Chapter 1421 – 1421. Savior Of The Academy
The students of Arashi Academy were serious about the cultural festival. They were genuinely enjoying the preparations.
The problem was that this preparation process brought out the unique Japanese craftsmanship.
‘They’re trying to do everything themselves, from start to finish….’
I could understand making the sign. You could easily make a sign by taking a suitable wooden board and painting it, or drawing a picture on paper.
‘But what’s with making the chairs and tables themselves?’
It was hard to understand.
In this day and age, isn’t making chairs and tables yourself for a cultural festival a waste of time? Just because they’re academy students doesn’t mean they’re good at making chairs. The chairs and tables made by companies would be prettier and more valuable.
‘Well, if it’s a budget issue, I guess making furniture is understandable.’
Each class was allocated a budget for the cultural festival. The budget was not a large sum by any means. In Korean won, it wouldn’t even be a million. The budget seemed to vary depending on what they were doing for the cultural festival, but… the maid & butler cafe was being run on a minimal budget.
‘But why are they even making the clothes themselves?’
I grumbled as I walked out of Arashi Academy and headed downtown. My mission today was to buy materials for the butler and maid outfits.
Of course, I wasn’t alone. I looked at a woman approaching from the distance.
Shinbo Reika.
Her refreshing green hair swayed with every step she took, as if she had elven blood.
Indeed, she was like an elf. All the men around her were looking at her. Some stared openly, while others pretended not to but were still conscious of Reika.
Was it because we were outside the academy? Reika was wearing casual clothes.
Jeans and a sky-blue t-shirt.
It was nothing special, but with her long limbs and voluptuous E-cup breasts, it was a different story. Moreover, Reika was quite tall. Watching her walk made the downtown street feel like a runway.
Reika approached me. The envious gazes of the men around us turned to me. I curled up the corners of my mouth and sneered at them.
“Sorry. Did you wait long?”
Reika said. Her voice was clear.
“No. About 10 minutes? And you weren’t late for our appointment, so there’s no need to apologize. By the way, your outfit looks nice today.”
“R-really? I just threw something on, so I’m glad it doesn’t look weird.”
It was a textbook compliment, but Reika’s face flushed. I could tell from this how much experience she had with men.
‘I can give her simple compliments like this anytime.’
There are hardly any women who dislike compliments. Men like compliments too. Especially if the person they like compliments them.
‘Let’s see. What’s Reika’s favorability right now….’
『Reika’s Favorability: 64』
‘It’s 3 points higher than yesterday. Is it a first date bonus?’
A favorability of 64 meant she was seriously considering a relationship.
‘In other words, if I play my cards right… I can get her.’
[Using Moment(刹那). Remaining stacks: 6]
In the slowed-down world, I leisurely made a plan. The reason we met today was to buy materials for the butler and maid outfits. What’s important is what comes next. I need to create a date-like atmosphere and take the lead.
“Reika, would you like to stop by a cafe for a bit? My treat.”
“A cafe?”
“I’m also thirsty… and we’re doing a cafe for the cultural festival. It’d be good to see how they operate. It’d be great if there was a maid cafe or butler cafe, but those would probably be in a bigger city.”
Maid cafe? Butler cafe? Even if there were such places, I wouldn’t go. They’re not suitable for a date.
“Okay. Let’s stop by.”
“Do you go to cafes often?”
“I don’t really like tea that much… I just stop by occasionally?”
“Me too.”
“…That’s surprising. You’re good at making tea, so I thought you’d like it. The others said you worked at a cafe.”
“I’ve never worked at a cafe. I do like tea… but not enough to go looking for cafes. What about you? Coffee? Or green tea or black tea?”
“I’ll have coffee, please.”
I ordered coffee and fresh juice. Rather than drinking the tasteless coffee and tea at the cafe, it was much better to have fresh juice.
‘It’s not like I’m actually thirsty.’
The important thing was to set the mood.
Reika and I talked while drinking our beverages. She mainly asked about the Korean academy, and I asked about the Yggdrasil Knights. After leaving the cafe, we walked around the streets looking for fabrics.
“We don’t have much of a budget. I think we need to look around and compare prices. Shinbo, do you have time?”
“If it’s a budget issue, there’s no helping it. I have time.”
After that, we walked around downtown looking for fabrics.
My plan was to drag out the time until dinner. Have dinner, use dessert as an excuse to walk around, and then lure her to a motel under the pretext of being tired. Normally, it wouldn’t work, but… Reika’s current favorability was 64. It wasn’t entirely impossible.
‘What should we have for dinner? Since we’re in Japan, should we have sushi?’
I had enough money, so a high-end sushi restaurant came to mind. If I looked, there would be one somewhere. But I was worried that Reika might feel burdened.
In times like this, it’s best to ask directly. When I turned my head to her, she was intently looking at a street corner. My gaze naturally followed hers. A woman with her black hair tied in a ponytail was walking somewhere in a hurry.
‘…Isn’t that Miyakado Mieko?’
My face hardened. It was very rare for her, the shrine maiden of Tsukuyomi Shrine, to come outside the academy. In the original story, she was famous for not agreeing to go out and play outside the academy, even with all sorts of excuses.
‘She’s even wearing casual clothes. Judging by her stiff expression, it doesn’t seem like she’s out for fun….’
What could be going on? I was very curious.
“Sung. I’m sorry, but I think I have to leave now.”
Reika suddenly said with an apologetic expression. It was obvious what was going on. She was going to follow Mieko. Reika and Mieko were somewhat close, so she must be worried.
‘There’s no reason to refuse. Forcing her to stay would only lower her favorability…. More than anything, I’m also curious about Mieko.’
I nodded to Reika.
“Okay. But next time… buy me a drink.”
“You like cola, right? I’m sorry for suddenly leaving today.”
Reika quickly walked in the direction Mieko had gone.
‘Moka.’
I summoned the thunder owl Moka. I didn’t materialize it, but pointed to the sky with my eyes. Moka spread its large wings and soared high into the sky.
‘Keep an eye on Mieko.’
The mana in my body moved and went to my eyes. My pupils turned golden. I had activated the Spirit Eye.
My right vision changed. A view looking down from the sky. One of the Spirit Eye’s abilities was vision sharing. I could share my vision with the spirit I had contracted with.
‘If I use this, tailing someone is a piece of cake. Should I slowly approach?’
I stopped walking forward. Moka’s vision showed Clara.
‘Why is she here too?’
Clara, a popular figure, wasn’t as reclusive as Mieko, but she didn’t try to go outside the academy. Except when she was doing her singer work, of course.
‘Is it a singer activity? No. She’s alone. If it was a singer activity, her manager or bodyguards would be with her.’
It was definitely not for fun. Clara’s face was as serious as Mieko’s. I scratched my cheek. Without realizing it, I imagined the choices.
-Follow Miyakado Mieko.
-Follow Clara Feyreid.
-Do nothing and return to the dormitory.
Three choices. In the original story, it would have appeared like this.
The worst thing to do was nothing.
‘Whatever I do, an event will happen.’
I hesitated for a moment and decided to choose both.
‘This isn’t a game, it’s reality, so there’s no rule that says I have to choose only one option.’
I had Moka.
‘Moka. You follow Mieko.’
Reika was following Mieko. Even if something happened, Reika’s help would be enough to deal with it to some extent.
On the other hand, Clara was alone. If something happened, no one would be able to help her.
I started running in the direction Clara was going.
‘She’s going towards the outskirts of the city. What on earth is going on?’
Clara disappeared from Moka’s vision. Moka was following Mieko, so Clara was out of sight. Mieko entered a luxury hotel. Moka tried to enter the hotel, but I stopped it.
‘Don’t go in. There’s a barrier protecting the hotel. The moment you enter, even if you’re in spirit form, you’ll be discovered. Look inside the hotel through the window.’
-Okay.
Moka faithfully followed my orders. It looked inside the hotel through the first-floor lobby window. Mieko was meeting and talking to someone. It was a middle-aged man with a beard. He had a square jaw and his impression was not good. However, he had the air of a detective rather than a yakuza.
I was relieved as soon as I saw him. He was a character from the original story. He was neither a yakuza nor a detective.
‘Hiragi Jiro. An information broker with a grudge against the Magic World. He was originally supposed to contact Hyodo Yuuki… it’s changed.’
The original story could change at any time. It wasn’t surprising anymore. The important thing was why Mieko was meeting an information broker….
‘It’s obvious. Miyakado Mieko hasn’t given up on the Tsukuyomi Magatama.’
Hyodo Yuuki, who was supposed to be actively involved, wasn’t doing so. Originally, Mieko and Yuuki would join forces, but… that had changed because I had intervened.
‘Still, just in case…. Moka, keep watching the hotel.’
And thanks to running non-stop, I was able to catch up to Clara. Clara was facing a brown-haired foreign man in a suit.
‘A foreigner. I have a rough idea.’
It was probably the Hemmingford family targeting Clara. This wasn’t Korea, it was Japan, so Hemmingford had plenty of room to intervene.
‘It seems like they’re trying to resolve it through conversation first… I should get involved in this. Should I hide and wait for the right timing?’
I put on the ghost cloak and approached them.
