"Isn't that enough? What in this world could be closer or more enduring than the debt of a life saved? You pulled me out of that den of evil and gave me a second life. Naturally, little Tamamo must repay you many times over. From now on, you are my reason for living! No matter what happens, I will never leave you alone in this cold world!"
Tamamo-no-Mae spoke with great emotion, doing her utmost to describe the emotional journey of a helpless woman trapped in a bandit's lair, rescued by a hero, and brought from despair back to hope. Then she lowered her head shyly and obediently offered him tea.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea."
"I've never seen you this polite before."
"Then... my benefactor?"
"Don't call me that either. I'm not worthy..."
The corner of Samael's mouth twitched as he turned her down with a strained smile, inwardly scoffing.
Save you? One swipe from your claws and those bandits would not even recognize their own mothers.
And from beginning to end, he had not touched the tea Tamamo-no-Mae was offering. Who knew whether she had mixed in some strange nonsense again, just like last time?
"Mm, I understand..."
Tamamo-no-Mae frowned delicately, thought for a moment, bit her lip lightly, and let her eyes grow moist. Leaning her graceful body forward, tail faintly swaying, she looked at Samael with golden eyes full of seductive charm.
"Master, welcome home. Would you like tea first? A bath first? Or perhaps to eat..."
"Stop!"
Samael's facial muscles twitched, and he hurriedly raised a hand to halt this steadily escalating package of flirtation. He knew perfectly well that when it came to seduction, he was absolutely no match for this trash fox.
Sniff sniff...
But the moment the distance between them closed, Tamamo-no-Mae, still kneeling on the floor, twitched her nose and her expression changed. She immediately grabbed Samael's arm, a sharp light flashing in her eyes as her voice turned cold.
"The smell of blood. You're hurt. Who did this?"
"Just a small accident. It's nothing serious."
Samael paused slightly. A trace of softness flickered into his gaze as he looked at Tamamo-no-Mae, then he gently reassured her and slowly pulled his hand back.
"Wait, why is there another woman's scent on you?!"
But the fox spirit's sharp nose quickly picked out a new scent mixed in with the smell of blood. She immediately tightened her grip on Samael's arm, her face full of displeasure and suspicion, then pressed her nose toward his chest, where the scent clung strongest, and took a long, scrutinizing sniff.
"And there's hair!"
With the keen eye of someone catching a lover in the act, Tamamo-no-Mae promptly plucked the silver strand stuck in Samael's collar free.
I already left my mark, so where are all these other women coming from trying to steal what's mine?!
I'm the one who steals from others. I've never heard of anyone stealing from me! Do they really think so little of foxes? This is too much!
"Ahem, it was Altera. Something happened to her, and I just happened to get it on me while helping..."
"Wah! You don't even spare children!"
"What are you even saying?! I like well-developed older women!"
Tamamo-no-Mae fumed, instantly growing even more upset. Under the contempt of her scumbag accusation, Samael ended up honestly explaining where the evidence had come from while solemnly clarifying his preferences.
But after a moment of haziness, Samael suddenly snapped back to himself, and his face immediately darkened.
This trash fox used her charm on me again!
When Tamamo-no-Mae caught sight of the slightly sinister look on Samael's face, she instinctively shrank her neck. Then her eyes shifted, and with a flirtatious smile she caught Samael's arm and put on an extremely attentive manner.
"My lord, as ruler of a nation, what you wear is part of your dignity. How can you possibly spend the night in these bloodstained filthy clothes? Come, let little Tamamo help you take them off so you can wash up properly."
As she spoke, Tamamo-no-Mae pounced, and her restless hands immediately went for his upper garment, her eyes glinting darkly.
"Trash fox, don't think I don't know what you're after! Hands off!"
Samael clutched at the half-torn front of his clothes and backed away repeatedly, dodging Tamamo-no-Mae's claws.
Foxes were fiercely territorial, and fox spirits especially hated it when their chosen prey carried the scent of other females.
"Come on, just let me wash it. I'll return it right away."
"If you strip me naked, what am I supposed to wear while I work?!"
"For the sake of your purity, these filthy things should be thoroughly scrubbed with soapberries. You should be soaked in salt water for seven days and seven nights too, from body to soul, fully purified!"
"I'm perfectly pure already! I don't need that to prove it, and what you're talking about isn't removing a scent, it's an exorcism!"
Just as the two were noisily arguing and chasing each other around, a streak of violet light split the night sky and descended toward the Hall of State Affairs.
Damn it, Scáthach!
The moment he saw the Queen of the Land of Shadows approaching in her usual winter-goddess guise, dressed in a pale violet gown and silver crown, Samael reacted instantly. He grabbed Tamamo-no-Mae and shoved her into a hastily constructed concealment Magecraft array, making sure this trash fox would not be able to run out and cause trouble anytime soon.
"What happened to you? You're drenched in sweat, and dressed like this."
The Queen of the Land of Shadows stepped into the hall, walked over, and looked in surprise at the Holy King sitting at the desk, head lowered as he furiously wrote away.
"Cough, cough..."
Samael's hand holding the charcoal pencil trembled slightly, and the sweat on his forehead grew denser.
"Your wounds still aren't healed?"
Before the Ancient Serpent could invent an excuse, Scáthach leaned in close, placed a hand on Samael's forehead, and murmured with a slight furrow in her brow.
"Mm, the curse flared up. It came on rather suddenly..."
Catching the lingering smell of blood in the air, Samael's eyes sharpened. He immediately put down the charcoal pencil and smoothly went along with it.
"If you're already in this state, why force yourself? Rest for a while."
Scáthach sighed softly, murmured in a low voice, and pressed down on the fingers with which Samael held the pencil, putting an end to his work.
Then the Queen of the Land of Shadows bent and sat before the man's knees. Her soft hand rose to cup Samael's cheek. Leaning in, she pressed her soft lips to the Ancient Serpent's forehead and left behind a warm kiss.
With their cheeks and temples brushing together, the man, who had already tasted the sweetness of this intimacy, felt heat rise in his eyes and drew closer and closer to Scáthach.
"Samael! Samael!"
Just as the Ancient Serpent was beginning to lose himself, Ana's eager calls from outside the corridor snapped him back to his senses. He immediately forced himself to stop, looked around, and when his eyes landed on the three divine statues looming over them, cold sweat instantly broke out all over him.
In that moment of excitement, he had nearly forgotten this was the Temple of the Three Goddesses.
If someone caught him like this, the sin of blasphemy aside, if Ana saw it, it would be the same as telling those tigresses in the Inner Sea of the Planet that he was openly N.T.R.-ing right in front of them. And that would be a disaster.
"Your Majesty, hide inside for a bit. Trust me."
"She is...?"
"It's an accident! In any case, it's complicated. Our situation is the one that really has to be kept from Skadi!"
Cold sweat poured down Samael's forehead. In the middle of a violent inner struggle, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and half coax, half deceive a bewildered Scáthach into the concealment Magecraft array, while also yanking back a certain fox trying to flee.
"Samael, I've got everything ready for the Great Offering!"
At that moment, Ana stepped into the hall, completely unaware that anything was wrong with the Ancient Serpent, and eagerly asked for praise.
"Mhm, very good indeed."
As Samael absentmindedly offered perfunctory praise, Little Ana lowered her head, looking a little shy.
"It wasn't all my doing. Scáthach and Brynhildr helped me a lot too."
"No need to be modest. Luckily we have a local goddess like you here. Otherwise things would never have gone this smoothly."
Amid that thoughtful remark, a valiant woman in a purple bodysuit, carrying a barbed spear, stepped into the hall.
Samael raised a hand and gently patted Ana's head in encouragement, but when he reached a certain name, his tongue tied itself in knots and his smile froze.
"Alright then, in any case, thank you for your hard work, and Sc... Scáthach?"
The valiant woman holding the barbed spear instinctively nodded, then looked around in confusion.
"Oh, right, where's Skadi? She arrived tonight and rushed straight to the Areopagus saying she wanted to give you a surprise..."
Hiss!
Samael went cold all over. He slowly turned his neck, stiff as a board, and looked half-crying, half-smiling at the concealment Magecraft array, which was swelling and shrinking and looked ready to rupture at any moment.
This time, I'm done for!