That scent made her feel sick with disgust, and her body and mind both instinctively resisted it.
It was like a snake smelling realgar—it simply could not bear it!
"Bastard, who exactly made a move?"
Tamamo no Mae was somewhat exasperated.
The person who had acted was so familiar with her that they could not have been more familiar.
The problem was, there was no such person in her memories at all.
Which bastard was it?
Just then.
The girl who had fallen unconscious finally woke up.
Tamamo no Mae instantly returned to normal and greeted her. "You're awake?"
"What happened to me...?"
Tohsaka Rin felt a little dizzy.
She felt as if she had dreamed a dream she could never wake from, completely unable to control her body.
She was also extremely tired, and both her legs were trembling slightly.
Tamamo no Mae's expression was calm. "You were possessed by a deity just now. Let me first check how your body is doing."
"Eh, a deity?"
Tohsaka Rin was a little confused.
Her mind, which had been hazy and dazed, immediately reacted—
Could it be Ishtar, who looked exactly like her?
Was I really a goddess in my previous life?
She looked at her somewhat disheveled clothes, and she herself became just as flustered.
What exactly had that goddess done with her body?
Tohsaka Rin checked herself over, and her face instantly turned deathly pale, as if she had seen the most terrifying thing in existence.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with your body?" Tamamo no Mae asked in confusion.
"All my gems are gone! Every last one!"
Tohsaka Rin clenched her teeth, barely managing not to cry.
She had scrimped and saved every day and had finally accumulated those gems, only for that Trash Goddess to use them all up!
She had not left her even one!
Tamamo no Mae calmly assured her, "Oh, it's a small matter. Once you've done a good job with the Heroic Spirit reception duties, I can give you some gems as research funding."
"Thank you, Academy Head!"
Tohsaka Rin froze for a moment before hurriedly thanking her.
As long as she did a good job with the Heroic Spirit reception work, she would be able to get even more gems afterward!
This is a sure win!
The Academy Head before her asked again, "You, Ilya, and Julian all want to recommend an ordinary person named Wei Gong as the ordinary student representative responsible for receiving Heroic Spirits?"
"Eh?"
Tohsaka Rin was slightly stunned. She had not expected to be questioned personally by a Heroic Spirit.
This was one of the most popular Heroic Spirits in all of Fusang State, completely overwhelming her archrival, Abe no Seimei.
Countless people in Academy City regarded her as their goddess in their dreams.
In this Age of Heroes, Heroic Spirits were ranked from one star to five stars, from lowest to highest.
If the abilities of a five-star Heroic Spirit were set at 100 points, then one-tailed Tamamo no Mae's ability would be 9 points.
But!
Every time she gained another tail, it would be multiplied directly by 9!
Her power would skyrocket exponentially!
She currently had three tails, equivalent to 729 points, placing her among the top five-star S-rank Heroic Spirits.
No one knew just how terrifying she would become once all nine tails gathered.
She was probably no weaker than the Creation Mother Goddess Tiamat, whom people had once caught a fleeting glimpse of in Flower of the Underworld!
Even the mighty First Emperor had once said that the scale of her spiritual foundation with all nine tails gathered was so powerful that even he found it impossible to imagine.
Fortunately, all nine tails had not gathered. Otherwise, humanity would have faced a disaster of extinction!
Thus, the First Emperor had personally suppressed her and dispatched her mortal enemy, Abe no Seimei, to oversee her.
Tohsaka Rin lowered her head, not daring to look closely at the other woman.
The Nine-tailed Fox possessed terrifying charm, something even countless girls found difficult to resist.
Tohsaka Rin was afraid she might be turned gay.
She nodded and replied, "Yes. That person... is a little like Nameless. He silently helps others and never asks for anything in return, so I recommended him."
"Oh? That person is like Nameless, and you look exactly like Ishtar, so you recommended him?" Tamamo no Mae suddenly revealed a faint smile.
"Eh? No, it's not like that!"
A blush appeared on Tohsaka Rin's cheeks.
She had never expected her little thoughts to be seen through at a glance.
This Heroic Spirit was terrifying.
As expected of a fox spirit who bewitched all living beings!
"Young people these days!" Tamamo no Mae said with a beaming smile.
She had no intention of saying anything more.
For a fox spirit as experienced and worldly as her, seeing through a tsundere little girl was far too easy.
An ordinary person with good relations?
Tamamo no Mae recalled the many files Abe no Seimei had collected earlier and found herself somewhat interested in that boy.
Dozens of people had recommended him.
Among them were not only magic prodigies like Tohsaka Rin, Ilya, and Julian.
There were also the young masters and heiresses of various wealthy families and conglomerates.
Even the student council president, secretary, and others had all chosen to recommend him.
This was no longer merely a matter of having good relations. It was practically a superpower!
Could it be the so-called EX-rank—
[Social Cowardice Syndrome]?
Tamamo no Mae was rather curious about that ordinary boy.
What an interesting little fellow.
After she left, Tohsaka Rin stood dazed for a moment before leaving the rooftop as well.
Even now, she still had not figured out what had happened earlier.
Could it be that her past-life self, Ishtar, had come looking for her and borrowed her body to search for Nameless, only to mistake Wei Gong for Nameless just as she had?
No, no, no! That was absolutely impossible!
She had secretly observed that person for several years and had never detected the slightest fluctuation of magical power. He was just an ordinary person!
How could a deity possibly seek out an ordinary boy?
Fuyuki Academy City's administrative district.
Ilya was a little nervous. She sat obediently on the sofa and waited quietly.
The famous Academy Head actually wanted to summon her.
A Heroic Spirit was still a Heroic Spirit.
Even the Academy Head of her own school was a lofty Heroic Spirit.
To ordinary people, and even to magi, they were existences beyond reach.
The office door opened, and an extremely familiar figure walked in.
The golden ears atop her head and three fluffy golden tails were especially eye-catching.
It was none other than the Nine-tailed Fox, Tamamo no Mae.
Ilya hurriedly stood up, only to find, to her dismay, that she could only meet the other woman's gaze at the level of her enormous breasts.
They were far too big.
As expected of a fox spirit who bewitched all living beings—even her breasts alone were enough to make Ilya envious.
The other woman smiled. "There's no need to be so formal. Sit down."
"Academy Head, why did you summon me?"
Ilya grew increasingly uneasy.
"It's nothing particularly important. I just wanted to chat with a genius magus like you."
Tamamo no Mae smiled very warmly.
The little girl before her was the strongest magic prodigy in Academy City.
Most people had, at most, a few dozen magic circuits.
Yet this girl had magic circuits throughout her entire body!
She was practically a miracle that should not exist!
What exactly had happened to this little girl?
Tamamo no Mae, Abe no Seimei, and the other Heroic Spirits had no answers to that question.
But.
With the mysterious [Alaya]'s videos, her intuition told her that the videos would soon expose everything!
She spoke with a smile, "Why did you want to recommend that ordinary person, Wei Gong?"
"Because he's a good person."
Ilya replied instinctively.
Then, feeling that it was not quite appropriate, she hurriedly added, "That person is like Nameless. He likes to help others quietly and without recognition, and his cooking is super delicious!"
"His cooking is delicious?"
Tamamo no Mae did not particularly care about that.
She had once wanted to become the perfect wife and had always worked hard to hone her culinary skills.
Someone had once described her like this—
"There's too much 'love' in your loving cuisine. Within a month, you'll fatten your husband into a plump man!"
That should have been the highest praise for a chef's culinary skills.
What right did some mere boy have to compare himself with her?
Before you continue