Uesugi Tetsu withdrew his gaze in surprise.
He had not expected Ririko to spot him inside the vehicle so easily from such a distance.
Could it be that she had already mastered her breathing technique?
He grinned.
That was great. Tomorrow, he would be able to gain another skill he could grind himself to the bone with.
Seeing Uesugi Tetsu's carefree grin, Shizuma Mafuyu could not help reminding him, "Uesugi-kun, please take the exorcism mission seriously. If you let your guard down, you'll pay a terrible price."
Yes, a terrible price.
During the time Shizuma Mafuyu had spent running around after joining the Special Affairs Division, she had seen far too many rookie Onmyoji and exorcists who thought they had some ability turn into corpses—or piles of mangled flesh—during the most ordinary exorcism missions.
Uesugi Tetsu was a good person, so even Shizuma Mafuyu, who had grown numb from seeing such things, still reminded him.
"Thanks for the reminder." Uesugi Tetsu reined in his smile and asked doubtfully, "But do I really look that careless?"
Shizuma Mafuyu nodded.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Uesugi Tetsu's face was as calm as still water as he stroked Kaga Kiyomitsu, which he had taken out at some point and laid across his legs. "If I want to fool the enemy, then fooling my teammates as well will surely produce the best results, won't it?"
Shizuma Mafuyu had not expected that answer. She let out a sigh of relief. "I underestimated Uesugi-kun."
As the minibus drove on, the pedestrians and traffic around them grew fewer and fewer.
In the end, it stopped in front of a clearly long-abandoned unfinished building.
Before Uesugi Tetsu even got out, he felt a chilly aura surge from outside the vehicle.
He stared at the building, which practically had