Chapter 48: 【area Unlock Mission: Late-night Call】
“Before asking others questions, it’s better to introduce your own name first, right?”
Kurosaki Akira tsked, crossing his arms. If you only looked at his expression, he completely resembled a delinquent boy.
Shangshan Che spoke his name, then saw the boy’s expression gradually twist, staring with exaggeratedly wide eyes,
“—You’re the one Sister Nanjo mentioned, the once-in-a-millennium genius?”
Huh?
Genius? Me?
Shangshan Che was utterly confused.
“Since you’re that Shangshan Che, telling you this bit of info won’t hurt.”
Coughing twice, Kurosaki Akira retracted his shocked and disbelieving expression, but just as he was about to speak, a “thump thump thump” echo came from the mirror nearby.
Shangshan Che vigilantly shifted his pupils, jumping off the hospital bed to block Kitano Runa behind him, faintly assuming a drawing-sword stance.
Student Kitano’s physique, is it really that strong?
White Hannya just left, and now another one comes running from the mirror right after? After the first wave, won’t we have to worry about bumping into ghosts every day…
“Oh, forgot to mention.”
Kurosaki Akira knocked on the mirror with his finger, and a figure in white clothes with blurred features and disheveled hair drilled out: “Let me introduce, this is my shikigami, Miyugi.”
Shikigami?
Miyugi seems to be a pretty famous supernatural phenomenon on the forums too.
Shangshan Che relaxed his stance, looking at this “Miyugi” that faintly gave his skin a stinging sensation, with two half-stars appearing above its head.
As expected of an onmyo junior official; even a random shikigami is two-star or above.
Then, he saw Miyugi bow and whisper something in Kurosaki Akira’s ear, making the boy look toward Kitano Runa: “Hey, big idiot, your mom’s condition has stabilized. She’ll be moved to a normal hospital room soon, and just needs to rest for a few days.”
Shangshan Che: “Her name is Kitano Runa.”
“Huh?” Kurosaki Akira raised an eyebrow. “I couldn’t care less about calling her Kitano whatever Runa whatever. An ordinary person daring to face a supernatural phenomenon with just some exorcism items—isn’t that a big idiot?”
Hasn’t he remembered it all perfectly? What kind of new-age tsundere is this?
Shangshan Che thought about it again and found he was completely right, so he agreed: “That does sound reasonable.”
Kitano Runa awkwardly chuckled. The shut-in social anxiety couldn’t refute a stranger’s words.
“Regarding what Shangshan Jun just mentioned about Sister Nanjo, I can only tell you they’ve gone to wipe out the Friendship Club headquarters. Calculating the time, it’s probably already over.”
Kurosaki Akira was full of displeasure: “Speaking of which, I was originally going to earn some merits, but with this idiot incident, I had to rush over.”
Friendship Club headquarters?
Shangshan Che was stunned: “Really?”
That huge shadow looming over him and Lili Zi, actually wiped out so easily by the Special Affairs Office?
That club seemed to have Ai Bieli backing it—would she just watch something like this happen?
No.
Shangshan Che narrowed his eyes— the Kurosaki Akira in front of him didn’t seem like he knew about Ai Bieli.
“What good would lying to you do me?” Kurosaki Akira waved dismissively. “This was originally Sister Nanjo’s solo job; she was just playing it safe in the final stage.”
“Similar things are all over Tokyo.”
From his demeanor, he completely disregarded the Friendship Club.
“If it was so easy, why not wipe it out earlier?”
Shangshan Che frowned.
Kurosaki Akira scoffed lightly: “By that logic, the rats in your house are easy to kill too, but are they that easy to find?”
The boy glanced at his watch: “If there’s no issue, I’ll head out first.”
Shangshan Che pondered, then slowly nodded: “I understand. Thanks for clarifying.”
—For the specifics, better ask Sister Nanjo when we meet.
“No big deal, don’t mention it.”
Kurosaki Akira stuffed his hands in his pockets, grinning at him expectantly: “Hope next time we meet, you can surprise me, genius mister.”
With that, he hummed a fierce Showa-era song and slammed the door on his way out, while Miyugi slowly bowed to the right and re-entered the mirror, vanishing from sight.
Once Kurosaki Akira was gone, Kitano Runa asked: “Shangshan classmate, what were you just talking about?”
Shangshan Che pondered, then shook his head and said the exact same words as Nanjo Emi had at the time,
“Ordinary people shouldn’t get involved in this stuff.”
Even if Kitano Runa had a special physique, it was still better for her to avoid the other side of this world for now.
Kitano Runa smacked her lips: “Tch, fine, don’t tell me. I’ll ask Sister Mafuyu later.”
Shangshan Che ignored her. If Shizuma Mafuyu was willing to tell her, that was fine; his warning was just pure goodwill since she was Lili Zi’s best friend.
—Kitano Runa was different from him and Lili Zi; she was a true ordinary person without the strength to truss a chicken. If he had arrived just a step late today, Kitano Runa would probably be buried in the ground by now.
But he wouldn’t meddle in more than that; he wasn’t Kitano Runa’s dad.
And because of Kurosaki Akira’s intervention, after much thought, Shangshan Che finally made his final decision among the five rewards.
【You have selected Reward Two, Reward Five!】
That’s right; in the end, Shangshan Che decided to pick the item related to the Walker identity first.
As for lowering skill proficiency, that could be put off for now.
After all, unlike the Walker identity which couldn’t be promoted by other means, skill levels could be grinded up.
What Shangshan Che lacked least was grind!
【Distributing rewards…】
【You obtained the “Walker” identity quest item—Fractured Walker Token（Special Item）】
【Fractured Walker Token（Special Item）】
【Quality: None】
【Effect: None】
【—Old people, old matters, not worth mentioning.】
【Your identity quest has been issued!】
【”Walker” identity promotion quest: Deliver the “Fractured Walker Token” to the “Nameless Swordsman” in Edo Castle. The quest completes once the Nameless Swordsman accepts the token.】
【Detected that your demon incarnation·Laughing Hannya quality has not reached “Rare”. Reward on hold.】
【Once your demon incarnation·Laughing Hannya quality reaches “Rare”, the reward will be issued as normal.】
A very user-friendly reward—Shangshan Che feared that promoting Laughing Hannya’s quality would cause visibly obvious changes, so he hadn’t used White Hannya’s Mask in the hospital for now.
“Student Kitano, how about together…”
The prompt popping up again interrupted Shangshan Che’s words, making him drop the idea of “traveling with Kitano Runa to see if they’d encounter more mobile soul ash.”
【All quests in current area “Aragawa Ghost Village” completed. “Area Unlock Quest” issued!】
【Area Unlock Quest: Late-Night Call】
【Unlock Condition: Tonight at 22:20, board a train at any subway station in Tokyo to the terminus, then transfer to the starting point, and finally take the approaching last train to arrive at “Kisaragi Station” to complete the area unlock quest.】
Kisaragi Station?
Shangshan Che laughed: “This is truly, world-famous and resounding…”
“What did you say, Shangshan classmate?” Kitano Runa asked.
“Nothing.” Shangshan Che shook his head. “I’m heading out first. Student Kitano, remember to go back with those Special Affairs Office staff outside; don’t wander alone again.”
Kitano Runa clenched her small fist: “I won’t make the same mistake twice!”
“Good.”
Shangshan Che smiled, noticing that once a bit familiar, her original social anxiety vibe completely vanished… Was this one of the traits of a shut-in?
Couldn’t quite figure it out.
Shangshan Che pushed the door open and left; he needed to find a secluded, uninhabited spot to promote Laughing Hannya’s quality.
Then tonight, board that last train to the Eternal World and check out the legendary Kisaragi Station.
