After All, I'm No Demon

After handing the matter over to his subordinates, the leader stopped paying attention to it, thinking it was just a child. He then focused all his attention on his "prey."

I just didn't expect--

"Ah!!!"

The somewhat familiar scream drew everyone's attention back, and all eyes focused on the source of the sound, then widened as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

The boy who was supposed to teach the other a lesson stood calmly in place, only the bag he was carrying had fallen to the ground. Meanwhile, the thug who had wanted to punish the boy was now rolling on the ground, groaning in pain.

In an instant, everyone present felt a sense of absurdity: Had that guy been killed by this kid?

"Hey, go check it out."

Sensing something was amiss, the leader assigned another subordinate. Perhaps the fate of the previous man had served as a warning, for this thug cautiously approached.

Then, the hammering, the falling to the ground, and the screams all happened in one smooth motion, leaving the onlookers stunned.

"This is a tough problem, let's all work together!"

The leader was the quickest to react. He beckoned to his men and pulled out a Gilgamesh dagger from his person. The other men also drew or picked up whatever weapons were convenient for them and rushed towards the boy.

Seeing the menacing group approaching, the boy slowly bent down and pulled a tree from the bag on the ground.

--onion?

"Synchronize (trace), start (on)--!"

The first thing the girl heard as she slowly awoke from her coma was a boy's voice. "Great, sister, you're finally awake!"

The girl, struggling to sit up from the ground, looked up at the relieved boy in front of her and the pile of "strange" bodies lying around him, and then recalled the scene before she lost consciousness.

The girl quickly understood the terrible thing that had almost happened to her.

"Thank you for saving me."

"It's nothing. Now that you're alright, sister, you should go home quickly. It's too late and it's not safe here."

The boy waved his hand dismissively, seemingly not taking the matter to heart. Seeing that the girl slowly got up from the ground and appeared to be unharmed, the boy bent down and began picking up the things scattered on the ground from the earlier fight. The girl just stared blankly at the boy's every move.

After a while --

"Sister, what's wrong?"

After the boy finally managed to pick up the scattered items from the ground and put them into his bag, he noticed that the girl he had saved was still standing in the same spot and hadn't moved. He couldn't help but ask her a question out of curiosity.

"No, it's nothing..."

The girl appeared calm, but what she said wasn't very convincing.

"Do you need me to call a taxi for you?"

"No, no need. I don't have any cash on me."

"Oh, I don't have any left either..."

The boy seemed a little troubled, as he had already used up his budget while buying groceries earlier. However, when his gaze fell on the pile of "oddly shaped" items on the ground, his eyes lit up.

Not long after, the boy handed the girl a stack of banknotes.

"That way, you can take the bus back, sister."

Only--

"There don't seem to be any cars passing by here..."

After waiting by the roadside for a long time without seeing a single car pass by, the boy said to the girl somewhat awkwardly.

Normally, thugs would choose secluded suburban corners to commit their crimes, but the boy happened to be heading to that place, which is why he stumbled upon it.

The boy looked up at the sky; night had already fallen, and it would be too late to get to the tram station now. Besides, he didn't want to leave the girl alone in this desolate place waiting for a taxi.

"This is troublesome..."

"It's okay."

Perhaps seeing the boy's hesitation, the girl shook her head and said...

"Um... if it's alright, could you go to where I need to go?"

"Huh?"

Upon hearing the boy's words, the girl subconsciously tilted her head. Thinking she had misunderstood, the boy hurriedly explained:

"I'm just going to an elder's house, but since this elder is a woman, I think she can let me stay for the night."

"Um, is that okay...!?"

"Hmm, I think there shouldn't be any problem. Although she sometimes looks fierce, she's actually a good person."

After reflecting on the way that "elder" acted, the boy gave a reassuring smile.

"In that case, I'll take my leave."

The girl politely bowed in thanks, but the boy deftly avoided it.

"In that case, please follow me."

"By the way, I haven't asked your name yet."

"Me? My name is Shirou."

After pausing for a moment upon hearing the question, the boy gave his name.

"Shirou-- "

After silently repeating it a few times, the girl finally showed the first smile the boy had ever seen, a smile that was pure and peaceful.

"Yes, thank you, Shirou."

(Yes, thank you, Ultraman Taro)

Chapter 157. After all, I'm not some kind of Demon.

"So, that's how it happened."

After the dinner, everyone sitting around the table listened to Shirou recount his "heroic rescue" experience. Although there was an unexpected guest at the table, the atmosphere remained harmonious and joyful.

"Well done, Shirou."

After listening to Shirou's story, Touko Aozaki, who is also a woman, was the first to highly praise Shirou's actions. Sakura, who was sitting next to the girl, had subconsciously reached out and held the girl's right hand during Shirou's story, hoping to soothe her "wounds." She then received a reassuring and grateful look from the girl.

However, as another "important figure" at the banquet, Wang Xiaoming seemed to be "out of his mind" from the beginning of the banquet, never expressing his opinion or speaking.

"Forget it, let's just ignore him."

At the dinner table, only Touko Aozaki, who was of the same "generation" as Wang Xiaoming, could utter such a sentence. Seeing that he was unmoved by her "glare," and knowing that the children were present and she couldn't make too much of a fuss, Touko Aozaki could only helplessly change the subject and turn her attention back to the girl:

"Although my place looks a bit messy, you can still stay the night if you don't mind."

Of course not.

Although her expression was still somewhat stiff, the joy in the girl's eyes was impossible to hide.

"Speaking of which, I still don't know your name."

Touko Aozaki's question drew everyone's attention to the girl.

"How rude of me, my name is Fujino Asagami."

The girl introduced herself to everyone.

"Asagami... is it Asagami Construction?"

Surprisingly, the moment Fujino Asagami finished her introduction, Touko Aozaki immediately chimed in with a question.

"Yes, that's right..."

Although she couldn't figure out why this seemingly mysterious Ms. Touko Aozaki would know about Asagami Construction, Fujino Asagami still gave a quiet answer.

"Oh, don't worry, I have some connection with Asagami Construction. It's fine if you don't want to talk about it."

Seeing Fujino Asagami's troubled expression, Touko Aozaki waved her hand and stopped asking questions. However, at that moment, another voice suddenly rang out from the side:

"Fujino Asagami was originally the heir to the prestigious Asagami Family in the Nagano area. After the Asagami Family went bankrupt, she came to the Asagami Family, with her remarried mother."

All eyes were focused on Wang Xiaoming, who had spoken those words. Everyone was curious as to why Wang Xiaoming knew such a "family secret." However, Wang Xiaoming's attention was entirely on Fujino Asagami. Seeing Asagami's increasingly uneasy expression, Wang Xiaoming gave what he considered a "friendly" smile:

"Don't worry, after all, I'm not some kind of Demon. So, Miss Asagami, I only have one question for you—"

You can't feel the pain yet, can you?

As soon as she finished speaking, Fujino Asagami's already pale face turned deathly white.

"So, what were you trying to do just now?"

At this moment, Touko Aozaki, standing in front of Wang Xiaoming, was questioning Wang Xiaoming with her arms crossed. Having just taken off her glasses, even her tone had become quite cold.

"Um, would you believe me if I said that was just an instinctive reaction?"

Looking at the "fierce" Touko Aozaki in front of him, Wang Xiaoming answered in a "guilty" tone that even he himself didn't believe.

What do you think?

Touko Aozaki sneered, clearly disdainful of Wang Xiaoming's words. Even now, Shirou and Sakura are still comforting Fujino Asagami, who hasn't recovered, and you think you can just say it was an instinctive reaction?

You won't tell me? That's okay.

With a sneer, Touko Aozaki gradually approached Wang Xiaoming was cowering in the corner.

"Like you said, I'm not some kind of Demon, right?"

Under Touko Aozaki's persistent questioning, Wang Xiaoming finally had no choice but to reveal the truth. However, even Touko Aozaki was somewhat surprised by the facts he told her:

"Mystic Eyes?"

"Yes, just like me, so I thought you'd be interested."

Wang Xiaoming shrugged and said.

Tell me more about it.

Just as Wang Xiaoming had guessed, Touko Aozaki became interested in Fujino Asagami's "Mystic Eyes".

"In short, the current head of the Asagami Family believes that in this modern era where supernatural abilities are declining, the Asagami Family's supernatural abilities should not be passed down. Therefore, he suppressed his daughter's ability, namely the child's Mystic Eyes, by sealing her sense of pain."

The Mystic Eyes is a general term for eyes possessing special powers.

By transforming one's eyes into Magic Circuit, the passive function of receiving external information is converted into the ability to actively influence external things. In other words, all targets within the field of vision will be affected by the Magecraft; if the target looks directly into the Mystic Eyes, the Magecraft effect will be amplified.

Those familiar with the Mystic Eyes know that Mystic Eyes is not only impossible to look directly into, but anyone seen by Mystic Eyes will be trapped in the magician's Magecraft. However, it is difficult to determine from appearance whether someone possesses Mystic Eyes, making it hard to defend against. Its practicality ranks among the top of all engineering Magecraft. Correspondingly, the engineering involved is also very difficult, so possessing an artificial Mystic Eyes is considered proof of being a first-rate Magecraft.

However, artificial Mystic Eyes can only have the ability to charm and suggest at most. In addition, there is another special case in Mystic Eyes, which is the ability that the owner is born with or that is awakened later due to accident. However, they all have one thing in common - "superpowers" that cannot be reproduced by Magecraft.

Compared to artificial Mystic Eyes, this type of Mystic Eyes is not only more diverse but also more powerful. The Mystic Eyes of Petrification "Cybele" that Wang Xiaoming obtained by chance belongs to this type, while Touko Aozaki belongs to a combination of the two.

That's right, Touko Aozaki also has Mystic Eyes, and she even had them artificially modified from her innate Mystic Eyes. It can be said that among humans, no one understands Mystic Eyes better than Touko Aozaki.

After Wang Xiaoming obtained "Cybele", he relied entirely on the [Mystic Eye Killers] given to him by Touko Aozaki to suppress its power. Although he inevitably had to use himself as "material" for Touko Aozaki's research in the process, the result was still good.

"What a waste..."

After hearing Wang Xiaoming explain the general situation, Touko Aozaki sighed, then took out a cigarette case from her pocket, lit one, and fell into a long silence.

After a long silence, Wang Xiaoming broke the silence first, looking at Touko Aozaki and asking:

"What's on your mind?"

"I'm wondering what would happen if I tried to steal an heir from the Asagami branch family."

"Huh... huh? What did you say?!"

Touko Aozaki's answer almost made Wang Xiaoming choke.

"Alright, stop acting. Isn't this what you wanted to see?"

Touko Aozaki, who had put her glasses back on, gave Wang Xiaoming a disgruntled look.