Survive in Azure Files

"I'm hiring you at a high price, not to hear you say 'I can't do it' or something like that."

Under the blindfolded Meow Tenmaru's self-proclaimed intimidating gaze, most of the demons gathered in the empty room looked indifferent.

"What are we going to eat after get off work?"

"Just wander around the Sakura Festival venue first, and we'll talk about it later."

"Hoohoo, let's play some festival games. To be honest, I've been known as a goldfish scooper since I was a kid!"

"Hey~ This feels really interesting~ I want to go too~"

Miao Tianwan's ears moved, and he heard a few demons in the corner who were leisurely and carefree, without any guilt for the failure of the mission. They were even chatting like this, and he couldn't help but feel a little impatient -

Do these brats really know why they were hired?! The mercenaries who wanted to stop the festival were actually discussing going to the festival to have fun?

Disrupting festivals is work, participating in festivals is life, right?

Miao Tianwan really wanted to scold those incompetent guys, but he didn't dare to do so.

It was true that he was the employer, but if he pushed these bad students who were already causing trouble during the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons into a corner, he really didn't know who to hire so that he could carry out his plan smoothly and without being suspected.

Fortunately, not all demons are such heartless guys.

Due to their strong sense of responsibility, the two demons, who were nominally elected but were actually dumped with a responsibility that no one else was willing to take, behaved in a very fearful manner, which made Miao Tianwan feel a little more comforted.

“That…that’s because…” the girl wearing the Tengu mask explained hurriedly, “We encountered an unexpected ambush.”

The girl wearing the Noh mask quickly chimed in, "It was Xia Lai's teacher who was hindering us! It's all that person's fault!"

"Xia Lai's...teacher?"

Miao Tianwan murmured, stroking his chin subconsciously, frowning, and his shiny fur formed a "Chuan" character between his eyebrows. His sharp eyes looked back and forth at the representative of the demon group.

To be honest, Miao Tianwan didn't think there was anything special about that guy. In his opinion, it was more like an excuse that Chi Meiyi made up after messing up the mission.

However, at this moment, a lively girl's voice came from the side:

"That's right! It's the teacher, no, it's the master!"

Miao Tianwan was stunned: "...Even Prince Izuna, what are you talking about?"

"You said that before." Izuna closed her eyes, "As long as Izuna works hard to follow orders, you will become a handsome ninja one day! You will also be able to meet your destined lord who is worthy of Izuna's lifelong service!"

Miao Tianwan tried hard to search his memory, but he couldn't remember it at all. He could only respond vaguely: "It seems that I said something like that..."

Izuna opened her bright eyes and excitedly shared her joy with her employer:

"Perhaps Izuna has really met such a lord! The master is not only a legendary ninja, but also despite his stern attitude, he cannot hide his tenderness towards Izuna. Most importantly, the master is willing to support Izuna's dream!"

Miao Tianwan nodded blankly: "Oh...so?"

"For some reason, such a master is hanging out with those troublemakers! Could it be that... he is also employed? Perhaps this is the fate of ninjas..."

Izuna lamented the injustice of fate, and then quickly became determined: "So, Izuna must defeat the master and prove the results of my practice to the master, so that the master will recognize Izuna and change his mind!"

"It doesn't matter..."

Nyanko Tenmaru said this, thinking back to what he had witnessed before, where that seemingly ordinary adult was commissioned by those annoying little ghosts. Combined with the testimonies of Chimei Ichizo and the fool in front of him who dreamed of becoming a ninja, he suddenly felt very annoyed.

Chimei Izuko might be trying to shirk responsibility by saying that, but since even Izuna said so, he has to believe it.

Therefore, that person would become an obstacle to his plan. Miao Tianwan made such a quick judgment.

"Since Izuna-dono has said so, that teacher must be an opponent that cannot be underestimated. A legendary ninja... huh? It seems that he will be quite difficult to deal with."

Miao Tianwan shook his head, thinking that this was just another of Izuna's imagination. He then looked at the people sitting in the demon room and frowned:

"As for you, I won't pursue this matter any further, but I hope you can do as much as you are paid for. Do you understand?"

The representative, the girl in the Tengu mask, quickly straightened her back and assured Meow Tenmaru, "I will definitely interrupt this festival next time!"

The Noh masked girl beside him also nodded in agreement.

Yes, this is what a paid mercenary should do.

Just when Miao Tianwan was satisfied with the attitude of the two representatives of Chimei, laughter came from the corner.

"Haha~ He's just a temporary employer, and you're actually lecturing us."

"Oh, let him be, he's just a bad-tempered and incompetent uncle anyway."

"That's not the case. We are hired after all."

"What does it matter? The work we do is already worth the salary, right? Why do you still add so many requirements?"

"Ah~ This is annoying~ I want to get off work and go to the festival."

These words reached Miao Tianwan's ears, constantly stirring his heartstrings that had just calmed down, causing his face to fall again in an instant, and his heart was burning with anger -

Don’t they know how to respect their elders?

Even someone as dumb as Izuna knew how to use honorifics, and she probably never said anything bad about him behind his back, let alone said it almost to his face!

Miao Tianwan was both angry and powerless.

All he could do was to increase the funding. But even if he did, how long would these problem children who had no respect for their elders and did not even have the most basic manners continue to respect him?

It is better to bear it for now. When his great plan is realized, he will no longer have to endure this evil.

Comforting himself with these words, Miao Tianwan took several deep breaths and tried his best to calm himself down, but he was still a little indignant deep in his heart.

Then, Miaotianwan turned his head and looked at the little ninja fox who was silently lowering his head, frowning, and seemed to be thinking about something.

He frowned quickly, then asked with pretended concern:

"Your Highness Izuna? What's wrong?"

"...I suddenly realized a problem."

Izumi, who had obediently memorized the teachings of her new master, was shocked at this moment to realize a suspicious point about her employer that she had never discovered before.

Izuna raised her head, tilted it, and looked at her employer in confusion: "It's so strange, why do you know so much about ninjas?"

At this moment, Miao Tianwan felt a chill running from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head, sweeping over his entire body, even the hair on his tail stood up:

Could it be that Izuna discovered that he had been deceiving her and using her all along?

"Um... um... what's wrong? Can't I know?"

Miao Tianwan asked back, pretending to be calm.

"Hmm... As I recall... You should be a businessman... Why do you know so much about ninjas? And why did you teach Izuna like that?"

Izuna recalled the master's handsome face, gentle voice, body smell, and words of advice, and an idea suddenly occurred to her:

"No! Izuna knows, you're lying to me!"

...This child must not be kept.

It’s a pity to waste such good combat power.

Miao Tianwan sighed in his heart, winked at the demons, and looked confused:

"What are you talking about? How could I lie to Your Highness Izuna? This must be some misunderstanding!"

In the peripheral vision of Miao Tianwan, a member of the Demonic Group was already tiptoeing towards Izuna's back, and someone in the corner casually picked up a gun and turned on the safety.

And Izuna was still completely unaware of this.

"You can't fool Izuna! Stop pretending and just admit it!"

Izuna, who had been deceived long before, said so.

Then, she pointed her finger at Miao Tianwan with an extremely serious expression.

At the same time, several evil girls had already got behind Izunai, blocking her retreat route, ready to attack.

The sniper in the corner also had his finger on the trigger.

Miao Tianwan took a deep breath and stared at Izuna with his one eye, preparing to wait until she finished speaking and when her mind was most relaxed, and then he would order the demons to take action and make sure to capture and imprison Izuna as soon as possible.

Finally, with everyone paying attention, Izumi's voice spread clearly throughout the silent room:

"You are actually a ninja too!"

At this moment, even the air seemed to freeze.

Miao Tianwan blinked and said in disbelief: "What are you talking about?"

"Hehe~ So, you can't fool Izuna~"

Izunai proudly put his hands on his hips and said, "Master and Izunai have said that in this era when all ninjas are hiding, no matter what profession they have in public, as long as they are well versed in the ways of the ninja, they could be hidden ninjas!"

Izuna, who had mixed up the teachings subtly, or rather, had reprocessed them according to her own understanding, said excitedly:

"So, you who told me the duties of a ninja must be a legendary ninja~"

What nonsense is this guy talking about? How could he be something as stupid as a ninja?

Miao Tianwan was about to refute, but a sneer came into his ears.

"Tsk... How could a guy like that be a ninja?"

In a trance, Miao Tianwan seemed to hear a crisp sound.

That was the sound of his rational strings breaking.

Then, along with the anger, spreading like wildfire, burning in his heart was a certain doubt, a certain path he had never imagined.

A path that might allow him to gain the respect of the demons.

"...You," Miao Tianwan, who had lowered his head in deep thought, raised his head, his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was extremely difficult, "You actually... saw through my true identity."

After a brief silence, Miao Tianwan's admission was like a stone thrown into a lake, causing ripples.

Everyone present suddenly became noisy, and began to discuss in low voices with suspicion and excitement.

"That's great~ It's just as I expected~" Izuna raised her hands happily.

Only Miao Tianwan himself stood still, silent and his body trembling slightly.

"What did I just say?"

Realizing that he had admitted a fictitious identity driven by anger and desire, an extremely strong sense of shame surged in his heart. Countless questioning and curious eyes were cast at him, making Miao Tianwan want to escape on the spot.

...But now that things have come to this, what else can we do?

We have to make do with it for now.

His thoughts expanded rapidly. In the desperate situation, Miao Tianwan found the only hope at an astonishing speed that even surprised himself -

He could easily blame it on Izuna later, saying that he admitted to being a ninja just to deal with her. That way, he wouldn't have to worry about his social death.

Yes, just do it!

Miao Tianwan decided on a countermeasure and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he cleared his throat, and this time, the scene quickly quieted down.

Everyone was looking at Miao Tianwan with anticipation, which made him feel ashamed and embarrassed... but also, he felt genuine joy?

It seems... Ninja... isn't that bad after all?

Miao Tianwan looked around, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath of the air which had never been so fresh.

Then, he opened his determined eyes and said in a deep voice:

"In fact, I am a ninja!"

Chapter 71: The Electric Wave Girl of the Yin-Yang Department

"Without further delay! Let's go, teacher!"

After deciding to seek help from other clubs in the One Hundred Demons Night Parade, sending away Nekotenmaru who said he had something important to do, and spending some time making preliminary preparations, Shizuko said this to me.

I put away the Shiting Box that I used to find time to work remotely while waiting, stood up and asked Shizuko:

"Well, where are we going next?"

"When it comes to seeking help when you run into trouble during the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons... there are two places that immediately come to mind."

Shizuko held up two slender white fingers as she spoke: "One is the Yin-Yang Department, which can actually be said to be the student council of the One Hundred Demons Night Parade United Academy."

I nodded. I had heard of this club.