Kazama Ruri

Then he explained, "You're our hundred-thousandth customer since we opened, and we're running a promotion where lucky customers get 90% off everything in the store."

"But I haven't even gone in," Lu Mingfei said, puzzled.

"That doesn't matter. As long as you showed up at my store, you're our lucky customer. No need to say anything else—come on in!" The shopkeeper invited Lu Mingfei inside with a hearty smile.

Well, if that was the case, he might as well go in. If it was a scam, he could just leave. What could they do, stop him?

With that in mind, Lu Mingfei led Erii into the store.

As soon as they entered, a clothing rack several meters long was wheeled over to Erii. It was hung with all kinds of designer clothes: trench coats, princess dresses, evening gowns—you name it.

"Whoa, these look expensive. Good thing they're 90% off," Lu Mingfei thought to himself.

The shop assistants held up all sorts of outfits against Erii. At the slightest nod from Lu Mingfei, they immediately took her to the fitting room to try them on.

Erii went in and out of the fitting room again and again. One moment she looked like a princess, the next like the girl next door, and then like a queen surveying her domain. Everything looked wonderful on her.

Encouraged by the shop assistants, she even took a few steps in high heels. She was a little clumsy, but she was earnestly trying to learn.

When the shop assistants brought a full-length mirror over to Erii, her eyes filled with delight. It was the first time Lu Mingfei had seen joy in her eyes.

It was probably the first time she had realized she was beautiful. The girlish love of pretty things came out, and she proudly lifted her skirt and twirled.

Erii looked at Lu Mingfei with shining eyes. He smiled, nodded, and gave her a thumbs-up.

"That'll be 100,000 yen," the shopkeeper said with a cheerful smile.

"Yikes!" Lu Mingfei drew in a sharp breath.

All those clothes for only 100,000 yen—the store really was having a sale!

After he paid, the shop assistants packed the clothes into seven or eight boxes. Erii picked out a white off-the-shoulder dress and changed into it.

The sash was tied into a bow at the small of her back. Once she put on a pair of white, high-heeled sheepskin ankle boots, she stood only a head shorter than Lu Mingfei. She looked tall and elegant, nothing like the girl who had been wearing shrine maiden robes.

It was like watching a country bumpkin turn into a swan.

Lu Mingfei carried the gift boxes outside, hailed a taxi, then waved grandly for Erii to get in.

"Little Monster really is pretty. Her charm shot right up after she changed!"

Jiu De Mai sat in a little room inside the store, watching the security footage and marveling.

"Any word on Erii?" Gen Chisaki asked with a sigh.

"Young Master, the family has had people searching all day, but there's still no sign of the young lady," Crow and Yaksha reported.

"Damn it, this is the first time Erii's been away from home this long. Before, whenever she ran away, she'd stay out for no more than two hours—and she never even made it past the first traffic light. What happened this time? Did something happen to her?" Gen Chisaki said angrily.

After hesitating for a moment, Yaksha stepped forward. "Young Master, this is my fault. I failed to keep watch over the young lady. I accept full responsibility. Please punish me."

Gen Chisaki said nothing. He just looked at Yaksha.

Yaksha drew a short knife from his waist and swung it at his own left hand. Once they found the young lady, he would repay his failure with his life.

A hand grabbed Yaksha's knife.

"That's enough. Now isn't the time to settle blame. We'll deal with it after we find Erii. Put the knife away. I'll have plenty of ways to deal with you later." Gen Chisaki stared straight into Yaksha's eyes.

"Yes, Young Master!" Yaksha bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"Notify the family and send more people to search. Don't tell Father about this yet," Gen Chisaki ordered.

Meanwhile, Lu Mingfei was carrying box after box of Erii's new clothes into their hotel room.

Erii looked delighted. As soon as they were inside, she kicked off her high-heeled ankle boots and ran around barefoot, showing Lu Mingfei her outfits every so often.

"You look great, Erii!" Lu Mingfei kept praising her. He felt like she was finally acting like a normal person.

"All right, all right, stop running around. What do you want for lunch? I'll go buy it," Lu Mingfei said with a smile.

"For lunch, I want five-treasure fried rice!" Erii held up her diary for him to see.

Lu Mingfei's face stiffened. Five-treasure fried rice again? Just how much did this girl love it?

"Are you the Five-Treasure Fried Rice God? We've had it three meals in a row!" Lu Mingfei complained.

"I'm not the Five-Treasure Fried Rice God. For dinner, I want Hokkaido ramen, and for a late-night snack, pizza with chunks of meat!"

Erii showed Lu Mingfei the little notebook where she'd written down all the foods she'd seen on the way and wanted to try.

He ruffled her hair and smiled. "All right, I'll go get it for you in a bit. Anything else you need, Your Highness?"

"I want to watch TV, too. I want to watch anime."

He turned on the TV and found Erii a channel that showed anime, then went downstairs to buy her favorite fried rice.

On the way back, Lu Mingfei ran into Jiajia.

"Senior Lu, are you going to have lunch?"

"Yeah," Lu Mingfei replied with a smile.

"Can I eat with you?" Jiajia asked softly, her head lowered.

"No. Unless I'm at a restaurant, I don't like eating with other people when I'm out."

Jiajia admired Lu Mingfei, so she nodded repeatedly, disappointed. Seeing the lunch he'd bought, she asked, "Senior Lu, why did you buy two portions of fried rice?"

"One portion wouldn't be enough, so I bought an extra one. All right, go find your parents. I'm heading back."

After getting away from Jiajia, Lu Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief. If anyone saw that there was a girl in his room, he'd never be able to explain it.

Back in the room, he saw Erii staring at the TV without blinking. He smiled and walked over to hand her the food. What a little couch potato.

"The Snake Eight Families have lost their secret weapon. This is our chance. Make the arrangements and have the Demon Spirits search for her. If possible, bring her back."

The man wearing a courtier's mask gave instructions to the man on the other end of the phone.

"Understood, King."

A man who looked seven or eight parts like Gen Chisaki, but seemed more refined and delicate, hung up.

"Uesugi Erii... Is she the one who replaced me?" A sinister smile bloomed across Kazama Ruri's bewitching face.