Chapter 104: Candidate for New Member, The Converter of Evil Spirit Power
Sakurajima Mai felt vigilant.
Futaba Rio frowned slightly.
Yotsuya Miko sighed deeply.
The great Yui Yuigahama-sama was enjoying her delicious bento.
"Eh, Yoru~"
Kitagawa Marin saw Yoru sitting by the window of the clubroom, waved happily, walked in quickly, and smiled prettily.
"Promised to discuss Cosplay with you guys, so I grabbed a rice ball and rushed over."
"Please sit."
"Okay."
After Marin sat down, Yoru looked up and suddenly extended his hand.
"On your face."
Before Marin could react, Yoru picked off a grain of rice stuck near the corner of her mouth.
Seeing this, Rio's face changed, and she hurriedly spoke.
"Eh, you can't..."
Yoru took out a tissue with his left hand and wiped the grain of rice off his right index finger.
Then, he looked at Rio and asked in confusion.
"Can't what?"
Rio opened her mouth and muttered softly.
"I thought... you were going to eat that grain of rice smoothly."
"How smooth would that have to be to do something so outrageous?"
Yoru rolled his eyes, speechless at this remark.
Marin beside him also blushed slightly, unsure if she was embarrassed because of the rice grain on her mouth or shy because Yoru wiped it off with his hand.
Seeing the somewhat subtle atmosphere in the clubroom, Rio coughed twice and changed the subject.
"This... is Kitagawa Marin-san, right? I am Futaba Rio from Class 1-D. Nice to meet you, please take care of me."
Hearing Rio's self-introduction, Marin looked pleasantly surprised.
"So you are Futaba-san; finally met you in person."
"Hmm?"
Rio looked puzzled.
"Am I famous?"
"Not really."
Marin waved her hand with a smile.
"It's just that Little Hana once said in class that your Supernatural Quantum Mechanics Investigation and Research Club isn't as eccentric as rumored outside, and the members are actually very friendly and good people."
Little Hana referred to by Marin was naturally their classmate Yurikawa Hana.
With Hana's innocent, dazed, yet very gentle and kind personality, after receiving help from the Super-Quant Club, she certainly wouldn't allow others to say in front of her that the Super-Quant Club was a strange club formed by a group of weirdos.
"Is that so."
Rio nodded noncommittally. She first glanced at Yoru sitting by the window, then turned her gaze back to the smiling Marin in front of her. Finally, she gritted her teeth, made up her mind, and went straight to the point.
"Kitagawa-san."
"What is it, Futaba-san?"
"I..."
Rio blushed, biting her lower lip lightly.
"My breasts are too big. If I want to play Cosplay, is there any way to solve this problem?"
"Ah, oh, oh..."
Marin didn't expect that the first topic of discussing Cosplay would be so explosive.
Immediately after, she smiled nonchalantly and spoke gently.
"Sigh, Futaba-san, you don't need to be embarrassed. This is a problem many cosplayers encounter; nothing to be awkward about."
Marin glanced at Rio wearing a lab coat.
"Futaba-san, why don't you take off your coat first? This problem shouldn't be difficult..."
Just as Marin was halfway through, Rio had already taken off the lab coat.
This moment was simply like lifting a seal.
Marin opened her mouth slightly, looking shocked.
Good grief.
This is not inferior to Little Hana at all.
The problem...
Seems a bit too big.
After freezing for a moment, Marin reacted and spoke hurriedly.
"Actually, it's fine. I've seen tutorials online that can achieve the effect of completely covering it up no matter how big it is."
"Online?"
Seeing Rio frowning slightly, Marin felt very ashamed.
"Actually... I haven't really participated in Cosplay either, just learned some about it online...."
Speaking towards the end, Marin's voice became smaller and smaller.
She was really too ashamed.
She boasted about discussing Cosplay together.
Result: Faced with Rio's first question, she couldn't give a definite answer.
Truly disappointing.
Thinking of this, before others could speak, Marin stood up abruptly, clenched her fist, and vowed to Rio.
"Futaba-san, don't worry. I'll go check information online again. Next time... no, when I come tomorrow, I'll bring tools and definitely solve your trouble!"
After saying that, Marin turned and left the clubroom.
Watching her back, Rio shook her head helplessly, but at the same time, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up.
This Kitagawa Marin-san seems like a nice person.
At least unlike most students, she didn't make any harsh comments about my figure exceeding peers, and sounded sincerely willing to help.
Identification complete: New collaborator.
After Marin the outsider walked away, Yoru moved his chair to the table. Watching the members enjoying the bentos made by Mai personally, he also opened his own bento box.
No ketchup pattern drawn into a heart shape, just an ordinary, nutritionally balanced, and delicious-looking bento.
"Eat while I speak."
Yoru picked up a cherry tomato with chopsticks and put it in his mouth, speaking slowly.
"What is the frequency of 'Doors' appearing now roughly?"
Hearing his question, Chief Investigator of the Super-Quant Club, Miko, replied immediately.
"According to the intelligence provided by Tamamo-no-Mae and the investigation by Rio and me, 'Doors' in Kyoto now appear roughly once every week to ten days, and the danger level is gradually decreasing."
Yui listened by the side and smiled sweetly.
"Then we can rest more in the future and go shopping together often."
"Don't relax yet."
Yoru spoke slowly.
"Although the frequency of 'Doors' appearing has decreased, no one knows if more bizarre things will appear in this world in the future."
"Improving strength still cannot be relaxed."
"First task..."
Speaking of this, Yoru paused, looking at the four Super-Quant Club members in front of him, and an external member, Hachishaku-sama, who was shrinking in the corner playing with her fingers.
"Can we think of a way to get some parts for making firearms?"
Hearing this, Rio's face changed.
"What do you want to do?"
"Make a few guns. I don't need them myself, but can leave them for you for self-defense."
"Guns? Leaving aside whether it's convenient to carry, no one knows how to assemble them."
Yoru smiled nonchalantly upon hearing this.
"I didn't know before, but I know now."
Rio, Yui, Miko, Mai: ....
What else can we say?
You win.
Rio pondered for a moment, pursing her lips.
"Even if just parts, control is strict. Even if we can get them, we can't determine if the channel is trustworthy. Attracting police attention for making a few pistols for self-defense isn't worth the loss."
"True, then talk about this later."
Yoru nodded in agreement, then spoke again.
"Rio and Miko, which one of you is free after school today? I need help with something; one person is enough."
Rio and Miko looked at each other. The former pushed her glasses and said calmly.
"I need to organize the information collected during spring break today, and also want to go to the library to check materials related to Quantum Mechanics. Let Miko go."
"Okay, then it's decided."
At this time, Rio didn't realize yet.
What she had missed.
"Next, the last question."
"We need a new collaborator. Not external collaborators like Kitagawa Marin or Oda Noto, but an internal member who possesses power and can provide help when fighting evil spirits."
Yoru's question made the members hesitate, not knowing how to answer.
Excluding Mai and Yui, the two ordinary people.
The Super-Quant Club members who truly possessed combat power when facing evil spirits were only Yoru, Miko, and Rio.
The key was, the gap in combat power between members was a bit too large.
Yoru was too invincible. So far, he hadn't encountered an evil spirit that could harm him or even make him use his full strength.
But Miko and Rio's combat power was considered the same level.
Acting together, they were enough to solve S-rank "Doors," but with certain risks.
And without Yoru's company, although they could enter the Otherworld, they couldn't move freely in the Otherworld full of evil spirits, let alone let Hyakume and Hone-Onna devour evil spirits to level up.
Leveling up not fast enough meant insufficient strength.
Insufficient strength meant waiting for Yoru to be free to go to the Otherworld, slowing down leveling speed.
This was equivalent to a vicious cycle.
"Sigh."
Miko sighed lightly, resting her cheeks on her hands, helpless.
"That's true, but finding someone we know well, trustworthy, and capable to join is really a difficult task."
Currently in the Super-Quant Club, except for the founder Yoru and Miko, the other three members joined by coincidence.
Rio was needed for her intelligence analysis ability, and it took nearly half a month to finally learn the truth.
Mai and Yui were parties involved in supernatural events themselves.
Now saying the Super-Quant Club recruiting new members, counting as knowing the roots and trustworthy, everyone could only think of two people.
Those were fellow supernatural event clients, Touma Kazusa and Yurikawa Hana, who proved trustworthy by not revealing a word after receiving help.
The problem was.
Those two were also just ordinary people and couldn't provide any effective help for now.
"Waiting for your words."
Facing the bitterly thinking members, Yoru looked confident, tapping his fingers on the table, smiling.
"Actually, I've investigated long ago. There is a very suitable candidate."
Speaking of this, he paused, looking at Miko and Yui.
"And you two have also seen her."
"Is there such a thing?"
Yui and Miko looked puzzled, trying hard to recall but really couldn't remember seeing any character suspected of being a spirit medium.
This was also one of the advantages of being a transmigrator.
Not just Mai and others in front of him, Yoru had a certain degree of understanding of any character who wasn't a mob.
The personality shown in the plot wouldn't lie.
Light was like this; that person was like this too.
This could be called unilateral knowing the roots.
Yoru stood up and walked to the window, looking at the drizzling rain outside that was gradually intensifying, saying meaningfully.
"Kyoto has been raining quite often recently."
....
That evening, Yoru's home.
Miko sat on the sofa holding a cup of hot tea, feeling inexplicably nervous.
She still remembered the last time she came to Yoru's house alone.
That was just after escaping from the unfinished building.
That day was also a rainy day like today.
She even took a shower in his house.
That classic quote: "A gentleman's word is hard to chase even with four horses; if I say I'll peek, I will definitely peek," appeared at that time.
What does Yoru want with me?
While Miko was letting her imagination run wild, Yoru holding a can of Coca-Cola sat opposite her.
After a few seconds of silence.
"Miko."
Miko came back to her senses.
"Ah, what is it?"
Yoru looked serious and earnest.
"How to make the power of one's own Soul Manifestation stronger?"
"Eh?"
Miko looked puzzled.
"Just devour other evil spirits; didn't you know this long ago? You were the one who told us."
Yoru nodded noncommittally and asked again.
"Then, how can the spirit medium themself become stronger?"
Miko bit her lower lip lightly. Facing this question, her golden pupils dimmed slightly, lowering her eyelids.
"Only through exercise and increasing experience in fighting evil spirits, right... After all, I don't have the ability to devour evil spirits to enhance my own ability like you."
Also being spirit mediums, Miko and Rio didn't possess the ability to devour evil spirits to become stronger themselves like Yoru.
Even if their Soul Manifestations devoured more evil spirits and became stronger, they themselves were ultimately just ordinary humans.
Perhaps this was the limitation of spirit mediums.
In front of those terrifying evil spirits flying over eaves and walking on walls with infinite strength, the main body was really too weak.
"Then, what happens if you forcibly devour evil spirits?"
Miko replied softly.
"Definitely will die."
"Correct."
Yoru agreed.
"Evil spirits and humans are completely different existences. Using a human body to merge evil spirit aura is simply seeking death."
Speaking of this, Yoru suddenly changed the subject.
"But if there is something equivalent to a Converter that converts the power of evil spirits into something that even a human body can devour for improvement, would it be different?"
"Hiss..."
Miko thought seriously.
Seems to make sense.
If there was really such a converter, to use an inappropriate example, it would be like a juicer.
Converting the originally unabsorbable evil spirit power into power absorbable by the human body through this transformation.
This might really work.
Thinking of this, Miko raised a new question.
"But where to find this conver..."
Halfway through, Miko suddenly realized.
Look for what?
Isn't the so-called converter sitting right opposite her?
Yoru, who devoured thousands of evil spirits but was human himself, wasn't he the perfect converter?
No.
Wait a minute.
Conversion is conversion, but how do I absorb it?
Eat Yoru?
Recalling those ignorant evil spirits biting him and then either expanding and exploding or rolling in pain, Miko felt a bit creeped out.
Dare to eat?
The key is she isn't willing to eat Yoru.
Seeing Miko's change in expression, Yoru gave a precise complaint.
"You aren't thinking of eating me, are you? Then you are indeed seeking death."
"Eating directly is definitely impossible, but if it is... you know what I mean, right? Maybe it's feasible."
Hearing Yoru's obscure words, Miko looked innocent and curious.
"If it is what?"
"You still don't understand?"
Yoru sighed slightly and spoke slowly and seriously.
"If it is liquid, maybe it works."
"Liquid..."
Miko looked thoughtful and murmured.
"Do you mean... blood?"
"Mmhmm... if you think so, then yes, but not just blood."
"What else can there be..."
Speaking of this, Miko froze.
She gradually understood everything.
At this moment, the ignorant and innocent girl Yotsuya Miko was enlightened.
So it's that kind of liquid!!!
"Cough cough."
Miko blushed slightly, coughed twice, her heart beating much faster, but still pretended to be very serious.
"Um..., drinking blood isn't good. Besides, it will also harm your body. If there are other ways, better use other ways."
Seeing her appearance, Yoru frowned slightly.
This reaction isn't quite right.
Innocent Miko who never dated, her reaction when talking about such things is just this?
Just slightly shy?
Normally, shouldn't she be blushing all over, eyes misty?
Yoru looked straight into Miko's golden eyes.
"What do you mean by what you said?"
"Same meaning as you."
"Then we say it together?"
"Okay, 3, 2, 1..."
"Ki... Kissing (Saliva)."
"Injecting..."
Deafening silence.
After a long while, Yoru spoke slowly.
"My bad, never mind."