For a kitsune, one of the things she had to do every day was take care of her own tails. It was a tedious task. Usually, she would not use youkai power to do it. She had to make the fur on her tails extremely smooth and soft.
"Big tails like this really are the most comfortable to touch."
Koji sat beside Miko and immediately started stroking her fox tails. The texture felt absolutely wonderful.
Although little foxes also felt nice to touch, bigger ones were better.
"I only just finished taking care of my tails, and now you've messed them up again," Yae Miko said resentfully and speechlessly. Did he not know how troublesome it was to take care of her tails?
Koji smiled casually. With a casual touch, the fur on Yae Miko's tails became extremely smooth.
The Blessing of Fur Care. It was a Blessing that people who ran pet shops would probably love. It could restore fur to its optimal condition after a short while.
"Hm?"
Yae Miko touched her own tails and was somewhat surprised to discover that after Koji touched them, the quality of the fur had become even better. It truly made her happy.
"You even have a trick like this? How unexpected."
"You're not human."
Yae Miko: "…"
Whether or not I'm human, I know that perfectly well myself. That was not what I was talking to you about.
"I'll tell you some good news. Makoto intends to make you the Shogun of Inazuma," Koji said.
"How is that good news? That is obviously bad news."
Yae Miko's eyes widened. That would simply be hell. Who would willingly jump into that?
"Instead of becoming Shogun, I'd rather follow you around in the future as a little fox hand warmer."
"Really?"
Koji's eyes lit up. He did not mind having another little fox hand warmer. Besides, Miko smelled fragrant, with absolutely no fox odor at all.
"Dream on."
Yae Miko rolled her eyes seductively. Becoming the owner of this Hakushin fox was not that easy.
"I think Miko can do it," Kitsune Saiguu said lazily, holding her own fluffy white fox in her arms.
"Kitsune Saiguu, what do you mean? Are you saying you're worried I'll compete with you for fried tofu?" Yae Miko questioned.
"Now that you mention it, that does seem to be the case. After losing you, Miko, I really would be able to eat a little more fried tofu," Kitsune Saiguu said thoughtfully.
Yae Miko was left speechless. This heartless senior of hers really could think of something like that.
"Miko, weren't you supposed to compete with that little oni brat?" Kitsune Saiguu asked lazily.
"Arataki Itto is quite strange even among the oni, but he's very interesting. Little brats like him are rare," Yae Miko said with a soft laugh.
He had actually challenged her to a fried tofu ramen eating contest again. He really never learned. Since the other party had issued a challenge, and she had nothing else to do anyway, she could only accept.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Bro Itto really is a warrior," Koji said.
Winning last time was one thing, but he actually wanted to compete again.
For a competition like this, Koji definitely had to come and act as a witness. A witness came for the sake of witnessing.
At the ramen shop, Bro Itto had been sitting there waiting since early morning.
"Fox-eared woman, you're too slow!" Arataki Itto said.
"Little oni brat, you're still as rude as ever." Naturally, Yae Miko was not angry.
Arataki Itto's age, to her, made him nothing more than an amusing little fellow.
"How long are you prepared to lie down for this time?"
After the last competition, Arataki Itto had been bedridden for a month. When Yae Miko heard about it, she had been utterly speechless. What a reckless fool.
"This time, I'm not gonna fall down," Arataki Itto said confidently.
"Bro Itto, do you really need to push yourself this hard?" Koji asked.
"Brother Koji, last time I was careless, so I ended up lying down for more than a month. This time won't be like that."
Arataki Itto already had a slight tolerance to beans, so that kind of situation would not happen again.
He had also called over a few of his Arataki Gang underlings. They were waiting so that when Arataki Itto could no longer walk, they could directly carry him back.
After the competition began, Arataki Itto looked at the ramen with fried tofu added to it and still felt a little intimidated. But after hesitating for only a moment, he strengthened his resolve and began wolfing it down.
Yae Miko looked much more ladylike. She ate the ramen elegantly, showing absolutely no desire to compete fiercely.
"What a bored guy."
Kujou Sara shook her head. Arataki Itto was always able to come up with some new stunt. He knew beans would make him extremely uncomfortable, yet he still chose to eat soy products.
Were all oni such simple-minded beings?
"Kujou, you're this free too?" Koji asked.
Kujou Sara shook her head.
"Don't misunderstand. I came here to maintain order at the scene."
"Lady Guuji really is very free too. She actually agreed to compete with an idiot like Arataki Itto."
"She is indeed very free. She spends all day lying around and slacking off, so if there's something to pass the time, she definitely won't refuse," Koji said.
There was nothing in Inazuma right now that required her help. The Sacred Sakura Cleansing did not need to be performed either, so this kitsune had become unbearably idle.
Kujou Sara held her head. Yae Miko's seniority was simply too high, and she was also the Shogun's familiar. No one dared to manage her.
With Yae Miko's personality, if anyone said too much, she would not get angry. Instead, she would run straight to the Shogun and act pitiful, saying how miserable and unfortunate she was. She was absolutely capable of doing that.
"Thir… thirty-three bowls…"
When Arataki Itto ate his thirty-third bowl of ramen, he truly could not eat anymore. His body was also showing a very obvious stress reaction.
Beans really were deadly to the oni. The fact that he had not directly collapsed to the floor right now was only because he was forcing himself to hold on. Otherwise, he would already have fallen straight to the ground.
This time, he had broken his previous record. He had eaten one more bowl.
Yae Miko smiled. Looking at Arataki Itto stubbornly holding on was indeed quite amusing. She had eaten more than twenty bowls. For a kitsune, eating this much food in one sitting was nothing.
She could directly surpass the number Arataki Itto had eaten, but there was no need. For this little brat, that would be far too pitiful, so she would let Arataki Itto win.
As for the money for the ramen, she was not short of that little bit of noodle money.
"Little brat, you won again this time. I'll pay."
"Boss, we'll support you."
The Arataki Gang underlings hurriedly held Arataki Itto steady. Looking at his swaying, unsteady figure, anyone could tell he had already reached his limit.
"Hahaha! Fox-eared woman, I won! This time, I didn't fall down! Next time, I'll keep working even harder!"
Yae Miko nodded. He really made her see him in a new light. This time, he had actually not collapsed immediately.
(End of Chapter)
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