"Ah..."
At Lin's words, Akashiya Moka belatedly realized she was still holding his hand.
A light blush crept onto her pretty face.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to!"
She quickly let go of his hand.
Taking a small step back, she created a little distance between herself and Lin.
Even so, they were still no more than a meter apart.
Akashiya Moka herself didn't even notice that she didn't want to move away from Lin; on the contrary, she wanted to be closer.
Even without the craving to drink blood at that moment.
"It's fine, you don't have to apologize."
Lin smiled faintly and added, "Let's continue our walk. I have some questions I'd like to ask you."
"Okay, go ahead and ask."
Her cheeks slightly flushed, Akashiya Moka nodded gently.
It was then that she had another belated realization: Lin had been calling her Moka the whole time.
Having spent three years in the human world.
She knew about the levels of intimacy implied by how humans address each other.
Usually, only people who are close call each other by their first names.
And Lin had been calling her 'Moka'... Could it be that...
At this thought, Akashiya Moka couldn't help but look at Lin.
Not only did she feel no aversion, but she actually felt a little happy.
The two walked side by side.
Lin turned his head to ask Akashiya Moka, who was on his right:
"Moka, there must be a lot of yokai in this world, right?"
If he hadn't met Akashiya Moka, he couldn't even have been sure that yokai existed in this crossover world.
After all, he hadn't encountered any yokai in the past few days.
"I think there are a lot."
Akashiya Moka sounded a little uncertain.
Lin was a bit confused. "What do you mean, 'I think'?"
Akashiya Moka hesitated. "Well, I know of many yokai, but almost all of them are in the Yokai Realm."
"In the three years I've been in the Human Realm, I've only encountered them a few times, and the yokai I met were a little different."
"How were they different?"
Lin blinked, a little curious.
"Hmm..."
Akashiya Moka tilted her head slightly, pondering for a moment before speaking:
"It's just that those yokai seem to have an innate trait that makes them invisible to humans."
"As far as I know, the yokai from the Yokai Realm don't have this trait; they can be seen by humans."
"Like me, for example."
"So they're a bit different."
After hearing Akashiya Moka's explanation, Lin became thoughtful.
Yokai who are innately invisible to humans...
If that's the case, the yokai Akashiya Moka saw were clearly from another world's lore.
What world could that be?
Lin was a little curious.
Until he saw a definitive entity, even he couldn't confirm which worldview it was.
After all, quite a few world settings fit that description.
With this in mind, Lin didn't dwell on the question.
Instead, he asked with some curiosity:
"By the way, Moka, what is this Yokai Realm you just mentioned?"
As the name implied, it should refer to the region where yokai live.
Akashiya Moka's subsequent answer confirmed his suspicion.
Faced with Lin's curiosity, Akashiya Moka didn't hide anything:
"The Yokai Realm is where I lived before coming to the Human Realm, and it's also where many yokai live."
"The Yokai Realm is shrouded by a powerful barrier, isolating it from the Human Realm. It's almost impossible for humans to enter."
The reason she said 'almost'.
Was because under certain conditions, humans could also pass through the barrier and enter the Yokai Realm.
Hearing this, Lin smiled and asked another question:
"So what's the Yokai Realm like? For example, what's the scenery like?"
"The scenery..."
Akashiya Moka paused for a moment, then tilted her head slightly and said:
"It's mostly the same as the Human Realm, except some places look like they're straight out of a horror movie."
"All sorts of yokai live there. There are no humans, and not as many animals as in the Human Realm."
"It doesn't feel as bright or as vibrant as the Human Realm."
Perhaps it was because only yokai lived in the Yokai Realm.
Influenced by yokai power, some areas were dimly lit, barren, and filled with withered, twisted trees.
To Akashiya Moka, before she came to the Human Realm, the scenery of the Yokai Realm didn't seem strange.
After all, she had grown up seeing it and was long used to it.
Time slipped by like the wind as the two of them walked.
A little past eleven at night.
Nerima Ward, on a park bench.
Lin glanced at the bright moon high in the sky, then turned to Akashiya Moka sitting beside him and said with a slight smile:
"It's getting late, Moka. Let me walk you home."
"Okay..."
Although she didn't want to part from Lin just yet, Akashiya Moka still nodded with a sweet smile.
The two of them stood up and left the park.
Akashiya Moka suddenly reached out and hugged Lin's arm.
"Moka..."
Lin looked at her in surprise.
Feeling the softness against his arm, his gaze flickered slightly.
"Let's go."
Akashiya Moka's cheeks were tinged with red as she gave Lin a sweet smile.
A hint of shyness flashed in her eyes.
Her heart was pounding.
More than shyness, she was filled with the happy feeling of being close to Lin.
"Alright..."
Seeing this, Lin didn't say much more and simply nodded.
He was more than happy for his relationship with Akashiya Moka to become more intimate.
Since she didn't mind, he certainly wasn't going to feign modesty.
Akashiya Moka held tightly onto Lin's right arm, leading him in the direction of her home.
Lin glanced at Akashiya Moka.
The corners of his mouth curved into a smile.
In just two and a half hours, their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds.
Akashiya Moka seemed to already see him as a close friend she could tell anything to—perhaps even more than just a friend.
The two had talked a lot during this time.
Lin had also come to a clearer understanding of Akashiya Moka.
For instance, the fact that she had been studying in a human school for three years.
But because humans didn't believe in the existence of yokai at all, she had always felt out of place with those around her.
She had always been alone.
Because of this, she had gradually come to dislike humans.
Not long ago, she even had the thought of returning to the Yokai Realm.
Upon learning that Akashiya Moka had only been in the human world for three years, a thought stirred in Lin's mind.
As far as he knew, Akashiya Moka was supposed to have spent all her time in human schools before entering high school.
But now it was different.
It seemed some changes had occurred due to the merging of worldviews.
Time quietly passed.
Half an hour later.
Lin had escorted Akashiya Moka back to her residence in the Human Realm.
A two-story, single-family home on a plot of over one hundred square meters, located in Suginami Ward, adjacent to Nerima Ward.
"Lin, good night."
A hint of reluctance appeared in Akashiya Moka's eyes.
"Good night."
Giving her a small smile, Lin turned and walked toward the station.
Akashiya Moka watched until Lin's figure disappeared from view before she turned and went back into her house.
"Lin..."
Lying in bed, Akashiya Moka pictured Lin in her mind. Her eyes shimmered, and her cheeks flushed faintly.
A flicker of red light seemed to quietly surface in her emerald green eyes.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
On his way home, Lin opened the Codex of All Things with a thought.
Akashiya Moka's codex entry had already been unlocked.
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