In the end, Fang Li naturally still refused Yomogawa Ayame's invitation.
The title of samurai might have sounded impressive, but in this era, in this country, samurai had long since decayed beyond repair.
One only had to look at the samurai in Aragane Station to know.
Cowardly and afraid of trouble.
Bullying the weak while fearing the strong.
Daring to do nothing.
Possessing no dignity whatsoever.
That was what samurai represented nowadays.
Because of the Kabane, both the bodies and minds of samurai had been worn down until they were incomplete.
In the original story, there had been many instances where samurai, terrified of the Kabane, caused disputes, slandered ordinary people, and even killed them. None of that was particularly surprising.
Thus, although samurai appeared to help govern the various Stations in this era, in the hearts of ordinary citizens, they were little different from tyrants.
People did not respect samurai. They only feared them.
That was the state of this era.
Perhaps that was why Kurusu Kunoichi was so obsessed with a samurai's dignity?
At the very least, in Fang Li's eyes, among the samurai in the original story, only Kurusu Kunoichi and Kibito Aragane could be called true samurai. The rest were nothing but disappointments.
Therefore, Fang Li had no desire to become one of them.
Even if doing so would allow him to get closer to Yomogawa Ayame, protect her at close range, and thereby complete Main Mission Two, he still did not want to.
Of course, Fang Li would not say so. That would only harm the harmony between them.
Yomogawa Ayame was somewhat disappointed by this. It seemed she truly wanted to help Fang Li shed his identity as a Wanderer.
For someone who would one day govern a station, such kindness was not necessarily a good thing.
Still, no one disliked a kind person.
Fang Li was no exception.
So, Fang Li chatted with Yomogawa Ayame for a while longer, keeping her smiling throughout.
It was not that Fang Li was particularly humorous. This era simply lacked too much entertainment. Having lived for eighteen years in the information-exploding age of the twenty-first century, Fang Li could casually tell a few interesting stories that piqued Yomogawa Ayame's curiosity and made her laugh endlessly.
This led to two outcomes.
First, Yomogawa Ayame, a sheltered young lady who had rarely encountered entertainment, unexpectedly opened up. Though her words remained proper and polite, they carried a little more of the coquettish innocence unique to young girls.
Second, Kurusu Kunoichi did not say another word from beginning to end. He merely stared at Fang Li with vicious eyes, as though looking at some deeply hated enemy. Rather than seeming like he wanted to draw his blade and cut Fang Li down, he looked more like he wanted to pounce on him and take a bite.
Amid their pleasant conversation, Yomogawa Ayame suddenly let out a small cry, as though she had remembered something important.
"Lady Ayame?" As though he had finally found a chance to intervene, Kurusu Kunoichi immediately asked, "What is it?"
"I... I almost forgot." Yomogawa Ayame spoke somewhat flusteredly. "I still need to take Father's Short-barreled Steam Gun in for repairs today."
Hearing that, Fang Li abruptly raised his head and looked at Yomogawa Ayame.
At that moment, Yomogawa Ayame felt a chill spread throughout her body.
Because, for an instant, she saw it.
A flash of icy blue light suddenly passed through the ordinary eyes of the Wanderer who had been chatting so happily with her.
That icy blue light seemed capable of stripping away all of Yomogawa Ayame's body heat, as though it could erase the life within her, giving Yomogawa Ayame an illusion.
The illusion that she was not facing a person, but a god.
A god of death.
Immediately, Yomogawa Ayame could not help taking two steps back.
"Lady Ayame?" Kurusu Kunoichi asked strangely. "What is it this time?"
"Mr. Fang Li?" Ignoring Kurusu Kunoichi, Yomogawa Ayame stared at Fang Li with lingering fear and spoke in a trembling voice. "You... just now..."
Seeing Yomogawa Ayame's frightened appearance, Fang Li inwardly cursed his bad luck.
"Sorry, Lady Ayame." Fang Li spoke apologetically. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"No..." Yomogawa Ayame pressed a hand to her chest. After hesitating for a while, she asked, "But just now, your eyes..."
"My eyes?" Fang Li asked with feigned confusion. "What was wrong with my eyes?"
Seeing Fang Li's puzzled expression, Yomogawa Ayame steadied herself and looked into his eyes again.
There was nothing there but a pair of ordinary black eyes.
Did I see it wrong just now?
That thought rose in Yomogawa Ayame's heart.
Before Yomogawa Ayame could figure it out, Fang Li reminded her, "Miss Ayame, didn't you say you wanted to help your father get his Short-barreled Steam Gun repaired?"
"R-Right." Yomogawa Ayame nodded. "That was why I came to find Kurusu. I wanted him to guard me and accompany me outside."
"Then we should head out quickly." Though Kurusu Kunoichi was puzzled by Yomogawa Ayame's sudden fuss, he still said, "If we delay the Chief's business, we may be punished."
"Y-You're right." Yomogawa Ayame still seemed somewhat concerned, but thinking of the matter at hand, she had no choice but to bid Fang Li farewell.
Just as before, Fang Li spoke to Yomogawa Ayame in an easy tone without showing any abnormality, seeing Yomogawa Ayame and Kurusu Kunoichi off.
Only after Yomogawa Ayame and Kurusu Kunoichi had left did the smile on Fang Li's face gradually disappear, replaced by a sigh.
"Looks like I need to find an opportunity to train my control over the Magic Eye."
Although Fang Li had been able to suppress the activation of the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception through sheer will from the very beginning, whenever his emotions fluctuated, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception would still activate on their own.
Just now, although the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception had only appeared for an instant, Fang Li had clearly seen Yomogawa Ayame's Death Lines in that instant.
The Death Lines covering Yomogawa Ayame's body seemed to divide her apart, making Fang Li feel as though she were being torn into pieces.
He just had not expected Yomogawa Ayame to be so sensitive that she noticed something was wrong.
"But getting the short-barreled one repaired?"
Fang Li had only just remembered this matter as well.
In the original story, on the day the plot began, Yomogawa Ayame had taken her father's Short-barreled Steam Gun to be repaired.
"Looks like the plot is finally beginning."