Chapter 52 Didn't I Eat Tonight?

Watching Higa Haruko walk into the courtyard on her own, Tomoe, dressed in a white tank top and hot pants with porcelain-white and alluring skin, sat up with a start.

"What are you here for?"

Higa Haruko glanced at Tomoe, then at the two barbecue grills.

"Why isn't the other grill being used?"

"None of your damn business?!"

Tomoe's aggressive attitude caused Higa Haruko to frown.

"It is my business because the homicide case from your camping trip the day before yesterday is tied to a severe supernatural incident. If necessary, I can easily have someone from the Cabinet come and find you."

Higa Haruko expected Tomoe to show a hint of fear upon hearing this, but instead, Tomoe flashed a sinister, chilling smirk.

"You can certainly try."

Seeing this, Uta Kayaha quickly pulled Tomoe into his arms to keep her emotions from escalating further.

Held in his embrace, Tomoe gave Uta Kayaha an annoyed smack, though she stopped talking and struggling.

It was only then that Higa Haruko realized this ridiculously beautiful girl likely had a background and social standing far greater than she had imagined.

The atmosphere froze briefly before Uta Kayaha hurriedly spoke up.

"I'm not sure what brings Miss Higa here."

"Call me Haruko-姐姐."

Glancing at the young man with deep bite marks on his wrist, Higa Haruko spoke softly.

Tomoe held twelvefold hostility toward this uninvited woman.

So annoying!

She had originally planned to drag this idiot into the living room for another round!

"Say what you have to say quickly, and leave just as fast if there's nothing."

Uta Kayaha felt a bit awkward upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything to refute it.

After all, she was Tomoe—the Tomoe who was willing to be killed for his sake, the Tomoe who, despite wincing from pain, held him tightly and refused to let him pull away.

Hearing this, Higa Haruko took a gentle bite of a piece of grilled meat.

"That night, when Aio and the others died, Kayaha-kun, did you intervene?"

Uta Kayaha was startled for a moment, then shook his head.

He offered the same testimony as before, claiming that the individuals had turned on and killed each other due to some unknown reason.

"There's no need to feed me that line. Tell me the truth."

Meeting Higa Haruko's calm gaze, Uta Kayaha hesitated for a moment before telling her the real sequence of events, omitting only Tomoe's direct involvement.

Higa Haruko looked at Uta Kayaha upon hearing this.

"You didn't do it?"

Uta Kayaha shook his head and said with a bitter smile.

"How would I have that kind of ability? By the time I came to my senses, those three were inexplicably lying on the ground."

Higa Haruko frowned slightly, repeatedly studying Uta Kayaha's expression, which did not look like he was lying.

"Are you sure it wasn't you?"

"It really wasn't me..."

Lowering her head in thought for a moment, Higa Haruko looked up again.

"Let me see your bracelet."

Uta Kayaha took it off and handed it to Higa Haruko, who received it in her hand.

The moment she touched it, a dense and unsettling spiritual energy emanating from within washed over her.

Just as she had sensed last time, this was merely a self-defense spiritual artifact containing no living consciousness within.

Could it be that Aio and the others had been silenced by the person pulling the strings behind the scenes?

As soon as this thought arose, Higa Haruko dismissed it herself.

After all, if the mastermind behind Aio and the others possessed such capability, they wouldn't be hiding away like rats in a gutter right now.

It was simply too strange. Puppet Spirit, Aio, and the others—every time an incident occurred, these two young people were present.

If one called it a coincidence, it was far too coincidental.

Though Aio, Yabe, and the others weren't exceptionally powerful, their threat level to ordinary people went without saying.

Or perhaps... were they bodyguards arranged by this girl's powerful background?

Recalling the black cat that had stood on the roof watching her, had the forces behind this extraordinarily beautiful girl made a move?

Lost in thought, Higa Haruko returned the bracelet to Uta Kayaha and glanced at the bite marks on his arm.

"Girls who are too fierce will chase happiness away."

Tomoe was stunned, realizing Higa Haruko was advising her out of fear that she might scare Uta Kayaha away, but she still felt deeply irritated.

"Please leave if you have nothing to say, and stop disturbing us."

Higa Haruko heartily finished the grilled meat in her hand, grabbed a tissue to wipe the oil from her mouth, and stood up to leave. Just then, she suddenly noticed the residual life force lingering on the other unused grill.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. The presence of residual life force meant this grill had once processed living creatures.

Thinking that the young man might be cooking at home, Higa Haruko didn't dwell on it.

After all, such residual life force was common enough at a seafood butchery market.

"Then I shall take my leave."

Watching Higa Haruko depart, Tomoe cast an annoyed glance at Uta Kayaha.

"Are you that unhappy that I bit you?"

Uta Kayaha's mouth twitched at those words.

"What does that have to do with me..."

"Then why didn't you help me when she was talking?!"

"..."

Wasn't this just unreasonable tyranny? Not wanting to argue with her, Uta Kayaha quietly went back to grilling his meat.

Seeing this, Tomoe suddenly leaped off the lounge chair and threw her arms around Uta Kayaha from behind.

"Tell me, are you really angry?!"

Feeling her gentle strength, Uta Kayaha patted her arm to signal her to relax so he could turn around.

"What is there for me to be angry about? I don't even have enough time to feel sorry for you..."

Hearing Uta Kayaha's helpless sigh, Tomoe felt a hint of sweetness bloom in her heart, though she still let out a petulant hum.

"If you dare to be angry, I'll definitely leave you with a lesson you'll never forget for the rest of your life!"

Shrugging, Uta Kayaha went back to grilling.

However, as he was grilling, Tomoe suddenly wrapped her arms around him from behind once more.

Smack!

"What are you doing?!"

"Don't talk nonsense."

"...."

"I'm in the middle of grilling! In broad daylight... you!"

"Oh, hush. The fact that I didn't drag you straight into the house is already me showing restraint."

"....."

A few minutes later, Tomoe dragged Uta Kayaha into the house.

"No, not again, I'm on cooldown..."

Tomoe rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him down onto the sofa.

"Now it's my turn. I remember the refractory period can effectively suppress emotions, right? Let's give it a try. If it works, we can practice like this from now on."

"..."

The refractory period was indeed effective, though the results weren't quite as vast as Tomoe had imagined. The first two rounds went smoothly enough, but the subsequent scenarios started to get a bit less harmonious.

In the bathroom, Uta Kayaha guiltily and stealthily glanced at Tomoe as she stood before the mirror examining the grip marks on her neck, only to be caught by her out of the corner of her eye.

"I told you not to look, told you not to look! What's so interesting about it? It's not like I'm dead!"

Giving Uta Kayaha a few displeased smacks, Tomoe sighed a moment later, wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, and stared unwaveringly into his eyes.

"I've said it before, no matter what you do to me, I will always forgive you."

After whispering those touching words of romance, the girl stood slightly on tiptoes and kissed her beloved boy.

As dusk fell, Kayako, having finished her part-time job, knocked on the door and walked into the courtyard. Seeing Tomoe lazily asleep on the lounge chair, Kayako's eyes narrowed happily as she sidled up to Uta Kayaha like an eager little puppy begging for affection.

"Kayaha-kun~"

Watching Kayako's joyful smile, Uta Kayaha raised a hand and gently patted her head.

"Welcome back."