Chapter 444: Adopted?

Asahi led Haruhime through the crowded streets. No one paid attention to Asahi as if the title of the Demon King had lost its fear. Not one gaze darted toward Haruhime. A particular rare occasion as people had always complimented her, calling her divinely blessed beauty and charming fox. This confirmed her suspicion about being concealed under some skill.

“I’m sorry if I offended you somehow,” Haruhime said in a timid voice. “What happened before makes me… question every kind intention… I’m sorry for being so doubtful when you’re always helping me.”

She finally got the courage to apologize.

“I’d do the same if I was in your situation,” Asahi said with a soft smile and patted her head. “But you don’t have to live like that anymore. The people of my familia are too kind for their own good.”

“I have experienced their kindness. It’s so heartwarming. They remind me of a deity and his followers from the Far East.”

All her life, she had lived in a mansion located at the foot of a mountain. The shrine and her mansion might have been her whole world if not for Takemikazuchi and his pupils sneaking her out to play every now and then. This gracious act had earned them the ire of the man she used to address as Otou-san. Yet they continued to sneak her out.

She wanted to see their worn-down shrine and if possible, she wanted to help them out of their poor status.

“Oh, tell me more about them.”

Despite knowing the deity in question, Asahi wanted to hear it from Haruhime. This was the most talkative she had been with him.

Haruhime hesitated a bit before she told him everything about Takemikazuchi, Tsukiyomi, and their followers.

The yearning in her voice was wholly apparent.

“Do you want to meet them again?”

Haruhime’s eyes lit up momentarily before an unknown thought forced her to shake her head.

“Well, you’ll see them here in a few years anyway.”

Haruhime wholeheartedly believed Asahi this time. He had shown his capability  on multiple occasions. Nobody would say a word if he proclaimed to be a clairvoyant.

‘Mikoto, Chigusa…’ Haruhime clenched her fists with a serious look. ‘I’ll not be a frail princess when we meet. I’ll protect you from the malice of this city.’

Asahi sensed her resolve and patted her head. The renard girl returned to her meek self at the foreign touch.

“W-Where are we going?”

“Back to Loki’s manor.”

He had achieved his goal of clearing Haruhime’s doubts. She looked more lively than ever.

Haruhime kept sneaking glances at him all the way to the manor.

“Is something the matter?”

“Do you… do you still want to… adopt me?” Haruhime covered her mouth with the loose sleeves of her kimono. “Would you like to be my Otou-sama?”

Haruhime’s question dropped with more destructive power than a nuke.

(Asahi.exe crashed.)

Asahi ignored his spoiled wife and turned to the blushing Haruhime. She exuded the same energy as a woman who had confessed to the love of her life.

“Are you sure?”

Haruhime firmly nodded her head. “I misunderstood you before. You’re only a demon king to the people you hate. To me, you’re holier than those priests and shrine maidens… my instincts are telling me to trust you.”

Asahi didn’t know if he should laugh or cry when he was being compared to the holier-than-thou priests. “So, I guess you are my daughter now.”

“Yes…”

He cleared his throat. “We should get to know each other better.”

His proposal strangely reminded Haruhime of the scene she witnessed earlier. Could that be a way to know each other better? Her innocent mind wandered, and her skin flushed red as an instinctive reaction.

“I-I agree.”

Fortunately, someone else barged out of the manor to clear the awkward air.

“Asahi!” shouted the redhead trickster, her eyes narrowing with a pleasant grin. “Don’t be a stranger now. Come.”

“Well, let’s talk later.” Asahi patted Haruhime's back. “I’ll take care of this stupid wife of mine.”

“Should I call her… okaa-sama?” Haruhime said, looking conflicted, understandably so.

Her new father had numerous women, many of which proudly took the title of his wife. Was she to address everyone as her mother? Confusion swirled in her head.

“Oya. Ya adopted her?” Loki asked. “Call me Loki Onee-sama, kiddo. I’m too young to become a mother.”

“Loki Onee-sama.”

Haruhime gained one of the most influential familia heads as her older sister and the strongest deity as her father. If her life as a princess was blessed, then this was a divine gift from the heavens.

Asahi swooped Loki in his arms. “You aren’t young to be a mother. I’ll prove it now.”

“Ya cheeky brat.” Loki grinned. “Try your best.”

As Asahi entered the manor, something in his pocket buzzed.

‘My phone? Yasaka?!’

He had a bad feeling about this. With Loki in his arms, he sprinted towards Loki’s room and let her down on the bed. While she laid there with a seductive grin, he fished out the phone and answered it.

“Asahi, can you hear me?” Yasaka asked softly.

“Yes, I can. Did the Shinto Gods make their move?”

“No… I need your help with something,” Yasaka said. “We have… a devil, who claims to be Lilith.”

“Lilith? Wait, I’m coming over.”

“Hmm…”

Asahi slipped the phone back in his pocket and looked at Loki, who shook her head and pulled out a bottle from under her bed.

“Go, do your damn business. I’ll drink some more.”

Asahi took the bottle from her grasp. “We’re going to the beach, remember? No drinks allowed today.”

“...”

Glorious_Milfhunter

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