I have an unlimited number of shikigami

This is not a compliment.

She always gave off a meticulous impression, whether it was her clothes or her posture.

Her gait and arm swing always evoked images of a female investigator, her demeanor devoid of any superfluousness. Her appearance was also almost too perfect. Her long, vibrant orange hair, like satin, always cascaded down her back; her almost unkempt hairstyle perfectly suited her simple style.

"Why would you say something like that?" Kasahara Fukari tapped her fingernails lightly against the glass.

Both voices were very clear and pleasant to the ear. Fujiwara Izaya said, "Rather than describing her as beautiful, Izaya would say she has a stern appearance. She has a dignified posture, simple clothes, and a manner and speech that makes her seem unapproachable, yet she also has an undisguised honesty. I think no one would refuse to become a close friend of such an older sister."

Kasahara Fukaeri paused for a moment, then said coldly, "Our relationship isn't close enough to discuss this."

“We already have a relationship.” Fujiwara Izaya looked into her eyes. “If it weren’t enough to talk about this, you would shrug to indicate denial instead of saying it directly.”

Kasahara Fukaeri lowered her head and took a sip of the water through a straw.

"If you say so, then so be it," she said, looking at the bubbles in the glass with some uncertainty.

Fujiwara Izaya ordered a coffee and a pot of iced black tea.

The air in the restaurant was chilly on a Saturday morning, and a small speaker on the wall was playing Beatles' songs.

A moment later, the waiter placed a cup of coffee in front of Fujiwara Izaya, added black tea and ice to the water. After the waiter left, Kasahara Fukaeri cleared her throat quietly as if testing a microphone, but didn't speak, only looking at Fujiwara Izaya with her cool eyes.

Sharp yet serene eyes, and slender, beautiful eyebrows, seem to always be watching something that ordinary people cannot see.

“Asuka asked me to go shopping today,” Fujiwara Izaya said, sipping his coffee. “She said she wants to wear matching earrings with me.”

Kasahara Fukaeri drank her sparkling water without saying a word.

“I think it’s necessary to report this to the boss,” Fujiwara explained.

What else did she say?

"He said he wanted to date me, but then dumped me when he lost feelings for me."

What are you planning to do?

Fujiwara Izaya took a sip of black tea to moisten his throat. "Of course I refused. She's being unreasonable, I can't just go along with it."

"Good to know." Kasahara Fukae poured herself a cup of black tea, but didn't drink it. Instead, she looked at Fujiwara Izaya with a look that seemed to say, "You can handle this kind of thing. I'm not interested. But if you think it's necessary, please continue."

Her eyes seem to convey more meaning than her mouth.

Fujiwara Izaya hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to speak.

"Asuka seems to hold a grudge against you?" he asked cautiously, his tone as if he were gently placing something in plastic wrap.

Kasahara Fukaeri bit her straw, her brows furrowed.

Fujiwara Izaya felt he had asked an incredibly stupid question. Immersed in the saxophone melody playing from the ceiling, he apologized, "I'm sorry, I was being presumptuous."

Still, silence.

Fujiwara Izaya finished his coffee and put the cup back on the saucer. The Beatles' music, which had somehow been replaced by a string rendition of a song from "The Sound of Music" from the speakers embedded in the shop ceiling, was playing from the speakers in the ceiling.

Raindrops, roses, cat whiskers...

"You want to know this?" asked Fukahara Eri.

“I’m curious to know.” Fujiwara Izaya straightened his posture. “I can tell you care a lot about Asuka. But Asuka is a bit resistant to you. Last time I told her about you asking me to join Section 9, she warned me not to join. She also said you’re a bad woman and that if I joined Section 9, you would ruin me.”

Kasahara Fukaeri shrugged slightly.

That's what it means to say, "She's right."

Having known her for a long time, Fujiwara Izaya was able to quickly understand her eyes and body language, and immediately asked, "Were you not on good terms since childhood, or did your relationship deteriorate later?"

"Things haven't been good lately."

How good was it before?

Kasahara Fukari glanced at his expression, then looked back at the untouched black tea in her cup, and answered succinctly, "I want to marry the same man as my sister."

"..."

Fujiwara Izaya was stunned.

After a long pause, he asked with some surprise, "Is there really such a good thing?"

"?"

What are you happy about?

Kasahara Fukari looked up and warned him with a cold look not to get his hopes up.

"Ha, haha..." Fujiwara Izaya laughed to ease the tension, half-jokingly asking, "Do you have any objections to your sister's thoughts?"

Kasahara Fukari didn't answer the question; her eyes seemed unfocused, fixed on a certain spot on his face. After waiting a moment and confirming there was no answer, Fujiwara Izaya had no choice but to ask another question.

"What caused your relationship with Asuka to deteriorate?"

"Not entirely sure."

Is there any clue?

“…Let me think.” Kasahara Fukarei bit her lower lip slightly, recalling what her mother had told her. After a few minutes, she relaxed her delicate features. “I’ve always been quick at everything since elementary school. People say I’m a genius.”

Fujiwara Izaya sipped his perfectly chilled black tea and listened intently.

“Besides my mother, everyone thought I would take over her position and become the chief administrator of Tokyo Daijingu Shrine and the next chairman of Kasahara.” Kasahara Fukari paused here, seemingly needing a break as she rarely spoke such long sentences. She took a few deep breaths before continuing, “However, after entering university, I chose law, and after graduation, I joined Section 9. Due to my status, the succession of Tokyo Daijingu Shrine was out of my reach.”

"Why did you get into Section Nine?" Fujiwara Izaya asked curiously.

Kasahara Mieri held the cup in both hands: "I cannot use divine power."

“Uh, then it’s true that I can’t become the chairman.” Fujiwara Izaya nodded. “So you’re the same as me, oh no, not the same either. I’m a monster and you’re a human.”

Strangely, Kasahara Mieri didn't say anything in response to his statement.

A delicate wrinkle gathered between her brows, and her lips were tightly closed, as if she hesitated whether to agree or disagree with his words. After a moment of hesitation, probably unable to decide, she simply gave up, instead taking out a cigarette from her bag, placing it between her sexy red lips, and elegantly striking a match to light it.

Fujiwara Izaya rested his chin on his hand, admiring the moment she lit a cigarette.

He didn't think smoking was a good thing; it damaged surveillance and polluted the air. However, her smoking posture was truly impeccably graceful. Her thin lips, holding the filter, were as red and delicious as strawberries, and the fine hairs scattered across her forehead trembled slightly as she raised and lowered her head—the scene was flawless.

Especially at the moment of ignition, the flames flashed suddenly, as if a miracle had occurred.

Seeing this scene, Fujiwara Rinya had long ago thrown the warning signs about the harmful effects of smoking into the Mariana Trench.

Staring at her like that, Kasahara Fukari looked slightly uncomfortable. She took a drag, quickly stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, and glared at him, asking, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It looks great," Fujiwara Izaya said frankly.

Kasahara Fukaeri frowned: "Beautiful?"

"The gesture of lighting a cigarette, how should I put it, is extremely graceful and solemn. The flame suddenly flashes, how should I put it..." Fujiwara Izaya thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's just like the moment Apollo 11 was ignited, leaving behind a great achievement in human history."

Kasahara Fukari looked at Fujiwara Izaya with an unusually incredulous expression, as if she didn't understand what he was talking about. But Fujiwara Izaya's gaze remained unwavering, looking at her with gentle and sincere eyes, his gaze always sparkling.

She felt very uncomfortable being stared at like that.

First, her long eyelashes drooped down like the leaves of a mimosa plant. Then, her ten toes in her high heels curled up tightly, seemingly at a loss. And then, as if concealing her emotions, she held her sunglasses in her hand, fiddling with the hooks on the temples.

Fujiwara Izaya looked at her with amusement, her expression still indifferent.

Eri Fuka and Asuka both have long orange hair and beautiful appearances, but their personalities are quite different.

The older sister has low attack and high defense, while the younger sister has high attack and low defense.

To marry both of the Kasahara sisters would truly be the happiest thing in the world. If there's anything even happier, then add Mrs. Kasahara to that list.

The waitress came over and added ice water to the empty teapot.

Kasahara Fukaeri poured half a glass.

Only after drinking it did I realize that I didn't actually want to drink water.

She didn't know what to do or say. She felt a urge to smoke another cigarette, but a glance out of the corner of her eye at the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray made her dismiss the idea. "Let's continue what we were saying," she said in a fairly calm tone.

“I’ve been waiting for Ms. Fuka Eri to speak,” Fujiwara Izaya said with a smile.

Kasahara Fukari glared at him with a slightly angry look in her eyes.

She seemed to be complaining about his joking tone, or perhaps she was dissatisfied that he had changed the way he addressed her from "Miss Kasahara" to "Miss Fuka Eri" without her consent some time ago.

“People around me used to think I would take over my mother’s position, so they were very lenient with Asuka.”

"No wonder she developed such a spoiled personality."

"After I went to Section 9, everyone realized that it was Asuka who had taken over the mother's position."

“I see…” Fujiwara Izaya nodded, roughly understanding her words. “Before, no one cared about her, and she could grow up according to her own personality. You could say she grew up happily under your protection. Now that you can’t take over as her mother, the burden on her shoulders has become heavier. She can no longer be her older sister’s little shadow; she has to grow into a capable adult in people’s eyes. Am I right?”

Kasahara Fukaeri nodded.

"In other words, Asuka is complaining about you because she feels that the responsibility that should have been yours has been unfairly pushed onto her." Fujiwara Izaya analyzed the reasons based on his understanding of his junior's personality. "Asuka is a playful girl who likes new things. She finds the training of Shinto magic tedious and boring. Making her practice for a long time would definitely create resistance in her heart. As for her older sister, she also harbors resentment from love to hate, and even wants to steal the man her sister noticed first."

Kasahara Fukie ignored his last sentence and calmly said, "Her talent is no less than Hoshimi Rinko's, but she just can't muster the energy to train. Every time I force her to train, she is absent-minded, so the results of her training are naturally greatly reduced."

"Alright, I understand." Fujiwara Izaya stretched with a smile. "Now it's my turn to play. You can leave the field and watch the game at your leisure. Don't worry about your sister."

Kasahara Fukaeri frowned and bit the hook of her sunglasses.

Seeing her expression, I knew she didn't understand what I meant, so Izaya Fujiwara had to explain: "As long as you make her find it interesting while practicing Shinto magic, or make her feel it's worthwhile after she's done it, then she won't resist it. Once she doesn't resist these things, her resentment towards you will also decrease or even disappear, and you sisters can reconcile as before."

“I mean…” Kasahara Fukari said half a sentence, then couldn’t finish the sentence.

I can't remember what I was going to say. It's like a sudden gust of wind blows away the sheet music I'm playing.

Looking at her expression, which was indifferent yet expectant, Fujiwara Izaya suddenly reached out his right hand and grasped her left hand on the table as if to comfort her.

“You don’t quite understand yet,” he said.

"What don't you understand?"

"We are one."

"One piece?" Kasahara Fukaeri asked in surprise.

“We are comrades-in-arms who fight side by side, people who can share secrets.” Fujiwara Izaya squeezed her hand tightly.

The feel of it was beyond his expectations.

Compared to her aloof demeanor, Eri's smooth hand was incredibly warm, almost like holding a hot water bottle.

"..."

Kasahara Fukari felt the strength in his palm on the back of her hand.