Hearing someone call her name, Inoue Keiko turned her head quizzically.
Inside the alley, a young man stood there, his body covered in trash, looking a complete mess. A foul stench wafted from him, making it hard to approach.
This person was naturally Koike Takuma.
Koike Takuma had only woken up not long ago. Upon waking, he found himself inside a stinking garbage bin, so disgusted he almost threw up last night’s dinner.
After crawling out of the bin, Koike Takuma didn’t see the person who had questioned him about the Star Group. He patted himself down and couldn’t find his smartphone, leaving him momentarily unsure of what to do.
Just then, he inadvertently looked up and spotted Inoue Keiko passing by outside. On reflex, he called out to her.
Seeing Inoue Keiko look his way, Koike Takuma’s gaze flickered uncertainly.
The Star Group members had earlier ordered him to dispose of Inoue Keiko. Although he couldn’t contact the Star Group right now and didn’t know if the situation had changed, since Inoue Keiko was right in front of him, there was no reason to let her go, was there?
Without hesitation, Koike Takuma reached out and pointed at Inoue Keiko. A cluster of flames bloomed at his fingertip, coalescing into a firebird that shot straight toward Inoue Keiko.
Inoue Keiko’s expression instantly changed. She never imagined this person was a Reincarnator. But… why was he attacking her?
Inoue Keiko couldn’t grasp the situation, but seeing the firebird’s momentum, she knew she couldn’t handle it. She hurriedly turned and fled into the distance.
‘Think you can run?’
Koike Takuma sneered inwardly and closed his eyes.
Through the firebird’s vision, he could “see” Inoue Keiko and thus chase after her. In the blink of an eye, he had pursued her past several corners.
What Koike Takuma didn’t notice was that another person had appeared right beside his main body.
Silvery-white hair billowed in the wind. Izumi Shirayuki’s violet eyes settled on Koike Takuma.
She had sensed some disturbance over here and came to check. She never expected to find a Reincarnator here, and one attempting to kill Inoue Keiko at that.
Regardless of the circumstances, Inoue Keiko was a member of her Urban Legend Club. How could she just stand by and ignore this?
“You want to kill Inoue-san. Then you won’t have any complaints if I kill you, right?” Izumi Shirayuki spoke softly, casually waving a hand at Koike Takuma. A burst of cold qi swept forth.
Koike Takuma heard a voice beside his ear, and his attention instantly shifted back from the firebird. He spun around rapidly toward the source of the sound.
What met Koike Takuma’s eyes was a freezing mist. He didn’t even have time to consider what this mist represented before his consciousness was immediately frozen solid.
The temperature inside the alley dropped by several degrees.
A life-like ice sculpture appeared right before Izumi Shirayuki’s eyes. Izumi Shirayuki paid it no further mind, simply turning and heading out of the alley.
After Izumi Shirayuki departed, a gust of wind blew by. The life-like ice sculpture shattered on the spot, crumbling into tiny particles that scattered across the ground.
…
Inoue Keiko leaned against a wall, panting, warily glancing left and right. A thread of confusion rose in her heart.
That strange Reincarnator, after attacking her for no apparent reason, why had he then vanished just as inexplicably? There were no ordinary people around here at the moment, so it didn’t seem like he needed to worry about being exposed, did it?
The less she understood, the more worried Inoue Keiko grew.
She looked all around and, seeing nothing she could discern, could only proceed with the utmost caution.
She had no idea that the danger had already been neutralized by Izumi Shirayuki.
…
Back at home, after entering her bedroom, Tsukiyomi Ruri glanced at Leona.
Leona was now hugging a smartphone, engrossed in playing it. Game sound effects occasionally rang out from it.
Tsukiyomi Ruri paid Leona no mind, intending to go take a bath. But just then, her phone chimed with a notification—the sound of an incoming message.
Tsukiyomi Ruri picked up the phone and looked. It was a message from Izumi Shirayuki.
“Tsukiyomi-san, let’s meet at Sakura Park tonight. We’ll continue our investigation into the Faceless Man legend.” Following the text, there was a smiley face emoticon.
Tsukiyomi Ruri replied: “I’ll be there.”
‘I’ll test things out tonight, see if Izumi Shirayuki might also be a Reincarnator. Though it feels unlikely, it never hurts to try.’
Tsukiyomi Ruri thought this to herself as she set her phone back down.
Then she went to the bathroom, prepared a change of clothes, and took off her current outfit piece by piece, tossing them into the corner.
…
Back at her own home, Izumi Shirayuki looked at her phone feeling somewhat dejected.
Aside from Tsukiyomi Ruri replying that she would come, both Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Inoue Keiko had said they couldn’t make it.
It was understandable that Inoue Keiko wasn’t coming—after all, she had just been attacked by another Reincarnator not long ago and was probably still worried, hence not daring to go out. But why did Mizuhashi Yuzuki also have something and couldn’t come?
“Mizuhashi-san, did something happen on your end? Need any help?” Izumi Shirayuki sent a message to Mizuhashi Yuzuki.
However, after waiting a while, Mizuhashi Yuzuki didn’t reply. Izumi Shirayuki couldn’t help but puff out her cheeks, feeling a bit resigned.
…
After bathing and eating dinner, Tsukiyomi Ruri felt a bit more energized.
Leona was currently picking out clothes for Tsukiyomi Ruri to wear when heading out. As she chose, she grumbled, “I really doubt you know anything about coordination. You were actually going to wear a green top with a red skirt and call it an outfit. Don’t you think that looks weird? Honestly, let me pick for you.”
Sitting on the bed wrapped in her blanket, wearing only underwear, Tsukiyomi Ruri remained silent.
To her, clothes were just things you wore—why fuss over coordination?
Leona prattled on, “Attire is a very important part of etiquette too, you know. Dressing improperly can be quite rude to the person you’re meeting and will leave a bad impression.”
Tsukiyomi Ruri’s mind stirred. “Dressing poorly is considered rude to the person you’re meeting?”
Leona nodded. “Of course. So unless you don’t care about the person you’re meeting, you need to coordinate your outfit properly.”
“Then what should I wear to meet everyone from the Urban Legend Club?” Tsukiyomi Ruri asked.
“What am I doing if not picking for you? Hmm… let’s go with this set.” Leona selected a satisfactory outfit from Tsukiyomi Ruri’s wardrobe, then floated over to her with the clothes in hand.
