Chapter 92: The Cultists' Chiba Branch!
Luke put the bizarre O.o glasses back where they belonged.
"Don't you already have one pair of weird glasses?"
Yumiko retorted, then picked up a more normal pair of black-rimmed glasses.
"They're pretty close to this style."
"I'm just looking…"
Luke said that casually while watching Yumiko brush aside the hair near her ear.
She carefully placed the glasses on the bridge of her nose, pressed her lips together, and gently pinched the temples with her fingers as she tilted her head slightly.
Then she raised her eyes.
"How is it? Does it suit me?"
Seeing that timid, slightly embarrassed expression on Yumiko's face, with her eyes rippling like water, Luke suddenly felt a strangely shy charm from her.
For an instant, his heart seemed to shiver.
"Mm."
Was she always this pretty before?
Although she was indeed a cute girl, the way she looked after putting on glasses was completely different.
"Are you okay?"
Yumiko looked at his reaction and asked strangely, then took the glasses off her nose.
She returned to her usual state.
"I'm fine."
He sig—let out a breath of relief.
"So they really don't suit me."
Yumiko put the glasses back where they had been.
"No, they suit you very well."
"Eh?"
Yumiko looked at him strangely.
"Buy them. I'll give them to you."
Luke took down three pairs of the same style.
Mm. He decided to reexamine his own aesthetic sense. When he got back, he would have Mikasa and Annie wear them too.
Although neither of them seemed like the type who would get a bonus from wearing glasses, one would never know the truth without experimenting.
Although she knew it was goodwill, for some reason, Yumiko felt something was off. Having returned to normal, she immediately and mercilessly rejected him.
"No. Your eyes feel weird."
"They really suit you, though."
"No!"
Yumiko shouted and directly fled toward Yui's side.
After thinking for a moment, he still kept the three pairs of glasses and prepared to buy them later.
As expected, toy specialty stores could really make people rediscover their childhood innocence.
When he caught up to Yumiko again, he saw Yui holding a white dog plushie even bigger than herself and comparing it against Yumiko.
"Isn't this a bit too big?"
Yumiko looked around awkwardly. Her vision was completely blocked by the huge dog, and she could not see Yui's figure at all.
"Is it? But isn't this kind of thing cuter the bigger it is?"
Yui struggled to poke her forehead out from the side, her confused voice coming from behind the plushie.
"Geez! You still have to consider how much space you have."
"Okay."
"I think the white dog plushie you gave me before was just about the right size."
"That one…"
Yui put the oversized plushie back where it belonged and shifted her gaze to the slightly smaller toys on the shelf.
Luke also swept his gaze around. There were many kinds of animal toys here, and quite a few customers had stopped nearby.
"Have you picked one?"
He looked at the hesitant but excited Yui.
Weren't they supposed to be following them? Why did she suddenly start shopping by herself the moment she was caught?
"Okay, this one it is! Heave-ho!"
Yui hugged a plushie half her height down from the shelf. The transparent plastic packaging around it crackled noisily in her hands.
"Mm, should I get one too?"
Yumiko looked at the plushie in Yui's hands and seemed a little tempted.
"Aren't you going to keep shopping? Buying a large plushie first isn't very convenient, is it?"
Yumiko's lifted gaze shifted toward him.
"Isn't that why we have you? Yui, give yours to him too."
"Eh? That feels kind of bad."
Yui hugged the plushie.
"Oh, right."
Luke suddenly remembered his own identity and stretched a hand toward Yui.
"Give it to me."
"Mm, okay."
Yui handed him the plushie, which was not very heavy to begin with.
After taking it, he held the toy in his arms and gently tightened his hold through the plastic wrapping.
Heh. The texture was actually pretty nice.
The squeezed filling clung closely to the body, bringing a feeling of being wrapped up and protected. It was especially relaxing and gentle.
Maybe I should buy one too.
Luke looked over the toys.
"Oh, right. Where's Yukinon?"
"That girl… who knows?"
Yumiko, who was inexplicably at odds with Yukino, continued scanning the toys and huffed.
"She's in the area near the entrance. Don't worry. I saw that she was already completely absorbed in choosing something, so there's no need to worry about her getting lost."
"Really?"
Yui let out a breath of relief.
"I'll get one too."
Having made up her mind, Yumiko chose a brown bear plushie that was about the same size as Yui's.
"Here."
Luke took the plushie again, holding one toy in each arm.
What a pity. If they were smaller plushies, he could put them on his shoulders and activate Sage Mode.
"Let's go find Yukinon."
After choosing her toy, Yui said that to Yumiko.
"Oh, fine… It wouldn't be good to leave her there alone anyway."
The group strolled through the toy-filled space. Along the way, they discovered a familiar figure crouching like an oddity in front of a shelf of plastic model kits.
It was Hiratsuka-sensei.
Luke could not help letting out a "huh."
Sensing the movement, Shizuka turned around and spoke.
"Eh? Why are you all here? Miura and Luke, and Yuigahama too…"
"H-Hiratsuka-sensei! We, um…"
Yumiko looked a little panicked.
"We're here to…"
Yui began explaining.
Luke directly said, "What's so strange about us being here? You being here alone on a Saturday is what's strange."
Yumiko and Yui's voices stopped.
"Eh—!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka froze for a moment, then clutched her heart as if she had suffered a heavy blow. She painfully crouched on the ground.
"Y-you're right. Why… why am I h-here alone on a Saturday…?"
"H-Hiratsuka-sensei…"
Yui pulled at Luke's sleeve and asked worriedly, "Is she okay?"
"She's fine. Just intermittent social shutdown. It's an old problem. Let her calm down by herself."
After waiting for Shizuka for a while, she was still crouching on the ground, rapidly muttering some unknown "Hiratsuka Shizuka spell" under her breath.
Luke finally could not hold back anymore.
"Sensei, we're planning to go eat yakiniku. Do you want to come?"
He invited Shizuka.
"Eh? When did we decide that?"
Yumiko and Yui froze at the same time.
"Ten minutes from now."
Luke spoke calmly.
"Why are you so obsessed with yakiniku?"
Yumiko awkwardly moved her shoulder.
"Last time, I went to eat yakiniku with Mikasa and joined a yakiniku rice bowl eating challenge. They gave me a lot of coupons, and if I don't use them soon, they'll expire."
Luke said that beside Yumiko's ear.
"In short, don't worry. They're general coupons, so even if I treat everyone, it won't cost much. It's already noon anyway, so we have to eat, right?"
So ticklish~
Yumiko covered her reddened ear with her palm and agreed.
"O-okay."
"Hurry up and revive, Hiratsuka-sensei… It's rare to have a day off. Don't waste time."
Luke patted Shizuka, who was still crouched there and whimpering, then looked curiously at the model toy beside her.
"Were you trying to buy this toy… hm? Gunpla? Is it a robot toy?"
"Toy… no, no, no. I'm w-working."
Shizuka, reminded not to waste her day off, stammered as she spoke. She really did not want to reveal such a childish interest in toys in front of her students.
"Eh? Work?"
Yui asked strangely, and Yumiko also cast a puzzled gaze at her.
Obviously not. Anyone could tell that was a lie, okay?
No teacher would work overtime on a Saturday in the toy section of a shopping center.
Even so, Yui still looked at Shizuka with childlike, innocent, clear eyes.
"Even on your day off, you have to work… Sensei, you really work hard."
"Heh."
Shizuka glared at the guy who let out that snicker, then turned back to the pure Yui and said:
"There's nothing I can do about it. This is also part of student guidance. Tsurumi-sensei always throws all these things to me…"
"If students play too much during the holidays, teachers will also be troubled…"
"In short, it's all because of work. Adults really have it hard… ah, ha, ha, ha…"
Looking at Shizuka's dry laugh, which contained no laughter at all, Yumiko also felt that something was wrong and timidly walked to Luke's side.
"Sensei is lying, right?"
"What do you think?"
Luke neither confirmed nor denied it.
"In short, I'm working. What are you all doing?"
Shizuka swept a glance toward him.
"Shopping, buying toys, and going to eat yakiniku later."
He showed Shizuka the dog and bear he had taken hostage.
"Huh? You're actually interested in stuffed toys?"
Shizuka looked strangely at the things in his hands, walked closer, and casually squeezed the plushies twice.
"Do you think I'd be interested in toys like Sensei? Of course they're not mine."
Luke glanced at her.
"Ugh—!"
"In short, do you have other plans, Sensei?"
"No."
Shizuka answered decisively, then asked, "But if an uninvited guest joins in, is it convenient for you?"
"It's fine. More people is better anyway…"
Yui said that.
Yumiko shrugged indifferently.
"Then let's go call Yukinoshita and leave."
"Eh? Yukinoshita came too?"
Shizuka swept her gaze over them in confusion.
"Mm."
Bringing along the little adult who was reluctant to part with the toys, they found Yukino, who seemed just like Shizuka earlier, staring fixedly at a plush doll.
"Yukinoshita!"
Yukino, who was pinching a Pan-san plushie, immediately put the doll back on the shelf. She stood up with complete composure and swept her gaze over everyone.
"Cough, cough. Good afternoon, Hiratsuka-sensei… Are you all finished?"
She coughed to hide herself while asking.
"I'm going to take a call."
Luke had originally planned to make a comment about how the plushie with its vicious eyes, sharp claws, and glowing fangs did not count as a panda at all, but then he felt his phone vibrate.
"Oh."
Yui and Yumiko took back their respective plushies.
"Hello."
He walked to an empty corner and answered the call.
"It's me. I already delivered the dream-communication tool to your house. That single-track maid of yours accepted it."
It was Kasumizuki's voice.
"Oh. Good."
Luke looked at the time. It also seemed to be around the time he had agreed on with Miko, yet he had not received a call from her.
Even if the dream had caused exhaustion, she should not still be asleep at this hour. From the look of things, she really had not remembered what happened in the dream.
He told Kasumizuki about this discovery.
Kasumizuki replied from the other side, "Then you probably don't need to tell her."
"Why?"
"In her current state, the moment she enters the dream, she'll remember what happened before. So there's no need to make her worry in reality too."
"Let her adjust her condition properly during the day. If a fight really breaks out inside the dream, it will be more advantageous for you if she's in a better mood."
He thought about it.
"Is that really okay? Keeping it from the person involved?"
"That's just my suggestion. You make the decision yourself."
"Fine. I'll see."
Luke hesitated for a moment, but still asked with some concern, "Do you really not need me to come over?"
"Don't worry. I have enough people here. Just focus on watching Miko's dream. I'm hanging up. Someone's causing trouble near little Yuria again."
"Oh, okay."
Looking at Yui waving to him from the entrance of the toy store after finishing the checkout, Luke thought for a moment and still called Miko.
It was better to let the person involved know about this kind of thing, right?
…
The cultists' Chiba branch echoed with angry roars and shouts that tore through the surrounding darkness.
"Completely useless. I'm honestly impressed."
"Look at what kind of people you recruited."
"A starving dog that can eat three bags of dog food in a day."
"A lunatic who only knows how to play tennis."
"A drunk driver who can't even identify the target."
"A gambler who streaks through the street after losing."
"A corporate slave whose head is full of sugar-daddy dating all day."
"What do you think we are? A charity?!"
The head of the cultists' Chiba branch, their leader, the great pioneer of a new era of cultists, was roaring at the personnel department head with all his strength.
"We couldn't handle that high school student before, and now we can't even handle an elementary school girl. What am I spending so much money for? To get back a bunch of useless trash?"
"That little Yin-Yang Eyes kid is also a high school student."
The personnel head corrected his mistake.
"Even if she's a high school student, she's a high school student with the physique of an elementary schooler! That bunch of useless trash you found can't even handle her?!"
You're just not counting the exorcists who have been lying in ambush around her, are you?
The personnel head thought that in his heart, but he could not say it out loud to refute his superior. After all, all of them still relied on the person in front of them for food.
"How are we supposed to complete our mission with these incompetent vermin?"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He swept aside the manga piled on the bed and sat down.
"And those exorcists too. Why are they so dedicated? They kill every evil spirit they encounter, so now I don't even have materials to collect for my manga…"
"I don't even know where I'm supposed to get material for the next issue of Horror Manga Special."
This time, however, the personnel head nodded heavily, his face full of anger.
Exactly. It was all the exorcists' fault, making the author he liked unable to create.
Without horror manga to read, even his sleep quality had gotten better!
Anger!
But…
"It should be fine, right? No matter what, at least through that Niguredo girl, we moved the exorcists' attention away. The mission the headquarters gave us can be considered complete."
The personnel head continued.
"Besides, that high school student before was only an unexpected gain after we discovered the ghost driver. It doesn't count as some so-called mission failure."
"That's true…"
The branch head nodded lightly.
"But I don't plan on continuing to help them. I'm going to continue completing our plan."
The personnel head looked somewhat hesitant.
"Is that really okay? Not helping Tokyo HQ restrain the exorcists, I mean."
The mission headquarters had given them was to keep restraining the exorcists' attention.
Of course, their branch and headquarters were not actually in a superior-subordinate relationship.
It was only because Tokyo had more people and stronger abilities. As for whether they listened to their commands, that still depended on their own boss.
After all, this group's food, clothing, housing, and daily necessities all relied on the branch head's support.
"Do you have a death wish?"
The branch head immediately looked at his personnel head in confusion.
"Haven't you been here for decades? With our few people, whether we can beat even one of them is already a problem, okay?"
"Or do you think those little soul tricks can solve every exorcist?"
"If you cause trouble once or twice, they won't care. But if you keep doing it…"
"If you don't die, who will?"
The personnel head helplessly shook his head, but still said hesitantly, "But won't it be hard to explain to headquarters?"
The branch head said again, "Explain? Explain what? Are we supposed to be upright, heroic characters?"
"If I remember correctly, we're cultists."
"In that case, isn't betraying our teammates only natural?"
The personnel head's mouth twitched.
"That… does make sense."
The branch head pointed at him.
"So from the very beginning, I never planned on doing anything major."
"I collect good material, draw good horror manga, and you help me promote it. That's enough."
"As long as enough people read my horror manga…"
"When that time comes, we can use the exorcism tool to create the corresponding evil spirit."
"That way, we can still achieve our goal."
...
(Don't forget to vote and leave a comment below! The more you vote, the more chapters I upload weekly.)
...
Read more chapters in advance:
patréon.com/U22
(Note: Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.)