Kurumi, Your Younger Self Is Just Too Cute

Her earlier treat had nearly emptied all of Huanyue's money.

As a Spirit who had only recently manifested in this world, how could she possibly have an impressive income?

But Spirits did not need to eat, so the remaining money was just enough to buy drinks—two bottles of strawberry-grapefruit-radish sparkling juice.

She did not complain about the bizarre combination in the drink. After all, the coins in her pocket could only afford these. There was nothing to be picky about.

Bending slightly, Qian Huanyue took the two bottles from the vending machine. She did not immediately pull open the tabs, instead sitting casually on one side of the bench.

"Would you like to have a drink with me?" Qian Huanyue turned her gaze aside and smiled toward the shadow in the corner.

"Oh my~ I've been discovered."

From the darkness, a girl dressed in a black-and-crimson Gothic Spirit Dress slowly emerged from the shadows. Her night-colored hair was tied into two asymmetrical ponytails. She had mismatched eyes—her right eye was blood-red, while her left was a clock eye set with a golden clock face.

"Heh~ You weren't hiding yourself either." Qian Huanyue smiled faintly. With Spiritual Particles this dense in the air, she was practically a light bulb in the darkness. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at Kurumi, her heart leaping with joy.

It really was Kurumi! She's so cute!

In high spirits, Qian Huanyue handed over the other bottle. The vending machine's cooling function had left the drink giving off a chill, with a faint white mist rising from its surface.

Kurumi froze slightly and instinctively accepted the icy drink. This was not what she had expected... There was no wary interrogation, no tense confrontation with weapons drawn. It seemed her counterpart was even less vigilant toward her own kind than she had imagined.

"Oh my~"

Kurumi used her signature verbal tic to conceal that fleeting moment of being caught off guard. Her golden clock eye narrowed slightly, revealing a trace of genuine curiosity. "How surprising, Miss Spirit. Aren't you curious about my appearance?"

"Curious?" With a click, Qian Huanyue pulled open the tab on her own bottle and took a sip. The complex flavor—sweet and sour, with a subtle vegetable-like taste—made her wrinkle her nose slightly, though she quickly relaxed again. "More than that, I want to know your name."

She shook the drink can in her hand, its icy touch spreading across her fingertips. "After all, inviting someone for a drink without knowing her name feels like something is missing."

Kurumi stared at Qian Huanyue's cloudless smile. Her expression paused for an instant as she gently rubbed the cold can, a meaningful curve rising at her lips.

"Kurumi Tokisaki—this is my name. Then who might you be, this generous and unusual young lady?"

"My name is Qian Huanyue."

Are you planning to eat me, Kurumi?

"However," Kurumi leaned closer, her blood-red right eye meeting Qian Huanyue's gaze, her voice carrying a dangerously seductive note, "after exchanging names... are you sure you aren't worried about what I might do to you? For example... eat you?"

After Kurumi said those rather suggestive words, the silver-haired girl before her predictably blushed. Her eyes turned moist as she stammered,

"...E-eat me?"

"Is... is that what I think it means? Ah, um... we've only just met... Although you're very pretty, isn't this... a little too fast...?"

Qian Huanyue's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. Her cheeks were crimson, and her eyes were moist and flustered like those of a startled deer. Every detail perfectly embodied what it meant to be "pure and innocent."

Qian Huanyue was acting. She simply wanted to see whether the other girl would make the expression she wanted to see.

This Kurumi's composed expression finally cracked.

Huh?

The "eat" she meant was not that kind of "eat"! This had completely veered off the track she had envisioned!

If [the original] had been here, she might have keenly noticed the flicker of mischief in Qian Huanyue's eyes beneath that perfect disguise. But the one present now was a clone, and she was ultimately far too young.

The young Kurumi clone was caught completely off guard by this overly straightforward "misunderstanding." A rare flash of genuine panic crossed her strange mismatched eyes, and her formerly effortless aura stiffened for a moment.

She even instinctively leaned back slightly, putting a little distance between them. Her fingers tightened unconsciously around the icy drink can.

Annoyed, she thought that if [the original] were here, even if she had not seen through Qian Huanyue's act, she would surely have steered the conversation back onto the dangerous track she controlled without changing expression. Or she might have turned the tables with even more ambiguous words. That was the poise of someone weathered by experience.

Pfft!

Qian Huanyue kept laughing secretly to herself. What an interesting reaction. Could she be a clone? That inexperienced feeling is so cute.

At that moment, the little clone could only stare at Qian Huanyue's seemingly utterly innocent eyes, momentarily at a loss for words.

What exactly is wrong with this Spirit?

"Oh my... you..." Kurumi's clone tried to regain her composure, but then deflated again. She could clearly feel a wave of displeasure coming from the original's shadow beneath her feet, as if it were reproaching her for her immaturity.

She sighed softly. "In any case, that isn't what I meant."

It was obvious Kurumi was getting flustered. She had even forgotten to use her usual verbal tic.

The blush faded from Qian Huanyue's face, replaced by a perfectly timed look of confusion and puzzlement.

"Miss Kurumi means it isn't that kind of 'eating,' but the more literal kind that might hurt a little, right?"

She made an "ahm" motion at the air, her eyes full of I'm helping explain it for you.

"To be precise, I want to absorb the Spiritual Power within you." Kurumi's clone finally regained some of her rhythm and brought the topic back on track. Though her tone still carried a trace of earlier embarrassment, her gaze sharpened once more, her blood-red right eye locking onto Qian Huanyue.

"Okay." Qian Huanyue agreed without hesitation, so quickly that Kurumi thought she had misheard. She even extended her free hand forward in a clear go ahead gesture, her eyes open and calm. "How does Kurumi want to absorb it?"

The one before me has to be a clone, right? My Spiritual Power is abundant, so giving her some won't be a problem. It'll recover on its own afterward. If this little Kurumi doesn't achieve her goal, she might get scolded by her other [selves], or perhaps [the original], in the clone space.

That would be better avoided. She already looks troubled enough.

"..."

Kurumi's clone was completely stunned. It was as though her brain had crashed. None of the wariness, resistance, or bargaining she had expected appeared. She was utterly bewildered.

"You..." Kurumi struggled to speak, opening her mouth only to find herself unable to form a single coherent sentence. The sharpness in her scarlet right eye was replaced by immense confusion. "Do you know what it means for your Spiritual Power to be absorbed? You'll become weak. You might even..."

"Mhm, I know." Qian Huanyue nodded, her expression still relaxed. "But if a friend needs it, it's fine to share some."

"..."

It was as if three crows flew through the air.

"...Do you even know what you're saying, Miss Qian Huanyue?"

"I mean, I want to become friends with you."

Qian Huanyue answered as if it were only natural.

"...?"

"Kurumi was the one who made the request first, yet Kurumi is also the one who suddenly fell silent." Qian Huanyue puffed out her cheeks in an unhappy expression at first, but then deflated like a punctured balloon. Looking at Kurumi's face full of question marks, she finally could not help but burst out laughing.

"Ha... hahahaha!" She laughed so hard she bent forward and backward, her silver hair trembling merrily in the night breeze.

Kurumi stood there in a daze, staring blankly at Qian Huanyue as she laughed uncontrollably.

Is this girl making fun of me?

But—

She realized that she... did not seem to dislike that kind of laughter. Or rather, she did not dislike the feeling of closeness between people.

Qian Huanyue's bright, radiant smile made Kurumi think instinctively of her former dear friend—Sawa Yamauchi.

The pain of having been deceived by the First Spirit and accidentally killing her dear friend rose up once again.

Yet immediately afterward, an unusual warmth soothed it, brought by the genuine laughter before her.

"Here, Kurumi. Consider this the price of friendship. Hurry and become my friend."

Ever since arriving in this world, Qian Huanyue had realized during her first battle that she might be very strong.

At the very least, she seemed to have more Spiritual Power than she could ever use up.

Kurumi had made her very, very happy. What was wrong with giving her some Spiritual Power? Later, when Kurumi wanted to eat Shido, she could just stop her. Kurumi probably would not get that angry, right?