Jilan House

Camie Utsushimi knelt on the floor without answering him. She leisurely brewed herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and closed her eyes to savor it for a while before setting the cup down in satisfaction.

"This is Chinese Biluochun. It smells fresh and fragrant, but there's a hint of bitterness in the mouth, followed by sweetness. It really is good tea. You have good taste."

Jilan Jiyu calmly watched her act like a master tea taster, sneering inwardly.

Go on, keep pretending. Who knows which corner of the room you dug that old stuff out of? I bought those cheap tea leaves from the owner of a Chinese restaurant, hoping to sell them to some fools who didn't know any better. They barely have any flavor, so where did all those impressions come from? Biluochun, my ass. It's just some lousy tea in Biluochun packaging.

Jilan Jiyu didn't spoil her fun. Seeing that there really was a large cover on the dining table to keep the food warm, he got up, picked up the ingredients he had left by the door, and put them in the fridge. Someone had come to his house and cooked for free, so he might as well eat.

Jilan Jiyu sat down at the table, put his palms together, and murmured, "Itadakimasu," before lifting the cover.

Inasa Yoarashi often brought food his mother made at home to share with him, and he was used to Jilan Jiyu ignoring him like this. He cheerfully went to the kitchen for a bowl and chopsticks, then sat down beside Jilan Jiyu.

Seeing this, Camie Utsushimi dropped the act too. She abandoned her teacup and crawled over on her hands and knees—her legs had gone a little numb from sitting too long.

"This took me a long time to make." She settled down across from Jilan Jiyu, served herself a bowl of rice, and said with a grin, "It's to celebrate you finishing your exam, future hero~"

"Thanks," Jilan Jiyu said mildly. He still didn't know how he had done. Although he felt fairly confident, something could always go wrong. Right now, he was worried that U.A. High School might question his actions when he defeated the robots.

Camie Utsushimi had made curry rice, a common dish in this country. The taste was perfectly fine, just ordinary, but she had drawn a smiley face on every serving.

She looks like the mature older-sister type, but she still has a childlike side.

After finishing the last of his miso soup in one gulp, Jilan Jiyu silently got up and went to the corner of the room to put away the revision materials piled there. The exam was over, and it was time to put away these things from middle school.

Although he had been busy revising, Jilan Jiyu was a little obsessive about tidiness and had kept everything neatly arranged. Putting it all away now wouldn't take long.

Camie Utsushimi came over and took a book from Jilan Jiyu's hand. "So you like reading this kind of book... 1984?"

"I read when I have time." Jilan Jiyu put his textbooks in a box, sealed it with tape, and prepared to put it in the storage room.

By the time he returned, she had tossed the book onto the floor and was sitting in front of the TV playing a game with Inasa Yoarashi. Jilan Jiyu glanced over. It was Tekken, a classic fighting game.

She held the controller intently, her fingers moving nimbly, while Inasa Yoarashi wore a pained expression beside her, seemingly locked in a tough battle.

Jilan Jiyu wasn't surprised by the result at all. Inasa Yoarashi was too straightforward and was completely hopeless at games, but he never tired of challenging Jilan Jiyu. Maybe he was the type who hated to lose.

Jilan Jiyu wasn't good at entertaining people. In his previous life, he had been the type who didn't bring others home. Although Inasa Yoarashi often came over in this life, he was the sort who could entertain himself and never felt awkward whether his host was around or not.

Maybe Inasa Yoarashi had taken that into consideration and pulled her into a game so Jilan Jiyu wouldn't have to waste brain cells dealing with her.

I think Inasa Yoarashi brought this PS4 over too... I wonder why he doesn't want to stay at his own place and keeps coming here to play games...

Normally, Jilan Jiyu might have sat nearby and watched with his head propped on his hand, but he was a little too tired today. It wasn't physical; he just felt drained after using Hamon to heal people constantly and couldn't muster any energy.

Inasa Yoarashi had already cleared away the dishes. Jilan Jiyu said something to them, and Inasa Yoarashi said he understood. He told Jilan Jiyu there was no need to see them out when they left and that he should just rest.

Camie Utsushimi, of course, wasn't about to let it go. She had finally gotten the chance to come over, so how could he leave a guest outside his room? It never occurred to her that their host had no intention of entertaining them.

But Inasa Yoarashi grabbed her and turned to say something to her with a serious expression. She relented with a pout, then waved Jilan Jiyu away in disgust, motioning for him to hurry off.

Jilan Jiyu trusted Yoarashi. He would definitely keep an eye on her and not let her do anything out of line. There was nothing to worry about, so he washed up and went into the inner room.

The house was a traditional one. Jilan Jiyu's adoptive parents had been traditional Japanese people and hadn't installed much modern equipment in the rooms. Although there was air conditioning and a television, they had never had beds. Jilan Jiyu hadn't changed the habit after they passed away, simply laying a mattress on the tatami to sleep.

Jilan Jiyu closed the door and locked it, then walked over to the cabinet beside his desk, which was covered with a cloth, and lifted the cloth.

Hands.

A row of slender women's hands stood on the cabinet's second shelf.

They were pale, without a trace of color, as though they had been preserved in formalin, and as exquisite as works of art.

If those two came in and saw this, they'd definitely suspect there was something wrong with me, wouldn't they?

Jilan had once seriously told Inasa Yoarashi that his bedroom was secured with a special lock and that only he could open it with his key. If anyone else opened the door, they would be blown to ashes.

It looked like Yoarashi had listened carefully and hadn't let that woman, whose intentions were unclear, come in.

"Do I only feel comfortable in this kind of setting? I really am a pervert..." Jilan Jiyu touched one of the hands and placed it against his cheek. "Much as I hate to admit it, I'm becoming more and more like him..."

All along, Jilan Jiyu had felt that another soul had taken up residence inside him, influencing his every move in a devilish voice. The feeling grew stronger every time he used Killer Queen. It wasn't very obvious, but it was undeniably there.

He wanted to be a hero not only because he had been moved by All Might's spirit, but also because he wanted to meet more Pro Heroes. Perhaps he would find a way to deal with this influence. After all, "Killer Queen" was only a Quirk. There were no Stands, those unscientific creations, nor was there Bites the Dust, which could reverse time. Quirks stronger than his were everywhere.

Oh, he had forgotten to mention it. These hands all came from life-sized silicone dolls Jilan Jiyu had bought with money earned from part-time jobs over the years. After removing their hands, he had listed the dolls cheaply on a secondhand website.

Although dolls without arms looked a little odd, Jilan Jiyu had originally only wanted to sell the things he wouldn't use to recoup some of the cost. But for some reason, they had been unexpectedly popular.

Jilan Jiyu had sold a lot of them and had a discerning eye, buying products of high quality that looked very realistic. The products he sold were also basically in their original condition. As a result, he had gained a good reputation on the site, and many people had even messaged him privately to reserve them.

But Jilan Jiyu didn't quite understand. Were they all perverts who liked having these armless dolls as bedmates? Or was imperfection a kind of beauty too, and did they have an eye for it?

"Ah, come to think of it, I've spent all my money on these things. I still need to save up for tuition next."

Jilan Jiyu laid one of the hands over his face and lay down on the floor. The sensation against his cheek was much like someone gently stroking him.

Jilan Jiyu closed his eyes like that and stopped thinking.