3rd Person POV

Urban legends are born in different places using different sets of rules, although there is one thing that they all share and that is that people always talk about them. It starts with two people and it grows until a great number of people does it. Regardless of age or gender, an urban legend is a tale that gets spoken often. Nonetheless, they can be sometimes short-lived if there is not an actual base for them. However, that means that they can last for a long time if there IS a basis for them.

"Pssst, did you hear? There is a bar around here that apparently has incredible drinks..."

"Oh, you mean THAT place? Not only that, I heard it is a special place where you can get any kind of request fulfilled."

Walking at late hour of the night in. A deserted street, two men wearing suits, office workers, that had poor lighting. The two men were stumbling on their steps and had red faces.

"You believe that part? There is already that amazing bar, but it only opens every three days."

"Idiot, it is not the Seven Tails, the place I am talking about is even more special. No one can seem to remember the name of the place, and you cannot actually remember where it is located either."

"Bah! Do you think such a place is real? Only kids would believe in such story..."

Smirking at his coworker's naive nature, the older of the two shook his head.

"...you should be aware of what happened to that company's boss..."

The younger one spoke a few words but it caused the older man to simply shut up his mouth and not being able to retort, even sobering up a little.

"He used to harass employees in all sort of ways and changed secretaries every month. The only reason why nothing happened to him was because he was friends of some other bigshots from some important companies overseas and some military commander that befriended him from youth, however, such a man disappeared one week, no one was able to find him and he became the talk of our circle. Nonetheless, after that one week when many had celebrated his death, he appeared once again like nothing had happened, and the most amazing thing was that he became a completely different person. He no longer harassed anyone, and he gave everyone in his company a raise, changed the company's politicizes... it became a very friendly environment for working."

Even though it sounded like a story with a good end, the older man still felt a chill run down his back. A place that you can make such a request could also become one that you could ask for other things. It all depended on who made the wish.

"That sounds good, but what if a really bad guy found the place..."

"Haha, I don't think you need to worry about that. The person that made the request was found by police and questioned since he was on the suspects list. He confesses after a few hours but no matter what method they tried, he was unable to give full details of his experience. He can just recall that he was on his lowest point and a coupon of some sort found itself in front of him. It had an address and with nothing to lose, he gave it a try."

Calmly explaining, the younger had a hopeful expression.

"...is your child not getting better? Should you be out here drinking? Your wife..."

"Haha, she actually kicked me out of the hospital and told me to relax once in a while."

Smiling cheerfully, the younger man tried to maintain a positive look.

Just when the two were chatting, they noticed an approaching figure.

It caused the two men to stop and their eyes wandered all over that figure. Not only she was a beautiful woman that attracted 10 out of 10 onlookers, but her outfit was rather unique. Her attire consisted of a blue qipao-like overcoat and a dark bodysuit with silver details, it was decorated with a number of trinkets and accessories, including white bracelets on her arms and a number of chokers and necklaces around her neck from which a charm resembling a die hangs. In addition to this, she kept a furred white coat hanging from the back of her outfit somewhat resembling a cape and sports a pair of thigh-high boots that leave a part of her thigh exposed. All in one, an unique outfit and a beautiful woman with a confident expression in a desolated street cause the two men to stop in place.

"Think of your beloved Tamaki, think of your beloved Tamaki!"

The younger man closed his eyes immediately and began praying (?).

The older man however while charmed by her appearence, still felt something odd and the closer they got to each other the more nervous he got.

The woman pulled an antique pocket watch and checked the time and just happened to stop in one spot, the older man found it odd that she would stop a few steps where his coworker would be standing if they had not stopped to observe the woman, however, he was unable to voice out anything since a gust of wind blinded him for a second. By the time he opened his eyes, his coworker still his eyes glued but there was a change. The woman was reaching her hand for a falling... coupon of some sort. The man could not make out what it said, but the black cat drawn on the back was pretty clear and odd since it had two tails. The woman took it and her gaze locked with the man for a second, the woman simply smiled and kept the paper. Instead, she pulled a different piece of paper.

"What a strange thing to happen, is this perhaps something that belong to any of you?"

Getting closer to the two, the woman extended the paper towards the younger man. It was then that he reacted and instinctively grabbed after he opened his eyes. The older man wanted to take it instead in case it was something strange, but he held back when the woman looked at him.

The younger man was shocked after receiving the paper and looking at the contents. The woman handed the paper and began walking away. The older man was also shocked, the value of the check his friend received was very high and it could perhaps be more than enough to pay his daughter's treatment, but if he was not wrong, the coupon the woman, according to the rumors-

"This shall be only half of the exchange money, but it should suffice."

The woman left those words as her figure disappeared on the darkness of the streets that got dark all sudden, by the time the light was up again, the woman was no more.

"I c-can't accept this! This does not belong to- eh? Where is...?"

The younger man finally rebooted and tried to give back the check that was filled with many zeros, but only the younger and older man remained.

"Don't sweet the small details! Consider it a gift."

The older man slapped the younger one's back.

"But how could I...? This does no belong to me- Eh!? Why is my name on the recipient space...?"

Looking confused, the younger man carefully checked the paper over and over.

"Don't sweat the small details! What ever the reason, you can now pay for the expensive treatment you could not. Oh, since you like rumors and urban legends so much, how about finding that mysterious doctor. The one who can cure any ill-ness..."

"Haha, that is impossible. He is not a legend or something fake, however, he spends long amount of time doing research and only the hospital director can contact him and she is said to be over protective of him..."

"Oh, yeah... I heard rumours about how that widow has her sights on him despite being ten years younger..."

"Oh, not only her. In fact, I heard that her daughter also decided to study medicine so she could closer to that doctor..."

While the two continued to banter, in another location, the woman from before pulled the coupon and observed it closely. There did not seem to be anything special on the side of the black cat, however, the other side had an awfully suspicious message.

"'Is there something you wish? An ambition you wish to accomplish? Get that and much more by following this ultra trust worthy ritual!'"

Sighing, the woman wondered why would the writer choose those words that make it look even more suspicious. It would lower the chances of those who find it to even try it, although given the nature of those who have that chance... they would be ultimately driven to try their luck.

Doing as the coupon instructed in one corner, the woman used the moonlight to look through the coupon. The black cat seemed to magically come to life and after raising its paw while it glared at you, it wrote 'approved' before staying in that position.

Just like that, the surrounding of the woman seemed to change. A heavy fog began to cover the streets and the lights from before dissapeared leaving but a dim light in the distance.

With her course of actions decided for her, the woman did not have much choice, although she did not fret and kept a rather amused expression as she took a look at her surroundings, marveling at what happened around her.

Not too fast or too slow, the woman walked towards the dim light. Every ten steps would the light become stronger and she would noticed that she was getting closer.

In minutes she had covered a hundred steps and the fog was unable to hide an unique building among the lack of scenery from before.

It was a rather antique café. There was a small sign that said 'Go in, you are welcome' at one side of the door but nothing else she could consider worth noticing. She tried to peek at the store's name hanging on top of the door but it would get blurry every time she tried to do so. Thus, without anything else to do, the woman entered the store.

"Hmmm? Today's customer is more beautiful that I expected..."

A youthful voice could be heard and the woman turned her gaze towards a counter on the side. There were five seats in front of it and a young man with long hair tied was standing right in behind it, just in the middle of the seats. In front of the counter there was a seating area separated by thin wall compartments. The store was wide and only three employes could be seen aside from the young man. A brown-haired young woman could be seen lazily playing with her phone, while another young lady with a more petite build was dutifully cleaning some other tables. At the further end of the store there were signs of the bathroom and even a special room only for smoking, but the most striking feature was the blonde young woman sitting chair above a stand singing in a soft voice, and while there was a large piano located beside the stand, it was currently empty and no one was playing it. Everything seemed to be 'normal', but the woman was certain that everything was not as simple. All the staff were focused doing their things, or so it seemed, but the woman received more than one pair of piercing gazes once she put her foot inside the store.

"What can I do for you? Pardon my rudeness, but would you mind sharing your name with me? Of course, it is for the sake of taking your order, Miss, although I don't mind calling you beautiful customer everytime I need to refer to you, Miss."

It was the young man's turn to get glared but he brushed it with a smile. Extending his hand towards the seats in front of him, the young man signaled the woman.

"Aren't you an smooth operator?"

The woman easily ignored the glares she received and confidently sat just in front of the young man.

"No, no, only when I am in front of such a beautiful maiden is when I find myself expressing myself like this. I am actually a shy man and would hardly dare to speak in this manner-"

An snicker made the young man stop in his track and he sent a glare to young woman checking her phone. The person in question just snorted and looked away.

"Haha, that is what you call a smooth operator, young man. You can also call them player and the list could go on."

Putting her elbow on the counter, the woman put her chin on her hand and leaned on her arm.

"Oh, I guess we could find several ways to call each other since I don't think I will easily run out of compliments for such a stunning woman such as yourself."

Picking a glass to prepare her a drink, the youth continued to talk with a smile on his face.

"Oh my, you really have a the intention of keeping that up? Don't you know that I have what it takes to win since I can praise your looks as well?"

The woman took a look around the bottles of alcohol displayed behind the counter. They were all from expensive brands and limited editions that are nigh imposible to get a hold on. It was an unique chance to taste unique flavours but the woman decided to throw a curve ball since it was not displayed.

"So you want to compete in flirting with me? That is rather a new concept for me, can't say I haved ever been proposed to try that, but let's better not. A man and woman throwing compliments as they observe each other closely to find details to praise... I can't say if it will make things awkward later on. So, I take it from the way you stopped observing my small collection and turned those smart looking green to me that you have decided on your drink?"

"Is that really a compliment towards me or yourself? Your have a pair of charming green eyes yourself."

Choosing not to answer, the young man just pointed the glass.

Understanding that she will not get a response anymore unless she chooses a drink, the woman just spoke her choice.

"I want a glass of milk."

Without batting an eye, the young man pulled a milk carton of a rather premium edition. Smiling smugly at his coworkers, the youth exuded an aura of someone asking for a beating, or so the woman could surmise given the glares that the young woman playing with her phone was giving him. Perhaps it would help if he did not taunt her, but the woman did not pry to avoid attracting attention.

"Hmph, and she said that no one will ask for milk... proves her right."

Snorting, the youth presented the woman with her glass of milk.

"Now all that I lack is your name."

Leaving the glass on the counter, the woman decided to be straight.

"I guess I should introduce myself here. My name is Yelan, and I apologize for taking the opportunity from that man to come here." Yelan confessed. "I could not completely surmise the reason why you have delayed your crusade, but as I am certain you know already, I lead the remaining 'gang' in Kyoto."

Narrowing his eyes briefly, Nora stared straight into the woman's eyes.

"If you feel bad about it, I believe it will fall onto you to compensate him accordingly. That much, you are aware of, aren't you?" Nora said.

Inwardly smiling wryly, Yelan did not expect that he would focus on that matter rather than her identity.

"I have that matter covered. There is an initial sum of money that I will make sure he receives without issue and the rest is also prepared but will only be given at the appropriate time to avoid any problem for him." Yelan explained.

"I see." Nora nodded. "The name's Nora, Nora Shiki. As you already inquired through various channels, I am not human. I am what you call, a youkai."

With one hand on the counter, Nora leaned forward to glare at the woman at close distance.

"Even if you know about our people, your interactions have been kept to the minimal and mostly to strict business." Nora stated. "Are you not afraid that I, a youkai, will use this change to get rid of my last competitor for Kyoto? You must've heard the rumors about us that were spread not long ago, right? Man eating monsters was it? That was one of the more popular rumors going around..."

"Rumors are just rumors, unless there is basis for it, I find them lacking in trustworthiness." Yelan muttered. "That said, putting aside how the origins of those rumors were meant to give all the Youkais a bad reputation, you cannot deny the actions of 'THAT' group of Youkais, right?"

"Fair enough." Nora finally backed away. "They are annoying to have around, but I cannot pinpoint their location for now. So? I take it that you did not come to have a plain old pleasant chat with me. I also take it that flirting is not your objective, although I would not mind if we continued doing it."

Shrugging his shoulders, Nora observed Yelan.

"Well, if you must know." Yelan pulled out a deck of cards. "I came here for a friendly game and an invitation."

"Oh? Is that so? I take it that the invitation will only be given after the game?" Nora inquired.

"Haha, don't be impatient. It is just a friendly game, you know? Since only the two of us will be playing, I took the liberty of deciding the game before hand and choosing one that is easy to play for beginners. Do you know about the game 'War'?" Yelan asked.

Shuffling the decks of card slowly, Yelan smiled when Nora kept his eyes on the deck before nodding.

"The one with the highest valuable card wins, right? Joker, Ace, King, Queen... and so on. I know the rules." Nora muttered.

"Oh, could I be in trouble? If you know the rules, then you perhaps are very good at it." Yelan chuckled.

"No, I learned some simple card games in order to teach it to some bored children. They did not allow me to play with them afterward so I don't have much practice on it if that is what you tried to ask." Nora replied.

With an ambiguous smile, Yelan choose to stay quite and continue shuffling the cards.

"I don't mind you holding the cards and all, but I would like to take a look at them. I want to see how many of them are." Nora extended his hand towards the woman.

Without hesitating, Yelan passed the cards, but not without saying.

"These is the standard deck of 52 playing cards, American style. I believe that using another deck that is less known would make it harder for you to play." Yelan said.

Nodding, Nora still took the cards and checked the cards slowly. Putting a very exagerated emphasis on looking closer, Nora almost touched them with his eyes. Yelan instead, observed him briefly before her eyes wandered over the store's clerks. A soft melody reached her ears and she felt somewhat relaxed, despite having several pairs of eyes on her. Taking the glass, she sipped the milk and she felt the glares being less aggressive than before. Taking a mental note of the possible reasons, Yelan had already a rough idea how this group worked.

"I don't see any tricks here." Nora put the deck on the counter.

Licking her lips after drinking, Yelan put down the milk and picked the deck. She gave it a quick shuffle and equally divided them.

After each side got their deck, Nora was about to place his card down when Yelan spoke.

"You know, I think that even though it is a simple game, we could spice things up with a little bet. How about it? Feeling lucky?" Yelan asked.

"Are black cats lucky? The answer is yes so the answer to your question is affirmative as well." Nora clicked his tongue. "What do you want if you win?"

"You want to hear my request? It is not much. I just want to humbly invite you to my place so we can have a more meaningful conversation. I feel a little intimidated here after all." Yelan said.

Nodding at once, Nora raised one finger.

"If I win, I want to request something from you." Nora spoke. "There should be no limits to what I ask."

"Aren't you being a little greedy? I was honest and explained my request, while did not, and you even require that there are no limits... what is it that you are planning?" Yelan narrowed her eyes.

"Are you afraid I will ask for you body? Aren't you being a little paranoid? If I was after your body, I could make use of more than one hundred of drugs to make you sleep and have my way with you. Drugs that would not be neutralised with the dozen of anti-dotes you took before coming here, reason why I presume you drank the milk I presented you." Nora straightforwardly said. "Don't worry, I am not falling short of beautiful women trying to sleep with me so I am not looking at you with those thoughts in mind. That said, my request is not worth mentioning so do not worry."

Hearing something extremely mind-chilling, Yelan lost the confidence she had for her methods to avoid being drugged and gulped. Until now, she had avoided hundreds of attempts against her life and had been constantly improving her methods while adding techniques from different countries.

"Very well, I will take upon those words." Yelan said. "Can I take it that you swear it on the 'Shiki' surname?"

"It is nothing like threatening, nor it will tarnish your reputation neither will it humiliate you, I swear on the surname my mother gave me." Nora spoke.

Feeling slightly reassured on the inside, Yelan did not try to get any more out of using his surname. It was a double edge sword that you can use to get him to promise you something, but doubting someone's word usually ends up with losing affinity points with that person, in other words, you will slowly lose their favor. Not to mention, there were some rumours about how much the youth valued anything related to his mother, to the point that he was secretly called mother-con.

Pulling the first card, Nora got a two.

"Your turn." Nora expression did not change.

Smiling, Yelan pulled a three.

"My victory." Yelan chuckled.

"So it seems, but the night is still young." Nora said.

Replying with a smile, Yelan did not show signs of pressure. Nora's next card turned to be a three while Yelan's a four.

...

...

...

The singing stopped and even the dutiful worker stopped not to mention the lazy one. Slowly, they had made their way to the counter.

"No way..." Natsume muttered in a disbelieving tone.

Sitting beside Yelan, she looked at the distributed card in surprise. On the other side, Shigune was eating the snacks that Nora put on the table just for her nonstop. She also looked bewildered by the results. Lavinia was beside Nora and she clung to his arm naturally, her eyes were on the counter and would peak at Nora to check his reaction.

With only one card in his hand, Nora did not change expressions and looked at Yelan with an calm look. Holding most of the cards, Yelan should look reassured, nonetheless, she looked slightly tense.

"I give up. With only one card there is no way I can win." Nora declared.

Without showing anyone his hand, he passed Yelan the card he held.

Bewildered by his choice, Yelan automatically grabbed the card.

"Keep it as a victory gift." Nora smiled meaningfully.

Smiling in response, Yelan nodded.

"I hope you keep your end of the deal." Yelan said. "I don't want to introduce any longer, so I will take my leave. I shall be waiting."

Standing up, Yelan left with the card in hand, not even bothering to pick her deck of cards.

As soon as she had taken a few steps from the store, the fog blocked her view for a moment and then it slowly vanished. The barking of a dog and hissing of cat reached her ears and the occasionally sound of a car engine driving by caused Yelan to sigh in relief. 

"Can't call it a victory when it is handed over to you." Yelan bitterly said. "I cannot tell if he is a dishonest fellow for lying in his experience in playing cards."

Taking a look at the card she got from Nora, a joker could be seen with a small written message.

"'I shall arrive at midnight', is this his way of telling me to make preparations or is it a announce of how much I have left. It is a little past midnight so I guess he will not come immediately." Yelan sighed. "Although, given his past actions when he dealt with the other gangs, I don't think I am getting more than one day. Really, I did not even notice when he wrote this..."

Narrowing her eyes, Yelan was certain that he could not write this while they played since there was no time to do so. She had also made sure to use a very rather deck of cards so you would normally have a hard time finding a new one.

"So it was not me the only one was trying to make contact with him, he was also expecting me." Yelan bitterly said. "Still, it bothers me that I lost to him. The way the cards should've been placed would mean I would win no matter what..."

Pondering deeply about the issue, the woman could not recall any moment he could've made changes that would be beneficial to him. She had shuffled very carefully so there was no way it could a mistake on her side.

"...well then, I should prepare accordingly." Yelan kept the card.

As she left with many ideas coursing through her head, in another location, someone was being questioned.

"You did not lose on purpose because she was a very attractive woman, did you?" Natsume asked sullenly.

Wiping the glass that Yelan used after he washed it, Nora was still behind the counter with three young women sitting in front of him. They each had a different drinks but nothing alcoholic since they were still working.

"There is no way that is true." Nora sighed.

"But it was really a big surprise, Nora-san losing..." Shigune continued to eat.

"Nora-kun could've won, I saw your last card." Lavinia said.

Receiving questioning looks from everyone, Nora placed the glass down and picked the deck of cards that had remained untouched.

"She prepared this deck, on plain sight, there is nothing wrong. However, she marked the cards using a special type of ink. It was made using a rare type of herb that usually does not have any smell or color, but as someone has a large batch of these planted in his back yard, I can recognize it easily. That was used to keep in check every card on the deck. I reckon she either used specials drops in her eyes to be able to notice it or special lents in her eyes since the mark can become visible through some means." Nora explained.

"I did not notice at all." Natsume took the deck from Nora and began to check it thoroughly.

Flicking her forehead, Nora retrieved the deck.

"Of course you did not, you dork." Nora reprimanded her. "Were you not paying attention to the way we looked at each other? If you had bothered to pay attention to the full picture."

Sighing, Nora began shuffling the deck.

"Sleight of hand, that is what many people who perform tricks rely on to trick the audience. It might sound easy but it takes a lot of practice and effort to do it right." Nora pulled a card.

The joker was easy to recognize by the three young women and given that Nora gifted the last one to Yelan, the remaining one was in front of the trio of girls, or so they believed.

"How many jokers does the deck have?" Nora asked.

Placing both the joker and the deck face down after showing everyone the card, he asked a simple question.

Rubbing her forehead a little dissatisfied, Natsume spoke first. Nora glanced at Lavinia who was about to open her mouth and she pursued her lips.

"There are two." Natsume replied.

Turning towards Shigune, she also nodded.

"How odd, I just gave one away, and there is one placed down here, how come there is another one..." Nora muttered and took the first card on top of the deck and flipped it, showing another joker.

"What?" Natsume grabbed the card and examined it closely. "The deck should only have one left..."

Flicking her forehead again, Natsume closed her eyes from the pain, and Nora retrieved the card.

"The audience should not take a magicians objects without being given permission." Nora said.

Placing the card beside the lone card at one side of the deck, Nora looked towards Shigune.

"Let me ask you a question. Which card do you think with one hundred percent certainness that I will not pull next." Nora placed a finger on top of the desk.

Feeling somewhat nervous, Shigune could feel that her answer will most likely be wrong no matter what she said. It was because she had a grasp of Nora's personality that she could tell that much, nonetheless, when he was in his teaching mode, he was merciless.

"There are now two jokers... so only the jokers cannot be inside the desk."

Gulping nervously, Shigune looked at Nora pitifully.

"Wrong." Nora said.

Lifting the card on top of the deck, another joker appeared. He continued his actions and placed the cards in front of Natsume and Shigune who stared at the trick with blank looks.

"That which you believe to bre true can be nothing more than illusion created by none other than yourself." Nora spoke. "At the end, humans... no, I guess this applies to everyone. One will believe what one wants to believe. To see what is in front of you is not as easy as it looks."

After placing all the cards, Nora lifted the card he initially place at one side of the deck at the begining.

"Even this, what do you think you will see once I show you this?" Nora asked.

Sulkily crossing her arms, Natsume looked at Shigune.

"Isn't it unfair that only I got hit? We both got the answers wrong." Natsume said.

"...who was the one was skipping work while the other two were diligently doing what was expected of them?" Nora smiled but his eyes were narrowed.

"Te-hee." Natsume playfully stuck out tongue and cutely hit her head.

You could almost see the vein on Nora's forehead popping out and his smiled deepened.

"Have you tried doing sky diving without your parachute?" Nora asked.

"I will die if I do though...!?" Natsume decided to stop playing around.

"Etto, wasn't that the first joker you showed us at the begining?" Shigune spoke.

Noticing that the petite young woman was trying to cover for her friend despite the later's betrayal (?), Nora did not insist but pointed his chin at Shigune and Natsume got the message.

"Shigune-chan is the only good one here..." Natsume hugged the petite girl.

Ignoring the bootlicker behaviour from the shameless one, Nora handed the card to Shigune.

"What does it look to you...?" Nora asked.

As soon as she saw the card, Shigune blinked continuously and showed it to Natsume who looked confused as well.

A blank card was all they could see, even though they had seen that it was a joker the one he had placed before. The duo looked at Nora for answers.

"I told you the answer at the begining. Sleight of hands." Nora said. "That said, the cheater over there came to this side of the counter and made things difficult for me."

Smiling bashfully, Lavinia made a peace sign.

"No, don't accept it happily, I am not trying to praise you." Nora sighed. "I wanted to give her a bigger scare but I could only mess up with the arranged order a few times."

"Nora-kun, did you prepare everything in advance because you knew she would come?" Lavinia changed the subject.

"We have taken care of most the scum loitering in Kyoto, those belongings to the Extra Clans have all been taken care off. However, there are still some hoodlums that do not belong to any faction... and THEM." Nora explained.

Curious over what was behind the counter, Natsume and Shigune went behind it to check it and found numerous decks. They had different designs and colors, and they were neatly placed to be easy to grab.

"Nora-kun, is she perhaps...?" Lavinia asked.

"Honestly, I wonder what is going through her head. The big boss coming alone into 'enemy' territory. Only a fool would charge straight into unknown territory and challenge the enemy general like that." Nora smirked.

He received glares from everyone in the room and not friendly ones.

"Ahem, that aside. Someone had been collecting information about me and that person was not from the Extra Clans so I paid more attention to it." Nora coughed and looked away. "It was pure coincidence though that I happened to visit an information broker that happened to know about it.

"And she gave you the information just like that?" Natsume asked with a bright smile.

"No, she charged me quite a bit while asking for my protection, although I cannot be certain why guarding her the 24 hours was necessary. She was adamant in having me by her side all the time, even wanting me to follow her in the bath... yeah, that seemed sketchy so I left her to Samejima-kun."

Snorting at that, Natsume did not pursue it given that he was honest about it.

"I got thanked by him after that..." Nora shuddered. "It was creepy to see him grin like that."

"Awawa, then that means they..." Shigune's imagination was going wild.

"Haha, there is no way that is true." Natsume denied it.

Sighing, Nora put a hand on Natsume's shoulder.

"He cannot become a wizard." Nora said.

"H-How... could this be..." Natsume looked shocked. "I lost to that muscle head!?"

"Yup, he does not smell like a virgin anymore..." Nora nodded. "I kind of wanted to smack him..."

"He was the first one to climb the stair of adulthood, how could this be...?" Natsume kneeled in defeat.

"Huh? Who said that he was the first?" Nora asked.

At those words, Natsume stood with renewed vigor and grabbed Nora by the suit and began shaking him.

"Did you also betray us and reached adulthood you horny cat!? It was with Yasaka, isn't that right? That woman finally got rid of her fake hesitation and ate you up!!!" Natsume eyes were spinning as she made wild assumptions.

"Hah, I wish that was the case." Nora sighed.

"Then it has to be that depraved woman, Raikou, she forbids anyone from joining you in the bath but she does not follow that rule herself... I knew she was bad news." Natsume bitterly said.

Shaking his head, Nora denied it.

"No, she does not want to- ok, she can be very dangerous, but she is not a bad person." Nora looked away."

"So it was Musashi who got the guts to push you down huh..." Natsume lamented.

"Why is it that everyone will end up pushing me down instead of me making a move...?" Nora asked a little annoyed.

"You said it yourself, until you push down Yasaka, you will not think of making a move on anyone." Shigune spoke in a shy tone.

"Oh, dear lord... How in the word do you guys know of that...?" Nora looked slightly ashamed.

Looking unusually flustered, Nora could not believe that the shy one was the one to drop that bomb.

"After the Nora disaster, a lot of people have acquired that information." Shigune confessed.

Recalling his dark history, Nora wished nothing else but to dig a hole and hide.

"Anyways! It was not me who climbed the stairs, but rather Ikuse-san and Toujou-san." Nora changed the subject.

"What?" "Awawawa!?" "...hmm?"

Natsume released Nora after being surprised, while Shigune got flustered and Lavinia just tilted her head without care for the revelation.

"When...!? And how the heck did you find out?" Natsume asked in disbelief.

 "Well, they looked awkward one time and I forced- coaxed them to tell me what was troubling them." Nora shurgged his shoulders. "It looked like a sensitive topic going by how they were both blushing so I dragged- I mean, I brought Ikuse-san aside and forced- I mean, I talked him until he spilled the beans. They wanted to take things to the next step but they had the typical 'Harem MC luck' that everytime they tried to get into the mood, something would come out to interrupt them."

Speaking like it was nothing at all, Nora related what happened.

"Thus I gave him a pack of preservatives and after asking him if they had a place abroad they would both like to visit, I booked a plane for both and rented a whole hotel floor while hiring security that would prevent any mishap." Nora sighed. "He had a shitty luck since I heard many of the guards went through a lot that night, but judging from their smell and the way they carried themselves after that, it was obvious they were beyond the wall known as virginity."

"Don't you know a little too much!?" Natsume sounded feed up.

"Hey, I just set the stage according to Ikuse-san's instructions, if they wanted to go at it or not was not my problem." Nora snorted. "As expected of virgin, bitter to the core."

"I, no, you! Argh, you are one as well!" Natsume looked frustrated.

Shrugging his shoulders, Nora did not seem bothered.

"It is not like I am troubled by it." Nora said. "Or rather, I am not desperate to prove myself to anyone or brag about it."

At his words, Natsume calmed down. Shigune looked at Nora with some respect and Lavinia was just playing with the cards on the table.

"That is not something you need to force, you know?" Nora smiled wryly. "You are you, whether your friends did it first or not should not be important. Call me old fashioned, but you should treasure that first time, otherwise, a terrible memory could haunt you forever."

Looking oddly melancholic, Nora's words cause the trio to not dare to say anything back.

"Well, I cannot really say anything regarding your problem since I am the main issue you have." Nora said. "I cannot be said to have made my mind fully."

"If you feel pressured-" Natsume wanted to say something but Nora stopped her by placing his index finger on her lips.

"I am not some lousy guy who will just run away after hearing your resolve. I don't have plans to run away after we- actually, you have been the one who has been pushing herself on to me, like that time I was about to call it a night and when I arrived at my room, SOMEONE had been sleeping there already with nothing on."

"I sleep walked there!" Natsume protested.

"Seven days in a row, I don't think so Miss!" Nora snorted.

"Nora-kun's been is always the best place to take a nap." Lavinia suddenly said. "Even more if Nora-kun is in it. You never feel cold and temperature is always cozy. He makes sure you have enough pillows and if you sleep with half of your body over him, you wake up full of energy."

The people listening reacted quite differently, with Natsume being the one who was more aggressive and Shigune displaying some jealousy instead of her usual shyness.

"You were not going home, were you?" Natsume spoke with narrowed eyes.

"...no, no, before I eat Yacchan, I will not-" Nora backed away.

"So as long as we do not do anything, you are fine?" Natsume asked. "Nothing adult related."

"Awawa." Shigune observed quietly.

There was a desire to join in, but she felt like she would faint if she spoke what she had in mind.

"...Sure?" Nora tilted his head in confusion.

"Good♪" Natsume cheerfully said. "Lavinia, you don't mind if I take this guy today?"

"Hmm? I don't mind." Lavinia smiled. "Nora-kun is for everyone, that is what we all agreeded to."

Chuckling, Lavinia warmly said.

"I have a meeting with Mephisto-sama and the executives of several magical institutions regarding Nora-kun's idea so I can't join you today." Lavinia muttered.

Feeling a bit guilty, Natsume smile looked less cheerful.

"Sorry, here I am, rubbing it off to you..." Natsume spoke.

"Fufu, I can just sleep with him another time." Lavinia said. "He will always be there if you need him, that is what a certain cat girl once said... Nora-kun would not fail to fullfil that, would he?"

"Aren't you being a little forceful here...?" Nora complained. "That cat, she went a blabbered about it."

Sighing in relief, Natsume decided to strike while iron was hot.

"Wait here, I will go get my stuff." Natsume left almost skipping.

Going towards Nora, Lavinia hugged him and kissed his cheek before teleporting away.

Feeling self conscious now that they were left alone, Shigune was rather confused about what to do. Everyone went and said what they wanted, but she was unable to speak until now.

"What are you looking so down about?" Nora asked.

"...you are going with Natsume to..." Shigune looked down.

"You are coming with us though?" Nora raised an eyebrow.

"...huh?" Shigune raised her head in surprise.

Sighing at her expression, Nora cleaned the counter at an inhuman speed and jumped to fall sitting on it while facing Shigune. The shy girl immediately  got flustered and looked away, but Nora was not having that. He extended his hands and raised her before placing her on his lap side ways, using one arms to hold her back while her feet stretched the other way. It caused Shigune's heart to beat nonstop and she felt like it would explode at any minute.

"I said it before." Nora spoke. "I plan to take responsibility. I mean, it is not any girl who appears in front of me and flashes her body will become my lover, but... I can't just run away from all of you who have been with me all these years and well, it is hard to put into words sometimes..."

Looking a little at a loss, Nora grabbed Shigune's hand.

"I guess part of me is afraid that I will screw things." Nora mumbled. "Giving love equally, I don't think it is simple to do it. The black cat would love to spend every single hour attached to me doing nothing, while the white one would have us play games all day. It is different for all of you, since being satisfied with the relationship can be different depending who we talk about."

Calmly listening, Shigune noticed that Nora's heartbeat was a little faster than usual.

"I have been trying to keep it in check but the effect of that spell are not disappearing, it is troubling sometimes... but I guess I don't dislike having my heart throb because we are like this." Nora pulled the petite young woman closer to him. "Nanadaru... No, Shigune, I know that you are shy by nature, it is not exactly a secret. However, I want you to be more proactive... Mind you, I am not saying this because I want you to be all over me so you can fullfil my egocentric needs, I want you to do what you have in mind. To be able to freely express yourself."

Listening to that, Shigune pulled Nora closer and whispered into his ears something. His eyes widened like saucers and he got slightly flustered.

"...Even if I look like this, I am still a minor so let's keep that stuff until I am older." Nora spoke.

"...hmm." Shigune nodded bashfully.

Feeling like she went too far with her request, the young woman wondered why she was so bold to request something she read in 'those' kind of book. She was about to cover her face, but she was stopped.

"As soon as that happens, not only that but even..." Nora whispered in Shigune's ears.

Steam could be almost be seen escaping her ears after Nora finished saying his piece. He gave her a knowing smile and she almost passed out, however-

"Hmm? Are you trying to attack her?" Natsume's teasing tone was heard.

Despite her race being a human, Shigune jumped like a cat that had its tail stepped on, her jump had so much force that she almost bumped in the ceiling, yet, she had been taught well, even if her mind was a mess, her muscles had been engraved with the correct course of actions. Midair, she twisted her body and managed to have a proper landing worth a perfect score in a competition.

Clapping was heard and when Shigune noticed, Natsume and Nora were both side by side with impressed faces.

"I raised that child!" Nora wiped (?) the tears on his face.

Even though he was not actually crying, he acted the part.

"As expected of the one who is being recruited like mad by that group of rhythmic gymnastics." Natsume added. "It is a shame that she is too shy and did not dare to wear the uniform, otherwise, I reckon she would be able win a gold medal on the next competition."

"Leotards? Hmm, I guess they are a high hurdle for her... at least in public." Nora chuckled.

He did not add anything else because Shigune desperately shook her head. Despite being curious, Natsume did not pry. She interlocked her arm with Nora naturally and signalled Shigune to go to the other arm.

"Are you sure I can join you?" Shigune turned towards Natsume.

"What are you saying? I had planned to both of us to go with him in the first place... with two, his hands should be more honest..." Natsume blushed. "Are you getting shy? Then you would rather I had him all for myself...?"

Using a teasing tone, Natsume managed to make Shigune sulk and she power walked as she went to get her stuff and immediately reappeared, her arm interlocked with Nora's free hand.

Chuckling at that, the trio left the store. Not before Nora snapping his fingers and pieces of paper leaving his pocket and turning into humanoid figures. The figures began to take care of the clean up to close the store and it was then that they all left. However, a few steps later Natsume steps got slower until she had ceased moving.

"Hmm? Did you forget something?" Nora asked.

Peeking at her friend curiously, Shigune also had a questioning look.

"Hey... you don't find my actions... too much?" Natsume fumbled her words.

"Such as...?" Nora tilted his head.

"I mean... this... I am glad you are actually doing it, but is it only because I pushed to sleep with us that you are accompanying us. Maybe you had other plans or something..." Natsume bitterly said. "Am I not being too pushy?"

"Pfft." Nora laughed.

Getting pissed off at that Natsume glared at Nora. The youth just looked at her tenderly.

"Pushy or not, I don't think you see it the way I see it." Nora spoke. "First of all, I did not have anything particular important in my schedule so you are wrong. I was free. Secondly, you seem to see this like I am being dragged but..."

Coaxing her to advance, the youth managed to reasume their walk.

"I am actually flattered that such a beautiful pair of ladies want to spend the night with me." Nora muttered. "I should be proud that you actually invited me, not feel like it is burden or a troublesome task."

"...so you don't mind if we are proactive and aggressive...?" Natsume asked.

"Why would it bother me? I told you that the fact that you choose a scum like me over who knows how many guys this world has to spend your time with, no matter how we spend it, it is in fact an honor." Nora said.

Smiling at that, Natsume pushed a finger into his chest.

"Mister, you should not call yourself a scum then, what would make us that we are with you if you call yourself as such...?" Natsume muttered.

"But... don't you think I am a scummy if I do this...?" Nora chuckled and loosened his hands.

Hugging the two by their waists, he lowered his hands-

Both Natsume and Shigune widened their eyes and immediately blushed.

"Aren't I a scoundrel?" Nora smugly said.

The two young women nodded, but did not try to escape.

...

...

...

The clock had hit exactly midnight and the street was completely deserted. A place usually known for being boisterous was in complete silence, only the sound of footsteps from a group could be heard. The one leading them was a green-eyed youth whose vestment had the kanji for four seasons on the back of his haori. He carried no weapons but did not seem to need them to intimidate anyone. Following him were girls wearing masks, either foxes, bunnies, cats, tengus and cats, except a purple haired young woman walked at youth's right side. One detail word mentioning was how with the exception of the purple-haired young woman, all the others had animal characteristics such as ears, tails or wings in the open.

"Milord, the location we are looking for is right here." Akiko spoke.

Carrying a katana tied to her hip, the young woman seemed to be the only one armed. Wearing a shrine maiden outfit themed in purple, her sleeves were tied to avoid getting in the way of any sudden draw of her katana.

"It is really hard to believe, that one of the once three great gangs, had their base of operation hidden inside a tea house." Nora commented. "Not like I can say much since I am using buildings with business like this as covers, but..."

Sighing, the youth stood in front of the door.

"Yosh, I even threw out some extra minutes, I wonder what we will come to face." Nora looked slightly excited only to suddenly tilt his head.

Taking his actions arbitrarily as Nora expecting to have her open the door for him, Akiko followed by doing something they did a couple of times during their raids.

Unsheathing her sword, Akiko slashed four times making a square cut on the rather long doors. With nothing to hold them, they were about to fall inside the tea house, but Nora sighed and grabbed the door before it happened. He removed and everyone could see the figure of a scared young woman that had her hand extended towards the handle of the door.

"...so you were expecting us." Nora nodded.

Trembling all over, the young woman dressed like an office lady did not respond.

"You spooked her." Nora lightly said.

"My apologies..." Akiko sheathed her katana with blushing cheeks.

Making a mental note to make amends for the damage in the property, Nora took a look at the interior of the place. Even without using his ability, the youth had noticed a lack of ill intent since he arrived. Using senjutsu, he only caught one presence about to open the door before Akiko acted. The location of the building was good so it would be a shame to lay waste to it like he did before in other places. At this point, he had almost destroyed all the buildings he raided, but he did make use of some that had promising locations.

"Welp, no use crying over spilled milk." Nora strode inside the building. "Alrighty! I know you can hear me juuuust fine! Let's skip the mind games you had planned to make the lady here guide us too."

Neither yelling or whispering, Nora stated.

Not hearing a reply, Nora walked towards the office lady (?) who had managed to compose herself. Before she could open her mouth, Nora pulled a rope.

"Yosh, let's interrogate her using the most gruesome and unscrupulous methods we can think of." Nora moved in a flash.

By the time he had finished, the office lady (?) was tied in a turtle shell bondage.

"Milord, this is not good." Akiko spoke.

Trembling again, the tied up woman seemed to find some sort of hope. Having even a a gag ball to stop her from raising her voice, the woman was unable to move due to high level technique used to tie her.

"You always say that one must not show mercy to their enemies." Akiko said.

Pulling more ropes, she kneeled beside the office lady (?).

"Always use double ropes just in case." Akiko seemed to be repeating those words.

"...you have learned everything I could teach you." Nora wiped his tears (?) with some tissues. "Alright, let's do unspeakable things to her until the lady shows herself."

Following Nora's words, the group he brought surrounded the office lady. However, before they could do anything, all the lights turned on a click was heard as a door opened by itself.

Gesturing with his chin, Nora ordered his group to go. Everyone except Akiko went through the door.

"I am sorry, it was the only way." Nora sighed.

Kneeling beside the tied up figure, he released by pulling the rope. Immediately, she backed away and threw away gag on her mouth as she hid below one of the tables.

Shaking fearfully, she watched the duo with vigilance.

Moving towards her, Nora saw her curl down even more, but he ignored everything and grabbed her hand.

"I am sorry, it must've been scary, everything will be ok." Nora grabbed her hand. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you. I will make sure of it."

Despite her faith in her lord, Akiko thought rudely that as the culprit of the office lady's trauma, he should not be the one to speak.

"She will not tie you up again. Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will not allow her to do it again." Nora said.

Tilting her head, Akiko felt like the script was started to sound strange.

"W-will it be ok?"

Fearfully asking, the lady gave Akiko a terrified look.

"It must've been painful right?" Nora asked.

"It was..."

Clasping Nora's hands, she cried.

"She is still new in this so she cannot hope to do it like me..." Nora sighed.

"When you tied me... it was scary, but... my heart kept beating fast and it felt kind of... good."

With her eyebrow twitching, Akiko thought of pulling out her katana.

"Haha, is that so? It is just the difference in experience." Nora smiled. "It was a quick fix so I could not show you my full potential, however, if you are interested, I could..."

Gulping loudly at the proposal, the office lady slowly nodded.

"Here is my card, you can call me anytime.." Nora placed a business card on the woman's hand.

Visibly happy, the woman smiled and placed in the card between her ample cleavage. Her action was slow and she was mind of showing off to the youth who stared without even try to his intentions. Once she had fully buried the business card, Nora sighed in disappointment.

"You should leave, it could be dangerous." Nora kind heartedly warned.

"But my boss... it is my job..."

The woman seemed reluctant.

"I will talk to your boss in your stead, don't worry, even if you get your pay deducted, I will compensate you quite handsomely." Nora said with a meaningful smile.

Blushing at that, the woman did not miss the look he directed at her legs.

Standing up with Nora's help, the woman slowly since she would turn around to check for Nora. Her heated gaze and breath did not remain in Nora's line of sight for long since he turned around.

With a wry smile, Nora met Akiko's sullen look.

"Milord..." Akiko only said that but it was enough for the youth to understand.

Caressing her head, he continued until Akiko's mood improved.

"Do you think I was too much?" Nora asked.

"...you did not have to flirt that much with her." Akiko sullenly replied.

"She is working for the Extra Clans and her job seemed to be centered in catching my eyes... it would a shame to not try the same, don't you think?" Nora smiled.

"Milord looks evil." Akiko mumbled.

"Is it bad...?" Nora asked.

"No, Milord always looks dashing no matter what he does." Akiko praised.

"That is not what I meant, but thanks anyways." Nora laughed. "Now then, I wonder if I solved the little test that the boss of this place set for me."

"Is she also working for the Extra Clans?" Akiko out her hand on the handle of her katana.

"If she actually did, she wouldn't have appeared before me unless she wanted to die." Nora muttered. "She just happened to be 'unlucky' enough to hire someone who had ties with them."

Shrugging his shoulders, Nora directed his eyes towards a certain spot. Akiko followed his line of sight and it was only after straining her eyes to the limit that she managed to catch the lens of a camera hidden among the furniture of the room.

"Isn't that right? Miss Yelan." Nora spoke.

"If you let them believe that their intentions have not been discovered, they can be quite bold and careless with their actions. Obtaining information from such individuals is easy." Yelan's voice came from all over the room, originating from speakers scattered around.

"Quite bold of you to make me do your job." Nora muttered.

"I am rather thankful of you making her leave, she insisted in staying to 'help' me during your 'raid'. It was quite obvious what she wanted, but I was not sure how you would react to it." Yelan honestly said.

Snorting at that, Nora did not say anything to that.

"I also heard a lot of rumors about you so I thought you would not mind to meet a beautiful woman." Yelan exclaimed.

"You are quite sly." Nora sighed.

"I cannot compare to you who managed to charm a woman in matter of minutes." Yelan retorted. "Oh, yes. I might as well warn you, but she is a heavy woman so... you might find yourself in a tight spot if you are not careful."

Just then, when Nora had a quizzical look from those words, his phone rang. Opening it up, he noticed a file that was sent from an unknown number. Without second thoughts, he opened it and-

"...so you meant this type of 'heavy'" Nora sighed.

Peeking from one side, Akiko caught sight of several pictures belonging to the office lady from before, or in this case, you could hardly call her as such since she was not wearing her outfit anymore... and she was making poses that a lady would not do.

"Milord, I ask you to give me some time off... 10, no, I can do with 5 minutes." Akiko suddenly asked.

"Yeah, no." Nora immediately shut down that request.

Erasing the photos in front of Akiko, he managed to calm her down.

...

...

...

"Welcome to the other side of my store." Yelan greeted.

Being surrounded by all the Youkais that Nora brought did not make Yelan nervous. She was waiting for Nora by herself since there were no other humans in the room.

"A casino? I guess that you coming up with a gamble in our first meeting was not a coincidence." Nora looked around.

"You could say that it is a work habit." Yelan chuckled.

"So, you should know the drill if you investigated me enough." Nora gestured with his chin.

The Youkais all let out their auras.

"It is my home ground, my dignity might as well be a joke if I let this bother me." Yelan commented.

Gesturing with his chin again, Nora ordered the Youkais to stop.

"Then, let us solve our differences in a peaceful way." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

"I just want you to overlook my people." Yelan muttered. "We won't get involved in the conflict and I will not support any side."

"Do you think your words will make me change my mind?" Nora asked. 

"It wouldn't hurt to ask anyways." Yelan bitterly said.

"The time limit is two hours. We will each take turns choosing a game were we will both play and by the end of the night, the one with the highest score, will get to ask for the other party one request that can not be turned down." Yelan explained. "Just... I hope you do not act against my people no matter the result."

Nodding at that, pointed at a poker table.

"Shall we start with a friendly game of poker?" Nora smiled.

"Very well." Yelan accepted. "Would like something to drink?"

"Hmmm... a glass of milk, thank you very much." Nora chuckled.

Giggling at his choice, Nora went to prepare his order before starting to play.

...

...

...

"21, I win." Nora exclaimed.

A little shocked, Yelan confirmed the cards once again before biting her lips.

"Playing cards only can be boring, how about we try that next?" Yelan asked.

Looking at the roulette on the table adjacent to them, Nora nodded at that. The Youkais were watching his every moment with keen eyes most of were trying learn from his gameplay.

...

...

...

"I knew that betting everything on black 13 was the way to go." Nora looked up. "Why can't I loose?"

With the corner of her lips twitching, Yelan found hard to believe his victory.

...

...

...

By the time that the scheduled time was just minutes away, Yelan looked dispirited.

"Don't look like that, I am just on a roll." Nora said.

"...it is your turn to choose." Yelan sighed.

"How about this? I got here this little guy." Nora pulled a coin out of his pocket and handed it to Yelan.

"A cent? Why do you...?" Yelan checked the coin in her hands.

Looking at it closely and spinning it in the air, Yelan nodded to herself.

"As a proof of goodwill, I will let you choose first after we flip it in the air. This will out last game and..." Nora looked at Yelan straight in the eye. "Let's just forget about the previous games' scores. Deciding everything with just the flip of a coin... don't you think this coin game even more exciting?"

Looking visibly stunned by his proposal, Yelan stared back at Nora. Her eyes peered at him without even blinking as she tried to find out his motives for throwing away his sure victory.

"Aren't you afraid to lose?" Yelan asked.

"Everyone is afraid of losing a gamble, or making mistakes in life." Nora shrugged his shoulders. "For me is more like I expect both victory and defeat so I am ready to do a proper follow up. Besides, I believe that these games lost their original intent before everything started."

Smiling wryly at that, Yelan flipped the coin high in the air.

"I choose Tails." Yelan smiled confidently.

"I see, then I take the oposite." Nora mumbled. "If I win, from now on, you belong to me."

Almost missing her timing to catch the coin, Yelan's reflexes still caught onto it.

"That is a rather extreme request. I don't think you are lacking in women around you." Yelan asked.

"I am someone greedy, you see?" Nora chuckled.

Gesturing with his chin, Nora ignored Yelan's glare.

The young woman slowly opened her hand and-

"How in the world...?" Yelan spoke in a surprised tone.

"There was a study in a certain university, a person used thousands of cents to test which one had higher probability. The test was pretty simple, but extremely tiresome." Nora said. "80% of the times, Tails will be the final result."

"Are you taking me for an idiot? I know that much. I also checked the coin, there was nothing wrong with it." Yelan exclaimed.

"Of course, it was just your regular cent, nothing more, nothing less." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

"Then is it possible that it is now Head?" Yelan asked.

"You mean to say, how is it possible that it is heads when I also made sure to raise my odds with a special flipping technique?" Nora replied. "I am aware how much trickery was put into our games before. Nonetheless, this time I did nothing of that sort."

"That is impossible." Yelan shook her head.

"Yelan, dear, sometimes, no matter how much you try to change something, it will not be possible." Nora spoke. "I was just lucky."

With a rather wicked smile on his face, Nora took the coin back. Flipping it once, he got Head, repeating the process, he got Head again.

"I don't mean to brag but... I have never lost once in this game." Nora flipped the coin once more. "I choose Tails."

Once he caught the coin, when he opened his hand, Tails was the result.

"I believe you will not go back in our agreement." Nora said.

Looking rather annoyed at him, Yelan seemed to have more to say.

"Even though you knew I was cheating, why did you continue playing? Not only that, I am certain that you cheated as well to beat me." Yelan asked.

"Oh dear, did I?" Nora chuckled. "Do you have any proof?"

"No." Yelan sullenly said.

"So, is our agreement still on?" Nora asked.

Yelan glared at him without saying a word.

The observing Youkais tensed at that moment because Yelan looked ready to fight at any moment.

"This is just a formality, you intended to come under my wing from the begining so stop trying to mess with my people." Nora sighed.

Smiling mischievously, Yelan shrugged her shoulders.

"It is fun to do and one of my joys, I am afraid I cannot stop doing it." Yelan chuckled.

"You have a bad personality." Nora sighed.

"I doubt it will ever be as bad as yours." Yelan retorted.

"You have to jab at me whenever you can, don't you?" Nora grumbled. "Everyone, you are free to go. Leave us alone."

Waving his hand, Nora indicated his people to leave. Without raising a fuss, they bowed to him and left, except Akiko.

"Is it alright to disobey him?" Yelan asked.

"It is my duty to be by Milord's side." Akiko responded.

Looking at the duo who did not seem to have anything else to say, Yelan did not say anything else.

Once they were truly alone, Nora pulled several files and spread them in a nearby table.

Without asking, Yelan picked them up.

"These are about you." Yelan raised an eyebrow.

"Read up, this will make things less annoying later on. You will be officially one of the people who knows more about me." Nora disinterestedly said.

Ignoring Akiko's jealous look, Yelan reached for the file with a curious heart. She had done her job and looked into the youth that was drink his glass of milk obediently in front of her. It was surprising that for someone who left such a huge impression whenever he acted, his information was suppressed to the point that one could not help but believe that someone was deliberately hiding it, but looking at the way he easily presented the information by himself, Yelan found the idea of him being the culprit, odd. Narrowing her eyes as she read the thick file, Yelan could not help but retort.

"Why did you even include your measures...?" Yelan asked.

"Believe or not, some of those... are hard to come by info that many will play plenty for." Nora muttered. "Especially my-"

"Milord." Akiko called out.

"Alright, I won't say anything else." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

Yelan was left speechless.

...

...

...

"So, what do you expect me to do now that I know this?" Yelan asked.

"Marriage is always in hand with trust so now we can start the paper work. I have nothing to hide, and neither you do." Nora nonchalantly said.

Reacting quite strongly, Akiko looked at Nora in horror, on the other hand-

"So you want us to establish some kind of contract? Should it be a regular written one or using magic?" Yelan asked.

"It is nice you understand the underlying meaning behind my words, but it is boring if you don't get flustered at all." Nora looked down.

"I am a pretty good at acting so I can perform a credible persona if you would like." Yelan smiled.

"Forget it, I want to keep our relation completely free from deceit." Nora said.

Not reacting to that, Yelan continued to read.

...

...

...

"I think I have a rough understanding of your situation until now." Yelan placed down the file.

 

"Only roughly? I have been quite generous with the amount of information I provided, although I did not included details concerning those close to me out of respect for their privacy, everything should be there." Nora said.

"You've indeed been providing details to the letter. Every crime you have committed has been listed chronologically, and the repercussions have been pointed out. It is surprising how much you have done despite your young age, but..." Yelan frowned.

"What is it?" Nora asked.

"Why are you hiding your good deeds?" Yelan inquired.

"...that is irrelevant and unnecessary for that file." Nora shook his head.

"That is only from your perspective." Yelan copied him.

Clicking his tongue, Nora glanced at Akiko gestured her to leave. Extreme unwillingness was on her face, but she obeyed nonetheless.

"...I don't want you to make a mistake. If I were to have a status that showed my alignment, it would certainly say 'EVIL'. Do not let that deceive you, I am not a good guy and my actions-" Nora coldly said.

"Is that the phrase you have rehearsed to answer whenever someone asks you about it?" Yelan questioned. "I have been observing you since that big incident regarding the Nine Tails. It started as precaution, but it turned into curiosity. If I only read what you have described in these files, I could surely label you as evil. However, I have seen what you usually do. Founding several orphanages for instance, or even taking in homeless people, paying for their education and reintegrating in society. If you only heard that part, you could be nothing but some sort of Saint. Yet, there was something bugging me after learning all that."

Frowning at that, Nora did not seem to desire to speak.

"If I might be so bold to ask, why do you help people like you have been doing? You gain nothing in exchange, do you? Those people might be grateful, but there is not guarantee that such a thing will remain forever. I would dare to say that you gain nothing, so I can't help but ask... why?" Yelan inquired in a curious tone.

There was no need to answer to that question, but Nora just felt like opening his mouth.

"...We dirty our hands with blood, our mouths are filled with lies and our actions can be nothing but deceit. I have accepted to walk this path for my own reasons, but those children just want to support me. They don't mind immersing themselves in this side of world just because of someone like me. I have come to terms with that. They are my friends and I have to respect their wishes. However, I don't want their lives to be filled with nothing but dark memories. I use the disguise of making them improve their techniques by doing investigations of certain people I have made an assesment before hand, people who need a helping hand and even if you were to put your hands in that mess, nothing wrong will happen. I make them perform good deeds and let them receive the heartful gratitude of others. They must not become unsung heroes... sometimes they might be on the receiving end of ill will, there is no escape to that, but I want them to have good memories to hang on unto. Not all is darkness, not everything is a dull world where the only choice is to get your hands full of blood." Nora sips his drink briefly. "I make them go to college, they can join any place they want thanks to my intense academical course, and any sort of extra curricular activity is never too expensive. I want them to enjoy their lives, that is why I make them do that. They are kind children so I want them to stay that way."

Rather surprised that she got an answer, Yelan took all that information.

"...don't you get tired? Oh, I am not talking about simply physical tiredness, I am well aware that your kind is resilient and you are even more absurd so I cannot picture you being exahusted physically. I am talking about..." Yelan crossed her arms and as result, her chest was highlighted. "...mentally."

Sending Yelan an suspicious look, Nora peek at her briefly wondering if the woman was trying to lure him to speak with a honey trap. Nonetheless, he never intended to stop talking so he just kept the memory into his heart.

"That is a rather gentle way of asking me if I am not getting cornered from doing things behind their backs." Nora shrugged his shoulders. "They are no stupid, it has been a while since we have been doing this. My Natsume is a very sharp child in regards to my tricks and I am not sure if I should be proud of being the reason she is more shrewd each day. My Lavinia is an air-head so you would think she is oblivious to it, but it rather interesting how she came to me one day and told me that she would support me in anything I planned."

Chuckling, Nora found himself a little embarrassed speaking about the ladies.

"My Shigune can have trouble getting rid of her shyness, but it never stops her for giving me hand in work. She has been trying to voice out this very same topic, but she is too shy to initiate it. I kind of like to watch her warmly and wait for her to gain enough courage." Nora smiled. "Ikuse-san, Toujou-san and Samejima-san are also quite aware of my actions so you cannot say I am hiding anything at this point. We just kindly do not point it out since... at the end of the day, we just want the other to feel better with themselves while performing good deeds."

Smiling as well, Yelan did not say anything. She thought of teasing the youth for using 'My' with the ladies, but given that Youkais and devils did not follow conventional rules as humans, they values in relationships had to be different. Nonetheless, it was worth keeping such information recorded in her mind. It was important to show the proper respect to those people in particular and be mindful of her actions in the future.

"I guess I have heard everything I wanted to." Yelan nodded. "So, what is it that you require of me?"

"...I feel like I was played." Nora sighed at the change of topic. "There is no much I can say. I want you to adquire as much information you can about these individuals."

Pulling out two thin files, Nora awaited for Yelan to finish taking a look at them.

"This child, as far as I recall, he should be a high ranking noble." Yelan commented. "The difficulty is high from the begining."

"I have faith in your skills." Nora pointed out.

"...Diodora Astaroh." Yelan muttered. "As far as I have heard from the regular citizens in the Underworld, he seems like a kind and gentle devil."

"And...?" Nora asked.

"...ok, I admit that there is more than what meets the eye here. However, I don't have definite proof do I would like to abstain from making baseless accusations." Yelan said.

"If you are trying to be mindful about the rumors about Murmur's Heir having a long lasting friendship with him, I will tell you that is not like that. I completely and utterly despise his existence." Nora smile was chilling.

"...very well." Nora closed her eyes to gather her thoughts. "I once heard some interesting piece of info. It should've happened about a year ago. That man had come to Japan for some business I am not certain of, but the important part is what he did after dealing with his business. He took a stroll around the city but a stop he did was rather suspicious. A small church around the outskirts of the city. The nun living take care of the building was said to be a young female and she was acting in place of the priest that was traveling for a few days. Witnesses recall seeing Diodora that day, but after that their memories are blurry. The priest never saw the nun again and until now, she is on the missing person data base."

"...and that is just a bit of information?" Nora's lips twitched.

"There are many possible explanations to that situation, but there is no definite proof to prove any theory." Yelan said. "If you desire, I can put my full attention in that event, perhaps I can get a more accurate information."

"No need, I am not interested in that particular event." Nora shook his head. "I want you to find out everything you can about him, there is a limit to what I can find out without causing him to suspect me."

"Very well, I can start immediately if you want." Yelan was about to stand up.

"I am not some slave laborer. I am aware that you require ample preparations before starting to work. Take your time, since you have things to care  here." Nora pulled a bag out of his storage space.

It fell to the floor and part of its contents could be easily seen.

"This money cannot be traced so you are free to use it without that concern." Nora shrugged his shoulders.

A little speechless, Yelan could make an estimated guess of the amount of money in bag.

"I guess you did not target us because you were after our businesses." Yelan smiled bitterly.

"I stole- I mean, I kindly requested the old fart, Zekram for money, although I might've forgotten to tell him I would be taking it." Nora said. "I did raid the Extra Clans building in Kyoto so I got a bit of pocket money so I am not lacking in money to fund your activities, use as much as you like."

"Your generosity can be scary." Yelan admitted.

"I am asking for hard to accomplish jobs, it is the least I can do." Nora seemed a little displeased with the bag. "I can't quite turn all that dirty money into clean currency too quickly so I apologize if the amount was too shabby."

Facepalming, Yelan made a huge mental note about Nora's generosity.

"About the Extra Clans, I believe they will not do anything drastic in Kyoto for the time being." Nora muttered. "I should not press them too much and focus on securing the city to avoid any possible come back if I leave an opening. I would like to meet your people so we can inform them that we are no longer enemies."

With an awkward expression, Yelan looked away.

"About that... everyone kind of left...?" Yelan refused to look Nora in the eyes.

"...wut?" Nora was genuinely surprised.

"I had my second in command to take everyone and flee the country... about 30 minutes before you arrived." Yelan awkwardly said.

"...why?" Nora tilted his head in confusion.

"...she wanted to fight you to the last woman and refused to accept being under any man, especially someone who has a reputation of changing women like he is changing... ahem." Yelan kept her mouth shut after noticing Nora's mood.

"...the lady from before?" Nora asked.

"She had her own agenda, as you already know." Yelan replied.

Looking clearly gloomy, Nora chuckled.

"I know that I look bad, but... I never expected to make a woman flee her homeland." Nora sighed.

"They are all talented people who have been learning under my tutelage so I could convince them..." Yelan offered.

"No, I will do that. Proper communication is important." Nora mumbled. "I have confidence in talking to women."

There was lot to comment regarding his confidence, but Yelan decided to tactfully stay quiet. Looking at the files, she noticed that there was one file they had not discussed.

"This second file, it is about a woman... You want me to find out everything I can about her as well?" Yelan asked.

"..ah, her." Nora bitterly smiled. "I do not know her name, but I know that she is the heir of a very prestigious noble family."

"There was no name so I guess my first job will be locating her and learning that." Yelan picked a picture from the file.

Watching that picture, Nora grimaced.

"Hmmm? This picture..." Yelan noticed something odd. "For someone who you are not well acquantices with, this is really a good photo. She looks well dressed, her grooming is top notch... it almost look like this photo was taken to please the one who sees it."

With each word, Nora grimaced even more.

"Yeah, no doubt about it." Nora sighed heavily. "Since I took that picture from the file that Zekram handed to me... about a possible marriage partner I will be meeting soon."

"Is that so? Is there a reason why you want me to investigate her before meeting her?" Yelan asked.

"Yeah, the thing is... I know the house she comes from." Nora admitted. "I honestly did not bother learning her name since my mind went blank after hearing what house was called."

The oddness of Nora's behaviour intrigued Yelan.

"She comes from the house called, Nebiros." Nora said.

Raising an eyebrow at that, Yelan picked Nora's file a re-read an entry in particular.

"Aren't they...?" Yelan asked.

"Yeah, they are the main family." Nora commented. "They have a branch family called Naberious, the ones who experimented on me. Now, the young lady of the main family, who happened to be the one to take the initiative, would like to discuss our possible marriage."