# 694
Chapter 694: 「Lady Wu」
By the time the two of them came down from the mountain, it was already noon.
"When do we set out?" Lin Qiye asked.
"The day after tomorrow." Amemiya Haruki seemed to have already planned this out. "We need a day to prepare the things needed to enter the ruins—diving suits, oxygen tanks… Because of the maritime ban, these items are absolute contraband. Purchasing them through special channels will take quite a bit of time."
Lin Qiye nodded. He was aware of the existence of the maritime ban; Yuzuri Nana had mentioned it to him before, but he still had some doubts in his heart:
"Why was the maritime ban enacted? What's on the other side of the sea? Have you ever been there?"
"No. Ships are too big a target—once they set sail, they'll be discovered and destroyed. Diving equipment can't sustain for too long either… It's not easy to get to the other side of the sea." Amemiya Haruki thought for a moment and added: "Perhaps Yuzuri Kurotetsu has been there. With the 【Thousand Cranes】, he can fly directly over this sea."
"Has he said anything about it?"
"Not at all…"
Lin Qiye felt somewhat helpless. He made a silent resolve that the next time he saw Yuzuri Nana, he would borrow the 【Thousand Cranes】 from her and fly to the other side of the sea to see what was actually there.
He always felt that behind this matter lay some secrets of this country.
"Where are we going now?"
"To pick up someone."
"Is there someone else going to the ruins with us?" Lin Qiye asked in surprise.
"No, he won't be going into the ruins. Without the Magatsu Blade, his combat power is practically zero." Amemiya Haruki said, "But during the time before we descend into the ruins, he will help us make some prophecies."
"An unreliable prophet?"
"That's right. His name is Hoshimi Shota. I called him yesterday, and he should be arriving in Hokkaido soon."
As the two spoke, they walked to the side of the station. Amemiya Haruki glanced at the time posted on the platform and squinted his eyes, searching the surroundings.
"Strange, by my calculations, he should have arrived by now… Where is he?" Amemiya Haruki said in puzzlement.
Lin Qiye swept his gaze across the surroundings. "Does he have any distinguishing features?"
"He?" Amemiya Haruki paused. "No, just an ordinary high school student. But there's a woman beside him who's very… alluring. The kind you can't help but notice in a crowd."
Upon hearing this description, Lin Qiye seemed somewhat puzzled, but he still closed his eyes and released his spiritual perception, searching the surroundings.
A moment later, he opened his eyes with a most peculiar expression.
"Um… that woman you're talking about—does she have fox ears and nine fluffy tails, especially… curvy, and golden-yellow eyes?"
"Yes, you found them? Where are they?"
"Oh, she's with a seemingly unremarkable high school student, picking out clothes at an adult products store on the corner of the street."
"…" Amemiya Haruki said with certainty, "That's them, no mistake."
…
Inside the adult products store, filled with a rosy atmosphere, Hoshimi Shota stood red-faced in a corner, watching the fox woman frantically selecting outfits, and swallowed hard.
"F-Fox woman… We should be going!" He glanced nervously out the window, seeming somewhat flustered. "If Amemiya finds us here, I-I'll…"
The fox woman raised an eyebrow, turned around, and leaned in close to his ear with a teasing smile, whispering in an enticing tone:
"You'll… what?"
A warm breath brushed past Hoshimi Shota's ear, causing his face to flush crimson all the way to his ears. He said softly: "I'll… be so embarrassed!"
"What's embarrassing about that?" The fox woman picked a ragged pink top from the basket. Those bewitching golden-yellow eyes narrowed slightly. "Shota, what do you think of this piece? Too bad it's too small—I can't fit into it…"
She glanced down at her chest and sighed in frustration.
Hoshimi Shota followed her gaze to a certain place, seemed to think of something, couldn't help but swallow again, and turned his head away.
"We really should go!"
"Really want to leave?"
"Mm!"
"Then call me Lady Wu sister."
"…" A slight twitch appeared at the corner of Hoshimi Shota's mouth. "No…"
"Ah~ Then there's no rush. Let sister go to the fitting room and try this on slowly. Do you want to come in with sister?"
"We can't keep trying things on… And who would want to go into the fitting room with you?" Hoshimi Shota's cheeks were bright red.
The fox woman smiled at him without a word, seemingly waiting for something.
Hoshimi Shota pressed his lips together, quietly glanced around to make sure no one was around, and then murmured in a voice as tiny as a mosquito's buzz:
"Wo… Lady Wu sister…"
"Mm… Although the voice was a bit quiet, sister won't be hard on you."
The fox woman's face bloomed like a flower. She turned around, paid for the entire basket of outfits, then walked over to Hoshimi Shota with the bags. "Let's go, we should head out now."
Only then did Hoshimi Shota breathe a sigh of relief.
The moment they stepped out of the adult products store, they saw two figures standing there, looking at them with a subtly meaningful expression, as if they had been waiting for some time.
Hoshimi Shota froze in place.
Amemiya Haruki glanced at the store's sign, then at the bags in the fox woman's hand, and couldn't help but say: "You two…"
"Am-Amemiya…" Hoshimi Shota stammered, "When did you arrive?"
"From the moment you two were whispering to each other over there."
"…"
At this moment, Hoshimi Shota's heart surged with the impulse to flee this world at the speed of light.
"Allow me to introduce—this is the invader, Asaba Nana." Amemiya Haruki turned to face Lin Qiye. "These two are the wielder and the sword spirit of 【Lady Wu】."
Lin Qiye nodded with a subtle expression.
The fox woman, however, stood quietly holding the bags, her pair of golden vertical pupils fixed on Lin Qiye, as if contemplating something.
After the introductions were complete, Amemiya Haruki led them toward the house he had rented in Hokkaido.
Hoshimi Shota and the fox woman walked at the front. Lin Qiye deliberately slowed his pace and walked beside Amemiya Haruki, lowering his voice to ask:
"The relationship between this sword's wielder and sword spirit… seems quite unusual?"
"Maybe. As for the affairs between these two, I'm really not all that clear." Amemiya Haruki shook his head.
Lin Qiye glanced at the bags in the fox woman's hand. "By the way, aren't sword spirits all spiritual bodies? Why can this Lady Wu have a physical body?"
"This is where 【Lady Wu】 differs from the other Magatsu Blades." Amemiya Haruki explained. "Not only can she switch independently between spiritual and physical form, but her own strength is extremely powerful. She can live independently in this world without relying on anyone else. In other words, her combat power isn't affected by the sword wielder.
Even if her wielder is an unremarkable high school student, it doesn't affect her top-tier status among the Nine Magatsu Blades.
She is the strongest individual combatant among the Nine Magatsu Blades, referred to as a human-shaped nuclear weapon…
Seventh of the Nine Magatsu Blades, 【Lady Wu】."