CHAPTER 443 – AIKO AND HER PLANS

The Demonic Foxes from the Sacred Realm waited for Aiko to make up her mind.

'I don't know what I should buy...' Aiko groaned.

There was [Leadership] Skill, among other things, but it felt strange using something like that to affect others.

How would it even work on other living beings? Would it give Aiko tips or influence others to agree with her? Moon Aiko was quite scared about that...

'Let's keep it as it is for now.' Aiko nodded to herself. For some reason, this time, she was overly cautious about her system.

She didn't know why she was like that, but it was obvious that Aiko cared about them a lot.

"Alright, let's do this differently." Moon Aiko nodded her head.

Her Demonic Foxes needed some stretching, not to mention they were supposed to gain strength and allow her to loot this place.

As such, Aiko would combine her Demonic Foxes with the Demonic Foxes from the Sacred Realm.

The power the Demonic Foxes had in the Sacred Realm was incomparable to the outside world.

As such, her companions would be able to learn a lot of things while also experiencing a whole new world.

Aiko nodded to herself. "The first will be scout teams. There will be 4 Demonic Foxes. 2 Wind-based Demonic Foxes and 2 Shadow-based Demonic Foxes. This allows them to travel quickly with others while also staying hidden. There will be 2 Foxes from my group and your group. One of each element. The lead will take the Foxes from the Sacred Realm, but they will also allow the other Demonic Foxes to observe and understand their decisions out in the wild." Moon Aiko spat those sentences like she was worried about being rejected.

She wanted her team to grow, but she also didn't want to endanger others because of it.

"If the Foxes from the Sacred realm command retreat, you will listen to them. Safety is paramount to everything!" Aiko commanded.

"Yes, Mistress." Aiko's companions happily obliged

"Of course, Leader." The Demonic Foxes from the Sacred Realm were not dissatisfied with the arrangement, but they were very happy about those last words.

They could be considered seniors with a lot of experience. It seemed that Aiko also knew that and made adjustments to the teams so that everyone would benefit.

The Demonic Foxes from the Sacred Realm would keep their dignity while also teaching juniors.

Meanwhile, Aiko's Foxes would be able to learn about the Sacred Realm while also staying safe.

"Good decision." The Demonic Saintess also agreed with this arrangement. It was not the best, but also not the worst either.

The groups were small enough that it would not affect their visibility as much, while her Foxes would take the lead, allowing them to stay safe at all times.

'I would adjust it to only 3 members since there are plenty of Foxes to form teams... But there is a limited amount of the Communication Stone, so that's probably why Aiko made that decision.' The Demonic Saintess nodded inside her head. This was not the worst decision she could make, and it would still work in her favour.

She also already knew that her Foxes were indulging Aiko, which upset her slightly, but it couldn't be helped.

'They probably believe that her leadership would be worse since her Inscription knowledge is unrivalled.' The Demonic Saintess nodded slowly.

"Everyone will get a Talisman, so use them if something unexpected happens." Aiko kept going, not allowing the teams to leave.

The Demonic Fox was startled at first, but she believed that Aiko would let them go.

"Moreover, these are Pills that can help your injuries or non-complex poisons." However, Aiko had a different idea. "I also have a few Treasures against poison and unexpected Qi bursts. There is also simple armour. It might not protect you much, but it's better than nothing."

Aiko kept pulling resources out of her Tails like there was no tomorrow, making the Demonic Saintess reevaluate her opinions.

'I didn't think she would go all out for someone who was not affiliated with her...' The Demonic Saintess was greatly touched.

Only if she knew that Aiko already saw everyone as part of her team... She might not have that kind of opinion.

...

The Demonic Foxes departed, and Aiko watched the map.

"It's unfortunate that I don't have other table maps..." Aiko sighed gently.

If she had other Table maps, she would be able to change the different layouts and even see Herbs!

'There are more tables, but you first need to prove your worth...' The Demonic Saintess believed that Aiko wanted to explore as big of an area as possible, and that's why she didn't give her another table.

More Relics would mean more map coverage, which would cause Aiko to get overconfident.

Both Aiko and the Demonic Saintess were served tea.

Aiko sipped it happily as she decreased the altitude of the Table Map.

*Pfft*

The Demonic Saintess spat her tea when she saw Aiko magnifying the map.

"W-what?" The tea sprayed over her companion and some of her clothing. Fortunately, her defence was good enough that her skin would not be burned by such simple tea.

"Hmmmm." Aiko squinted her eyes as she zoomed out and moved the map around.

This almost made the Demonic Saintess faint on the spot.

'W-what? H-how?!' The Demonic Saintess was unable to understand what was happening in front of her.

She believed that you needed more tables in order to make the map bigger, but Aiko proved her completely wrong! She was able to easily move the map around even magnify it making the map more accurate with more information!

'I need to call the Demonic Saint back!' This changed everything for the Demonic Foxes, and they would now be able to challenge the Humans.

"Call everyone back." The Saintess whispered to her retainer. This was important news.

Aiko was completely unaware of what was happening around her and kept playing with the Table Map.

This was a truly groundbreaking invention that she truly adored.

'I need to find an excuse that would allow me to keep this to myself...' Moon Aiko groaned unhappily since she didn't believe it would be that easy to keep it for herself.

...

The map widened and Aiko could play with it more. She saw a few points of interest, but she would like to change the map from the painting one to the Qi or Herb resource type. That way she would know what that point of interest meant.

Moon Aiko decided to take it into her hands and stood up.

She cutely came to the Demonic Saintess, making her squint her eyes slightly.

"Can I get more Table Maps, pretty please~" Aiko pleaded with her cute eyes and without the Recognition Inhibition Treasure from the Sect Leader.

"Ugh..." The Demonic Saintess didn't know how pretty Aiko was previously, so she suffered a serious injury called a nosebleed.

"Fine, but only 1..." The Demonic Saintess conceded.

"2, pretty please~?" Aiko pleaded with her large eyes submissively, as Mei would like.

She hoped to capitalise on her cuteness while she could.

"Ugh..." The Demonic Saintess groaned even more. Aiko was too pretty to be left alone! Some of her members might even jump her like this!

"Fine, fine. Just cover yourself up." The Demonic Saintess was really tempted to go after her.

"Hehe~, thank you~" Aiko hugged her due to her happiness, but before the Demonic Saintess could act on her impulses, she was already gone.

'Tsk. She is such a tease. I pity anyone who will be her partner...' The Demonic Saintess clicked her tongue and ordered her retainer to bring more Table Maps for her.

'Wait...' The Demonic Saintess felt like there was something wrong. 'Why would she need more Table Maps when she can move the current one, unless-!' She soon realised that there might be more functions to the Table Map than she knew, which would improve their chances of raiding Humans even more!

The Demonic Saintess licked her lips and waited for everyone to return.

...

Aiko happily received the additional Table Maps and connected them.

'Hm? It's not working?' Aiko raised her eyebrow. 'How is that possible? The Inscription clearly said it would work if-' She paused for a moment. 'Is the Inscription damaged?' She narrowed her eyes and flipped all the tables.

...

'The Inscription won't light up unless it's standing upright? What kind of idiot made that rule?!' Aiko was unable to find anything wrong with the other tables, so she had to flip them back. Connect them and see what was wrong with them.

'At least the Inscription functions even if the lid is off...' Moon Aiko was quite unhappy, but she still worked on diagnosing the error or errors on the Inscriptions...

-----

The Demonic Saint finally arrived back. His wifey told him that she had great news for him, and he was ecstatic about it.

'When was the last time she called me hubby~? I can't even remember~' He hummed happily as he entered the main hall.

"I'm back, wifey~!" The Demonic Saint shouted, but the main hall was empty.

He wasn't aware that his wifey was collecting Treasures so that they could explore the map quicker. She was also collecting rewards for Aiko, so that she could obtain more information about the Table Map.

All of this was unknown to him, so he entered the main hall, wondering what was wrong.

'Is she perhaps upset at me...?' The Demonic Saint sniffled and went towards the throne.

*Clang*

'Clang?' Just as he was about to arrive near the throne, he noticed numerous Table Maps around and a Fox lying down.

'Oh?! My wifey figured out how to repair them?! Great~! I should reward her~" The Demonic Saint was completely wrong about this, but he was completely unaware that there were guests inside.

He approached the Fox and sat near her, placing his hand on her inner thigh.

The Fox stiffened, and he marvelled at her softness.

'I didn't know that wifey already had a bath. That means I can be bolder~!' His hands slowly moved upwards, but his supposed wifey suddenly moved.

*Pfft*

He was kicked into the balls, and his mind was muddled. 'Is she still upset at-'

"AGH!" The next round hit his face. "W-wifey, I-I know you are upset, but there is no need to get excessive!" The Demonic Saint pleaded with his supposed wifey, being completely oblivious that his actual wifey was approaching from the side hallway...