Kira Yoshikage glanced down at his watch and nodded lightly:
"Sure."
He could not refuse any request from a customer. Work was work, after all.
Nakano Miku, who had successfully added Kira Yoshikage on LINE, breathed a sigh of relief and put away her phone contentedly. Nakano Nino, who had also remained silent for a long while, quietly opened her little bag, took out all the bills inside, and handed them to Kira Yoshikage, apologizing softly:
"Sorry, Kira-kun. This is all I brought."
Kira Yoshikage's gaze fell on the girl's fair little hand before shifting to the stack of Fukuzawa Yukichis. There appeared to be twenty-one bills in total.
There were plenty of people with two hundred thousand yen in savings, but a female high school student who could carry two hundred thousand yen in cash on her person was unquestionably a rich heiress!
If it had been anyone else, they probably would have felt the urge to stop working hard.
Kira Yoshikage seemed unmoved, but he accepted the stack of Fukuzawa Yukichis anyway. During the process, he inevitably touched the girl's palm.
Ah! Just as I imagined—soft and delicate, impossible to forget!
But it was working hours now. A peaceful life simply required patience.
None of the other four Nakano Quintuplets stopped Nakano Nino. In fact, they even regretted not having brought any money themselves.
For saving their lives, let alone two hundred thousand yen—even two million or twenty million would not be too much!
Besides, how could someone like Kira-kun possibly be short of money?
Although he looked like an ordinary office worker, he might actually be carrying out a secret mission here. Or perhaps, just like in a novel, this was some kind of cultivation!
Just then, a woman's voice came from behind them:
"Kira-kun~ I'm back again!"
Nakano Nino turned around. A pair of long legs wrapped in black tights entered her view. Her gaze moved upward, revealing the owner of those shapely legs: a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair, a white headband, and wine-red eyes.
At that moment, those wine-red eyes were full of amusement.
Kira Yoshikage's gaze passed over Nakano Nino and landed on the fair little hand of the long-haired girl:
"What would you like to drink?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha sat on the high stool to Nakano Mayu's left, placed the document envelope in her hand on the counter, and gently swung her shapely legs in black tights.
"Long Island Iced Tea."
Kira Yoshikage nodded lightly, then served her a glass of lemon water.
Kasumigaoka Utaha glanced at the lemon slices in the glass and sighed helplessly:
"Kira-kun, if you're going to serve me lemon water every time, why do you ask what I want to drink every time?"
"Minors aren't allowed to drink alcohol."
"Are you two acquaintances?"
Nakano Ichika studied Kasumigaoka Utaha with a suspicious look.
Supporting her cheek with one hand, Kasumigaoka Utaha keenly sensed Kira Yoshikage's following gaze and asked with a smile:
"Aren't you going to ask why I came?"
Kira Yoshikage answered truthfully:
"That isn't something I should concern myself with."
"What an uninteresting man~"
Kasumigaoka Utaha made a remark, then lightly patted the document envelope on the table. Her expression softened unconsciously.
"I want you to take a look at this—the third volume of Love Beat."
Kira Yoshikage looked slightly surprised:
"That fast?"
It had been only a little over ten days since they last met, yet she had completed an entire volume in that time. Assuming an average of one hundred thousand words per volume, that meant she had written ten thousand words a day. Among Japanese writers, that was an astonishing pace.
After all, Japanese light-novel authors took an average of half a year to write one volume. Even the fastest needed three months.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's writing speed was practically ten times theirs, surpassing that of ninety-nine percent of writers nationwide.
Kasumigaoka Utaha proudly raised her chin, revealing her fair neck:
"Humph, this is the result of staying up late for half a month straight!"
"Is that really something to be proud of?" Nakano Mayu wanted to complain. No matter how she looked at it, staying up late was a terrible thing, wasn't it?
Kira Yoshikage did not take the document envelope the girl pushed toward him. He merely lowered his head slightly and met her gaze:
"So why are you showing it to me?"
The girl's slender fingers gripped the straw, stirring the ice cubes and lemon slices in the glass without pause. Her tone was firm:
"Didn't I say it before? I'm definitely going to make you my reader!"
"I'm at work."
Kasumigaoka Utaha seemed to have expected that. The corners of her lips rose slightly:
"That's fine. I can wait. You still have ten minutes~"
Kira Yoshikage finished work at 10:30, and it was already 10:20.
Precisely because she knew when Kira Yoshikage got off work, Kasumigaoka Utaha had deliberately chosen this time to come.
And—
Before Kira Yoshikage could refuse, Kasumigaoka Utaha raised one slender finger and waved it in front of him:
"Ten thousand yen~ Just take a look. It's a great deal, isn't it?"
Kira Yoshikage spoke evenly:
"Actually, I've always been your loyal reader."
Her wine-red eyes filled with amusement, and her rosy lips curved into a pleased smile:
"Kira-kun, that's not what you said last time~ 'It's nothing more than passable toilet paper.' Remember?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Kasumigaoka Utaha added with a smile:
"Still, I don't dislike someone like you, Kira-kun, who remains true to his desires~"
Kira Yoshikage did not respond and continued focusing on his work.
10:30.
Kira Yoshikage picked up the document envelope Kasumigaoka Utaha had handed him, left the counter, and headed for the changing room.
The coworker taking over his shift looked at the six beautiful girls sitting in front of the counter and smiled ingratiatingly:
"Ladies, may I ask what you'd like to dri—"
Kasumigaoka Utaha left without waiting for him to finish and walked toward the sofa booth nearby.
The Nakano Quintuplets exchanged glances, instantly understanding one another's thoughts. Without hesitation, they followed her.
Nakano Ichika got straight to the point:
"You can see them, right?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was somewhat surprised by the girl's reaction and nodded lightly:
"Yes."
She really could see them. That was why, after seeing the Nakano Quintuplets, she had not immediately gone to the counter.
Seeking benefits and avoiding harm was human nature. She had no reason to put herself in danger.
When Nakano Ichika saw her admit it, a trace of cunning flashed through her eyes:
"Then don't you want to know what we said to Kira-kun?"
The long-haired girl narrowed her wine-red eyes halfway:
"Then what's the price?"
Nakano Ichika sat down beside her and said softly:
"Just tell us what happened to you."
Kasumigaoka Utaha thought for a moment before extending a hand toward Nakano Ichika:
"Kasumigaoka Utaha."
Nakano Ichika shook it openly:
"Nakano Ichika. This is Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Mayu."
"Will you go first, or shall I?"
Faced with Kasumigaoka Utaha's question, Nakano Ichika did not haggle with her. She immediately told her everything, demonstrating their sincerity.
After hearing the girl's information, Kasumigaoka Utaha murmured:
"Psionic Users and Evil Spirits? It's just like a novel!"
The Nakano Quintuplets did not urge her either. They quietly waited for Kasumigaoka Utaha to speak:
"There isn't anything special about my situation."
"Half a month ago, I was robbed by a member of the Anti-Intellectual Cult. That was also the first time I saw an Evil Spirit. It had grown out of the Anti-Intellectual Cult member's back and looked like some kind of 'spirit behind the back.' Thinking about it now, that must have been when I awakened Spiritual Sight."
Nakano Mayu could not help asking:
"Then, during these past two weeks, have you encountered any other Evil Spirits?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha remained silent for a long while before nodding mutely:
"Yes."
"How many?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha lowered her head, her body trembling faintly:
"I can see them every day."
"How could that be?"
Nakano Mayu found it somewhat unbelievable. Were Evil Spirits really that common?
Kasumigaoka Utaha raised her head, and her tone suddenly turned eerie:
"Because that Evil Spirit is right under my bed!"
The Nakano Quintuplets' faces went pale. Even their breathing stopped, and they did not dare make a sound.
"Pfft!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha could not help laughing.
Nakano Nino realized what was happening:
"Everything you just said was fake?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha covered her mouth and giggled:
"How could it be real? If there really were an Evil Spirit under my bed, how could I still be here?"
"I just wanted to make a joke and lighten the mood. If I scared you, I'm sorry."
Nakano Mayu puffed out her cheeks. She was actually a little angry.
But she also felt that losing her temper over something so trivial would be making a mountain out of a molehill. Besides, Kasumigaoka Utaha's joke was essentially cursing herself, so she had no reason to be angry.
This woman's personality is truly awful!
Nakano Ichika narrowed her eyes slightly and deliberately dragged out her words:
"Oh, it was a joke? So you can't see them after all~"
Kasumigaoka Utaha's smile stiffened, and she instinctively glanced back—