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II: Lily of the Valley
Chapter 86: In a Passenger Boat
The person who named you wishes you a safe and successful life.

***

The chirping of insects in the summer night filled the thick darkness, and the clouds and mist half-hidden the moon hanging high in the sky.

Not long after Yayoi climbed up to the fourth floor and got through the window with bare hands, the irritable Akari picked up a shovel from the corner and smashed the damn lock.

The metal rolling shutter door was opened, silvery-white moonlight splashed on the flat cement floor, fresh air poured into the warehouse, and a strong fishy smell hit the face.

Akari almost vomited her dinner.

Broken limbs were scattered behind the rolling shutter door, and the huge and ugly body of the cursed spirit fell in the corner. The moonlight that broke in fell on the limbs hanging limply from its body, making it strangely twisted and terrifying.

A smelly purple liquid was splashed on the ground. Needless to say, Akari knew that the liquid was the blood of the cursed spirit.

The wind was cold and cold at night, and the huge full moon was embedded in the dark sky. The cold moonlight filled the silent warehouse, and the night owl's cry was as mysterious as the cry of a ghost.

"Nitta-san."

The surrounding environment was too quiet, and the sudden sound startled Akari, and her body subconsciously trembled.

Akari saw the red-haired woman walking out of the shadows, followed by a thin boy.

"You really scared me to death!" Akari breathed a sigh of relief, and then shouted at the top of her voice, "Don't act without consultation!"

The entire abandoned factory echoed with Akari's angry roar. Yayoi stood in front of the boy, withstanding Akari's anger, with an expression as steady as an old dog listening to the scolding, but the boy following Yayoi was quite frightened.

"Gomen, I will explain it in advance next time." Yayoi clasped her hands together and admitted her mistake honestly and apologized. She had a correct attitude in admitting her mistake, but people who know her well would know that she would dare to do it next time.

Akari didn't expect Yayoi to admit her mistake so straightforwardly, and most of her anger disappeared immediately. The woman with short blond hair put her hands on her waist, exhaled deeply, and thought to herself, forget it.

Perhaps the scolding just now consumed Akari a lot of energy. After she stopped, a feeling of powerless exhaustion arose spontaneously.

"So, what is going on here?" Akari pointed at an ugly cursed spirit and turned her head to focus on the cursed spirit.

Akari saw the sword stuck in the head of the cursed spirit, and recognized that the sword was Yayoi's cursed weapon. Just looking at the angle, it looked like it was thrown. The person who threw the sword was obviously very strong, and the sword penetrated directly through the human-like head of the cursed spirit.

"You..." Akari's eyes twitched.

"When it wanted to run away, I just threw the sword out." Yayoi said honestly and concisely, making Akari full of complaints and didn't know where to start.

Yayoi walked over expressionlessly, walked around the blood on the ground, and reached out to hold the handle of the sword. The slender and graceful blade was pulled out from the corpse of the cursed spirit. The silver-white arc of the blade cut through the air, and the blood stained on the blade fell off.

Yayoi slowly put the sword into the scabbard. The moonlight flowing on the sword flashed past, and the sword closed the scabbard.

Yayoi stuffed the sword into her backpack and slung the strap over her shoulder.

"What exactly is going on?" Akari's brows knitted into a knot. She watched the cursed spirit corpses disappear on the ground like burning embers, "Will this thing show up again tomorrow night?"

"Ah." Yayoi said, "This is no ordinary cursed spirit."

The cursed spirits on the streets would be gone once they were killed. She had killed this thing so many times. It resting today but would be full of energy the next day. It was obviously different from the cursed spirits she had encountered before.

"I'll ask Gojo." Yayoi said.

She was just a dabbler who had become a monk halfway, so it was better to consult professionals about the curse.

"By the way, Nitta-san, do you want to have midnight snack?" Yayoi asked.

Akari: "...you are actually still in the mood for late-night snacks!"

She almost threw up her dinner!

After coming out of the abandoned warehouse, the moon was already high.

After walking out of the abandoned factory, Yayoi finally remembered Junpei. The boy was different from the cheerful Yuji. He was a bit lonely and unsociable. After walking out of the abandoned factory, he stared blankly at the moon hanging alone in the sky. It was cold, but it was the only source of light in the dark night.

Yayoi assumed he was frightened.

From the beginning of the mission to now, Yayoi had been to various places that had been ravaged by cursed spirits, because people who could temporarily see the cursed spirits on special occasions could not find it difficult to see those ugly and twisted things with their own eyes. Countless people suppressed the fear that spread from the depths of their souls, fainted on the spot, and lost their normal ability to control themselves.

In that situation, the boy could still hold on to his shaky sanity, run away desperately to save himself, and buy enough time to wait for the arrival of the sword. This was already much better than the above ones.

After the tight nerves relax, it was inevitable that he would feel a little scared.

Yayoi glanced at the thin boy and said calmly, "Do you want to go for supper together?"

The boy didn't answer, and it took him a long time to realize that Yayoi was asking him. He pointed at himself with wide eyes, like a goose, "Me, me?"

Yayoi nodded, "There's no one else but you, right?"

Junpei was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously wanted to refuse. His long-term habit of keeping a distance from others made him subconsciously want to decline politely. When his eyes inadvertently glanced at the bright red hair, the words that came out of his mouth became, "Is, is it okay?"

"Okay." Yayoi tilted her head, and her unfettered red hair poured down from her shoulders, bright and flowing, like a thousand lights in his sight.

When sitting in front of the rooftop, Junpei carefully looked at Yayoi out of the corner of his eye.

Yayoi's expressions were very few from beginning to end, and Junpei felt no kindness or malice from her, as if saving him just now was just a convenient thing, not something special to do.

Akari wanted to contact the local "window", so Yayoi and Junpei walked all the way to the roof. In the middle of the night, this small ramen business was operating on a lonely street. The warm lights reflected on the white curtains hanging under the roof, and the soft halo of light spread on the white cloth.

"Tonkotsu ramen, add two braised eggs." Junpei heard her ordering in a familiar way, then turned around and threw the menu to him and said to him, "See for yourself what you want to eat."

Junpei looked at the menu and carefully ordered a bowl of tonkotsu ramen like hers.

After ordering, the boy took the menu and thought it was invisible. He covered his face with the menu and carefully looked at the woman sitting next to him.

Rare red hair, like a bonfire burning in the dark wilderness, an expressionless face, but soft facial features, a typical oriental beauty face, slender white wrists that look like they could be broken without much effort, and the figure was also thin.

But it was such a weak-looking woman who killed the monster who was chasing him.

Junpei's eyes glanced at the black leather backpack she placed on the bench, where the sword stained with the monster's blood was placed.

From a certain period of time, his life became as monotonous as a black and white photo. The world seemed to be divided. The white ones were indifferent, the black ones were what he hated, and the only thing left was the only faint light in the corner, the light from his mother Nagi Yoshino.

A gentle red color entered the photo, and his eyes were involuntarily drawn to it.

The past was like mud that stayed in his heart for a long time and refused to go away. The dark and rotten experiences tortured him over and over again. In the past, he had prayed for kindness to fall on him. But over the years, the cold reality had repeatedly worn away Junpei's expectations for human nature. He had lost his trust in the so-called "goodness" and was determined that the light of that kind of thing was basically unwilling to shine on him, so his world was no different from a black and white photo.

This woman was different from anyone he had met in the past.

Years of being immersed in the malice among the crowd led him to the conclusion that indifference was the virtue that humans should have. It would be great if everyone could be like him and ignore the people they hate. The world was inherently cold and cruel, and indifference was good for everyone. He didn't have to worry about being malicious to himself, and naturally others didn't have to worry about being malicious either.

At the critical moment of life and death, his thirst for life still made him long to be saved. While longing to be saved, he was even more desperate. Who would come back to save him? People who see this kind of scene were more inclined to save their lives and run away, right?

But why—

"Thank you for saving me." The soup in the soup pot was rolling gurglingly, and the rising steam filled the small roof.

'It's so bad. I realized at this moment that I need to thank her.'

The steaming big bowl was brought up, and Yayoi pulled out a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder with familiarity, "You're welcome."

Still not feeling any emotion.

When the ramen was served, Junpei still held the menu in his hand to cover his face. It wasn't until the ramen chef shouted that he put down the menu in a panic and pulled out a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder next to him.

The ramen at this small mobile ramen restaurant tasted unexpectedly good, and the portions were generous. Junpei fiddled with the noodles with chopsticks and discovered that there was a poached egg and two braised eggs hidden under the noodles.

Junpei paused, subconsciously raised his head, and saw the unfamiliar-looking middle-aged man narrowing his eyes and giving him a gentle smile.

Junpei pursed his lips and ducked away in embarrassment.

There were lights floating in the bright soup, and Junpei saw his reflection in it. That face looked very embarrassed.

The boy clenched the chopsticks in his hand and spoke with determination, "What was that... just now?"

Yayoi's hand holding the chopsticks paused, "It's a cursed spirit."

"Cursed spirit?"

"To put it more simply and understandably, it's a curse." Yayoi sucked the noodles in. "The curse that flows out of the human body is a collection of curses that are the product of negative emotions."

"It's a bit like a supernatural legend." After the topic started, Junpei relaxed a lot and expressed his opinion as he liked to study all kinds of supernatural phenomena.

"The legend says that a fake one pays for ten [1]." Yayoi finished slurping the noodles and asked the ramen stall owner for another bowl, then turned to him and asked, "Can you see the cursed spirit?"

Junpei nodded, "It was originally a very blurry outline, but today it became clear."

The image was so vivid and clear that it made him shudder.

Junpei noticed that Yayoi had stopped talking. Her long eyelashes slowly drooped, leaving a shallow silhouette under her eyes.

The only sounds left in the silent air were the gurgling sound of the soup and the drumming in his heart.

"I understand." Yayoi raised her eyelids, "Try not to look at them. They will pay more attention to the visible than the invisible. The curse is very dangerous, and getting caught will be trouble."

It was a kind reminder, but her tone was still calm, like a windless lake in autumn.

"Do you feel scared?" Yayoi suddenly asked.

"A little." Junpei said.

"You are so calm." Yayoi said.

Junpei lowered his head and said calmly, "I'm just used to it."

Whether it was a person or a cursed spirit, he was alone from beginning to end. He could not talk to others or seek help from others. He had fear, shame, and hesitation. He could only swallow everything by himself. He had long since got used to.

"Thank you for saving me." The boy expressed his gratitude from the bottom of his heart.

Whatever the purpose, she was the first to respond to his plea for help.

"You just said thank you." Yayoi twirled her chopsticks a few times, and the owner brought out the newly made ramen.

"Can those things just eat people?" As soon as he finished speaking, he felt that the question was stupid. Although that thing didn't tell him explicitly that it was hungry and wanted to eat someone, that attitude determined his action, okay?

"Eat everything alive." Yayoi said, "Just stay away when you see a curse. Most of the curses will stay in the place where they were born. They will ignore you outside the hunting range."

"But some curses are exceptions." Yayoi bit her chopsticks and said, "That kind of curse is not common either."

"What if I can't escape?" Junpei said.

"Then you have no choice but to wait for death." Yayoi explained the consequences concisely and concisely, and finally said, "You don't look like a person who can fight very well."

Junpei: "..."

Yayoi: "With those thin arms and thin legs, you can't run fast."

Such a weakling could actually see the cursed spirit. If he didn't die, who would die?

Junpei: "..."

Yayoi: "Prepare the suicide note in advance for later use."

Junpei: "..."

Yayoi watched the boy's expression become visibly decadent, and in the blink of an eye, despair spread out.

Yayoi thought for a while, "Give me your phone."

The boy who reacted honestly handed over his mobile phone.

Yayoi took the phone and knocked on it a few times before returning it. Junpei, who took the phone, found that there was an extra name in the phone book where he already had very few contacts - Yayoi Amamiya.

"Your name is... Yayoi Amamiya?" Junpei held the mobile phone, and tiny light and shadow fell into his olive green pupils.

"Yeah." Yayoi nodded and started to slurp her noodles, "If you need anything, you can call me, although I'm not available 24 hours a day."

"I will stay in Kawasaki for the next few days." She added at the end.

"Hai." Junpei sat up subconsciously, "That, that... Junpei Yoshino, my name."

The sound was very low, but it didn't prevent Yayoi from hearing the name 'Junpei Yoshino'.

"Oh, Junpei." After hanging out with Satoru for a long time, it was inevitable that she would become familiar with the other person's habits. Yayoi said it very familiarly, "The person who named you hoped that you can live a safe and smooth life."

Junpei was stunned for a moment.

"So, come on." Yayoi said casually and continued to slurp the noodles in her bowl.

It was not easy to live a safe and smooth life.

***

· Genuine translation can be found only in OchatimesBlogspotCom, FanFictionNet, and Wattpad

• Omake •

The redhead who finished three bowls of ramen for a late-night snack: hiccup.

The little red-haired girl has both the attributes of being naturally dull and naturally black. Most of the time, she is naturally dull, but occasionally she is naturally black without realizing it =v=

Junpei, who was full after eating a bowl: ...
Turn on filter.jpg

[1] Source said: Fabricating false tragic stories to gain the sympathy of consumers and induce them to place orders is essentially a fake promotion of general information about the product and a deceptive sales inducement to consumers.



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