She clearly had a belly full of questions to ask, but was afraid it would be rude to blurt them out.
Kita had the same mindset. Having witnessed with her own eyes that terrifying black monster like rotten mud, and that lifelike fire dragon... it felt like a little kitten was scratching at her heart, dying to figure things out.
In comparison, Scummy Ryou was much more direct, "That move just now... was it the legendary Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique?"
"Isn't that just from a manga?"
Kaito shook his head, "If you really want to call it something, you can consider it a kind of spell."
"There are really spells in this world?"
Even someone as calm and expressionless as Yamada Ryou found it hard to stay composed when faced with the other side of the world. Even her usually emotionless golden pupils were glowing slightly.
"As for that question, Bochi and Yumiko both have a lot to say," Kaito didn't explain much further. Instead, he turned his gaze to the pink wild hammer snake beside him.
Although the little social anxiety girl wasn't used to being suddenly placed in the spotlight, she still quietly recounted her experience of getting to know Kaito and becoming his disciple.
"Shikigami boy... yin-yang eyes... spells... earth-bound spirits..."
Every time she repeated one of these words, Scummy Ryou's eyes sparkled a little more.
By the time Bochi finished telling all the big and small events, Scummy Ryou's eyes were already glowing like a golden light bulb.
She then turned to the blonde girl beside Bochi, "Miura-senpai, have you had similar experiences?"
"That's right~", Yumiko smiled and said generously, "I was also a victim of supernatural events. I met the club president at the last moment. Otherwise, I might already be dead."
Kita and Nijika were speechless.
The overload of information nearly fried the CPUs of the two girls. They were this close to crashing.
Some things are hard to preserve, but if you want to destroy them, it only takes a second.
Don't get me wrong, I was talking about the worldview.
Scummy Ryou used to be a staunch materialist, scoffing at all kinds of monsters and ghosts.
But after witnessing the truth with her own eyes, her mindset quickly adjusted. She asked instead, "That monster just now, what exactly was it?"
"A kind of grudge conglomerate."
The suddenly appearing sludge monster, though its shape was a bit unique, was neither ghost nor yokai.
The soul crystals left behind after its death also proved this. The impurities within were the physical form of "grudges."
If ordinary people came into prolonged contact with them, while it wouldn't be life-threatening, they would be eroded by the grudge and undergo drastic personality changes.
Even someone who was originally peaceful and avoided conflict could turn into a short tempered who pulls knives over disagreements. Sooner or later, they'd make a huge mistake.
"Grudge conglomerate?", Nijika tilted her head, a bit puzzled. Her golden side ponytail swayed with her movement, making people want to tug it.
"But why would a grudge conglomerate suddenly show up? And it even looked super aggressive..."
Little Bochi had a flash of insight, a thought suddenly popping into her head, "C-could it be because... of this afternoon?"
'This afternoon?'
The girls quickly recalled the little incident in front of the Inugami statue. At the time, Ryou had ridiculed the legend as fake and was warned by an old lady in a priestess outfit passing by to show respect to the gods.
If that really was the case... they ridiculed it in the afternoon and were attacked by a monster at night.
This Inugami sure works fast. It settles scores the same day, doesn't even wait till tomorrow.
"That... shouldn't be, right?", Nijika was still hesitant. Ryou's ridicule was a bit disrespectful, but it was also natural human behavior. Not exactly a serious offense.
After all, before seeing the sludge monster with her own eyes, even Nijika herself didn't believe the Inugami existed.
If just saying "the legend is too fake" once would trigger divine retribution, then with all the tourists in Hoori Town, how many people would be punished by gods every day?
In modern society, where information spreads quickly, one post could help many people avoid danger. If tourists were constantly attacked, Hoori Town would've been infamous by now.
Of course, in a bad way.
"In the legend, even after being killed by humans, the Inugami didn't hold a grudge and instead helped Hoori Town repel enemies. Doesn't sound like the vengeful type," Yumiko analyzed rationally, thinking it was unlikely that the sludge monster was sent by the Inugami.
Of course, all of this assumed the legend wasn't fake. If the story had been altered, and the Inugami wasn't as generous as claimed, then tonight's attack might really have something to do with it.
"Sorry, it's all my fault," Ryou, for once, didn't crack a joke. She lowered her head, feeling a little guilty.
Whether or not tonight's attack was related to the Inugami, the existence of the sludge monster proved that Hoori Town was definitely not simple.
Her casual ridicule at the time might have really attracted some trouble from the shadows.
And it might even end up involving her friends.
"Don't say that~", Nijika quickly interrupted her self-blame. Even though she often bantered with Ryou, that was actually a sign of closeness.
The truth behind tonight's incident hadn't been revealed yet, and Ryou was already taking all the blame on herself. She was clearly on the verge of going emo.
The gentle angel comforted her, "Maybe it was just a coincidence? Like Miura-senpai said, the gods are probably not that petty."
"Mm," Yamada Ryou nodded, but her brows still didn't relax. She looked deeply troubled.
Nijika was getting anxious but didn't know what to say.
Ryou had always been a very opinionated person. If someone like her got stuck in a mental corner, it was hard for others to pull her out.
Seeing the mood starting to turn heavy, the energetic little sunshine Kita Ikuyo quickly changed the subject. She turned her yellow-green eyes to the beautiful boy who had been silent the whole time and asked eagerly, "Kaito-kum, what do you think?"
Speculation only gets you so far. Since they had a powerful exorcist right beside them, they might as well ask his opinion.
[ Shoutout to Alexis, Dinomax01, Sweetness, Alex, Rowdy_Rich, Xedron, Aqua_Darkness and Thorn for joining patreon. Thank you very much.]
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Chapter 69: Member Nijika, Are You Sober!
'Oh right!'
'There's also Kaito-kun!'
Originally so anxious she was about to spin in circles, Nijika's beautiful eyes lit up, like she had grabbed the last life-saving straw.
They had personally seen Kaito summon a fire dragon and burn the menacing mud monster into ashes.
There was no doubt he was an exorcist with great spiritual power, maybe he had some unique insight?
Facing the nervous and expectant gazes of the girls, Kaito stretched lazily, not keeping them in suspense.
"Since you can't figure it out, how about we go to the shrine tomorrow and ask around?"
That afternoon they had met the elderly woman in shrine robes, with a young shrine maiden following behind. She had invited their group to the shrine for a visit.
No matter what secrets the small town of Hoori was hiding, as the local authority, the Mochizuki Shrine surely held information outsiders didn't know.
Even if they couldn't get any answers, or if the other party intentionally kept things hidden, it didn't matter.
Reading, is to calmly talk with fools.
Cultivation, is to make fools calmly talk with you.
The originally worried Nijika and the others exchanged looks, and somehow felt much more at ease.
"Alright, if there's nothing urgent, let's head back and rest for now."
Kaito clapped his hands, "Rest up well. Tomorrow we'll go to the shrine for information."
"Mm."
Nijika nodded lightly, then said, "Good night, Kaito-kun."
The other girls also bid him good night, then left one by one.
[Late night, 11:30 PM]
The tightly shut door was gently pushed open, and a light figure tiptoed in.
Before she could reach the bed, she seemed to trip over something, her body lost balance and she fell straight into a warm embrace.
"Not sleeping in the middle of the night. What kind of sneaky idea are you up to?"
Looking up, Kaito was already staring at her with a composed gaze, as if fully prepared.
"Hehe~", Yumiko stuck out her tongue a bit embarrassed, then buried her pretty face into his chest, "Actually I'm still kind of worried"
Though she knew Kaito was powerful, even terrifying evil spirits were easily exorcised by him, this time, they might have to face a legendary god.
Even if the Inugami felt more like a yokai, it had been enshrined in the shrine for so many years, calling it a god wasn't wrong.
Not to mention, in legends, it helped the Mochizuki family crush an army of one thousand samurai sent by a daimyo, it definitely wasn't someone easy to deal with.
Kaito didn't take it to heart.
It wasn't because he was arrogant, but "crushing a thousand-man army" sounded impressive, untill you know there was no legitimate proof. And the legend of the Inugami was from hundreds of years ago. So, Kaito wasn't worried.
Still, he reached out and rubbed Yumiko's head, "Don't worry. It'll be fine."
"Mm."
Yumiko nuzzled against his chest and didn't say more. Just murmured, "But you still have to be careful. Safety's most important."
As the mood grew tender and the two cuddled warmly, the door suddenly knocked.
A soft voice rang out, "Kaito-kun, are you asleep?"
'It is Ijichi-san?'
Yumiko, whose beautiful eyes had just turned misty, instantly shivered and jumped out of her boyfriend's arms, panicked as she looked to escape through the window.
But Kaito casually held her back, speechless, "We're on the third floor."
"Then what do I do? If Ijichi-san sees me coming to you in the middle of the night, she'll definitely get the wrong idea! She might even tell Bocchi!"
Yumiko was so anxious she spun in place, then her eyes suddenly lit up and turned to the wardrobe in the corner.
"Got it! I'll hide in there for now!"
Kaito: "..."
'Is there a possibility. I'm just saying, a possibility'
'That I can completely influence Nijika's senses, and she wouldn't even see you?'
'And taking a step back, you could've just made up an excuse. Instead, you went full "there's no silver here" mode. Hiding is easy, but if you get caught, that's really hard to explain.'
Still, seeing Yumiko already dart into the wardrobe eagerly, Kaito could only let her be.
Kaito opened the door and saw the blonde girl in a thin pajama, looking worried. Seeing him, she forced a smile, "Sorry for disturbing your rest, Kaito-kun. May I come in?"
She had clearly just soaked in the hot spring not long ago, yet she seemed to have taken another bath before coming. Her ponytail wasn't tied, and long hair draped behind her back, still slightly damp. The exposed white skin gave off a pleasant body wash scent, and her jewel-like eyes held a hint of shyness, reminding Kaito of a poetry collection he read long ago.
He shook his head and shoved the stray thoughts away, then stepped aside, "Come in."
Though she had just left this guest room not long ago, Nijika's solo return now felt cautious and restrained.
She sat on the soft sofa, looking a bit uneasy.
"Coming to me this late, did something urgent happen?"
There were free drinks in the hotel room. Kaito casually took out two bottles of pineapple juice and handed her one, sitting across from her.
Thinking about her purpose tonight, Nijika bit her silver teeth, "Kaito-kun if tonight's attack really is related to the Inugami, could you take the others and leave?"
As the leader of Ending Band, she had the duty to protect everyone.
'If the god truly wants desecrators to pay, then let me replace Ryou and become the offering.'
Kaito-kun was a mysterious exorcist, the only hope to lead everyone to safety.
"O-of course, I won't let you sacrifice for nothing"
She took a deep breath, stood up, and began to unbutton her thin sleepwear, "At at the very least, tonight please use this body as you wish"
"Stop," The sudden voice cut her off.
The loose button wouldn't come undone no matter what. Nijika looked up and saw the beautiful boy sigh.
"So, you've been struggling in your room all this time, just to repay me with your body?"
"Ichiji-san, are you sober?"
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Chapter 70: You dont want Kita to find out either, right?
"B-But", Nijika didn't know what she had done wrong, but she didn't dare refute it.
She only said in a small voice, "This is the only thing I can barely show off"
'Could it be that Kaito-senpai actually prefers a body type like Bocchi's?'
The moment she thought of this possibility, the girl felt a bit troubled.
It's genetics, after all. She had worked so hard drinking milk, but if there's no effect, there's no effect.
In this regard, even her older sister Seika, who's nearly thirty, wasn't as good as her younger sister.
At the very least, the two of them would occasionally take baths together, and Nijika had secretly compared their sizes. The final result was that her own curves were a little more impressive.
Mm, at least that's what she believed.
A little bigger still counts as big. Just like her sister often said, being eighteen also counts as blooming at eighteen.
Flick!!
Unable to stop her wandering thoughts, the girl held her forehead, looking at him with moist, wide eyes, a bit aggrieved.
"That hurts!"
"It's supposed to hurt,".Kaito crossed his arms, and due to the height difference, he was currently looking down at her from above, "Still letting your mind wander now?"
Nijika thought for two seconds, then honestly nodded.
Kaito raised his index finger, pretending to get ready for another flick
"No more! No more!", Nijika hurriedly covered her little head, guarding her forehead tightly like a little curled-up hedgehog, "Really, no more!"
