Chapter 302: Kai Sato Ai

Someone was watching him.

The gaze had no malice, no murderous intent, and not even a trace of emotional color.

The recently destroyed Oath Society had the ability to shield emotions, but Yuki Asagi didn’t think they could bypass both SAAC and the Management Department.

Ever since the SAAC special envoy arrived in Japan, Yuki Asagi could feel that he was being monitored.

Yuki Asagi knew that SAAC was trying to find the Dark Crows and Jiang Jian Yue by monitoring him—he didn’t mind, and he was cooperating with SAAC.

But he didn’t believe SAAC could find Jiang Jian Yue.

For example, right now, his intuition told him he was being watched by someone who wasn’t part of the monitoring, but SAAC wasn’t on alert or taking action.

To be able to do this, it was probably only Jiang Jian Yue, right?

“Come out.”

The air was dead silent.

Only the occasional sound of a car passing by in the distance and the chirping of unknown insects.

Still silence.

Just as Yuki Asagi was about to force the person out by force, he heard the sliding door open behind him.

“Big brother?”

Funae Amuro stood on the engawa, holding a tray, looking at Yuki Asagi with some confusion as he spoke to the empty air in the backyard.

As an ordinary person, she hadn’t noticed that faint gaze.

But as a family member who had lived with Yuki Asagi for so long, she keenly caught the dangerous aura emanating from him.

“What’s wrong? Is there a bad guy?”

Funae’s voice was a little tense, and she instinctively reached for the alarm in her pocket—the one the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department had specially given her.

Yuki Asagi’s aura instantly retracted.

He stood there for a few seconds, then took one more deep look at that dark corner.

The feeling of being watched disappeared completely, as if it had been an illusion.

“Nothing.”

Yuki Asagi turned around and shook his head at Funae. “Maybe I’ve just been too tired lately.”

“Geez, you scared me.” Funae breathed a sigh of relief and stepped down from the engawa. “Dinner is ready.”

“Oh, right.”

Funae suddenly remembered something and slapped her forehead in frustration.

“When I was feeding Onigiri just now, I found that the kitten-specific milk cake is all gone. I thought there was still one bag left.”

“Onigiri?”

Yuki Asagi was taken aback for a moment before realizing she was talking about the name of the newly adopted kitten.

The name he suggested was Shiro, after all…

“Mm, that little guy has a big appetite, even though his leg hasn’t healed yet.” Funae complained with a smile. “We only have adult cat food at home; he can’t chew it.”

“I’ll go buy some later. I can take a walk after dinner. The pet store nearby should still be open.”

……

In the shadow of a utility pole fifty meters away from the Amuro residence.

Where there was originally nothing, the air twisted slightly.

The invisible female agent Jiang Jian Yue was leaning against the utility pole, ears pricked up, listening to the conversation between Funae Amuro and Yuki Asagi in the yard.

“Buy milk cake?”

Jiang Jian Yue’s eyes lit up.

She looked around, confirmed no one was there, and then her form turned into a blurry black shadow, weaving through the shadows of buildings at high speed.

Even though she had set a rule for herself to absolutely not use superpowers as Sato Ai.

But right now she was in stealth mode, so it didn’t count.

‘What does you looking for Sato Ai have to do with me, Kai Sato Ai?’

……

The “Tail Wagging” Pet Store.

The store was brightly lit, with shelves full of pet supplies.

Behind the counter, a young girl who looked like a part-time college student was scrolling through her phone out of boredom, occasionally yawning.

Ding-dong—the automatic door opened.

“Welcome~”

But it wasn’t a customer who came in.

A breeze passed, and the girl saw only a blur. A girl with round glasses, wearing a tacky tracksuit, was standing in front of the counter.

Before the girl could scream, a strange red light flickered deep in Jiang Jian Yue’s eyes.

[Cognitive Modification]

The part-time girl’s eyes instantly became dazed. She blinked, and the previous alertness and confusion disappeared, replaced by a groggy obedience.

The girl put down her phone and walked out from behind the counter like a sleepwalker, heading toward the back door.

‘If only this invincible skill could be used on ability users, I wouldn’t have to take such a roundabout route to complete my plan.’

Sighing to herself, Jiang Jian Yue quickly slipped behind the counter, deftly found a spare store apron, and put it on.

A bit tight.

Jiang Jian Yue glanced down at the hills being pushed up, clicked her tongue in irritation, and tightened the belt forcefully, trying to make herself less conspicuous.

After tidying up, she adjusted her glasses in the reflective surface on the counter and put on a shy yet hopeful smile.

‘Good, Sato Ai. Right now, you’re just an ordinary store clerk.’

‘Your mission is to naturally make contact with the target, avoid exposing your true identity, and squeeze in some presence along the way.’

Just then, the automatic sensor door rang with that cheap electronic music again.

Ding-dong—Welcome—

The footsteps were steady and firm.

Jiang Jian Yue’s heart skipped a beat, but she immediately took a deep breath and composed herself.

She looked up and met those light golden eyes walking in.

Yuki Asagi wore a gray hoodie, hands in his pockets, his long hair casually tied back. Even in such casual attire, he couldn’t hide his unique, cool yet sharp aura.

“Welcome!”

Jiang Jian Yue’s voice trembled a little—of course, just acting.

Hearing the voice, Yuki Asagi’s gaze fell on the clerk behind the counter.

A very ordinary-looking girl, round face, wearing those slightly comical big glasses, with a few freckles on her nose bridge, staring at him with eyes like she’d seen an idol.

Yuki Asagi frowned slightly.

He was familiar with that look.

Occasionally, some fanatical “archaeology” enthusiasts would recognize him.

“Excuse me… is there anything I can help you with?”

Jiang Jian Yue clasped her hands together, looking nervous.

“Kitten milk cake.”

Yuki Asagi withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and walked toward the shelves.

“Ah! Over there, on the bottom shelf of the third row!”

Jiang Jian Yue immediately ran out from behind the counter, making exaggerated gestures to point the way. But because she was too “excited,” she tripped and nearly fell.

“Careful.”

Yuki Asagi was quick to react and reached out to steady her.

“Th… thank you!”

Jiang Jian Yue turned bright red, quickly stood up straight, and said, “I’m sorry, I’m so clumsy…”

—This was acting.

“It’s fine.”

Yuki Asagi crouched down, picked up a bag of milk cake, and checked the ingredients list.

Jiang Jian Yue stood behind him, greedily looking at his back.

After all these years, this was the first time she had been this close to him.

Close enough to smell the faint… uh… smell of chemical fertilizer on him.

“Um…”

Jiang Jian Yue mustered her courage, her voice as thin as a mosquito’s buzz. “Excuse me… are you Mr. Yuki Asagi?”

Yuki Asagi’s hand holding the cat food paused.

He stood up, turned around, a hint of caution in his eyes. “You know me?”

“Mm! I saw you on the news when I was a kid!”

Jiang Jian Yue spoke rapidly. “I’ve always remembered! You’re the legend of the Supernatural Club, the captain of Special Response HQ Unit 1, the GSAC Champion!”

“I’m your fan, a super fan!”

To increase credibility, she even clenched her fists at her chest, striking a standard fangirl pose.

Seeing her excited look, Yuki Asagi’s wariness subsided a bit.

So there were still people who remembered the GSAC, which felt like it was from the last century.

And this girl’s emotions…

He unconsciously activated his perception.

Since he wasn’t in stealth mode right now, Jiang Jian Yue naturally canceled her emotion shielding ability and acted like a normal person.

In Yuki Asagi’s perception, this girl’s emotions were a tangled mess of pink and bright yellow.

There were all sorts of thick pink bubble emotions—liking, love, infatuation—so dense that after one look, Yuki Asagi didn’t want to keep looking.

There was also a tense bright yellow—being nervous in front of an idol was perfectly normal.

However, Yuki Asagi was a bit puzzled. Why wasn’t there any “admiration” emotion?

But he didn’t think too much about it.

“It’s just something from the past. Nothing legendary about it.”

Yuki Asagi turned off his emotion ability—he really hated his ability now, and normally he wouldn’t activate it unless necessary.

After all, for the past year as a Risk Radar, Yuki Asagi had been enduring the various emotions of everyone within Japan’s borders.

It was a miracle he hadn’t gone crazy.

Yuki Asagi walked to the cash register with the cat food.

“Um… c-could you…”

Jiang Jian Yue chased after him to the counter, fumbling in her apron pocket to pull out a notebook and a pen. “Could you give me an autograph? Right here in this notebook!”

Yuki Asagi looked at the notebook handed to him, a little helpless.

Looking at the girl’s eyes, though hidden by glasses, still sparkling with anticipation, he suddenly remembered Kazama and Kagetani from before.

Yuki Asagi took the pen and opened the notebook.

“Should I write a name?”

“Yes! Please write ‘To Sato Ai’!”

Jiang Jian Yue blurted out—she wasn’t stupid enough to reveal her real name.

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

The pen tip moved across the paper.

Yuki Asagi stopped halfway through writing.

Sato Ai?

Satō Ai.

This pronunciation, this surname.

Even though the kanji might be different, the reading was only one syllable off from “Satō Aoi,” which Hanyu Jinra had asked him to look into before.

“Miss Sato Ai.”

“Yes!”

Jiang Jian Yue’s heart skipped a beat.

‘Did she get exposed? No way, my acting is perfect.’

“Do you have… any sisters?” Yuki Asagi asked slowly. “For example, an older sister named Sato Aoi?”

Jiang Jian Yue was stunned.

Sato Aoi?

That rebellious high school girl?

“No… no.”

Jiang Jian Yue shook her head, her face showing just the right amount of confusion. “I’m an only child. I grew up in the countryside and just came to Tokyo not long ago.”

“Who is Sato Aoi? Is she a friend of Mr. Yuki?” she asked back, her eyes clear and naive.

Yuki Asagi shook his head. “No, just…”

After all, the surname Sato was extremely common in Japan, and “Ai” was a fairly popular name as well.

“It’s nothing.”

‘Even if it’s not this store clerk, at least I’ve done something for the three kids. I’ll let them come ask on their own later…’

Yuki Asagi withdrew his gaze, quickly finished signing, closed the notebook, and handed it back to her.

“Thank you for your purchase. That will be XX yen.”

Jiang Jian Yue breathed a sigh of relief, took the notebook and hugged it like a treasure, then skillfully processed the payment.

“Here’s your change.”

Yuki Asagi took the change and the cat food, nodded, and said, “Thank you.”

He turned and walked toward the door. Just as his hand was about to touch the sensor door—

Ding-dong—

The door opened from the outside.

A middle-aged man in a suit, covered in sweat, walked in.

“Whew… I’m exhausted. Today’s supply route was such a pain…”

The man wiped his sweat and complained. He looked up, saw Yuki Asagi about to leave, and nodded politely. “Welcome… ah, thank you for your patronage.”

Then his gaze passed Yuki Asagi and fell on the counter.

“Huh?”

He looked at Jiang Jian Yue standing behind the counter, wearing his store’s apron but with a completely unfamiliar face, completely dumbfounded.

The manager’s eyes widened as he pointed at Jiang Jian Yue. “Where’s Xiao Mei? Who are you?!”

Oh no!