Inside the restaurant, the scene had changed to—
"Do you need more?"
"Keep going!"
"Do you need more?"
"Keep going!"
...
Again and again, round after round.
Even with Hanakaiin Itsuki’s physical strength, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.
How many cups have I made?
A hundred cups? Two hundred cups?
Or three hundred cups?
Has Jason still not had enough?
This is... amazing!
Watching Jason drink every last drop of the milk tea he had crafted, Hanakaiin Itsuki felt exhausted, but more than that, he was exhilarated—a peerless, unmatched exhilaration.
Keep going! Keep going! Keep going!
Until Jason is completely satisfied!
With this belief driving him, Hanakaiin Itsuki’s speed at crafting milk tea grew faster and faster.
And yet, the quality did not diminish.
It seed there was even a subtle improvent.
He... had broken through!
Hanakaiin Itsuki instantly felt the changes within himself.
Indeed!
Only a true kindred spirit could allow to advance further in the "milk tea artistry."
Realizing that the breakthrough he had longed for was now unfolding, Hanakaiin Itsuki grew even happier.
anwhile, the onlookers were already dumbstruck.
Amazed not only by Hanakaiin Itsuki’s speed of crafting, but also by Jason’s phenonal ability to drink milk tea.
Especially Jason!
Is his stomach a bottomless pit?
Why has drinking so much not had any effect?
Doesn’t he even need to go to the restroom?
And amidst the collective astonishnt of the crowd, Hanakaiin Itsuki finally stopped crafting.
It wasn’t due to fatigue.
Nor was it due to any unforeseen circumstance.
It was simply... they had run out of ingredients.
You can’t make bricks without straw.
Even a "milk tea master" like Hanakaiin Itsuki couldn’t conjure sothing out of thin air.
This left Hanakaiin Itsuki feeling dissatisfied.
A kind of discomfort stuck between wanting to do more and being unable to proceed.
Wiping his hands with a slight frown, Hanakaiin Itsuki walked over to Jason without removing his apron.
"Sorry, Jason,"
"It was too rushed today, and I couldn’t prepare better and more materials."
"Next ti, I’ll be fully prepared and invite you again."
Hanakaiin Itsuki promised sincerely.
"Deal!"
Jason replied, extending his hand.
Hanakaiin Itsuki froze for a mont before reaching out and shaking Jason’s hand firmly.
"Deal!"
The young onmyoji declared.
Then, his gaze shifted toward Ryosuke and Onodera.
"I brought Sato here—you should be able to guess what that implies, right?"
Hanakaiin Itsuki spoke directly.
Onodera nodded repeatedly without hesitation.
Ryosuke, however, paused thoughtfully before nodding.
The first response was purely instinctual—with Hanakaiin Itsuki, whatever he said, Onodera would nod and agree.
As for what ca afterwards?
That was a problem for later—for now, agreeing was the safest bet.
Ryosuke, however, was different.
His agreent only ca after true consideration.
Both responses didn’t go unnoticed by Hanakaiin Itsuki, who greeted them with a faint smile.
It was an indifferent smile.
With his backing, even pigs could find footing in "Blossom Cherry."
Let alone the two standing before him, who were no pigs.
"Yamashita is dead—I need a new collaborator to keep an eye on ’Blossom Cherry.’"
"Of course, two collaborators are fine as well."
"You can choose to cooperate—or compete."
Hanakaiin Itsuki said casually.
"Cooperate! Cooperate!"
"Of course we’ll cooperate!"
"After all, more people ans more strength!"
Before Ryosuke could respond, Onodera rushed to answer, flashing a fawning smile toward Jason before shooting Ryosuke an ingratiating grin as well.
Onodera wasn’t foolish.
He knew very well he was a newcor who had only just pledged allegiance.
Blending in for now was the most prudent choice.
Compete?
What a joke.
He, the steadfast Onodera, had never survived by fighting against his peers for personal gain.
Mutual cooperation and collective benefit were his ultimate goals.
Jason, however, ignored Onodera’s sycophantic smile.
Ryosuke simply furrowed his brow at the sight of Onodera’s attempts to ingratiate himself.
He wanted to suggest competition.
But thinking of past experiences and recent encounters, this middle-aged police officer finally nodded.
"Excellent."
"Since the most crucial matter is decided..."
"Let share what I know."
Hanakaiin Itsuki seed to be addressing Onodera and Ryosuke, but his eyes were fixed on Jason as he spoke slowly—
"So people have started showing discontent toward ’Blossom Cherry.’"
"’Blossom Cherry’s developnt has already threatened certain individuals."
"And, of course, so are simply jealous of ’Blossom Cherry.’"
"Therefore... so have already made a move."
Ryosuke’s body stiffened.
He thought of Miyamoto, the officer he had intended to target but who had been killed before he could act.
Onodera, anwhile, kept his head down.
Unlike Ryosuke’s partial grasp, he knew more.
In fact, he had sensed this possibility long ago.
He had simply avoided thinking in this direction.
Or perhaps, he had considered it yet chosen not to accept it.
Now, with Hanakaiin Itsuki’s words laid bare, Onodera couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.
If he had previously seen "Blossom Cherry" as a precarious vessel...
Then presently, its path was clear—a storm lood ahead.
Thankfully! Thankfully!
I’ve already jumped ship onto another vessel!
Otherwise, I’d have gone down with it!
Onodera exhaled deeply with relief and glanced at Jason, his expression growing increasingly sycophantic.
"Can you identify who’s behind this?"
Jason asked.
"I can," Hanakaiin Itsuki replied.
"The Hanakaiin Family, the Tsuchimikado Family, the Kusakabe Family, the Kojiyu Family—the four great onmyoji clans are all involved."
"And then there’s..."
"’Flourishing Moon.’"
Hanakaiin Itsuki ntioned a term Jason was very familiar with.
"Are they involved too?"
Jason frowned.
Jason’s understanding of "Flourishing Moon" primarily ca from the elderly monk at Tongshou Temple.
According to the old monk, it was a true "Inside World," disconnected from the "surface world."
Not only did it harbor genuine transcendents...
It also held nurous legendary demons, plants, and more.
In summary, it was a realm removed from the ordinary world—a place inaccessible to commoners.
Naturally, Jason’s biggest interest lay in "River of Ghosts!"
Not its projected form.
But the real "River of Ghosts!"
He was determined to venture there.
The invitation given to him by the Tongshou Temple monk was still safely tucked away in his backpack.
"What else?"
"There’s a deep connection between here and there, you know."
"In fact, in many ways, our world has always influenced theirs—recently, that new gaming console is even popular over there."
Hanakaiin Itsuki provided an example.
A bunch of ancient transcendents playing video gas?
Jason pictured the scene.
Surprisingly, it didn’t seem bad at all.
So, he instinctively asked.
"What kind of gas are they playing?"
Hanakaiin Itsuki hesitated, clearly not expecting Jason to ask that.
"One seems to be about a plumber fighting turtles to save his girlfriend."
"Another involves two n—one in blue pants and the other in red—shooting guns."
"And the other? A giant mouth endlessly eating dots."
After so serious consideration, Hanakaiin Itsuki answered.
"Sounds pretty good."
Jason comnted.
"Maybe," Hanakaiin Itsuki shrugged. "I’m not much of a gar."
"Every day, it’s endless training—I barely even have ti to craft milk tea. Though now, there’ll certainly be much more ti."
Hanakaiin Itsuki grinned as he spoke.
Jason understood what he was referring to.
By stepping away from the "Battle of King Fighters," his ti was naturally freed up.
"Be careful," Hanakaiin Itsuki cautioned. "Those bastards from the main clan won’t an well."
"Haru is gone and that’s that—but Jason, you must watch out for your own safety."
"Plus, I suspect this ’King Fighters Tournant’ may be connected to ’Blossom Cherry.’"
Hanakaiin Itsuki warned Jason sincerely.
"Thanks for the heads-up."
Jason nodded and began to ponder.
"Counterattack?"
"Or perhaps..."
"A trap?"
Organizations like ’Blossom Cherry’ weren’t the type to sit idle.
Retaliation was inevitable.
Even leveraging the "King Fighters Tournant" to set up a trap seed entirely plausible.
Then...
Just as Jason was about to continue questioning, Ryosuke’s radio suddenly crackled to life, delivering Urashima’s panicked voice—
"Chief, sothing terrible has happened!"
"Chief Sato is dead!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)