Chapter 11 Part II

    The New Companion More Troublesome Than the Old

    "Mom, you didn't wait at all."

    Gumiho, now in human form, joined the feast. This slightly startled Picasso as the fox earlier could transform into a human, but he assumed a beauty like her would naturally disguise herself as a fox to stay unnoticed.

    "Waiter, bring two more sets like these, and put them on Mr. Xiao Long's tab."

    Möbius promptly ordered more food, seeing it as a rare chance to indulge in such fine dining. He then turned to Picasso to seek more information.

    "Hello, Mr. Picasso, my name is Möbius. May I have your permission to ask you a few questions?"

    Möbius stood, respectfully addressing the elder before politely requesting his permission.

    "Don't worry, Mr. Möbius. We have four more days to enjoy meals paid by others, so go ahead."

    Picasso smiled at to Möbius, appreciating the young man's politeness. From what the elderly man had told him, he could only think that the system's fairness might be harsher on Xiao Long than on him, but it seemed justifiable.

    "Was what Xiao Long mentioned before leaving about a protection fee?"

    Möbius inquired as Picasso began to savor a substantial meal with gusto.

    "Yes, it's quite a bit, but it's still manageable."

    Picasso replied, seemingly unconcerned. The old man seemed more interested in Inari and Gumiho, given their hearty appetites. He wondered where such slim figures stored all that food.

    "Does the village have its own forces now?"

    Möbius wanted to assess the situation to plan how to effectively eradicate the bandits, especially before Xiao Long returned, as it was clear he had ties with the bandits.

    "As you see, our village has few young men. We have about 20 people capable of fighting."

    Picasso answered, causing Möbius to frown, wondering how merely 20 could stand against more than 180 bandits, and more importantly, how the village would sustain its defense without paying for protection.

    "Aren't you eating, Möbius? The food here is really good."

    Gumiho raised her head and asked, not pausing her meal. It was her first time experiencing a restaurant meal like this, fitting for a village of arts, where even the food was a work of art.

    "Waiter, pack five of the best sets to go."

    Inari ordered from the waiter. The mother fox figured she might as well make the most out of Xiao Long, compensating for his leering, since he was paying for the meal. Möbius could only shake his head at her cunning, while Picasso sat smiling, amused by Möbius's resigned expression.

    "Anything you need, Mr. Möbius, you can contact me at the town center building. And as the village elder of Erisé Village, I truly welcome all visitors. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going."

    Picasso excused himself and returned to his work. Möbius quickly stood to see him out, planning to explore the market next, just as the meal concluded.

    In the art village's market, it was inevitable that most of the wares would be art-related. There were jewelries, portrait painting services, musical instruments, and an array of clothes. However, Möbius couldn't find the bullets he was searching for. He followed Inari, who was darting in and out of various shops, until they stopped at a shop selling traditional performance props like fans, umbrellas, and masks.

    Meanwhile, Gumiho reverted to her single-tailed fox form, as she was too full and could barely crawl. In human form, crawling might have seemed ungraceful, but in her fox form, her slow crawl only added to her dignified aura.

    "How much is this fan?"

    Inari inquired, examining a large white fan decorated with red floral patterns. She waved it back and forth several times, the fan spanning about a meter when fully open.

    "Fifty thousand Ryo each."

    The elderly man, who dressed in ancient Japanese attire that matched the items he sold, replied to Inari. The price he quoted almost made Möbius stagger in surprise. It was unexpectedly expensive for a fan that looked so ordinary.

    But Inari remained calm, gently running her fingers over the fan in her hand, then drawing it close to sniff the faint scent emanating from it.

    "It’s handmade washi paper, with this type of fiber and scent, mixed with the same flowers drawn on it, right?"

    "Not bad, let’s say twenty-five thousand Ryo."

    The old man offered, lowering the price for Inari. Möbius himself couldn't understand why, but from Inari's remarks, he began to feel that this fan was not as ordinary as his eyes saw. Yet, the mother fox didn't stop there. She touched each fan’s shaft, pausing on the striking flower patterns on a purely white fan.

    "Made from selected aromatic woods from 1…2…3…4… types of trees. Although they vary, the size and even the wood grains are consistent. The rivet at the tip is made of silver. The flowers aren’t merely painted—they are real ones embedded during the washi paper-making process, not added afterwards."

    Inari scrutinized the fan so closely that Möbius felt the initially quoted price by the old man wasn't really that expensive.

    "Absolutely right, haha. Take it, no need to pay."

    The old man laughed heartily, his face turning red. It had been a long time since he had a favorite customer like this.

    "It's not over yet. This fan is part of a pair, using a blend of floral scents and aromatic woods, but the other one is missing."

    Inari smiled, and the elderly man returned the smile, handing Inari a box designed to hold two fans—one slot was empty, while the other held a fan almost identical except for the blue flowers. The matter about the second fan made Möbius even more stunned, wondering how she knew there was another fan, as they looked ordinary to him.

    She picked up the other fan and held it in her hand as well, waving it back and forth skillfully, and each movement released a delicate fragrance. Though Möbius thought both scents were sweet, when they mixed together, they were even sweeter and helped calm the mind in an incredible way.

    "Art gains value when held by someone who appreciates it. Young miss, these two fans, named 'Ten Thousand Blossoms Dual Fans,' have found their worthy owner. Please, take both."

    The old man looked at the fans in her hands with pride and applauded her. Many had shown interest in these fans, but none recognized their true value. He was thrilled that Inari noticed the care he put into making them and could handle them expertly, so he gave them to her without regret.

    "That's too much praise, but it's a beautiful name."

    Inari replied sweetly to the old man, her visit to the village proving worthwhile as she cherished the fans in her hands. The fox mother tucked the fans into her sleeve before bidding the old man farewell and inviting Möbius and Gumiho to continue exploring the market.

    They all walked around the market, alive with colors, until they reached the village’s spacious square, where a group of musicians played ancient instruments, creating an enchanting atmosphere. However, Möbius noticed something amiss around him.

    (Inari Miho, those three or four men following behind have been tailing us for a while now, do you think there's something suspicious about them?)

    Möbius mentally asked the two celestial foxes walking beside him.

    (Definitely, Möbius. The two over there smell like bandits in black, and the other two smell like bandits in purple.)

    Gumiho, sensing the anomaly as well, quickly responded. Surely, her fox instincts were far superior in detecting scents than a human’s.

    (The four of them have been staring at us the whole time, probably haven't seen a beautiful person before, huhu.)

    Inari, feeling the intrusive gazes of the four bandits looking at her, chuckled softly, making Möbius realize that the bandits who were driven away at noon shouldn't have returned so quickly. Combined with Xiao Long's words that the bandits wouldn't attack the village for 15 days, their early scouting indicated that they must have another target. However, judging from the fact that they were following his trail, he feared that their target must be them. It was not difficult to guess what it was. If he wanted to help this village, he had to make the most of the benefits from this matter.

    (I've thought of a good plan to deal with these bandits, but it's going to be tiring for you, Inari.)

    (If it helps the village, no matter how tiring it was, it’s fine, Möbius.)

    Inari nodded at Möbius, fond of the village ever since Cosmos told her about it, and eager to visit for a long time but was bound by her duties at the Celestial Fox Village. When her favorite place was in danger, how could she, the mother fox, not lend a hand?

    (…)

    Möbius shared his secret plan with Inari, leaving her wide-eyed and covering her mouth in astonishment. The young man's plan he told her about was perfectly suited to her. After hearing the plan, Inari immediately approached the musicians in the village square.

    “Excuse me, may I join you?”

    Inari asked the group politely while pulling out a fan from her sleeve. One musician who seemed to be the head of the band stood and smiled broadly at Inari. It had been a long time since anyone in the village could dance.

    “Please, go ahead.”

    The ancient stringed instrument started the melody, followed by other instruments harmonizing into a captivating ancient tune. Inari slowly unfolded her fan and began to dance gracefully to the music. People in the square stopped what they were doing to watch Inari and the musicians, and soon, a large crowd sat around, encircling the square to witness her performance.

    Inari waved her fan slowly and then quickly, her movements soft like a gentle stream and swift like a breeze caressing the mountains.

    Every motion exuded a charming complexity, layering delicacy and mystery, veiling what should remain concealed while tantalizing excitement when the pristine white fan revealed what should be revealed.

    Her golden hair strands shimmered beautifully under the sunlight, appearing as if a thousand white stars were glowing within her hair, moving as if alive, in tune with her graceful movements.

    The beautiful short kimono accentuated her slim waist and long legs, enhancing her beauty as she moved rhythmically to the music.

    The pale skin of her chest pressed against her clothing, rising and falling with her dance moves and breaths, stirring hearts.

    The scent of the wind, carried by the Ten Thousand Blossoms Dual Fans, added a sweet layer to the performance, relaxing both the bodies and minds of the audience.

    Now, everyone in Erisé Village was packed in the spacious square to witness Inari’s performance, for it had been a long time since any high-level artistic display had been held in the village. Musicians of various nationalities and eras brought out their instruments to play along with the ancient tunes being performed.

    Although initially discordant, once Picasso took over as the musical director, the orchestration seemed to reach perfection. Men and women in the audience couldn't take their eyes off Inari’s form as she moved to the music, nor could the bandits who watched her through screens sent by their spies.

    The crowd praised Inari's performance, giving the villagers hope during a time when bandit attacks had left them disheartened. This performance of Inari seemed to promise that their village of art would find peace again. Soon, the mother fox closed her fan and tucked it into her sleeve, signaling the end of the performance.

    After Inari’s performance finished, the villagers crowded around her as if she were a celebrity who was followed by the fans, some asking for portraits, others presenting their crafts, and some even requesting that Inari perform to their own music, until Picasso had to remind everyone that they were merely passing travelers and couldn't stay long. Understanding this, everyone dispersed to their homes, not wishing to impose on their guests.

    Meanwhile, Möbius took Gumiho and Inari to rest at the village’s welcoming hotel.

    “You did wonderfully, Inari. I can hardly believe you captivated the entire village like that.”

    Möbius complimented the mother fox, who displayed such high-level performance, which he believed would significantly aid in their plan's success.

    “It's one of the powers of the Celestial Fox tribe, Möbius, but I wanted to dance too.”

    Miho, now in human form and enjoying a reheated meal from earlier in the day in their luxurious hotel room, replied to Möbius, expressing her regret. She had wanted to join Inari during her performance but knew that doing so would have jeopardized Möbius's plan.

    “It’s been a while since I got to perform like this. It feels good to do it every now and then.”

    Inari ate while looking at the gifts from the villagers, mostly handmade jewelry. An old man who had given Inari a fan had also gifted her a large red umbrella.

    “Ah, mother, may I have this umbrella, please?”

    The young fox picked up the big red umbrella, playing with it, and began to dance without music, similar to Inari's daytime performance. When Inari saw her daughter start to use the umbrella in her act, she joined in with her fan, creating a private show that only one lucky man can witness.

    “Yawn...”

    Möbius woke up in the morning, as usual, often wrapped up like a golden mummy, but today he felt more like a cocoon of golden silk. Normally, when he slept with Miho, the bed was large enough to comfortably fit a human and a fox, each with their own space. But with Inari joining them, and her fox form being larger than Miho's, the mother and daughter foxes had no choice but to sleep in human form. Möbius's attempt to sleep on the floor was futile against the sight of 18 golden tails. When he woke up, he tried hard to focus only on the ceiling because the kimonos of the mother-daughter foxes weren't exactly designed to stay neatly in place while sleeping; something within them was irresistibly captivating to his eyes.

    “Good morning, Möbius,”

    Gumiho, noticing the young man was awake, greeted him with a bright voice and a smile for the person lying stiffly beside her.

    “Möbius, you're quite amusing. If it were Möbius, I wouldn’t mind at all.”

    Inari, who had been awake for a while but pretended to sleep just to tease Möbius, spoke up to show that she was awake too. The way Möbius forced himself not to stare too much at them was just too cute and tempting.

    “Hehe, let’s have breakfast.”

    Möbius could only offer a dry laugh in response to his two foxes, quickly changing the subject. After breakfast, the three went downstairs of the hotel to continue exploring the town, but the first person they encountered was Picasso, who looked stressed.

    “What’s the matter, Mr. Picasso?”

    Möbius, noticing that Picasso seemed to have been waiting for them for a while, sensed it must be something urgent.

    “Read this for yourself.”

    Picasso handed Möbius a letter, black and purple, with a similar message that essentially said:

    ‘To Picasso,

    Deliver the golden-haired woman who danced with the fan yesterday to the group of Purple Spiders/Black Bears by today as a tribute, or else when the sun sets, we will attack the village and burn it to the ground until you can no longer stay. We know the Federation is no longer there to protect you, so choose the easier option.

    Signed, Purple Spiders/Black Bears

    “This is the situation. I’m afraid you and Miss Inari will have to leave the village as soon as possible. Otherwise, there will surely be danger.”

    Picasso did not want things to go this way at all, but nonetheless, he had to take responsibility for letting Inari’s presence reach the ears of those bandits, and this occurred precisely when the Shield and Sword Federation was absent.

    “If we flee, the villagers will all perish.”

    Inari was shocked that Picasso would prioritize their safety over the lives of his own villagers. This made her even more determined not to abandon them.

    "The village, as long as there is a heart that loves art, can always be rebuilt. But if we send Miss Inari to them, who knows what they might do to her."

    The old man said, his expression filled with concern that he couldn’t hide for the beautiful woman.

    "It's alright. Even if they take me, they can't really harm me. Don't worry."

    Inari replied with a sad smile, indicating that she was willing to be handed over to the bandits.

    "Hmm, it seems we truly have no choice. The bandits are nearly 180, and we are only three."

    Möbius himself accepted Inari's decision, his face showing deep sorrow. But in reality, everything was proceeding exactly as he had planned.

    (The fish has taken the bait.)