The Theft

I'm being so sensitive lately because I've been thinking about dating or marriage.

Was she so distraught after Cong Yu's words?

Cong Yu wasn't entirely sure, but he felt that if he had the chance later, it would be best to apologize...

This idea persisted until other people entered the hot spring.

"Hello... would you like some drinks?"

The voice that came from behind Cong Yu was that of a young girl, timid and hesitant.

Cong Yu: "..."

But this is clearly a men's hot spring...

The women's bath should be on the other side, separated by a partition. Could it be that this child went to the wrong place, saw my long hair, and thought this was indeed the women's bath?

With this thought in mind, Cong Yu turned her head away.

What came into his view was a little girl with emerald green hair, struggling to hold a plate of sake in her hands.

Judging from the other person's evasive gaze, they probably knew that Cong Yu was male.

Perhaps this is just normal, the service offered when selling alcohol?

Cong Yu himself is not a particularly knowledgeable person, so he was unaware of this, but there is no doubt that he doesn't drink.

Therefore, Cong Yu simply shook her head to indicate her refusal.

"..."

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, guest."

After giving this brief explanation, the emerald green-haired girl quietly left the hot spring area.

After she left, Cong Yu rested her chin on her hand and watched the direction she had gone with great interest.

Of course, it wasn't because of Cong Yu Yuqi Xingyu.

Regardless, Cong Yu isn't that kind of pervert...

"..." In this hot spring, there are two magical powers belonging to magical girls—one of which is Yaochuan Guang, who is soaking in the hot spring next to the wooden plank.

Its magical, sparkling light is very easy to spot.

The other source of magic, which Cong Yu had been paying attention to before, now came from the little girl who had just pushed open the door to sell drinks.

The other person may not even realize that they are actually a magical girl.

As is widely known, magical girls in this world are created when girls of childbearing age are drawn into the "Inner Side" world.

If you're not old enough, either nothing will happen.

Or it could be like the legally-born, pink-haired loli who, due to an incident at a very young age, became unable to grow up and no one wanted her homeroom teacher.

In other words, if Cong Yu's guess is correct.

That little girl with emerald green hair is the victim of the strange incident that Miyamoto Kayoko is concerned about... or at least someone connected to it.

Things seem to be getting interesting.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Theft

"Yawn - the hot springs here are quite comfortable."

Yaochuan Guang, muttering to himself, lay sprawled in the room wearing a bathrobe, looking utterly listless.

"..." Then, as if he had just thought of something, Yaochuan Guang looked at the walls of his room... The walls of this hot spring inn were made of paper.

Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration...

To be precise, it should be called "shoji," which are partition walls, doors, and windows used in many traditional Japan homes.

That is, using wooden strips and paper as walls.

It has many advantages: it's lightweight, allows good light transmission, and has a gentler appearance...

The downside is... the sound insulation is very poor.

"Cong Yu- chan! Cong Yu- chan!!"

Yaochuan Guang shouted at the wall...

"..." After a while, Cong Yu helpless reply came from the other side of the wall, "What are you going to do now?"

"Want--"

"Neuropathy."

Amidst Cong Yu's insults, Yaochuan Guang revealed a satisfied expression.

I feel much better now.

She then put her phone aside, feeling a little sleepy. "Cong Yu- chan, shall we chat and sleep together?"

Cong Yu: "You went to bed unexpectedly early today..."

"Mmm, I got sleepy soaking in the hot spring."

As she said this, Yaochuan Guang yawned, and then, with only a wall separating them, she casually started a conversation. "I wonder how Little Lan is doing in Wind City... whether she's eating properly."

You had so much fun during the day, but you didn't think about Little Lan at all.

Somewhat speechless, Cong Yu smiled and said, "Didn't the manager ask someone else to take care of Lantian Zhu?"

"..." After waiting for a long time, Cong Yu did not receive a response from Yaochuan Guang... It seemed that he had already fallen asleep.

She was the one who suggested chatting, and she was also the one who fell asleep after saying just one sentence.

She'd said everything, both good and bad.

With a slight sigh, Cong Yu gently tugged at the light cord beside her, turning off the light and preparing to get some sleep to welcome tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'll ask Miyamoto Kayoko about the green-haired little girl at the hot spring inn.

With this thought in mind, Cong Yu drifted off to sleep.

--

The following morning.

"..." Amidst the noise outside, Cong Yu, still half-asleep, groggily opened her eyes and rubbed them.

I don't know why it's so noisy outside...

Cong Yu checked her phone and saw that it showed 5:30... It just goes to show that Fusha Village truly lives up to its rural reputation; people's day begins very early.

With that thought in mind, he got dressed, gently pushed open the door, and looked at the people gathered outside arguing about something.

The man in the black suit seemed to be joining in the fun as well.

Seeing Cong Yu come out, she waved to him as a greeting, and then continued to watch the excitement.

Cong Yu could vaguely hear several people being watched discussing something like "thief" or "surveillance camera".

"What happened?"

Cong Yu asked this as she walked over to the man in the black suit, reaching out to tie the ribbon in her ponytail. "Has someone had something stolen?"

The man in the black suit nodded in response to Cong Yu's words, then pointed to a man among the onlookers.

"It seems like his things were stolen."

The man in the black suit was pointing at a man whose face was flushed red as he argued with the owners of the hot spring inn.

"I see..."

Cong Yu nodded, then looked in the direction he was pointing and sized up the angry-looking man.

The other person was an average-looking, short man who looked to be in his thirties or forties... It was hard to say for sure how young he was.

It's possible that, like the man in the black suit, he's someone who looks older than his age.

What's particularly eye-catching is the jade bracelet he's wearing on his wrist... It seems that in Japan, Cong Yu rarely sees anyone wearing jade bracelets.

In comparison, things like glittering gold watches are more common.

Just like the watch on his wrist, gleaming in the sunlight... there's a reason why he looks forty.

However, Cong Yu was somewhat surprised that it wasn't him who was robbed.

"I clearly put the bracelet on my bedside table, but when I woke up, it was gone!"

The man shouted, questioning the owners of the hot spring inn. "I've heard that guests are always losing things here!"

"You must have stolen it!"

Upon hearing the guest's anxious question, the owner of the hot spring inn looked somewhat embarrassed. He smiled apologetically and said, "Well... we do often have guests losing things, but it's really not us."

As the boss spoke, the proprietress chimed in, "That's right... I think there might be Fusha Village, but you can't blame us, husband and wife."

"Yes, we've already called the police for you. We'll have them investigate... If they can't find anything, there's nothing we can do."

"..." It sounds like he simply lost something.

The man, however, was furious and wouldn't let it go. "How can you do this? Don't you have any security cameras here?!"

It's a shame that in a hot spring inn, where everyone is walking around in towels, it would be unreasonable to have security cameras in the corridors.

With this in mind, Cong Yu decided to ignore the farce and started thinking about what to have for breakfast.

However, soon after, several guests who had gone back to their rooms to check on something also rushed out in a hurry...

"My cash is also gone."

"Me too... The ring I brought yesterday, the one I was going to use to propose to Yami, is gone! Damn it!"

"..." Hearing the commotion, the man in the black suit seemed to remember something. He reached into his pocket, then his expression turned grim. "My money too... although I only carry two or three thousand with me."

Looks like everyone's been fooled... What a shrewd thief.

Thinking this through, Cong Yu wasn't worried about being robbed. He was certain that no one had entered his room last night.

After all, Cong Yu believed that

I am someone who has no value to be stolen from.

Perhaps that's why he wasn't robbed.

However, what's rather interesting is...

How did that "thief" begin his crimes, and what methods did he use to determine which people were worth stealing from?

"That's strange... I woke up and my money was gone."

The man in the black suit frowned deeply, a sense of dread creeping over him. "Last night, while I was sleeping, someone sneaked into my room and stole money."

To the man in the black suit who was saying this, Cong Yu crossed his arms and smiled nonchalantly, "That's rather scary... wait a minute."

Thinking of something, Cong Yu frowned and knocked on Yaochuan Guang's door. "Yaochuan Guang, are you awake?"

In response, Yaochuan Guang's voice came from inside the room.

"Hmm, Cong Yu- chan, please come in... It's too noisy outside."

At her voice, Cong Yu opened the door and entered Yaochuan Guang's room, looking at Yaochuan Guang who was rummaging through something.

Is that really the case?

He initially thought Yaochuan Guang hadn't woken up yet, but then he thought about it... Yaochuan Guang's lifestyle was always to go to bed early and get up early.

Because she usually gets up early to make breakfast for Cong Yu and Lantian Zhu.

Cong Yu met Yaochuan Guang's gaze, who was looking at him with hesitation. "Don't tell me your things are gone too."

Yaochuan Guang nodded in agreement.

"Well, after I woke up, I was going to get some money to call you to go have breakfast together... but the money was gone, it was stolen."

Yaochuan Guang frowned, noticing Cong Yu's earlier words, and said, "What do you mean by 'also'? Cong Yu- chan, were your things stolen too?"

However, nothing happened...

This is a bit awkward... Is it true that you only seem to fit in if you've lost something yourself?

Lost in random thoughts, Cong Yu shook her head and explained, "The agent and many guests' belongings were stolen."

Moreover, it's a rather bad situation.