Multiverse: Why does the world show a health bar? !

In the late spring of Chinju Forest, life was thriving. There were faint traces of something hidden around, but they were few and far between. Li Mo crouched down, carefully inspecting the statue of Ioroi to see if there were any remnants of the seal.

After some time, Li Mo concluded that the seal had been completely removed. The reason Ioroi hadn't moved was simply because it didn't want to come out.

"Why don't you want to come out, Ioroi? Even if you're resting, isn't it enough to rest for this long?" Li Mo scratched his head, feeling a bit troubled.

In truth, he had a vague idea of why Ioroi didn't want to face the world.

—Kitsune Saiguu was already dead.

The former head shrine maiden, who had inherited the "Hakushin" bloodline, had passed away five hundred years ago.

Was Ioroi still deceiving itself?

Li Mo stroked his chin. Earlier, he and Hanachirusato had shattered the illusion, revealing the harsh reality to Ioroi. At that time, Ioroi had seemed exhausted and had been resting ever since.

He decided to leave it to Yae Miko to handle. After all, he didn't understand the affairs of yokai.

Turning around, Li Mo took out some snacks from his inventory and called over the other tanuki.

His movements weren't subtle, and the tanuki quickly gathered around. Every time he visited, he brought small snacks and treats to feed the tanuki, and they had grown accustomed to it.

"Little ones, I'm looking for a little girl who looks like a tanuki. She's probably sleeping somewhere in Chinju Forest. Do you know where she is?"

Putting the matter of Ioroi aside for Yae Miko to deal with, Li Mo turned his attention to the other task the shrine maiden had assigned him.

Although Yae Miko never offered any rewards, Li Mo would still grumble internally but carry out her requests anyway. It wasn't just because of the free food and lodging—Li Mo wasn't that kind of person.

The main reason was that Kitsune Saiguu's manuscripts were priceless treasures. With enough talent, one could start from scratch and learn, opening the door to the supernatural for Li Mo.

It was just that his own talent was lacking, and his progress was slow.

Often, he simply couldn't grasp the concepts…

"Would increasing my intelligence help?" The system's interface appeared before Li Mo's eyes, and he quickly navigated to the attributes section. He still only had one free attribute point. The higher his level, the slower the progress. He was already at level 13, with the experience bar nearly full, just one step away from leveling up.

Li Mo pondered the roles of intelligence and spirit among the six attributes. The former… perhaps it improved thinking abilities? Like calculation and learning skills…

Again, the lack of a proper tutorial in the system was frustrating.

It didn't take long for the tanuki to finish the snacks Li Mo had brought. After sharing the treats, the tanuki began to move. Chinju Forest was, after all, their territory.

However, one tanuki named "Kichiboushi" stayed by Li Mo's side, recounting some events. In the past, Li Mo needed to eat a meal prepared by Hanachirusato using tanuki magic to understand their speech. Now, he could cast the same spell himself.

"Huh? You're saying some tanuki have gone to Inazuma City? Hmm… I see. I'll let the head shrine maiden know later. With her involvement, as long as they don't do anything heinous, it should be fine."

Li Mo comforted the tanuki.

Yae Miko might seem lazy and carefree, often reminding people of a certain bard from Mondstadt, but she did have her responsibilities.

For instance, she took yokai affairs very seriously. Even during the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual, she had been watching through the eyes of her foxes, hadn't she?

Kichiboushi nodded, reassured, and then lay on Li Mo's lap, enjoying a good grooming session. Since Ioroi didn't want to wake up, Li Mo decided not to play the role of an alarm clock. He sat down on the ground, waiting for the tanuki to relay their findings.

The second task Yae Miko had assigned him involved meeting someone Li Mo actually had some recollection of. After all, she was one of the few loli characters among the playable roster in the game. So much so that players could form a super-cute team of four lolis.

Li Mo himself hadn't managed to collect all four lolis yet.

The tanuki, being the local "big shots" of Chinju Forest, quickly found the target for Li Mo.

A little girl was carried over by a group of tanuki. This scene didn't surprise Li Mo much, as these tanuki were yokai and knew a trick or two.

What did surprise him was that the little girl being carried by the tanuki was still asleep?

What a talent.

Disturbing someone's sweet dreams was undoubtedly a heinous crime. Just like alarm clocks, they were universally despised.

But there was no helping it. If anyone wanted to complain, they could take it up with Yae Miko.

Li Mo poked the little girl with his finger, trying to wake her up. But before he could make contact, she woke up on her own, reacting so quickly that she immediately landed on the ground.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

The transition from sleep to alertness happened in an instant.

But the next moment, her expression relaxed. "Ah, you're the shrine official, right?"

"No… since when did I become a shrine official? Never mind. Do you know me?"

"Yes, Sayu knows the shrine official. I've seen you outside the shrine before," Sayu replied.

"Sayu, since you know me, that makes things easier. Lady Yae has something for you."

From Yae Miko, Li Mo knew that Sayu's task was to deliver a message. But he didn't feel like wasting words and decided to just take Sayu back to the shrine.

His preference leaned more toward mature older sisters rather than lolis. Wasn't a mature big sister more appealing?

Upon hearing the name "Lady Yae," Sayu's attitude immediately shifted. It was as if she had gone from slacking off to being fully focused on work.

It seemed Yae Miko had left quite an impression on this little girl.

Speaking of which, how old was Sayu now?

The Traveler would arrive in Inazuma in a few years, which meant Sayu might remain this height for the foreseeable future.

How tragic.

"Sayu, please come with me back to the Grand Narukami Shrine. And everyone else, you can go about your business now. I'll bring more treats next time."

The latter part of Li Mo's words were directed at the tanuki.

The tanuki scattered, and Li Mo patted Sayu's little head, saying, "Follow me."

"Please don't pat Sayu's head! It'll make me stop growing!"

"Huh? Is Sayu really concerned about that?"

"Yes! Sayu wants to grow tall."

Li Mo said, "If Sayu doesn't want people to pat her head, then don't act so concerned about it. Some people, the more they see you care, the more they'll want to pat your head."

Sayu said, "Shrine official, are you talking about Lady Yae? Lady Yae loves to pat my head."

"Lady Yae's personality is just like that. Sayu, try not to show that you care so much. Maybe then Lady Yae won't tease you as much," Li Mo said, smoothly tricking her.

Sayu asked, "Then what should I do?"

"First, when I pat your head, don't show that you care. Keep your expression neutral, like this."

Sayu's little head felt incredibly soft to the touch.

Sayu followed the shrine official's advice, but… wasn't there something off about this? Li Mo was clearly tricking her with his smooth talk.