"Following me?"
Sensing the wagtail yokai and the white-eye yokai following him from a distance, Lin's eyes narrowed slightly.
Although he was being followed...
...he didn't sense any malicious intent.
So, what did they want?
The thought of simply grabbing them and demanding answers flashed through his mind, but Lin reconsidered and ultimately decided against it.
He'd maintain an air of mystery for now.
He'd see what they did next.
With that in mind, Lin nonchalantly continued walking toward his residence.
Along the way, he eliminated a few unlucky evil spirits.
They were all low-level evil spirits, contributing a negligible amount of energy.
Twenty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Lin arrived back at his home.
Over a hundred meters up in the sky.
After seeing Lin enter the house they presumed was his residence, the wagtail yokai and the white-eye yokai exchanged a look.
Wagtail yokai: "This should be the place."
White-eye yokai: "Did you memorize it?"
Wagtail yokai: "Memorized."
White-eye yokai: "Good. Let's get out of here. If he discovers us, we'll be turned into roasted bird."
Wagtail yokai: "You're right. Let's go, let's go, hurry up and go."
Having quickly reached an agreement, the two bird yokai committed Lin's address to memory and rapidly flapped their wings to leave the area.
"They're gone..."
Lin, who had been monitoring the two bird yokai with his invisible spiritual perception, noticed their swift departure, his eyes flickering.
He tossed his school bag onto the sofa.
A concealment card flickered into existence beside him.
An invisible concealing power enveloped him.
He couldn't be seen or perceived by others, and the same went for scientific instruments.
Lin opened the sliding glass door, enveloped himself in the Silver Sanctuary, locked onto the two rapidly departing little bird yokai, and followed.
A matter of reciprocity.
They had just followed him.
Now it was his turn to tail them.
Judging by how quickly they left after arriving, their objective was clearly just to confirm his address.
So, why confirm his address?
Most likely, they wanted to tell someone.
In that case, he'd follow them and see just who was interested in him.
About ten minutes later.
At 4:50 PM, in Bunkyo Ward.
Koishikawa Kōrakuen Garden.
There were still ten minutes until the park closed.
The two little bird yokai arrived at the place they once called home.
Not to return home.
But because someone was waiting for them.
It was a beautiful young girl.
She was petite, only 1.5 meters tall.
She had fluffy, golden hair of short-to-medium length and exceptionally fair skin.
She wore a beret on her head.
She was dressed in a white, Lolita-style dress.
The ocean-blue lace of the hemline fell just above her knees.
She wore brown leather shoes and white over-the-knee socks.
The contour of her chest was a little on the small side.
Overall, she looked like a loli.
Her features were delicate, and the combination of golden hair and purple eyes gave her a natural air of nobility.
She seemed very much like the daughter of a prestigious family.
She was also holding an exquisitely crafted red cane.
"A little familiar..."
Lin, concealed a few meters away and undetectable, studied her, his eyes flickering as he searched his memories.
Just then, the two small birds flew to the girl. The white-eye yokai said, "Princess, we have returned."
"Did you run into any danger?"
The "Princess" they spoke of, the blonde girl, looked at them, her first words a concerned inquiry.
"No, no."
The wagtail yokai hurried to answer.
"That's good."
Learning they hadn't encountered any danger, the blonde girl smiled faintly, then asked with a hint of curiosity:
"How did it go?"
White-eye yokai: "Rest assured, Princess. We followed him and successfully found his residence."
Wagtail yokai: "Princess, are you going to look for him?"
The blonde girl blinked and smiled. "I'm thinking about it, but the time isn't right yet. I'll observe him for a while first."
"After all, my entire impression of him comes from your descriptions. I haven't even seen him with my own eyes yet."
"Oh, right..."
At this, she seemed to remember something and looked curious.
"Is he really that handsome?"
In the two bird yokai's descriptions, 'Lin's' appearance was apparently outstanding for a human.
Just as the two bird yokai were about to answer her...
...a voice suddenly rang out.
"As for whether I'm handsome or not, why don't you see for yourself and find out?"
"Who's there!?"
The blonde girl and the two bird yokai were all startled by the voice.
The blonde girl was surprised and wary.
The two bird yokai, however, went stiff and nearly fell to the ground.
Panic filled their big eyes.
They flapped their wings frantically and chirped:
"It's him! It's him! It's really him!"
"That's his voice!"
About three meters away, Lin's tall figure appeared without a sound.
The corners of Lin's lips curled up as he looked at the blonde girl with a smile.
He had already recognized her.
The goddess of wisdom to the yokai, her name was: Iwanaga Kotoko.
From In/Spectre.
She was respectfully called 'Princess' by the yokai.
Because of the characteristics of her 'divine body', she also had another 'divine name'.
'The One-Eyed, One-Legged God'.
As far as he knew, although Iwanaga Kotoko was a 'god' who could see yokai and even harm them...
...her combat abilities weren't particularly strong.
Just as her divine name, 'goddess of wisdom', implied, she relied on her intellect to solve problems in most situations.
Just like the name of her world's story.
She solved the yokai's problems by using one 'fictional inference' after another.
"Wow!!!"
Seeing Lin suddenly appear, Iwanaga Kotoko, who had been surprised and wary, found her eyes widening.
.... .... ...
Her mouth fell slightly agape.
Her heart suddenly began to race.
Looking at Lin, a few thoughts couldn't help but pop into her head.
'Why is he so handsome?'
"He's like a peerless masterpiece, a lifetime's work completed by the world's greatest sculptor in a burst of inspiration."
"Perfectly natural, utterly flawless."
"His sky-clear blue eyes seem to hold the starry cosmos, profound and captivating, yet filled with danger."
"He's also like a flame in the night."
"All creatures that yearn for the light can't help but draw near, even if it might cost them their lives."
One thought after another surfaced in her mind.
Iwanaga Kotoko's face couldn't help but turn red.
A ripple of emotion appeared in her eyes.
The heart in her chest was so lively it felt like it wanted to jump out and play.
At that moment, the two little bird yokai, who had also seen Lin, trembled with fear and quickly moved to shield Iwanaga Kotoko.
They chirped frantically:
"Princess, that's him! He found us!"
"We're done for, we're done for! He's definitely going to catch us and roast us!"
"Princess, run! This guy is terrifying!"
"Shut up!"
Hearing the two bird yokai chattering nonstop, Lin shot them a deliberately cold glare.
The next moment, the noise stopped abruptly.
The two bird yokai hastily shut their beaks.
Iwanaga Kotoko also snapped out of her daze, the cherry-blossom pink blush on her fair cheeks not yet faded.
She looked at Lin and said with a smile:
"Hello, my name is Iwanaga Kotoko. May I ask your name?"
________________________________________
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