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Akio had no idea that, right after he left the Nura Clan, its members were being interrogated by the Onmyoji Bureau.
Not that he would've cared even if he did.
After walking away from the clan, he soon stepped out of Ukiyoe Town.
Hmm… so where should I go now?
Akio strolled aimlessly down the street, hands in his pockets, lost in thought.
He'd already left the yokai problem in the Nura Clan's hands, so there was nothing left to worry about. They were more than capable. After all, if an organization as famous as theirs couldn't even handle a man-eating demon, they might as well shut down.
But Akio remembered clearly: the Nura Clan was anything but useless. Under the second head, Nura Rihan, they were terrifyingly strong.
So yeah, he had zero reason to stress. He just had to sit back and wait for the results.
"Eh? Isn't that Akio?"
The voice came from behind him, cutting through his thoughts. Akio stopped, turned around—and saw a familiar face.
Mio Akiyama.
Member of Sakuragaoka High's light music club, lead vocalist of their band… the infamous "Blue-and-White Bowl Girl."
Though if memory served, that embarrassing incident hadn't happened yet, so right now Mio's social life was still intact.
But she wasn't the one who had called out to him.
"Over here, over here!"
Akio shifted his gaze past Mio's voice and spotted the lively girl standing next to her.
Ritsu Tainaka.
Mio's childhood friend, Akio's classmate—and even his seatmate.
Her short, light-brown hair was held back by a headband, showing off her forehead.
That look reminded him of someone else he knew: Sonoko Suzuki, the second daughter of the Suzuki conglomerate. And just like Sonoko, when Ritsu took the headband off and let her bangs down, her looks jumped up several levels.
Akio even remembered an episode in K-On! when Ritsu did just that, shocking poor Yui Hirasawa speechless.
Talk about coincidences.
Seeing that Akio's attention had finally landed on her, Ritsu planted her hands on her hips and grinned. "Hey! I was the one who called you, but the first person you looked at was Mio. Figures—you're totally Mio-obsessed."
Mio's face went crimson. She was used to Ritsu's nonsense, but being teased like that still made her steam up like a boiling kettle.
"Ritsu, shut up!" she snapped, whacking Ritsu's shoulder again and again.
"Ow ow ow—sorry, sorry, my bad, Mio!" Ritsu laughed loudly while begging for mercy.
Mio finally let her off with an exasperated glare.
Akio couldn't help but chuckle. "You two really are close."
Mio sighed, shoulders slumping. "More like cursed together since childhood."
Then Ritsu tilted her head. "By the way, Akio, why haven't you been at school these past few days? Something happen?"
Akio nodded. "Ran into a little trouble. But it's dealt with. I'll be back Monday."
Ritsu patted her chest in relief, looking like a huge weight had been lifted. "That's good, that's good. Life's way less fun without you as my lunch buddy."
Just then, a line of drool sparkled at the corner of her mouth as she clearly remembered something.
Mio gave her a disgusted look but still pulled out a handkerchief and wiped it away. "You're ridiculous, Ritsu."
Ritsu puffed her cheeks. "Hey, you've eaten Akio's cooking too. Don't tell me it's not amazing, Mio!"
Mio froze, then glanced shyly at Akio and muttered, "It… it is really good."
That jogged Akio's memory. He finally recalled how his predecessor had built this bond.
Back then, as a foreign exchange student from the East, he couldn't stand eating Japanese food every single day. Once in a while was fine, but all the time? Impossible. Habits formed over more than ten years didn't just vanish.
Not to mention, Chinese cuisine easily outclassed Japanese in variety and depth.
So, after one too many bland lunches, his predecessor had simply started making his own meal.
That was how Ritsu, sitting beside him, discovered the secret.
When she realized what kind of food he was making, she insisted on joining in, and from then on the two of them became inseparable "lunch buddies."
One thing led to another, and Mio was dragged in too.
These days, the three of them often shared their meals together. They'd become pretty good friends.
Akio couldn't help but admire that. He hadn't expected his predecessor to have that kind of skill.
Sure, Akio himself could cook… but only instant noodles, fried rice, and other basic stuff. Nothing impressive. Anything more complicated than that usually came out a disaster.
His predecessor's cooking was definitely a talent—and it had been cut short way too brutally.
But Akio wasn't going to let that stand. He would avenge him. That yokai who devoured his predecessor wouldn't get an easy death.
"Whoa, that was a seriously evil smile just now," Ritsu suddenly blurted out.
Akio blinked, touching his face. "I… smiled?"
Ritsu nodded vigorously. "Not just smiled—smiled like a villain! Ask Mio if you don't believe me."
Mio fumbled for words, because she agreed. It hadn't just been evil—it was downright scary. But she didn't have the heart to badmouth him, so she just stood there awkwardly.
Ritsu, however, squinted at him suspiciously. "Wait a sec. That creepy smile—you're not planning to cook up some weird, cursed dish to torment me, are you?"
Akio rolled his eyes. "Do I look that bored?"
"You never know!" Ritsu shot back with a cheeky grin.
That was the last straw. Akio raised his hand and gave her a playful karate chop to the head.
"..."
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