Lila felt amazing. Before going to the hot springs, she was dead tired, but after bathing in them and getting a healing boost from Kon, she was too energized to simply sleep. She was also too curious about the city outside the walls to stay put for now.

  The answer was simple.

  Sneak out of the palace and explore.

  It took her the better part of half an hour to get out without getting caught, but she was filled with anticipation once she was over the wall, eager to explore.

  Not knowing where to start, she picked a random direction and ran into the unknown wearing a hoodie and shorts she had made.

  *

  Haruaki woke up when he sensed someone moving through the barrier he maintained around the palace without permission. When he scryed on the disturbance he saw Lila sneaking out.

  “Now, now, little princess. Can’t let you go unsupervised.”

  Haruaki summoned a shikigami in the form of an electrical fox and ordered it to follow Lila unnoticed and protect her if she found herself in trouble.

  “The question now is how much of a head start I should give her before reporting to Lady Kon.”

  He couldn't help but smirk at this and decided to report when he felt like it instead of waiting a certain amount of time.

  *

  Lila was enamored with the city she was in. It looked like a blend of various oriental cultures had come together without clashing.

  She did a lot of window shopping and kept an eye out for places where she might be able to sell the items she makes.

  She kept looking around until she found herself on the edge of an alley and heard a commotion.

  When she went to investigate, she saw some bipedal rats beating up a bipedal, green-scaled creature that had a tiger-like face and sharp hook-like growths on its kneecaps. When looking at it she thought he was a kappa of some kind, but he lacked a bowl on his head. Though this was also mere trivia from the little she had heard about yokai.

  The rat yokai mocked it for being unable to settle his debts.

  In the past, Lila would have been angered to see such a sight and would have intervened. Now, she watched from afar. All this taught her was that every place had its dark side. Still, she wanted to help the weird yokai.

  When the rat yokai left, she approached him.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Came to mock me, oh mighty kitsune.” This yokai didn’t want to be pitied anymore. He was a suiko. A species of yokai that are meant to be underworld bosses for aquatic yokai, usually kappa’s.

  “What’s your name?”

  “What?”

  The suiko was confused. Why would nobility care about some gangster on his last legs? It didn’t make sense to him.

  “Why does it matter?” He inquired. He hated being pitied, but the more he looked into Lila’s eyes, the sooner he realized that he did not find any pity. He saw in her eyes that she was testing him, something that even Lila herself didn’t know she was doing.

  “Should it matter? How do we determine what moment is more important than another when the cosmos doesn’t care about us?”

  The suiko thought carefully for a moment. Why be philosophical? What was the answer she was looking for? Why did he care about this?

  Something about her drew him in. Like, if he could prove himself here, then his life would change for the better. So, he stood up and struggled to maintain his stance and looked Lila dead in the eyes.

  “My kind are hot-tempered and one of the most violent yokai out there. I think we can only truly judge moments as they pass us. Better to regret doing the wrong thing than to regret doing nothing at all.”

  They stared into each other’s eyes. The suiko may have been level 42, but in his current condition, he knew a level 1 could easily deal a finishing blow to him. So, when he watched her eyes turn from purple to green, he was confused until he saw the biggest genuine smile he had ever seen in his life.

  “I like your answer. It’s very similar to what my uncle Roark answered when I asked him.” Her words seemed to encourage the yokai, and only now that he was standing did Lila realize how small he was. The suiko was no bigger than that of a child.

  What Lila did next, she was hesitant to do. Ever since she killed Austin, she kept this item close and was even able to keep it hidden from Kon and the army of servants that inspected what she had on her.

  She gave him her magisteel dagger, and it wasn’t easy. Even after she put it in the suiko’s clawed hand, she had to force herself to let go. She didn’t want to be held back by the past and her instincts told her that the yokai in front of her was worth investing in.

  “Treat my dagger right, and it will do right by you. It helped me right a wrong,g and hopefully, it will do the same for you.” She explained as she finally let it go and left before she decided to take it back.

  Meanwhile, the little suiko checked the stats of the dagger and was amazed by it. While he had once wielded a weapon with better damage, the ability was incredible. If she truly made this herself, then even if she was a lowborn noble now, he knew she would rise up through the ranks with her future creations.

  [Name: Magisteel Dagger]

  [Type: Dagger]

  [Physical Attack Power: 60]

  [Magic Attack Power: 10]

  [Durability: 165]

  [Perks]

  [Lustful Allure: Enemies struck by the dagger have a 10% chance to be temporarily charmed, lowering their aggression and making them less likely to attack the wielder for a short duration.]

  “Oki Kisho! My name is Oki Kisho, and I swear to repay this debt to you!” He shouted this as he kowtowed before her, vowing to himself to take care of the dagger as if it were a family treasure.

  Little Oki would end up taking over the entire waterfront with his own gang and would dedicate himself to being a loyal follower of Lila’s, even if he did not know her identity yet. He would wait until she found him worthy and repay all he gained from this tenfold.

  Lila just waved at him as she left the alley just to meet another interesting yokai.