Chapter 451: Aoandon's Friends, the High-Appearance Yokai
The entire drive was filled with Hiratsuka Shizuka passionately describing the man she had met, only for Sōryūin Shion to counter every point by claiming her own man possessed the exact same qualities. The exchange was testing the very limits of Shizuka's patience.
Sengoku Chihiro sighed, patting her friend's shoulder. "Shizuka, you should probably give up. You can't win a comparison against Shion. At least she actually managed to catch her man…"
"Tsk…" Shizuka clicked her tongue in frustration.
Sōryūin Shion's gaze drifted out the car window. She nodded slightly. "Hmm, looks like we're here. We talked for so long it felt like no time at all."
Shizuka and the other two turned to look. Outside, a vibrant, bustling street unfolded before them, a river of people flowing under bright city lights. The sheer energy of the place even made Shiina Mashiro's eyes widen for a moment; it was so crowded, so full of life.
"Please pick us up around ten tonight," Shion said to the driver. "Thank you for your hard work."
As the car pulled away, Hiratsuka Shizuka stared at the lively street, a look of utter disbelief on her face. "How can a shop on a street this packed have no customers?! Explain this to me, right now!"
Sengoku Chihiro nodded in vigorous agreement.
Sōryūin Shion gave a delicate cough. "Who ever told you Ren's shop was on this street? If it were, the line to get in would stretch around the block."
"You're exaggerating!" Shizuka and Chihiro exclaimed in unison.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Shizuka scanned the area. "Okay, so it's just one street over. If it's not here, then where is it? Don't tell me it's underground?"
"You've been reading too much manga, haven't you?" Shion said with a wry smile. "And can't you see that big intersection right over there?"
Shizuka and the others followed her gaze, their eyes landing on an adjacent street that was the complete opposite of the one they were on. It was dark, silent, and utterly deserted.
Sengoku Chihiro's mouth twitched. "Shion, are you absolutely sure your fiancé's shop is in a place like this?!"
"Of course," Shion replied with unwavering confidence. "Do you really think I could mistake the location of my own man's shop?"
Shiina Mashiro tilted her head, her soft voice barely a whisper. "Ren's shop… This place doesn't look like somewhere people live."
Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded emphatically. "Exactly! No one lives here, right? So how could anyone possibly come here?! And where are the streetlights?! Just how dark is this place supposed to get?!"
"I told you there would be very few people," Sōryūin Shion said casually. "And as for it getting really dark here at night… you're not wrong about that."
"Just what kind of person is your fiancé, anyw—"
At that very moment, the man in question, Ren, was staring at Pandemonica with a puzzled expression. The demon had returned to the shop looking as if she'd seen a ghost and found her savior in him.
"Alright, Pandemonica, what's wrong?"
After she explained the situation, Ren let out a long sigh. "So, let me get this straight. You were sleeping, your feet stuck out from under the blanket, a draft blew on them, and you immediately thought of a demon under the bed, which scared you awake?"
Pandemonica nodded. Though her face remained a stoic mask, her posture told a different story. Ever since waking up, she had been huddled at the head of the bed, tightly wrapped in her blanket. A trip to the bathroom to wash her face had only made things worse; catching her own reflection in the mirror had sent a jolt of inexplicable panic through her.
She had only finally breathed a sigh of relief when Ren and the others returned. The shop wasn't just quiet; it possessed the kind of deep, eerie silence one experiences after finishing a truly terrifying horror movie.
Meanwhile, Kasugano Sora was eagerly questioning Aoandon about the yokai from her world. The moment she had returned and saw that Courage and the others were gone, she had gone straight to the point.
"So, Ren-nii," she'd asked, "is this Sister Aoandon really Aoandon?"
When Ren confirmed it, Sora nearly screamed. But after chatting for a while, she realized this Aoandon was a far cry from the terrifying spirit of legend, and her guard slowly came down.
Humans are, after all, visual creatures, and Sora was no exception. It didn't take long for her to warm up to the beautiful, serene yokai. Her first question was brimming with curiosity. "Sister Aoandon, are all the yokai in your world as beautiful as you?"
Aoandon paused in thought. "I would say that most of the higher-ranking yokai are quite handsome or beautiful. But there are, of course, exceptions."
"Eh? Like who?"
"For example… O-kikumushi," Aoandon began. "You can't say she isn't good-looking. Her upper body, that of a butterfly, is quite beautiful. It's just that her lower body is… a caterpillar."
"Ugh! That must be a source of great self-consciousness for her…"
"Mm. Then there's the Inugami, with the head of a dog and the body of a human. Or the Jorōgumo, who is similar to O-kikumushi. The Futakuchi-onna has two large hands in her hair, but she's still rather cute. All in all, most of them are quite pleasant to look at."
Sora nodded, absorbing every word. "Aoandon-jie, where do you usually live?" she asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Me? I drift. As soon as night falls, I begin to wander, listening to others tell their stories and telling stories to others in return."
Sora's eyes widened. "Then… Sister Aoandon, do you have any friends? Do you go to their places during the day?"
Aoandon considered this for a moment. "Friends? I have a friend named Phoenix Fire. During the day, I either sleep or simply find a quiet place to stay. It's not that I'm afraid of the sun; I just dislike the daytime."
"Oh, I see. Is Phoenix Fire very beautiful, too?"
"Yes, she is," Aoandon affirmed. "She is a yokai born from the flames of a phoenix, so she is naturally a very beautiful existence. However, she never leaves the shrine in the Phoenix Forest."
"A phoenix!" Sora gasped.
Aoandon smiled and nodded. It was her first time recounting tales of her world's yokai here, and Sora was a completely captivated audience. The reason was simple: Sora had asked her to describe what the yokai looked like.
Thus, in Kasugano Sora's mind, these weren't monsters, but a troupe of cosplayers with stunningly high-appearance scores, who also happened to be incredibly powerful. For her part, Aoandon was experiencing something new as well—someone who didn't find yokai frightening. It was mainly because the so-called monsters of this world were just too absurd by comparison.
"Sora, you seem very excited," Aoandon observed gently.
Hearing this, Sora smiled brightly. "I just have a feeling that when you return to your world, Sister Aoandon, you'll tell others about the things you've seen here."
"That's true," Aoandon conceded. "After all, these experiences are worth more than just a few hundred stories. Why do you ask?"
"It just feels like I might be mentioned in your tales. And then the legendary yokai Aoandon will tell other yokai and humans about me. It's a bit like being a celebrity, which sounds quite interesting."
Aoandon's smile deepened. "That much is true. But I feel it would become very troublesome afterward. Many yokai and Onmyoji might become interested in this place. If that happens, my life might change from one of aimless wandering to one of constantly being on the run."
"Eh? That makes a lot of sense," Sora said, her expression turning serious. "In that case, Sister Aoandon, you can just choose not to tell them."
"But," Aoandon replied, a faint, mischievous light in her eyes, "I can't help but want to."
"Professional ethics?" Sora guessed.
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