Chapter 69: Dare You Come?

Tsukiyomi Ruri paid this no mind. She had already deployed The Faceless and sent it to discreetly tail Izumi Shirayuki.

In the café, Tsukiyomi Ruri chatted idly with the other two while keeping most of her attention on The Faceless. The Faceless couldn’t turn invisible, so when she moved, she had to take care not to be spotted. Ordinary people were easy enough—she could have The Faceless avoid them—but she had to watch out for Izumi Shirayuki, who was a Senior Reincarnator after all.

Under covert surveillance, Tsukiyomi Ruri saw that Izumi Shirayuki had entered an alley not far from the café, maybe just over a hundred meters in a straight line. She still had that rubber ball with her. Once inside the alley, she stood there throwing it against the wall, catching it when it bounced back, then throwing it again, repeating the motion.

‘What is she trying to do?’

Tsukiyomi Ruri couldn’t help but be puzzled as she observed through The Faceless, analyzing the situation in her mind.

Based on everything she knew so far, she guessed this had something to do with the Flame Bird Group. After all, Izumi Shirayuki and the others had been investigating them not long ago.

Just as Tsukiyomi Ruri was thinking, Izumi Shirayuki suddenly spoke up. “You’re the Leader of the Flame Bird Corps, aren’t you? You’re finally here. Stop hiding and come out.”

Tsukiyomi Ruri froze, surprised, and used The Faceless to look around. Not even she had sensed any other Reincarnators approaching, yet Izumi Shirayuki had? Or had Izumi Shirayuki actually detected her Faceless?

Tsukiyomi Ruri certainly wasn’t going to appear rashly. She had The Faceless lie low and watch for a while, only to see nothing change in the alley. Izumi Shirayuki was still throwing her ball.

So Tsukiyomi Ruri understood: Izumi Shirayuki was just bluffing. If the Flame Bird Group’s leader really were here, the bluff might have worked.

‘She’s waiting for the Leader of the Flame Bird Corps to show up? So she’s using herself as bait?’

Tsukiyomi Ruri thought, breathing a little easier. She didn’t know that Hino Kaoru was a Senior Reincarnator; she assumed she was only Mid-Level. In that case, she was no match for Izumi Shirayuki, who could handle anything.

With that in mind, Tsukiyomi Ruri no longer kept The Faceless there. She commanded it to start heading back.

On the way back, Tsukiyomi Ruri’s mind also briefly mulled over the matter of the Flame Bird leader. She had crossed paths with this so-called leader once before, on the Reincarnator Forum, and it seemed that person might be a yuri fan…

‘Wait, a yuri?’

Tsukiyomi Ruri took a sip of coffee and carefully thought through the tangled threads. On the Reincarnator Forum, the user ID “Flame Bird” was the leader of the Flame Bird Group, and a yuri fan. At the Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn, the guest named Hino Kaoru was also a yuri fan. Was that a coincidence? Tsukiyomi Ruri couldn’t help linking the two. Lately, the only people she’d encountered with those tendencies were those two.

There were other factors, too. For instance, the Flame Bird Group was targeting the Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn. That man named Suzuki Juro had disguised himself as a demon to frighten away the inn’s guests. As a Reincarnator, what was he—or the Flame Bird Group—hoping to gain? And Hino Kaoru kept visiting despite knowing the place was haunted…

If Hino Kaoru was the leader of the Flame Bird Corps, then it all made sense. She wanted to drive everyone away from the Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn and turn it into a private world for just herself and Fujiwara Misa.

‘Hino Kaoru is probably the leader of the Flame Bird Corps, and Fujiwara-san has already become her target. I wonder if something has happened to her by now.’

Tsukiyomi Ruri couldn’t help frowning at the thought. She wasn’t worried about Izumi Shirayuki, who could take care of herself, but Fujiwara Misa would be helpless against Hino Kaoru. The chances of something happening were high. True, Tsukiyomi Ruri wasn’t that close to Fujiwara Misa, but she had stayed at her inn for several days and might well go back in the future. Either way, Tsukiyomi Ruri felt she needed to deal with the Hino Kaoru situation soon. Leaving it to Izumi Shirayuki’s fishing—who knew how long that would take? Perhaps she had to act herself.

However, while Inoue Keiko sat across from her, Mizuhashi Yuzuki was right beside her, and any smartphone activity would be seen.

After thinking it over, Tsukiyomi Ruri stood up. “I’m going to the restroom.”

“I’ll come too,” Mizuhashi Yuzuki also rose.

Tsukiyomi Ruri nodded, keeping her expression neutral, and let Mizuhashi Yuzuki follow her into the restroom.

Inside a stall, Tsukiyomi Ruri pulled out her second smartphone and logged into the Reincarnator Forum. First, she removed Flame Bird from her blacklist, then sent a message: “Are you there? I have some time now.”

Flame Bird didn’t reply.

‘Could it be that she’s not using her phone right now? That’s troublesome.’

After thinking for a moment, Tsukiyomi Ruri left the phone in the stall and stepped back out with Mizuhashi Yuzuki.

Once Tsukiyomi Ruri was gone, The Faceless, which had already returned, slipped past the other restroom-goers, entered the stall, picked up the left-behind phone, and departed with it.

Under the shade of a tree outside, Tsukiyomi Ruri kept her attention on the phone through The Faceless’s vision. Ten minutes later, Flame Bird finally replied: “You, what do you want with me?”

Using The Faceless to tap on the screen, Tsukiyomi Ruri typed out and sent her reply: “Didn’t you say last time you wanted to settle things with me? I’ve got time now. Come and settle it. Dare you come?”

…

In truth, Hino Kaoru had no idea about Izumi Shirayuki’s fishing operation. There had been a misunderstanding: Izumi Shirayuki assumed that once they left the mental hospital, they would be monitored by the Flame Bird Group’s people. But in reality, only Hino Kaoru was left from the Flame Bird Group, and she naturally wasn’t keeping that close a watch. In other words, barring the unexpected, Izumi Shirayuki’s fishing was a complete waste of time.

However, the message from Tsukiyomi Ruri was something Hino Kaoru couldn’t ignore.

‘This guy actually dares to set a meeting with me? I get it. She thinks I’m a Mid-Level Reincarnator and believes she can beat me?’

Hino Kaoru sneered at the message on her phone. From the info she had gathered, the Urban Legend Club members were all part of a Reincarnator team, and all of them were Mid-Level. In her view, it had to be that this group of Mid-Level Reincarnators was planning to gang up on her.

‘Too bad you’re wrong. I’m not Mid-Level—I’m a Senior Reincarnator. Think you can win just by outnumbering me? Not a chance!’

Hino Kaoru wasn’t worried in the slightest. She shot back a message to Tsukiyomi Ruri: “Name the place.”