Chapter 173: Yukino Touches the Truth, The Upright Tarot Cards Representing the Members
"Return to its original owner..."
Hearing this familiar phrase, Miko showed a look of emotion, murmuring to herself.
"Thinking carefully, the last time we did this kind of operation was during the spring break. Time flies so fast, it's been almost four months..."
Halfway through speaking, Miko suddenly froze, as if realizing something.
"Wait, only four months!?"
Because recent experiences were simply too exciting and rich, it made Miko feel that the first semester seemed exceptionally long.
Coincidentally.
Rio and the others felt the same way.
But thinking about it carefully.
It hasn't even been four months since the last operation to steal Onimaru Kunitsuna!
At this rate.
Three times a year.
Even if they only 'return to its original owner' one at a time, in a year and a half, all five heirloom-level famous swords of Sakura Prefecture would belong to the Super-Quant Club.
By the time they graduate from high school, the top national treasures should be just about gathered.
Then by the time they graduate from university...
Wouldn't the museums be emptied out?
Just then, Kawasaki Saki suddenly realized belatedly and was shocked.
"Wait a minute... Mikazuki Munechika? That heirloom famous sword of Sakura Prefecture? Return to its original owner? You guys are going to steal that sword!?"
"Hey."
Yoru frowned slightly and emphasized again what he had said before.
"How can you call it stealing? Such powerful spiritual items naturally belong to our Super-Quant Club."
Kawasaki Saki still didn't know about the existence of evil spirits, ghosts, the Otherworld, and the Doors, completely failing to understand the logic behind this, just speaking subconsciously.
"How is that possible!? That is stored inside the Tokyo National Museum..."
Just as Kawasaki Saki was halfway through speaking, she noticed the somewhat complicated expressions of Rio, Miko, and Mai, couldn't help asking puzzledly.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Oh right, you haven't seen it yet."
Yoru chuckled, then reached out his right hand, and a long sword in an antique scabbard slowly appeared in his hand.
Then, he tossed the long sword in his hand, along with the scabbard, directly to Kawasaki Saki sitting on the sofa opposite.
"This is...?"
Watching Kawasaki Saki catch the long sword with both hands, looking puzzled, Yoru replied nonchalantly.
"This is Onimaru Kunitsuna."
"Eh?"
Kawasaki Saki froze first, looking down at the long sword in her hand.
After a few seconds, her beautiful pale green pupils gradually dilated.
"Oni... Oni... Oni..."
"Why are you stuttering?"
Listening to Yoru's smiling words, Kawasaki Saki looked up at him, lips slightly parted.
"You... you... you..."
"Forget it."
Yoru waved his hand, thinking if Kawasaki Saki popped out words one by one like this and had to stutter a few times, today's internal meeting would probably never end.
"Beloved concubine, I leave it to you."
Rio pushed her glasses frame, looking somewhat helpless but accustomed to Yoru's slacking behavior, actively explaining to the bewildered Kawasaki Saki.
"Saki, it's like this..."
Rio gave a detailed introduction of the process of how Yoru and Miko met, along with everything that happened after the establishment of the Super-Quant Club, including the Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten incident, the invasion of the Kyoto City Museum, and Amano Hina's connection to the abnormal weather.
By the way, she also introduced the essence of the Otherworld, the harm of "Doors" to human life, and the two necessary conditions for awakening the Soul Manifestation ability.
After listening, Kawasaki Saki's entire worldview was overturned, so shocked she couldn't speak at all.
If she hadn't seen Yoru's transformation process with her own eyes, beat her to death and she wouldn't believe there was such a thing.
Soul Manifestation?
Soul True Body?
True Inner Heart?
Evil spirits capable of affecting human hearts?
Kyoto city in imminent danger?
Too incredible.
Just as Kawasaki Saki was sorting out her thoughts, trying hard to digest everything she had just heard, the Onimaru Kunitsuna placed on her lap suddenly emitted a clanging sound of metal and iron, and the blade automatically unsheathed halfway.
"This is...?"
Seeing Onimaru Kunitsuna actually unsheathe automatically, Kawasaki Saki's pupils shrank in shock, at a loss.
"Did... did I do something wrong?"
Rio and Miko looked at each other, simultaneously showing helpless sighing expressions, shook their heads and laughed dumbfoundedly.
"It's currying favor with you."
"Hah?"
Hearing this, Kawasaki Saki looked down at Onimaru Kunitsuna, whose pitch-black blade was vibrating constantly. For some unknown reason, the scene of a puppy frantically wagging its tail begging for pets to curry favor with others suddenly appeared in her mind.
"Uh..."
Kawasaki Saki carefully reached out her hand and gently rested it on the blade of Onimaru Kunitsuna.
Unexpectedly, this heirloom famous sword of Sakura Prefecture actually responded, actively rubbing its pitch-black blade against her slender white fingers twice.
Indeed...
Very much like a puppy.
"That's about enough."
Hearing its master's words, Onimaru Kunitsuna immediately put away this humble appearance. The blade quickly sheathed, automatically returned to Yoru's hand, and then disappeared in the air.
Until then, Kawasaki Saki's face changed, covering her lips in shock.
"You actually... gained the recognition of Onimaru Kunitsuna!?"
Onimaru Kunitsuna, what level of famous sword was that?
The people who possessed it were all illustrious figures in Sakura Prefecture's history, like Hojo Tokimasa, the founder of the Kamakura period, and Oda Nobunaga, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven who aimed to unify the realm by military force....
"Stop for a moment."
Before Kawasaki Saki had time to finish being shocked, Yoru pulled her out of her thoughts, complaining.
"You don't need to be shocked again by what everyone else has already been shocked by; the content is repetitive."
"Back to business."
Yoru looked at the members present and smiled.
"Then the destination of the trip is set as Tokyo city. All members of the Super-Quant Club should try to participate. Saki, you handle contacting Kitagawa-san. Yui, you handle Yukinoshita-san."
"OK."
"Then that's it, dismissed for today. Rio, Miko, Yui, Mai, Menma, you five come with me; the others act freely."
....
Meanwhile, at Yukino's home.
"And this one... also needs to be put up."
Yukino stood in the living room, murmuring to herself.
And on the wall in front of her, dozens of printed materials were densely posted.
Some were self-media reports on the internet, and some were official announcements from the Police Department.
Arranged in chronological order.
[Kyoto City Crime Rate Surges! Vicious Incidents Occur Frequently!]
[Police Department Chief of Criminal Investigation Bureau Yagami Soichiro Issues Announcement, Advising Kyoto Citizens to Reduce Night Travel and Avoid Remote Areas as Much as Possible.]
[Major Case Shocking Sakura Prefecture! Armed Hostage Incident at Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten!]
[Miracle Appears! No Casualties Among Teachers and Students in the Kindergarten, Kidnappers All Shot Dead on the Spot! No Losses Except Building Explosion and Collapse!]
[Kyoto City Museum Invaded by Unidentified Person, Police Department Acts Swiftly and Responds Timely, National Treasures Including Onimaru Kunitsuna Are Safe and Sound!]
[Bloody Scene of Violent Gang! Two Heroes of Justice, or Vendetta Between Gangs!?]
[Exclusive Interview with the Party Involved in Train Suspension, Man in Black with Gun Appearing in the Tunnel? Hero Who Saved Them, or the Culprit of the Train Failure?]
["Mask" is More Than a Legend! Deep Analysis of Kyoto TV Station's Live Broadcast Footage, Dark Hero VS Serial Killer in the Rainy Night Battle!]
....
All these news reports were collected and organized by Yukino.
This whole week, apart from going to the convenience store to buy things, she hadn't even stepped out of the house, devoting herself entirely to this.
"The rise in crime rate..."
Yukino marked a circle on the first news report and Yagami Soichiro's announcement. Immediately after, she looked at the report about the Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten incident and murmured to herself.
"Armed hostage-taking in a kindergarten, such mentally deranged behavior... doesn't conform to logic."
"If Yoru... if 'Mask' participated in all these weird incidents..."
"This guy's logic of action, overall, leans towards justice... chaotic good?"
Yukino analyzed in her heart, and she also noticed one thing.
According to rumors on the internet, in the Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten incident, only "Mask" appeared alone.
By the time of the violent gang incident, eyewitnesses at the scene said that besides "Mask", there was another mysterious person of similar height, about 1.8 meters tall, wearing gorgeous white clothes.
And in the recent Teru Teru Bozu Killer incident, a total of four people appeared in the live broadcast footage, not including that person in gorgeous white clothes.
Leaving aside the possibility of changing outfits and adjusting height at will for disguise.
Judging by normal logic, the confirmed assistants around "Mask" were already at least four.
Yukino vaguely had a feeling.
As time passed, the capable assistants around the opponent were gradually increasing.
But...
What exactly is the purpose of "Mask's" actions? Is it to combat criminals in Kyoto, or to fight against some unknown culprit causing the rise in Kyoto's crime rate?
Even Yukino couldn't deduce the opponent's motive just based on internet rumors and a few words in news reports.
However...
Yukino looked aside at three news reports she placed separately.
[Accident-Prone Construction Site? Cursed Chiba Prefecture Construction Company?]
[Yukinoshita Construction Company Contracts Office Building Project, Resumes Construction, The First Step Out of Chiba Prefecture!]
[Grand Stroke Shocking Sakura Prefecture! Promotion by Former National Idol Actress Sakurajima Mai? Deep Connections of Yukinoshita Company!]
Yukino's gaze carefully observed these three news reports.
The content of these three news reports had completely nothing to do with "Mask".
But if Yoru participated in these things in some unknown way, the doubts in Yukino's heart all along would be answered.
How the opponent knew her sister Haruno, how he formed a connection with upperclassman Mai, and why Mai, who had retired from the entertainment industry for a long time, suddenly came out to promote the completion site of the Yukinoshita company.
Everything connected together.
Just then, Yukino's phone rang.
She answered the call, speaking in her usual calm tone.
"Hello."
"What hello..."
Yui on the other end of the phone laughed dumbfoundedly.
"Little Yukino, didn't you save my phone number? Why are you being so polite as if you didn't recognize me."
"This is basic etiquette."
"Sigh, you are always like this."
After Yui complained, she smiled and spoke.
"Say, say, we just decided to take advantage of the summer vacation time for everyone in the club to go traveling to Tokyo together. Marin-san has already agreed, you are the only one left, let's go together? Please, please."
"I will just..."
Yukino had never been interested in such so-called group activities.
Just as she was halfway through her refusal, she glanced at the various news reports she had collected recently. After a few seconds of silence, she finally said faintly.
"Okay."
"Eh? Really? That's great!"
Yui smiled sweetly.
"When the specific time is set, I will call and tell you. That's it for now, bye-bye~"
"Mmhmm, bye-bye."
After hanging up the phone, Yukino looked at the news reports on the wall, murmuring to herself.
"A relationship without any falsehood... only exists... within the Super-Quant Club?"
.....
An hour later, shopping street.
"Old geezer, I'm here again~"
Hearing this familiar voice, Oda Noto looked up, seeing Yoru walking in carelessly, followed by Mai, Rio, Miko, and Yui. He couldn't help shaking his head helplessly.
"All here? Don't tell me you came to my place to hold a tea party?"
Yui waved her hand, smiling embarrassedly.
"Um... sorry to trouble you again, I'm really sorry."
"Eh, it's fine, it's fine~"
Oda Noto waved his hand, returning a smile.
"What do you want to drink, tea? Or soda?"
"Plain water is fine."
"Alright, I'll go pour it for you."
The people present were all considered familiar with Oda Noto.
Although Yui was a newly awakened spirit medium, in the early days of the Super-Quant Club's establishment, she also took on the part-time job of comparing commissions inside the school with Oda Noto's exorcism commissions here, finding the areas most likely to have real supernatural events, and then handing them over to Miko to handle.
That is, the so-called information screening; naturally, she wasn't unfamiliar with Oda Noto.
"You're here again."
Hearing the commotion outside, Godmother Granny, who was resting inside, also came out.
Yoru revealed a meaningful smile.
"Hoh hoh, living together already? Sunset romance?"
"Stinky kid, don't talk nonsense."
Godmother Granny rolled her eyes, saying grumpily, but immediately froze, her gaze falling on the four girls standing behind Yoru.
"You four..."
Godmother Granny took out a deck of Tarot cards from her bosom, and with extremely skilled movements, arranged them into a fan shape, saying in a deep voice.
"You four, each draw one."
Mai and others looked at each other. Finally, Miko stepped forward first and carefully drew a Tarot card.
"Strength."
Godmother Granny had a thoughtful look, staring straight into Miko's golden pupils, and spoke slowly.
"From you, I feel courage, bold resolution, and firm willpower."
"Also, the courage to overcome the fear in your heart, no longer cowering."
"From Reversed Strength, transformed into Upright."
Hearing Godmother Granny's analysis, Miko was surprised.
"You... what you said is very right."
Yoru also couldn't help nodding, praising.
"Hoh, you actually have this skill?"
Reversed Strength represents inner fear and cowardice, exactly corresponding to Miko's situation before awakening her spiritual ability, facing terrifying evil spirits every day and only able to pretend not to see them.
But now, she corresponded to the Upright Strength card, being the most resolute member in eliminating strangeness among all members, and also the one with the most courage to face evil spirits in combat.
"Eh? Is it that accurate?"
Rio maintained a calm appearance on the surface, but as a girl, she was naturally somewhat curious about things like Tarot card divination.
Seeing Godmother Granny really had some skills, she also couldn't resist stepping forward, drawing a Tarot card, and placing it open on the table.
"The High Priestess."
Godmother Granny gazed at Rio's face, speaking slowly.
"From you, I feel the torment of self-esteem and biased judgment of self represented by the Reversed High Priestess."
"But now, through some opportunity, you have transformed this card from Reversed into what Upright represents..."
"Profound thinking, sharp insight, and recognizing the true potential of self."
The third one to draw a Tarot card was Mai.
Not knowing whether it was a coincidence or destiny's arrangement.
The order in which the members drew Tarot cards perfectly matched the chronological order of joining the Super-Quant Club.
"The Empress."
"The predicament unable to be solved by Reversed, disputes with family members, the predicament of finding no solution."
"Similarly, now you have overcome all this, transforming the Reversed Empress into the success and harvest of Upright."
When it was Yui's turn to draw a card, she seemed somewhat nervous. She first took deep breaths for a while before carefully drawing a Tarot card.
"The Hanged Man."
Before the card face was revealed, Godmother Granny and Yoru stated the result in unison.
Before Godmother Granny could speak, Yoru spoke softly.
"The Reversed Hanged Man represents useless sacrifice, bad luck, escape."
Immediately after, Yoru looked at Yui and smiled.
"Now, you have overcome these things, transforming the Reversed Hanged Man into Upright."
"Reborn from the ashes, fearless of hardships, gladly accepting tests, and finally confirming your own goal."
Speaking of this, Yoru reached out his hand towards the Tarot cards in front of him and chuckled.
"Since that's the case, then I'll draw one too."