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"You have Liangzi's phone number, asking the police for help is your best option," Beichuan Si said, stuffing the last bite of food into his mouth, offering Shengu Mirai a suggestion.
"Asking the police for help is indeed the best approach right now," Shengu Mirai said, having regained her composure. "But for some reason, I always feel that instead of asking the police, having Mr. Temple protect me would be more reliable."
"Is this also your intuition?"
Beichuan Si was somewhat surprised. Why was this little girl so confident in him?
"Hehe, instead of calling it intuition, it's more like 'instinct' now. I have a knack for avoiding misfortune," Shengu Mirai said, seemingly very confident in her instincts, her obsidian-like eyes unblinkingly staring at Beichuan Si. "So I want to ask Mr. Temple to protect me."
"No," Beichuan Si refused without a second thought.
What a joke. Although Beichuan's mother was not home, there was still Beichuan Huili to take care of. How could he spare any attention to take care of a girl?
"I can pay! 100,000 yen! Just stay for a few days! As soon as the criminal is caught, I'll go back home!" Shengu Mirai slapped the bench hard, offering a price that made Beichuan Si hesitate for a moment.
Beichuan's mother had been working abroad for years, sending 200,000 yen monthly to Beichuan Si and Beichuan Huili as living expenses.
Not having to rent outside, splitting 200,000 yen equally meant each got 100,000 yen, which was more than enough for high school students. However, Beichuan Si had given Beichuan Huili a 50,000 yen gift packet recently and split the money sent by Beichuan's mother in half for Beichuan Huili to manage. So he only had 130,000 yen in hand now.
130,000 yen might sound like a lot, but Beichuan Si was currently undergoing system body modification, increasing his food intake. On top of that, he might have to spend some money on transportation or other miscellaneous items, so he was still budgeting tightly.
So the temptation of 100,000 yen was significant for him.
But Beichuan Si still didn't immediately agree to Shengu Mirai, looking at her.
"Shengu, do your parents allow you to lodge at a boy's house freely? It might cause other troubles. Besides, at home, it's just my sister and I, which might not be any safer than your home."
"Ah... about that... actually..." Shengu Mirai awkwardly touched her head.
"My parents might not be home these days. They called yesterday to say they'd be on a business trip for seven days. Being alone at home feels somewhat... um..." No matter how brave Shengu Mirai was, after experiencing the lake park incident yesterday, staying alone in a house with no sense of security was overwhelming.
Closing her eyes, Shengu Mirai seemed to see Hoshino Nana staring at her with wide-open eyes.
At this point, Beichuan Si spoke.
"Did you have a nightmare yesterday?"
Huh????
Isn't that a bit much? Not only did you guess that there was someone in my house yesterday, but now you also know I had a nightmare?
Shengu Mirai was arranged in such a way that her scalp tingled, evidently recalling Beichuan Si's words about having dissected a human. She laughed awkwardly.
"Sometimes I really suspect Mr. Temple is the worm in my stomach. He knows everything I'm thinking about."
"I can tell."
"Tell?" Shengu Mirai was a bit surprised.
She vaguely sensed this might be the reason Beichuan Si ventured alone into the lake park yesterday.
He was unlike ordinary people, seemingly possessing some supernatural powers.
Perhaps it was due to this power beyond common understanding that Beichuan Si's personality drastically changed over the winter break.
To be honest, Beichuan Si wasn't bad-looking, even somewhat handsome. But he had always been shrouded in a dark, angry aura that overshadowed that. Now, the change in his aura made people take notice of his appearance.
Beichuan Si had delicate features, his demeanor was cold yet not as unapproachable as before, exactly the type Shengu Mirai favored.
"What are you looking at?" Beichuan Si frowned, pointing to the bench, his voice calm. "You can pay me 50,000 yen, and I'll help you with the Hoshino Nana issue."
"Wow—I haven't even said who I dreamt of yet, Mr. Temple," Shengu Mirai's mouth dropped open, not expecting Beichuan Si to even know who she dreamt about.
Could this person read minds?
She couldn't help but think so.
"I can't read minds, nor am I the worm in your stomach."
A trace of black mist passed through Beichuan Si's eyes, his gaze fixated on Shengu Mirai, his tone as calm as ever.
"Seems like you have long been exposed to the other world."
Under Shengu Mirai's incredulous look, black mist swirled around Beichuan Si's fingertips.
The weather was sunny now, not a cloud in the sky. The snow had completely melted after the morning, and everything was showing signs of revival.
Yet—
Why did Beichuan's fingertips have black mist rising from them out of nowhere, that lingered for so long?
This clearly defied the laws of nature and physics.
Moreover, once this black mist appeared, it made her body uncomfortable, even causing goosebumps.
Looking at the black mist, Shengu Mirai only felt like she was standing before a great gate.
Behind the gate was a vast, unknown world she had never seen.
"This is truly incredible, Mr. Temple! How is this possible?! I clearly didn't see any material burning, yet black smoke appeared out of thin air!"
Shengu Mirai wanted to reach out and grab the black mist, but Beichuan Si stopped her.
But the curious Shengu Mirai, disregarding everything, was determined to lean onto Beichuan Si's body.
"You can touch it if you want a trip to the hospital."
"..." Shengu Mirai's dark, watery eyes stared at Beichuan Si's fingers, but her actions stopped, and she sat back down. "Is this Mr. Temple's secret?"
"Haven't you dealt with these things before either?"
Haven't dealt with these things before?
Beichuan Si's calm, steady gaze made Shengu Mirai calm down as well.
"Is Mr. Temple talking about supernatural stories or something?"
"Exactly. Besides Hoshino Nana's grudge, there's something else, and you seem to have confronted it before," Beichuan Si held up two fingers.
"Usually, people get nightmares when entangled with grievances, and their fortune may decline, possibly even affecting their health. But the other grievance on you has almost faded due to its age."
Hearing these words from Beichuan Si, Shengu Mirai then remembered.
The supernatural incident she encountered in middle school.
"The tall woman from the four corners spirit-summoning game..." Shengu Mirai whispered, quickly regaining her spirit. "Did Mr. Temple just say 50,000 yen to solve both the four corners spirit-summoning game and the Hoshino Nana issue?"
"Sure," Beichuan Si nodded.
"Then, Mr. Temple, can I stay at Mr. Temple's place?!" Her eyes lit up, her voice tinged with excitement.
"No."
"I can pay more!" Shengu Mirai gritted her teeth, decisively stating.
"..." Beichuan Si's face darkened.
As his expression changed, Shengu Mirai's heart sank—
"How much more?"
Uh???
Shengu Mirai opened her small mouth in astonishment, finally revealing her bottom line.
"An additional 50,000 yen on top of 100,000 yen!"
"Alright, deal!" Beichuan Si's face broke into a smile.
Yet under his smiling gaze, Shengu Mirai inexplicably felt a chill.
Whenever Beichuan Si smiled, nothing good would happen.
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