Tokyo, Japan.
If ordinary adults went to Japan, they would probably visit places like Hokkaido or Mount Fuji, then spend their vacation eating and drinking.
Of course, some seasoned veterans who had watched countless films might also visit certain indescribable filming locations. They might even curiously enter places like Kabukicho, searching for fragments buried deep in their memories. But as for that... hehehe, it would bankrupt you!
But if they were otaku—or people like Li Mo's generation, who had grown up steeped in Japanese anime—there was one place they would absolutely visit after coming to Japan. That was—
Akihabara!
This place was packed with countless two-dimensional shops and merchandise from every anime imaginable!
And so, Li Mo came...
Ignoring Sakuragi's constant muttering of things like, "Didn't we agree to go to my family estate?" Li Mo stood at the entrance to Akihabara Street and fell into deep thought as he stared at the desolate scene ahead.
I was wrong. I was truly wrong... It was 1987!
Akihabara did not have anything yet. Japan was still merely a country that exported certain indescribable films, and anime had only just begun to take off here...
Then should I go watch the filming of some indescribable movie?
"Peh, peh, peh..." Li Mo gritted his teeth, declaring that he was not that kind of person!
Still, since they were already in Tokyo, why not have some fun?
It was the New Year, people died, they were already here, life was hard, they were still kids, they were getting old, it was for their own good, and they should just get used to it!
After considering the eight great excuses passed down by the ancient Eastern nation, Li Mo felt that he ought to look around some more. After all...
They were already here, weren't they?
He turned around and asked, "What is fun to do in Tokyo?"
Sakuragi looked utterly baffled.
Bro, my home is in Hokkaido. You insisted on buying tickets to Tokyo, and now you were asking me what was fun to do in Tokyo?
Come on, we were magi, okay!
What magi did was not called having fun. It was called traveling!
Shaking his head, Sakuragi said solemnly, "No idea..."
Damn it...
Li Mo kicked a soda bottle by the roadside flying. Who said Japanese people all had great manners?
"Since we're already here, you should at least know what good food there is around here, right?"
Since there was nothing to do, as a foodie born in the great Celestial Empire, Li Mo figured he should at least eat his way through everything first.
He had been craving seafood for ages. Where would London in 1987 have that stuff?
Even if it did, it would not be fresh!
"Yes!" At the mention of food, Sakuragi suddenly perked up.
"Eel rice, sushi, tuna sashimi, Australian lobster sashimi, sea urchin sashimi, geoduck sashimi..."
Li Mo's face darkened. Why was it all sashimi? Why not mention large intestine sashimi while he was at it?
And since when was Australian lobster a specialty of this lousy island nation? Could it be that the habits of some cosmic superpower had been passed on by them?
"Stop!" Li Mo raised a hand to signal that Sakuragi could stop, then a mischievous grin suddenly appeared on his face as he said:
"Even though you recommended so many things, I still want to ask: does Tokyo have mala tang?"
Sakuragi: ???
After I said all that, you suddenly asked whether there was mala tang? Then why did you ask me in the first place?
Tokyo did not have mala tang, only oden.
Naturally, roadside stalls were beneath Li Mo's notice, so Sakuragi led him out of Akihabara, wandered around for a while, and found a self-serve conveyor-belt restaurant.
It was not really that roadside stalls were beneath Li Mo's notice. It was just that this was the island nation...
The material leaked from the Fukushima nuclear power plant had all flowed into the sea. Who knew whether the food from those roadside stalls carried nuclear radiation?
The two found a corner and began their self-sufficient feast.
Sakuragi picked up a plate of sushi. His weathered face suddenly turned toward Li Mo, and he asked with a complicated expression, "Mō-san, are all Clock Tower students like you?"
In truth, from the moment Li Mo projected the sun, Sakuragi had begun to wonder whether he had gone to a fake Clock Tower back then!
Otherwise, they were both students from the Clock Tower, so why was Li Mo so absurdly impressive?
"Could it be because I'm a magus from a remote region of the Far East, and the things taught at the Clock Tower are all low-level?" Sakuragi deeply doubted it.
Umm...
Li Mo was speechless. Had this guy not spent several years at the Clock Tower?
"Why ask that? Was it because of your looks? Did someone stop you from entering the Clock Tower back then?" Li Mo set down his glass of juice and asked.
Japanese restaurants did not serve alcohol to minors, so Li Mo could only drink juice.
"Uh... because... well... Is your strength because of the Lord who gave me the commission?" Sakuragi stammered, finally managing to form a complete sentence.
After all, he had only known Li Mo for a few days. Asking about someone's lineage as a disciple was... not exactly easy to bring up.
"Yeah." Li Mo had no such reservations and said directly, "Brishisan is my teacher. I learned most of my magecraft from him."
Oh, no—he was his stepfather now... Or rather, his godfather?
Sakuragi was relieved. Since he really was a Lord's disciple, it was perfectly normal for him to possess such strength. There was nothing more to say.
But seriously... he was so envious!
Thinking of his own family's scant population, then of their inheritance consisting solely of necromancy, Sakuragi could only feel that being born well was far too unfair...
You stirred up waves and hurt me~
Fortunately, Li Mo's next words gave Sakuragi some comfort. "Are you asking about the families of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower?"
Seizing the moment, Li Mo reached over and took a serving of sashimi from the conveyor belt before explaining, "Actually, the twelve Clock Tower families are not all that amazing. After all, where there are the excellent, there are also the inferior."
"And the people in those families may not necessarily have better lives than you."
"For example, Bartholomello, the foremost of the Three Great Aristocratic Families. In their family, one can only leave the family estate after becoming a full-fledged magus. As for those without talent, they can only remain in the Bartholomello manor for their entire lives."
"Then there is the Ulysses family of the Spiritual Evocation Department. Every generation's Lord is selected from among the branch families."
"Why not choose directly from the main family? Because of strength, of course. Whoever is strongest takes the position!"
Li Mo picked up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. As he chewed, he continued, "So don't assume they are truly that powerful just because their strength is great. They are merely the representatives selected from among everyone in their families. Who knows how many useless people are still in those families!"
"...What about you?" Sakuragi scratched his head, feeling that something was off.
Weren't we talking about you? How did this turn into a discussion about other families?
"Are you the strongest among Brishisan's family's younger generation?" Sakuragi's face twisted with hesitation, and his gaze toward Li Mo suddenly became somewhat evasive.
I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it...
With your completely Eastern appearance, I can't help feeling that Lord has a little green on his head.
"Me?" Li Mo suddenly understood.
"I used to be just an ordinary person. Brishisan brought me back to the Clock Tower only half a year ago."
"Though I am now my teacher's stepson."
Before you continue