Chapter 16: Location, Have Goods, Come Quick!
On the fourth floor of the commercial building, the surroundings were exceptionally quiet, giving a rare sense of peace.
Luke lay on Miura Yumiko's lap.
The soft, warm touch, along with the faint girlish fragrance (was it his imagination?), gradually eased the fatigue from the intense battle, bringing a comfortable relaxation...
Even though waves of pain still pulsed through his body, the long-accumulated exhaustion washed over him too, making his thoughts drift into emptiness.
Miura Yumiko looked down at Luke resting on her legs, her expression inexplicably complex.
Her legs must be really comfortable as a pillow, Miura Yumiko thought randomly.
She was quite confident about the figure she had developed through tennis training.
After all, she had put in a lot of effort for beauty, elegance, confidence, and all those other virtues.
Ugh— Miura Yumiko suddenly pushed her own head with her hand.
Her mind snapped back.
What kind of nonsensical things was she just thinking...?
And why was she letting a guy who wasn't even a friend or acquaintance, practically an enemy, rest on her lap...?
Although, he did save her.
Just this once... If he dares tell anyone about this, I'll definitely, definitely... make him pay... mm.
Miura Yumiko nodded firmly, having made up her mind.
She looked down at the boy, who was still frowning even in sleep, and mischievously reached out a finger.
This is for bullying me during tennis.
This is for scaring me in front of the mannequins just now.
Miura Yumiko playfully poked and pinched his face.
His face, like putty, inexplicably lifted her spirits.
"Yo! Bad timing on my part, huh...?"
A voice suddenly sounded from behind them.
"Yah—!" Miura Yumiko shrieked, scrambling to her feet on numb legs.
But, the boy went flying off.
"Ouch!" Luke rolled over, crying out in pain.
A woman dressed in a witch-like skirt looked on with interest.
"Oh my, was I perhaps intruding?"
Hearing that voice, Luke immediately cursed, "You damn Shady Merchant, showing up so late! Were you planning to collect my corpse?"
"Oh... looks like I came too early, interrupting your sweet moment with your little girlfriend."
The Shady Merchant woman held up a heavily decorated mirror, glancing left and right.
She didn't see anything unusual; looked like the situation here had been resolved quite perfectly.
Yes, you came too early! I wasn't done lying there yet!
Luke wanted to kill the Shady Merchant with a death glare.
"No, no, no! We're not like that!" Miura Yumiko quickly refuted.
"Oh, hello. My name is Kasumizuki."
The Shady Merchant, named Kasumizuki, nonchalantly took off her gloves and extended a hand towards Miura Yumiko.
"She's not in the business," Luke reminded her.
"Oh, okay." Kasumizuki clicked her tongue and retracted her hand.
Although confused, Miura Yumiko swallowed her questions and shifted her gaze to Luke, who had rolled onto the floor, unsure what to do.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No need to rush, I'll help your little boyfriend first..."
Kasumizuki started taking things out of the suitcase she brought.
"You used that talisman, right?"
"Yes," Luke replied.
"Hey! I told you, we're not like that!" Miura Yumiko reminded her again.
"Alright then." Kasumizuki took out a bottle of water, added something to it, shook it gently twice, and casually tossed it to the blonde girl.
"Feed this to him first."
Miura Yumiko looked warily at the cloudy water. "What did you put in there?"
Kasumizuki didn't answer, but Luke called out to the wary girl, "Don't worry about it, just let me drink it."
He really didn't want to know what was added.
When dealing with things in this line of work, anything that defied common sense or broke psychological boundaries could exist.
He just wanted to drink it down like a simple, not-so-tasty beverage.
"Okay." Miura Yumiko slowly lifted his head and placed the bottle's mouth to his lips.
Gulp, gulp.
Luke squeezed his eyes shut, held his breath, and downed the entire bottle in one go.
Seeing his pained expression, Miura Yumiko quickly asked, "How is it?"
"Ugh! Tastes awful."
Luke grimaced, wiping his mouth.
If he had to describe this damn stuff, it was like...
"Blech!" Luke dry-heaved again.
Forget it, better not dwell on the taste.
"You can move your body now?!" Miura Yumiko quickly noticed his condition.
"A 500,000 yen item should at least have this much effect..."
Kasumizuki chuckled, putting away the tools she used to inspect the surroundings and strolling over to him.
"Feeling better? Can you tell me what happened?"
Her eyes glanced towards Miura Yumiko.
Luke rubbed his aching body.
"Yeah, she was involved too, so I'll just tell you directly... I still have to go to school later."
"Quite dedicated," Kasumizuki chuckled again.
And so, Luke recounted the series of not-so-complicated events to her, not even hiding the part about the kung fu cat.
Kasumizuki listened to the entire process with a serious expression, pondering for a moment.
"So, basically, we need to investigate the origin of these mannequins, and that strange cat and doll..."
"Yes," Luke nodded.
"And also check out the fire that happened here before, see if there's any connection."
Kasumizuki nodded, then looked at the pendant in his hand.
"Can I see it? That pendant."
Luke casually tossed it to her, warning sternly, "That's mine, don't even think about taking it."
Kasumizuki glanced at him, took off her glove again, and ran her palm over the pendant.
After a moment, she tossed it back.
"Doesn't look like there's any problem. Since you want it, you can have it."
He slowly hung the pendant around his neck.
Having dealt with her a few times, Luke knew her quirks and wouldn't fall into her traps.
"What do you mean 'I want it'? It was mine to begin with... Stop trying to get favors for the price of the spiritual vessels later. Just bill me the market price, I won't give you a single yen discount."
"Tch." Kasumizuki pouted. "No trust at all. How disheartening."
"Cut the crap. Remember to transfer the money to me. The rest is up to you. I need to get back to school."
Luke wasn't buying her act.
He picked up his backpack and said to Miura Yumiko, "Stop staring, let's go. Aren't you going to school?"
Miura Yumiko quickly responded, "Oh, oh."
They walked out of the commercial building.
Kasumizuki made a call. "Two trucks. Location, have goods, come quick..."
Watching her, Luke didn't linger either, already thinking about how to explain this to his teacher.
On the way to school, Luke and Miura Yumiko walked one behind the other, both looking down, lost in their own thoughts.
...
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