Onmyoji, a nobleman in Heian-kyo

Page 1007

Should we praise them for abiding by the law?

Or should they be angrily rebuked for not working hard enough, and for even trying to steal food from disaster victims?

Well, everyone has their own difficulties.

For now, we'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings in the negotiations.

Day 360 of crossing

Kyosuke Kousaka and his group were taken by Senhime to tour the scenery of the Sea of ​​Immortality, which could be described as a "sightseeing" trip.

However, halfway there, the sharp-eyed Kagura spotted something that could only be described as... terrifying.

"That is--"

"what?!"

After looking up, Princess Goldfish instinctively hugged Kyosuke Kousaka beside her.

Kyosuke Kosaka rested his chin on his hand, looking thoughtful.

"He's not dead yet... he's just not in good condition."

By the way.

At this moment, what the group of people saw was an inconspicuous icicle, but hidden inside the icicle was a lifelike young girl, which made the incident terrifying.

It's roughly like a slice-of-life drama suddenly turning into a horror drama.

This sudden scene startled even the Goldfish Princess, who had participated in a brutal war, so much so that her fish tail almost popped out.

"By the way, can Princess Goldfish show her tail?"

Kyosuke Kosaka suddenly thought of a question.

Since mermaids like Suzuka Gozen and Senhime can transform into having two legs while retaining their tails, Kousaka Kyosuke suspects that Princess Goldfish might be able to do the same.

If Princess Goldfish could also show her fish tail, Kyosuke Kousaka would definitely want to pet her.

Just like the tail of the Moon Chaser or the White Wolf, you always feel something is wrong if you don't touch it.

Similarly, it would be unreasonable not to touch Princess Goldfish's tail.

Fortunately, Princess Goldfish is now considered an adult, right?

Wait, we still don't know if Princess Goldfish has a tail?

After a moment of intense thought, Kousaka Kyosuke quickly regained his composure, his hand already expertly stroking Kingyo-hime's hair while glancing at Sen-hime.

Senhime's expression was calm, but the way she lowered her eyes still revealed her sadness.

She remained silent for a long time before finally speaking:

"The Sea of ​​Immortality was once a beautiful sea with spring-like weather all year round, but it was frozen over many years ago."

"There are even occasional, sudden outbreaks of intense 'freezing,' where any living being will remain frozen in its final moments."

Princess Goldfish looked astonished: "...How could this be?"

Senhime remained silent and said nothing more.

This involves very secret matters, mainly concerning the survival of their merfolk race.

“There’s no need to be too sad,” Kyosuke Kosaka said. “This freezing power is quite special; it didn’t immediately erase their life force. Perhaps we can still save them again with a special power…”

Why not say "they"?

Because Kyosuke Kousaka didn't really see any males on the Sea of ​​Immortality side.

It's possible that there's some custom where "males can't appear when guests arrive."

In a matriarchal society, the heartland of feminism, it's perfectly normal to have such customs!

Because of his status as an outsider, Kyosuke Kosaka was not subjected to excessive scrutiny.

"...So he's still alive?"

Senhime's dark eyes suddenly lit up, as if they had been suddenly illuminated by light.

Kyosuke Kosaka instinctively turned his head: "Not dead yet, right..."

Princess Goldfish frowned slightly: "Don't speak in such an ambiguous way, okay?"

Kagura was quite familiar with Kousaka Kyosuke's expression and posture, and immediately guessed that Kousaka Kyosuke didn't want to help.

Not too surprised that Kousaka Kyosuke had this idea, Kagura didn't have much of an opinion.

Anyway, she believed that Kyosuke Kousaka had his own reasons for doing things.

"Yes, there's a high probability that no one died. Even if we wanted to save them, it would be very difficult. If we really had that kind of power, we might as well try to stop the freezing from continuing."

“That’s right, Mr. Kyosuke is absolutely correct…”

Senhime stared intently at Kousaka Kyosuke.

Kousaka Kyosuke felt uncomfortable under Senhime's gaze and finally said helplessly, "I'll give it a try, but even if I succeed, it will only be a temporary setback. You guys will have to help me find something or find out some information as a reward."

Originally, he wanted to talk directly to the Merfolk King, but with Senhime almost shoving her face in front of him, it made it difficult for Kousaka Kyosuke to remain calm.

"Really?!"

What would happen if I said "it's fake"?

"Eh……"

"a."

"a!"

When Senhime finally showed a rare look of surprise and bewilderment, Kagura and Kingyo both cast critical glances at Kousaka Kyosuke.

Kousaka Kyosuke coughed dryly.

Of course, he was indeed very rude.

However, Senhime's calm and expressionless face was similar to that of Yoto Hime, and Kousaka Kyosuke couldn't resist teasing her.

"I won't do it again next time." Knowing he had made a mistake, Kyosuke Kousaka decided to change immediately.

Upon reflection, I realized that the matter we were discussing involved the entire merfolk race and was very serious. It would be ridiculous to joke about it so lightly, and we should be careful.

"I didn't mean to blame you." Kagura looked at Kousaka Kyosuke gently.

Princess Goldfish acted very embarrassed.

"...There's no need to admit fault."

Kyosuke Kousaka was immediately baffled by Princess Goldfish's behavior.

Are they this "well-behaved" after being tamed?

“It’s alright, Mr. Kyosuke, you don’t need to mind it. It’s nothing to joke about.”

Senhime quickly expressed her understanding.

For her, being teased by Kyosuke Kosaka was no big deal. As long as the spread of the freeze could be temporarily stopped, she would do anything!

"Anyway, this is my fault, but let's put this topic aside for now and go find Her Majesty."

Kyosuke Kousaka quickly regained his composure and brought up the important matter.

He understands.

As a princess of the Merfolk, Princess Senhime would naturally want to improve the environment of the sea area where she lives as soon as possible.

Let's just talk about this topic.

"Okay, I'll have someone report this right away—"

As expected, Senhime's attention was drawn to what Kousaka Kyosuke said.

Fifteen minutes later, Kousaka Kyosuke and his party met the Merfolk King again.

"Mr. Kyosuke, I heard from Senhime that you have a way to temporarily slow the spread of the freeze. Is that true?"

"We actually need to try this. I will set up a large fire barrier in this residential area. The flames I control can resist freezing. Even if the barrier weakens over time, the freezing power will be significantly reduced when it invades, at least giving people time to prepare to escape..."

Kyosuke Kosaka explained to the Merfolk King methodically.

The merfolk king listened carefully, then smiled:

"What kind of compensation does Mr. Kyosuke require? After all, asking for help comes at a price, and we are more than willing to pay any price to resist the frozen situation."

Kyosuke Kosaka said, "I want a tool that can replace a body, or could you provide some accurate information? We'll find it ourselves."

“A tool that can replace a body? That’s a very rare treasure. Fortunately, our Merfolk clan has such a treasure in their secret collection, so I agreed.”

The merfolk king answered readily.

Kousaka Kyosuke was secretly surprised. "As expected! Well... the merfolk must have been a powerful race in the past, but they declined because of the ice. It's normal for them to have a few special treasures. I can't rule out that this is a lie. Oh well, if it doesn't work out, we'll settle things with our fists."

What he said was:

"Okay, I'll do it right now. I promise it will at least greatly alleviate the current situation."

The merfolk king said, "Alright! Go ahead and do it."