The story begins with an eight-foot-tall lady surrounded by ghost story ladies.

Natsume Fanyu looked down at the tooth mark on his collarbone that was still throbbing slightly.

He looked up again at the eight-foot-tall lady who looked completely at ease, opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

What are you saying?

Saying, "You are a shikigami, you can't bite your master"?

She'd already bitten it.

To say, "This is insubordination"?

She's already made a mistake.

Saying, "The way you leave marks is too primitive"?

She would probably ask, "Then what method should we use?"

Then he will be unable to answer.

Or to be more precise...

If he answers, the eight-foot-tall lady will most likely do as he says.

But now is not the time to answer that question.

"Oh, right."

Natsume Fanyu suddenly remembered something.

"Um?"

"You said to Saya Jinguji today, 'Another one.'"

The eight-foot-tall lady blinked, her expression innocent as if to say, "I didn't say anything."

"Your use of the word 'again'..." Natsume Fanyu looked at her.

"What does that mean?"

The eight-foot-tall lady looked away.

"Ayano Matsushita," she uttered a name.

Natsume Fanyu was taken aback.

"Landlady?"

"The way she looked at you..." Madam Hachitachi's voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"She looks exactly like that woman in the kimono."

"What kind of look is that?"

"A look in my eyes that says I want to devour you."

Natsume Fanyu remained silent for a moment.

"Okusan, aren't you overthinking this?"

"I didn't think too much about it," Mrs. Ba Chi said earnestly.

"I am a woman, I can read a woman's eyes."

You are a female ghost.

"That's what Natsume Fanyu thought to himself."

But he didn't say it.

It wasn't because I was afraid of hurting Mrs. Ba Chi's feelings.

It was because Madam Bachi's fingers were resting on the spot where the teeth mark was on his collarbone, gently stroking it.

"And..." Madam Hachi-chi continued.

I saw her on top of you this afternoon.

"What do you see?"

"Her legs."

Natsume Fanyu recalled the scene from the afternoon.

Ayano Matsushita, dressed in loose summer loungewear with the collar open, sat sprawled on his lap in a rather... posture.

inappropriate.

But he was busy reciting the purification mantra and didn't notice her legs.

"Her legs..." Madam Hachi's voice lowered by an octave.

"She's shaking."

"Isn't that because you're scaring her?"

"It's not that kind of trembling." Madam Bachi shook her head.

"It's another kind."

Natsume Fanyu opened his mouth, then closed it again.

He decided not to pursue the topic any further.

Because the expression on Madam Bachi's face told him that she had already reached her conclusion.

And that conclusion will not change no matter how he refutes it.

A woman's intuition.

No, it's the ghost's intuition.

Even more terrifying.

"So..." Natsume Fanyu cleared his throat.

"You just said 'Another one' to Jinguji Saya because you think she's like the landlady, wanting to..."

"I'll eat you up," Madam Bachi finished speaking for him.

"..."

"And that woman in the kimono..." Mrs. Hachikami added.

"More difficult to deal with than the landlady."

Why?

"Because she knows what she wants."

A complex look flashed in Madam Bachi's eyes.

"Women who know what they want are the hardest to deal with."

Natsume Fanyu looked into her eyes and suddenly realized something.

When Madam Bachi said this, there was no sarcasm, no hostility, and not even a hint of bitterness in her tone.

There is only one kind of recognition that is almost like that of a kindred spirit.

Because she herself is the kind of woman who knows what she wants.

No, a female ghost.

The office fell silent again.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, cutting a thin, silvery line across the floor.

The eight-foot-tall lady was still pressing down on him.

But the posture has changed from "clamping tightly" to "leaning lazily".

Her head rested on his shoulder, and her arms were loosely wrapped around his waist.

The three-meter-tall body coiled around his side with incredible flexibility, like a giant white python coiling itself around its favorite tree.

Natsume Fanyu's hand rested on her waist, his fingertips unconsciously caressing the thin fabric.

"Okusan".

"Um."

Have you ever thought about this question?

"What's the problem?"

"You're three meters tall, and I'm 1.8 meters tall," said Natsume Fanyu.

"If in the future we..."

He paused.

"that..."

The eight-foot-tall lady raised her head and looked into his eyes.

Under the moonlight, a faint smile appeared in her eyes.

"Which one?"

Natsume Fanyu remained silent.

"Speak," Madam Bachi urged, her tone carrying a hint of mischievous teasing.

"Never mind." Natsume Fanyu looked away.

"Never mind what I said."

"No." Madam Bachi reached out, pinched his chin, and turned his face back.

"explain."

Natsume Fanyu looked into her eyes.

The cool moonlight swirled in her pupils, but deep within her eyes, something was burning quietly.

"You want to ask..." Madam Bachi spoke up for him.

"What if we do that kind of thing, what about the height difference?"

Natsume Fanyu's Adam's apple bobbed again.

"This problem..."

The eight-foot-tall lady's lips curved into a smile, a smile that carried something that sent chills down his spine.

"I've thought about this for a long time."

"..."

There are many ways.

"..."

"The simplest way is for you to just lie down."

Hearing the words "just lie down" is enough.

The image involuntarily flashed into Natsume Fanyu's mind, and he immediately felt a dryness in his mouth.

Silent for a long time.

Then he said, "Okusan."

"Um."

"Let's change the subject."

The eight-foot-tall lady chuckled softly.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing." Madam Ba Chi buried her face in his chest again.

"I just feel..."

"Um?"

"It's good to be alive."

"You are a spirit, not a living being."

"Then..." Her voice was muffled in his chest, carrying a hint of gentle capriciousness.

"It's good that it exists."

Natsume Fanyu did not answer.

His hand moved from her waist to her hair, his fingers running through her cascading black hair, gently combing it.

The eight-foot-tall lady closed her eyes.

Moonlight peeked through the gaps in the curtains, plunging the room into complete darkness.

In the darkness, only the sound of two breaths could be heard.

One dish was warm, the other slightly cool.

That warm dish belongs to Natsume Bonyu.

The slightly cool dish belonged to the eight-foot-tall lady.

Their breaths gradually synchronized, intertwining and becoming indistinguishable from one another.

......

the next morning.

Natsume Fanyu was awakened by the knocking on the door.

He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the sofa in the office.

He was covered with a white mourning garment, which his wife, Madam Bachi, had taken off at some point.

Meanwhile, Madam Hachi was standing by the window, wearing one of his white shirts.

The white shirt she wore, which was three meters tall, had two buttons on the collar already popped off.