Chapter 167: Reisen: God! You Are My God!
Yagokoro Eirin didn't linger. After a brief explanation of the necessary precautions, she departed from the ward, leaving Haruto to his vigil.
About ten minutes later, a soft flutter of eyelashes signaled Reimu's return to consciousness. She opened her eyes slowly, staring blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling, her mind still adrift in a fog of disorientation.
"Reimu?" Haruto called out tentatively.
At the sound of her name, Reimu turned her head. A hint of confusion surfaced in her peach-hued eyes as she scanned the room, her gaze finally landing on Haruto. She frowned.
"Weren't we… in the Human Village just now?"
'Ah,' Haruto thought. 'A classic case of amnesia. Perfect.'
He was momentarily at a loss for words. It wasn't as if he could just come out and say, "I mistakenly thought you were poisoned, so I kept pouring medicine down your throat until you passed out." That probably wouldn't go over well.
As he was carefully weighing his options, however, Reimu's memory snapped back into place. Her expression shifted in a rapid cascade from confusion to shock, and then from shock to pure, unadulterated indignation.
"This is murder!" she shrieked, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You tried to murder a shrine maiden!"
"I just thought you were poisoned…" Haruto offered with a dry cough.
"Poisoned?" Reimu's cheeks flushed a furious red. "I was… I was…"
"You were what?" Haruto asked, his curiosity piqued.
"I… I was just choking because I ate too fast!" She whipped her head away, her attempt at changing the subject comically clumsy. "And it's all your fault. I didn't even get to finish my taiyaki. I'm going back to eat it right now."
The excuse was so forced it was practically transparent. Seeing her obvious reluctance to elaborate, Haruto found it a bit strange, but considering Reimu's usual brand of unpredictability, he decided not to press the matter.
"Fine, fine," he sighed, standing up with a helpless shrug. "I'll buy you a new one when we get back."
"That's more like it," Reimu muttered under her breath. She nimbly hopped off the bed and marched toward the door. But the moment she pulled it open, she froze in her tracks.
Standing in the doorway was a girl with a pair of long, folded rabbit ears that twitched gently in the still air. Her face was timid, her lower lip caught between her teeth, and her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. Her gaze was locked directly onto Haruto.
Reimu glanced back at Haruto, a silent question in her eyes.
Haruto, looking utterly bewildered, quickly shook his head to proclaim his innocence. He took a cautious step to the left; the girl's teary gaze followed. He shuffled a step to the right; her eyes remained fixed on him, unwavering.
Gulp. Haruto swallowed hard.
'Could it be?' he wondered in a rising panic. 'Did I do something to Reisen while I was drunk and unconscious?'
'No, no, no,' he immediately corrected himself. 'I didn't drink at all, what the hell am I thinking?'
He shook his head violently. Aside from the time Suika had forced him to drink at a banquet ages ago, he hadn't touched a single drop of alcohol.
"It's the drug testing!" he blurted out, a sudden epiphany striking him. Could it be that Reisen genuinely loved testing Eirin's concoctions? Was she looking at him with such grievance because he'd stolen her beloved job?
Beside him, Reimu blinked, stunned by his outburst. The expression on her face clearly said she didn't believe a word of it. Who on earth would get this emotional over getting to test some medicine?
The atmosphere in the hallway froze. The three of them stood in a bizarre stalemate: Haruto and Reimu watching Reisen, while Reisen continued to stare at Haruto with those large, watery eyes, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
Suddenly, Reisen moved.
She rushed toward Haruto in a few quick steps and, as if she'd tripped over thin air, lunged straight into his arms.
Slowly, she raised her head. Her small face was tilted up towards his, her gaze so fervent it was as if she were looking upon a deity.
"You are my god!" she cried out, her voice trembling with a sob. "My Lord God!"
Haruto's brow twitched. At this point, how could he not understand? She wasn't complaining at all. On the contrary, she was so overcome with joy that she was crying from sheer emotion.
Watching Reisen cling to Haruto, sobbing and murmuring words of devotion, Reimu's expression turned subtle. She couldn't believe it really was about the medicine trial…
While comforting the overwrought moon rabbit, Haruto also took the opportunity to give her a good petting. He'd wanted to recklessly squeeze those soft, plush rabbit ears for a long time but had never found a suitable opportunity. Now, as they drooped, crumpled from her emotional state, he finally got his wish.
After he had thoroughly satisfied his curiosity, Haruto finally left Eientei with Reimu in tow.
He had originally intended to say hello to Kaguya, but as he approached her door, he was met with the unmistakable sound of her passionately screaming into a microphone, blasting her in-game opponents and cursing her teammates with the full force of her vocabulary.
Haruto wisely chose to give up and quietly returned directly to the Human Village with Reimu.
By the time they arrived, another two hours had passed. Worried that Rinnosuke might close up shop early and disappear, Haruto made a beeline for Kourindou. Sure enough, just as he reached the entrance, he bumped into the shopkeeper himself, who was in the middle of preparing to lock up.
"Isn't this Haruto? You, this time…"
Rinnosuke's voice died in his throat. His eyes darted past Haruto and caught sight of Reimu standing right behind him. Alarm bells screamed in his mind, and he immediately spun around to rush back inside.
Unfortunately for him, just as his hand touched the doorknob, a searing red light whistled past his cheek.
The entire door instantly evaporated into fine ash.
"Boss Rinnosuke, why are you in such a hurry? Where are you off to?" Haruto asked, strolling forward with a placid smile.
Rinnosuke's face cycled through shades of pale white and sickly blue. He glanced up at the sky, and a flash of desperate inspiration struck him. Tossing the now-useless doorknob aside, he turned back and forced his classic, strained business smile.
"Look how thick those clouds are! It looks like it's about to rain; I was just rushing back to bring in the laundry."
Swoosh—
A crimson beam of light shot into the sky, disappearing into the heavy cloud layer. The next second, a massive, perfectly circular void was blasted through the overcast sky. Above the Human Village, the heavens were now clear for miles in every direction.
Reimu lowered her Yin-Yang Orb, her dangerous gaze falling upon Rinnosuke once more.
Haruto's smile remained unchanged. "So, what about now?" he continued pleasantly. "Everything should be fine, right?"
Rinnosuke shook his head weakly, defeated. He had a distinct premonition that if he dared to utter a single 'no', Reimu's Yin-Yang Orb would be smashing into his forehead the very next second.
"As the owner," Haruto prompted, "aren't you going to invite us in for a seat?"
"…Uh." Rinnosuke's gaze drifted to the empty space where his door had been moments before. He ranted frantically in his heart, 'The door is gone! What is there to even invite you through?!'
But on his face, he maintained that pained smile. "P-Please, come in."
Haruto stepped into the shop with satisfaction and settled into a chair as if he owned the place.
"Do you know why we've come to see you?"
Rinnosuke took a deep breath, already feeling the phantom sting in his wallet. He nodded. "Those forty thousand… I'll refund them to you."
A surge of joy shot through Reimu. Forty thousand! Although her finances were a bit healthier these days, that was still a huge sum of money to her. Back then, caught in a moment of impulse and egged on by Rinnosuke's relentless persuasion, she had gritted her teeth and spent it all on two cups of instant noodles. She never expected the man to actually trick her… but at least she was getting the money back, plus two free bowls of noodles. Not a loss at all.
Just as her mood brightened, however, she froze. Haruto was shaking his head.
"We didn't come for that," he said calmly. "Once a product is sold, there are no refunds or exchanges. You can keep those forty thousand with peace of mind."
Reimu's eyes widened in disbelief.
Rinnosuke was also stunned. His expression turned strange, and he didn't dare respond. He secretly wondered if this was a trap—the moment he took the bait, would he be met with a tag-team beating from the two of them?
He quietly observed Haruto for a moment and, seeing that the other man was actually serious, finally spoke, his voice laced with doubt. "Since Lord Haruto is being so generous, I won't be pretentious. I'll accept the forty thousand. From now on, whenever you and Reimu come to the shop, you'll get a ten percent discount!"
"That's fine. But today, I'm here to talk about a collaboration."
"Collaboration?" Rinnosuke looked puzzled.
The next moment, a dark rift tore open in the space above the counter. Two pink, tender… meat blobs tumbled out and landed with a soft, wet slap.
"These," Haruto announced with the flair of a master showman, "are legendary creatures I brought back from another world after enduring countless hardships. How about it? Interested in buying them?"
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]