Chapter 105: This Is Morning Training!
Considering her own survival, the ghost driver cautiously said to Kasumizuki, "Miko-sama, you know me. I've always obeyed the law…"
Ring!
The bell rang even though no one had touched it.
The ghost driver glanced at it in confusion.
"Keep going," Luke told her.
"Oh."
The ghost driver felt something was wrong, but she continued anyway.
"Could you show me some leniency when the time comes? Miko-sama, you must know that I respect you more than anyone!"
Ring!
The bell rang again.
Every voice in the room vanished along with its chime.
Only the clattering of Kasumizuki repeatedly rolling the dice on the automatic mahjong table remained.
Clearly, the ghost driver had chosen death.
Realizing something was wrong, she cautiously asked, "…That bell doesn't happen to detect whether someone is lying, does it?"
Luke smiled lightly.
"Of course not."
Ring!
The ghost driver's already pale face became even whiter.
'I'm finished. A ghost is about to die twice.'
"Prepare to die, you disrespectful traitor!"
Luke took a fighting stance.
The ghost driver shouted in panic, "I've bled for the organization! I've made great contributions!"
"That's enough."
Kasumizuki rubbed her forehead in exasperation.
"In short, behave yourselves for a while and don't cause trouble. Remember to notify the benevolent spirits too. Those bored people always love turning small issues into major ones."
"Understood! I'll never forget your great kindness!"
The ghost driver hurriedly answered.
"I won't run around for a while. I'll stay inside Chiba Prefecture."
The Kuchisake-onna also asked, "What about me?"
"Don't go back to that alley and continue frightening people. Even though you haven't killed anyone…"
Kasumizuki reminded her softly.
They did not eliminate every spirit they encountered. Otherwise, unusual beings like the ghost driver and those benevolent spirits would have disappeared long ago.
As long as they did not cause trouble, exorcists generally left them alone.
"Then where am I supposed to go?"
The Kuchisake-onna asked blankly.
"Just find somewhere to live," the ghost driver advised as her senior. "I usually live inside my taxi."
"Then should I live inside the scissors?"
The Kuchisake-onna thought about it.
"But if I do that, won't I be unable to rob people for cigarettes and smoke?"
"You can actually experience the feeling of smoking?"
The ghost driver looked confused.
"Mm."
Only then did Luke realize that the Kuchisake-onna had actually been smoking earlier.
He and Kasumizuki exchanged strange looks.
That was interesting.
In theory, ghosts could experience very few sensations. Smoking, at the very least, should not have been one of them.
That meant the author of Scream might be connected to the cultists.
"Where are the cultists?!"
The ghost driver suddenly roared like a maniac.
Ignoring the ghost driver's outburst, Kasumizuki made a note of the matter and suggested, "Why don't we let her stay in the cursed building?"
"The cursed building? Is it opening already?"
"How could it be that fast? She can stay there for now. Shibuya Jun has been there recently, so he can keep an eye on her and stop her from causing more trouble."
"Fine."
Luke curiously asked the Kuchisake-onna, "Can you do anything useful?"
"I can frighten people, and I can also… cut hair."
The Kuchisake-onna looked at his hair.
"…Can you even mine out?"
She had been the one who ruined his hairstyle in the first place.
"Yes."
"Right, you won't suddenly stab me with the scissors while cutting it, will you?"
"No."
The bell did not ring.
Luke pointed at his hair.
"Then fix it. Also, how about letting her open a hair salon inside the cursed building? She could use the money she earns to pay rent."
"…You won't even spare a ghost? Are you planning to become some kind of capitalist?"
Kasumizuki looked at him speechlessly.
"Don't slander me. I've never exploited the surplus value of their labor!"
Hearing that, Kasumizuki lightly nodded.
"That's true. You're more like a remnant of feudalism. You keep two maids at home, and also… well, you understand."
Exorcists truly knew how to speak.
"There's no need to leave the rest unsaid. Just say what you mean."
Luke stared at Kasumizuki with dark lines across his face, sincerely wanting to cut her with the scissors.
"Besides, am I really the kind of person who fools around with women?"
Ring!
The bell's chime was deafening.
"…"
Luke fell silent.
The ghost driver and Kuchisake-onna struggled to suppress their laughter. Their shoulders trembled as muffled "fufu" sounds escaped through the fingers covering their mouths.
Jun and Matsuzuki Saki could no longer hold back and burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha! You really say one thing while thinking another!"
Luke wanted to cut every one of them.
Kasumizuki interrupted the group.
"In short, once the issue concerning evil spirits is settled, I'll investigate the remaining cult branches."
"I'll also have someone search for the author of that horror manga and see whether we can find any clues."
...
Saturday.
Luke separated from Miko's dream while still asleep.
After several weekdays passed, the connection between their dreams had gradually weakened, slowly returning to normal.
The previous night, he had only remained inside Miko's dream for about an hour before they completely separated.
At this rate, their tangled dreams should stop entirely after a few more days.
Because of that, he had not worn the [Dream Necklace] to sleep for several nights.
"The holiday is here~"
Luke murmured.
With April about to end, a short holiday was approaching. After two days of classes following that break, another short holiday would arrive.
Whether students or working adults, simply knowing that a decent vacation was coming made people inexplicably happy.
A gentle breeze entered through the half-open window. The pure-white curtains swayed elegantly like the skirt of a dancer.
Because the bed was close to the window, the curtain could gently brush across his face.
Feeling it sweep over him, Luke closed his eyes and rested a little longer.
When he opened them again, he looked at the black-and-white checkered blanket covering only half of himself and the two maids beside him.
The restored Luke had naturally faced another "challenge" from the two maids before the holiday.
He had not rejected their affection. After a long night together, Annie and Mikasa had fallen asleep beside him, each holding one of his arms.
Annie curled against him like a sleepy golden cat. Luke gently moved the hair away from her face, careful not to wake her.
Remembering how energetic she had been the night before, he smiled to himself.
'She only gets bold when I haven't recovered. Once I'm back to normal, she never stands a chance.'
Mikasa had also finally worn herself out. Her normally calm face looked soft and peaceful in sleep, a rare sight he had not seen for a long time.
Luke carefully tried to slip free from between them.
Mikasa sensed the movement and opened her sleepy eyes, quietly meeting his gaze.
"Aren't you going out for morning training?"
Although she spoke those words, the exhausted Mikasa contradicted herself by locking his arm against her again.
Her slender fingers lightly pressed and kneaded his palm as if she were squeezing bubbles in plastic wrap.
"I'm going now," he told her.
A single day of laziness could easily become lasting laziness, so maintaining a regular routine was still necessary.
However, when Luke tried to sit up and get dressed, Mikasa's pale arm remained wrapped around his, preventing him from rising.
"Mikasa—"
Luke called her name helplessly.
"Mm."
Mikasa quietly answered, closing her eyes without releasing him. She even leaned her upper body against him.
It proved that the normally rigid Mikasa could become surprisingly soft when approached in the correct way.
But this was not the time.
He still needed to go exercise.
"If you don't let go, I'll get serious," he warned.
"Oh."
Mikasa still answered calmly, but her soft voice sounded almost provocative to him.
Instead of separating her arms, she rested her head against his collarbone.
Her warm breathing brushed his shoulder, leaving the skin there slightly heated.
This was clearly an open challenge from Mikasa.
"You asked for this!"
He naturally would not indulge such bad behavior from his maid.
How dared a mere maid rebel against Super Earthling Two and overturn the natural order?
He might not be able to beat her inside an octagonal cage, but could he not win on a rectangular bed?
"You intend to rebel against your master?"
Mikasa tightened her hold and rested against him, making it obvious that she had no intention of letting him leave.
"This is your own fault!"
Luke refused to let his maid openly challenge him. If he could not beat Mikasa in a proper fight, he could at least win this contest of stubbornness.
"You're rebelling against your master?"
He knew exactly how to make Mikasa loosen her grip. After a brief struggle and some quiet teasing, her stubborn resistance finally faded.
"This is morning training too," Luke whispered.
He made sure not to wake Annie. If she joined in, his real morning workout would be delayed even longer.
After some time, Mikasa finally released him and sank back into the pillows, exhausted but satisfied.
Luke had promised that he would win, so naturally, he had won.
If a direct battle was impossible, a surprise attack still counted.
That was victory achieved upon the battlefield of the bed.
"Then I'm heading out?"
Luke asked Mikasa. The sky outside was already bright.
Thankfully, their preparations had been thorough enough that the exhausted Annie still had not awakened.
Otherwise, his long-maintained training routine really would have been ruined.
"Mm."
Mikasa closed her eyes and answered softly, quietly enjoying the uninterrupted breeze that continued making the curtains sway.
"Right, I'm going to the shopping center today. Do either of you need anything?"
Luke asked her.
Today was the day he had arranged to go shopping with Miura Yumiko again.
He had already written down everything he needed to buy.
Underwear, short-sleeved shirts, socks, and casual trousers.
After his height changed and the weather gradually became warmer, many of his old clothes no longer fit properly.
He needed to prepare at least one new set of nearly everything.
He decided against buying swimwear.
Yui had mentioned wanting to visit the beach, but Luke respectfully declined.
After all, those who drowned were usually the ones who knew how to swim.
Someone whose swimming was so poor that he feared swallowing water inside the bath at home should not attempt to greet the ocean.
Mm.
After demanding that they improve their grades for the competition, Hiratsuka Shizuka had also ordered him not to neglect classical literature.
That damn adult.
Mikasa quietly asked him to buy underwear.
Luke confirmed the sizes he remembered for both maids, making sure he would not purchase the wrong ones.
After all, when it came to their measurements, he understood them better than anyone.
…
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