CHAPTER 408: CHAPTER 408: THE COUNTER FORCE’S MEDDLING

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At the main gate of the Kuonji residence.

"Come back with me," Alice Kuonji said, her slender, graceful arm grabbing a tuft of golden fur, her expression cold.

Following the golden fur, or rather, the golden tail, one could see a giant golden wolf, its two claws holding onto the gate’s railings, its eyes welling with tears as it roared,

"I won’t go!!"

"If you don’t go, I’ll release the poodles," Alice said, a crystal of authority suddenly appearing in her free right hand, her face dark.

"Even if you defile my body with poodles, my heart—

Will always belong to Master Soujuurou!!!"

"..." Haru, who had just appeared at the gate, hearing this, was completely bewildered.

What the hell was a ’Master Soujuurou’??!

Oh, right. Soujuurou Shizuki had somehow survived his Ten Suns in the Sky attack. After all, he’d targeted the old magus on a conceptual level, Soujuurou was never the intended target.

"But what in the world is happening now?" Haru muttered, completely bewildered.

He hadn’t paid much attention to the Phantasmal Beast Beo over the past month. After all, he’d dissected Divine Beasts and gods before, a single Phantasmal Beast was practically pocket change in his eyes.

So, when Alice had expressed an interest in Beo—for research, of course—Haru had tossed the wolf to the witch like a new lab rat.

And now, a month later, it seemed the wolf was about to ascend to a new plane of existence—or at least a new philosophy.

Haru’s sudden appearance naturally caught the attention of Alice and Beo, who were locked in a stalemate at the gate.

"Eek!!" Beo whirled around and, upon seeing Haru, immediately shrank into a trembling ball of fur.

In this house, Beo feared Haru the most. The reason seemed to stem from a certain night when Haru, in the course of his research, had unleashed his divine pressure.

To put it bluntly, in the age of myths, Phantasmal Beasts were mid-tier at best. Only the gods, perched high above, were the true rulers.

The pressure from a higher being on the food chain terrified Beo. And Haru’s frequent comments about how delicious Phantasmal Beast meat was only added to its fear.

"Can’t see me... can’t see me..." the golden werewolf muttered, like a frightened hamster.

"Good morning, Haru," Alice said, releasing her grip on Beo’s tail and straightening her somewhat disheveled clothes, her expression calm.

"Morning, Alice." Haru appeared behind her, his arms wrapping around her exceptionally slender waist, his head resting on her shoulder, shamelessly nuzzling her soft, pale cheek.

The overly intimate gesture made Alice’s face flush slightly. She subtly turned her head, avoiding full contact.

In the past, she might have acquiesced to his actions. But recently, a certain... insatiable... Counter Force had been frequently squatting in her nest, using her body to mess around with Haru.

The witch was truly suffering in silence. She couldn’t very well tell him that the one who had been so intimate with him lately was Alaya.

After all, in her eyes, though Haru was a doting father, he showed no signs of having a mother complex. Alice, who lacked the warmth of a family, could only, for the sake of ’family harmony,’ deliberately keep her distance, to prevent a certain mother from messing around using her daughter-in-law’s body.

"You’ve been acting strange this past month, Alice," Haru said, tightening his grip on her waist, preventing her from escaping, his tone puzzled.

It seemed to have started on Christmas Eve. Alice had begun to subtly, yet deliberately, keep her distance. The frequency of their... encounters... had decreased significantly. Was it because he’d pulled Aoko into it that night and angered the witch?

"I’m sorry. That night was my fault. I shouldn’t have pulled Aoko in," Haru said, an apologetic look on his face. He knew the witch had a habit of bottling things up, so he was the first to apologize.

After all, a man who could admit his mistakes was a good man. Though he was already a scumbag, he still had to wear the label of a good man.

"..." Alice was silent. She knew he had misunderstood, but for now, she could only let the misunderstanding continue.

"By the way, what’s with Beo?" Haru, seeing her silence and knowing she didn’t want to talk, changed the subject.

"After being defeated by Soujuurou Shizuki, he became like this. He’s been acting like a pervert, stalking him, and even gave himself the name ’Juro.’ He’s been causing him a great deal of trouble. He’s probably in heat..." Alice lifted her right hand, covering her mouth, her tone strange.

Though the old magus had possessed him and used a body-enhancing spell, the fact that Soujuurou had defeated a Phantasmal Beast was indisputable.

But, if not for seeing it with her own eyes, who would have thought a Phantasmal Beast would, because of this, fall for a human and want to mate with him? It had really shattered her worldview.

"Well, in that case, let’s just let it go," Haru said, his lips curving into a faint smile, and he whispered in her ear.

"Haru, even if we don’t use such a rare Phantasmal Beast as an experimental subject, it can still guard the house," Alice said, her brow furrowed slightly, her tone flat.

"Are we short on Phantasmal Beasts?" Haru replied with a surprised expression.

"..." Alice was instantly speechless. Were they short? If they really wanted a Phantasmal Beast, even she could ask Alaya for one. In fact, they probably weren’t short on gods either.

You know, after Aoko had obtained the divine rank of destruction, she hadn’t been shy about drawing her divine blood.

"Alright, I agree," Alice sighed softly, her tone flat. Since Haru had said so, then giving up a Phantasmal Beast was no big deal. It was just a pity about her unfinished experiments.

For example, the effect of magic potions on Phantasmal Beasts, how to break through a Phantasmal Beast’s mystery with Fairy Tale Magic, the effect of familiar contracts on Phantasmal Beasts, and the taste of wolf meat hot pot.

Did something strange just get mixed in? Must be her imagination, Alice thought, dazed.

"Well then, Beo, we can let you go," Haru said, his lips curving into a faint smile as he addressed the werewolf.

"Really!!" Beo suddenly lifted its head, a look of happy surprise on its face.

"The condition is that you must cooperate with Alice’s experiments. Hmm, with your whole body and soul," Haru said, his eyes narrowed slightly, a teasing look on his face.

Alice’s eyes widened slightly. If Beo cooperated with its whole body and soul, she could try the hot pot.

Beo’s wolfish face instantly stiffened. From Alice’s eyes, it saw... appetite... but the thought of its freedom made it swallow hard.

Life is precious, love is more so, but for freedom, both can be thrown away.

"...I agree!" Beo said, its tone heavy, as if saying this one sentence had drained all its strength. After speaking, it lay limply on the ground.

’Since you’re so honest, I’ll give you a hand.’ Haru grinned wickedly and placed a curse on the Phantasmal Beast before him.

It wasn’t a big curse. It just locked Beo, who could freely change its gender, into a male form.

In the end, Haru’s wicked sense of humor had struck again

Haru patted his forehead, dispelling the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and said to Alice,

"I’m going out for a bit. I’ll be back for lunch."

Alice nodded slightly. For the past month, Haru’s schedule had been basically the same: out in the morning, back at noon. She naturally didn’t have much of a reaction.

And besides, her attention was now entirely focused on Beo, as if she were considering where to start cutting.

Haru’s gaze sharpened. The next second, the space suddenly changed.

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