Chapter 131: You Have Property in the Sunflower Field?
Youmu had assumed Haruto's "secret cabin" was simply the Dream Mansion. To her surprise, when they arrived before the exquisite Western-style estate, he didn't stop but continued walking, veering left.
Tucked away amidst the towering sunflower bushes to the right of the mansion was a hidden path, nearly invisible to anyone not looking for it.
At the end of the trail, Haruto pushed aside two overlapping sunflowers, their massive heads nodding in the breeze. A small, Western-style cottage, built in a style remarkably similar to the Dream Mansion, suddenly appeared before them. It, too, was constructed from a charming blend of flowers and wood.
A bold guess bloomed in Youmu's mind, and she voiced it tentatively.
"This secret cabin of yours… was it built for you by Lady Yuuka?"
Haruto nodded, then shrugged with an air of casual conceit. "I originally wanted to build it myself, you know, be self-sufficient. But my dear Yuuka insisted on crafting one for me with her own two hands. Perhaps… I just have too much charm."
Youmu's jaw went slack as she listened. She knew Lady Yuuka and Haruto had a close relationship—one that could even be described as pampering—but the small mansion before her still exceeded her wildest imagination.
Of course, if Kazami Yuuka were actually here to hear those words, she would undoubtedly borrow a term from the manga Haruto had shown her and spit out a single, scathing word: 'Creep!'
Then, she would personally administer a full course of her special training services to let him properly feel her 'love.'
Past the wall of sunflowers was a small, open clearing, and beyond that… was a patch of flowers?
The moment she saw them, so utterly different from the tall, beautiful sunflowers surrounding them, Youmu nearly lost her footing and stumbled.
'Are those… flowers?' she wondered, blinking.
From a distance, they had the general shape of flowers. But what was with the grotesque human faces plastered onto their heads? And not just any human faces—they were uniquely, deeply ugly.
"Haruto-sama, your taste is truly… one of a kind," Youmu managed, phrasing her evaluation as tactfully as possible. The sight once again refreshed her understanding of just how much Lady Yuuka doted on him.
Lady Yuuka adored flowers and all things beautiful, yet she actually permitted such abominations to exist in her Sunflower Field.
Youmu knew for a fact that if she ever found such ghoulish things growing in the gardens of Hakugyokurou, she would slice them to ribbons without a moment's hesitation. For the flower-loving Lady Yuuka to tolerate them was an even greater concession.
One could only say that Lady Yuuka's sacrifice was immense.
'For Haruto-sama to have won her over to this extent… it's a feat in and of itself,' Youmu thought, a faint blush dusting her cheeks.
"Of course. Just look whose secret cabin it is," Haruto said, walking forward. "Don't judge these flowers by their looks. They may not have grown as one might wish, but they're incredibly useful. Not only can they recognize their master, but they also guard against thieves and a certain black-and-white mouse."
"As expected of Haruto-sama," Youmu praised without hesitation.
She naturally believed the 'anti-thief' effect he mentioned. After all, setting aside the question of what thief would be suicidal enough to break into the Sunflower Field, even if someone did manage to sneak in late at night, a single glance at these strange flowers with their eerie human faces would probably scare them out of their wits and send them fleeing in a panic.
Curious, Youmu cautiously approached one of the Ghost-Faced Flowers. As she drew near, it twisted on its stem and leaned toward her.
"So fragrant… Customer, come a little closer, I'll give you…"
Before it could finish its creepy invitation, Haruto raised his hand and slapped it soundly across its floral face.
"Who hit me—!"
The Ghost-Faced Flower was about to erupt in anger, but when it looked up and saw Haruto's unimpressed expression, it instantly cowered.
"Master! I didn't know it was you!" it squeaked, its voice changing completely. It quickly turned its face toward Youmu, its expression shifting to one of fawning flattery. "I was just joking earlier, please don't mind me!"
Haruto shot it a cold glance. "If you scare my guests again, I'll pull you out and use you as fertilizer."
"I won't dare, I won't dare!"
The Ghost-Faced Flower shrank into a ball, and the other flowers around it also lowered their heads, suddenly as quiet and still as ordinary plants.
Youmu instinctively took a small step back. That flower had sounded like it wanted to eat her.
Haruto led her toward the cabin door.
By the porch, another Ghost-Faced Flower had just woken up, having clearly missed the earlier 'educational' moment.
"I smell a stranger!"
The ghoulish face on its disk immediately twisted into a greedy, excited sneer. Its petals suddenly peeled back to reveal a maw of jagged, tooth-like thorns, and it lunged, aiming to bite Haruto.
Swish!
A blade of light, impossibly fast, flashed through the air.
The guttural noise from the flower stopped abruptly.
The Ghost-Faced Flower froze in place. A moment later, a perfectly straight line appeared down the middle of its stem, and it split neatly into two halves.
Thud.
The sound of its head hitting the ground was dull and final. The twisted, greedy expression frozen on its face quickly faded to a lifeless grey.
At some point, Hakurouken had been drawn three inches from its sheath. Youmu smoothly slid it back into place and looked at Haruto, her youthful face filled with apology.
"Sorry, Haruto-sama. I destroyed the flower you planted. But it intended to harm you, so it had to be eliminated."
Youmu felt a pang of guilt but not a shred of regret. Harming her was one thing, but daring to attack Haruto-sama—or even entertaining the thought—was unforgivable.
All the Ghost-Faced Flowers that had been secretly watching were scared witless. Their petals trembled violently, and a few even curled up completely, pretending they had never existed.
The one that had tried to lure Youmu was especially grateful for the slap Haruto had given it. If not for that, it would be the one lying in two pieces on the ground, destined to become fertilizer.
Dragging their luggage, Haruto and Youmu stepped into the secret cabin.
The layout inside was simple, almost like a miniature version of the Dream Mansion.
Haruto opened his suitcase, then began pulling furniture he had taken from home out of a Gap, arranging the pieces around the small hut.
Youmu obediently followed his lead, helping where she could. As she worked, her gaze fell upon a plain cardboard box. She remembered Haruto-sama pulling it out from under his bed back home.
'Toys?'
Driven by a mix of curiosity and a desire to tidy up, Youmu tore open the packing tape. The instant she did, a figure flashed past, snatching the box from her hands.
Haruto quickly closed the flaps and looked down at Youmu.
"You didn't see anything, right?"
"Haruto-sama, what's inside?" Youmu asked, her young face a mask of pure confusion.
"Just some games Kaguya sent over." Haruto seemed unwilling to linger on the topic. He gave a brief answer, then shoved the box far under the bed. After letting out a quiet sigh of relief, he took out his phone, planning to ask about the 'ghost hand card.'
What he didn't notice was the faint blush creeping up Youmu's ears. Even the phantom half floating beside her shoulder seemed to adopt a human-like, shy expression.
Back in the group chat, the message count had no doubt already rocketed past 999+.
Haruto skimmed through the backlog, finding that Kaguya had practically become the revered big sister of the group. Not that she and Eirin weren't already held in high esteem.
He posted the photos he had taken into the chat, tagged @everyone, and added a specific @ for Xie Lin.
The Most Handsome Realm Demon: [How do you pull people into an instance with this thing?]
[Another big shot appears!]
[Welcome, big shot! He's alive! Screenshotting this for posterity!]
[Big shot, do you still need a sidekick? Please, my lifelong hobby is being a quiet, unassuming sidekick!]
The group chat was instantly flooded with a torrent of messages welcoming the 'big shot' and hailing the appearance of a 'titan.'
Haruto glanced over the fawning but found no useful information. Finally, Xie Lin replied.
Xie Lin: [Hold the card, imagine the appearance of the person you want to invite, and silently say their name in your mind.]
Hearing this, Haruto picked up the card. He examined it for a moment, his gaze drifting to Youmu, who was still busily tidying up, before deciding to try the method Xie Lin had provided.
A moment later, a familiar yet distinctly different voice sounded in his mind—
[Individual Konpaku Youmu has been successfully bound.]
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]