Chapter Nine: Kagekane, Go Look Around for a Bit; We'll Have Hot Pot and Catch Up / Chapter Ten: Eat, Drink, and Head Back to Collect Our Pay-What a Pleasant Day

But cruel reality told her once again that it was impossible. She was a Cursed Child.

Cursed Children had no future.

Little Jeanne patiently tried to comfort Enju. Like an older sister, she spoke words from the heart.

Although Enju still did not speak, Little Jeanne's concern made her feel much better. This friend she had only just met gave her a warm feeling.

Rentaro searched everywhere for Enju, terrified that something might have happened to her. By the time he found her, he was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

When he saw Enju, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried over, hugged her, and kept comforting her.

Enju finally could not hold it in any longer and burst into loud sobs. The two of them embraced tightly.

Hearing Enju crying from afar, Yuxian was relieved. Being able to cry would make her feel much better.

Enju was fortunate to have Rentaro care for and protect her. There were many other Cursed Children like Enju in this world, and their circumstances were even more miserable than hers.

"For the next few days, stay here. Don't go back to the city," Yuxian said as he slowly walked over to them. "Rentaro, if you want Enju to never encounter something like this again, you need to become stronger. Humans, at their core, are creatures who worship strength. If you are strong enough, you can change the rules and change the fate of every Cursed Child here."

Yuxian was not only saying those words to Rentaro, but also to himself.

If everyone from Chaldea were here now, he could teach all the extremists in the Tokyo Area a lesson in minutes.

Rentaro and Enju followed Yuxian's advice and temporarily stayed in the Outer District. There was no shortage of vacant rooms here; they only needed a little tidying before they could move in. The conditions were somewhat poor, but neither of them was picky.

Little Jeanne's performance made everyone see her in a new light. Yuxian praised her, saying, "Jeanne-chan is already a dependable Santa Claus."

After receiving Yuxian's praise, she looked a little embarrassed and repeatedly said that she was still not mature enough, but inwardly, she was delighted.

The Outer District had now been put into perfect order by Atalanta. None of its previous chaos remained, and every Cursed Child was properly cared for.

After learning all this, Rentaro was deeply shocked and admired Atalanta for accomplishing so much in such a short time.

Though they had not known each other for long, Atalanta had won over every child here through her actions. The children all liked her and affectionately called her Sister Atalanta.

The adorable cat ears on her head were especially beloved by the children. Many children eagerly imitated her, and cat-ear accessories had become the most popular items here. Every child hoped to own a pair.

Occasionally, there would be naughty children who wanted to touch Atalanta's ears and verify whether they were real or merely decorations.

She would always notice beforehand and give them a proper lesson.

Over time, whether Sister Atalanta's ears were real or fake became the greatest mystery among the children of the Outer District.

Actually, Yuxian also really wanted to touch Atalanta's ears, but he was afraid of getting beaten up, so he had never found the courage to act on it.

P.S. Summoning Mage, please!!!!

Hiruko, Go Look Around for a While First. We'll Come Over After We Eat Hot Pot.

During Rentaro and Enju's stay in the Outer District, Seitenshi's commission made new progress.

A helicopter landed in an open area of the Outer District.

This was the medical helicopter Kisaragi Tendo had sent. She had truly gone all out for this commission.

After all, she was a member of the Tendo family. She had excellent intelligence channels and could locate the target Gastrea that had swallowed the case before anyone else, gaining the upper hand.

Rentaro and Enju had already boarded the helicopter, and Yuxian was preparing to bring Mash and the others along as well.

Atalanta walked over and asked, "Master, do you need me to come with you? I would have an advantage in the forest."

Yuxian knew the forest was Atalanta's home ground, but he did not think her help would be necessary, so he refused. "Stay here and take care of the children. There are enough of us."

Considering that they would be traveling by helicopter this time, he thought about it and ultimately brought Illya, the Magical Girl who could fly.

Illya was delighted. Since coming to this world, she had never gone out with Yuxian. Now that she finally had a chance to join him, she eagerly jumped onto the helicopter and sat in a row with the three little ones.

When Rentaro saw that Yuxian had actually brought four children, he was stunned. Still, the more people they had, the better their chances of completing the commission, so he had no objections.

The helicopter flew toward the outside of the Monolith barrier. They were already very close to the barrier, and beyond it, there would be many Gastrea roaming about. It would become extremely dangerous.

The target Gastrea soon appeared in everyone's sight.

It was a spider-shaped Gastrea. It had woven wings out of spider silk and was gliding through the air.

The enormous spider was flattened like a parachute, traveling through the sky on the buoyancy of the air.

No wonder it had been able to escape from the city. A spider that could fly looked wrong no matter how one looked at it.

Because Gastrea combined the genes of various organisms, they possessed certain special abilities. Flight was this spider-type Gastrea's special ability.

Before anyone could make a decision, Enju Aihara opened the helicopter door by herself and jumped down from high above.

She was in a bad mood, and this Gastrea happened to become her target for venting.

Enju accurately kicked it in the back. The massive impact sent the Gastrea plummeting straight toward the ground.

Worried about her safety, Rentaro hurriedly had the pilot lower the altitude, then slid down along a rope.

Yuxian secretly shook his head at the two of them acting so recklessly. He said to Illya, "You can fly, so follow them. We'll be there soon."

Illya nodded. She flew out through the cabin door and quickly caught up with Rentaro and Enju.

Only after Yuxian had the helicopter land in a flat area did he lead Mash and the three little ones toward them on foot.

Enju Aihara's attacks were fierce and violent. The Gastrea was utterly unable to fight back and was quickly eliminated. The case fell out of its body.

By the time Yuxian and the others arrived, she was hugging Rentaro and crying, while the mission item worth one billion yen had been tossed aside.

When Yuxian saw the case, his eyes lit up. One billion yen was within reach, and he stepped forward to pick it up.

Just then, Hiruko Kagetane appeared and took the case before Yuxian could.

"Thank you for your hard work. That concludes the job." With that, he leaped backward, distancing himself from everyone, then darted toward the depths of the forest and quickly vanished from sight.

Only then did Rentaro react and hurriedly move to chase after him.

Yuxian stopped him. "No need to rush. He'll come back."

Yuxian was determined to obtain this commission, so how could he possibly let Hiruko Kagetane take advantage of it?

On the way here, he had secretly instructed Gretel to guard against this possibility.

This forest was no longer an ordinary forest. It was now the Nameless Forest.

With her Territory Creation, Gretel could deploy the Nameless Forest, a Bounded Field that could weaken the enemy's existence.

With Hiruko Kagetane's abilities, there was absolutely no way he could pass through this forest. In the end, he could only return here.

Yuxian was in no hurry. He would let Hiruko Kagetane wander around this forest to his heart's content first.

He called out to everyone, "Why don't we light a campfire here and sit down to wait?"

Hearing Yuxian say that, the little ones enthusiastically began collecting dry firewood, preparing for a pleasant campfire picnic.

Rentaro did not know what was going on and anxiously said, "If we don't chase them now, they'll get too far away!"

Yuxian reassured him, "Relax, relax. I said they'll come back, and they definitely will. Come help us start the fire."

Then he waved at Enju nearby. "Enju-chan, come join everyone too."

Rentaro was still anxious, but seeing Yuxian's confident expression, he hesitantly came over to help.

There was no shortage of wood in the forest, and before long, everyone's efforts successfully lit a small bonfire half a meter tall.

Everyone sat around the fire. Gretel happily sat upright on the ground, repeatedly saying, "Tea party! Tea party!"

No one knew where she got it from, but she took out a teapot, then several beautiful mugs. She filled them one by one and handed them out to everyone.

Enju curiously ran over and crouched beside Gretel, looking left and right, trying to figure out where she had conjured all those things from.

Yuxian took a sip of the tea Gretel had brewed, then looked around as if searching for something and regretfully said, "Ah, what a waste of such a big bonfire. If only we had something to grill."

Seeing his exaggerated expression, Mash gave him a helpless yet amused smack.

Little Jeanne awkwardly took out some food. She had secretly stashed it away after buying it at the shopping mall last time.

But how could she possibly hide it from Yuxian? He had known about it long ago and had merely deliberately chosen not to expose her.

"Ah! Jeanne-chan, you're so sneaky. You hid so much delicious food."

"I didn't! Master promised Jack we'd go eat hot pot, but then we never went. I was going to make hot pot for Jack with this, not secretly save it for myself."

Little Jeanne hurriedly defended herself. She really had not hidden it away for herself to eat.

Yuxian was stunned when he heard that. If Little Jeanne had not mentioned it, he would have forgotten all about it.

"Hot pot? Hot pot!" Jack, the person involved, tilted her head in confusion. Only after being reminded did she cheer excitedly.

Even though Jack herself did not remember it, Yuxian still felt deeply guilty. He had clearly made a promise, yet had not taken it to heart and had cast his own words aside. He needed to reflect on himself.

He reached out and pulled Little Jeanne into his arms, resting his chin on top of her head as he smiled. "Jeanne-chan really is my thoughtful little darling."

"Th-the tea is spilling!" Yuxian's sudden movement caught Little Jeanne off guard. She nearly lost her grip on the teacup in her hand, but after fumbling in a panic, she finally managed to hold it steady without overturning it.

"In that case, let's make hot pot right now!"

This was the perfect chance to make up for the hot pot meal he owed them.

No sooner said than done, a large iron pot was soon set over the bonfire.

Although Gretel was unhappy that the tea party had been canceled, she still cooperatively provided all sorts of utensils.

Jack was overjoyed and fought to help, but Yuxian hurriedly pulled her away. If he really let her help, they definitely would not get to eat this hot pot.

He and Mash handled the preparations, while everyone else was strictly forbidden from coming near.

Yuxian was responsible for mixing the sauce, while Mash was responsible for putting the food into the pot to cook. Their duties were clear, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

Before long, a delicious hot pot appeared before everyone.

Hot pot was the kind of food that tasted better the more people there were. Everyone scrambled to eat, not even caring that it was hot, afraid that if they fell behind even a little, everything would be gone.

As Illya ate, she complained, "So following Master is this wonderful. I don't care, I want to be with everyone every day from now on too."

Rentaro said with a complicated expression, "Weren't we supposed to be completing a commission? How did we suddenly start eating hot pot?"

While Rentaro was speaking, Enju took advantage of his inattention and snatched a large piece of beef from his bowl, slurping it into her mouth.

Rentaro cried out, "Enju! My beef!"

Enju pretended to be confused. "Huh? Rentaro's beef is gone? Oh dear, Rentaro must be so tired that he's hallucinating."

Rentaro was speechless. He immediately decided not to think about it anymore and rushed to grab the beef from the pot first.

Just as everyone was eating with great enthusiasm, two figures slowly emerged from the forest.

After Hiruko Kagetane and Kohina had traveled through the Nameless Forest for a while, they finally realized something was wrong. They were trapped and could not leave the forest, so they had no choice but to return here again.

Yuxian glanced at them without stopping his chopsticks and leisurely said, "Want some? It tastes pretty good."

Hiruko Kagetane understood that Yuxian's fearless demeanor, even sitting there eating hot pot, meant he had clearly anticipated that they would return.

Although he did not understand what method Yuxian had used, he knew blindly charging around would not work. He simply accepted Yuxian's invitation, scooped himself a bowl from the pot, sat with his back to everyone on the other side, and slowly began eating.

Kohina was sulking unhappily, glaring at Jack without saying anything.

Jack noticed her gaze, raised the bowl in her hands, and called out to her from afar, "It's really good."

After saying that, she buried her head back in her bowl, getting stains all over her face.

After eating and drinking their fill, Yuxian flopped onto the ground without caring about his image. An open-air hot pot in the wilderness had its own special flavor, and he had unknowingly eaten a little too much.

Hiruko Kagetane put his mask back on and calmly asked, "Yuxian-kun, what will it take for you to let us leave?"

Yuxian pointed at the case beside him. "Leave that behind, and you can leave this place."

Yuxian's goal had always been that case. He wanted to obtain it and exchange it for the reward.

As for Hiruko Kagetane, as long as he knew what was good for him, Yuxian did not want to bother with him.

"Since Yuxian-kun wants it, I'll leave it to you." Hiruko Kagetane agreed very readily, as if the case did not matter to him at all.

Yuxian blinked, surprised that he had obtained the case so easily. Still, as long as the result was good, that was enough. He did not think further about it.

Hiruko Kagetane and Kohina left once more. This time, they quickly made their way out of the forest.