Because the Kamaitachi—the leader of the yokai—had fled in defeat, the remaining monsters were little more than scattered rabble. After Ren Kuroda's sweeping "Slow as the Forest" cleared the field, what few stragglers remained either ran for their lives or were cut down on the spot.
From start to finish, the entire battle lasted less than half an hour. As a result, even after victory was declared, many members of the Countermeasures Division felt as though they were still dreaming.
In the previous two engagements, they had suffered devastating casualties. Because of that, most people hadn't held much hope going into this battle at all.
Yet no one could have imagined that the mere addition of Ren Kuroda as a single reinforcement would change the outcome so dramatically.
After the battle, Ren was hoisted into the air by the cheering crowd, lifted high and tossed up again and again. Status no longer mattered—this was the treatment reserved for a hero.
When the upper brass of the Non-Natural Countermeasures Division received news of the victory, they responded with rare generosity, awarding Ren a staggering 5,000 points in one stroke.
As for Kamishiro Isshin, Yamato Kuuka, and Master Hakuba, for their efforts in holding off the Kamaitachi earlier and their contributions in this battle, each was awarded 1,000 points.
The several exorcists who had paid a heavy price by using forbidden techniques also received 1,000 points apiece.
Core members of the other Countermeasures teams were granted 500 points each.
Even the logistics personnel who participated in the battle were rewarded with 100 points per person.
This time, the Countermeasures Division could truly be said to have gone all out.
After all, Ren still remembered that when he and Yamato Kuuka handled the Futakuchi-onna incident in Chiba, they had only received 200 points in total.
But now? Five thousand points in one go—plus all the other rewards—was downright absurd.
Especially since, due to the drastic changes in the world, points no longer held the same meaning they once had.
The chaos caused by rampant yokai had made all kinds of exorcism-related resources extraordinarily precious.
In the past, hardly anyone used points to exchange for cash rewards. Now, that was even more true.
In a world like this, one's own life and survival were the greatest assets. To increase their chances of living, most people naturally chose to exchange points for items that could save their lives.
"Ren, let me talk to you about something," Kamishiro Isshin said with a grin, sidling up to him."You just got five thousand points, right? Knowing your usual habits, you're probably planning to trade them for the most useless thing possible—cash."
"How about we make a deal? Normally, the exchange rate is one hundred points for one million yen. I'll give you three times that price in cash to buy your points. What do you say?"
If anyone in the Countermeasures Division could be called rich in points right now, it was undoubtedly Ren.
Aside from the 5,000 points he'd just earned for defeating the Kamaitachi and turning the tide of battle, he'd also been awarded 3,000 points for his previous rescue operations.
That meant Ren currently possessed a full 8,000 points.
Given his past habit of converting points directly into yen, Kamishiro Isshin thought it was nothing short of criminal waste. So seeing Ren suddenly sitting on such a large sum, he immediately decided to try buying some points with money.
"Ahem… Ren, my young benefactor," Master Hakuba chimed in beside them, clasping his hands together."Truth be told, this old monk would also like to exchange for some of your points…"
He even offered a price higher than Kamishiro Isshin's.
"Hey, hold on!" Kamishiro Isshin shot back. "You're a monk—do you really have that much money? And besides, given my relationship with Ren, he'd obviously prioritize selling to me, right?"
"I must disagree, Brother Isshin," Master Hakuba replied calmly."Since we're both making offers, it should naturally go to the highest bidder."
Kamishiro Isshin and Master Hakuba had each received 1,000 points from this battle. Combined with their prior savings, if they could buy a bit more from Ren, they'd barely qualify to set their sights on the spiritual artifacts stored in the Countermeasures Division's vault.
But Ren only had 8,000 points total.
If he sold to one of them, the other would be completely out of luck.
As a result, the two men—normally on good terms—were now on the verge of outright bickering over Ren's points.
As veteran exorcists, neither Kamishiro Isshin nor Master Hakuba lacked money. Kamishiro could earn a fortune by drawing a few high-grade talismans, and Master Hakuba could rake it in by performing a handful of large-scale rituals.
Money wasn't the issue.
The problem was that almost no one sold points.
After all, who in their right mind would trade this kind of hard currency for yen—Other than Ren Kuroda, that is.
However, to both men's disappointment, Ren didn't plan to do what he'd done in the past.
This time, he had no intention of exchanging his points for cash.
Setting aside whether the money would just end up confiscated by Amamiya Miyabi anyway—even if it wasn't, Ren had already made up his mind.
Although the price Kamishiro and the monk offered made his inner miser itch, temptation was temptation, and reason was reason.
Ren knew exactly what he needed right now.
It wasn't that he'd never been interested in the items inside the Countermeasures vault before—it was that with his pitiful point totals back then, he couldn't afford to even think about them.
The things he wanted cost tens of thousands of points at minimum, and some even went into the hundreds of thousands.
Back when he only had two hundred points to his name, what was he supposed to do—dream?
But now, with 8,000 points in hand, even if his options were still limited, they were far better than before.
What Ren had his eye on this time was a spiritual power cultivation method priced at 10,000 points.
As mentioned before, methods for cultivating spiritual power were the lifeblood of every exorcist family—closely guarded secrets almost never shared with outsiders.
Because of that, ever since Ren awakened his Spiritual Power attribute, it had never once increased.
By now, his yokai power surpassed his spiritual power by several major tiers, so Ren had long been thinking about acquiring a proper cultivation method.
The one in the vault wasn't particularly high-end, but given his current means, it was the only realistic choice.
He could use it as a stopgap for now—and upgrade later, once he had more points.
The method cost 10,000 points.
Ren only had 8,000.
Which meant he was 2,000 points short—and absolutely not in a position to sell any.
"Ren… there's actually something I wanted to ask you as well."
While Kamishiro Isshin and Master Hakuba were still arguing, Yamato Kuuka stepped forward hesitantly. She looked conflicted, but after biting her lip, she walked up to Ren.
"What is it?" Ren asked casually."Don't tell me you're here to buy points too. If that's the case, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed—I'm using them myself this time."
"Sure, you're way prettier than those two old guys," he added with a grin, "but there's no special treatment."
Yamato Kuuka's expression turned even more awkward.
"No… I'm not here to buy points," she said quietly."Our Yamato family lacks neither spiritual artifacts nor cultivation methods."
"What I want to ask of you… is something else entirely."
Ren blinked, momentarily distracted by the thought that rich, elite families really did live in a different world.
Then he refocused.
If it wasn't about points, what could Yamato Kuuka possibly want?
And more importantly—
This awkward, hesitant attitude was something he'd never seen from her before.
And if he wasn't mistaken… she'd just blushed, hadn't she?
Yamato Kuuka—who turned into a berserk killing machine the moment she drew her blade—was shy?
Yeah. No way.
Must be his imagination. Definitely his imagination.
As if finally making up her mind, Yamato Kuuka took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed red, and said:
"You remember the three things you promised me, right?"
"You've already fulfilled the first two."
"So now… the thing I want you to do… is the third."
"That is…"
"…pretend to be my boyfriend… and come meet my parents."
The moment the words left her mouth, it was as if she'd reached her limit. Without waiting for Ren's response, she spun around and bolted away, leaving Ren standing there—his brain completely frozen.
"Pretend to be… a boyfriend…?" Ren muttered blankly."Why does this kind of cliché drama always happen to me…?"
It took him a long while to recover from the shock.
And even in his wildest dreams, he'd never imagined that the third thing Yamato Kuuka would ask of him would be something this outrageous.
What Ren didn't know was that Yamato Kuuka herself had agonized over this decision for a long time.
She even felt deeply ashamed for making such a request.
After all, Ren was technically still a student of the Onmyo Academy—and she was his teacher in name, if nothing else.
If there had been another option, she wouldn't have chosen him.
But the truth was… she had very few choices.
Because of her cold personality, Yamato Kuuka didn't have many female friends—let alone male ones.
Kamishiro Isshin was too old.
Master Hakuba was a monk.
And the rest either lacked the strength or didn't meet her parents' standards.
After thinking it through again and again, Ren was the only one who fit.
Back home, Yamato Kuuka had always been under constant pressure to marry. That was precisely why she'd joined the Non-Natural Countermeasures Division in the first place—to escape it.
But with the world undergoing such drastic changes, even the Countermeasures Division could no longer shield her.
If things continued as they were, national power would inevitably weaken, while the influence of major exorcist families would only grow stronger.
And so, the pressure from her family came crashing back down on her—harder than ever.
In fact, ever since the world changed, the push for her to marry had intensified.
The reason was simple.
As the designated heir of the Yamato family, she wasn't like the support-line relatives who stayed safely behind the scenes.
She was the type who charged into battle with a blade in hand.
With the world growing more dangerous by the day, if something were to happen to her—
Who would inherit the Yamato family?
And so, making Yamato Kuuka marry quickly—and produce an heir as soon as possible—had now become the number one directive of the Yamato household.