with a soft exhale.
At that moment, a crucial question occurred to Luo Shu.
Would he even get to eat dinner tonight?