Seeing Miko Yotsuya's utterly devastated expression, Luo Shu chuckled and said:
"Just kidding~"
"Normally, Mystic Eyes can be trained to be turned on and off freely."
Miko Yotsuya froze for a few seconds, then pursed her lips, her eyes watery as she stared at Luo Shu.
She had been brought to tears by Luo Shu's joke.
Beside them, Hana Yurikawa, startled by the scene, hurriedly grabbed tissues from the table. As she wiped Miko's tears, she exclaimed in surprise:
"Miko, why are you suddenly crying...?"
Miko Yotsuya wiped her tears away, glanced at Hana, and then grumbled:
"Hana, you zoned out again, didn't you?"
"Eh? Did I?" Hana Yurikawa blinked, then tilted her head. "I think you were talking about something just now, but it probably wasn't something I was supposed to hear, right?"
"How nice," Miko Yotsuya sighed enviously.
When would she ever learn her friend's ability to instantly tune out things she didn't want to hear? If she had that skill, she wouldn't have been tricked by Luo Shu just now.
With that thought, Miko sniffled and turned back to Luo Shu, her eyes slightly red as she glared at his amused expression:
"Luo Shu-san, you're really a terrible person."
In response to the girl's complaint, Luo Shu merely chuckled:
"Miko-san, your crying face is unexpectedly charming."
Miko Yotsuya gave him a deadpan look, as if to say, "How can someone be this awful?"
Do you enjoy making girls cry? Are you some kindergarten brat?
After silently complaining about a dozen more things, Miko took a deep breath and finally laid her cards on the table:
"Luo Shu-san, you probably already guessed, didn't you?"
"That I have Mystic Eyes."
"Eh?! Eh?!" Hana Yurikawa gasped loudly. "Miko, you have Mystic Eyes?!"
"That's... that's amazing~!!"
"Why is it only now that you hear this?"
Miko Yotsuya facepalmed, her fists clenching in frustration.
"So you actually heard everything, didn't you?"
"Ehehehe~~" Hana Yurikawa giggled sheepishly, not denying it.
At this point, Miko Yotsuya sighed, feeling both exasperated and somewhat relieved:
"Fine, now that it's out in the open, I feel a bit lighter. It's okay if you know."
"Honestly, ever since I suddenly gained these eyes a month ago, I haven't had a single day of peace. Looking back now, it's actually strange I haven't gone mad yet."
"Is that so..."
Hana Yurikawa looked at her best friend in surprise, then suddenly thought of something and asked:
"So Miko, all those sudden facial expressions you've been making these past few weeks... was it because your Mystic Eyes saw something unclean?"
"Hana, you knew about this all along?" Miko Yotsuya turned her head and gave Hana Yurikawa a puzzled look.
She had thought she'd hidden it well, but now it seemed she hadn't managed to fool her best friend at all.
But Hana had noticed her strange expressions all this time?
"If you could always tell something was off with my face, why didn't you ask?"
Hana Yurikawa scratched the back of her head sheepishly:
"I thought maybe you were secretly dating someone or something."
Hearing this, Miko couldn't hold back and shouted:
"Who turns pale green when they're dating someone?!!"
"Eh? They don't?"
"Of course not!!"
After her outburst, Miko immediately realised her mistake and began apologising to the surrounding cafe patrons:
"My deepest apologies for the disturbance... Huh?!"
As Miko turned to apologise to the other customers for the noise, she unexpectedly noticed that none of the staff were looking their way.
Sensing something amiss, Miko turned back to the handsome young man who maintained a gentle smile:
"Mr Luo Shu, this is..."
"It's a simple barrier. You could learn to make one yourself later."
Luo Shu glanced at Miko before adding:
"Though naturally, such lessons wouldn't be free."
Miko nodded in understanding, then sat up straight like a student and raised her hand:
"Excuse me, do you offer courses on controlling Mystic Eyes?"
"If so, how would the tuition work?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu looked at Miko and said:
"It seems you haven't had contact with others from the mystic side before."
Miko's expression stiffened slightly at these words, and she asked quietly:
"Um... did I say something wrong?"
Luo Shu took a deep breath:
"Let me explain it simply."
"Can you see spirits right now?"
"On these Akihabara streets?"
Miko hesitated for a moment, as if wrestling with some internal conflict.
After four or five seconds of deliberation, she took a deep breath and turned to look out the window at Akihabara's streets.
Through those golden eyes, she saw one grotesque aberration after another, each wreathed in terrifying black mist.
Miko only glanced for an instant before immediately looking down to avoid being noticed by the creatures outside:
"I can see many."
She answered Luo Shu's earlier question:
"But compared to other streets full of monsters, there seem to be far fewer in Akihabara."
Then Miko added:
"I noticed this last week when Hana first brought me here."
"Eh? There are fewer monsters in Akihabara? No wonder you've been insisting we come here lately."
Only now did Hana understand the reason behind her friend's recent behaviour.
Similarly, upon hearing Miko Yotsuya's words, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes, studied her for a moment, then turned his gaze towards the window and activated his Spirit Sight.
However, he saw nothing.
Luo Shu fell silent for a moment before activating Calamity Perspective, using the power of a Calamity Priest to gaze upon the street once more.
Instantly, the entire street transformed into a monochrome view. In this world, Luo Shu only occasionally glimpsed wisps of calamitous black energy emerging from the void and drifting towards distant horizons.
He shifted his gaze, scanning the street before finally turning to Miko Yotsuya, who was watching him with eager anticipation as if waiting for something:
"Unfortunately, my Spirit Sight didn't detect the filth you described."
"Eh?" Miko Yotsuya was dumbfounded. "How could you not see them?"
At this, Luo Shu studied the girl carefully before speaking in a measured tone:
"If my conjecture is correct..."
"Miko."
"Your eyes might not just be genuine Mystic Eyes."
"But divine eyes with power sufficient to pierce through the boundaries of yin and yang across all realms!"