Chapter 351 314 – The Purple Mirror Yokai
Takumi really wanted to say that Miyuki's outfit was actually pretty indecent too.
The main issue wasn't the clothes. It was more that her figure was simply too good.
Especially this conservative knit sweater and knee-length hip-hugging skirt.
It was an incredibly classic stepmom outfit, and it was honestly impressive that Miyuki had managed to pick it out.
Yet that kind of outfit suited her extremely well, perfectly showing off the plump, ripe, seductive aura of a stepmom.
Takumi took a deep breath, then pointed at the hollowed-out lace lingerie and said, "These are things you wear in private. If you wore it, Miss Miyuki, I'm sure it would look amazing on you!"
"Eh!? Me wearing that!?"
Miyuki froze in shock for a second, and the image couldn't help surfacing in her mind.
With a poof, a few wisps of white steam drifted up from the top of her head, as if her brain had overheated.
"H-How can you say something like that? That's so indecent!"
Miyuki cried out in a small voice, but her eyes couldn't move away.
This seemed to be something humans used nowadays. Maybe she could try experiencing it herself.
Biting her lip lightly, Miyuki's eyes shifted, and the thought of buying it began to form.
Seeing this, Takumi simply stepped forward himself and said, "Miss, please wrap this one up."
After saying that, Takumi squeezed Miyuki's slender hand.
"Just say so if there's anything you like. After all, you're Kazehime's older sister."
"Because I'm Kazehime's older sister…"
Miyuki's expression turned a little downcast, but fortunately, she still began shopping with some enthusiasm.
It was as if an instinct engraved into a woman's DNA had awakened. She became more and more practiced at it.
Whenever she encountered something she didn't understand, she would shake Takumi's hand and ask him what it was with an innocent, adorable look on her face.
After learning what it was used for, she would decide whether she liked it and buy it.
That cute, playful attitude made her look exactly like a young girl out shopping with her boyfriend.
After just one afternoon, Miyuki looked at the huge pile of things packed full to bursting and felt embarrassed.
"Ngh… I'm sorry. I lost control all at once… I'll find a way to pay the money back."
Miyuki made that promise with a shy look on her face, but she didn't know that the amount she owed was something she would never be able to repay.
Takumi naturally had no objection. Money already held no meaning to him now.
If he could spend it and be happy spending it, then of course it was worth it.
"We should head out. I'll take you to see the apartment you'll be renting. I promise you'll like it."
"Okay!"
Miyuki, who had become thoroughly familiar with Takumi by now, no longer had her initial restraint.
Acting even more warmly than before, she had no idea she was prey that had already fallen into a trap.
Just as the two of them were about to set off, a faint fluctuation of demonic power made Takumi stop in his tracks.
"Mm?"
Takumi turned his head and looked toward the department store restrooms.
One had to know that at noon, Tohru had just used her dragon breath to blast a Grade 1 cursed spirit to death.
Her overwhelming magic power was like a lion marking its territory.
Logically speaking, ordinary cursed spirits or yokai shouldn't dare come near.
The only possibility was that this yokai had some other objective.
This actually wasn't anything rare. If it were any other time, Takumi wouldn't have bothered paying attention.
But this time was different. What he sensed wasn't just a faint fluctuation of demonic power, but also Kana Ienaga's aura.
Although Kana had not yet fused with his divine envoy chess piece, she had already been marked by him.
Not to mention, his "love radar" had also moved, allowing him to sense that Kana was in danger.
Meanwhile, inside the department store restroom, Kana was looking into the mirror.
Since today was her birthday, Kana had gone out with her two close friends so they could shop with her and celebrate.
However, Kana seemed a little listless today. The root cause was still the dream she had been having all this time.
Ever since she was six, she had often dreamed that while she was passing by a park and playing with a ball, she ran into something that told her she would have to play with it once she grew up.
"What a weird dream… Could this be the curse on me that Takumi-senpai mentioned?"
Kana still remembered her narrow escape last time all too clearly.
Because of that, she quickly grew wary. After hesitating again and again, she took out her phone.
Kana was afraid that this might just be her wild imagination and that she would disturb Takumi.
At the same time, she was very scared, and she really wanted to see Takumi again.
When Takumi wasn't by her side, she always had this feeling that things were dangerous and she couldn't feel at ease.
What happened last time had truly left a deep psychological scar on her.
And just as she called Takumi, a thick fog suddenly drifted up around her.
An eerie voice abruptly sounded beside her ear.
"Happy birthday. Happy thirteenth birthday, Kana. I've come to pick you up~~"
Beep, beep, beep!
Amid the busy tone from the phone with no signal, the mirror before her suddenly twisted and warped.
The next moment, the yokai "Purple Mirror," wreathed in purple mist, with pitch-black eyes and two rows of human teeth, emerged from it…
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Kana immediately screamed again and again in terror, her mind going completely blank.
The Purple Mirror before her, however, remained completely unhurried as it chuckled and spoke.
"Kana, let's play together~ Let's continue the game from seven years ago."
Looking at her own reflection on the Purple Mirror's body, Kana backed away in fear.
"I don't know what you're talking about! G-Go away!!"
Kana turned and ran for the restroom exit.
But when the Purple Mirror saw what she was doing, it instead revealed a sinister smile.
"Hide-and-seek? I like that!"
It let out two gloomy laughs, then began counting in place.
"One, two, three…"
Its voice kept reaching Kana's ears, filling her heart with an unbearable sense of urgency.
Yet even after leaving the restroom, Kana found that her phone still had no signal.
Natsumi Torii and Saori Maki, who had been waiting outside, noticed the panicked Kana.
"What's wrong, Kana? Why did you run out in such a hurry?"
Natsumi looked over in confusion, and beside her, Saori also stared blankly at Kana, who was so nervous she looked like she was about to fall apart.
Kana said anxiously, "A ghost—there's another ghost! It's the curse on me! It… It really appeared!"
"Eh!!!"
Saori immediately screamed.
Natsumi's eyes also went wide.
"I told you Takumi-senpai wasn't lying to us! Kana, we should hurry and call Senpai!"
"I know, but my phone can't make calls."
Kana took out her phone to show them, and Natsumi and Saori hurriedly pulled out theirs as well.
Their phones had originally had full bars, but now every single one of them had no signal.
It was like a basin of cold water had been poured over their heads, chilling them straight to the core.
"Th-Then what do we do?!"
Saori immediately hugged Natsumi's arm tightly, her expression extremely tense.
She still remembered all too clearly how close they had come to death last time.
"The important thing is that we need to find Takumi-senpai. We definitely can't handle this ourselves!"
Natsumi emphasized that point again, but helplessness was written all over her face.
Even though the three girls were in a bustling, crowded department store, their hearts felt as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.
After all, they had no idea where Takumi was right now!
"What a coincidence."
At that moment, Takumi's voice reached their ears.
...
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