Chapter 391: 151. Miss Yukino and Snow Treasure’s First Meeting_2
Seeing his smile, Yukino Ritsuko thought the small talk had gone on long enough and it was time to discuss something serious. What she really wanted to say was something else entirely. But she didn’t know how to bring it up, so she continued the conversation vaguely.
"Actually... um, Ryoko always says some weird things, like that you’re my boyfriend or something. Mr. Fujiwara, you don’t know this about her, but once you get to know her, you’ll see she likes to play around..."
There was no need to explain this, and when Kitagawa Ryoko said it, Yukino Ritsuko didn’t think it was inappropriate; there was no grudge. However, after she expressed it in front of Fujiwara Reya, she felt somewhat complicated. One moment she thought there was no need to explain, and the next minute she thought maybe it was better to clarify. But once the words were out, she increasingly felt that she didn’t need to explain it, making her expression a little awkward for a moment.
Fujiwara Reya, however, just laughed.
Then he leaned slightly closer, looking at her face so near under the dim twilight.
"Hmm, I guess I cared a bit too much..." Yukino Ritsuko leaned back on the couch; her initially embarrassed anxiety settled down because of Fujiwara Reya’s smile.
"Let the little girl make a fuss if she wants to; I won’t argue with a child." After Fujiwara Reya came closer, he sensed a faint coolness, "Let’s not talk about her anymore. Looks like you’ve been very tired recently, haven’t you?"
"Uh?" Yukino Ritsuko was puzzled for a moment, shaking her head slightly confused.
"You’ve been a bit absent-minded." Fujiwara Reya said.
Blushing a bit, Yukino Ritsuko lowered her head.
"Recently, I’ve heard some people saying you’ve done some bad things in Minami-Izu, and someone even advised me to drive you away, or I’d be taken advantage of or something. I never believed them, so I never discussed it with them... Besides, I’m struggling financially, focused on budgeting my daily expenses, so I don’t have time for what others are saying..."
She stopped for a few seconds, her elegantly attractive legs wrapped in black stockings swaying a bit, and then she asked, "You didn’t do it, right?"
"What are they saying I did?" Fujiwara Reya asked.
"Um, like they said, you kidnapped a Fox Girl and did some despicable things..." Yukino Ritsuko firmly shook her head like she was denying it again, "That’s so absurd, that kind of thing is unbelievable just hearing it."
"Strictly speaking, I indeed kidnapped a Fox Girl."
"Eh? What? Really?" Yukino Ritsuko’s voice had a touch of anxiety as her hands suddenly grabbed her skirt uneasily, "So what happened, can you tell me?"
"That Fox Girl was involved in a large conspiracy, not a good demon. Of course, I didn’t do anything to her; my aunt took her away."
"Oh, I knew it!" Yukino Ritsuko let out a long sigh of relief.
She didn’t doubt at all, her expression was so full of belief. Fujiwara Reya thought, with a woman as naïve and silly as this, he could easily coax her back to Hidden God Town to help take care of the kids just by talking.
"By the way, how is Mr. Fujiwara’s training going?"
"The targets are basically completed. This time when I came back, Asakusa Shrine now has two places."
"Congratulations, Mr. Fujiwara."
"As always, I’ll give you a discount when you come!"
"Let me think about it..." Yukino Ritsuko rolled up the sleeves of her light sweater, chatting enthusiastically, "Can I draw a fortune? Will the deity enshrined at Asakusa Shrine bless me?"
"He will definitely bless you!" Fujiwara Reya’s eyes were bright. He leaned in, his voice carrying a hint of pride and boasting, whispering in her ear, "Let me tell you a secret, the deity enshrined at Asakusa Shrine is actually myself."
"Eh!"
Yukino Ritsuko was a little startled, not even noticing the odd sensation in her ear.
After getting closer to her, Fujiwara Reya’s keen sense of smell picked up a scent from the strands of her hair near her ear, and then he suddenly pulled out an ice pop.
Instinctively, with no thought, relying purely on muscle memory, Yukino Ritsuko opened her mouth and "Ah" just put the ice pop in her mouth.
It was chilly.
It felt like somehow, she had been fed plenty of times before by him like this, it was all too familiar.
Tonguing the ice pop in her mouth, Yukino Ritsuko dreamily tilted her face upwards, her gaze blank and unfocused, almost with a half-awake, half-asleep look, staring at Fujiwara Reya. The light wasn’t exactly bright, yet the contours of his face emerged so distinctly. Following his broad shoulders downward, the smooth and flowing lines showed a chest that was exceptionally firm, with the muscle tone under his shirt appearing clean and crisp.
Such a powerful body... Yukino Ritsuko licked her tongue, feeling that he seemed even more full of youthful vitality than he had been a month ago.
As she ate the ice pop, Fujiwara Reya reached over and unpinned her hair tied up at the back of her head.
The black long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, swaying along the lines of her shoulders... He compared the scene of her long, fluttering hair with Snow Treasure, holding one hand against her cheek while his fingers of the other hand threaded through the dark hair, feeling an invigorating coolness.
Just as expected.
As he had guessed, her true form was that of a Snow Woman.
If asked why he guessed she was a Snow Woman, Fujiwara Reya could only say that her scent and puzzled demeanor were just too similar to Snow Treasure’s.
"Hmm?"
Yukino Ritsuko felt something was off.
Her dreamy, confused gaze had a drowsy bewilderment, unable to distinguish north from south.
"Finish eating first before talking." Fujiwara Reya withdrew his hand.