Suika felt strange being sought out by Mokou but gave a proud look to Yuugi and Kasen.
"What is it, Mokou-chan~?"
"Um, Sister Suika..."
Yes! This is it! Suika loved being called "Sister" by a good kid like Mokou.
"Tell me~ tell me~ what do you need help with? Someone bullying you?"
"No... actually... I want to ask how to make a man like me! A man like Lancer!"
Suika froze. She was barely 300 years old—still a child herself!
"I mean, how a girl like us makes a man like us. Not like Sister Yukari and the others..." Mokou glanced at Yukari and Yuugi's chests.
Suika head felt like it was growing larger from the stress. How to make the opposite sex like you? She didn't know!
Eventually, Mokou was teased into getting drunk. Yukari carried her home, a smile on her face. She had been eavesdropping through a gap the whole time.
"What a sinful man..." Yukari sighed.
Compared to the first half of the year, the second half was simple. The fame of the "Red Oni" had spread. Lancer rule was simple: you don't have to follow my rules, but it's my freedom to nail you to the ground if you don't.
One day, after resolving a case involving a "Sodehiki-kozou," Yukari approached him.
"Yukari, what is it?"
"Mokou has left Fujiwara-kyo."
"Left? Did Fuhito ask her to do something?"
"No, she left alone."
Lancer mind filled with images of Mokou being bullied or discriminated against. Yukari waved a hand in front of his face.
"What are you thinking? She left voluntarily. As for the trigger... it's probably you?"
Lancer calmed down and sighed. He figured she was just going out to clear her head after his rejection. Yukari smiled behind her fan, knowing Lancer had missed the mark.
Mokou hadn't left just to clear her head; she had followed Suika "advice."
'A man like Lancer? That's easy! You need to be strong! And be able to drink! And don't worry about being too refined with your clothes... How to get stronger? Experience! Every Oni leaves the island to gain experience when they reach a certain stage!'
Mokou thought it made sense. Lancer loved drinking and fighting. She decided to go on a journey of trial.
Yukari had heard it all. She wanted to laugh. Lancer might like such a person as a friend, but as a lover? She had never seen Lancer look at Suika or Yuugi with desire. It wasn't his "type."
But she didn't warn Mokou. She thought it was good for Mokou to see the world and perhaps escape the "quagmire" that was Lancer.