Tokyo Soft Rice King.

"Uh?"

Kuroba Akira was stunned. The calm girl, who had been relatively friendly and not flustered at the sight of a man, suddenly pointed her finger at him and insulted him.

Kuroba Akira looked over in bewilderment, and then unexpectedly discovered that the girl was actually the popular idol whom he had only heard of before, Tsukimi Rii.

To actually meet here... can this be considered a fateful encounter?

However, this encounter was anything but romantic. When Tsukimi saw Kuroba Akira's appearance, she covered her mouth in discomfort, frowned, and made a face that made her feel nauseous.

That reaction is really hurtful... You may be very beautiful, but I don't look like a goblin, so why are you so disgusted...?

"are you OK?"

"You, you silver beast, don't come near me!"

"I didn't move..."

"Ugh... I feel like throwing up...! More than ten red threads are all tangled up in a mess...! This is the first time I've ever seen such a terrible man... Even the top male host in Kabukicho doesn't have such outrageous interpersonal relationships as you...!"

"..."

Kuroba Akira couldn't get angry because what she said was actually true.

However, combined with the information she had previously gathered about Tsukimi Ran, Kuroba Akira confirmed one thing.

"Could it be that you are also an agent of the gods?"

"What...? You too? You're one too?"

"As expected, the red line you mentioned is something that can actually be seen."

"...Who exactly are you?"

"I'm……"

Just as Kuroba Akira was about to say his name, the sound of the door opening in the women's bath area rang out, and another person entered the public hot spring area.

Upon seeing not only Tsukimi Ayane but also a man, the newcomer immediately covered her body in surprise, squatted down on the spot, and shouted loudly.

"Huh? Huh?! W-why is there a man here?!"

It seems she arrived without even looking at the notice board?

However, it seems that this is not the case, because she then called out to Tsukimi Rii, who was soaking in the hot spring.

"Yiyi, you deliberately left a man behind, that's why you wore a swimsuit, right? How cunning! Don't try to trick me with your abilities!"

"I wouldn't do something so pointless... I mean, why don't you just put on a swimsuit? There's no rule here that you have to be naked to come in."

"I didn't bring one! Because you said you'd clear the area, I didn't even wrap myself in a towel! That's so unfair! I trusted you so much..."

"I'm not lying to you, I really did shut out everyone I'd only met once, but he's no ordinary person..."

"What did you say?"

The new girl looked at Kuroba Akira, who had already recognized her from the beginning.

Kuroba Akira awkwardly raised his hand to greet the student council president, Myōen Yomi, whom he had met a few times at school before.

"Hello, Senior Miao, what a coincidence..."

"Huh? Isn't this Kuroba-kun? Are you here for a hot spring bath too?"

Myōen Yomi blinked, and when she saw that it was Kuroba Akira, she was also surprised. Then she immediately realized what Tsukimi Rii meant by 'not an ordinary person', and asked in even greater surprise.

"Wait, Yiyi said you're not an ordinary person. Does that mean you're also an agent of the gods, Kuroba?"

"Is that so... So, Senior Miao, you are one too?"

"Yes, Yiyi and I met because of our roles as agents... No! I mean, let me wrap myself in a towel first! We'll talk in more detail later!"

"Um, could you please get one for me too..."

Seeing Kuroba Akira's embarrassed expression, she became less shy and teased him with a grin.

"Hehe, so you can be shy too? I thought you were used to seeing girls' bodies by now. After all, you're so close to Anri and Murasaki no Miyako. Haven't you guys ever been to base yet?"

"That's... well, that's one thing, that's another..."

"I see. I understand how you feel. You can be more relaxed in front of familiar people, but you feel more awkward in front of people you're not so familiar with."

"Yes, yes..."

"Okay, I'll bring you a towel!"

Senior Sister Miao was quite reliable. She rushed back, wrapped herself in a bath towel, then grabbed a towel and tossed it to Kuroba Akira before sitting down next to him.

So she's actually going to hang out here... Maybe it's because she knows him, and she knows Kuroba Akira has a girlfriend, so she feels more at ease?

Kuroba Akira quickly used the towel to cover his crotch underwater, since hot spring water doesn't have the same censored reflections as in anime; if he just lowered his head here, he would be completely exposed.

"Hu~気志ちいい~"

Myōen Yomi spread her arms wide and exclaimed the same thing as Kuroba Akira, then called out to Tsukimi Ryoui on the other side.

"Yiyi, you're here too. There's no one else around, and you're wearing a swimsuit, so it's fine for you to come in."

"No way, I'll get pregnant."

"..."

Kuroba Akira was speechless, and Myōen Yomi also looked bewildered.

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Miao, you should also be careful not to get pregnant with that scumbag's child."

"Yiyi...it seems you need to catch up on your health and physical education. Let me tell you, a man and a woman can't get pregnant just by kissing, and you won't get pregnant by taking a bath together, okay?"

Kuroba Akira was even more speechless. He felt that Tsukimi Ryou was probably not unaware of the principle, but was just on guard, but Senior Sister Myo took it seriously.

"……Fool."

Clearly, Tsukimi Ranya was too lazy to explain anymore. Who was the naive one?

"Um, Senior Miao, you two have known each other for a long time?"

"Hmm? Yes, Yiyi and I are childhood sweethearts. We've known each other since we were very young. But the reason we met was, as I just said, when we became agents."

As expected, both of them are agents. As for Tsukimi Ran, I had previously heard Uncle Faquan mention unintentionally that the god who chose her seemed to be Kikurihime.

She is famous for mediating the dispute between Izanagi and Izanami, and is revered as the god of mediation and the god of marriage.

This is the Japanese version of the Matchmaker.

She just said that the red threads on Kuroba Akira's body were tangled up, which is probably because Kuroba Akira has formed very close relationships with many girls.

Therefore, Kuroba Akira was not surprised that Tsukimi Rii disliked him so much.

Any woman with a normal mind would think that this kind of man must be a complete scumbag and she wouldn't want to associate with him at all.

Furthermore, her conversation with Senior Miao inadvertently revealed her ability: she seems to be able to influence the relationships between people. Coming to the hot springs eliminates people she has only met once, which is why the public hot springs are empty and there is no one there.

Being able to actively disperse crowds is such a convenient and useful ability; Kuroba Akira also wants it.

As for why it had no effect on Kuroba Akira, it's probably because Kuroba Akira is also an agent, and an agent's abilities are ineffective against another agent.

As for which deity Myo-senpai is acting as an agent, Kuroba Akira wasn't quite sure.

However, Uncle Hōgen mentioned before that the Myōen family brought Kuroo to the capital, which is why Myō-senpai was named Yomi...

But Kuroo's current agent is herself... Does that mean she's taken away their family's deity?

"Speaking of which, Yiyi is actually a student at our school, although she has never attended a class."

"Such a thing actually happened?"

"Yes, Yiyi debuted as a child star when she was young. She would occasionally come to class in elementary and middle school, but she never came to class in high school. I think she only came on the first day of school, right?"

"I am," Lan Yi replied indifferently from not far away.

　"I didn't attend the opening ceremony. I left after registering. I remember my homeroom teacher's name was Motoko Kobayakawa. That person... never mind, it's nothing."

"Uh……"

They were even classmates...

No wonder there's always an empty seat in the class; it turns out it wasn't an empty seat, but rather Tsukimi Ran's seat.

And it seems she also knows that Ms. Kobayakawa is an agent.

This is truly a wonderful twist of fate.

"By the way, Kuroba-kun, what about you? You didn't come alone, did you? Did you come out with your partner this time? Did Anri-san and Murasaki-no-miya-san come too?"

"This is a group trip organized by our club. They soak in the private hot spring attached to their rooms, but I'm the only guy here, so I'm soaking in the public hot spring."

"Does the room have a private hot spring? That must be a super large room for more than ten people, right? Are there this many of you this time?"

"Yes, there were fourteen people in total, with guardians and parents accompanying them, and Ms. Luo... Ms. Ohno also came along."

"Wow, Mr. Ohno is here too! It sounds so lively! Can Yiyi and I come over to your place to play later?"

"sure……"

"I'm not going, Miao, you go by yourself."

Tsukimi Ryoui did not want to have any more contact with Kuroba Akira.

Ideally, we should never see each other again after this chance encounter.

Chapter 432 Being Entangled by the Red Thread is Your Own Fault

The absolute zero temperature made even Akira Kuroba, who was soaking in the hot spring, feel a bit cold.

Myoen Yomi was also puzzled by her best friend's aloof attitude. After all, when facing strangers before, Tsukimi Ryou would still maintain basic politeness and would not refuse so bluntly.

This seemed to be the first time she had openly expressed her 'dislike' towards someone. Even when those older men were leering at her, she maintained basic social etiquette and behaved very ladylike, which is why everyone called her 'angel'.

Although Yomi Myōen and Akira Kuroba weren't very close, the fact that Hitomi Anri and Shion Murasaki were both fond of him meant that he had some redeeming qualities. This is what I mentioned before: men who are popular with women tend to have a good reputation among women.

Moreover, in reality, even when Kuroba Akira saw Tsukimi Rii, he did not show any infatuation. Even when he was only wrapped in a bath towel and sitting next to her, he was able to control his gaze and behaved very seriously, which made him likable.

Such a gentleman should be the type I admire, so why do I feel such disgust? Could it be that something happened between them before I came in?

Myoen Yomi, still unable to understand, continued to act as a mediator, smoothing things over.

"Haha, don't worry about it, Kuroba-kun. Yiyi is just a little shy."