The room fell silent. Kamiya Mirai looked at the filth on Kitagawa Tera's expressionless face.
It was a while before she said sheepishly, "Tera-kun, it wasn't intentional."
She made her conclusion directly.
Kitagawa Tera glanced deeply at Kamiya Mirai. He said nothing, bypassed her, and entered the living room.
"Eri!"
"Ah? Eh?! Nii-san, what happened to your face?!"
Kitagawa Eri was wrapping the cold food and about to put it into the fridge. She saw the miserable condition of her brother's face and was slightly dazed.
Kitagawa Tera did not reply to Kitagawa Eri but merely pointed at the tissue box not far from her. "Bring the tissue box over."
"Oh!" Kitagawa Eri seemed to wake up from her dream. She trotted over, brought the tissue box to Kitagawa Tera's side, and said with a gentle voice, "Please use it."
"Un." Kitagawa Tera acknowledged lightly.
Kitagawa Eri watched Kitagawa Tera's steadiness, her heart full of admiration for her brother. She felt that he was increasingly becoming like the head of the family.
Kitagawa Tera pulled out a few tissues, wiped his face, and asked. "What time did you get back?"
"Around eight o'clock. I saw Mirai-oneesan at the door. It wasn't right for her to wait for Tera nii-san by the door, so I invited her in." Kitagawa Eri eyed Kitagawa Tera carefully. "Is Mirai-oneesan Nii-san's girlfriend?"
"No," Kitagawa Tera replied without a moment's hesitation before relaxing his expression. "Have you two eaten?"
"Yes, we've eaten."
"Is that so?" Kitagawa Tera looked at the somewhat embarrassed Kamiya Mirai standing behind him and did not make things difficult for her.
It was already past ten o'clock at night. He did not have the energy to quarrel with this energetic high school girl.
"Kamiya, go and take a bath first. Did you bring your pajamas?"
"Yes."
"Un. I'll bring you to the guest room after you bathe. Eri, come and help with the bedding," he instructed orderly.
He could actually arrange the bedding alone, but he did not really know much about where the futon was, so it was better to bring Kitagawa Eri along.
As soon as Kitagawa Tera got up, he felt a tug at his sleeve.
Kamiya Mirai's tiny voice sounded. "Sorry, I really didn't mean to."
She sincerely apologized again.
Kamiya Mirai was not someone who felt she could have her way just because she had a pretty face. She had her own principles.
If she did something wrong, she naturally had to apologize.
Watching her tug at his sleeve, Kitagawa Tera suddenly felt like he understood why this little girl with eccentric hobbies was so popular in Kyokuboku High School.
She was pretty, did not have princess syndrome, had top results, was cheerful, generous…
Who would not love a pretty girl with a good temper akin to a 2D character?
"I'm not angry," Kitagawa Tera replied as calmly as possible.
"Not angry?" Kamiya Mirai asked Kitagawa Tera to his face.
Kitagawa Tera's face was as cold and hard as before. His expressionless face made it difficult to discern what he was thinking.
"My face has always been like this. I'm really not angry," Kitagawa Tera said again.
"… Why do I have a weird feeling hearing Tera-kun joke about your face…" Kamiya Mirai wanted to smile but did not because she was afraid it would be impolite, so she teased with a sullen face.
Kitagawa Eri's eyes sparkled. Sandwiched between them, she was analyzing the relationship between Kitagawa Tera and Kamiya Mirai in her heart.
Finally, she knocked her small hand with sudden realization.
Right, someone brought home like this by Tera-niisan can't be described as 'girlfriend'!
I should address her as sister-in-law instead!
Kitagawa Eri's small eyes sized her up, pondering and looking at her 'sister-in-law'. She was more satisfied with every look.
Kamiya Mirai looked good, could cook, and was also humorous. She could complement her brother's paralyzed icy face.
Before she could finish her thoughts, her little head was knocked by Kitagawa Tera's big hands.
"Why did Tera-niisan hit me?!" Kitagawa Eri felt very wronged.
She was still thinking about what she should do as a sister-in-law in the future but had her little head forcefully knocked by Kitagawa Tera.
"Nothing. The look in your eyes made me uncomfortable." Kitagawa Tera slanted his eyes at Kitagawa Eri. He had long seen through her thoughts.
However, Kitagawa Tera could not be bothered to put things right. He only said one sentence, "It's already half past ten. Hurry up."
…
After Kamiya Mirai and Kitagawa Eri fell asleep, Kitagawa Tera finally heaved a sigh of relief and soaked in the bathtub.
"The value of my Cadaveric Aura has broken ninety. Did the recovery of an advanced-stage elementary wraith only give me nine additional points?" Kitagawa Tera pondered while looking at the monotonous interface.
Name: Bai Fan (Kitagawa Tera)
Comprehensive Physical Stat: 42 (nearly five times that of a normal person)
Cadaveric Aura: 45/90
Skills: Eight Extremities Fist (Intermediate), Fundamental Use of Cadaveric Aura (Intermediate), Jujitsu (Intermediate), Fist Fighting (Advanced).
Traits: You are doomed to attract strange, spiritual phenomena.
Remaining Skill Points: 7
Remaining Items: Talisman (4)
"What I'm lacking now isn't my Cadaveric Aura capacity but complementing skills and weapons." Kitagawa Tera frowned quietly while looking at the data in the bathtub.
It was not that he had not tried attaching Cadaveric Aura onto ordinary knives or bats, but they all rotted, as if concentrated sulfuric acid had burned them.
Since even metal could not escape such fate, Kitagawa Tera could only pin his hopes on the Spirit Dagger Kanesada that was brought by this mission chain.
"Exorcising 'Ghost in the Mirror' and 'Shadow of the Long Corridor' gave me three points, 'Lakeside Ghost hand' gave me two points, and 'Human-Faced Ghost' another two points. Similarly, absorbing these grudges also enhanced my physique.
"I have seven skill points now. It takes two skill points to unlock the Energy-Saving Equipment branch, so I'll have five points left."
Kitagawa Tera's gaze jumped over 'Military Dagger Technique' to the lower part of the vast skill tree.
'Spirit Dagger Technique'
"No matter how I think about it, the name of this skill seems like the system is setting a trap up for me." Kitagawa Tera's eyebrows twitched as he looked at the grayed-out Spirit Dagger Technique.
A cold message transmitted from his brain.
'The system has not set up any trap for the host. Please do not be delusional. The Spirit Dagger Technique can be used to obtain confirmation and, at the same time, be used to store the Cadaveric Aura of spirits.'
The indifferent system gave a rare hint for the first time.
This stunned Kitagawa Tera a while.
"In this case, there shouldn't be too much problem with the exchange."
He no longer hesitated once he made up his mind. He spent two skill points to open up the equipment branch and another five skill points to activate the Spirit Dagger Technique.
In that instant, many things seemed to pop out into his mind.