"..."
Baal blinked in surprise, following the familiar voice, and saw Yakumo Yukari leaning close to him, her exquisite face bearing a mischievous smile, winking at him like a playful girl.
That playful look made one feel... their heart was about to melt.
However.
Beside them, Miko Kikyo's dark eyes were deep and cold, her imposing aura so heavy it seemed to suffocate people.
It seemed even the flow of time had slowed down.
"..."
The surrounding youkai seemed to sense danger, tacitly no longer making any sound, even holding their breath subconsciously.
This... was a reaction close to instinct, and a very normal reaction, just like the presence of someone who had killed a thousand people, whose aura was enough to scare people into immobility.
Similarly, if a person killed too many youkai, their aura could also make youkai retreat in fear.
And Kikyo's number of slain youkai... had reached that level.
Especially when she became serious, that dangerous warning sign was enough to silence most youkai.
Unless, the youkai's strength was very great.
"Miko... don't be nervous."
Yakumo Yukari looked at the vigilant Miko Kikyo, wrapped a slender arm around Baal's neck, and rubbed her cheek affectionately against his, a composed and insightful smile appearing on her face.
"I really like Baal, I won't do anything to him, oh."
"..."
Hearing this, Kikyo remained silent, her eyelids slightly lowered, and her stern aura slowly receded. This wasn't because she believed Yakumo Yukari's words, but simply because she wasn't confident enough to safely rescue Baal from Yakumo Yukari's grasp.
"Don't worry, I'm fine..."
Baal smiled gently at Kikyo, then glared sternly at Yakumo Yukari beside him, however, Yakumo Yukari smilingly accepted his stern gaze with an air of nonchalance.
Just like that.
Their gazes clashed for a moment.
Baal gently shifted his gaze, his cheeks revealing a hint of flush, his soft voice betraying a slight attempt to be strong.
"Too... close, don't get so close."
He could clearly feel Yakumo Yukari's breath on his face; a slight lean forward would allow him to kiss those enticing red lips.
Such intimate proximity, for someone who wasn't good at socializing and had a bit of social anxiety, was truly difficult to bear.
To give an example, it was like when he was a teenager in his previous life and suddenly encountered a mature, incredibly flirtatious beauty.
For him... this had already exceeded his coping range.
"Oh my, could it be... are you shy?" Yakumo Yukari's exquisite face showed a joyful smile as she leaned into Baal's ear and gently blew a breath, "Unexpectedly a bit pure, truly adorable."
"Men and women shouldn't touch, don't you understand!?"
Baal's delicate face flushed crimson with indignation, so much so that he forgot the fact that he was now a beautiful girl.
"Hahahahaha you are truly excessively cute!" Yakumo Yukari laughed, shaking with mirth, and asked with a charming smile, "Little one, are you referring to gender identity regarding the prohibition of physical contact between men and women?"
She hugged Baal's delicate body even tighter.
"Or are you saying you think I'm a man?"
"..."
Baal felt the soft undulations behind him and naturally knew he couldn't say something as absurd as Yakumo Yukari being a man.
However, he also didn't want to reveal secrets about his past life.
"...Anyway, let's get back to the main topic!"
He awkwardly changed the subject, his cheeks still flushed, but his tone still feigned calmness.
"When did we... have a relationship?"
"Of course, we have a relationship~" Yakumo Yukari didn't mind Baal changing the subject, merely chuckled and replied, "The gold bars given to the craftsmen are engraved with the Yakumo seal, you know."
With that, everyone turned their gaze to Xiaofeng, who was holding the gold bar.
Xiaofeng also cooperatively examined the gold bar, then displayed the side with the engraving to everyone present.
There was no lie; the gold bar... indeed bore the mark of the Yakumo name, which meant its source was indeed the Yakumo family.
"...Isn't this the money you gave me for my meal?"
Baal replied with a slight frown.
He did know that the gold bar was engraved with the Yakumo name, but that was also the money Yakumo Yukari gave him for secretly eating his instant noodles.
However.
"Little one, do you think a bowl of noodles can compare to a gold bar?" Yakumo Yukari asked with a light chuckle, as if it were the most obvious thing, "If there's no relationship, who would pay such a high reward?"
"..."
Baal fell silent.
Generally speaking, no one would give such a high premium to a stranger, unless that person was their long-lost biological child.
Otherwise, who would be so bored as to offer such a high premium?
"Think about it from another perspective," Yakumo Yukari chuckled again, "If we had no relationship, would someone like you, using my name to recruit soldiers and buy horses, be alive right now?"
In the Youkai Realm, casually borrowing the prestige of a Great Youkai to establish a force would most likely result in being captured and killed by that Great Youkai.
However, if it was a relative or friend of the Great Youkai, it would be different.
"..."
Baal was somewhat speechless; he had never intended to borrow Yakumo Yukari's prestige, nor had he thought of forming a Hyakki Yagyō.
However, if he were to insist now that he had no relationship with Yakumo Yukari...
Would he then be killed by Yakumo Yukari?
"..."
The other youkai, seeing this scene, were somewhat confused. Now that Yakumo Yukari-sama herself had admitted to having a relationship with Baal-sama, most of the other youkai also believed that Baal and Yakumo Yukari were related.
But you, Baal, are saying you have no relationship with... Yakumo Yukari.
This feeling was like... well... throwing a tantrum.
That's right, it was like a junior throwing a tantrum at an elder, which is why they would say things like, "I have no relationship with you," or "Don't tell me what to do."
However, Baal-sama didn't seem like he was lying.
This left them extremely bewildered, unable to comprehend what was truly going on.
However, one thing was understood.
That is to say, Yakumo Yukari recognized Lord Baal and was willing to lend the name Yakumo to the young girl.
This was tantamount to publicly supporting the young girl.
That is, no matter what happened before, now Lord Baal is truly related to Lady Yakumo Yukari.
From now on, she can confidently say that she has someone backing her.
"…Alright then, if we're really related," Baal showed a 'given up on treatment' expression, "Then what kind of relationship are we?"
"...This is indeed a difficult problem."
Yakumo Yukari rarely showed a troubled expression. If she followed the usual course of action, she would probably turn Baal into her Shikigami.
However, Baal probably wouldn't agree to that...
"How about grandmother and granddaughter?" Baal suggested seriously yet mischievously, "I'm still young, so this address is quite fitting."
"…Little one, can you guess something?" Yakumo Yukari reached out and squeezed Baal's cheek hard, her voice a little sinister as she whispered, "What happened to those who called me grandmother?"
...
Baal blinked her eyes, carefully observing Yakumo Yukari's exquisite beauty, then said seriously and solemnly.
"Sorry, I thought about it...grandmother and granddaughter isn't quite suitable."
With that, she turned her gaze to the other youkai.
"I think sisters are more suitable. Don't you agree? If you have an opinion...you can step forward and say it."
...
...
Seeing this, the Hundred Ghosts shook their heads vigorously, quickly retreated a few steps, then looked at Yakumo Yukari's expression and found that she wasn't angry.
So, they all nodded in agreement.
"Yes, yes, yes, Lord Baal and Lady Yakumo Yukari, young and beautiful, they look like sisters at first glance, it's really too suitable."
"Yes, yes, yes...that's right."
The Hundred Ghosts chattered, boasting, with no opposing opinions at all. After all, even if Lady Yakumo Yukari didn't casually kill them.
But, perhaps one day Lord Baal would drag them away and execute them for the reason of 'entering with the left foot first', wouldn't she?
So, what needed to be boasted about...still had to be boasted about.
So. What needed to be boasted about still needed to be boasted about.
...
Baal twitched her mouth at the sight.
What is wrong with these youkai? Their ability to adapt to circumstances and flatter is a bit too strong.
Is this world mistaken about something?
Is this how youkai are supposed to be?
"Genshin Impact, When the Wives Come to Reality"