"Her light steps dust the silken socks."
As far back as the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there were beautiful odes praising women wearing socks. The origin of socks themselves can be traced back even further, to the Xia Dynasty. Most products of civilization fade into the long river of history with the changing of eras, and we can only glimpse fragments of them through unearthed artifacts or documents.
But socks have managed to survive to this day, a testament to people's fondness for them. They exude a unique charm, especially when worn by women.
As for thigh-high stockings, they actually existed as early as the Roman period. However, their transmission to the East was a more recent affair, later popularized by the 2D culture of the Far East.
Regardless, it was not something that should have appeared in the Warring States period of the Far East 500 years ago.
The white-stockinged miko said she made them herself.
One could say that Ms. Yae Sakura single-handedly advanced the entire Far East's aesthetic by 500 years.
Tsk, Kallen, what have you done!
Sealing away such an outstanding talent for 500 years. You must understand, thigh-high stockings are a treasure of civilization, a ladder of human progress.
"Benefactor?"
Seeing Ye Feng staring at her thighs, Yae Sakura couldn't help but speak up.
"It's nothing. Seeing you, I was reminded of an old acquaintance. She also had an ancient style, was a fox, and kept calling me 'Benefactor'."
"If... you do not wish for me to address you as such..."
"No. Please, always call me that. In every situation, you must call me that. Foxes and Benefactors are the perfect match."
"Y-yes... Benefactor."
Although she didn't quite understand the story of "foxes and Benefactors," since her Benefactor said so, there must be a reason. Besides, he was her benefactor, so addressing him as such was perfectly normal.
However, she felt that her Benefactor had put a rather heavy emphasis on the words "in every situation"... and she wasn't a fox. But Yae Sakura had no interest in correcting these minor issues, because she still didn't know what had become of Higokumaru.
"Higokumaru? She's on the sports field."
Hearing Ye Feng's words, Yae Sakura walked to the edge of the ruins and looked down at the field. The mountain-like fox was gone, but a small, pink-haired girl was lying in the middle of the field.
"She is..."
"Huh, she turned back into her human form. It's just as you guessed. She is Higokumaru, the Herrscher of Erosion you were entangled with in the seal for five hundred years."
Yae Sakura stared blankly at the small girl on the ground, lost in thought for a moment. She seemed to see the shadow of her younger sister.
Yae Sakura's sister, Yae Rin, was a child of misfortune. Rin had been frail and sickly since childhood, only able to watch the flowers bloom and fall, to see the wind, rain, frost, and snow from her window. To lift her sister's spirits, Yae Sakura had promised that they would go see the cherry blossoms together once she felt a little better.
However, before the pink flowers could dance in the shadows of spring, disaster struck first.
To pray for favorable weather, the Yae family, as head priests, chose a miko for a ritual sacrifice. Under her father's pressure and the teachings of a "miko's responsibility" she had received since childhood, Yae Sakura plunged a sharp blade into her own sister's heart.
From that moment on, a crack formed in Yae Sakura's heart, giving the Herrscher of Erosion an opportunity to enter.
And now, the image of the fallen Herrscher of Erosion slowly overlapped with the shadow of her sister lying in a pool of blood that day... wait, it couldn't overlap.
"Why is her belly so big?" Yae Sakura asked, her eyes wide.
"Have you never seen a pregnant woman?"
"...?"
Yae Sakura turned her head, looking at Ye Feng in disbelief. "Higokumaru is pregnant?"
"More or less."
"When?"
"Just now."
"....?"
There were so many things she wanted to retort, she didn't even know where to begin.
"So this is Higokumaru's true form?"
"To be precise, both the giant fox and she are 'Higokumaru,' or rather, the 'Herrscher of Erosion.' But this consciousness and personality are based on another consciousness and personality. What do you think? Herrschers are quite amazing, aren't they?"
Ye Feng paused, then added, "Oh, right. The 'other consciousness and personality' I mentioned is from fifty thousand years ago. It was a brilliant era of highly advanced civilization. That girl's name was Ling, and she had an older sister named Sakura."
Yae Sakura's pupils trembled violently, her face showing clear signs of being shaken.
"Ling, Rin..." Yae Sakura murmured. Their names sounded the same in the language of the Far East.
It was just like a 「Reincarnation Cycle」.
"Don't get too invested. The only one showing right now is 'Higokumaru,' a being of hatred and resentment. I can't sense the consciousness of 'Ling.' Otherwise…"
Ye Feng looked at Yae Sakura's face, which was identical to the Sakura from the Previous Era, and said, "You wouldn't have had to suffer so much."
Ye Feng brought Yae Sakura to the plaza. The way the off-the-shoulder, white-stockinged miko looked at Higokumaru was now clearly gentler than before.
"So, why is she pregnant?"
"No, seriously, after all that lore I just dropped, you're really sticking to your guns on this one. But, you can't really call it a pregnancy."
"What do you mean?"
Ye Feng looked at the character panel. There was no +1. He had thought the rules might have changed slightly, but no, he still couldn't add new characters.
Ye Feng explained, "She just has the status of being pregnant. There is no life gestating inside her."
"How does Benefactor know this?"
Ye Feng gave a mysterious smile. "Take a guess."
"..."
Yae Sakura fell silent for a moment, her two erect fox ears twitching.
"Benefactor, what do you plan to do with Higokumaru?"
"Are you worried I'll kill her?"
"No... I just..."
"Don't be so conflicted. Rest assured, I won't. It's not often I meet someone who wants to kill me the moment they see me. I admire Higokumaru's courage. Keeping her around will definitely be fun. Ah, right, I almost forgot to tell you one thing. This isn't the real world."
"Mmm."
Yae Sakura nodded slightly. She had also noticed the abnormality here. The students in the classroom earlier were the biggest anomaly.
"You can think of this as a dream world."
"A dream...?"
"But you two will eventually return to the real world. When you do, help me check if Higokumaru's pregnancy buff is still there."
"Yes, Benefactor." Although there were some words she didn't understand, Yae Sakura roughly grasped what Ye Feng was trying to say. He wanted to see if his buffs could carry over into reality.
Yae Sakura picked up the fallen Higokumaru, her expression complex as she gazed at the nemesis she had fought for five hundred years. Until now, Yae Sakura had always believed that when this endless battle finally concluded, either she would die, or Higokumaru would. There was absolutely no possibility of reconciliation.
But now, looking at her quiet, sleeping face, Yae Sakura's heart was at peace. At the very least, in this dream world, it was alright to relax her guard a little.
It was just that the bulging belly was really an eyesore.