落とし穴番外：怖くない妖怪 (Part2)
However, the Karakasa-obake, who called himself Touji, didn't seem to care about my reaction at all. Suddenly, he let go of Aslin’s hand, transformed his handle into a pair of bare legs, and stood right in front of me with a sharp *thwack*.
Those thick, sturdy legs even had patches of leg hair. There was no doubt about it—he was a middle-aged man. And to top it off, he was just a parasol with nothing but bare legs sticking out.
"Pervert!"
Yes, no matter how you looked at it, he was just a pervert.
If a beautiful girl or a gorgeous woman were wearing something revealing, that would be one thing. And men working in the smithy with their upper bodies bare? Well, that’s common enough, so that’s not an issue either.
But... this guy? He’s wearing clothes on top, but he’s bare-bottomed. If you don't call that a pervert, what do you call it?
For the sake of Shuten, Aslin, and the others, I quickly threw the window open and...
"First of all, go put on some pants!"
"Gueh!?"
I swung my leg out in a clean arc and kicked the pervert right out of the room.
"Aah!?"
Everyone stood there with their mouths agape at my sudden action, but...
"Regardless of whether he's scary or not, that guy is just a pervert, right? We can't have a perverted yokai who doesn't even wear pants staying in our home."
"Ah... I see."
After I explained that while catching my breath, everyone nodded in agreement.
"So, Yuki. Why didn't you notice that?"
"Well, I mean, that’s just how that yokai is by default. It’d be rude to reject his cultural attire, wouldn't it?"
"That applies when we visit *their* lands. This is Weed. He needs to conform to our common sense and decency. Don't you agree?"
"Well, I suppose you're right. Yeah, I think you're spot on."
"Indeed. 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do,' as they say. Perhaps we should have asked Luna-sama for a female Karakasa-obake instead?"
"Female bare legs would be normal enough, I suppose. It’s not like men in skirts don't exist, but that's not the case here in Weed. That parasol—Touji, was it?—will just have to deal with it. Come to think of it, that's surprising. Yokai are incredibly sturdy, aren't they?"
As I looked out the window where I’d kicked him, I saw the Karakasa, Touji, spinning around in the air as he flew back toward us. I’d kicked him with the intent of snapping him in two, but... I suppose that’s just the nature of a yokai?
"Hey, you! What are you doing, kicking someone out of the blue! You little brat!"
"Quiet. Shut it. Nobody is happy to see such filthy legs. Besides, it’s a bad influence on the children, so put on some pants."
"Why!? Even skeletons are fully naked!"
"Don't bring up extreme examples! If you don't understand that much, I'll have you disposed of as a useless Tsukumogami. How about it, Suzuhiko-hime?"
"Yes. A tool that cannot follow its master's orders is only fit for disposal. How shall we proceed?"
"Wait, wait!? Don't I have any allies here!? Hey, you there, brother! Help me out!"
Perhaps because they were both men, he sought help from none other than our Yuki.
"Look, just put on some pants and do as you're told. You might want to show off your bare legs, but you'll have to get used to it here. You don't want to be stubborn and end up as a discarded umbrella, do you?"
"...Tch, fine. I get it. This world is really a tough place for a yokai to live, huh?"
"No, it’s just a matter of clothing. It's the same as worrying about someone who's injured."
And just like that, Yuki managed to persuade Touji the Karakasa.
Because of that, I unfortunately couldn't kick the pervert out for good, but for some reason, the Karakasa-obake became incredibly popular with Shuten and the children.
"Wait, can't you just keep the handle part as it is?"
"Well, if it stays as bare legs, the kids can't hold onto it. But, it doesn't cause any issues with moving via his tongue. He has yokai power, after all."
"Then why does he have those bare legs in the first place?"
"Uh... now that you mention it, why is that?"
*Sigh*, yokai are truly impossible to understand.
There are some yokai who are just perverts no matter how you look at them, aren't there?
With this, two more Tsukumogami have been added to Weed.
Man, this place is becoming more and more of a supernatural den.
Also, does everyone remember the ghost, Noriko Suzuki?