Chapter 635: Sushi Shop (Even Numbers)
After accepting the mission, Su Jiu received a saffron-colored outer cloak, a symbol of local adventurers. Wearing it would be convenient later and would also allow her to have some assistance from the locals during the “Monster Migration Day” night.
“Come on, E Huo, I’ll take you to the best sushi restaurant according to the reviews.”
She glanced at the sky, which was already dusk, and slowly headed towards the treasure location marked on the map. Monsters generated by vengeful spirits would not appear during this prime time of day when the population was at its peak.
After all, their strength would be reduced by about thirty percent, and they would easily be attacked by humans. Monsters weren’t foolish either.
“Sushi? E Huo wants to eat!”
E Huo, still admiring the completely different exotic charm, showed a trace of curiosity in her eyes. She ran around and peeked into various shops, and even received some snacks from many shop owners.
The shop was located in the suburbs, where land was cheaper. After leaving the city center, the two walked slowly. They happened to encounter high school students returning home after school. Lu Qiu, who was going to chat in a QQ group, knew that Sakura High School had no dormitories or after-school tutoring.
“This private school is built on the mountainside, so the scenery is indeed beautiful.”
Su Jiu looked up at the words “Shirakawa High School” written above the school gate. Then, through the dense cherry blossom leaves, she looked at the surrounding mountains and couldn’t help but praise it a couple of times.
“Ding dong!!”
Accompanied by a clear bell, black student uniforms carrying the scent of youth poured out of the school gate. These students wore a bauhinia medal on their chests, which was the emblem of the private school.
“Wow! Kawaii!”
“Little sister, can I take a picture with you?”
“Oh?”
Then, E Huo’s cute appearance caused many female students to stop, step forward to take photos, and strike various cute poses, as if they wanted to blend in with E Huo’s adorable demeanor.
E Huo quietly accepted the snacks from their hands, let them pick her up, and posed for photos, seeming to enjoy it.
“You can play with these older sisters for a while.”
Su Jiu watched the endless stream of female students who came to pat E Huo’s head. She could only helplessly choose a bench to sit on. After all, there was still a lot of time before the mission’s wandering spirits would appear.
E Huo should also play well for a while; it wasn’t good to always focus on fighting. She needed to develop morally, intellectually, and physically.
Both sides of the campus were planted with cherry blossom trees. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and the petals fell like snow, occasionally landing on Su Jiu’s hair, giving it a somewhat beautiful appearance.
“It’s getting late; those students should have all gone home.”
The red sun slowly set as time passed, and a sense of desolation appeared around. The surroundings felt like a ghost realm.
Su Jiu watched the dispersed crowd and E Huo, whose pockets were stuffed with snacks. She smiled, stretched slowly, and got up, saying, “E Huo, let’s go eat sushi.”
“Oh, oh! I wonder what sushi is like. E Huo has never heard of it before.”
When it came to food, E Huo always appeared easily satisfied, her eyes still curved. She was a girl who was happy as long as she had food.
Just as the two were about to leave, two figures cautiously walked out from the direction of the teaching building. They were two girls.
“Um… can you wait a moment?”
One of the taller girls saw Su Jiu and the other about to leave and quickly waved them over, leading her even more petite companion.
After a casual glance at the two, Su Jiu waved her hand and said casually, “No more photos. You should go home early; it’s not safe at night.”
“It’s not for photos. I saw you wearing adventurers’ clothes and wanted to ask you to escort us home.”
The taller girl quickly shook her head and denied it. Under the dim yellow streetlights, her expression appeared somewhat nervous, and her gaze was uncertain as she looked at Su Jiu.
Fearing that Su Jiu would refuse, she quickly took out a 10,000-yen bill from her school bag, bowed, and handed it over, sincerity saying, “Please.”
“Escort you home? Aren’t the monsters out yet? I need to go eat. Keep the money well; earning money is not easy for parents.”
Hearing this request, Su Jiu immediately refused, thinking, “What a joke! I don’t have the leisure to be a bodyguard for children.”
The two students exchanged glances, seeing the disappointment in each other’s eyes. The taller girl put the money back into her pocket, still unwilling to give up and asked,
“Is it really not possible? My family has a lot of money. If you escort us back, I can give you 200,000 yen!”
This was the most pocket money she could control this month.
“Shiqiaozi, let’s wait for my brother-in-law to pick us up. Don’t trouble this older sister.”
The shorter girl lowered her head, tugged at the taller girl’s sleeve, and found a long bench to sit on, looking at her phone with her fingers slightly pale.
Shiqiaozi sighed, and with some fear, looked towards the mountain. She then came to the side of the shorter girl, her expression slightly anxious, saying,
“Anai, you said you have a brother-in-law who is in the Kamikaze Self-Defense Forces, but I’ve never met him. Your sister also often runs to foreign organizations, leaving you and your grandpa to live alone.”
“I’m not lying.”
The girl called Anai looked up slightly, then lowered her head to look at her phone again, like a primary school student who couldn’t wait for her parents to pick her up.
Shiqiaozi nodded helplessly, “Yes, yes. We don’t know your sister’s work address, and your brother-in-law never shows up. Many idle people in society lie like this…”
“It’s on the way; you can follow us.”
Glancing at them, Su Jiu rolled her eyes. These kids nowadays were so troublesome. If the shorter girl’s brother-in-law didn’t show up, and they waited here, they might be in danger.
She wanted to let them follow her out of this mountainous area first. Schools were often built on cemeteries, so this place would likely be the first to be affected if vengeful spirits revived.
Hearing Su Jiu agree, both were a little surprised. Shiqiaozi’s face immediately lit up with joy, and she pulled the shorter girl, Anai, along.
The latter was not as happy as Shiqiaozi. She looked at the backs of Su Jiu and E Huo with some worry and spoke again, “Taking me with you might cause some trouble. I’ve angered a school bully, and someone wants to capture me. At school, those people wouldn’t dare to act rashly…”
“You wouldn’t happen to be from the Yamagami family, would you?”
Stopping, Su Jiu turned her head to look at the slightly thin face, feeling a bit speechless. She had to run into this too. Although it wasn’t much trouble, she really didn’t want to stir up trouble.
However, if she encountered it, she couldn’t just watch this girl be bullied in secret.
“Yes, I’m the runaway shrine maiden you mentioned.”
Yamagami Natsu lowered her head and replied. She was a little worried whether the other party would still help her after she revealed her identity.
She had deliberately refused to do what a shrine maiden should do and refused to accept the transferred sacrifice. It was probably known throughout the city.
But to her surprise, Su Jiu smiled as if hearing a very ordinary identity and waved her to follow, “We’re going to eat sushi. The payment for the meal will be your protection fee.”
“Thank you.”
Looking at the not-so-tall figure in front of her, Yamagami Natsu whispered and then gently pulled her friend’s hand as she trotted along.
She didn’t know the other party’s strength. Seeing how young she looked, she probably wasn’t very powerful, but she should be able to deal with some minor thugs.
“Don’t worry, E Huo. Mommy also held E Huo’s hand like this when E Huo was scared… Hmm, is there anything delicious?”
E Huo’s voice sounded in her ears. Looking down, her hand was held by E Huo’s small hand, and a gentle warmth was transmitted.
Although she didn’t understand what the other party was saying, it didn’t prevent the moment from feeling like the other party was an angel.
Soon, the four stopped in front of a lit lantern shop. The shop was entirely made of wood. It was an old-fashioned sushi shop with only two owners, seemingly an old couple.
Su Jiu casually found a seat and said softly, “Boss, bring out all the signature dishes.”
“Xiao Nai?”
The old man with a red sun on his headscarf looked at Yamagami Natsu with some surprise, but quickly lowered his head and got to work.
Yamagami Natsu glanced at the boss and then lowered her head. She knew that everyone didn’t want to be associated with someone who had offended the whole city.
E Huo quickly tasted various types of sushi. Like a hungry ancient ghost, she ate at a speed comparable to a vacuum cleaner, making Shiqiaozi worried that her money might not be enough.
Su Jiu savored them slowly, occasionally looking at the old shop owner. She noticed that he kept staring at Yamagami Natsu, looking like he had something to say but hesitated. So, she smiled and asked,
“Boss, do you know this student?”
It seemed that these two were indeed going in the same direction as her, otherwise, the shop owner wouldn’t have recognized them.
“Ah… alas…”
The old man was called out by Su Jiu and was stunned. After glancing at his wife, he sighed and pointed to the distance on the right side of the shop, “Xiao Nai’s family’s wall and gate were smashed by the yakuza, and the formation that defended against the dead was also destroyed. Old Mr. Yamagami went to the hospital for treatment and narrowly escaped.”
“Help keep an eye on them when the time comes. That’s all.”
Upon hearing this news, Su Jiu could only sigh. After all, this was a local dispute, and she couldn’t help everyone she met.
This was a foreign country, and she didn’t want to interfere with the customs of this region.
“This is too bullying! I’m going to call the police to arrest these bastards…”
However, Shiqiaozi was furious. She wanted to call the police, but then she put down the phone. After all, she had tried several times and knew it was useless. She could only look at Yamagami Natsu in silence.
“She’s warning me that if I don’t go back and become a shrine maiden, then…”
Yamagami Natsu’s voice trembled slightly. She lowered her head, her hair covering her face, and picked up her phone again, looking at the locked screen without any messages, which showed a photo of her and her sister.
Her slender fingers pressed the phone tightly, her knuckles turning scary white, as if she wanted to crush the phone.
“Is it wrong that I don’t want to die?”
After an unknown amount of time, sobbing came from this seemingly strong girl. Tears with a little warmth fell on the phone screen, and she abruptly put the phone away.
She lowered her head, grabbed it with her hand, and ate the sushi on the plate greedily, as if venting her anger.
This made E Huo, who was beside her, stop, her light gold pupils showing some confusion… Shouldn’t eating be a happy thing?
Then, she looked at Su Jiu with confusion, only to find that Su Jiu was stunned, as if recalling something.
At this moment, Yamagami Natsu felt that her sister was deceiving her. Having lost her parents early had already made her independent and strong.
But facing this kind of powerless despair, strength was merely seasoning for the enemy’s amusement.
Just as she was secretly wiping away her tears, a hand holding a tissue passed through her hair, and a girl’s voice sounded behind her, with a hint of uncertainty:
“Um, can I see your phone?”
