Chapter 353 316 – Birthday Present
"It was just a small problem. Still, I was careless last time too."
"I didn't expect your birthday to come so soon, Kana. I almost didn't make it in time to celebrate with you."
Takumi gently stroked the girl's hair in his arms, his tone warm and kind.
A charming blush rose across Kana Ienaga's face, and she shyly buried her head in Takumi's chest.
"It's just a birthday… I didn't think there was any need to trouble you, Takumi-senpai~"
Kana was very embarrassed. The main reason was that she had felt too awkward to invite Takumi.
Strictly speaking, they had only met once. For her to directly tell him it was her birthday and make him prepare a present or something would have been far too rude.
"Haha~ Kana, you're so cute. How could you ever be a bother to me?
"I almost missed your birthday, so you have to let me make up for it."
Takumi's tone carried a slight firmness, and he even reached out to pinch Kana's flushed cheek.
That delicate, warm sensation made it hard to let go.
After Takumi brought Kana out of the mirror world, she still followed him like a little wife.
Having gone through danger once again, Kana truly did not dare leave Takumi's side by even half a step now.
Takumi was naturally happy with this. After walking out of the mirror, he waved to Saori Maki, Natsumi Torii, and Miyuki Yukino.
"Kana's fine~"
"That's great!" the two girls cried at once.
Natsumi and Saori hurried forward. Seeing that both of them were unharmed, they could not help letting out a sigh of relief.
Miyuki, meanwhile, stared directly at Takumi holding Kana's little hand. Her eyes flickered, but her face showed no real change.
Takumi, who had originally been planning to head back, spoke up at this point.
Knowing that Miyuki was unwilling to reveal her true name to others, Takumi said directly, "It's Kana's birthday today, so I'm planning to spend it with her properly. You should join us too."
"Huh?"
Miyuki frowned slightly. She was not familiar with Kana and the others at all.
But seeing that Takumi wanted to stay, she hesitated for a few seconds before nodding anyway.
Seeing Miyuki act so aloof, Kana and the other young girls did not really dare approach her.
However, out of politeness, Kana still cautiously spoke up. "Hello, pretty lady. I'm Kana Ienaga. It's nice to meet you."
Hearing Kana introduce herself, Miyuki nodded very casually.
"Mm~ Mm."
And after nodding, she gave no further response.
Kana, who had been left hanging, looked a little at a loss.
She was a thirteen-year-old girl, and today was only just her birthday. She really could not handle such a cold attitude from someone else.
At that moment, Takumi reached out and placed his hand on Kana's head, gently smoothing her hair.
"Don't be scared, Kana. She's a yuki-onna, so her personality is naturally colder than ordinary people's.
"I'll tell you girls a secret about yuki-onna.
"A yuki-onna's name is something she only reveals to someone very important, so she won't tell you her name."
Takumi's words immediately piqued the girls' interest.
"Eh!? Is that how it works?!"
Kana, who had been terribly nervous at first, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But Saori, who was a little braver than the others, could not help exclaiming, "So that's what yuki-onna are like. She's completely different from the ones I've read about!"
As she spoke, she cautiously snuck glances at Miyuki, unable to keep from shaking her head.
In Saori's mind, yuki-onna only moved around in snowy mountains.
But Miyuki, who stood before them now, was clearly the image of a sophisticated city beauty.
Her mature, voluptuous aura was even more astonishing—and envy-inducing.
Among the three girls, Natsumi suddenly thought of something and asked in a small voice, "Then, Takumi-senpai, do you know this yuki-onna lady's name?!"
Before Takumi could answer, Miyuki lightly brushed her silver hair aside and spoke.
"He does."
After those three simple words left her mouth, she turned her head away with her cheeks faintly flushed.
The sight instantly made the three girls understand, and they all revealed knowing smiles.
"Hey, hey~ Yuki-onna lady, can you marry humans? Like the one in the storybook I read?"
"Oh, right, the yuki-onna in that storybook even had a child with a man."
"But the yuki-onna left in the end. Yuki-onna lady, would you do that too?"
Natsumi, Saori, and Kana immediately gathered around her, asking question after question like a trio of walking encyclopedias of curiosity.
Miyuki had clearly never encountered a situation like this before and appeared somewhat at a loss.
Standing off to the side, Takumi shrugged, expressing that there was nothing he could do to help.
He was still ordering the cake and preparing to hold a small birthday party for Kana.
With his "money power," everything naturally proceeded in perfect order.
As for Miyuki, she had to deal with these three curiosity-filled girls.
Besides, their "Mystery Detective Club" happened to be right in its area of expertise!
Miyuki could only answer as best she could, and throughout the process, she did not get angry.
Toward girls full of such goodwill, Miyuki still felt fondness.
Once the birthday party began, Takumi took out his present.
Three divine envoy chess pieces.
"After fusing with these chess pieces, you'll have the power to protect yourselves."
He sounded exactly like a pyramid-scheme scammer tricking people, making Miyuki, who was watching from the side, stare in bewilderment.
As for the three girls, who already admired and worshipped Takumi, their eyes immediately lit up as they chose to fuse with them.
The moment the divine envoy chess pieces merged into their bodies, their auras surged upward at once, shocking even Miyuki.
After all, as a yuki-onna, she had lived for who knew how many years.
Yet if one were to measure her current strength, she was actually only at the level of a High-class devil.
In the yokai world nowadays, that was already very powerful.
But the three girls before her had just been ordinary humans moments ago, and now each of their auras was already not the slightest bit weaker than hers.
This left Miyuki completely unable to process what had happened.
"You've got to be joking. This is way too ridiculous!"
A single chess piece had erased the dimensional gap between their levels of strength.
It was simply inconceivable, to the point that Miyuki briefly thought she might be dreaming.
But when Kana and the others excitedly began asking what the "skill tree" was and how they should choose, Miyuki fell silent.
She suddenly realized that Takumi might be far stronger than she had imagined.
After the birthday party ended, Takumi parted ways with Miyuki and Kana's group, and only then did Miyuki speak faintly.
"You… who exactly are you?"
She did not think an exorcist could possess such powerful items.
Takumi did not explain much and only casually replied, "I'm just me. At the moment, I guess I count as your landlord. My strength just happens to be a tiny, tiny bit greater than you imagined."
"My… landlord…"
Miyuki murmured softly, and a quiet, charming smile once again appeared on her face.
Her mood improved considerably, and she even took the initiative to ask about the place where she would be staying next.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.