After exchanging a glance, Yamato Miku and Jingu Saori quickly made the same decision—leave immediately. Without even needing to say it aloud, they both silently agreed that what had happened today must never be mentioned again.
The massive commotion from earlier had clearly caught the attention of the others on Hagoromo-Gitsune's side. When they rushed over, what they found was Ren Kuroda lying unconscious on the shore, a nosebleed still running freely.
As for Yamato Miku and Jingu Saori, they were long gone by then, leaving Hagoromo-Gitsune and the others completely clueless about what had actually taken place.
—
Back at the hot spring inn, Ren Kuroda was currently sitting stiffly as he endured a stern lecture from Amamiya Masami.
"Ren, how could you show up in the hot spring like that? Do you have any idea how that looks? It's no different from peeping!
"Sure, at your age, curiosity and… impulses are normal. But crossing the line into something criminal is absolutely unacceptable. I certainly don't remember raising a child who would do something like this."
Yes—having been found unconscious in the hot spring with a nosebleed, there was no way for him to escape suspicion.
After being carried out by Yukihime and the others, what awaited him was the full force of a mother's righteous discipline.
"…I'm sorry."
At this point, "sorry" was the only thing he could say. No matter how he tried to explain it, this was one mess he couldn't wash clean—even if he jumped back into the hot spring.
"Lady Masami, we are all Lord Ren's Hyakki. To us, something like this… really isn't a big deal.
"If anything, if Lord Ren actually has such thoughts about us… we'd be happy."
Seeing Masami's strict expression and Ren's continuous apologies, Tsuchigumo-hime and Yukihime couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.
After all, his "crime" was being completely misunderstood. Everyone assumed that the reason he'd passed out with a nosebleed was because he had accidentally seen Yukihime and Hagoromo-Gitsune's bodies.
No matter how powerful Ren was, in this world he was still, strictly speaking, a young man. Being overwhelmed by such stimulating sights and fainting from excitement… wasn't exactly unheard of.
And as yokai, Yukihime and Hagoromo-Gitsune didn't seem particularly bothered by such matters.
Not to mention, while Hagoromo-Gitsune's thoughts were her own, both Yukihime and Tsuchigumo-hime had long harbored affection for Ren. In fact, they were secretly delighted—because if he had reacted like this, it meant he might actually be interested in them.
Which was precisely why they couldn't bear to see him punished so harshly by Masami.
"Tsuchigumo-hime, Yukihime—you two spoil him far too much.
"What he did was wrong. I don't care if he's the master of a hundred demons or some prodigy exorcist. Before all that, he is my son—Amamiya Ren.
"And when a child makes a mistake, it's the mother's duty to discipline him. No matter how powerful he may be out there, wrong is still wrong. And as his mother, I have the responsibility to correct him."
When Amamiya Masami was angry, she was the unquestioned head of the household. No one dared challenge her authority at a time like this.
Even Tsuchigumo-hime and Yukihime, who had tried to plead for leniency, could only fall silent under the weight of her fury, casting sympathetic glances at the kneeling Ren.
Meanwhile, Hagoromo-Gitsune looked at Masami with sparkling eyes full of admiration, scribbling furiously into a small notebook she had somehow produced.
If she had possessed even half of Masami's parenting skill and commanding presence in the past, Nue might not have turned out the way he did.
Despite possessing such overwhelming strength, Ren remained humble and never abused his power like other yokai. A large part of that was undeniably thanks to Amamiya Masami.
Though she was an ordinary human, she was, without question, an extraordinary mother.
Ren and Ruri's deep attachment to her wasn't without reason—she truly was remarkable.
—
Under Masami's continued lecture, Ren almost decided to confess the truth—that the ones he had seen were actually Yamato Miku and Jingu Saori, not Yukihime and the others.
But just as the thought formed, he suddenly felt two deadly glares stabbing into him from the side.
He swallowed hard.
Every instinct he had screamed that if he told the truth, his fate would be far worse than it already was.
And so, guided by pure survival instinct, Ren decisively chose to keep his mouth shut.
"…Alright, Masami. Ren didn't do it on purpose. If anything, I bear half the responsibility.
"The jade pendant I gave him for positioning was originally a personal item I carried. When he used the 'Teleportation Talisman,' it caused him to appear… in that exact location.
"I failed to consider that we were here at a hot spring, and Ren's spiritual power is strong enough to pinpoint locations with extreme precision. That's what led to this misunderstanding."
In the end, thanks to Yamato Miku stepping in, Ren's punishment was reduced to three days of confinement facing the wall—without food.
Masami had originally intended to discipline him with a bamboo switch, but upon learning that it wasn't intentional—that it was caused by a spell—her anger subsided by more than half.
Besides, her child had only just returned after being away for so long. To beat him severely now… she simply couldn't bring herself to do it. And if she left it to Tsuchigumo-hime and the others, they would almost certainly go easy on him.
So in the end, this was how the matter was settled.
It was also through this incident that Yamato Miku and Jingu Saori came to fully understand just how important Masami was in Ren's heart.
There was a reason why the heads of the exorcist families wanted Amamiya Masami to become the leader of their alliance.
Even though she was an ordinary human with no special powers, the sheer authority she held over Ren alone was enough to justify it.
—
With Ren's return, Masami was finally able to relax. So while Ren spent the next few days in confinement, the others enjoyed themselves freely.
The hot spring inn was surrounded by vast जंगल, making it perfect for both night bathing and daytime camping.
Under normal circumstances, no one would dare camp in such an environment—the chances of encountering yokai were simply too high.
But for Masami and her group, that wasn't a concern at all.
After all, they were either SS-class demon kings or even SSS-class beings. Ordinary yokai would flee the moment they sensed their presence—attacking them wasn't even a consideration.
"Lady Yamato, shouldn't you be out camping with my mother and the others? What brings you here instead?
"If you're still bothered by what happened earlier… then I can only apologize. But given the circumstances, it really wasn't something I could control."
Though it looked like Ren was being punished, he was actually organizing the gains from his previous world and using some of his accumulated reputation points for system draws.
So when Yamato Miku suddenly appeared, he noticed her immediately.
"As for that incident—you'd best forget it as soon as possible. And don't ever bring it up again.
"Like I told Masami, I share some responsibility. I didn't expect your teleportation technique to be precise down to the meter.
"The reason I came to see you is to ask how you plan to handle your relationship with Kuka… and what your thoughts are on the upcoming descent of the gods."