As for how he knew?

Of course, this is based on the personal experience of a certain blonde-haired loli, who is speaking from her own experience.

According to Kotoko Iwanaga, when she first took office as the Goddess of Wisdom for the yokai, she was a greenhorn with little experience. Occasionally, when she encountered beings she couldn't afford to offend, she would come here to exploit the bugs of the Demon Mother Goddess and seek protection.

As she gradually became familiar with the business process and gained some fame in the industry, more and more monsters were willing to give her face. Among them were some skilled individuals who could provide her with support within their capabilities, making it less likely for her to offend anyone she couldn't afford to mess with.

In addition, she is no longer a real loli; she's past the age where she could be considered a child. They were afraid that if she came over again, things would go wrong, and she'd be hung up and punished, so they didn't dare to come over.

This is why, normally, they shouldn't have directly tried to subdue a divine spirit of this strength, yet they still came here.

It's hard to say whether this little girl harbored a significant degree of gratitude and wanted him to use the purification and sublimation effects inherent in his purified faith power to save the other party.

Akira Higashino thinks it's probably true.

But he doesn't care.

As long as the general direction remains unchanged and the risks are not so great as to cause everyone to crash and affect the overall plan, he will not care about such petty thoughts.

If the other party won't harm the child.

Higashino Akira's gaze swept over his subordinates behind him. The strange creatures he had just subdued today were definitely no good, and the monsters that Kotoko had recruited were ancient things that had lived for countless years, not to mention that they were not human.

In the end, all that's left is...

Akira Higashino's gaze finally settled on the Slit-Mouthed Woman and the others.

"Although we are confident that we can defeat them, it would be best to avoid fighting if possible."

"Miss Mary, would you be willing to try to persuade this Demon Mother Goddess to surrender on my behalf?"

Upon hearing this, Little Mary's expression turned serious. She was about to agree on the spot, but in front of Hanako and the others, she couldn't appear too compliant, lest she arouse suspicion.

Even if everyone finds out she's the mole now, nothing serious will happen, but she'll definitely be isolated and bullied for a while.

So, Miss Mary could only maintain her haughty expression and say in a slightly devilish tone, "Since you've put it that way, for the sake of my usual salary, Mary will reluctantly help you, you little god."

"Thank you."

Higashino Akira smiled, not exposing her, and then turned his gaze to the Slit-Mouthed Woman.

Upon seeing this, the Slit-Mouthed Woman widened her eyes and gestured in front of her exaggeratedly curvaceous figure, saying, "Someone like me doesn't look like a child at all, does she?"

"If I remember correctly, you're less than a year old?"

Upon hearing this, the Slit-Mouthed Woman gave the demon god a resentful look, then silently took a step forward and walked to Mary's side.

Immediately afterwards, Akira Higashino's gaze fell on Hanako and the others, but when he saw the look of disgust on her face and the human-faced dog's awkward head-scratching, he quietly looked away.

These two really don't look like children at all.

Sadako is an even more veteran character, having been around since the 1980s.

…………

…………

P.S.: 4500+ words, combined into one.

Chapter 251 I Need Your Help in My Cultivation!

"Then let's go!"

Everyone watched as the slit-mouthed woman and Mary, chests out and heads held high, strode confidently toward the shrine that sat quietly in the darkness not far ahead.

Soon, the sounds of fighting came from that direction, and the slit-mouthed woman, followed by dozens of infant spirits, fled towards the main force with a mournful face.

"Stop chasing me! I'm not your mother, and I don't have milk!!!"

Without Higashino Akira giving any orders, his subordinates acted in perfect unison, dismantling and suppressing the group of infant spirits.

The slit-mouthed woman hugged Hanako with a face full of indignation and grievance, crying loudly, "Why! Why am I not considered a child? I'm not even a year old!"

"And these guys are all chasing me, that's too much!"

“Mary was there too!”

"If that god hadn't been so fierce, I would have killed these guys long ago. But my mercy only got me more emboldened!"

The girl-like Hanako was held in the arms of the Slit-Mouthed Woman. Her vision was completely black, her face was cold, and the veins on her forehead throbbed involuntarily.

"Hey! Let go! Don't force me to slap you in front of others!"

After a while, Mary also emerged from the darkness and gently shook her head at Higashino Akira.

Compared to the Slit-Mouthed Woman who was being chased by a group of infant spirits calling for her mother, she seemed much more composed and did not encounter any danger.

However, the person following behind her posed no danger to her, but it was hard to say what would happen to others.

He casually picked up an infant spirit from under his feet and held it in his hand. Looking at the statue that housed a fragment of a god's spirit, Higashino Akira chose the fighting style most in line with the local customs. "Madam, you don't want your children to be harmed, do you?"

Upon hearing this, everyone stared wide-eyed at their Lord God with shocked expressions.

Kotoko Iwanaga couldn't help but subconsciously retort, "What a terrible comment! Will we be seen as a third-rate villainous force?"

"The one who fails is the villain."

Higashino Akira ignored her and focused his gaze on the statue of the Demon Mother Goddess. His expression was a mixture of worry and confusion. He had clearly not expected that a fellow deity would be so shameless. He was so angry that he was trembling all over, but he dared not risk attacking.

Behind Him, a dozen or so infant spirits remained, hiding in fear, pointing and whispering at the villain, completely disregarding their captured kin, and frantically urging Him to go up and kill the god.

Higashino Akira remained silent, gradually tightening his grip on the infant spirit's hand. The infant spirit, its body emanating black energy, struggled painfully and screamed loudly.

Upon seeing this, the Demon Mother Goddess trembled and wept sadly, clasping her hands together in a gesture of submission.

[Imperial Conferment Successfully]

[Priesthood: Mother Goddess of Devils]

[Qualification: Gold]

After finishing up and throwing away the infant spirit in his hand, the Japanese Mother Goddess nervously hugged him and stroked and comforted him repeatedly.

Higashino Akira patted non-existent dust off his hands, signaling Hanako and the others to release the infant spirits as well, leaving two drops of faith power in place, quietly watching each other.

"Someone will come to read out the decree later. She represents me. Remember to keep these little guys under your command in check. Otherwise, they will offend the divine authority and be punished according to the law. Someone will be sent to notify you in advance when there are group activities."

On the way back, everyone went their separate ways.

After all, most evil spirits and monsters with a little power have their own territories. It's fine for them to come out and act together occasionally. However, if they are absent for a long time, the resulting vacancy in their territory will cause surrounding spirits to wander into it, either actively or passively, causing disturbances in the spirit field and creating new crises and accidents.

When they came down the mountain, Kotoko Iwanaga didn't pester Akira Higashino to carry her or hug her; her expression was somewhat wistful.

"I really didn't expect it to end so easily."

“Otherwise what? A three-hundred-round battle? There’s no need for that.” Higashino Akira replied calmly. “Your intelligence is very comprehensive. Its weakness is obvious. It’s normal for it to achieve its goal easily. If there are no unexpected events, as our power grows, such things will only become easier to accomplish.”

"But is it really okay to use those infant spirits to threaten them?"

The girl tilted her head back and looked intently at the man's face, her thoughts unreadable.

Higashino Akira looked down at her. "Is it not allowed?"

Upon hearing this, Kotoko Iwanaga remained silent for a moment. "Many of our companions here are spirits. When they see this situation, they will inevitably feel sorry for their own kind, right?"

Do you think I'm a gentle person?

"At least to me, Higashino-kun is a gentle and good man."

"After all, Kotoko is one of us, and she's a pretty cute girl."

Kotoko Iwanaga felt a slight sense of relief and happiness upon hearing this, but she maintained a calm expression on her face.

Higashino Akira realized that he probably needed to help her understand him better and the operating mechanism of the Yunmeng team.

"I have never tried to influence the core members of the Yunmeng pantheon through gentleness, nor have I had the energy to get to know every outcast. As we grow our manpower, this approach will become increasingly difficult. The only way to manage them effectively is through discipline and rewarding merits while punishing demerits."

What if He holds a grudge?

"Does Kotoko really think that all my capable subordinates are truly convinced of my abilities?"

Higashino Akira said with a relaxed expression, "I don't care about their loyalty afterward, but once they are granted my title, their fate will be tied to mine. If I die, they all die; if I live, even if they die in an accident, their true spirits reside here with me and they can be resurrected at any time."

"Essentially, I hold the power of life and death over all the subordinate gods within the pantheon who have been granted titles, but I don't easily use such things to force anyone."

"After all, I only coerced them into submission; when it came to getting them to do things, I used bribery."

"I'm just not that bad, I have basic moral principles, but that doesn't mean I'm a good person."

Kotoko Iwanaga puffed out her cheeks. "Even so, they're still children. Don't you feel any guilt, Higashino-kun?"

Higashino Akira looked at her strangely, "Who knows how many years he's been dead? Maybe he's a ghost from World War II, or maybe he's a child?"

"They are emanating black energy, overflowing with malice towards the world and the living. Their words and actions are devoid of humanity, and they don't care about their own kind. They are clearly not good people. Why should I have any psychological burden towards them?"

"They aren't even human."

"That's not all, he's also ugly."

"I didn't just crush these filthy things that offer absolutely no value; I only showed them mercy out of respect for the Japanese Mother Goddess."

"Kotoko, we are first and foremost human beings, living beings, and only then do we have other identities, at least for now."

Akira Higashino has no sympathy for heretics who harbor malice towards humanity.

They are not worth it.

That's why he communicated peacefully with Chihiro and issued targeted recruitment notices, but launched a heavy attack on the courtesan and the slit-mouthed woman.

Although he also conferred titles upon some evil spirits and monsters with prior murder convictions, this was only because they still had value, nothing more. These creatures were not qualified to compete for divine office when it came to conferring titles.

Akira Higashino's approach can be seen as similar to Kotoko Iwanaga's strategy of primarily using communication and leveraging others' strengths to combat the outsiders, building good relationships, cultivating a positive reputation, and preventing the monsters and spirits from harboring ill will towards her.

She didn't think he had done anything wrong; she just suddenly realized that if she wanted to better integrate into the Yunmeng family, she might need to adjust her approach to things.

After driving Kotoko Iwanaga home, she obediently got out of the car and, unusually, didn't cling to her boyfriend, but instead looked thoughtful.

The car door had just closed and was about to drive away when it was suddenly opened again.

To Higashino Akira's surprise, a blonde loli suddenly darted in, leaning half her body in and clinging tightly to his neck like a facehugger, before awkwardly tilting her head up and giving him a kiss.

They didn't separate for a long time, and she got out of the car with a flushed face.

"This was a kiss full of love, Higashino-kun, so savor it. Next time we meet, make it up to me along with the reward you owe me!"

Where is the love?

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like