CHAPTER 73: 66. KAWASHIMA MIKI’S DREAM (1)

Leaving the bathroom, Kawashima Miki didn’t put on clothes and dragged her bare body into the kitchen.

She took a yellow papaya from the refrigerator, cut it in half, and ate it with a spoon. It’s said that this fruit can enhance bust size, so she often eats it.

Then she took out three cucumbers, washed them clean, dipped them in soy sauce, and chewed slowly. Finally, she poured a full glass of milk and drank it all.

This was the entirety of her lunch.

Though simple, it ideally controlled her carbohydrate intake.

If possible, Kawashima Miki also wanted to devour roasted meat or sweet chocolate ice cream, but gaining weight, the thing women fear most in the world, is no exception even for female yokai.

To maintain a good figure, she pays great attention to her daily diet.

The mainstay of her three meals is vegetables, with a little white meat, and she rarely eats red meat.

She only chooses fresh ingredients, avoids those high in fat, and keeps carbohydrate intake to a minimum. When eating salads, she avoids complicated dressings, using only simple olive oil, salt, and lemon juice.

Thanks to such a diet, she maintains her figure well, with no excess flesh on her body.

Standing naked in front of the mirror every day, carefully confirming this fact, and indulging in her perfect body, is one of Kawashima Miki’s greatest pleasures.

But...

She was still somewhat dissatisfied.

Why do yokai also gain weight?!

"Bastard!"

Kawashima Miki stroked her flat abdomen, cursing as if to vent, "I really want to eat roasted meat!"

After lunch, she was still naked, lying on the soft couch, browsing the news on her tablet. She didn’t find any interesting reports, mostly trivial matters.

After half an hour, she got up and walked to the window.

This room has huge floor-to-ceiling windows; standing by the window, one can see the huge body of the sky tree in the distance.

At this moment, the lace curtains were tightly drawn, without leaving a single gap, so no one knew there was a naked woman in this room ready to observe the outside world.

Kawashima Miki pulled the curtain slightly open, just enough to show her head, and looked out at the scenery of Yoshiwara.

Summer had arrived, and the temperature was beginning to heat up.

There were few pedestrians on the road, and the number of vehicles had greatly reduced. The streets were quiet, like a deserted city before the apocalypse.

Looking at such a scene, Kawashima Miki inexplicably felt a bit lost.

Is this the true reality?

She asked herself.

If this isn’t reality, then where should she find it?

She didn’t know.

For now, let’s just acknowledge this as the only reality and fully concentrate on living in it.

"Why do I think about these things..."

Furrowing her brows in frustration, Kawashima Miki lay back on the bed in her room, curling up motionless.

In the past couple of weeks, she’s often felt her body tired and heavy, lacking energy.

Her chest and abdomen felt slightly swollen, as if something was accumulating, with a sense of waiting for release.

Her mental state wasn’t great either, often distracted, almost feeling like her soul left her body to meet someone far away. When back to her senses, she even felt a bit nostalgic.

Not even knowing what it was.

What’s there to be nostalgic about?

"Could it be that the new Number Ten is coming, causing me so much stress lately..."

Kawashima Miki frowned, delving into deep thought.

As Luo Xinfu, she was the Empress of the Spider Demon Clan, theoretically overseeing all spider yokai. However, when sent to Tokyo to expand her influence, Hiraki Dairo was promoted to Number Ten, making his status equal to hers.

On the surface, they said collaborating as a couple would better hide their identities.

But in reality, Kawashima Miki knew very well that the higher-ups just feared she would grow and break away from the organization.

Her years of experience verified her thoughts.

Hiraki Dairo operated secretly, nurturing spirits, and training henchmen.

He didn’t need to explain anything to her or get her approval, directly reporting to the higher-ups.

As the Spider Empress, Kawashima Miki only needed to focus on making money, and couldn’t interfere in other matters.

Because she was in the open, she barely needed to use her yokai subordinates. With long-term isolation, most of the spider yokai gradually sided with Hiraki Dairo, vaguely setting a trend to sideline the empress.

After finally waiting for Hiraki Dairo’s death, Kawashima Miki had a desire to reorganize the clan.

But the higher-ups, fearing she might absorb Dairo’s remaining influence, quickly sent a new Number Ten.

"Bastard!"

Clenching her teeth, Kawashima Miki cursed bitterly.

Knowing the higher-ups’ intentions but having no means to resist felt utterly suffocating.

"What should I do..."

Mumbling drowsily, her consciousness blurred, and the naked woman tilted her head, falling asleep.

Once again.

She found herself in a strange dream.

Just like the past couple of weeks’ dreams, the scene was the ruins of a building, where a huge cherry blossom tree grew.

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

Gentle winds blew from afar, lifting petals into the sky.

The sky and earth seemed to become one, with pink petals everywhere as far as the eye could see.

"You... are Luo Xinfu, aren’t you?"

A deep and calm voice came, carrying a reassuring strength.

In the cherry-pink haze, there was a striking figure.

Wearing a white hunting robe, a man whose face was indistinct, stood under the cherry blossoms looking at her.

Kawashima Miki moved toward him with eight spider legs, petals continuously falling on her, soon covering her in pink cherry hues.

"Surrounded by webs all around, you’re sitting at the center," the man’s emotionless voice continued, "beneath the gentle and elegant appearance lies eight venomous long legs."

"Still saying such things at this point?" Kawashima Miki retorted.

"It’s time to settle accounts with you," the man said. "Countless lives lost, numerous families shattered, someone has to be responsible for all this."

Several petals fell on Kawashima Miki’s smooth face, jet-black hair, and shoulders.

"Could it be... that you intend to eliminate me?" she asked.

"What else?" The man slowly approached her. "Unless more obstructive entities that bind you are found. In other words, you’re a pawn; eliminating you doesn’t solve the problem, nor will the conspiracy end, right?"

"Is that so?"

Kawashima Miki turned her head away, avoiding his ethereal gaze.

Even if she couldn’t see his face,

subconsciously, she didn’t want to show an ugly side in front of this person.

"Their goal is to enter the core of this country. After that... is there more?"

Kawashima Miki shook her head.

She didn’t want to speak, nor confess anything.

But this was her dream, and the man opposite knew everything about her.

"After successfully entering the country’s core, a major disaster will follow," the man said, his ethereal gaze fixed on her. "In other words, you’re also an accomplice to the disaster, am I right?"

"In the end, you still want to eliminate me."

"Without a commission, I won’t work for free."

"Is that so?"

"That’s right." The man came to her side, his tone softening: "But the premise of not removing you is that you must free yourself from bindings and find the home you desire."

"Presumptuous!"

Kawashima Miki mocked with a smirk.

The rampant dancing cherry blossoms blurred her seemingly less resolute expression.