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"No!!!"
Watching helplessly as her Great Fox ran off holding the hand of a wild man, Yukari Yakumo collapsed, her knees hitting the dirt with a heavy thud. She let out a desperate, defeated howl that echoed across the valley. Hundreds of years of childhood sweethearts ultimately couldn't withstand the sudden arrival of a wild man dropping from the sky.
She gritted her teeth, grabbing the hem of her purple dress, wanting to stand up and tear open a Gap to stop them. But several pairs of hands—belonging to the peanut gallery of onlookers eager for maximum drama—pressed down firmly on her shoulders, pinning her to the ground. They absolutely refused to let her disturb Leo and Ran's private world.
"You're such a powerful youkai, yet you're still so possessive."
Eirin Yagokoro frowned, her cold, intellectual eyes watching Yukari struggle in the dirt. In their Lunar Capital, this kind of undignified behavior would warrant a public beating with wooden sticks for strict discipline. It was only because Eirin had left the moon and cultivated her patience over so many centuries that she didn't electrocute the Sage right then and there.
However, after spending so many years running a clinic in Gensokyo, Eirin had developed a brand new, highly effective approach: chemical castration. By combining various exotic drugs, she could completely rid patients of all worldly desires and obsessive attachments. But since completing the research phase, she hadn't found any volunteers willing to try it. Reisen was, after all, her own precious pet; she couldn't bring herself to drug her poor rabbit.
"Come with me to Eientei. I have a brand new drug therapy specifically for possessive types like you."
Ignoring Yukari's protests, a group of highly motivated individuals hastily tied the Sage up with spiritual talismans and dragged her back to Gensokyo. With the primary troublemaker gone, the farm finally quieted down. The Little Fairies and the rest of the group scattered, heading home to prepare ingredients for the evening barbecue party.
"Wait... wait a moment!"
The wind whipped violently against Leo's face, making it impossible to keep his eyes open. He was being dragged along by Ran like a human kite. The Great Fox kept her head down, her golden hair streaming behind her as they blurred through the town.
The physical speed of a Great Youkai was truly absurd. Normally, it took Leo twenty minutes of brisk walking to get from the farm to Pelican Town, but Ran, effortlessly carrying his over-100-pound frame with one hand, made it in just two minutes. His feet hadn't even touched the ground the entire way; he had literally been flying.
When she finally skidded to a halt, the sudden deceleration made Leo dizzy. He stumbled toward a nearby trash can to steady himself, habitually flipping the lid to rummage through it (gotta complete that daily task), before leading Ran the rest of the way down to the Beach.
The salty ocean breeze washed over them. This place was wide open, with nothing but flat, golden sand and crashing waves as far as the eye could see—there was absolutely nowhere to hide. Back at the farm, Leo had noticed the woods were completely infested with Little Fairies, Flandres, and a certain black-and-white witch! Trying to have a tense, romantic moment with dozens of glowing eyes watching from the bushes was unbearably awkward.
Ran stood on the sand. Her beautiful face showed little expression, appearing perfectly calm and normal. However, the nine massive, golden tails behind her were anxiously twisting and tying themselves into tight knots, entirely betraying the intense inner turmoil she was feeling. It was impossible to tell what was actually going through her mind.
Seeing Ran's conflicted, silent state, Leo rubbed his chin. A sudden thought struck him.
Was it possible that Miss Ran's hesitation stemmed from their different species? He was a pure, squishy human, while she was a majestic nine-tailed fox. So, what if I also turned into a fox... would that bridge the gap and make our interactions feel more natural?
There was no time like the present. Since there was no one around to judge him, Leo opened his inventory interface and quickly switched his backpack skin to the [Fox Tail] cosmetic.
Poof.
The heavy canvas backpack vanished, replaced by a large, fluffy, golden tail that hung down from his lower back, instinctively swaying left and right with his nervous mood. Paired with his naturally decent, somewhat soft features, he looked exactly like a pretty, delicate male host from a high-end club—commonly known as... a gigolo.
It couldn't be helped. Leo, a former office worker, wasn't exactly the rugged, muscular lumberjack type. He didn't have an ounce of intimidating muscle on him, and he somehow naturally exuded a pitiable, delicate vibe. If he walked down a busy street in Chengdu looking like this, he'd attract countless hungry stares.
The moment the golden fox tail appeared behind Leo, Ran's previously forced calm expression shattered into a million pieces.
Her golden pupils dilated. Her eyes instantly locked onto the fluffy appendage behind him, tracking its slow, hypnotic swaying movements. Her breath hitched, and her gaze began to grow dangerously unfocused.
"Miss Ran? Ran?"
Seeing the Great Fox standing there completely dazed, Leo waved a hand in front of her face, wondering why she had frozen solid. They still had to collect the fish from the crab pots at the beach and the town riverbank to continue the barbecue party they had missed yesterday.
"Lo~rd~ Le~o~"
Hearing his voice, Ran instinctively responded. But even she didn't realize that her words now carried a noticeable, lingering, almost intoxicating purr, and her pale cheeks had flushed a deep, feverish red.
In her eyes, Lord Leo had suddenly become inexplicably, magnetically attractive with that tail. He looked like a helpless, adorable little puppy. Her instincts were screaming at her to tackle him, hug him tightly, and give him a very, very thorough squeeze!
Meanwhile, Leo, completely unaware of the lethal pheromone effect he was having on the Fox, noticed her increasingly flushed face and heavy breathing. Uh oh. Something is wrong. He quickly opened his menu, frantically retracted the tail, and switched back to the standard backpack.
Poof.
When he looked again, the spell seemed broken. Ran blinked, shaking her head as if waking from a trance, her breathing returning to a somewhat normal rhythm.
"Well... Lord Leo is quite charming when he has a tail."
Ran spoke her mind directly, her voice still a bit husky. Among Great Youkai, there wasn't much beating around the bush—though Yukari, with her cryptic, manipulative ways, was a rare exception. Because the young woman said it so outright, Leo was left entirely at a loss.
So, did she like me, or did she just like the tail? Leo sweated nervously. He really hoped it wasn't just the tail, or else his peaceful Stardew Valley might as well be renamed Gotham City. (Batman: Come back, I promise I won't hit you.)
"It's not what you're thinking, Lord Leo. You're very handsome even without the tail. It's just... with the tail, there's an inexplicable, unique feeling that makes people want to... devour you."
Seeing the sudden panic on Leo's face, Ran knew he had misunderstood and quickly tried to clarify, her hands waving slightly.
Such incredibly straightforward, aggressive words instantly hit Leo like a critical strike. The pure, twenty-something virgin who had never been in a relationship felt his entire face burn scarlet.
Today's Victory: Ran Yakumo Wins!
Now entirely shifting into the role of the one being pursued, Leo ducked his head like a submissive, obedient partner. He practically scurried over to the wooden crates on the pier, quickly stuffing the caught fish into his backpack to hide his embarrassment. Then, he silently followed behind a softly smiling Ran as they slowly made their way back toward the town.
How could a pure, inexperienced modern guy possibly outplay a thousands-of-years-old Great Fox? Going back three generations, Ran's family lineage had even served as Empresses. He never stood a chance.
Meanwhile, in Gensokyo.
"Eirin Yagokoro! I swear eternal enmity with you! Just you wait! One day, I'll sell your entire Eientei to someone else!"
Inside the sterile, white-tiled clinic of Eientei, Yukari was securely strapped to a metal hospital bed. She was bound head-to-toe with glowing, custom-made sealing talismans that Eirin had personally crafted. Even during the peak of the Lunar War, Yukari couldn't defeat the Brain of the Moon, and after all these centuries, the power dynamic remained exactly the same.
Watching the doctor approach with a bowl of thick, bubbling medicine whose ingredients were anyone's guess, Yukari thrashed against the restraints, uttering her final, venomous curse.
"Hehe, in our household, aside from Reisen who seems easy to bully, the Princess never leaves her room, and Tei Inaba is downright sneaky. Who do you think you can scheme against? Surely not... me~ I'm so scared."
Eirin smiled radiantly, the expression terrifyingly bright. She smoothly inserted the exact same plastic funnel Leo had suffered through into Yukari's mouth, ignoring her muffled protests as she poured the dark sludge down.
She stood back, arms crossed, watching Yukari thrash violently against the belts for a few minutes before the Sage's eyes rolled back and her body went limp, gradually calming down into a deep slumber. Eirin nodded, satisfied, and left the ward.
What she had given Yukari wasn't chemical castration. It was just a slightly bitter, extremely potent sleeping pill. It would keep the Sage in line for a while and prevent her from ripping open a Gap to disturb the young couple's blossoming romance. Once things were settled between Leo and Ran, Eirin would let her go.
Humming a cheerful, ancient tune, Eirin walked over to the massive wooden medicine cabinet in the main hall. She pulled open several tiny drawers, selecting specific dried herbs to begin preparing medicine for Leo. The young man was in relatively good health, just suffering from a bit of kidney deficiency from staying up late farming and fishing. A few days of targeted herbal medication would fix his stamina right up.
"Reisen," Eirin called out without turning around.
The moon rabbit immediately stood at attention.
"Go brew these prescriptions, then bottle them and deliver them. Tell the young man they're specially prepared for him—one bottle a day. As for the price, ask the Princess what she wants to eat and charge him directly. He'll pay."