Happy times always pass quickly. The five-day-four-night trip eventually came to an end.
[May 5th]
After breakfast, the tour company's shuttle bus was already waiting outside.
The girls packed up their luggage and, together with Kaito, officially boarded the bus home.
.
.
.
After leaving the station and saying goodbye to Nijika and the others, Kaito returned home alone.
Originally, Yumiko had wanted to go with him to spend more time together.
But her parents, who had been on a business trip abroad, returned two days ago and even called her. She really couldn't get away.
He casually hung his coat on the rack, changed into indoor slippers, and before he could even look up, he heard a series of urgent meows.
'Boss, you're finally back, nya!'
Kirara, who had been waiting anxiously, heard the sound and immediately darted out from the bedroom.
Kaito was moved by the cat's enthusiastic attitude. He picked it up and weighed it a bit, 'Hmm, not only didn't it lose weight, it actually got fatter.'
'Looks like in the past few days I was gone, this silly cat has taken good care of itself.'
'Good, now I can be at ease if this happens again.'
"Meow! Meow!"
Kirara licked his face, eyes sparkling.
'Boss, where's my gift?'
'It's rare you went far. Surely you brought a souvenir for your kitty?'
'Like dried fish! Like dried fish! Like dried fish!'
Kaito pondered for a moment.
He had indeed planned to bring back some dried fish for Kirara, but left in a rush and forgot.
But facing the cat's expectant gaze, he really couldn't say no. Thinking for a bit, he lectured, "Offering favors without reason means ill intent."
"Someone who feeds you dried fish for no reason must be up to something. They might want to trick you into working at a cat caf as the top girl, selling your body to live. One cat stick per service, no dignity at all."
"Although I didn't bring you dried fish, this proves that I truly have no ulterior motives and genuinely care about you."
Kirara blinked, as if asking, 'How much dignity does a few sticks of dried fish cost?'
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Chapter 82: Little Mutsumi in Crisis
The distant sky had just begun to show a faint fish-belly white. The extremely weak dawn rose from the far horizon, bringing a slight warmth to the world.
"Master Master!"
'My body feels so heavy, is this sleep paralysis?'
"Master! Time to get up!"
Kaito opened his eyes. Sure enough, sitting on top of him was a green-haired ghost girl in a dinosaur onesie. Seeing he was awake, she showed a bright, energetic smile.
"Good morning! Master!"
"Good morning," Being woken up early in the morning by a beautiful girl as pretty as a doll should be a happy thing.
But Kaito was already used to it, instead he sighed, "I told you not to keep sitting on a guy's stomach... Don't you know you're heavy?"
"How mean!"
Kumiko pouted angrily and ground her silver teeth, "A girl's weight is a taboo. Even if it's you saying that, I'll still get mad!"
"You even have the burden of a girl's weight now?"
Kaito sat up and casually picked her up and set her aside, "You're growing way too fast, aren't you?"
"Humph~ Humph~", Kumiko crossed her arms at her waist, very pleased with herself.
From an innocent little girl who didn't understand the world, to the playful little demon she was now, such a huge change had to be traced back to a few days ago.
After returning from Hoori, the holiday was only halfway through.
There were still four days before school started, but Kaito had no intention of going out again. Part of the reason was laziness, and the other part was because the weather wasn't cooperating.
Tokyo in May had already entered the rainy season. On the second day after he got home, intermittent showers began falling nonstop. The air was humid and stuffy. It had already been several days since they last saw bright sunshine.
But this kind of weather was perfect for staying home and playing games.
Previously, there was only Kirara at home. Although she was smart, cat paws ultimately couldn't replace hands, so she couldn't play games with him. Kaito was used to solo queue life.
But three nights ago, just as he restarted a game, Kumiko, who had been playing with the cat, floated over, watching curiously from beside him.
Seeing that she seemed really interested, Kaito gave up his seat, planning to let Kumiko try it herself, and maybe give her a small shock from video games.
And then
The once innocent little girl who didn't understand the world was thus infected with the incurable disease known as "internet addiction."
Playing games, browsing forums, chasing anime She had already become a full-blown shut-in (sad).
The only thing that gave Kaito a bit of comfort was that at least he had managed to change the way Kumiko addressed him, from the creepy-sounding "Daddy" to the current "Master."
Although Kumiko looked really unhappy about it at the time after Kaito threatened to cut the internet, she obediently changed how she called him, afraid that any more delay would mean saying goodbye to her beloved games.
No one knew what kind of stuff this girl had seen online. Her personality was getting more and more outgoing, and she was learning more and more.
'I should better check her browsing history someday.'
After all, it had only been a few days since Kumiko got on the internet. She definitely didn't know about incognito browsing yet, and there was no way she had developed the habit of clearing history regularly.
"Time to eat," Once Kaito finished making breakfast, he came to the living room.
Sure enough, Kumiko was hugging the tablet, leaning on Kirara, happily playing.
Kaito swept his divine sense over. The game on the screen was some kind of card-based roguelike. The girl-controlled character was a ragged little robot, just smashed to death by a red demon with horns.
"Died It's all your fault, Master!", Kumiko kept her cross-legged posture, shaking her head and throwing blame like a pro.
"If you suck, practice more," Kaito calmly walked over to her, gave her a free flick on the forehead, then pulled the tablet out of her arms, "Go wash your hands, time to eat."
"Ow that hurt!", Kumiko clutched her little head with teary eyes, "You actually hit me that hard unless you give me the tablet back right now, I won't forgive you, Master."
What to do when a kid gets rebellious? Just smack them.
Kaito curled his finger, making a flicking gesture again. Kumiko was so scared she floated away.
"No no no! I'll go wash my hands right now!"
'Good old classical mechanics. Works like a charm.'
Breakfast was oatmeal porridge, boiled eggs, and waffles with jam.
After the meal, Kumiko quietly took back the tablet, sat on the sofa again, and restarted her tragically failed tower-climbing journey, making Kaito unable to help but comment, "Your addiction's a bit serious, huh?"
Kumiko didn't even look up, "What addiction? I play every day, never seen me get addicted."
Kaito: "?"
'When I put a question mark, it's not that I have a problem, it's that you have a problem.'
But thinking about it carefully Kumiko wasn't an ordinary child. She was the embodiment of the divine blade. She didn't have to work, didn't have to go to school, no risk of bad grades. If she liked to play, let her play. Being a shut-in wasn't that bad.
As an enlightened guardian, he simply sat beside Kumiko, turned on the big screen, and handed her a controller, "Wanna squad up?"
While this father-daughter duo was sweetly playing duo queue
[Port Area]
In a private villa, a blue-haired twin-tailed girl slightly furrowed her brows, looking anxiously at a tightly shut bedroom door not far away.
A moment later.
The door opened. A young woman wearing a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit came out, but there was no joy on her delicate face.
"Miko Kagano, how is it?"
[T/N: In Japanese, "miko" refers to a shrine maiden, typically a young female priestess, who works at a Shinto shrine.]
Beside Togawa Sakiko, a well-dressed middle-aged woman walked up, her voice trembling slightly.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Mori," Shrine maiden Kagano lowered her head, ashamed, "Miss Wakaba's condition is already beyond my ability."
Mori Minami was over forty, but due to careful maintenance, she looked only in her thirties.
Hearing this, her noble and elegant face turned pale. She staggered back a few steps, almost collapsing.
Little Sakiko quickly held her up, then looked at the shrine maiden and seriously asked, "Is Mutsumi in danger for now?"
Mori Minami also stared nervously into her eyes, afraid to hear a definite answer.
This time, however, Miko Kagano didn't disappoint them, "I've stabilized Miss Wakaba's condition for now. There should be no issues within three days. But if it exceeds that time"
She sighed, "Sorry, it's because my power is limited."
"Three days only three days", Mori Minami instinctively gripped the shrine maiden's sleeve, like clutching the last straw, "Isn't there any other way to save Mutsumi?"
Miko Kagano shook her head, "Maybe if we find an exorcist strong enough, this problem could be resolved, but"
'The industry is in decline. The skill levels of active shrine maidens, onmyoji, and priests vary greatly, and most are scammers.'
'The few who are actually capable are still very weak, and even slightly powerful vengeful spirits are hard to deal with.'
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Chapter 83: Not Closed Means Opened?
Indeed, the world is so big, if you really want to say, you can definitely find a few masters.
In this modern world, cultivation is difficult, even if they are masters, most of them hide deep in the mountains and old forests to cultivate quietly, rarely entering the secular world.
Trying to find a real expert to help within just three days is no different than fishing for a needle in the ocean.
The miko from the Kurano Shrine didn't stay long, and after reminding them of a few precautions, she bid farewell and left.
Mori Minami forced herself to perk up and saw her out.
Togawa Sakiko walked into the bedroom. The curtains were tightly drawn, the room was a bit dim, with only a small lamp lit by the bedside table. The warm yellow light was like a fragile candle flame in the wind, as if it would extinguish in the next second.
On the soft velvet bed, the green-haired girl wore only thin pajamas. Her doll-like delicate features were expressionless, sleeping deeply.
Seeing her dearest friend fallen into such a state, little Sakiko lowered her eyes and tucked the blanket around her.
Because of Golden Week, she was invited by Aunt Mori to stay over for a few days.
It had been a long time since she had caught up with Mutsumi. After arriving at the Wakaba household, Togawa Sakiko had been sharing a room with her. Both of them were petite and slender girls, so it didn't feel crowded.
At first, everything was normal, but four nights ago, Mutsumi suddenly had a dream.
In the dream, there was a strange woman dressed in a white kimono standing far away from her. She did nothing else but stare at her with those eyes full of white.
At first, no one took it seriously. Modern people all have illogical dreams now and then. Maybe she just watched a blockbuster movie during the day, and at night dreamed something related to it.
But on the second night, Mutsumi dreamed of the same strange woman in white again.
This time, the woman was closer, about one-fifth of the distance nearer.
On the third night, the dream was the same, and the distance shortened again by one-fifth.
Once is an accident, twice is coincidence, but the third time?
Mori Minami finally couldn't sit still. She realized that her daughter might have been entangled by something unclean.
She first invited a priest and an onmyoji to perform a ritual, but it was of no use.
Those seemingly high-and-mighty practitioners chanted sutras, arranged formations, and drew talismans, working busily for half a day, yet couldn't even tell what was wrong with Mutsumi.
Later, Mori Minami specially went to a shrine she had previously visited and invited the Kurano Shrine's miko.
This time it finally had some effect. Mutsumi's condition was temporarily stabilized, but it could only be maintained for three days.
"You've worked hard, little Sakiko," Mori Minami walked into the bedroom, looking at her daughter on the bed like a sleeping beauty. Her brows showed deep fatigue and a hint of despair hidden deep within.
"It's nothing, as it should be," Togawa Sakiko carefully chose her words, "Aunt Mori, I have a friend who is a very powerful exorcist. Maybe he can do something about Mutsumi's current situation."
Mori Minami gave a bitter smile.
The Kurano Shrine miko was already the most famous and skilled one she could invite. Even she was helpless. Basically, they could give up rescue at this point.
Although Sakiko was once the eldest daughter of the Togawa family, she had already left the family. Even if she really had an exorcist friend, at best he could probably only deal with some low-level ghosts that couldn't even harm people and could only scare normal folks.
Still, with a dead-horse-as-a-live-horse mindset, she nodded.
"Then please bring him here. If he can really save Mutsumi, the reward can be whatever he wants."
Looking at the big "Victory" on the screen, Kaito put down the controller and stretched lazily.
"One more round?"
After suffering her thirteenth consecutive defeat, Kumiko was clearly getting heated, angrily saying, "Cheater, you're using hacks!"
"What are you talking about? Not closed means opened?"
Kaito glanced at her and calmly said, "In esports, being bad is the original sin."
Youngling was still too naive. As a cultivator, having sharp ears and keen eyes was the most basic setup. His dynamic vision far surpassed ordinary people. As long as Kaito wanted to, everything on the screen appeared in slow motion in his eyes.
Does this count as cheating? Of course not. After all, he never turned anything off.
Using external tools is called cheating. But my ability to achieve god-tier victory comes purely from effort and sweat.
