"Miss Fox Fairy! Put me down first! Put me down!"
Ren Kurogane struggled as Honghong carried him. He was only slightly taller than Yaya now. In front of the already grown Honghong, he was still just a child, and she could lift him with one hand.
After struggling for a while, Honghong released him, and he dropped to the ground.
Perhaps it was because he had crossed over and become a demon, but Ren Kurogane felt that his body had become much tougher.
Yaya had just handled him roughly, and now he'd fallen from half a meter up and landed squarely on his butt. Yet he barely felt any pain.
Of course, Yaya's earlier kick had really hurt!
Once he got back on his feet, Ren Kurogane's eyes shifted as he tried to think of something that could prove he came from the future.
Although I'm not from this world's future, I've seen this world's future. Let's think… Is there anything insignificant I can use?
First, Ren Kurogane ruled out Honghong's history.
There was nothing about Honghong's experiences in the future that had been recorded, and Tushan certainly wouldn't go around publicizing the history of its leader.
Then he looked at the still-young Yaya and Rongrong, and an idea immediately came to him.
He promptly knelt before Yaya and said, "You must be Tushan's future second-in-command! I never expected you to be this powerful even when you were young. No wonder you're the future Ice Queen, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox who will be invincible throughout the world!"
Rongrong was too clever and would be difficult to fool.
Better to start with Yaya!
"Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox?" Rongrong murmured thoughtfully.
Yaya's abilities had never been made public. In fact, Tushan currently relied entirely on Honghong to hold its own. The outside world practically ignored Rongrong and Yaya.
So when Ren Kurogane mentioned the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox and even called Yaya the Ice Queen, Rongrong began to believe him somewhat.
After all, Yaya currently fought with her fists, and the outside world didn't even know that she was actually an ice mage.
Honghong, however, thought much further ahead.
Her first thought was that Ren Kurogane might be a spy sent by another faction.
But after thinking about it carefully, what kind of spy would be this ridiculous?
Claiming to have come from the future?
Heh~
Honghong gave Ren Kurogane a casual glance.
"You have two choices. First, I'll skin you and make clothes out of your tiger hide."
"I choose the second!"
Ren Kurogane answered without hesitation.
"Oh? You're not going to hear what the second choice is?"
Rongrong narrowed her eyes with a smile.
"Can't exactly be killing me too, right?"
Ren Kurogane stared at Rongrong with his amber eyes.
Rongrong only smiled and said nothing.
"Second, become a servant of Tushan and spend the rest of your life working here," Honghong continued.
"Do I get food and lodging?"
"Yes."
"Do I get a monthly salary?"
"Yes."
"Boss, please accept my respects!"
Ren Kurogane immediately dropped to his knees.
Honghong stared at him expressionlessly.
When Ren Kurogane looked up again, Honghong was already gone. Only Yaya and Rongrong remained in front of him.
"Hehe~ Welcome to Tushan. Come on, I'll register you first, then you can get to work."
Ren Kurogane followed Rongrong and completed his Tushan identification.
Just when he thought he was about to enter a brief period of peace, a figure dropped from the sky and landed squarely on his head.
BOOM!
Looking down at Ren Kurogane, who had been stomped into the ground, Yaya complained, "Hey! I didn't even use any strength! How are you weaker than an ordinary little demon?"
Ren Kurogane silently pulled his head out of the dirt.
Idiot! Sooner or later, I'll show you what a tiger can do!
The next second, he forced a smile, turned around, and asked, "What orders does the Second-in-Command have for this lowly servant?"
Yaya wasn't used to being treated with such respect. She covered her mouth with a tiny fist and coughed lightly before saying, "Well, I, the Second-in-Command, hehe… cough, cough… The Second-in-Command wants to ask you about that thing you said I'd become in the future…"
"The Ice Queen!" Ren Kurogane reminded her.
"Right, right! The Ice Queen! Come on, tell me all about it!"
Ren Kurogane's eyes immediately lit up.
He leaned toward Yaya and asked quietly, "Second-in-Command, you believe I'm really from the future?"
"Huh? Didn't you say it yourself?"
Yaya stared at Ren Kurogane with clear, puzzled eyes.
So you believed me from the very beginning?!
Ren Kurogane cursed inwardly.
On the surface, however, he smiled.
"Right, right! I said it! And everything I said was true!"
Yaya waved her hands repeatedly.
"I know you're telling the truth. You wouldn't dare lie in front of Sis! Enough with all that. Hurry up and tell me about my future!"
"Sure thing!"
Ren Kurogane sat down and thought for a moment before speaking.
"In the future, Tushan Commercial City will be a famous shopping paradise throughout the demon-human world, earning hundreds of billions every year…"
Ren Kurogane continued spouting a bunch of irrelevant nonsense.
As for Tushan's actual profits, how would he know?
He was just bluffing. Might as well make something up.
After listening for quite a while without hearing anything about her future self, Yaya immediately interrupted him.
"Stop, stop, stop! I'm not interested in economics! Tell me about the Ice Queen!"
Ren Kurogane scratched his head and pretended to be surprised.
"I can't believe Tushan's greedy Second-in-Command isn't interested in economics."
"Hm? What did you say?"
Yaya glared at him.
Ren Kurogane immediately smiled apologetically.
"Nothing! I'll tell you about the Second-in-Command's future right now!"
Under Yaya's expectant gaze, Ren Kurogane said,
"The Ice Queen!"
"Mm-hm!"
"With all nine tails unleashed, she's invincible under heaven!"
...
After waiting a few seconds and realizing Ren Kurogane had stopped talking, Yaya stared at him in confusion.
"That's it?"
"Yep. That's it."
Ren Kurogane nodded.
Seeing that Yaya was about to explode, he hurriedly added, "It's because Big Sis Honghong is too powerful, so the Second-in-Command basically never gets a chance to fight. The title of Ice Queen came from several hundred years ago, when she accidentally released so much power during her cultivation that she froze all of Tushan. That's when the world learned that Tushan had another incredible powerhouse."
"Oh~! So that's how it is!"
Hearing that her future sister was still so powerful, Yaya immediately smiled.
"Looks like Tushan develops pretty well in the future, huh?"
"Extremely well!"
At that moment, Rongrong's voice came from behind Ren Kurogane.
"I was wondering where you'd disappeared to. So you were slacking off here."
Ren Kurogane stiffened.
He suddenly remembered that after giving him his identification, Rongrong had assigned him a job.
He immediately turned around with a smile.
"Third-in-Command! You're here… It's just that the Second-in-Command called me over, so I was delayed a little! I'll get back to work right now!"
With that, Ren Kurogane disappeared in a flash.
Rongrong watched him leave before turning to Yaya.
"Yaya, did that guy prove that he's from the future?"
Yaya nodded with a smile.
"Yeah! He told me all sorts of things about the future. Like cars that can move without horses pulling them, airplanes that can fly without using magic, and amazing phones and computers…"
Only after listing all those things did Yaya belatedly realize…
Those things were all so amazing and interesting!
"No way! I have to find that guy!"
Yaya jumped to her feet and disappeared from Rongrong's sight in an instant.
After she left, Rongrong fell into thought.
"Could he really have traveled through time?"
After leaving, Honghong went into the Tree of Acknowledgement and brought food to her adoptive mother, Feng Xi.
Facing Feng Xi, Honghong said, "Someone came outside today claiming to have traveled through time. And judging from his emotions, I think he was probably a human before he traveled through time."
"Hmm?"
Feng Xi looked at Honghong and scoffed.
"You believe that nonsense?"
Honghong shook her head.
"Whether what he said is true or not, the shock he showed when he saw his own reflection couldn't have been fake."
As she spoke, it seemed as though Honghong was talking to Feng Xi, yet at the same time, it sounded as though she was talking to herself.
After saying a few more words, she turned and left.
Feng Xi was left behind, staring at Honghong's back with a venomous look in her eyes.
~
As for Ren Kurogane…
He had just arrived at his worksite and barely picked up a brick when Yaya swooped down from the sky and carried him away.
"Ahhhhhhh~!"
The scenery blurred around him.
When everything stopped, Ren Kurogane found himself on top of a mountain.
A large tree behind them provided shade for the two of them.
"Hurry up and tell me more about the future!"
Yaya looked incredibly curious.
Ren Kurogane felt that this was his chance.
He immediately said, "Second-in-Command! I still have to work!"
Then he looked at Yaya expectantly.
He had assumed Yaya would simply exempt him from his hard labor.
Instead, the next second, he heard her mutter, "Right, you still have to do hard labor. That's Sis's rule. It can't be changed. Forget it. I'll come find you after you're done!"
With that, the scenery shifted again, and Ren Kurogane was back at the worksite.
The eared foxes saw the two of them return and once again looked at them curiously.
"Work faster! When you're done, tell me all those interesting things!"
Yaya urged him on.
Ren Kurogane scratched his head. He didn't say anything else and simply started working.
His plan to slack off had failed, but as long as Yaya remained interested in him, there was still hope!
Once they became more familiar, or once his strength improved, he wouldn't have to do hard labor anymore. He might even be able to become a carefree guest official of Tushan!
In short, Ren Kurogane was full of hope for his future.
As for why he'd crossed over?
He vaguely remembered that he had been taking a paid dump when he suddenly appeared here.
Ren Kurogane wasn't particularly bothered by it.
Maybe the toilet had exploded and taken him away, or perhaps aliens had killed all of humanity in an instant…
Whatever the case, he had always looked forward rather than dwelling on things that had already happened.
While Ren Kurogane worked, Yaya stood nearby, staring at him.
The longer she watched his unhurried movements, the deeper her frown became.
One hour later~
(σ-`д)
Two hours~
(｀) /
Three hours~
ヽ(｀Д)︵┻━┻┻━┻
Yaya instantly appeared in front of Ren Kurogane and angrily said, "Can't you move any faster?"
Ren Kurogane jumped at the sudden appearance of Yaya.
He looked at her angrily and had no idea why she was upset.
He scratched his head and asked in confusion, "Second-in-Command, there's a set working period. It's not based on how much work you finish. Even if I work faster, I can't leave until the time is up."
Yaya's eye twitched.
She wanted to argue, but she couldn't find anything to say.
Just when Ren Kurogane thought he could work in peace, Yaya suddenly spoke again from behind him.
"Hey! Why are you working so slowly? Are you trying to freeload off Tushan?!"
"Absolutely not, Boss! I'm definitely an indispensable cog in the company!"
For the rest of the day, Ren Kurogane finally experienced what a truly insatiable slave owner was like.
For the entire afternoon, whenever he slowed down even once, Yaya immediately started yelling at him.
It wasn't until the end-of-work bell rang that Ren Kurogane finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he could finally rest.
Then that familiar force suddenly struck him from behind again.
His vision blurred.
The next moment, he was back on that mountaintop.
He turned around and met Yaya's fierce gaze.
"Talk!"
"..."
"Hmm?"
"Second-in-Command! You're the boss, but I haven't eaten anything all day!"
Ren Kurogane tried to resist a little.
The other two might bully him, but Yaya was different. He could at least try to fool her.
When Yaya heard that Ren Kurogane hadn't eaten all day, her expression changed.
Smack!
"You think I'm stupid?! What does it matter if a demon doesn't eat for a year? You're a transformed demon too. Among demons, you've already cultivated to a considerable level!"
Hearing this, Ren Kurogane immediately asked, "Second-in-Command! This is my first time being a demon. Can you tell me about the cultivation realms of demons and how they cultivate?"
"Huh? You don't know?"
Yaya looked at him in surprise.
"Wait! Even if you were a human before, you said that people in your time could know everything happening in the world while sitting at home. How could you not know the cultivation realms of demons? Are you lying to me?!"
Seeing that Yaya was actually starting to use her brain, Ren Kurogane quickly explained, "No, Second-in-Command! In my era, ordinary people couldn't come into contact with cultivation at all. Besides, demons and humans lived together peacefully, so there was no need for us to study how demons cultivated!
"Besides, I'm a gaming expert! I spent every day fighting in the Canyon. I had neither the time nor the interest to look up stuff like that!"
Yaya looked Ren Kurogane up and down suspiciously.
After a long while, she finally asked, "What's the Canyon?"
"Uh… well…"
For the next hour, Ren Kurogane explained to Yaya what electronic games were.
After a long while, Yaya finally nodded in understanding.
"So you just tap away on a little board? What's so interesting about that? You future people are so boring."
Ren Kurogane smiled apologetically.
That's only because you've never played it. Once you actually try it, you'll probably become addicted to games!
"All right. Since I've listened to you talk for so long, I'll reluctantly tell you about demon cultivation and its realms."
"I'm all ears, Second-in-Command!"
"Ahem! Cultivating as a demon is very simple. In the early stages, you only need to absorb spiritual energy. Later on, you need to comprehend the power of heaven and earth. But with your aptitude, I'm afraid you'll never be able to sense the power of heaven and earth in your lifetime."
"As for the realms, I've divided them into the Noob Realm, the Not-Bad Realm, and the Big-Sister Realm!"
(;￣д￣)
At that moment, Ren Kurogane fell completely silent.
But he quickly recovered.
"The realms aren't important. Right now, I just need to learn how to cultivate. I'll take the first step first!"