CHAPTER 64: 59. THE START OF A BUSY HOLIDAY

On the first day of the holiday, Fujiwara Reya slept in.

He usually got up at six every day, but today it was almost eight, and he still hadn’t woken up.

He wasn’t being lazy.

This Golden Week was going to be the busiest one in his seventeen years, so he needed to recharge thoroughly before the busy days began.

♪I’m 14 years old

♪I’m pretty

When the sunlight streamed through the curtains into the room, Fujiwara Reya’s Sony phone suddenly rang.

His hand slowly reached out from beneath the covers to pick up the phone and glanced at the screen; it was an unfamiliar number.

He hung up and went back to sleep.

Before long, the voice of the French singer Cécile Corbel rang out again.

He hung up again.

*No one can deprive me of sleep as pleasant and tranquil as an autumn’s locust.*

Then... the ringtone sounded once more, and because he took his time responding, it grew more urgent, as if the person on the other end was particularly stubborn and impatient.

Too annoyed to sleep, Fujiwara Reya eventually picked up the phone and slid across the answer icon.

"Hello, Fujiwara Reya, is it?"

The woman’s voice was crisp and pleasant, with a hint of coolness, like a glacier.

*A call from an unfamiliar woman this early in the morning...*

"I’m underage, have no money to spend, my house doesn’t receive NHK signals, I don’t want an inheritance, am not interested in donating sperm, and for now, I have no intention to stop working hard. Goodbye."

After saying that,

Fujiwara Reya directly hung up the phone.

"Ah~"

Yawning and rubbing his eyes, his vision gradually became clearer.

Outside, the weather was fine, and the morning light softly slipped into the room. Clothes were neatly folded on the chair, and the slippers sprawled on the floor looked like two lazy little dogs.

Two seconds later, the ringtone sounded again.

"Could it be not a salesperson then..." Fujiwara Reya picked up the phone again.

"I’m Kasahara Fumi. If you hang up on me again, an F15 fighter jet will fly over Asakusa Shrine within ten minutes and drop something down."

Hmm.

The other party finished speaking in one breath, not giving Fujiwara Reya a chance to interrupt.

"F15, dropping something... Kasahara Fumi..." Fujiwara Reya pondered for a moment and then asked, "Who are you?"

On the other end of the line, Kasahara Fumi audibly held her breath, then took a deep breath and said in a cold tone, "Two weeks ago, you accepted my commission, and now you face your employer with such an attitude, which lacks professional spirit."

"Two weeks ago..." Fujiwara Reya quickly recalled in his mind and finally remembered, "Oh, were you introduced by Mr. Shimada?"

"That’s right."

"I almost forgot."

"Come to the address I sent you by noon today," Kasahara Fumi said.

Still with a cool tone, lacking any emotional fluctuation, just like a machine without feelings.

"Okay," Fujiwara Reya said, holding the phone with his shoulder and getting out of bed, taking off his pajamas and slowly putting on casual clothes, "how will I contact you when I arrive?"

"Look for orange long hair," she said.

"Orange long hair, Kasahara..." Suddenly, a shiver ran through Fujiwara Reya, and he shouted, "Are you Asuka’s sister?"

"Yes."

"..."

"Meet at twelve."

Having finished relaying the information, Kasahara Fumi ended the call as decisively and swiftly as her speaking style.

"It seems like the sister has a lot of grievances against me..." Fujiwara Reya scratched his messy hair, changed into casual clothes, and after washing up, he went to the kitchen to cut bread and tomatoes, sandwiching butter and cheese slices in between, and ate it together with milk.

While having breakfast, he sorted out the things he needed to do during Golden Week and stuck notes about them.

① Meet with Kasahara Fumi (29th)

② Inform Inspector Suzuki to prepare Hasegawa Sae’s belongings for burial at Shankoku Temple (1st)

③ Entertain Mr. Kitahara and convince him to invest and help repair the shrine (2nd)

④ Mow the lawn at Asuka’s house (to be scheduled)

⑤ Help Kawashima Miki perform an exorcism (to be scheduled)

"There’s so much to do..."

Fujiwara Reya smiled with determination, sticking the note on the refrigerator door, then took a broom to clean the house inside and out.

The old cherry tree in the courtyard had almost shed all its blossoms, leaving only green leaves swaying in the wind. The seasons were swiftly moving towards summer, and the wild grass, having soaked in the spring rains, had begun to grow wildly, reaching knee height.

Whenever the wind blew past, it brought with it the searing scent of fresh grass.

While sweeping up the fallen petals, a few stray cats jumped in from beyond the courtyard walls. Since the courtyard of Asakusa Shrine seemed to have seamlessly brought a lush part of the wild mountains into the city, nearby stray cats treated this place as a playground and gathering spot.

Whenever he had the time, Fujiwara Reya enjoyed sitting on the veranda, watching the cats and feeding them cat food.

He quite liked cats, except for sardines.

After tidying up the courtyard, he sat on the veranda reading a book he had bought earlier, "The Spanish Civil War," when a small white female cat appeared out of nowhere, scratching her claws noisily on the wooden floor.

"Hey," Fujiwara Reya asked it, "can you turn into a cat girl?"

The little female cat opened her eyes, "Meow?"

"I know a nekomata who can turn into a cat girl," Fujiwara Reya gestured with two fingers, "a cat girl with two tails, but she went with my dad to Takamagahara. Otherwise, I could have introduced you."

"Meow~"

The little female cat stretched lazily, smelled the scent of the Mountain God, and fell asleep comfortably.

As noon approached, the breeze was soft, and the sunlight took on a strange, mysterious hue. The blue sky above the thick shade of trees was untainted by any clouds.

Before meeting Kasahara Fumi, Fujiwara Reya summoned the Snow Woman and Luo Xinfu to watch over the house.

"Ah~"

As the Snow Woman emerged, she floated directly onto her master’s body, her arms wrapping around his neck, begging for food.

The soft, enchanting body, with its refreshing coolness, teased Fujiwara Reya like a kitten’s nose.

The little spider wasn’t idle either.

After the Snow Woman took the front, she could only hug her master from behind. Then... she leaned her mouth up to her master’s ear and neck area, gently licked a few times with her tongue, and opened her mouth ready to bite.

*This was really testing his self-control!*

"You both can’t do this!" Fujiwara Reya sternly pushed their heads away and said, "A Shikigami should behave like a Shikigami and can’t cling to the master all the time."

The Snow Woman tilted her head with a "Hmm?" expression, looking at her master.

"Wanna eat~" Luo Xinfu kept snuggling over, clinging to her master’s arm and refusing to let go.

She was a little smarter than the Snow Treasure. Not only could she convey simple messages through words, but she knew how to entice her master. Like now, in a bid to increase her master’s fondness for her.

Fujiwara Reya tried to withdraw his hand.

Instead of pulling it away, she tightened her grip.

The feeling was soft, her skin clean and smooth. After attempting once, Fujiwara Reya simply let the little spider seduce him.

*Well...*

*Just treat her as a demon helping me train... Actually, she is a demon!*

The Snow Woman leaned forward, staring curiously at her master’s arm.

"Snow Princess, close your eyes." Fujiwara Reya reluctantly turned away, "Don’t look, don’t think, and certainly don’t learn!"

The Snow Woman pouted, turning her face away silently.

*The master is biased, Snow Treasure is angry!*

"Come and eat. After eating, behave and watch the house." Fujiwara Reya took out two portions of food from the system and handed them to them.

Only then did Luo Xinfu release her master’s arm, cradling the spider snack he gave her and took a gentle bite. A venom was released from her teeth, injecting into the inside of the spider, melting the contents, and she then sucked the juice inside bit by bit.

Watching her lips move and her throat swallow, Fujiwara Reya had an ominous feeling.

*Wasn’t it going to get thinner by the day?* Forget.

*Besides the little spider, the Snow Treasure also practiced diligently every day.*

He needed to continue enhancing his physique... Fujiwara Reya thought about future plans and left the shrine, taking the subway to his appointment.

It was an April when the cherry blossoms had already withered away, and the sunshine was that of early summer. The fresh green cherry trees swayed in the wind, and the vending machine glimmered in the sun.

On such a day, one where happiness could be felt in the air, he met with the sister.