After Hanachirusato seriously made her request, the atmosphere immediately grew quiet.
Ioroi, that simpleton, seemed to have chickened out.
Just as Ioroi was recovering and about to say something to cover up his cowardice...
Several pitiful 'ying ying ying' cries suddenly came from afar.
Ioroi immediately said anxiously, "Crap! That's Kichiboushi and the others!"
"Kichiboushi?"
"Those are the little tanuki that accompany me! Hurry and save them! Afterward, I will hand the subjugation object over to you!"
Because of this, Yuuko looked at Hanachirusato, who also nodded slightly.
"Don't go back on your word later," Yuuko chuckled.
Ioroi angrily said, "I am the famous Gogyozo the Tanuki! How could I possibly break my promise!"
"Then wait for me here. I'll be back shortly."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yuuko's figure instantly vanished.
Leaving the simple-minded Ioroi and Hanachirusato behind.
The scene remained silent for a good while before the simpleton Ioroi suddenly exclaimed:
"Eek! Eek! Eek! How did that human suddenly disappear!"
It was clear just how slow that simpleton's reflexes were... At this moment, Hanachirusato sighed softly. She looked seriously at Ioroi and said quietly:
"Ioroi, all these years, staying alone in this forest, has it been hard for you?"
For some reason, Hanachirusato's tone when speaking to Ioroi now seemed completely different.
If she had been respectfully speaking to Ioroi in the tone of a junior just now...
...now, she sounded more like she was talking to an equal.
Ioroi also remained silent for a long time before voicing his suspicion:
"Huh? Why is your human tone so similar to that Stinky Fox's tone?"
After a moment of doubt, Ioroi completely dismissed it: "Well, whatever."
"You ask me if it's been hard here? Of course it has! I don't know how many days and nights I've been sealed here! That Stinky Fox still hasn't shown up! That Stinky Fox wouldn't know she lost and be afraid to see me, would she?"
The simple-minded Ioroi could emit such an angry tone.
Clearly, he harbored considerable resentment toward the so-called 'Stinky Fox' he mentioned.
This time, Hanachirusato, unusually, did not get angry over the moniker 'Stinky Fox,' but remained silent.
After a long time, she spoke again:
"If Kitsune Saiguu never comes to fulfill the wager, will you keep waiting?"
Ioroi angrily replied again:
"Then, the day my seal is broken, I must find that Stinky Fox and settle the score! She really made a fool out of me! It makes me so mad!"
Hanachirusato fell silent again, and she did not ask any further questions.
No one knew what expression she wore beneath her mask.
The next moment, Yuuko walked over from afar.
This time, however, Yuuko was carrying three fluffy, fat tanuki.
These three fat tanuki were the ones Ioroi had mentioned.
They seemed to be named Kichiboushi, Shousei, and Gyobu Koban, respectively.
After bringing the three tanuki back, Yuuko placed them on Ioroi's head and said:
"Here, as promised, I brought them back. They were just attacked by Hilichurls."
Listening to their conversation, Ioroi was confused:
"Qiúqiú Rěn? What is that?"
Before Yuuko could explain, Kichiboushi, the tanuki who had just been rescued, spoke up:
"They are masked monsters! Those monsters are terrifying!"
Hearing this, Ioroi said:
"Ah, those strange dancing humanoid creatures. Speaking of which, those strange humanoids suddenly started appearing more frequently around a certain time."
"Nuo... In any case, thank you very much for saving Kichiboushi and the others."
Yuuko shook his head: "It was no trouble at all. More importantly, it's time to fulfill your promise and hand over the subjugation object."
Ioroi laughed foolishly: "Of course. How could I be someone who goes back on his word? Here, this is what you want."
As he spoke, a comb imbued with a strong sense of history appeared atop Ioroi's head.
"By the way, what are you going to do with this comb? Are you going to comb your hair? It might smell like fox, nuo."
Yuuko complained, "I already told you it's for the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual..."
"So what exactly is the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, nuo?" Ioroi asked foolishly.
At this moment, Hanachirusato slowly began explaining the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual... After she finished explaining, Ioroi exclaimed:
"What the heck, so it was such an important thing. You should have said so earlier. Now I've been sealed for no reason..."
It's a miracle you were only sealed after hiding such an important thing... Yuuko muttered inwardly.
"If that's the case, then you two go ahead and complete that Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual. I won't delay your work any further."
After a pause, Ioroi continued:
"Oh, and when you go back, remember to relay a message to that Stinky Fox."
"You bastard! Hurry back and duel me! Our wager isn't over yet! Nuo, and while you're at it, come and undo the seal on me!"
"And also, it's not that I can't break the seal myself, it's just that you, Stinky Fox, still owe me several favors!"
Hearing this, Yuuko frowned.
This wasn't the first or second time he had heard the term 'Stinky Fox' from Ioroi.
It looked like Ioroi had made some kind of wager with the so-called fox, but the fox seemed to have stood him up?
Driven by curiosity, Yuuko asked:
"If you don't mind my asking, what kind of wager did you make with that Stinky Fox you mentioned?"
As soon as the question was asked, Ioroi angrily replied:
"That Stinky Fox! Years ago, she dueled me by playing hide-and-seek."
"She even spoke rudely, saying that a fool like me, when playing hide-and-seek, would easily be tricked out by fake movements outside!"
"Naturally, I refused to accept that! So I used all my strength to hide, and no matter what fake movements that Stinky Fox made, I didn't come out!"
"The result was great—that Stinky Fox didn't even bother to look for me."
"That Stinky Fox must have known she couldn't find me and was guaranteed to lose, so she deliberately didn't look!"
"Nuo... You know the rest. In order to draw out the Stinky Fox, I hid her comb, and then I was sealed here by someone..."
Hearing all this, Yuuko had pretty much figured out the course of events.
It seemed Ioroi had once made a pact with a fox to play hide-and-seek.
When the fox never showed up, Ioroi got angry and hid the fox's item, which was the subjugation object for the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual.
Then Ioroi was sealed by someone.
He has been sealed ever since.
Just as Yuuko wanted to ask for more information about that fox, Hanachirusato, who had been silent all along, spoke up to urge him:
"Since we have the subjugation object, let us act quickly."
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