That Time My Late Husband Was Reincarnated as an Oni

Chapter 5: The Doll Master

The next day came rather quickly. Noon was fast approaching, as Hikari prepared tea for her coming guest. As she poured a cup, she hears footsteps come up to her.

"Mother. We are ready." Sherrie says.

Hikari turns around, and smiles. "Good to hear. Do you both remember the plan?" She asked.

"Of course we do!" Cheryl cheers.

"Good girls. Get going now. And please hurry. This information needs to reach Him as soon as possible." She adds.

"We won't let you down, mother." Sherrie nods.

"Silly girls... You never disappoint me. Never have, never will. Now go, before he arrives." She leads the two dolls to the back exit of her estate, as they two wave goodbye for now.

The current plan was to make her guest believe the two dolls had actually run away, and ask for help from a certain God. Once the two were gone from her sight, Hikari would hear a knock at her front gate. She makes her way over, and is greeted by the pale man she met yesterday. "Welcome back. I'm saddened to say that the girls haven't returned yet." She informs him.

"Oh, is that so...? How troublesome. Well, Dolls rarely go long without their masters. If you don't mind, may I come in and stay a while?" He asked politely.

"Very well." Hikari opens the gate for him as he struts in like he owns the place. He looks around the courtyard, smiling and nodding.

"It's a very pleasant atmosphere." He compliments her home as she leads him inside the house.

"Please your shoes at the door. As per tradition." She instructs him, being just as polite.

"Of course." He nods, and does she says, removing his shoes and leaving them on the tile floor in front of the door. "Goodness... I do enjoy this setting. And the sounds of the forest are the icing on the cake." He smiles.

Hikari smiles and nods along. She gives him a little tour of the house, then takes him to the living parlor, where a simple table sat, holding the prepared tea. She even set up a pillow for him to sit on, which he does. "Oh. Please forgive my rudeness, but I do not believe I got your name." Hikari would gasp a bit.

"Oh? Haha. No no, that is my fault. I wasn't expecting to return, so it must have slipped my mind." The man laughs a bit. "My name Arnold Andrews. I'm a traveling circus manager." He introduces himself.

"My name is Hikari. A pleasure to meet you, sir." She bows her head, and smiles. "Please, have some tea. I just brewed it this morning."

"Ah. I think I will pass." He declines her offer as kindly as possible, as not to offend. "I do not mean to offend, but I cannot drink caffeine. It ruins my insides." He would say.

"Oh, is that so? Please pardon my ignorance then."

"Oh, no, it's fine, truly. I do not plan to stay long, after all." He says. "If there is anything you'd rather be doing, please go ahead and do so. I will simply wait here." He says

Hikari would put on a fake smile to ease him. "Don't be silly. You are my guest, so I must show you my hospitality." She says.

"You are much too kind." Arnold would return her smile. However, she couldn't tell that he was faking as well.

"You say you run a circus, Andrews-san? What's it like? I'm quite curious." Hikari would ask to see if she can squeeze any sort of answers out of him.

"Oh? Well, we're a traveling troupe. Nothing too special." He says, completely dodging her question.

"Really? Then why are you so interested in my ch— Ahem... My dolls?" She asked politely.

"Well, my troupe specializes in them. All of my performers are dolls, and we've been short staffed recently. When I heard that there was a pair living with a beautiful kitsune, I simply had to come by and see them for myself." He told her a bold faced lie without even batting an eye.