Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

Neither of them listened to Alma's words. Instead, they turned to look at the glass window beside them, staring blankly at their reflections.

"This is a lie, no way, how could this happen..."

Lai Sheng Lei covered her mouth with both hands, her face filled with disbelief, her usual elegance and composure completely gone.

"Calm down, Miss Shiranui, don't panic."

Mai Shiranui, however, appeared very calm, adjusting her posture to sit upright, looking elegant and dignified.

Alma stared blankly at the two of them, not understanding what had happened to them, why they had suddenly changed, and what Shiranui-san had called Kisei-san just now.

"How am I supposed to stay calm like this?!"

Lai Sheng Rui covered her head with both hands, looking completely panicked.

"Since it has already happened, instead of panicking, we should think about how to solve it."

Mai Shiranui spread her hands, calming Lai Sheng Rui down.

"No, Miss Laisheng, how can you remain so calm even in this state!"

Lai Sheng Rui stared at Shiranui Mai in disbelief.

"Well, maybe it's because I've seen so many strange and unusual things that I have a stronger mental fortitude..."

Mai Shiranui adjusted her bangs, appearing extremely calm.

"This, that..."

Completely unaware of what was happening before her eyes, Alma glanced at Rui Kisuke one moment and Mai Shiranui the next, her eyes filled with bewilderment.

She always had a feeling that something was out of place.

“Miss Alma, I’m sorry to have confused you. Anyway, please take me and… um… this lady to the lounge first. There are some things that are not easy to explain here.”

Mai Shiranui said to Alma.

"Yes, no problem."

Upon receiving instructions, Alma immediately led Rui Kisaki and Mai Shiranui to the lounge.

Actually, there was no need for a guide. Mai Shiranui seemed to be more familiar with Cat's Eye Cafe than Alma, and she even walked half a body length faster than Alma, which made Alma wonder again—Miss Mai Shiranui must be visiting Cat's Eye Cafe for the first time, right?

The three entered the lounge, and after closing the door, Mai Shiranui said, "Miss Alma, please don't be surprised by what I'm about to say."

Alma nodded and said to Mai Shiranui, "Miss Mai Shiranui, please speak."

Mai Shiranui nodded and then said, "To put it in terms you can understand, I am Rui Kisugi. Just now, for some unknown reason, my body and Miss Shiranui's body were switched."

Although she had a vague feeling about this, Alma was still full of surprise when she heard these words from Mai Shiranui... no, from Rui Kisugi who had Mai Shiranui's appearance.

(In the following content, "Mai Shiranui" refers to the body of Mai Shiranui, and "Rui Shiranui" refers to the body of Rui Shiranui.)

"That's right, that's exactly it!"

"Tears of the Next Life" clasped his hands together in front of his chest and nodded vigorously at the same time.

Seeing her body make such a movement, Mai Shiranui frowned slightly, but there was nothing she could do.

"Then why did this happen?"

Alma asked the question.

Mai Shiranui pondered for a moment, then said, "Telescope!"

Previously, Mai Shiranui had pointed a telescope at her, and then her consciousness fell into a coma. When she woke up, their bodies had been switched.

"Yes, a telescope!"

"Laisheng Lei" nodded and said, "It's because of that telescope that we've become like this!"

She now deeply regrets it; why did she bother playing with that telescope when she had nothing better to do!

Mai Shiranui immediately said, "Since we've become like this most likely because of that telescope, if we use that telescope again, we should be able to switch our bodies back!"

As the saying goes, "the one who tied the knot must untie it," they swapped bodies because of the telescope, so they can use the telescope to swap back!

"Lai Sheng Lei" exclaimed excitedly, "Miss Lai Sheng, you're so clever!"

She was so panicked that she forgot such a simple truth.

"Rai-sei-tears" scratched her head and said to "Shiranui Mai," "I'm sorry, it's all my fault, I caused you to have this experience..."

Mai Shiranui smiled slightly: "It's alright, this is also a novel experience."

Since there was a way to turn back, the two of them stopped panicking, returned to their seats, and began searching for the telescope.

They initially thought it would be a simple matter, since the location was very clear—near where the two had just sat, or at most, rolled to the next seat. It would be easy to find. However, after searching around, Mai Shiranui and Rui Kisugi couldn't find the binoculars anywhere, which made them start to panic.

Left with no other choice, Mai Shiranui had to send Rui Kisugi to tell Hayato Ijuin to temporarily close Cat's Eye Cafe so they could thoroughly investigate it.

Of course, Ijuin Hayato dared not disobey the landlord's orders. He could only smile (a terrifying smile) and ask the guests to leave, waiving all their expenses before closing the shop.

Afterwards, Mai Shiranui and Rui Kisugi explained their situation to Hayato Ijuin and Rachel. Although Hayato Ijuin and Rachel had never encountered anything like this before, they didn't think that Mai Shiranui and Rui Kisugi would conspire to deceive them. So the five of them actively searched the Cat's Eye Cafe, but even after searching the entire cafe and removing all the cushions, they still couldn't find the very old-looking telescope.

"Wait, maybe one of the customers picked it up. I'll go check the security footage!"

Hayato Ijuin patted his head.

He made many enemies when he was a "cleaner," and now that he has "retired," those enemies may not let him go. So, Hayato Ijuin set up a security system at the Cat's Eye Cafe, which includes surveillance cameras. Through the surveillance footage, it is clear whether anyone has taken the binoculars.

The group immediately went to retrieve the surveillance footage. Hayato Ijuin's surveillance system was extremely advanced, being the latest military equipment, and the images were extremely clear. They started by investigating from the conversation between Rui Kisugi and Mai Shiranui, to the two falling into a coma, and then being awakened by Alma. "Mai Shiranui" and "Rui Kisugi" watched the footage frame by frame, afraid of missing any scene.

In the scene, after Mai Shiranui faints, the binoculars slip from her hand, fall to the ground, and roll into the aisle.

Mai Shiranui stared intently at the recording, wanting to see where the telescope ended up or who picked it up. But what happened next left the four people present (Ijuin Hayato was blind and couldn't see it) in disbelief—the telescope had simply vanished into thin air!

"How could this be? Is it stuck?"

"Tears of the Next Life" said anxiously, for that was her hope of recovering her body!

Mai Shiranui stared intently at the time displayed on the screen, her expression serious. "No, time is continuous; it just suddenly disappeared."

Mai Shiranui did not show much surprise at this result.

If something like body swapping has already happened, then the telescope disappearing into thin air becomes understandable.

After thinking for a moment, Mai Shiranui asked, "Who was sitting in our seats just now?"

She remembered that there were still leftovers from the previous guest's meal on the seat she had been sitting in, which meant that someone had just been sitting there, and that person was likely the owner of the binoculars.

If they can't find the telescope, finding its owner might help them return to their original bodies. Moreover, the telescope might have been retrieved by its owner using special methods.

Alma immediately replied, "She's a blonde little girl in a white dress. She's very cute, but... she seems to have a bad temper."

Not much time had passed, and the blonde girl had left a deep impression on Alma, so Alma answered without having to recall.

"Is that the brat who needs to be disciplined?"

Rachel asked, "She just had a conflict with that blond girl."

Yes, it's her.

Alma nodded.

"Let's rewind the video a little."

"Mai Shiranui" said, then turned the video back, and sure enough, he saw the blonde girl fiddling with binoculars.

"This telescope really is hers!"

"Tears of the Next Life" exclaimed excitedly.

Mai Shiranui remained calm and composed: "Take a screenshot of this little girl's face. She might still be nearby. Let's go find her!"

As soon as Mai Shiranui identified her goal, flames suddenly erupted around her.

It wasn't the kind of fighting spirit that burns like a flame, but rather the literal meaning of "flames ignited."

"not good!"

"Laisheng Lei" was the first to realize what was happening and quickly said, "Quickly put out the fire!"

Rachel hurried to find water, while Ijuin Hayato, with his experience, immediately took off his apron and covered "Mai Shiranui". However, Alma was faster than both of them. A purplish-red light emanated from Alma's hand and enveloped "Mai Shiranui", extinguishing all the flames on her body.

After the flames were extinguished, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Mai Shiranui's clothes were burned to tatters, leaving her barely clothed.

Fortunately, everyone here is a girl, and the only man is blind, so there's no need to be too shy.

"How is this going?"

"Mai Shiranui, who suddenly burst into flames, asked."

"Later Tears" scratched her cheek, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Sorry, I forgot to remind you, I have some ignition devices hidden in my clothes. If they're accidentally triggered, it'll turn into this..."

The "Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu" is famous for its control of fire, but its essence is not to directly generate flames. Instead, it uses tools to ignite flames and then attack the enemy. The revealing kimono is specially made for this purpose. Of course, charming the enemy is also one of the important functions of that kimono.

As a ninja of the "Shiranui school," Mai Shiranui would carry fire-starting tools with her even when she was in casual clothes.

These props could easily ignite a fire if not handled carefully. However, Mai Shiranui is an expert at operating these props and can control them even with her eyes closed. She can make them work whenever she wants. But Mai Shiranui is definitely not capable of that. Just now, some action must have triggered the props, causing them to ignite and set her clothes on fire.

Fortunately, only her clothes were damaged. Mai Shiranui's body possessed the unique internal energy of the Shiranui School, which gave her a strong resistance to flames, so she was not injured and not even a single hair was burned off.

However, the loss of the clothes was quite a headache. "Kiwai Rui" could only take the blame and said to "Shiranui Mai", "Miss Kiwai, I'm sorry, I'll go buy you some clothes!"

If we're talking about who's most familiar with the body of "Mai Shiranui," then it has to be her.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Miss Shiranui."

Now that things had come to this, Mai Shiranui could only nod in agreement and say, "Take my wallet."

"Hehe, my wallet is probably gone too..."

"Tears of the Next Life" scratched his head and said.

Her wallet was in Mai Shiranui's pants pocket, but she just checked and the pocket was burned through, so the wallet was probably lost as well.

Unfortunately, I was already a bit tight on money, and now I've unexpectedly suffered a loss...

"Tears for the next life" he silently murmured in his heart.

After leaving the Cat's Eye Cafe, "Raisheng Lei" recalled that she had seen a convenience store nearby where she could buy some everyday clothes.

Just as "Raisheng Rui" was about to head towards the convenience store, a pair of hands suddenly hugged her from behind.

"Xiao Lei, I'm sorry I'm late!"

Li Xin wrapped his arms around "Laisheng Lei's" waist, pressed his back against hers, and gently kissed her neck.

"Laisheng Lei" widened her eyes in surprise, looking completely dumbfounded.

Li Xin found Lai Sheng Lei's reaction strange, thinking that Lai Sheng Lei was angry with him, after all, he was quite late, and Lai Sheng Lei was just about to leave, so she must be very angry. So Li Xin turned Lai Sheng Lei around, leaned down and kissed her.

This is the best way to resolve a woman's minor emotional outbursts. It's a secret technique passed down by the (self-proclaimed) emotional master, Crocodile. Of course, please use it with caution if your modeling skills are not up to par.

After giving "Laisheng Lei" a deep kiss, Li Xin asked, "Little Lei, are you calmed down now?"

"Lai Sheng Lei" was still in shock. Hearing Li Xin's words, she stammered, "Um, A Xin, I, I'm not Xiao Lei, I'm Xiao Wu..."

Li Xin paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "Little Tears, so this is what we're playing today!"

"Tears of the Next Life": "..."

Ashin, what exactly do you and Miss Laisheng usually play?

Chapter 725 This is a life-or-death question!

"I'm so sorry, Xiao Wu, I'm so sorry. I mistook you for Xiao Lei. I didn't mean to offend you!"

Li Xin clasped his hands together and apologized to "Lai Sheng Lei".

"No, it's okay, it's alright. After all, Ashin, you were unaware of it..."

"Laisheng Lei" blushed and frantically combed her hair to hide her embarrassment.

So Miss Laisheng's boyfriend is Ashin. That makes sense. Ashin and Xiao Ai are so close, he must know her older sister. Even I, a woman, am attracted to a woman like Miss Xiaolei. It's perfectly normal for Ashin and Miss Xiaolei to get together... it's all very normal...

She told herself this in her heart, but "tears in the next life" still couldn't hide her disappointment.

A while later, "Laisheng Lei" went to the convenience store to buy clothes and returned to Cat's Eye Cafe with Li Xin.

Mai Shiranui changed into the clothes bought by Rui Kisei. Although they were just cheap and ordinary casual clothes, Mai Shiranui still looked radiant and charming in them.

That's so true to me!

Looking at Mai Shiranui, who exuded a beauty different from her usual self, "Rui Kisugi" felt a sense of pride.