[ The Administrator ]

Part I Chapter 11 - Troublemaker

It doesn't make any sense. That doesn't explain why he is still here, on his own will. If she had saved his life, maybe I would've understood, but knowing Yoko's character, I'm pretty sure she simply went on her way, ignoring him. Yet, he's here. Why would a man leave his family behind in order to follow a Goddess? Unless... Does he want something from her? This is suspicious...

"Looks like you've found your man." Yoko said with an unenthusiastic voice. "Now that you've settled your problem, can we go settle mine?"

"Sure..." I responded, not turning my gaze away from the man. "But we have to bring him too."

Yoko frowned. "What? Why would you want to bring a mortal?"

"I told you, I've been looking for him. I can't let him go now that I've found him. I might lose him again. Besides, he could run away..."

"Still, it won't be possible. He's a mortal. He won't be able to follow."

"Heh?" I tilted my head to the side. "I thought you were going to bring us...?"

"I'm fine with you, but I'm not carrying a mortal." She bluntly said.

... Of course... Here we go again with her Goddess' pride.

I looked at her blankly for a few seconds, making her understand that it was ridiculous. But since she didn't seem willing to reconsider, I sighed.

"Oh well, I guess we can walk then... It's not like you were in hurry, right?"

Yoko clenched her teeth as her eyelids twitched. She's annoyed, clearly understanding that I wasn't going to back down either. She clicked her tongue.

"Fine... But he's not getting on my back..." She snorted.

Without even waiting for an answer, Yoko started changing. A white glow enveloped her body, and her figure gradually became larger, taking the shape of a giant fox. As the light subsided, she laid her massive body on the ground, and gave me a quick glance.

"Get on. And hold tight if you don't want to fall down on the way." She ordered, with a much hoarser voice.

Nodding, I started climbing her shoulder by grabbing her fur. How fluffy! After making sure I was comfortably seated on her back, she got up. She didn't lie; even though she barely moved, I had to hold tight in order not to fall off. Looking down on the ground, I noticed how high I was. Fortunately, I'm not scared of heights, but it's still a little unsettling. Yoko then approached Troy, who was shivering in apprehension.

"Yoko, be gent-"

Before I could finish my sentence, she bit the man's arm, lifting him off the ground. The poor man cried out in pain. What a delicacy... I thought she was going to grab him by his collar or something, like a mother carrying her offspring, but obviously, she seems to lack maternal instinct –or maybe she simply has something against the man.

Without further delay, Yoko set off. The journey did not last very long. To be honest, I was too focused on not falling off to enjoy the scenery. Despite being in a dense forest, she was really fast, which made it harder for me to stay in place. If I had to compare, I'd say she was as fast as a train. If not for the pain of being bounced in all directions, I'm pretty sure Troy would have fainted.

After about a quarter of an hour, Yoko finally stopped. She threw off Troy on the ground and bent down, allowing me to get off. The poor man was on his knees, a hand grabbing his chest, throwing up his meal.

"Is it here?" I asked, inspecting the surroundings.

"Yeah, he shouldn't be far from here. I can feel his presence..." Yoko responded, as she returned to her human form.