Kawashima Toya's eyes were calm. "It's fine. Let's just go."
"From a certain perspective, being followed is a form of protection for you."
"You and that girl named Sawamura Spencer Eriri were singled out by the kidnappers. Logically, it's only right to protect you until their motives are clear."
"As for me, I'm just considered suspicious."
He believed that even if he had been exposed to surveillance, it would only be a view of his back.
If there were clear footage, they wouldn't be observing secretly; they would have invited him in for questioning directly.
In the crowd behind them, a group of Metropolitan Police officers dressed as ordinary passersby were quietly following Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Seeing Utaha suddenly talking to herself, they all found it strange.
However, despite their confusion, they didn't know why.
They could only note it down and have a professional check if Utaha had any mental illnesses.
In the eyes of the police officers, Toya simply didn't exist.
Utaha observed Toya for a while longer, finally confirming that he truly wasn't being seen by ordinary people.
Aside from her, no one saw him.
"Kawashima, how did you do that?"
"That completely defies science."
Walking openly on the street without any disguise, yet ignored by everyone.
If Toya were a bad guy, wouldn't he be the ultimate criminal?
"Don't even think about it." Toya ruthlessly cut off Utaha's anticipation. "You can't learn it."
"This kind of stealth ability is extremely difficult to master."
"You won't be able to learn it."
The ability of Presence Concealment was something he had learned in the Land of Shadows.
Shishou Scáthach had taught him specifically to reduce the trouble he might face.
Utaha wasn't disappointed; in fact, she was already used to it.
Yesterday, she had only trained with Toya for ten minutes before getting injured. Even today, her twisted waist still throbbed faintly.
Unsurprisingly, she was basically destined to have no connection with supernatural powers.
Not long after, Toya brought Utaha to the Trash Fox Detective Agency.
He walked straight to his seat and sat down, beginning his day of leisure.
Beside him, Utaha, full of curiosity and ready to encounter paranormal commissions, saw Toya lie down instead.
"Kawashima, are you just playing?"
A smile curled at the corner of Toya's mouth. "Surprised?"
"Yes, our job is to play."
"Aside from that, there's basically nothing else to do."
"But..." Utaha wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out.
After a long while, she asked helplessly, "Is your job just spending the day here?"
She had thought she would encounter thrilling supernatural commissions and meet all kinds of yokai.
Was this it?
Guessing Utaha's thoughts, Toya laughed and cried at the same time. "If my unpopular agency were overflowing with people..."
"This world would be in danger of destruction."
"So don't fantasize about the agency being full of clients. The consequences would be unimaginable."
"Tsk!" Utaha clicked her tongue, regretting not encountering the legendary supernatural commissions.
She believed that encountering things ordinary people couldn't would give her more ideas for her light novels.
Just then, a wave of cold yokai energy emerged from outside the Trash Fox Detective Agency.
Toya, who was about to take out his phone to play games, stopped his movements. His eyes turned playful. "Utaha, the supernatural entity you wanted to encounter is here!"
As soon as his voice fell, the entire agency suddenly became freezing cold.
Snowflakes drifted into the lobby, instantly transforming it into a world of ice and snow.
Just a moment ago, it was scorching summer; now, it was a winter wonderland.
"So cold!" Utaha shivered, exhaling a breath of white mist.
Despite the cold, her eyes never left the door, unblinking for fear of missing a single second.
Two figures, one large and one small, slowly walked through the swirling snow into the lobby.
Leading the way was a beautiful girl wearing a veil, though her beauty was still evident.
Her eyes were like a cold spring, clear and icy.
Her ice-blue hair cascaded down like a waterfall of snow, and her figure was slender and graceful.
A soft, elegant kimono fully displayed the gentleness and virtue of a Yamato Nadeshiko.
Following beside this beautiful girl was a plain-looking little girl who showed no signs of potentially becoming a beauty in the future.
The only similarity between them was the same shimmering ice-blue hair, and she wore what looked like a smaller version of the white kimono.
Utaha wondered if she was seeing things, but she felt the girl, who looked about her age, was looking at Toya with a strange gaze.
That gaze seemed to be... joy? Affection?
Yusa held her sister's hand and bowed slightly. "Good day, Kawashima-kun."
"Forgive my intrusion. I have come to thank you for bringing my sister back."