A third says: "To stand on top of the stage."
And the last one says: "Heehee, I just wanna survive."
This scene is just too hard to keep a straight face at.
Anyway, I'm cutting ties with this. No matter what kind of character Mutsumi turns out to be, at least in this novel, she's not malicious. Just an ordinary little girl who doesn't want to be loved in a twisted way. With Kaito around, even Teacher Momo doesn't have to be so bitter and vengeful, struggling to rebuild Chicken Card just to survive.
Honestly, from the beginning, the main characters in this novel have been hard to write because their power level is set too high, their abilities are too strong. So a lot of classic, well-loved story arcs required tons of brainpower to patch up and make them at least somewhat reasonable. Burned through a lot of brain cells that way.
But now, I guess it's a blessing in disguise. At least I don't need to agonize over how to handle Mortis. Straight-up erasing them would be too cruel. Letting them coexist with Mutsumi would feel weird. Fusing the two would just be plain gross.
Luckily for Kaito, none of this matters. Sorry, but when you're a Godly Lord of the Cards, you get to do whatever you want.
I really like one line from Master of Kaito: "You're just an ordinary student. Can you really carry someone else's life on your back?"
Kaito: "I cultivate immortality. Just say it, how many lives do I have to carry?"
[T/N: Also, I don't know what that chicken card or teacher momo is. I just translated it as it is, without editing anything, or researching deep into it. Let me know if you know them, I will change it. Besides, when these character or plots appear in this novel, I will research and use appropriate reference for them anyway, so read with peace of mind. Signing off, AmbiTL~ ]
Chapter 169: Raana: Easily Soloing the Pink Milk Dragon
"This... shop assistant miss."
Seeing the black-haired girl in work uniform still staring blankly at him, Kaito lightly coughed and pointed to the entrance door.
"Over there, it seems there's a new customer. Are you sure you're not going to greet them?"
"S-Sorry!", Shiina Taki snapped out of her daze like awakening from a dream.
This girl who had always been strong-willed and tsundere, who not only pressured her teammates but even herself, now looked like a flustered little girl. She subconsciously used the tray to block her bright red face, her cheeks burning hot.
She lightly bowed to show her apology and hurried away, her retreating figure full of the air of a panicked escape.
This should've just been a harmless little interlude. Kaito didn't take it to heart. But as he withdrew his gaze and looked at Chihaya Anon in front of him, he realized the girl beside him was glaring at him with puffed-up cheeks.
The girl's soft pink cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish, arms crossed over her barely noticeable chest, muttering quietly, "Flirting with every girl."
Kaito: "?"
'Where are the bees? Where are the butterflies?'
Anon gave a resentful glance toward Shiina Taki's gradually retreating back, then glanced again at Raana sitting next to him. The meaning was obvious.
'The cat-girl is at least barely justifiable but even that shop assistant I only met once counts?'
'I don't even know the girl's name,' Kaito's speechlessness lasted only half a second.
"Parfait," The silver-haired girl sitting close beside him suddenly spoke, looking at the three matcha parfaits on the table. Her beautiful heterochromatic eyes shimmered like rippling golden light under the mellow dusk glow.
She tilted her head, looking puzzled, "No one wants them?"
Of the three parfaits, one belonged to Mana, but the idol lady had already left earlier, clearly missing out on it.
Kaito rubbed the cat-girl's head, "If you want to eat it, go ahead. If it's not enough, you can have mine too."
He never had much interest in these kinds of desserts, so whether he ate it or not didn't matter.
"Okay," Raana lightly nodded, then looked across at the pink-haired older sister and pointed at the parfait in front of her, asking, "Parfait, want to eat?"
"Eh?", Anon was a little surprised. She didn't expect that the stray cat who had just coldly judged her as a boring woman would suddenly offer to share food. She quickly waved her hands and said shyly, "N-No, it's fine. You eat it."
"Okay," Raana brought the parfait in front of her over, scooped a spoonful, put it into her mouth, and squinted her eyes in satisfaction.
Anon: "?"
The girl froze for a moment, 'Did I just fet get tricked by a stray cat?'
Thinking for a moment, she came up with a plan and picked up the donut in front of her, asking, "Do you eat donuts?"
Raana nodded: "Eat."
The cat-girl stood up and brought the donut in front of her over too.
Anon: "..."
'Why are you not playing by the rules?'
Kaito watched everything from start to finish, took a sip of black tea, and couldn't help but worry for Chihaya's future.
'This girl is just too easy to fool, being played around by a cat-girl.'
'If she meets a bad guy, she might get coaxed into having eight babies.'
However, in order to preserve Anon's self-esteem and prevent her from being too crushed and starting to doubt the world, or herself, he put down the teacup and tapped Raana lightly on the head, "Two parfaits are enough. Any more and you might catch a cold."
"Okay," The cat-girl puffed up her cheeks but ultimately didn't refuse. Reluctantly, she pushed the untouched parfait in front of Anon, "For you."
"It's fine," Anon couldn't help but cover her face. Skills inferior, she could accept that. One parfait lost, it was no big deal. But her round toes inside her little leather shoes couldn't help but dig into the floor, 'I actually got played by a cat-girl, TWICE?'
'Ugh In Kaito's heart, the image of me as a beauty with both brains and looks must've been shattered to bits by now'
This dejected mood lingered all the way until nightfall, even as the group separated, it hadn't completely dissipated.
Finally boarding the train home, the pink-haired girl gritted her teeth and silently vowed in her heart.
'All the lost image, I will personally rebuild it!'
'Starting tomorrow!'
"So", After walking along the road for a long while, Kaito stopped, turned around, and looked at Raana quietly following him like a silent cat, "It's already very late, right? Raana, aren't you going home?"
The silver-haired girl happened to be standing under the streetlight, holding the guitar case with one hand. Her slightly baby-fat face made people want to pinch it. She tilted her head and, after thinking for a bit, confidently said, "Because, want to be with you."
"This isn't about being with someone"
Kaito held his forehead, "If you keep staying out late, your family will worry, understand?"
"It's fine," The cat-girl answered without hesitation, "Grandma likes you. I do too."
Her parents had been working in London for a long time and rarely returned to Japan, so she mostly lived with her grandmother.
Thinking of Tsuzuki Shifune's inexplicable trust in him, Kaito belatedly realized, 'Alright, there's no convincing Raana with this reasoning.'
The cat-girl bit her lip.
The bright streetlamp cast shadows on her long eyelashes like butterfly wings. The girl's silver short hair swayed gently in the night air, like cherry blossom petals carried by the spring wind.
"Is it because you hate me?"
Those beautiful heterochromatic eyes were filled with loneliness and sadness, the jewel-like luster lost, reminding one of a soft-furred kitten afraid of being abandoned.
'Hate? Of course not. Who could say no to a luxury cat that doesn't hiss or shed, and shows its belly asking for pets at first sight?', Kaito didn't refuse anymore, just sighed, "Following me is fine, but at least call your grandma first."
Tsuzuki Shifune's attitude was very kind.
She didn't show any displeasure at all about Kaito "kidnapping" her granddaughter. She only expressed slight apology and said, 'Raana, sorry to trouble you.'
She even wanted to transfer some accommodation money. Of course, Kaito refused.
Bringing the cat-girl home, it was just eight o'clock.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, thoughtful little Mutsumi, as usual, came out holding Kirara to welcome her brother home.
But before she could say "welcome back," her eyes had already landed on the silver-haired figure behind Kaito, one that looked a bit familiar.
In the girl's golden eyes, a ripple passed.
[T/N: Must be hard getting tortured by new girls everyday. Poor mutsumi ]
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Chapter 170: Mutsumi (Already Blackened)
Mutsumi was not unfamiliar with this silver-haired girl who came uninvited.
Raana was not staying over at her house for the first time, and that elusive temperament like a stray cat had left a deep impression.
It's just that... The girl with long light green hair lowered her eyelashes slightly, concealing the inexplicable thoughts in her eyes.
With an outsider present, some of her plans would be restricted.
'Or should I... simply give up altogether?'
While tangled in thought, a curious voice suddenly sounded above her.
"Asleep?"
Raana had already walked up to her at some unknown time. The girl had her hands behind her back, her petite body leaning forward slightly, intently gazing at her. In those rare heterochromatic eyes, it seemed like overlapping shadows were reflected.
She tilted her head, as if thinking, "Or hiding?"
Mutsumi was startled.
"Two people," Raana's big eyes blinked once, but her tone remained flat, "Inside your body."
Kaito wasn't surprised that the cat could detect Mortis' presence.
From the first moment he met Raana, he had noticed something unusual about this silver-haired girl.
Though she had never undergone any systematic training and didn't possess any extraordinary power, she naturally had the ability to communicate with animals (limited to feline species), and her senses were sharper than normal people.
If explained using occult concepts, one could say Raana's spiritual vision was naturally high.
Someone with a similar situation to hers was Bocchi, but Bocchi awakened the Yin-Yang eyes, which had miraculous effects mainly in the field of evil spirits and soul bodies. The two sides had different emphases.
"This is Wakaba Mutsumi, you've seen her before, you can call her Sister Mutsumi."
After a brief choice of words, Kaito paused, then added, "As for the other person you saw, her name is Mortis, you can also call her sister."
Raana was still in high school. Compared to Mutsumi who studied at Tsukinomori Women's University, she was indeed younger, so calling her "sister" was not inappropriate.
But the cat didn't immediately agree. She just lifted her small face, staring with a pair of innocent big eyes, unblinking, and asked, "So, should I also call you 'Onii-chan'?"
The wall clock in the living room was still ticking, the sound of the rotating hands clearer than usual, forcefully striking the eardrums.
The silent green-haired girl lowered her head, her slender white fingers unconsciously clenched, her nails carving out four crescent-shaped marks in her palms.
To the current Little Mutsumi, the identity of "younger sister" was the foundation she couldn't give up.
And the term "Onii-chan" was even more exclusively hers.
No matter what, she didn't want to give it up, even more so... not let others encroach upon it.
'So, should I stop it?'
'But, on what grounds?'
'I can't possibly just stand up and bluntly tell Onii-chan that one little sister is enough, right?'
Whether it's useful or not aside, at the very least, it would make her seem petty.
'Moreover, it will trouble Onii-chan.'
As a well-behaved, considerate, and qualified little sister, she didn't want Kaito to experience any difficulty or worry because of her selfishness.
'So long as there is still a place beside Onii-chan that belongs to her...'
'No matter the situation, I can endure it.'
Little Mutsumi's abnormality was very slight, fleeting in an instant.
But Kaito still keenly noticed that when Raana uttered the word "Onii-chan," the girl's heartbeat suddenly became much more rapid.
Physiologically speaking, this was a reaction when a person felt emotionally tense.
She was worried.
Worried that he would agree to Raana's form of address.
As for the psychology behind this reaction, it wasn't hard to guess:
Because the girl from the past was too lacking in love.
So she would subconsciously worry that the presence of others would take away the love that belonged to her.
Just like how when Little Mutsumi found out he was dating Soyo, she was worried that he would abandon her.
In the end, it was all because she lacked a sense of security.
But... this also indirectly proved that Little Mutsumi truly regarded him as her most important older brother. That's why, like all little sisters who were attached to their brothers, she didn't want to share.
Not like a certain Kita, who had impure and inappropriate thoughts about him.
With the intent of considering his sister's feelings, Kaito looked down at the slightly puzzled cat and rubbed her little head.
"Better to choose a different form of address."
"Ugh...". Raana furrowed her delicate brows, looking quite troubled. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Then, can I call you 'Onii-chan-chan'?"
Although it was just adding one "big" character, the feeling suddenly became different.
A childlike aura of immaturity rushed over.
Especially since the cat herself wasn't very big, still at high school age, it didn't seem wrong to call her a child?
Thinking of this, Mutsumi's tense body relaxed slightly.
Although this outcome couldn't be considered the best, it was far from the worst.
Even if it felt somewhat self-deceptive, at least... the words "Onii-chan" still belonged to her alone.
Kaito didn't refuse again. Instead, he turned to ask the two what they wanted to eat, he would go make dinner now.
"Matcha parfait!", Raana raised her hand, her tone full of urgency.
"Dessert doesn't count," Kaito tapped her forehead, "You've already eaten two cups of parfait, be careful not to get an upset stomach tonight."
"Then, I'll eat soba," After being rejected, the cat didn't seem disappointed and quickly gave a new answer.
