"Uh, it was that crow who told me." Fujiwara Reya pointed to the Dark Crow keeping watch in the distance, expressing clearly, "I don’t trust that guy, so I wanted to discuss it with you to prepare a strategy."
"I... I have no relationship with him! Mr. Fujiwara, um, I..."
Her voice was quite agitated.
Fujiwara Reya turned his head to look at her. In the soft morning light, Yukino Ritsuko wore an expression of wronged anger, wanting to explain but struggling due to a lack of vocabulary, unable to grasp the key points, looking quite flustered.
He gazed steadily for a long moment.
Yukino Ritsuko frowned, looking as if she was about to cry with grievance. But before Fujiwara Reya could ask, she took a deep breath, her gaze serious and firm, and spoke slowly and deliberately.
"I have nothing to do with Takeuchi Akira---"
"I know." Fujiwara Reya nodded with unwavering conviction.
However, after thinking for a moment, he pondered and asked, "What exactly is your relationship then?"
"..." Yukino Ritsuko was momentarily stumped by the question, her face shifting a few times, unable to help puffing her cheeks, glaring fiercely at Fujiwara Reya, "I won’t tell you!"
The Snow Woman pursed her lips, uttering an ambiguous "ooh," and timidly leaned closer.
Still angry, Yukino Ritsuko was hugged.
She opened her mouth, wanting to speak but stopped short.
Her brows showed an ambiguous look of worry, and her heart also had a shadow of unease.
"I know there’s no relationship, but you have to tell me how you met, right?" At this moment, Fujiwara Reya at least seemed relaxed.
On the neatly organized desk lay washed grapes and fruit. In front of the desk, there was a swivel chair. He turned over and sat on the swivel chair, resting one elbow on the desk, gently swiveling the chair back and forth. The slightly open collar and constant shifting angles of his face as he leisurely popped strawberries into his mouth using a toothpick.
"We met at the conference hall in the past." Yukino Ritsuko explained in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s, "That scar at the corner of his eye, I caused it... I can’t tell you how much I hate him... After scratching the corner of his eye, until I left the conference hall, he never appeared again."
The Snow Woman clutched her sleeve, peering into her face, which was flushed with embarrassment.
The atmosphere was tranquil, with the light patter of the drizzle, Yukino Ritsuko’s voice was very small, but Fujiwara Reya heard it clearly. While swiveling the chair, he continued eating strawberries, the juice dripping onto his chest and the floor, which he ignored.
This posture suited his current relaxed and unceremonious mood.
"Furukawa Conference Hall is a melting pot with all kinds of monsters... Hey hey," Yukino Ritsuko suddenly stopped, gazing at his exquisite and handsome face, her voice changing from gentle to complaining, "Don’t let the juice drip on the floor, it’ll attract ants."
"You can help me clean it up anyway." Fujiwara Reya laughed with a strawberry in his mouth.
Yukino Ritsuko noticed his bright eyes, which seemed to harbor more fantasy and yearning than before. As for what those fantasies and yearnings were, she couldn’t distinguish. She continued internally grumbling "I won’t help you clean," while explaining what had just happened. When Fujiwara Reya had earlier asked about the Ghost Clan, she had been very nervous, fearing he might misunderstand something. Now that everything was laid out, she felt a wave of relief, and her serene demeanor had returned.
"Speaking of which, in the entire Tokyo region, he seems to be the only openly active member of the Ghost Clan. I served as a lady’s maid to the madam for five years..."
Fujiwara Reya fell off the chair.
"You’re the old lady’s maid?" he asked in disbelief.
"Uh, what’s wrong?" Yukino Ritsuko was startled by his reaction, her expression very innocent.
"Oh, I was reminded of some things." Fujiwara Reya climbed back onto the bed, looking very peculiar, "So... did that old lady ever mention me?"
"No, she didn’t." Yukino Ritsuko shook her head in confusion.
"Do you know the madam, Mr. Fujiwara?"
"Uh, haha, no... not at all." Fujiwara Reya laughed to cover his unease.
Yukino Ritsuko was a bit puzzled but didn’t think too much about it.
Luckily this wasn’t Kawashima Miki or my little aunt, otherwise, I’d lose face again... Fujiwara Reya felt a bit fortunate, listening naturally as Yukino Ritsuko continued with her story.
"I barely interacted with Takeuchi Akira, so I also don’t know why he suddenly returned to the conference hall. But he told me that he wanted to go with me to the Nagano Mountain’s Mountain God Festival... I guess he came to the hall to inquire about the festival."
"That... aside from the Ghost Clan, you should also be careful of the Fox Clan. They..." Yukino Ritsuko bit her lower lip, stealing a glance at Fujiwara Reya, "A few days ago, I ran into Yayako and followed her to Asakusa Shrine. She seemed to harbor malice towards you."
"I know, the Nine-tailed White Fox." Fujiwara Reya shrugged indifferently.
A Demon King level Fox Girl wasn’t something he worried much about.
If she kept causing trouble, he would just capture her and let his little aunt play, allowing her to devour her spirit and transform into a white fox to play with him.
"Mr. Fujiwara is a very capable person." Yukino Ritsuko smiled lightly, then asked with some anticipation, "The Mountain God Festival is about to start, do you want to go, Mr. Fujiwara?"
That’s being organized by me... Fujiwara Reya wanted to refuse but, seeing the anticipation in her eyes, could only ask, "Why?"
"The madam will also attend, I wanted to introduce you to her." In the quiet room, the rain pattered, melting Yukino Ritsuko’s gentleness, "You have many enemies, I thought... if you could gain the madam’s goodwill, they might be more cautious when dealing with you."