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Asher and the others found a decent-looking restaurant along the shopping street and booked a private room.
After ordering the dishes they wanted, they settled in to wait.
As for Hana Yurikawa, she spent the entire time playing with Hotaru-gusa.
It was obvious that she genuinely adored this soft, sweet-smelling little girl.
"Sniff—"
"Hotaru-gusa, you smell so good! What brand of body wash do you use? Can you recommend it to your big sister?"
After pulling Hotaru-gusa into another tight hug and inhaling deeply, Hana asked curiously.
Hotaru-gusa blinked, completely confused.
"What's body wash?"
"Haha, let me explain," Asher said with a smile as he watched them interact.
"Hana, Hotaru-gusa is a shikigami. She doesn't need to bathe at all."
"And just from her name, you can tell what type she is. So even without bathing, she stays clean and always smells nice."
"What?! So that's how it works?"
"That's amazing!"
"I'm so jealous!"
"I want to be clean and smell good without having to shower too!"
As a girl, Hana instantly became incredibly envious of Hotaru-gusa's special nature.
After all, what girl wouldn't want to be like her?
"Well… you probably shouldn't get your hopes up, Hana," Miko Yotsuya said with a laugh. "You're not a shikigami, after all."
"Honestly, if I hadn't come out with Mr. Asher today, I never would've imagined that shikigami could appear in the human world like normal people and do everyday things."
In Miko's mind, shikigami were supposed to be mindless beings that only followed Asher's orders.
Hotaru-gusa's presence completely shattered that assumption.
Hana strongly agreed with Miko's thoughts, but soon after, she shot Miko a resentful look.
"Speaking of that, it just reminds me…"
"You went on a date with Mr. Asher and didn't even invite me. That's just cruel."
"If I hadn't happened to come out shopping today, I might never have met such an adorable Hotaru-gusa!"
As she said this, Hana rubbed her cheek hard against Hotaru-gusa again.
"Ah… a date?"
"Hana, don't say things like that. Mr. Asher and I just went out shopping, that's all…"
Miko hurriedly tried to explain, her heart pounding like a startled deer.
Unfortunately, that only made it sound worse.
After all, what kind of "normal relationship" involved a man and a woman shopping alone together?
If that wasn't that kind of relationship, then what was?
"I just wanted to repay Mr. Asher for saving my life, so I treated him to a meal on my day off…"
"Okay, okay, I get it."
"Really, I'm not even interested in calling you out on it."
Hana waved her hand dismissively before turning her curious gaze toward Asher.
"By the way, Mr. Asher, how many shikigami do you actually have?"
"I've never seen Hotaru-gusa before."
Asher paused, thinking.
"Well… that's hard to say…"
According to the shikigami compendium, there were N-rank, R-rank, SR-rank, SSR-rank, and SP-rank shikigami. Altogether, there were several hundred of them.
And if nothing unexpected happened, he would eventually obtain them all through the system.
"For now, though, it's just the ones you've already seen."
"I see…"
Listening to him, both Hana and Miko realized that Asher would only have more and more shikigami in the future.
This made Hana even more curious about the existence of onmyoji.
So she turned into a curious little kid, constantly bombarding Asher with questions about onmyoji and their world.
Miko simply sat quietly to the side, watching Asher chat with Hana.
…
Night fell, and the city lights flickered on.
After finishing dinner, they stepped out of the restaurant.
"It's getting late," Asher said. "Yotsuya, Hana, you should head home."
"Oh right! I've been out so long I forgot to message my mom. She must be worried."
Hana nodded, suddenly remembering.
"It's all Hotaru-gusa's fault for being too cute. Once I saw her, I forgot everything else!"
As she spoke, Hana gently pinched Hotaru-gusa's soft cheeks.
Asher and Miko both smiled at the sight.
"It really is late. I should head home too," Miko said.
"Mr. Asher, what about you? Are you going home as well?"
She looked at him with curiosity.
For some reason, she felt that when Asher said those words earlier, he didn't mean they were parting ways yet.
Asher smiled back at her.
Miko really was perceptive.
He didn't plan on hiding it from them anyway.
"I'm heading to the school."
"Huh? This late? Mr. Asher, what are you going to school for?"
Both Miko and Hana looked confused.
Asher then explained that some classmates had decided to explore the school at night.
"I'm a bit worried about them, so I'm going to check it out."
"And if there really are ghosts, I'll deal with them while I'm there."
Of course, that was just an excuse.
His real goal was to complete the task issued by the system.
"I see…"
"Mr. Asher, you're really kind!"
"With Mr. Asher there, even if something dangerous happens, it'll be fine, right?"
In Miko and Hana's eyes, Asher's image suddenly grew even taller and more heroic.
Hana, in particular, was practically looking at him like a full-blown fangirl.
After all, what girl could resist a handsome, powerful, and kind-hearted prince?
Especially someone Hana's age.
She spent her free time reading romance novels.
And now, she suddenly realized something.
The perfect male lead from those novels was standing right in front of her.
Feeling their admiring gazes, Asher smiled gently.
"Alright, you two should head home. I need to get going too."
"If I'm late, something unexpected might happen."
Miko and Hana nodded, their expressions filled with concern.
"We understand."
"But Mr. Asher, please be careful!"
"Your safety comes first!"
"If anything happens, I… I mean, Miko would be—she'd definitely be heartbroken!"
Hana almost let it slip and hurriedly corrected herself.
Miko immediately shot her a flustered glare.
"Hana, what are you saying?!"
"I… I wouldn't…"
Seeing that the two of them were about to start bickering, Asher laughed and cut in.
"Alright, alright. Hotaru-gusa and I will head out first."
"You two get home early and be careful on the way."
"If anything unexpected happens, call me right away."
With that, Asher took Hotaru-gusa's hand and turned toward the school without hesitation, walking off with steady steps.
"....."