"This looks like an apple seed."
Arata pinched it between his fingertips, examining it closely.
"Um, Arata-kun, what exactly did you find out in the dream?" Himeno asked.
"The Devil told the ramen shop owner to meet him at a church."
"Which church?"
"He didn't specify. He just said a word: 'Big'."
"Is there a church with 'Big' in its name?"
"It takes about 20 minutes by car to get to the Tokyo St. Mary's Cathedral," Aki Hayakawa noted.
"Cathedral." Arata repeated the name. It did indeed contain the character for 'Big', and it was nearby.
"Alright then, let's head to the Tokyo St. Mary's Cathedral. The mastermind behind the Apple Case is likely hiding there."
Arata finished speaking, and the three turned to head toward the cathedral. But when Arata looked back, he saw that the others had stopped in their tracks.
"Why aren't you guys moving?"
"You go ahead, we'll catch up with you in a moment."
"Fine, we'll wait for you at the entrance," Himeno said.
The trio walked further away. Once they were out of sight around a corner, Himeno suddenly stopped and grabbed Aki Hayakawa. "Let's go back and see what kind of mischief Arata is pulling."
Aki was startled, but his curiosity was piqued. They had seen Arata acting mysteriously at crime scenes too many times. So, the two doubled back to the corner to investigate. But the moment they peeked their heads around, their vision began to blur. Slowly, their bodies went limp and they collapsed. Himeno fell to the ground first, and Aki slumped over onto her back, the two of them falling asleep in a pile.
"Hey, what's wrong with you two?" Denji patted Aki's back.
"They're fine, they're just having a nightmare."
"Master, you made them have a nightmare!"
"That's the price for spying."
Arata picked up Aki and handed him to Denji. "You carry Aki to the car; I'll carry Himeno-senpai."
Denji didn't hesitate, immediately turning his back to take the load. Arata crouched down to hoist Himeno up. On the way, Denji felt something wasn't right—he noticed Arata's back was pressed firmly against Himeno's front. The sensation of the compressed "balloons" against him plucked at Denji's heartstrings.
"Master, Himeno-senpai looks heavy. Should we switch? Aki is really light."
"It's fine, I can handle the weight."
"Um... I wanted to carry Himeno-senpai for some weighted training."
"I know exactly what's going through that head of yours."
Arata stopped in his tracks and dropped Himeno. "Hehehe," Denji quickly stopped and handed Aki over to Arata, then took Himeno onto his own back. The moment he made contact, Denji let out a sharp squeak of excitement, his face glowing with pure bliss.
"You really need to find a girlfriend. You can't just keep relying on... 'oiling' your palm to satisfy your psychological needs."
"I want to, too! But I have to defeat the Gun Devil before I can start dating Miss Makima."
"Don't blindly chase the rose in the distance and ignore the tulips right in front of you."
They reached the car. Arata gently placed Aki in the back seat, and Denji, still carrying Himeno, sat in the front.
"Are you planning to keep carrying her the whole time?"
"Uh... I was just too immersed in the moment, I forgot."
Denji hastily placed Himeno in the back seat. Arata then drove toward the Tokyo St. Mary's Cathedral. Because he drove recklessly—launching starts and drifting through corners—they were inevitably pulled over by a traffic cop. But the moment Arata flashed his Public Safety Devil Hunter badge and explained he was in pursuit of a devil, the officer immediately cleared the way and even signaled other cars to pull over to let them pass. Arata shaved 10 minutes off the 20-minute drive.
The car came to a smooth stop, and Arata turned around to wake the two up. But Denji let out a sudden shout.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me someone is missing from the car."
"No... they kissed."
Arata looked into the back seat. Because of his reckless driving and drifting, the two had been unable to control their bodies while asleep. When the car stopped, Aki had slumped over onto Himeno, and their lips had locked together.
Just then, Arata's hypnosis wore off. They slowly opened their eyes, bewildered at first. When their gazes dropped to their joined lips, Aki turned pale with shock and leaped up.
"AHHH!!!"
Aki scrambled away as if waking from a horrific nightmare. Himeno, however, remained calm. She wiped her lips with her finger and then licked it. "Mmm, Aki's taste."
"What's going on?"
"Master must have driven too fast. I don't know when you two ended up kissing."
"Himeno-senpai, I didn't mean it—forget what just happened!"
"I will never forget the taste of Aki's lips."
Aki's face burned bright red, and he bolted out of the car to get a breath of fresh air. Himeno, looking like she wanted more, followed him out.
"This is it." Arata looked at the Gothic-style cathedral. The main structure rejected traditional wall-and-roof designs, with curved walls rising from a sloped quadrilateral plane on the ground, converging at the top into a horizontal, cross-shaped skylight. From above, it looked like a Latin cross; looking up, it looked like a silver bird ready to take flight. The bell tower stood separate from the main building, a 60-meter silver needle piercing the sky.
"Is that devil really here?" The constant stream of pedestrians at the door made the cathedral seem far less terrifying than they had imagined.
"Let's go inside and check."
Since they were already here, Arata decided it wouldn't hurt to look. The three followed him in. Aki deliberately kept his distance from Himeno; Himeno noticed, realizing Aki was still thinking about what happened in the car. She decided not to tease him for now—they had work to do first. She'd save the "public execution" of that incident for when they were out drinking.
Inside, Denji was stunned by the interior. Many people were there, eyes closed in fervent prayer.
"So many people. That devil couldn't be here, could he?"
"I wish Peter were here." Arata's eyes scanned everyone in the cathedral.
"We can invite Peter to help. Also, that girl named Tiantian seems interested in you."
"Tiantian is a little girl, and I'm a middle-aged uncle."
"You're 25—you think you're an uncle?"
"The 25-year-old me actually has the skin of a 50-year-old."
"Your skin doesn't look that bad, it's not as exaggerated as 50." Himeno glanced at him. "I'll take you and Aki for a professional massage and skin care treatment sometime."
"Is it a 'proper' massage?" Denji asked, clearly interested.
"It's more proper than your brain," Himeno retorted.
"Let's go. It looks like the devil isn't here." Arata led them on a circle around the cathedral, but they found no suspicious characters.
"Are there any other churches with 'Big' in the name?"
"Big..." Himeno and Aki tried their best to recall. "No, this is the only one," Aki said.
"Fine. Maybe he knew the Coriander Devil was dead and fled early."
With that, they turned to leave. But inside the cathedral, a man's eyes had been fixed on them the entire time.
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