Chapter 36 36
On the way to Wang Haotian's apartment, Tenku and Setsuka were silent, and neither spoke. Both are busy with their own business. Tenku exchanged messages with Wang Haotian on his smartphone while Setsuka reported about the goblin she had killed and asked another Realizer to take care of the corpse. In addition, she also checked the situation around the area through her dimension watch.
Setsuka occasionally glanced at Tenku, but the other party ignored her and focused on his smartphone entirely. She felt strange about it because it was the first time she had faced a situation where others had ignored her.
Setsuka noticed that the people who passed her on the street, male or female, were secretly looking at her. Of course, what they saw was her stunning appearance. But Tenku looks totally unconcerned by her presence, like she doesn't exist.
But Setsuka felt that the current situation made her more comfortable than having to be the center of attention from people who mostly looked at her with disgusting eyes, especially men.
(At first, I thought he was pretending he didn't care about me to get my attention. It turned out that he wasn't interested in me. Did I become overconfident about my appearance after hearing those people's compliments?)
Setsuka secretly sighed and smiled bitterly as she recalled what she had thought of Tenku. As she was lost in her thoughts, Tenku's voice brought her back to her senses.
"We have arrived." Tenku put his smartphone in his pocket and said to Setsuka. Then he pointed to an apartment building that looked simple.
"Hmm... so you're moving to this place?" Setsuka shifted her eyes from her dimension watch to the building Tenku was pointing at. Although the place looks simple, the surroundings are clean, and the atmosphere is calming. Setsuka would also feel at home if he had to stay there.
"Yes. I can only rent an apartment in this place because I don't have enough money to move to a better place." Tenku smiled bitterly as he recalled the remaining money he had used to pay compensation to Kaziya and his new debt to Wang Haotian to buy an apartment there.
"No. I think this place is quite nice and comfortable." Setsuka shook her head and gave her an honest impression of Tenku's new residence.
"Thank you. I will feel at home living in this apartment if you say that. In that case, Thank you for accompanying me to this place, and I am honored to have the opportunity." Tenku lowered his head and said flatly. He was about to head to his apartment room, but Setsuka opened her mouth first and stopped him.
"What's your name?" Setsuka asked. Even though she already knew it from the data that Kaede had given her today, she had to show that she didn't know him and as goodwill because Tenku had saved her.
"Tenku. Tenku Okuihara. In that case, I will take my leave now, Miss Fuyushima." Tenku smiled slightly and walked away from Setsuka.
Setsuka felt weird about herself today. She meets the same person but feels different things at different times. At school, Setsuka felt oppression and fear when her eyes met Tenku's. But after seeing him again, Setsuka didn't feel that way and instead felt comfortable when she was with him.
"I must be too tired today. It must have affected my intuition and senses." Setsuka sighed and shook her head. She looked in the direction Tenku had disappeared and immediately left the place.
After arriving at the apartment, Tenku immediately headed to Wang Haotian's place. The old geezer had already opened the door before Tenku could even knock.
"You came with such a troublesome person, kid. Didn't I warn you to stay away from those people? Why did you even come together with the Snow Miko from Fuyushima Temple?" Wang Haotian looked at Tenku and massaged his forehead.
"I had no choice after she forced me to accompany me here. After all, what is a Snow Miko?" Tenku shrugged his shoulders like he didn't care about that. He told Wang Haotian what had happened before he came to the place. But then Tenku became curious about Wang Haotian's words.
"So that's what happened. You went to Suisei High School and didn't know about it?" Wang Haotian looked at Tenku strangely.
"I don't know. I've only been at school for two days. Do you think I will know everything right away? Besides, why does everyone always have that kind of expression when I ask something I don't know?" Tenku was a little annoyed that Wang Haotian's expression was the same as Takaya and Noboru's when he said he didn't know Setsuka and Hijiri.
"What did you do at that school to miss out on general information like that?" Wang Haotian sighed. It made blue veins pop out on Tenku's forehead.
"Could you answer my question directly, Master? If not, I will find out myself through the information channel in the dimension watch." Tenku gritted his teeth and asked politely.
"Alright. I will explain. You don't have to be so impatient." Wang Haotian chuckled when he saw Tenku's reaction.
"Then please." Tenku sat on the chair in front of Wang Haotian and silently cursed the old man in his mind.
"Snow Miko is the name for the most talented genius Realizer in Fuyushime Temple. If I'm not mistaken, Fiery Princess, the genius of the Natsukawa family, also attends Suisei High School. Her name is…" Wang Haotian explained. But before he could finish his sentence, Tenku cut him off first.
"Hijiri Natsukawa, isn't it?" Tenku quickly found out who the old man was referring to.
"Oh, you're right! Have you met her? Don't tell me you're close to her too?" Wang Haotian was slightly shocked when he heard Tenku's words and then narrowed his eyes at him.
"No. I don't. I'm not close to them. Didn't I already say that I happened to run into Setsuka Fuyushima on the street? As for Hijiri Natsukawa, I only saw it from afar." Tenku knew why Wang Haotian had asked him to stay away from those people, and he also didn't want to have anything to do with them.
Tenku didn't care about the two girls or how genius they were. As long as they didn't interfere in his affairs, Tenku would ignore them. But if they get in his way, Tenku will not hesitate to be cruel to the two or whoever it is.
"Alright. I hope you don't approach them because it's for your good. Then let's take a look at your apartment. It's on the second floor." Wang Haotian got up and led Tenku to his new residence.
***
After parting with Tenku, Setsuka walked the streets around the area in search of the remaining goblins. But after wandering around for some time and finding none, she returned to Kohana's place.
"Big sister!" Kohana shouted and waved her hand when she saw Setsuka's appearance. The little girl ran and hugged her sister tightly.
"Are you doing anything dangerous when I'm not around you?" Setsuka hugged Kohana back and stroked her head gently.
"I wouldn't dare!" Kohana replied firmly. After hearing that answer, Setsuka looked at a female Realizer who had been looking after her sister.
"Thank you for taking care of Kohana." Setsuka nodded her head and expressed her gratitude.
"You don't need to thank me, Miss Setsuka. It is my duty as a member of Fuyushima Temple. Since you have returned, then allow us to take my leave." The female Realizer bowed and left the place. Setsuka responded with a slight nod and looked at Kohana.
"So, are you satisfied with seeing those goblins? Did you bring parts of their bodies as souvenirs?" Setsuka smiled and teased her little sister.
"No! I came here out of curiosity about monsters that I can only see in picture books or on television. But after seeing it in person, I didn't expect their appearance to be so disgusting." Kohana shook her head vigorously and looked utterly disgusted by the goblins.
"You have to get used to it because you might be confronted with such monsters in the future. Doesn't our Kohana want to be a great Realizer?" Setsuka couldn't help pinching Kohana's cheeks after seeing her reaction.
"I… I will try to get used to it." Kohana answered while showing her tiny fist to Setsuka, but her voice trembled with fear.
"Alright. It is still far in the future. We'd better get home soon." Setsuka smiled gently like a mother looking at her daughter.
"Yes! Let's get out of here right away!" Kohana nodded. She didn't want to linger there because she didn't want to see those goblins again. Setsuka could only shake her head, and the two walked hand in hand, leaving the place.
***
The moon shines beautifully and lights up the streets of Tokyo city. But no matter how bright the light was, it couldn't shake off the loneliness in Akina's heart right now. She has been curled up on her bed and crying since Tenku left.
Akina knew that she could still meet him at school. But when she saw Tenku leaving the house, Akina felt that the distance from the boy would become far, and the bond they had built for nine years was shattered.
She tried to stay strong in front of Tenku, but she couldn't suppress her sadness after the boy disappeared from the house. Her eyes were swollen, and her bed was wet from crying too long. Akina skipped her dinner and even ignored Misora and Kouta's calls because she drowned in her sorrow.
The girl felt that the house was empty. She usually chatted or quarreled with Tenku at that hour, even if it was just a brief exchange. Akina felt satisfied just by looking at his face. But after Tenku left, she realized that what she did in the past was stupid. She should have talked more and spent more time with him.
"Why did you go!? Why don't you stay here and reject my parents' words for me!? Don't you know how I feel!? You left this house and left me lonely! You are a bad guy! It hasn't been long since you left, but I already miss you! So please come back!" Akina wept bitterly, and tears overflowed from her eyes.