Note from Ozen_Ice: rejoice my dear readers, because since I am going to be taking my college entrance examination the day after tomorrow I will be mass release 10 chapters. Wish me luck I'm going to need it, since I haven't picked up a book this year lol ಡ ͜ ʖ ಡ
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I stepped forward.
"Raise your head." I ordered, trying to be as cold as possible.
The man obeyed. He slowly lifted his head up, but he was still unwilling to look at me in the eyes.
"How much have you heard?" I asked with the same apathetic voice. The man froze.
He probably understood that he had heard something he shouldn't have and that I wasn't very pleased about that. Still, he didn't dare to lie.
He swallowed. "Y-You are Her Holiness' Creator a-and the Goddess of All Creations…"
Yup. As I thought, he heard too much. I crouched down in front of him and lifted his chin, forcing him to look at me in the eyes. I made sure to show him my most sadistic smile, to make him understand what I was thinking. "Is that so? This is not good. This is supposed to be a secret, you know~?" I told him.
Yoko suddenly spoke up. "Eh? If you don't want him to know, why don't you just kill him?" As I thought… Hearing this, the man started shivering. Ignoring Yoko's remark, I continued.
"So… You can't tell anyone about what you saw or heard today, understood? It will be really troublesome if you started saying unnecessary things… I don't like troublesome things… You… understand my point, don't you? You should know that I see everything… I know everything…" This is embarrassing. I think I have to work on my villain lines. Hearing something like this from a teenage girl can't possibly be intimidating, yet, for some reasons, it worked. Seeing the sweat droplets on his skin running down his face and his body shivering, I concluded that he had understood. Besides, I highly doubt anyone would believe him even if he started talking. People in this world aren't aware of my existence… I think… The man quietly nodded.
"Can we go now?" Yoko asked, the tone in her voice clearly indicating that she was losing patience.
"Before that, there is something I want to ask you." I said, returning my attention to her. "I'm looking for someone. A man. It's been a few days he disappeared and his son Axis is looking for him. Since you are the one who knows this forest the best, do you happen to know anything?" Yoko stared at me with her squinted eyes for a while, seemingly thinking about something. She then turned her gaze on the man, bowing on the ground, completely stiff.
"Hey, Goyle, Roy, Troy, or whatever your name was. Didn't you say that you had a son named like this too?" She asked. Processing what she just said, my eyes slowly fell upon the man on the ground, who was now as rigid as a statue. It can't be… Him…?
"It's Troy, Your Holiness… And I-I may have mentioned s-something like this but…" He tried to speak up, however, his voice fell silent again. …What in the world? He is Axis' father? But… He seems well and uninjured. How come did he not return to his son? No wait… Is he not Yoko's worshipper? I turned my gaze to her, with a meaningful look.
"I told you already, I did not kidnap anyone," she said, answering my unspoken thought. "I found this one weakened, wandering near my den. Ever since, he wouldn't stop following me. And since he's not completely useless, I granted him a little protection against the miasma. End of the story." It doesn't make any sense. That doesn't explain why he is still here, on his own will. If she had saved his life, maybe I would've understood, but knowing Yoko's character, I'm pretty sure she simply went on her way, ignoring him. Yet, he's here. Why would a man leave his family behind in order to follow a Goddess? Unless… Does he want something from her? This is suspicious…
"Looks like you've found your man." Yoko said with an unenthusiastic voice. "Now that you've settled your problem, can we go settle mine?" "Sure…" I responded, not turning my gaze away from the man. "But we have to bring him too." Yoko frowned. "What? Why would you want to bring a mortal?"
"I told you, I've been looking for him. I can't let him go now that I've found him. I might lose him again. Besides, he could run away…" "Still, it won't be possible. He's a mortal. He won't be able to follow." "Heh?" I tilted my head to the side. "I thought you were going to bring us…?" "I'm fine with you, but I'm not carrying a mortal." She bluntly said. … Of course… Here we go again with her Goddess' pride. I looked at her blankly for a few seconds, making her understand that it was ridiculous. But since she didn't seem willing to reconsider, I sighed.
"Oh well, I guess we can walk then… It's not like you were in a hurry, right?" Yoko clenched her teeth as her eyelids twitched. She's annoyed, clearly understanding that I wasn't going to back down either. She clicked her tongue.
"Fine… But he's not getting on my back…" She snorted. Without even waiting for an answer, Yoko started changing. A white glow enveloped her body, and her figure gradually became larger, taking the shape of a giant fox. As the light subsided, she laid her massive body on the ground, and gave me a quick glance.
"Get on. And hold tight if you don't want to fall down on the way." She ordered, with a much hoarser voice. Nodding, I started climbing her shoulder by grabbing her fur. How fluffy! After making sure I was comfortably seated on her back, she got up. She didn't lie; even though she barely moved, I had to hold tight in order not to fall off.
Looking down on the ground, I noticed how high I was. Fortunately, I'm not scared of heights, but it's still a little unsettling. Yoko then approached Troy, who was shivering in apprehension. "Yoko, be gent-"
Before I could finish my sentence, she bit the man's arm, lifting him off the ground. The poor man cried out in pain. What a delicacy… I thought she was going to grab him by his collar or something, like a mother carrying her offspring, but obviously, she seems to lack maternal instinct –or maybe she simply has something against the man. Without further delay, Yoko set off. The journey did not last very long. To be honest, I was too focused on not falling off to enjoy the scenery.
Despite being in a dense forest, she was really fast, which made it harder for me to stay in place. If I had to compare, I'd say she was as fast as a train.
If not for the pain of being bounced in all directions, I'm pretty sure Troy would have fainted.
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Note from Ozen_Ice: Thanks Lucid_, Saif Allah Ahmed, hi81, Carlos_742, Fuenfpfund and Space_Turtle for the power stones, I love you guys.