Tokyo Sword Saint Online Dealing

"I was just being delusional, I...I..."

She meant to say, "I'm leaving now."

But the unwillingness and reluctance in her heart caused her words to turn into muffled sobs.

Uesugi Kiyoshi had a terrible headache, but looking at Nohara Kyoko's appearance, he felt a pang of pity and tenderness. He quickly bent down and gently took Nohara Kyoko's hand to prevent her from running away in her excitement—she had a history of running away.

"Nohara-kun, I haven't answered you yet."

He thought carefully and tried to respond with gentle words.

“I appreciate your feelings, Nohara-kun. You don’t need to feel so inferior. In my opinion, you’re no less than any other girl.”

"You are lovely, a great cook, have a good personality, and are among the top students in your class. You will have an even more wonderful life ahead of you, meet more outstanding men, and have more choices."

"The reason you have feelings for me now is simply because I saved you. That's nothing, Nohara-kun. It was just a small favor for me."

“I don’t want you to make such an impulsive decision out of gratitude, Nohara. You deserve better. I’m not as good as you think.”

Uesugi Kiyoshi's last sentence was truly sincere—he never considered himself a good person, nor did he think he was particularly outstanding. To put it nicely, his personality was hardworking and persistent; to put it bluntly, he was stubborn and inflexible. Once he made a decision, he rarely changed it because of the opinions of others.

Kyoko Nohara, who was in despair, murmured softly when she heard Kiyoshi Uesugi say that.

"No, no, I wasn't acting on impulse."

"I like Uesugi-kun. He's a very nice person and very gentle with me. I feel very safe when I'm behind him."

"Seeing you smile makes me happy, and it makes me feel like the world has become a little better."

"I...I like Uesugi-kun."

Kyoko Nohara murmured the sentence over and over again, her eyes no longer serious, but practically devout.

Uesugi Kiyoshi sighed inwardly, but a smile appeared on his face.

"That's right, I understand."

"Nohara-kun, we haven't known each other for long. I've received your confession, but I need some time to think about it."

"Let's start by being friends, get to know each other, spend some time together, and then face this issue again, okay?"

"If Nohara-kun still holds onto his current ideas by then, I will respond to you."

"Do you think this is okay?"

Kyoko Nohara stared blankly at Kiyoshi Uesugi, seemingly infected by his warm smile, and subconsciously nodded.

She silently repeated the word "friend" in her heart, and for some reason, she felt a secret joy, as if she had been granted a pardon.

fair enough.

Does this mean I can stay by Uesugi-kun's side with peace of mind for the time being?

Seeing that Nohara Kyoko finally nodded, Uesugi Kiyoshi breathed a sigh of relief. He said that saying those few words was more tiring than practicing swordsmanship all night. Are girls made of water? They can cry without stopping!

In short, let's deal with this for now. Nohara Kyoko's emotions are very unstable, and she may even be possessed by evil spirits. He doesn't want to upset her right now.

Of course, he didn't intend to be a scumbag who deceived girls' feelings. He also needed some time to think about whether he really had feelings for Nohara Kyoko. Just now, seeing her crying so sadly, he actually felt a little sorry for her. He didn't know if it was a man's innate tenderness towards women, or if this little white rabbit had already left an indelible mark on his heart.

If he realizes his true feelings and finds out he really likes Kyoko Nohara, then dating her would be a natural thing to do.

He once mentioned his views on choosing a spouse: Nohara Kyoko might not be able to help him in his career, but she would definitely be a good wife. Her gentle and mild nature is very likable, and at least Uesugi Kiyoshi doesn't dislike her.

Seeing that Nohara Kyoko's emotions were gradually stabilizing, Uesugi Kiyoshi continued to ask questions.

"Can you tell me about it now?"

"What strange thing happened to you?"

Nohara Kyoko sat awkwardly in the chair. She was initially embarrassed by her bold actions, but after hearing Uesugi Kiyoshi's words, her embarrassment almost entirely turned into fear.

She looked at Uesugi Kiyoshi with some fear and stammered out the strange things that had happened the night before.

After listening, Uesugi Kiyoshi had many guesses in his mind, but he couldn't come to a definite conclusion.

A headless statue? What is that?

Mechanical worship? It sounds like a reaction to being trapped in a ghostly realm, as if under some kind of illusion.

Hmm. Ordinary evil spirits would hardly be able to do this, and there's no need for them to do so. If a ghost wants to kill someone, it should just kill them. Why make it worship a deity?

What's even stranger is that, according to Kyoko Nohara, she shouldn't have been trapped in the demon realm, otherwise she probably would have met with misfortune long ago.

That is

Are there evil spirits that can appear in the real world?

Uesugi Kiyoshi's expression was somewhat serious. He frowned and suddenly turned to Nohara Kyoko.

"Just by saying that, I really can't make an accurate judgment."

"Nohara, if you don't mind..."

"How about I come over to your house for a while after school today?"

"Just treat it as a visit between friends."

Kyoko Nohara certainly didn't mind!

With Uesugi Kiyoshi by her side, her fear of her uncle's strange behavior lessened somewhat.

Uesugi-kun will protect me, right?

Kyoko Nohara firmly believed this.

Chapter 22 Religion

Uesugi Kiyoshi gently persuaded Nohara Kyoko, and after her tears stopped, he pushed the lunchbox in front of her—Nohara Kyoko hadn't eaten a single bite since coming up from the rooftop, and he was really afraid that this little white rabbit would faint from hunger.

Nohara Kyoko was very obedient. Uesugi Kiyoshi offered her something to eat and even put some juice in her hand. She didn't refuse politely, but ate her food demurely and slowly—she was afraid of showing her unappetizing eating habits in front of Uesugi Kiyoshi.

Uesugi Kiyoshi sat on a chair to the side. Seeing that Nohara Kyoko's emotions had stabilized, he felt reassured and began to think about the strange things Nohara Kyoko had said.

He summarized the key points of the matter as "the idol" and "the drastic change in temperament."

The reason for the drastic change in temperament is not hard to guess. For ordinary people, the most troublesome ability of "ghosts" is their illusionary magic that bewitches people's minds. Nohara Kyoko said that her uncle had been in contact with that idol for three months.

Three months is a long enough time to completely change a person. In other words, if Nohara Kyoko's uncle had now become a demon in human skin, Uesugi Kiyoshi wouldn't be surprised.

As for the headless statue...

Uesugi Kiyoshi opened his phone and searched online, but unsurprisingly found nothing.

Japan is a country where religions flourish, with Buddhism, Christianity, and the indigenous Shintoism coexisting and sharing the nation's followers.

Religious influence is very strong in Japan.

Financial groups, political groups, social groups, and religious groups control more than 99 percent of the country's wealth.

Conglomerates are financial groups, political groups are political parties, social groups are yakuza groups, and religious groups are various religious forces.

Therefore, almost every household in Japan has a shrine and statues of gods, and what is worshipped depends on the family's beliefs.

Those who believe in Buddhism worship Buddha statues, while those who believe in Taoism worship statues of different gods.

But if you want to list all the deities in Japanese Shintoism...

This is simply an impossible task. Japanese folklore claims to have eight million gods. Of course, this eight million is not a real number, but a figurative expression. This alone shows how vast the number of gods and spirits in this country is.

Uesugi Kiyoshi just searched for the keyword "headless statue" and found a lot of ghost stories. He glanced through them but didn't find anything reliable.

"Wearing a kimono, shirtless, male, headless."

Uesugi Kiyoshi repeated the words to himself, sighed, and shook his head.

Forget it, I really can't think of any clues. I'll go take a look tonight and see.

In the past, he might have had some reservations, but now he has two newly acquired cards from Onmyoji Arena as trump cards, so even if he encounters a powerful opponent, he feels confident that he can hold his own for a few rounds.

Besides, the sword in his hand wasn't that afraid of those demons and monsters.

Even if we take a step back, he can't just ignore it and push Nohara Kyoko back into that fire pit.

Although the amount of mirage energy on Nohara Kyoko's body was not large, it was real. He still felt a little scared when he thought about it. It was really lucky that Nohara Kyoko was still safe and sound.

Having dispelled his doubts and made his decision, Uesugi Kiyoshi breathed a sigh of relief.

I'll ask my master for leave tonight; I won't be going to the temple. I'll take care of this matter first.

He desperately needs mirage energy to generate income, and this is a perfect opportunity!

After Kyoko Nohara finished her lunch, which she ate slowly and adorably like a hamster, and tidied up her lunchbox and tablecloth, the two returned to the classroom together to begin their afternoon classes.

Haicheng Middle School only has two classes in the afternoon, and time flies by. At 3:30, after the evening assembly, school officially ends.

Uesugi Kiyoshi, carrying his sword pouch and schoolbag, waited for Nohara Kyoko at the classroom door. He was going to accompany Nohara Kyoko home to deal with the possible evil spirit.

Kyoko Nohara was still packing her books when Yuichi Kudo, Uesugi Kiyoshi's best friend, came out of the classroom first. When he saw Uesugi Kiyoshi, he greeted him with a grin.

"Hey, Qing, who are you waiting for?"

"Are you going to the dojo? A car is picking me up today; I can give you a ride there too?"

He knew a lot about Uesugi Kiyoshi, and knew that he would go to a dojo near Shiba Park to practice swordsmanship after school, which is why he said that.

Uesugi Kiyoshi shook his head, declining Kudo Yuichi's offer.

"Let's skip it today, thank you, I have something else to do."

"You can go now, see you tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Kudo Yuichi raised her delicate eyebrows, carefully examined Uesugi Kiyoshi's expression, glanced around the classroom, and clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"You rarely miss a year, and you look so serious. It must be something important."

"I saw you and Nohara go to the rooftop together at noon today. When she came back, she looked like she had been crying, but she seemed to be in a good mood."

"So, just guessing... you two are dating? Going on a date tonight?"

Uesugi Kiyoshi rolled his eyes, somewhat helpless, but he was already used to his friend's way of thinking.

In a sense, Kudo Yuichi's reasoning wasn't entirely wrong. If we disregard the "demon-slaying" aspect, his visit tonight could even be considered a "meeting with the parents."

"When did you become so gossipy? Stop guessing, we're not even dating yet."

"I need Nohara-kun's help with something, so we'll walk home together after school today."