For Sukuna, from the moment he became conscious, he had never thought that one day he would be under the same small roof with someone else.
Especially, that guy was a defeated enemy who had a blood feud with him.
He still remembered yesterday afternoon, when Zenin Kiyoshi led that woman to appear in front of him, what came was that woman's sharp scream that seemed to be able to shatter the entire spiritual space!
"Sukuna! You bastard scum who is despised by both humans and Cursed Spirits! I will definitely take back all the humiliation and pain I suffered a thousand years ago with interest here today..."
Before Sukuna could react, Zenin Kiyoshi's cough had already sounded.
And with the sound of Kiyoshi's cough, that originally noisy and harsh scream, at this moment, was as if a wild duck's throat had been choked, and it suddenly went limp.
"Orochi... do you remember what you promised me?"
Sukuna could hear a hint of faint blame and helplessness in Zenin Kiyoshi's voice.
But in fact, Sukuna didn't think that just by Kiyoshi's words, he could calm that woman Orochi down.
After all, what he had done to that woman a thousand years ago, with Orochi's personality, it was absolutely impossible to resolve it with just these few words from Kiyoshi.
Sukuna remembered that when he first met Orochi a thousand years ago, how arrogant and proud that woman was.
But it was such a person who had six of her heads cut off by him, and even had to self-destruct her head in the end and flee like a wild dog.
That scene, even thinking about it now, is still... unforgettable!
And Orochi's silence at this moment made Sukuna even more certain that that woman had not given up on revenge at all. The reason why she suddenly stopped was probably because she had signed some kind of contract with Zenin Kiyoshi and was currently weighing the pros and cons, or rather, she was looking for a loophole in the contract.
But this is normal. After all, she had served as the [King of Curses] for nearly a hundred years. If she just gave up her desire for revenge because of a few words from that brat Zenin Kiyoshi, that would be abnormal!
Come on, Yamata no Orochi, let me see how much desire for revenge and ability you have accumulated in these thousand years!
Don't make me too bored, at least let me feel a little bit of enjoyment!
Thinking of this, the expression on Sukuna's face had already been distorted by excitement. The slightly deformed mask on his face, at this moment, was even a little itchy due to extreme excitement. (Note: The mask on Sukuna's original body would itch, from the original setting.)
But the next moment, Sukuna, who had lived for thousands of years without being surprised, was completely stunned at this moment.
He saw that Yamata no Orochi, who was extremely arrogant a thousand years ago, that Yamata no Orochi who had not cried out in pain even when six of her heads were cut off by him, that Yamata no Orochi who would rather self-destruct her head than bow down and submit, under a single sentence from that brat Zenin Kiyoshi, actually lowered her noble head, which was also the head of the King of Curses!
That woman's face was now red, and her voice was weak. Even her words were mixed with a hint of trembling, as if she was very afraid that Zenin Kiyoshi would hate her because of this matter.
"Kiyoshi... Kiyoshi-kun! I... I didn't mean to... to do this! It's just that I couldn't control my emotions for a moment just now! I promise, I promise I won't do this again next time! You... you don't be angry..."
Looking at the idiotic woman in front of him, Sukuna had an indescribable sense of absurdity in his heart.
Sukuna was not slow. He had felt the way Orochi looked at Zenin Kiyoshi in two people before.
Those two people were called "Yorozu" and "Uraume."
Admiration, love, respecting the other person as a god, and wanting to treat the other person as their own private property, that kind of intense possessiveness, that kind of look that seemed to be trying to swallow the other person, so that their flesh and blood would never be separated from them, was really too familiar.
The combined gaze of Uraume and Yorozu was the gaze that Yamata no Orochi was looking at Zenin Kiyoshi with at this moment.
But even though Sukuna understood the meaning of that gaze, he still couldn't understand why Yamata no Orochi, whose strength was far superior to Zenin Kiyoshi's, would show that kind of gaze to such a weak guy.
That kind of expression should clearly be an expression that is born only under the absolute admiration of the weak for the strong.
It should clearly be an expression that the weak can only show in front of the strong, like a wild dog begging for mercy with its tail between its legs!
But why would Orochi show this kind of expression to Zenin Kiyoshi?!
Sukuna couldn't understand. He frowned tightly and looked at the two people in front of him. He wanted to see how Kiyoshi would treat Orochi, how he would treat this Orochi who was stronger than him, but was so weak on a spiritual level.
Was it like a pet that came when called and left when dismissed? Or was it like a puppet that was controlled and played with at will?
Or was it a slave that was casually humiliated and trained?!
Come on, let me see!
Zenin Kiyoshi, how will you treat this woman!
And the next moment, something that made Sukuna's worldview a little confused happened.
He saw Zenin Kiyoshi smile slightly and say softly to Orochi:
"It's okay. You being able to do this much is already amazing. It must have been very hard for you to endure like this. I'm sorry, it's my fault that you had to work so hard..."
The moment he heard these words, a layer of water mist filled Orochi's golden-red vertical pupils. She didn't say anything, just lowered her head, her shoulders twitching slightly.
After a long silence, a voice with a thick nasal sound came from her mouth, and her voice was a little muffled:
"Kiyoshi-kun, it was clearly... it was clearly me who didn't do what I promised you. Why... why are you blaming yourself for the problem?"
Hearing this, Zenin Kiyoshi turned his head and looked. He saw that Orochi was biting her lip at this moment, a blush on both sides of her cheeks. That blush was not because of shyness, but a deeper, deeper emotion.
It was a kind of emotional resonance, or rather, a tremor after receiving kindness.
To this, Zenin Kiyoshi just shook his head and said lightly in a very normal tone:
"Because it was something I asked you to promise me. And for you, this matter itself is very difficult. Even if you can't do it, I actually won't blame you. But you did it, and it was to take my feelings into consideration. So for this kindness and tolerance of yours, I should feel warm and guilty myself.
To make you make such a concession for someone you've only just met, really... thank you very much, Orochi."
The next moment, large teardrops rolled down Orochi's face. Sukuna looked at this scene and only felt that it was similar to the plot he had seen in a TV series.
A chill!
....
My Patreon : patreon/RuneA
If you want to read the novel in advance, you can subscribe for early access. I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in
I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length. If you're following a particular series, please wait your turn a little
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it