The production of the "Hourai Elixir" was simpler than Lancer imagined. Or rather, it was simple in Kaguya hands.
One by one, the herbs were dropped into the furnace according to a specific rhythm. Using special equipment, she controlled the heat. During the process, Kaguya face turned red from the heat, but the hairpin Lancer had given her kept her from feeling too uncomfortable.
That hairpin, made of Rune symbols, was primarily meant to suppress her unusual attraction, but generating frost was a basic function.
Everything should have proceeded smoothly, but at the final step, an "accident" occurred.
Kaguya remembered her Shishō saying the Phoenix's crest feather possessed terrifying vitality and its own flames. The final step was for the feather to completely fuse all the herbs. This was why the earlier steps weren't too difficult; the challenge lay at the end.
Not knowing how to cut the "crest feather," she simply threw the entire thing in. Then, something neither Lancer nor Kaguya expected happened. A terrifying white light exploded from the furnace, and cracks began to appear across the vessel. Countless rays of white light seeped from the cracks. This was something Kaguya hadn't anticipated, but in that moment, a figure suddenly appeared before her, pulling her into a tight embrace.
Boom!!!
With a massive roar, the furnace exploded completely. Because Lancer had moved, the magic circle used to mask the commotion was destroyed. A pillar of fire shot into the sky, turning the night into day, but Lancer clearly didn't care about that.
Lancer eyes were fixed on the center of the field, where the refining had taken place.
Being suddenly held in Lancer embrace, the intense masculine scent made the girl—who had never had intimate contact with a man since childhood—freeze up, not knowing how to react.
"Did it work?"
Lancer words woke Kaguya from her daze. Looking at the "medicine" floating in mid-air in the distance, she let out a sigh of relief.
"It worked."
But just then, a terrifying voice rang out from the sky.
"You bastard!!!"
Eirin Yagokoro's plan was simple: use her status as the Sage of the Moon to guarantee Kaguya safety. The previous incident of stealing the Hourai Elixir had indeed angered Tsukuyomi, but months had passed. With her guarantee, it shouldn't be a big problem.
One could say 99% of things went according to Eirin plan. She assumed that once she brought Kaguya back, the relationship between that man and Kaguya would naturally end. As someone who had witnessed the passage of endless time, she knew how terrifying time was. To her, everything was tiny before time—especially a relationship that was likely only in its budding stage.
However, when Eirin arrived at Bamboo Mountain as the "Lunar Messenger" with four guards from the Lunar Capital, she found something unbelievable—Kaguya was gone!
Eirin panicked. Had some accident happened during her time at the Lunar Capital?
Forcing herself to calm down, she checked the room. There were no signs of a struggle. It seemed her disciple had left voluntarily. But where could she go?
'Did that man make a move?'
A terrifying killing intent radiated from her. She went directly to the room of the elderly couple and woke them.
The two old people never expected such a beautiful "woman" to appear in their home. Before they could ask anything, Eirin spoke.
"I won't introduce myself much. I am the 'Lunar Messenger' from the Lunar Capital. My purpose is to take away our princess, 'Kaguya Houraisan.' I hope you agree."
She called it a request, but her expression, dripping with killing intent, looked nothing like one. The two elders didn't know what to say.
Their feelings for "Kaguya" were complex. Because of her, their lives had changed drastically. But unlike what most would think, they didn't hate the change. Having long ago lost their own children, Kaguya was like their own child to them. Even though it had been less than half a year, they cherished their current life.
The trembling old man wanted to refuse but finally let out a helpless sigh and agreed.
Eirin didn't know what to say to their reaction. She had sought them out to confirm if Kaguya had met with an accident, but their reaction suggested none. It was almost certain she had left of her own accord.
Just as she was about to leave after a cursory check, she noticed the elders' "affection" for Kaguya.
'Sigh~'
Though she looked the same as always, she couldn't help but sigh internally. Before meeting Kaguya, she was known as the "Lunar Sage of Absolute Logic." Simply put, even Tsukuyomi couldn't cause emotional ripples in her. Having witnessed countless partings and deaths, her emotions were suppressed to the limit. Yet now...
She took two pills from her robe and handed them to the couple.
"This is payment for taking care of the Princess. It will restore youth to your bodies. While your outward appearance won't change, your internal organs will. Perhaps... it will allow you to have a child again."
She signaled the four guards to place four chests of "gold bars" before them. She then left the room, looking at the moon and sighing.
The four guards followed quickly.
"Lord Sage, where should we look for the Princess?"
Where did Kaguya go? Eirin wasn't sure, but her intuition said it involved that man. She didn't know where he was either, but she knew some of the people he associated with—like a certain "Oni King."
"We go to Oni Island. Perhaps there..."
Boom!!
Before Eirin could finish, a pillar of fire erupted in the distance, cutting her off. She charged toward it instantly, sensing a familiar feeling within those flames.
When she arrived, her eyes widened. She saw Kaguya being held in the embrace of a nearly half-naked Lancer...
"You bastard!!!"
Without a second of hesitation, she drew her longbow and did the very thing she had been considering for half a year but hadn't done!
She was going to kill that pest herself!