Chapter Seven: Jeanne-chan Is So Adorable-Everyone, Come Bully Her! / Chapter Eight: Set a Small Goal First, Like Getting to Touch Tamamo's Ears

"I'll get straight to the point. Do you want to become my companion? I can smell the scent of my kind on you." Hiruko Kagetane stated his purpose directly.

"My kind?" Yuxian could not help laughing. He was not some psychopath. "Does your employer know you came to invite me to become your companion?"

Hiruko Kagetane clapped softly and praised him. "Impressive intelligence-gathering abilities. It seems you know quite a lot."

Yuxian was extremely annoyed by Hiruko Kagetane's tone and continued, "Not only do I know someone hired you, I also know your objective. Mr. Hiruko Kagetane, formerly of the Eastern Unit of the Ground Self-Defense Force, the 787th Mechanized Special Forces, and the New Human Creation Project."

Hearing Yuxian rattle off his background, Hiruko Kagetane was somewhat surprised. His tone grew even more fervent. "I'm even more certain now that you are one of my kind. You must have noticed that there is something wrong with the current state of the Tokyo Area."

He took out a case filled with money, roughly a hundred million, and placed it before Yuxian. "This is a small token of my sincerity. After the Great Extinction, only capable humans like us can survive. Let us create a new world together!"

"I'll gladly accept the money."

Yuxian ignored Hiruko Kagetane, who was excitedly describing their wonderful future. All he could see was that case of money.

Atalanta had been worrying over the shortage of supplies, struggling to keep things going. With this money, the Outer District's predicament would be eased, and they would not have to worry about supplies for a long time. If the atmosphere had not been so inappropriate, he would have wanted to award Hiruko Kagetane the title of timely benefactor.

Yuxian swiftly put away the case and handed it to Mash. Only then did he slowly say, "I have no fondness for the Tokyo Area, but one of my naive and stubborn companions wants to protect every child here. I have already promised to help her, so I'm afraid I cannot assist with your plan."

"Protect every child? What a foolish idea."

"Yes, foolishly adorable. But I suddenly think helping her achieve that idea would be very interesting. Only difficult things have value, don't you think?"

After accepting such a huge sum, Yuxian was in an excellent mood and could not help chatting pleasantly with Hiruko Kagetane.

"Oh, right." Yuxian continued, "How about you join us instead? I guarantee you won't be bored."

Hiruko Kagetane said nothing. He simply watched Yuxian in silence, and the atmosphere abruptly fell quiet, as though even the air were about to freeze solid.

Then he suddenly burst into wild laughter, as if he had heard an especially hilarious joke.

After stopping his laughter, he adjusted the gentleman's hat atop his head. "Goodbye, Mr. Yuxian. It seems you still have not recognized what reality is."

Hiruko Kohina had remained silent at his side the whole time, her gaze fixed on Jack.

Only when Hiruko Kagetane turned away did she ask, "What is your name, little one over there?"

"We're Jack." Jack answered.

Hiruko Kohina gave Jack one final reluctant look before following Hiruko Kagetane away at top speed.

Yuxian watched the two leave, then smiled at Jack. "Kohina-chan likes you."

Jack tilted her head and innocently asked, "Will she come play with us, then?"

"You'll have to ask her yourself." Yuxian rubbed Jack's head. He did not know whether they would have another chance in the future.

Then he said to Little Jeanne, "Santa Claus-chan, let's go fill up your gift bag!"

"But... but... the way Master got this money was very dishonorable..." Little Jeanne looked conflicted and had quite a few objections to how Yuxian had obtained the money.

Yuxian asked, "Then what should we do?"

"We should return the money to them." Little Jeanne's rigid nature was very much like Jeanne d'Arc's. She should have been the childhood form of Jeanne d'Arc after her fall, but unexpectedly, her personality was even more similar to the original Jeanne d'Arc.

"No! Alice wants steak!" Gretel protested.

"It should be hotpot!" Jack corrected her.

"Steak!"

"Hotpot!"

Jack and Gretel started arguing again over what to eat.

Little Jeanne dejectedly gave up on the idea of returning the money. Then she thought of how she could soon fill her gift bag and bring presents to the children of the Outer District, and she cast aside that tiny bit of displeasure. Her mood brightened again.

Jeanne-chan Is Too Cute, Everyone Come Bully Her

Having obtained such a large sum of money, Yuxian took everyone out for a pleasant shopping trip.

They first found a Western restaurant and ate steak.

Jack had loudly insisted on having hotpot, but she did not eat any less steak for it. Greasy stains covered the corners of her mouth, and Yuxian had to wipe them for her every so often.

By comparison, Gretel had impeccable Western dining etiquette. She was very adept with a knife and fork, cutting her food with practiced elegance. She truly was a little lady.

After that, it was time to pick out gifts for the children.

They arrived at a department store filled with all sorts of goods, with an exceptionally complete variety of items.

Faced with the dazzling array of merchandise, Little Jeanne did not know what to do. There were so many wonderful things that she could barely take them all in. She was still an inexperienced Santa Claus and had no idea how to choose gifts, so she could only ask Yuxian for help.

Yuxian did not know what to buy for everyone either, but children liked nothing more than candy, toys, pretty clothes, accessories, and the like.

They bought a huge pile of things. All five of them had both hands full of shopping bags, their faces brimming with the joy of a bountiful haul.

Yuxian bought storybooks for Gretel, pretty clothes for Jack, a lovely hair accessory for Little Jeanne, a large teddy bear for Illya, a pair of glasses with dark crimson frames for Mash, a large bag of apples for Atalanta, and an exquisite loudspeaker for Chiron.

With the shopping finished, everyone prepared to leave in satisfaction.

Little Jeanne tugged Yuxian from behind. "We haven't bought a gift for Master yet."

Yuxian smiled. "I don't need one."

"No! Everyone has to have a gift!" Little Jeanne said with a serious expression.

Yuxian could not bring himself to disappoint her good intentions, so he asked with a smile, "Then what gift are you going to buy for me?"

The three little girls hurriedly gathered together, pressing their heads close as they whispered among themselves.

After reaching a decision, Little Jeanne dashed back into the department store. Before long, she came out carrying a huge mattress.

Yuxian slapped his forehead. He could see it now—he would probably be sleeping on the floor from now on.

Mash covered her mouth and giggled beside him.

Shopping had taken quite a while, and it was already midnight by the time they returned to the Outer District.

The children had all gone back to their rooms to sleep, while Atalanta was still working alone. When she saw Yuxian and the others return, she came over to greet them.

"Why are you back so late? I was worried something might have happened." Atalanta's words carried both concern and reproach.

"Sorry for making you worry." Yuxian looked apologetic. They had had too much fun at the department store and lost track of time.

Seeing the huge pile of things they had brought back, Atalanta asked in surprise, "Where did all this come from?"

"We bought it at the department store." Yuxian lowered his head, found the bag of apples among the shopping bags, and held it out to Atalanta. "A gift for you."

"Thank you..." Atalanta accepted the apples somewhat shyly. No one had given her a gift in a very long time, especially not her favorite apples.

She asked again, "Where did you get the money?"

"Master scammed it from someone!" Little Jeanne cut in before Yuxian could answer. She was still bothered by the way they had obtained the money.

Yuxian immediately reached out with both hands, pinched her cheeks, and gently pulled them apart.

Yuxian stretched Little Jeanne's face into a very comical shape. She tried to keep talking, only to find her speech slurred and incomprehensible. All she could do was glare fiercely at Yuxian.

Mash stepped forward and slapped away Yuxian's evil hands. "Senpai, stop bullying Jeanne-chan!"

"I'm angry! I'm really angry!" Little Jeanne's face turned red as she huffed, "I'll definitely tell my grown-up self to get revenge on Master!"

"Whoa! You dare threaten me? Then I'll strike first." Yuxian put on a vicious grin and slowly approached Little Jeanne with his claws raised.

Little Jeanne slowly backed away in fear.

Seeing this, Jack blinked and asked Gretel, "Who should we help?"

"Jack, you're so silly! Of course we help Master!" Gretel said as if it were only natural.

Mash hurriedly grabbed the two eager little girls and loudly scolded, "Senpai, stop fooling around! Hurry up and sort out these things. It's already so late."

"Fine. I'll let you off for today." Yuxian stopped teasing Little Jeanne, letting her breathe a sigh of relief.

Yuxian handed the remaining money to Atalanta. "Discuss it with Chiron and use it to improve the children's lives. If it isn't enough, I'll find another way."

Atalanta happily accepted it. She had been worrying over the children's situation this whole time. With this income, many problems could be solved, putting her much more at ease.

Yuxian pointed at the remaining items. "These are all gifts for the children. We'll hand them out one by one tomorrow during the day."

"No!" Little Jeanne immediately objected.

Yuxian turned his gaze toward her. Little Jeanne shrank back, but immediately lifted her head and puffed out her chest, stubbornly insisting, "I have to deliver all the gifts tonight."

Mash hesitated as she said, "It's too late today. Let's give them out tomorrow."

Little Jeanne firmly shook her head, her eyes earnest. "Santa Claus gives everyone gifts at night!"

Yuxian immediately exposed the flaw in her logic. "Santa Claus only comes on Christmas night..."

Before he could finish, he felt a burst of killing intent from Mash beside him and immediately changed his words. "You can't wake everyone up. You have to deliver them quietly."

Jack raised both hands. "We can be quiet and not let anyone notice."

Yuxian was not about to let her deliver gifts. It just felt strange somehow. He grabbed Jack and Gretel. "Delivering gifts is Santa Claus's job. You can't steal it. You two should go to sleep."

He left first with Jack and Gretel, leaving the task of delivering gifts to Little Jeanne. That was her joy, and Yuxian would not take it away from her on his own accord.

The next day, when the children woke up, they found gifts beside each of their beds and were all overjoyed.

They talked about their presents, asking their friends what kinds of gifts they had received, their faces filled with happy smiles.

Little Jeanne had worked late into the night and had not slept for long. Even so, she insisted on getting up early in the morning, her face looking somewhat tired.

But seeing everyone's smiles filled her with a tremendous sense of accomplishment. She was exceptionally happy, humming a song as she went, flashing a broad smile at everyone she met.

First Set a Small Goal, Like Touching Kitty's Ears

Early in the morning, Yuxian gathered everyone together and prepared to head to the Tendo Civil Security Company.

Now that they had sufficient funds, he planned to find a place to stay in the city today, saving them the trouble of traveling back and forth every day.

They had barely taken a few steps outside when they ran into Enju rushing toward them.

Her face was streaked with tears. Without even raising her head, she ran past Yuxian and the others. They called out to her, but she did not turn back.

Mash asked in confusion, "What happened to Enju? It looked like she was crying."

Yuxian could roughly guess what had happened. Someone had deliberately spread the news at her school that she was a Cursed Child.

After pondering for a moment, he understood the truth of the matter.

Hiruko Kagetane was now focused on him and probably would not care much about Rentaro. The person who had gone to Enju's school to spread the rumor was most likely not him.

Once Hiruko Kagetane was ruled out, the mastermind behind this became obvious.

Yuxian had thought this was Hiruko Kagetane's handiwork, but it turned out to be Kikunojo Tendo. He had underestimated the extent of that man's hostility toward the Cursed Children.

After all, Rentaro Satomi was his adopted son. Yet he had taken things this far, with no regard for family ties whatsoever.

Then again, considering that even Kisaragi Tendo, his own granddaughter, regarded him as an enemy, it was not difficult to understand why he treated Rentaro this way.

"Come on. Let's take a look."

After asking around a little, Yuxian and the others quickly found Enju. She had hidden in the room of a familiar friend and refused to come out no matter how they called her.

This time, she was truly heartbroken. She had finally made so many friends at school, but because of her identity, they had all grown distant from her. Her young heart had suffered a heavy blow.

Sometimes Yuxian felt that Hiruko Kagetane had made perfect sense. These children who risked their lives to protect the world were treated so unfairly. It was truly twisted.

When everyone was at a loss, Little Jeanne stepped forward of her own accord. She was in an especially good mood today and full of confidence, volunteering to comfort Enju.

There was no better option at the moment, so it was worth letting her try.

No one knew what Little Jeanne said to Enju, but soon she was leading Enju outside by the hand.

The two walked to the seaside. Facing the vast ocean, Little Jeanne asked, "What is Enju-chan's dream?"

Without waiting for Enju to answer, she continued, "My dream used to be seeing the ocean with my own eyes and playing happily on the beach by the sea. Later, that dream came true, and I found a new dream. Now, I'm working hard to make it come true."

Enju lowered her head without speaking. Of course she had dreams, but she also knew that her dream could never come true. A dream was only a dream.

She had always worked hard. Ever since meeting Rentaro Satomi, every day had been happy, and she hoped those days could go on forever.