It was another sunny day.
Eichi received a call from Toji and brought Artoria to his house.
As soon as he entered, he was greeted by a rather explosive scene.
Opening the door was Toji, wearing a vest and shorts.
Given the rising temperatures, his attire wasn't an issue.
The issue was the pair of rabbit ears on top of his head.
"...You, are you back to your old ways?"
Eichi stared at the top of Toji's head for a moment, then glanced into the house, wondering if Toji had some wealthy woman visiting.
"What?"
Toji didn't get what Eichi was talking about.
His expression remained as indifferent and blank as always, as though nothing in the world really mattered to him.
Seeing Eichi staring so intently at his head, Toji suddenly realized something.
He reached one hand behind his head, grabbed the scruff of a rabbit, and pulled it in front of him.
"Are you talking about this?"
Toji shook the squirming rabbit in his hand.
"So it's Rabbit Escape."
Eichi sighed in relief that Toji hadn't developed some strange hobby.
Though, for some reason, he also felt slightly disappointed.
He thought that Toji in a black bunny suit might actually pair well next to Satoru.
"You've already helped him tame it?"
Eichi caught the rabbit that Toji casually tossed to him and held it in his arms, inspecting it.
"Mm. Yesterday, Tsumiki and the others wanted to see Rabbit Escape, so I caught a few for Megumi."
Toji replied.
That was also the reason Eichi had come today.
Last night, Toji called and said Megumi had awakened the Ten Shadows Technique and asked him to come teach the kid.
Eichi immediately agreed.
Hence the visit this morning.
"Is Megumi practicing with the Ten Shadows Technique?"
Eichi asked as he saw Rabbit Escape hopping across the hallway.
Even though Rabbit Escape, as a shikigami, didn't shed fur, make a mess, or smell bad, there was still no need to summon this many.
Was Megumi simply playing with a new toy?
Would the Divine Dogs get jealous?
How cute. Megumi-chan.
As he thought this, more Rabbit Escape hopped past their feet.
"Oh, right. I remember Tsumiki said, 'The rabbits are so cute,' and then Megumi kept summoning them for her to play with."
Toji scratched his head, clearly a little troubled.
The little things kept jumping on him while he watched TV. If he so much as twitched, he'd get death stares from the mother and daughter duo.
Sure enough, once they entered the house, they saw the two kids surrounded by rabbits.
Tsumiki, wearing cursed tool glasses, held one rabbit in each hand, cradling them like babies.
Megumi's head, shoulders, and legs were completely covered in white rabbits.
Dressed in black, Megumi was almost entirely buried under a pile of fluffy white, forming a rabbit dumpling.
"Hey, Megumi."
Toji walked over to the white ball and reached out to pull Megumi out of it.
The surrounding rabbits instantly scattered.
"Ah, Papa, you scared the rabbits away."
Tsumiki pouted and looked at Toji in protest.
"Ah, sorry."
Toji let go, and Megumi sat back down on the floor.
Half a minute later, another white dumpling appeared—this time, it was Tsumiki surrounded by rabbits.
A dozen Rabbit Escape huddled around her, trembling as they looked at the devil king Toji.
Tsumiki gently comforted the scared rabbits one by one.
"Alright, go watch TV."
Eichi sighed helplessly.
"Then I'll leave him to you."
Toji agreed instantly.
The next second, he was already sprawled out on the sofa with the TV remote.
Eichi sat down cross-legged in front of Megumi.
"Megumi, how many shikigami can you summon now?"
"Two."
The Divine Dogs were given as a starter gift, and Rabbit Escape had been caught by Toji yesterday.
"Mm. Very impressive."
Children need more praise.
Eichi reached out to pat Megumi's spiky hair.
'A little prickly. Satoru's hair feels better.'
He withdrew his hand and pulled out a children's picture book from his shadow.
"Come, Megumi-chan, look at this."
The illustration showed two chibi Divine Dogs—one black and one white.
Eichi and Medea had made this picture book together. It served as an introductory manual for the Ten Shadows Technique.
"I have that one too."
Megumi put his hands together and clumsily formed a hand seal.
The two Divine Dogs, having been neglected due to Rabbit Escape, emerged from the shadows and rushed toward him.
Then, they began licking Megumi's face eagerly.
They whimpered as they did, sounding quite pitiful.
'How impressive.'
Many children at Megumi's age were disliked by animals.
Though he hadn't reached the peak rejection age of seven or eight, it was still rare to see animals this affectionate.
As expected of the Disney princess runaway.
"No, stop licking. Yame-ro."
Megumi, looking flustered, stretched out his small hands in an attempt to push the Divine Dogs away.
Clearly, he couldn't keep up with their enthusiasm.
"Divine Dogs."
Eichi called softly.
The Ten Shadows treasure wheel in the shadow rotated, and two more Divine Dogs appeared next to Megumi.
'It's over. There are more.'
Megumi stared blankly at the new arrivals and gave up resisting.
Fortunately, the two additional Divine Dogs didn't join the "licking team."
After sniffing each other, the four dogs barked and started communicating.
Eichi had deliberately reduced the size of his Divine Dogs so they would match Megumi's.
"Saved."
Megumi sighed in relief.
Then, he looked down at the picture book in his hands.
Turning a page, he saw a chibi version of Nue.
"What's this big bird?"
Tsumiki, after calming the rabbit herd, scooted over to take a look.
"This is Nue. It's also a shikigami, like Rabbit Escape."
Megumi explained, pointing to the small text on the page.
"So cool. Can I have a pet like that too?"
Tsumiki looked at him with anticipation.
"Ah, Nue isn't really a pet..."
Seeing her hopeful expression, Megumi turned to look at Eichi.
"Unfortunately, Tsumiki doesn't have shikigami."
Eichi smiled gently and answered her question.
"Oh, I see…"
"It's okay. I'll give you mine."
Seeing Tsumiki looking down, Megumi hesitated, then summoned the Divine Dogs over.
The two Divine Dogs walked over and gently nuzzled Tsumiki.
"Oh, that tickles, big doggy."
Her expression brightened instantly.
"Don't be sad. Tsumiki will also awaken her own Technique when she grows up."
Eichi gently patted her head.
"Really?"
"Really."
"That's great."
"Here, look at this."
A small white rabbit with wings appeared in Eichi's hand.
"Wow, so cute."
Tsumiki's eyes lit up.
"I'm Feather Rabbit. Tsumiki-chan, will you play with me?"
Eichi said, holding the rabbit's tiny hands.
"Okay."
(To be continued.)