“Let’s move on to the next question…”
In the classroom, the android teacher lectured on the material in the textbook in a mechanical tone that never changed. The thoughts of the students, known as “monsters,” had long since drifted outside the school as they discussed what to eat for lunch after school.
Amidst the whispers of the mountain spirits and monsters, in a seat by the window in the back row, a splash of pure white seemed to draw a clear line between itself and the rest of the space. In the midday sun, a tall girl propped her cheek up with a slender arm, tilting her head as she gazed at the scenery outside.
The walls of a residential building by the school gate were coated in bright red paint, resembling the little houses used to mark purchased land in Monopoly. Next to it was a brown post office, square and sharp-angled, looking somewhat like a block of dark chocolate… Behind these colorful puzzle pieces, a red and white iron tower stood quietly beneath the curtain of the light blue sky.
The street, which would have been a bit desolate, was injected with a rare vitality by these vibrant buildings.
The girl’s beautiful, ice-colored eyes reflected the picturesque scenery, but she herself was beautiful enough to be part of the painting.
When a chilly breeze blew through, the sheer curtains ruffled like a dancer’s skirt, and the girl’s hair swayed gently like fine snow in the quiet winter afternoon.
Yukino Tendo wasn’t really looking at the scenery; she was just staring at something to empty her mind.
But such states usually only lasted a short while. For instance, right now, she let out a soft sigh, and her consciousness returned to reality.
Yukino openly pulled her phone from her pocket and scrolled through it on her desk. Unlike Shiyo, these specialized subject teachers didn’t care about the students’ behavior in class. As long as they didn’t skip class, they wouldn’t trigger a “wanted” status.
Her long, snow-white eyebrows fluttered with every blink, like eaves covered in a blanket of snow. Her fingertip slid across the screen, finally stopping on a recruitment ad labeled “Amusement Park Part-time Job.”
‘I need to find a job…’ she thought.
After all, coming to the Dreamlands City was her personal decision. If the Bureau found out, they would definitely come to stop her, so she couldn’t use her own account.
If she left any traces, her former colleagues would follow the trail to her door. Although they wouldn’t hurt her, they certainly wouldn’t let her stay in this city — something she didn’t want to happen.
She still hadn’t found any clues about Ye Xi, nor the mysterious person who sent her the message, or Shiyo…
The pale electronic screen seemed to reflect the figure of that girl with black hair and red eyes.
Yukino understood that the feelings she held for her bordered on attachment, yet she couldn’t understand the source of these emotions. They hadn’t met many times, yet whenever she appeared, Yukino’s mood would brighten, and her heart would involuntarily be drawn to her.
This troubled the girl greatly.
She knew her feelings for Ye Xi hadn’t wavered in the slightest, but did the similar feelings she felt for Shiyo mean she was actually betraying Ye Xi?
This sense of betrayal was like a maggot in her bones, tormenting the girl who had just lost her beloved at every moment.
She could sense that Shiyo wanted to keep her distance.
‘Perhaps Shiyo is right. Such despicable feelings shouldn’t exist.’
Keep the distance like this and continue searching for clues about Ye Xi…
Cold air entered her nostrils. Yukino withdrew her thoughts and tapped on the job posting.
These past few days, the Ulthar Amusement Park was holding a winter fair. They had added event-limited facilities and small rewards, and most importantly, tickets were 30% off, attracting a large number of citizens. Consequently, many positions were short-handed.
One position as an ice cream truck vendor caught the girl’s attention.
As the name implied, the job only required driving an electric ice cream truck to the most crowded areas of the park and selling ice cream.
The physical exertion wasn’t too high, and as a Yuki-onna, she had a natural advantage in ice-related work. Most importantly, the pay wasn’t bad.
Besides a base salary of 50 Dream Points per hour, there was a commission for every ice cream sold. If she worked the full shift, earning several hundred or even 1,000 points a day wouldn’t be a problem.
If a certain former legendary investigator heard this, she would probably cry from envy.
‘This one will do…’
Yukino clicked on the online application and began filling in her personal information.
As a legendary investigator, she had several backup identities, but the Bureau had all of them on record. Thus, she had to use a brand-new one.
“Ohhh — filling it out very seriously, aren’t we, Miss Tsukiyo Yajima!”
While Yukino was fully focused on typing, a light, flirtatious voice drifted over. Her movements paused. She pressed the power button, turning off the phone screen, and looked at the person beside her with the corner of her eye. This was also her new deskmate in the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons:
— Tamamo Hikari.
The girl with curly apricot-colored hair had a figure that rivaled Yukino’s. She wore a tailored red and white kimono with a wide-open neckline, revealing an ample chest pressed into a deep cleavage.
Atop her head sat a pair of fluffy fox ears, and beneath the hem of her kimono, nine fluffy fox tails bloomed like a flower. They looked very pet-able.
She perfectly fit the human definition of a beast-eared girl.
Tamamo Hikari’s narrow, violet fox eyes blinked playfully before she lowered her gaze, putting on a hurt expression.
“Aw, being so guarded against me? How heartbreaking…”
Yukino didn’t react to Tamamo Hikari’s antics. She was a bit repulsed by this personality; of course, that repulsion was mainly because of Yumiyah.
“Why were you peeking at my phone?” she asked.
“I wasn’t peeking!”
Tamamo Hikari made a pinching gesture with her hands. “I just ‘accidentally’ saw it with the corner of my eye, that’s all~”
A meaningless conversation. Yukino didn’t really want to deal with this lewd fox.
Since their first meeting, she had shown considerable enthusiasm toward Yukino, striking up a conversation whenever she had the chance.
She was instinctively guarded against such unsolicited friendliness, especially since this was no ordinary fox demon.
“I’m actually one of Lady Tamamo-no-Mae’s tails, you know?” Tamamo Hikari had introduced herself that way.
“Then what about the other eight tails?” Yukino had glanced at her.
“Right here.”
Tamamo Hikari stroked her own nine tails, and those fluffy, soft tails wagged as if they were alive, seemingly in response.
“……”
All things considered, Yukino always felt this lewd fox was up to no good and wanted to keep her distance. But they were deskmates, after all, and Tamamo Hikari would always seize the chance to lean in. The way she desperately threw out topics and waited for a response didn’t make her seem like a fox, but more like a large dog.
“Ignoring me again, ugh…”
Tamamo Hikari’s eyes reddened, but Yukino knew it was all an act. Once she responded, the fox would immediately perform a 360-degree face-flip.
Seeing that Yukino wouldn’t fall for it, she changed her angle of attack.
“Are you short on money, Yukino?”