With another PoOofFf, a cloud of pink fog appeared and disappeared as quickly as it came and revealed Yuko in a . . . child's form.
Her breasts were gone.
<That's the first thing that Host noticed?>
Her white hair became shoulder-length. Her phoenix eyes turned big and childlike. She was short, too, just around my knees in height. She was wearing the same kimono, only smaller to match her frame. Her ears were still there, and only one bushy tail was left protruding from her tail bone.
"How about this?" she asked. Her deep voice was now high-pitched and a little bit childish.
I looked at her with a confused expression on my face.
"What?" she asked. "You don't like it?"
"No, I mean . . . ," I said. "It's not what I expected."
She pouted, and her brows crumpled together. "You're a very hard man to please. Do you know that?"
"Yeah," I said. "Can you change into something like a pet? Like a little fox pet? Being a beautiful child in this strange world would only get us in trouble."
Yuko's face darkened, and she growled her protest, "I can't be in my Yokai form. I can't be in my Fox Form. I can't even be a child. This world has a lot of can't!"
Despite her protest, she obliged with my request and another puff of pinkish fog, and she appeared into a little white fox and flew into my shoulder.
"That's better," I said.
Yuko licked her paw before she brushed it against her face. "I think I quite like this appearance too. It's light. I can fly, and the best part is . . . I can sleep on your shoulder."
"Who's the master between us again?"
Yuko rolled her scarlet doe-like eyes. "Master, servant. Who cares? You want me for my protection, and I need you for my revenge. Ours is a mutual partnership."
"Who's this God, anyway?" I asked, curious. "If you want, you can face him now since you're practically immortal since you become my minion.
Yuko's stare at me was deep into the bones, and I had to ask her, "What?"
"It's best that you don't know. Stay out of this mortal."
[Your Relationship Level with Yuko is only at 40%! Increase your relationship level with her to know her story.]
"This God is not to be messed with," Yuko said solemnly. "If it knows that I've become a minion, then it would send its worshipers to hunt you down.
"If I have to face him. Then I have to be sure that I can kill him in one setting, or he'd come after you and your territory as well."
"I didn't know that you're looking out for us," I teased her.
"I'm not. Our lives are intertwined now, remember? You're my weakness, and he would know it and target you instead."
Yuko's eyes were blazing with anger and determination. "Until I kill that God, you're not allowed to die, mortal."
I wanted to ask her if she was killable like all other Gods, then what was the difference between an ordinary mortal and a God?
But something told me that she wouldn't like it and her relationship level with me would lessen.
<Good decision, Host. Gods doesn't want their powerful self to be compared with a mortal. It would be an insult to them>
I changed the topic then.
"Welp. There's no use in staying in here anymore," I said and went to the road and continued my way.
It was a straightforward path, and I hadn't even passed by even a single creature here after running almost an hour.
<It's probably because they are still afraid of what happened with Roselake Town. Until no one knows what really had happened, they would stir clear of this path>
Yuko yawned over my shoulder. "Wake me up if something interesting comes up. Or we're in another town or village or something."
I didn't say anything, and it only took one minute, and she was snoring over my shoulder.
Why did she want to travel with me again if she would only go to sleep? Wouldn't it be best if she slept in the minion menu?
Not that I was complaining. She weights like a feather, and the physical company was appreciated.
Soon, the sun had set high in the sky, and it was lunchtime before I knew it.
Just how far was the next town from Roselake? I wondered.
I took the meal that Megu had prepared for me and ate it as I walked.
Eventually, I saw a carriage marching on the road and breathed a sigh.
Finally!
I was sure that there would be a civilization next.
I ate in peace while I ignored the carriage after studying it a bit. It was just an ordinary carriage made of wood, and the coachman sitting on top of its horse looked away at the sight of me.
It was probably my maw. Or he probably thought that I was a bandit or thief.
<Or, he thought that Host is cursed because you just came from the direction of Roselake Town>
I've already used [Evil Eyes] on the carriage and found an NPC that . . . shouldn't be mess with, with my current stat. I didn't know why she was traveling in these parts and didn't know why she was inside a shabby-looking carriage for someone who had a very high ATP.
Hers was already in the four digits, but I wasn't worried because I had Yuko with me. Speaking of which, the fox Yokai seemed to sense a threat and, thus, opened one of her eye before she closed them again and yawned.
It's not a threat, then. I mused to myself.
To my surprise, the carriage pulled over, and the window opened, revealing a very kind face of a woman with curls of golden hair and pair of big bright emerald eyes. She had the innocence of a child while having the charm of a mature woman.
At first glance, she was the type who wouldn't seem to hurt a fly.
Behind her was a young man with a coconut cut hair. I didn't know what in the god's name he did with his hair, but he shouldn't be out looking like that.
It made me want to insult him, and maybe he would change his haircut.
I would even do him a favor.
"Parson me, traveler. Are you a player?" she asked, voice soft and twinkling.
I nodded.
I saw the curiosity on her face, not that she was bothering to hide it in the first place.
"Then, might I ask if you passed by Roselake Town?"
At the mention of Roselake Town, the coachman took a deep breath and uttered some kind of prayer while he seemed unease, even glancing at me like I was a curse or something.
<Curse with the System~>
"Then . . . what have you noticed about the place?" she inquired further.
Good thing that she wasn't suspecting me.
Well, who would?
I was only a single player against a Town.
They probably thought that it was some kind of an attack from the enemy Kingdoms.
I shrugged. "Nothing much. Just piles of rubbles."
She seemed to think for a moment and asked again, "Did you go inside?"
At her question, the coachman flinched in his seat like he wanted to run away from me.
"No," I lied. They might restrain me if I said that I went inside. "I just looked at a distance."
There was something about the woman's eyes that turned like a clock before she nodded in understanding. "I see. It makes sense since you must have heard about what happened there. It's good that you didn't go inside without proper preparations."
I didn't know if she was really nice or just plain gullible.
Or maybe all the Septons from the church were like that?
"Alright, thank you then," she said and threw me a stash of gil. "Here, for your troubles."
[RECEIVED, 1000 gil!]
"Egh! High Septon Elise! That's a whole stash of money!"
I heard the guy inside speak.
"He looked like he needed it more than we did. Besides, we still have some left here."
The man grumbled. "What do you mean left? Have you forgotten that you give the majority of our money to the children in the villages we pass by?"
The woman only smiled before she said her goodbyes to me. "Well then. We will be on our way. Thank you for answering my questions again."
Holding the small bag of gil in my hand, I looked at the carriage. I didn't know if she was insulting me by giving me the money or if she was just plain nice.
Anyway, it was not like I wouldn't accept the gil.
"A High Septon?" I muttered.
"That's quite a rank," Yuko said, eyes still closed.
"You know about them?"
"Yeah. No, God doesn't know about them. One of them wouldn't be able to pose a threat but five or ten . . . they could kill a God. They're the most important figure in the church next to the pope."
"What do they do?"
"Following the teachings of the goddess Zephora."
"You mean like helping people and preaching?" Just like the church back on earth.
"Close enough." Yuko yawned. "You'll know once you stay here long enough."
". . . I see . . . by the way . . . did she do something to me before?"
"You're quite perceptive," Yuko praised. "I thought that you would not notice."
"So she did?"
"Don't worry. She only scanned you to see if you're cursed or not. Or if you're carrying a deadly disease or not."
( . . . continuation on NOTES)
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