After Soichiro Yagami finished speaking, he noticed something unexpected - instead of responding with similarly abstract words as anticipated, Mask remained unusually silent.
"Wait a moment..."
Soichiro Yagami, who had originally been half-joking, suddenly seemed to realise something, his expression changing dramatically as he stared in astonishment.
"You couldn't... have actually... you know... with a female spectre?"
"Little So..."
Ye Xing sighed softly, speaking with profound seriousness.
"Do you remember that woman in white you saw at Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten back then?"
A complex expression surfaced in Soichiro Yagami's eyes as he couldn't help but sigh.
"Yes... It's quite difficult to forget."
"That was the legendary Hachishaku-sama."
"What? Hachishaku?"
Soichiro Yagami had certainly heard stories about the so-called Hachishaku-sama, but hearing Ye Xing claim that the tall woman in white was Hachishaku still left him utterly astonished.
He had always assumed the woman in white was one of Mask's assistants.
So it turned out she wasn't human at all, but a spectre!?
"No, you... this... not..."
Soichiro Yagami momentarily didn't know how to begin speaking.
This was too absurd.
Weren't evil spirits and spectres monsters that harboured malice towards humans?
How could they become Mask's assistants? And not just recently, either - she had appeared alongside him from his very first public appearance.
What was going on here?
"Could it be..."
Before Soichiro Yagami could finish, Ye Xing nodded, adopting an expression of 'if I don't enter hell, who will?' as he slowly began to speak.
"Exactly so. I sacrificed my physical appeal to secure Hachishaku-sama's assistance. To protect Kyoto City, to save thousands of innocent people, I needed Hachishaku-sama's power."
Soichiro Yagami regarded him with deep respect.
So that's how it was!
Truly worthy of being Mask!
In Soichiro Yagami's memory, Hachishaku-sama was tall in stature with a terrifying, fearsome appearance that sent chills down one's spine.
To gain this female spectre's assistance, Mask had employed his personal charm and even sacrificed himself - what noble behaviour was this?
He was practically a saint!
"So... you need Kuchisake-onna now?"
"Correct."
Ye Xing explained with a smile.
"Though psychics possess special powers, they're ultimately only human. When taking action, maintaining identity confidentiality is one aspect, but they also require rest and nourishment."
"However, evil spirits are different."
"They don't need sleep, can quickly recover from injuries, and most importantly, unless they actively manifest through contracts or a Gate's power, ordinary humans cannot observe their existence. They exist on parallel lines that don't interfere with each other. Because of these properties, they're naturally perfect tools for gathering intelligence."
Soichiro Yagami massaged his forehead, momentarily overwhelmed by the excessive information - particularly about the nature of evil spirits, which leaned towards idealism and conflicted with his rational worldview - giving this police superintendent quite a headache.
"I understand. Simply put, you need a new evil spirit, like Hachishaku-sama, to become your assistant, right?"
"Right."
"But why..."
Soichiro Yagami frowned deeply, asking with confusion.
"Why does it have to be the Kuchisake-onna? Wouldn't it be better to create something stronger, like... Akuma, Izanami, Magatsuhi, or something similar?"
Hearing this ridiculous statement, Ye Xing looked at the police director as if he were an idiot.
"If I really created them, would you go fight them yourself? You flap your lips and spout all these absurd names - why don't you just recreate Golden Frieza while you're at it, and throw in some others like Beryl, Zeus, Shiva, Rusted Kushala, and Mewtwo? You might as well include them all! Seems like you're determined to get me killed."
Before Soichiro Yagami could respond, Ye Xing shrugged and explained.
"Besides, even if you issued a public announcement and tried to make it convincing, citizens wouldn't possibly believe that Akuma or Izanami had appeared in some remote, uninhabited area, would they?"
"We can't just create whatever we want."
"Overall, urban legends like the Kuchisake-onna - which are well-known but not too outrageous, and relatively close to everyday life - are more likely to evoke negative emotions in people's hearts."
"And the most important point..."
Under Soichiro Yagami's expectant gaze, Ye Xing uttered a statement that left him utterly speechless, yet was both reasonable and completely absurd.
"If it's not a female evil spirit, then my maxed-out charisma won't be effective, will it?"
...
Three days later, Saturday.
As requested by Ye Xing, Soichiro Yagami, in his capacity as Director of the Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Bureau and head of the Special Operations Group, issued a public announcement to the citizens of Kyoto at noon that day.
He claimed that in a certain remote, sparsely populated alleyway, there had been sightings of a woman who operated at night, wearing a long trench coat and a face mask, who would stop people to ask if she was beautiful. She was suspected of having mental disorders, was extremely dangerous, and potentially harmful.
The Metropolitan Police Department was currently investigating.
In reality...
Investigate my foot. The so-called trench coat mask-wearing woman didn't exist at all. She was the most widely circulated version of the Kuchisake-onna legend that Soichiro Yagami had selected after researching online.
If the current Soichiro Yagami were the same as a few months ago, merely the Director of Criminal Investigations, the Metropolitan Police Department's higher-ups would never have agreed to his releasing such baseless nonsense that could potentially cause panic among citizens without any evidence.
But now, this Chief Yagami was different.
Over the past few months, Kyoto had experienced frequent cases, all of them serious, high-profile incidents like the Sunny Doll Killer serial murders and the Kyoto Tower hostage crisis.
Especially during the Kyoto Tower incident, Soichiro Yagami, as the field commander, managed to rescue all hostages under such complex circumstances, with only one hostage falling to their death, and personally shot two mentally unstable hijackers.
Such repeated meritorious performances, coupled with Natsumi Suga's interview, which, while lacking evidence, suggested, in its wording, that this Chief Yagami had an undisclosed cooperative relationship with Kyoto's hero Mask, had further boosted Soichiro Yagami's reputation.
Nowadays, although Soichiro Yagami was nominally still the Director of Criminal Investigations, his position as head of the Special Operations Group had effectively made him the top authority in the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department. He no longer needed approval from any higher-ups or to report to anyone, possessing the power to act first and report later.
Of course, Soichiro Yagami had agreed to this matter only after careful consideration.
After all, he wasn't an ardent Mask supporter like Keika Kawasaki and Rikka Takanashi.
Even if this plan succeeded and gathered citizens' negative emotions to create the Kuchisake-onna, she wouldn't appear in the real world but would be born in the corresponding location in the Reverse World.
As long as Mask acted quickly enough, it wouldn't cause any impact on the real-world Kyoto.
The second requirement Ye Xing made was for Soichiro Yagami to find all recent accident records concerning the large mountain on the outskirts of Kyoto, particularly the report from over five years ago about the little girl named Meiko Honma.
Due to the considerable time that had passed, with only two other eleven-year-old girls as witnesses at the time, and the case being classified as accidental death, the Metropolitan Police Department's written records were scarce.
Soichiro Yagami could only ask the officers who had investigated the incident back then whether they remembered the details of the scene.
Some of these people had been transferred and were no longer working at the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department, so he could only contact them only one by one by phone.
...
That afternoon.
"Yahallo!"
Yui Yuigahama stepped into the living room and saw that all the members were already seated in Ye Xing's living room. She greeted them with a cheerful smile.
The reason they had all gathered here was simple.
To attend the fireworks festival.
"Yui."
Rio Futaba was holding a stack of kimonos, unusually not wearing her old-fashioned glasses. Her long, grey, curly hair cascaded over her shoulders, giving her a lazy charm.
"Could you help me put on this kimono?"
"Eh?"
Yui Yuigahama was momentarily stunned upon hearing this and glanced at the members present.
Yukino Yukinoshita wasn't here - she had arranged to meet everyone directly at the fireworks festival venue.
Apart from Yui Yuigahama, only Miko Yotsuya had changed into her kimono at home.
The other members present, even Kazusa Touma, were like Rio Futaba - still wearing their usual clothes with neatly folded kimonos on their laps, looking at Yui Yuigahama with hopeful expressions.
"You all... didn't change at home..."
At this point, Yui Yuigahama trailed off.
She suddenly realised something.
Having her mother help her put on a kimono - something quite normal in ordinary families - was a privilege that only she and Miko could enjoy among the Supernatural Society members.
Rio Futaba's parents were very busy with work, not even in Kyoto City, and she hadn't seen them for months.
Mai Sakurajima... since that last meeting with her mother at her doorstep, the mother and daughter had been in a cold war, still not contacting each other.
Kazusa Touma's mother, Youko Touma, was currently abroad.
Saki Kawasaki, like Rio Futaba, had very busy parents, and her younger sister Keika Kawasaki obviously couldn't help her put on a kimono.
Hina Amano... orphan.
Marin Kitagawa, single-parent family, father very busy with work and basically never home.
Shoko Makinohara, in her current state, obviously didn't dare go home to see her parents; otherwise, she'd have to explain why she had suddenly grown so much and taken on the appearance of a sixteen-year-old girl.
Normally, she hadn't thought much of it, but only at this moment did Yui Yuigahama finally discover something utterly ridiculous.
So in the entire Supernatural Society, there weren't even a few normal families to be found?
Ye Xing was even more extreme.
Both parents deceased, no relatives, no home...
Oh, the Supernatural Society members were his family.
Never mind then.
"But..."
Facing the members' hopeful gazes, Yui Yuigahama appeared flustered and at a loss.
"My mother put on my kimono, I don't know how to put one on myself, let alone help others wear one..."
Kimonos were quite troublesome to put on correctly.
Just as everyone was at a loss, a hero appeared.
"I can."
All eyes turned to Ye Xing, who wore a confident smile, and they exclaimed in unison with astonishment.
"You can do that too?"
"Of course I can. After devouring so many evil spirits, I've become quite skilled at putting on kimonos."
"This..."
The members hesitated.
Ye Xing showed a rather regretful expression, sighed softly and shook his head.
"What a pity. For your first fireworks festival, if you don't wear a kimono, it feels like something's missing, doesn't it? Even if you wear it for the second or third time, it just won't have that same feeling. Such a shame, truly such a shame."
Just as Ye Xing had said.
For your first fireworks festival, not wearing a kimono indeed felt like something was missing.
Moreover...
If everyone else wore one but you didn't, would Ye Xing even remember you tonight?
Oh no.
Rio Futaba immediately recalled that psychological term she'd read about in books.
Everyone... seemed to have fallen into a prisoner's dilemma.
Just as everyone was hesitating, the goddess of war made her entrance.
"Ye Xing."
Kazusa Touma stood up, holding the kimono she'd brought with both hands, pressing her lips together as she spoke calmly.
"Help me put it on."
Though Kazusa Touma's face remained expressionless, everyone could notice the faint blush appearing on her fair, delicate cheeks.
How despicable!
Kazusa, you're truly so despicable!
But...
Kazusa Touma was indeed brave, breaking through this deadlock.
"Alright then, let's go to the room."
Changing into a kimono was naturally something that couldn't be done in front of everyone.
As Ye Xing led Kazusa Touma upstairs, an awkward silence fell over the living room.
Rio Futaba and Mai Sakurajima exchanged glances, both pressing their lips tightly together, their eyes showing hints of discomfort and shyness.
If they were alone, neither of them would have considered having Ye Xing help them into a kimono as something unacceptable.
Though still somewhat shy, given they'd already done... those things together, explored so many positions, and even swallowed each other's...
In comparison, changing clothes wasn't really that big a deal.
The key issue was that there were so many people sitting in the living room.
Even if they went upstairs to have Ye Xing help them into their kimonos, though the others couldn't see, they would surely imagine what was happening, right?
How embarrassing!
...
Meanwhile, in the second-floor bedroom.
Kazusa Touma gently placed the folded kimono on the bed, not turning around as she spoke in a soft voice.
"Do you... feel confident about helping me into this kimono properly?"
"Such familiar lines, are we about to unlock a CG next?"
Ye Xing quipped first before chuckling lightly.
"Not just you, I'm confident I can help everyone into their kimonos properly."
"Mmm... then let's begin."
Kazusa Touma lay down on the soft bed, her pale, slender hands trembling slightly, clearly nervous, but she slowly removed her clothes until only her underwear remained.
"Whoa, so big."
Only after witnessing it firsthand did Ye Xing confirm one thing.
Kazusa Touma had been hiding impressive assets.
This size was almost comparable to Rio Futaba's.
"What... what are you still staring for..."
A shy pink flush spread across Kazusa Touma's fair skin as she gently gritted her teeth.
"Hurry... hurry up, so many people are waiting. We might miss the fireworks festival if we're late."
"Right away."
The Harem God extended his magical claws.
...
When Kazusa Touma came downstairs, she had already changed into that light-coloured kimono she had specially purchased. Though the patterns on the kimono weren't particularly elaborate, paired with Kazusa Touma's cool and ethereal temperament, along with her model-like, outstanding face and figure, it still presented a beautiful sight.
In order, Rio Futaba and Mai Sakurajima followed Ye Xing upstairs one after another.
However, they took longer to change clothes than Kazusa Touma. When they came downstairs after changing, their eyes still held a misty quality, and the flush on their faces hadn't yet faded, as if they had experienced some intense activity.
Next came Hina Amano and Saki Kawasaki.
Both had established relationships with Ye Xing. Though they hadn't crossed the final boundary yet, having their boyfriend help them put on their kimonos, while quite embarrassing, wasn't something they would resist.
Finally, only Shoko Makinohara and Marin Kitagawa remained.
"Marin, come on."
Marin Kitagawa pressed her lips together, holding the kimono in her hands, unsure of what to do.
Everyone had worn one...
Aren't you going to wear it yourself?
Wouldn't that be a bit of a letdown?
That's what Marin Kitagawa told herself in her heart, though in reality she knew very well these were just excuses.
She...
Just wanted Ye Xing to help her put on the kimono.
After going upstairs and entering the bedroom, Marin Kitagawa's face flushed crimson as she fidgeted nervously.
"Um... that... do I... do I need to take everything off?"
Ye Xing nodded slightly with a smile.
"Of course."
Marin pressed her lips together, took a deep breath, and with a nervous expression lay down on the bed, slipping under the covers, where she quickly removed her clothes. Keeping her eyes tightly shut, she whispered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum.
"You... you can start... I'm too embarrassed to open my eyes."
"Alright, I'll begin then."
The moment after Ye Xing spoke these words, Marin felt a hand gently touch her waist.
"Mmm..."
She couldn't help but let out a soft moan before immediately covering her mouth with her hand.
Embarrassing.
This is so embarrassing.
What's wrong with me?
Why do I react like this from just a simple touch?
Why...
Why does my mind keep recalling that scene from the hotel in Tokyo where Ye Xing was drawing tally marks on my leg...
"I'm ready to begin."
Hearing Ye Xing's confirmation, Marin's face flushed with colour as she secretly cracked open her eyes to peek at his face before nodding.
"Mmm... don't worry about me... just do it your way."