Shota is surrounded by monsters!

"uh-huh."

Seeing that Shota was still lost in thought, the tutor coughed lightly to signal him to come back to his senses.

"As expected, I'm completely bad at studying."

Huang Quan sighed and emerged from the room where Shota was having class, passing through the wall. She then asked Rea and Mashiro, who were watching anime again outside, "It's amazing that Shota could persevere. I must say, Rea, you hold a very high place in his heart."

As Huang Quan said this, he wore a teasing, mischievous smile.

"That's not true!"

Upon hearing this, Rea nervously retorted, as if Yomi had seen through her and Shota's agreement—although Yomi rarely relied on Shota at home, occasionally either she or Shota might leak the news...

How embarrassing it would be if that kind of agreement were exposed...

"Huh? Really? Mashiro, tell me, what major thing has happened in the last few days?"

Mashiro replied earnestly, "The bed sheets at home need to be changed frequently."

"Ma-Mashiro-chan!"

Rea quickly covered Mashiro's mouth. After all, they lived together, and some things were simply left unsaid. Now, having been exposed by the completely oblivious Mashiro, Rea was so ashamed that she felt like committing suicide.

Seeing Rei's reaction, Huang Quan shook her head helplessly, but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she changed the subject and asked, "Speaking of which, winter is coming soon."

Rea glanced at Yomi. After spending so much time together, Rea knew that Yomi might have some feelings for Shota. Through subtle questioning, Rea also learned some things about their past that they didn't know before. However, Yomi seemed to have chosen to back down, which made Rea feel a little guilty.

"Yes, it's already winter."

After putting away her own thoughts, Rei took over the conversation, saying, "It's been so long without us realizing it."

At the end of last winter, just as spring was beginning, she met Shota, and from then on, her life changed dramatically. Although there were some tears along the way, Rea is now very content and happy.

She usually spends Monday through Thursday at home. Although her stepmother is still somewhat cold towards her, at least the atmosphere at home is no longer so cold. Her father has also begun to learn to be a normal father, although he still occasionally tries to install surveillance cameras all over Shota's house. For the remaining three days of the week, Rea comes to this small apartment, which has been upgraded to a three-bedroom, one-living-room unit by knocking down the adjacent room. She enjoys the sweet nothings whispered between lovers and the uninhibited conversations with her best friend.

"There are only two weeks left until the end of the year."

Huang Quan seemed lost in thought for some reason, and said, "I wonder what next year will be like."

"I guess it will be just like it is now, always full of laughter and joy, and occasionally with some exciting and adventurous moments."

"It's decided..."

It was Mashiro who interrupted the two girls' vision for the future; she suddenly stood up and said, "I want to open a juice shop!"

"..."

Seeing Mashiro so serious, Rea couldn't help but laugh and said, "Mashiro-chan said yesterday that she wanted to be a manga artist."

"And all they draw are terrible things..."

Thinking about this, Huang Quan helplessly rubbed her forehead. Mashiro was very talented at drawing, but for some reason, that talent had been twisted into drawing adult comics... Wasn't that typical of a monster girl? Yesterday, she had confidently and seriously asked Shota and the others to write a script for her—and even had a title in mind: Attack on Monster Girls...

Of course, it seems that this idea has completely failed today.

"I'll come again tomorrow. Remember to finish this exam paper before then."

"Yes, teacher, please take care."

After watching the tutor leave, Shota scratched his head in frustration and said, "Ugh, studying is such a hassle. Time to eat, eat, eat..."

Seeing that Shota wanted to eat, Rea immediately took out her phone to order takeout, saying, "What do you want to eat today? Do you want some fried chicken?"

"No, I suddenly don't really want to eat fried chicken. It feels a bit greasy."

"Huh, Shota, when did you become a picky eater?"

Huang Quan asked a question with some curiosity, while Shota calmly replied, "When conditions are better, of course you have to choose the food you like. Ah, Rea, I suddenly feel like eating something a little sour."

"I hate greasy food but crave sour food. If you go to the toilet and throw up right now, I'll definitely suspect you might be pregnant."

Huang Quan said jokingly, and Rea laughed along, saying, "But that's impossible, Shota-kun getting pregnant or anything..."

As she spoke, her eyes dimmed slightly, after all, she knew she would never have another child.

……

Will I end up like that Yamabuki Otome? Me...

"You're overthinking it again."

Shota stepped forward and took Rea's hand, comforting her, "As for the child, didn't we agree to try IVF? Anyway, technology is developing very quickly. Perhaps there are ways that magic can't solve, but technology can. With our lifespan, it shouldn't be too difficult for us to wait until that day comes."

"What kind of in-vitro gluttony is this..."

Rea had never said anything like this before, but after hearing Shota say it, she could only chuckle and say, "Don't worry about me, I'm a very petty girl, you know. I would never be willing to leave Shota-kun."

"As long as we keep an eye on Shota's appetite, it's quite possible that we could stay together for a hundred or a thousand years."

Huang Quan shrugged and said, "I won't bother you guys with your flashbangs here. Zhen Bai, let's go for a walk. We'll be back before dinner."

"Go to the street?"

"Buying juice~"

"I go!"

"I'm going to take a shower first."

After Yomi and Mashiro left, Shota said something to Rea and then went into the bathroom.

"Bam—"

As the door closed, Shota's sweat finally poured down like a waterfall.

He walked almost tremblingly to the mirror, looked at his face, and muttered to himself, "Could it really be true?"

"Isn't it fine?"

Shinobu sat on the sink, nudged Shota's chin with her head, and said, "Wash my hair."

"No, no, now is not the time to think about such things... Could it be that I really got pregnant on the first try?!"

"That's normal."

Xiao Ren wasn't surprised at all and said, "That bastard back then conceived from a single drop."

"...No, no, it can't be true."

Shota slapped his face hard. He was sure it was all his imagination, it couldn't be real. But he dared not use his senses to check his tail. He was afraid that if he did, he would fall into an abyss of no return.

"Hmm...it's been more than half a year since the last time, hasn't it?"

Shinobu pondered for a moment before asking, "You're thirty-one this year. If I remember correctly, it was almost thirty-nine years ago that you met that bastard. Oh? Are you going to be pregnant for eight years?"

"What do you mean, eight years pregnant...?"

Shota quickly stopped Shinobu from continuing, saying, "This is all definitely an illusion! Wait, after all, wasn't it you, Mom, who told me to poke her with my tail that one time?"

"It's quite troublesome, after all. If we don't resolve it soon, we won't have such a good opportunity later... But you did it voluntarily, didn't you? I didn't force you..."

"Well, I was in a beastly state back then... of course I did whatever felt comfortable."

Shota sighed, but suddenly realized that something seemed to have appeared behind him.

"Huang, Huang Quan! Didn't you go out?"

"It's a good thing that Zhenbai forgot to take the little black bead, which forced me to come back all the way... Otherwise, I would never have known these things."

Huang Quan looked at Shota with icy eyes and asked, "What exactly happened?"

"This...that..."

Shota winked at his mother.

"She's been there ever since you refused to wash my hair."

Shinobu had already noticed Yomi and said, "I'd really like to change the subject."

"..."

"If you don't tell me what happened, I'll tell Rea first..."

"No! God of the Underworld! I'll confess, I'll confess! I'll confess everything!"

Chapter 164. Shota’s daily happy life

That's pretty much how things are.

Shota half-buried his head in the bathtub, cautiously watching Yomi, who listened to his confession with a cold face. He told her everything that happened back then, of course, he embellished some parts, such as his plan to carve tally marks being beautified as him being accidentally seduced by the scent of a fox...

Huang Quan remained silent for more than a minute before she could fully process all of Shota's words in her mind. At this moment, she didn't know what to say anymore.

"No, I can't handle this alone. I have to tell Rea..."

"No! Huang Quan!"

Shota quickly jumped out of the bathtub and grabbed Yomi's hand, saying, "Tell her I'll have my little brother cut off!"

"You knew this would lead to this outcome, yet you still dared to do it!"

"I was in heat at the time, and I couldn't control myself!"

Shota tried his best to argue, "If I could, I wouldn't want to do that either!"

"Humph."

Recalling how horrible Shota's heat was back then, Yomi felt she could understand the origin of the matter a little better, but...

"And what did Rei do then?!"

Huang Quan said angrily, "Were all those signs of your heat cycle after you came back fake?"

In order to legitimately engage in loving activities with his girlfriend—no, to be precise, to get his girlfriend to take the initiative and push him—Shota maintained a distressed demeanor of desperately wanting to vent his frustrations after returning to Tokyo. Sure enough, that very night, Rea sneaked into his room…

—Abridged—

"Well, it's not an act, it's just that spring hasn't really passed yet."

Shota, of course, wouldn't explain everything about it, only saying, "After all, that time with Hagoromo Gitsune was an accident, and things like heat cycles are still too difficult to deal with."

"Really?"

Huang Quan's eyes were full of doubt.

"it is true."

Shota looked at Yomi with innocent eyes and said, "I actually regret it a lot. After all, I feel really sorry for Rea. You see, I haven't been going out to cause trouble lately and have been a good boy at home."