The shopkeeper did not answer the three maids. Instead, she looked at Seele... and Asou Yuna with a smile.
"Of course not. Hasn't Seele said it several times already? Such good black tea—I don't want to drink it only once."
Of course, Seele understood what the shopkeeper meant.
It was merely a straightforward warning. Although Seele did not care much, she truly had no other intentions.
"Itstuten..."
Ignoring everyone else, Seele curiously looked at the girl before her.
Legend had it that Itstuten was a sinister bird yokai transformed from the souls of buried dead. It had a human face, bird wings, and a snake's body.
Itstuten often appeared in years when plagues ran rampant. It was accustomed to moving about at night and resting in bird nests during the day. At night, it circled above the capital. When it appeared, dark clouds obscured the moon, and its cries sounded like the words, "How long can it last?" When it cried, flames spewed from its mouth, and its voice came with lightning. Its calls startled the clouds and woke the sleeping; everyone who heard them was filled with dread.
It was called Itsutsube because its cry sounded like the Japanese phrase "itsumade," meaning "until when."
Although it never attacked humans, its terrifying cries and the flames it spat from its mouth still frightened people.
"You're Itstuten?"
"Yes."
Yitian no longer tried to hide it at this point.
"Since this is a maid café, you should have games where maids play with customers, right?"
Seele suddenly recalled one of the little games found in maid cafés: playing simple, fun games together with the maids.
Seele had not been interested before, but... faced with a beautiful yokai maid, she found herself somewhat intrigued.
"Yes, Master. What would you like to