Chapter 98: Niguredo's Arrangement!
"Is this the place?"
Niguredo Yuria bent her neck almost ninety degrees, struggling to look up at the banner hanging over the shop in front of her.
She and Yotsuya Miko had been invited to the exorcists' gathering place.
An izakaya.
"This should be it."
Miko glanced at the information on her phone, compared it to the text at the entrance, and nodded in confirmation.
"Yotsuya-san, from here on… we are entering the world of adults."
Yuria's small face tightened as she solemnly looked at the open door of the izakaya.
Because of her small build, she was often mistaken for an elementary schooler, which meant she could not enter most places. Although, strictly speaking, that was because she was still underage.
But today, using this chance to visit an izakaya she had never entered before still made her very happy.
"Yuria-chan, you don't need to be that serious, right?"
Looking at Yuria's expression, Miko could not help feeling her own heart thump.
"There are minors here, yet they still chose this place. I believe there must be something hidden inside."
Yuria's little head looked left and right. She felt that from every closed window, a trained evil spirit might leap out at any moment and chop her and Miko into pieces.
"It shouldn't be that serious."
Miko hurriedly pulled Yuria into the izakaya.
After entering the izakaya…
A red banner hung at the entrance, with "Welcome" written on it in elegant lettering. Several potted plants were placed by the door, giving it a somewhat fresh feeling, and the wall beside them was covered with photos of dishes wrapped in text.
After telling the server they were looking for someone, the two of them stiffly watched the red-faced adults occasionally passing by. They carefully avoided them and walked through the dim light of the corridor.
"Yotsuya-san, maybe we should leave after all…"
Yuria carefully stood on tiptoe and whispered into Miko's ear.
"I feel like this isn't a proper place."
"Eh? It shouldn't be that bad. We're already here."
Miko replied quietly. Looking at the lantern-style room sign, she inhaled and pushed open the door.
"Sorry, wrong room! I'm sorry for disturbing you!"
Miko hurriedly apologized.
The view before her was filled with adults wearing black clothes and fierce expressions. A small number of them had obvious scars and missing body parts, and their glaring eyes were staring at her like predators.
Ugh~ she had provoked yakuza people.
Sensei, save me.
"What's going on… mmph mmph!"
Yuria, who had poked her head out from behind Miko, had not even had time to look inside before Miko locked her neck with one arm again. She struggled to grab Miko's arm with both hands, her eyes rolling back.
She and Yuria were not going to be thrown into a river, right?
"I'm sorry, we'll leave right away."
Miko widened her eyes, her face tense as she hurriedly apologized and tried to close the door.
"Miko, where are you going?"
Just as Miko was about to flee with Yuria, she heard a familiar voice and could not help looking back.
"Sensei?"
Miko looked in surprise at Luke Nova, who pushed aside the fake decorative cherry blossom tree.
"Hurry over! We were only missing you and Niguredo."
Luke sat in a chair and waved at her.
"Sorry…"
Miko passed through the fierce-looking exorcists and walked toward Luke.
These people, who looked like they could crush someone's bones and use them as drinking snacks, were actually Sensei's colleagues, not yakuza?
No one would believe it if she said that.
Miko nervously walked to Luke's side, and the tension in her heart instantly disappeared by more than half.
"We saved seats for you two… Um, Miko, shouldn't you let go first?"
Luke looked at Yuria, who was about to pass out.
"Oh, oh, oh."
Yuria weakly slipped out of Miko's arms and collapsed.
Luke looked at this situation thoughtfully.
In some ways, was Miko just as silly as Yuria…?
"Miko-chan is here?!"
Kasumizuki dodged the angry glares of the other exorcists and happily looked at Miko.
"Mm."
"Nice outfit~ A simple, neat light-blue dress. The lace trim perfectly sets off your clean, eye-catching arms, and the calves showing under the hem are cute too… If you added a wide-brimmed hat, you'd be even cuter~ You'd definitely look like a character who walked straight out of a manga."
Kasumizuki praised Miko's outfit.
"Thank you."
Miko shyly smoothed down her skirt and sat on the chair, rubbing her hands together under the table.
"…How is it that such a nice outfit sounds sleazy when you describe it? It even has the perverted air of a middle-aged uncle."
Luke, however, speechlessly retorted at the unserious Kasumizuki.
The other exorcists also shouted at her.
"We told you no drinking, no drinking, and you still booked an izakaya. Are you sick?"
"I already said cola, juice, anything is fine! Why insist on ordering sake? What's so good about that stuff?"
"There are minors here, and you still chose an izakaya. Kasumizuki, can you act like a proper person? Also… stop using other people to change the subject!"
Kasumizuki's scalp prickled, and she jumped up.
"No, all of you have been adults for so long. What's wrong with drinking? Besides…"
"When I asked where you wanted to eat, every one of you said, 'This is fine, that is fine, decide for yourself, we don't care.' How come you're all changing your minds now?"
"What we eat doesn't matter, and where we eat doesn't matter, but what we drink can't not matter!"
"In short, I booked this place today. What are you going to do?"
"Hah!"
The exorcists, firmly refusing to drink alcohol, all took out their tools and showed their weapons.
Only Shiraishi Sen, who was teasing the guardian spirit inside his cup, remained, staring blankly at everything.
So the reason they were glaring like that when she entered was because they were arguing over what to drink…
Miko also stared blankly at the gathering that was about to turn into an all-out brawl.
"Do exorcists… not drink alcohol?"
Miko looked strangely at the group of adults.
"Of course. Drinking isn't a good habit. That stuff has no benefit for the mind. Having a little is fine, but you must never drink too much."
Luke warned her, then added, "Also cigarettes. Don't even try cigarettes at all."
"Mm."
Miko obediently nodded.
"Uh… cola, Sprite, and juice, right? I'll go check if they have any. If not, I'll go buy some outside."
On the other side, after assessing the balance of power between enemy and ally, Kasumizuki followed public opinion and agreed.
"Heh. I said we should eat yakiniku from the start, but you just had to book an izakaya. You're a miko and you still drink. Can you be a little more proper?"
Luke put Yuria, who had slid down on the seat, back into place.
"There's no commandment saying a miko can't drink…"
Kasumizuki muttered under her breath.
"What are you drinking?"
"Orange juice. What about you two?"
He asked Yuria and Miko.
"Then I'll have orange juice too."
"Mm… I-I'll have strawberry yogurt."
Miko and the slowly awakening Yuria answered together.
Mm. A very elementary-schooler choice from Yuria.
"Go on."
Luke watched Kasumizuki leave the room while muttering "It's been so long since I had alcohol," dragging the bruised and swollen Shibuya Jun away with her.
"Eh? Why is Uncle Shibuya bruised and swollen?"
Yuria looked at him in confusion.
Because of the Chiba cultist perverts from before, Jun had helped them solve those people, so they knew him.
"No idea. Ask him later. But I'm guessing he annoyed Kasumizuki somewhere."
As Luke spoke, he pulled the eel sushi that had already been served in front of him.
He said to the two of them, "You two weren't scared by these guys, were you? Don't worry too much… They just look a little fierce. They're not exactly decent people, but… uh…"
He thought for a moment.
"They really aren't decent people."
Listening to Sensei's useless explanation, Miko brushed her hair, exchanged a glance with Yuria, then asked curiously:
"Sensei, I have a question… Um, why did the two of us have to come to this gathering?"
Yuria also stared closely at him.
Luke put a piece of sushi into his mouth.
"Here's the thing. On one hand, you two both have Yin-Yang Eyes. It's not like everything ends just because this wave of cultists was eliminated."
"There may be other people hiding in the dark, like other cultist branches, who are also watching you. So this is a good chance to discuss what should be done about you two from now on."
"Those perverts…"
Hearing this, Yuria tossed her ponytail and remembered the cultist uncle who had wanted sugar-daddy dating.
She had thought cultists were those gloomy, terrifying people in robes like on television.
But it turned out they were just a bunch of perverts.
It truly went against common imagination.
"On the other hand…"
As Luke spoke, he swallowed another piece of sushi.
Eel really was delicious.
After waiting for a while and seeing that Sensei was already eating heartily, Miko asked in confusion, "Sensei?"
"Oh. On the other hand… mainly, this meal can be reimbursed. It'd be a waste not to eat."
Luke told the two of them, "So order whatever you want."
"Oh."
Thus, their impression of exorcists deepened once again.
Before long, Kasumizuki returned while muttering, with Jun following behind her carrying big and small bags.
After distributing the drinks, Kasumizuki looked at the empty sushi plate.
"Where's my eel sushi?! Which bastard ate it all?"
"I ate it. Just order more. Isn't it reimbursable?"
"Fine."
Kasumizuki sat down with everyone's drinks and directly asked, "So? Since they're both here, let's continue discussing it… How about leaving the two of them to you?"
Miko's ears perked up.
"Leaving them to me naturally isn't much of a problem, but I have school."
Luke replied.
"And I'm not a scout. If we run into those hidden guys, I might not notice them either."
"I'm not asking you to watch them every day. Just check on them from time to time like before."
"Then on weekdays, we'll leave them to Shibuya Jun. He can just keep staring at that broken crystal ball of his. Mainly, if we really run into a tough opponent, I don't feel comfortable leaving it to him."
"In that case, if the cultists suddenly launch a sneak attack and we can't react in time, what then?"
"If you want to be that cautious, you might as well hide the two of them directly…"
"I took advantage of this incident and wiped out the cultist headquarters too. For the time being, they probably won't cause trouble. Letting you go is just a precaution."
"Mm. Fine…"
Since Kasumizuki arranged it that way, he agreed. However, he still asked in confusion, "But I remember Jun opened a divination shop in Tokyo. Is it convenient for him?"
"The divination shop closed down."
Luke froze.
"When?"
"Now."
Kasumizuki glanced sideways at Jun.
"Yes! It has already closed down!"
Jun sat upright and said to Miko and Yuria, "On weekdays, I'll be fully on standby. Just call me, and I'll come whenever summoned."
"Jun, even if you don't want your divination shop anymore, isn't the trip to their area still inconvenient?"
Luke looked at the free-spirited diviner in confusion.
"I left him a place for a gym in the cursed building."
Kasumizuki answered his question.
"Eh? He's a diviner, but he's not opening a divination shop. He's opening a gym?"
"That's because of this, that, and this reason… In short, gyms are my hobby!"
Jun avoided Kasumizuki's gaze.
"Forget it. Do whatever you want."
Luke agreed.
"Still, I insist that it's better to give the two of them some self-defense power."
Hearing that, Kasumizuki nodded.
Luke then asked Yuria, "Niguredo, what do you think? Even if you're unwilling, we won't just abandon you."
"But let me say this first. Being an exorcist is absolutely not a good choice. Your Yin-Yang Eyes problem isn't that serious right now. Living like a normal person is still possible."
A normal life.
Miko pressed her lips together.
If possible, she also wanted to live a normal life like before.
Yuria, who had been swinging her legs on the chair, hurriedly planted her feet on the floor. She put her yogurt on the table and said solemnly:
"Ever since I was little, because I could see evil spirits and couldn't tell ordinary people about it, I had no friends, all the way until now!"
"Eh?! Aren't Hana and I your friends?"
Miko widened her eyes.
They had clearly been eating lunch and shopping together these past few days.
Eh?!
You and Hana lock my neck every day, and that's friendship?
I thought it was school bullying!
Yuria also widened her eyes and looked at Miko, unconsciously touching her much-suffering neck.
Was being friends this hard?
But aside from the neck-locking part, spending time with Miko and Hana still made her feel very happy.
"Th-then… even if I have friends, I still want to become an exorcist. This has been my wish since I was little, something I've held onto all the way until now."
Yuria pulled her gaze away from Miko and lowered her head, speaking softly.
"Even though the evil spirits I can't see may be very terrifying, I still want to try."
And so, Luke asked Kasumizuki, "Then can I take charge of Niguredo too?"
"Of course."
Kasumizuki shrugged indifferently.
"Then if you have time on weekends, I'll come find you with Yuria."
Miko happily hugged Yuria and said that to him.
"Mm, okay."
Luke nodded, then turned toward Kasumizuki.
"Then find me another small exorcism tool."
According to his training method, of course he would make Yuria run while being chased by evil spirits, just like Miko.
After running enough, maybe one day, she would be able to use the exorcism tool's power too.
"Just take one from that ruined shrine of yours. Why do you have to ask me?"
Kasumizuki was quite speechless.
"They're too big. How are they supposed to carry those exorcism tools around?"
Luke said speechlessly as well, glancing at Yuria's body.
Among the exorcism tools stored in his shrine, not a single one was small. With Yuria's little build, they were not convenient to carry at all.
Otherwise, he and the other exorcists would not have hidden a whole pile of exorcism tools in the shrine to gather dust.
"Ugh—fine."
"Oh, right. There's one more thing…"
Luke moved aside the annoying fake cherry blossom tree and walked to Sen, who was happily eating fried tempura, then asked quietly, "Sen, did you find the marriage tool I asked you to help me look for?"
Sen pulled the shrimp tail from his mouth, thought for a moment, and nodded heavily.
"Mm!"
He hurriedly opened his bag and took out a bracelet from inside.
"Here."
…
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