The next day, Rowan resumed his search of Tokyo, continuing to look for the whereabouts of the rogue exorcist and fallen angels — the entire time complaining under his breath.
"The hell do they expect from me? Neither Rias nor Sona gave me names or even descriptions. They just said 'rogue exorcist and fallen angels' like I should immediately be able to identify them," he muttered in annoyance. "To be fair, I will know them when I see them… but for that to work, I need to actually see them."
As he walked around the city, Rowan sensed two presences trailing behind him. He smiled knowingly. When an approaching crowd closed in, he smoothly slipped into it and circled behind the two presences.
Unsurprisingly, it was Chisato and Takina.
"So, girls... why are you following me?" Rowan said in a relaxed tone, causing both girls to spin around and raise their pistols — startled but ready.
Once they saw it was him, they relaxed. Chisato lowered her weapon with a bright, excited grin.
"Please teach me how to do that!" she exclaimed.
Rowan smiled, amused, while Takina facepalmed beside her.
"Maybe later," Rowan replied.
"You mean it?!" Chisato asked, her eyes sparkling.
"Sure, why not?" he said casually. "But first, why are you following me?"
Takina lowered her hand from her face and explained calmly, "We saw you walking around town and thought it would be a good chance to gather more information on you."
Rowan raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. You sure you should just be telling me that?"
Chisato shrugged. "You already caught us. What's the point of lying about it?"
"Fair enough," Rowan said with a smirk. "Well, since you're already here, how about I treat you both to lunch?"
"Really? Yes!" Chisato beamed.
Takina sighed at her partner's enthusiasm, then turned to Rowan and politely nodded. "Thank you for treating us."
> [System Notification]
Chisato Affection: +3
Takina Affection: +5
Current Affection
Takina: 10 | Relationship: Hesitant Acquaintance
Chisato: 10 | Relationship: Potential Mooch Target
Rowan sighed inwardly. "Okay... that's progress, I guess."
The three wandered the city, looking for a decent place to eat. As they walked, Rowan suddenly spotted someone familiar — a petite, beautiful girl with long blonde hair and red eyes, wearing a quiet, bored expression.
It was Koizumi from Ramen Daisuki.
Rowan subtly led the girls to follow her, staying a few paces behind. Chisato leaned in, whispering with curiosity.
"Why are we following this girl? Is she one of the people you're looking for?"
"Nope," Rowan replied. "I've seen that girl before — and every time I do, it's at some of the best ramen joints I've ever eaten at. She's got a real talent for sniffing out out-of-the-way places most people don't even know about. And the food's never bad."
Sure enough, Koizumi led them to a ramen shop.
The moment they stepped in, the rich aroma of simmered broth and spices filled the air. It was intoxicating.
They sat at the bar, Rowan turned to the girls. "Order whatever you want. It's on me."
He ordered spicy miso ramen with pork and boiled eggs as toppings.
As soon as the bowls arrived, the savory scent hit them like a wave. Without hesitation, all three dug in. In mere minutes, their bowls were completely empty.
"Damn, that was good," Rowan said, leaning back with satisfaction.
The girls nodded in agreement.
"If I ever see that girl again, I'm definitely gonna ask for a list of ramen places," Chisato said cheerfully, her eyes shining with ramen-fueled happiness.
Rowan paid the bill, and the trio stepped back out into the street.
As they walked, Chisato glanced over with a sly smile. "So, how about you teach me that trick now?"
Rowan smirked. "Don't they teach you Lycoris how to do stuff like that?"
Both girls stopped in their tracks. The atmosphere shifted.
Takina's expression sharpened. "How did you know we were Lycoris?"
Rowan turned to them calmly. "Do you really think I'd walk into your place of business without knowing who you are and what you do? I handed over a quarter of a million yen and asked you to look for people tied to a potential cult."
Chisato blinked. "Yes, but… how'd you know we were Lycoris specifically?"
"Your uniforms," Rowan replied. "They're what girls working for the DA wear."
"Ohhh... that makes sense," Chisato said with a nod.
Rowan changed the subject. "Speaking of the job — how's that going?"
Chisato pouted slightly. "Not too well, I'm afraid. Boss called his contacts, tried to dig up anything, but no one's heard about any weird religious groups in town. Even Kurumi couldn't find anything."
Rowan recalled vaguely that Kurumi was the hacker girl who worked out of LycoReco.
Chisato tilted her head. "From what you said, it's clear these aren't good people you're after… but why's your organization specifically targeting them?"
Rowan paused to think. "For now, just think of them as a rival organization. We've got beef that goes a long way back."
Chisato and Takina both nodded.
"Ah, like us and LilyBell," Chisato said.
"Yeah," Rowan replied. "Just way worse. At least your two groups are civil on the surface. But when our people and theirs cross paths... it's on sight. No exceptions."
"Yikes," Chisato muttered with a slight grimace.
Takina asked, "Then how do they stay hidden with that kind of hostility?"
Rowan grinned, quoting his mentor's favorite phrase. "Very carefully... and with great precision."
Chisato frowned. "The hell's that mean?"
"Who knows," Rowan said with a grin as he walked ahead. "But it's fun to say."
"Anyway," Rowan said, circling back to his earlier point, "don't they teach you Lycoris how to blend in or disappear in a crowd?"
Chisato tilted her head slightly. "Blend in? Yes. Avoid being seen? Also yes. But…" she gave a sheepish smile, "we're assassins and covert operatives, not ninjas. We can't do stuff like that."
Rowan raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure assassins should be able to do that at a bare minimum. But alright, fine. I'll teach you."
Chisato's eyes sparkled immediately. "Yes! I knew you would!"
Takina remained quiet, but her attention sharpened, clearly taking it seriously.
"First thing you need to know," Rowan said, slipping into teaching mode, "is don't look like you're trying to hide. You want to be completely forgettable—just another face in the crowd. Be seen, but not remembered."
Chisato blinked. "So like… average? Ordinary?"
"Exactly," Rowan nodded. "Second, match the rhythm, pace, and energy of the people around you. If you want to tail someone or get close, move when others move. If you're trying to get behind a target unnoticed, slip in with a group moving in the opposite direction. That disorients them."
He raised a finger. "And finally—do it in a tenth of a second or less."
Chisato blinked again. "That's the average time it takes someone to blink, right?"
Rowan smirked. "Exactly. If you're not fast enough to slip behind someone in a blink, you're already too slow. Got all that?"
Both girls nodded.
"Alright," Rowan said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's put it into practice."
A Little While Later…
They were in a bustling shopping district. Rowan stood across the street from the crowd, arms crossed.
"Alright," he said. "See that guy with the yellow backpack walking toward us?"
Chisato squinted. "The one chewing gum and looking at his phone?"
"Yeah. I want both of you to get behind him unnoticed and trail him for five seconds. Blend in. Use the flow of the crowd."
"Sounds easy enough," Chisato said cheerfully.
Takina simply nodded and moved first.
She picked up a smooth walking rhythm, dipped into a crowd of office workers, and veered slightly left before slipping between two pedestrians moving in the opposite direction as the man with the backpack. In a blink, she was behind him, completely unremarkable.
Rowan smiled faintly.
"Nice," he murmured.
Chisato grinned and cracked her knuckles. "Okay, my turn."
Her approach was flashier. She used a burst of energy to weave between a group of teens taking selfies, then slowed down immediately, matching the gait of an older couple. With a bounce in her step, she danced behind the target just as he turned his head to check his surroundings—only to glance right past her.
Rowan was impressed. "Well, damn. You two learn fast."
Chisato gave a playful salute. "That was fun, thank you!"
Takina stepped back beside her and adjusted her jacket. "Still too much motion on your pivot," she noted quietly.
Chisato pouted. "You're such a critic."
Rowan chuckled. "You girls are good but keep practicing. Your goal should be to have a completely unnoticeable presence."
Chisato lit up. "oh that would make work so much easier!"
Takina, meanwhile, nodded slightly. "It was a good exercise. Thank you."
Then Rowan saw a system notification
[System Notification]
Chisato Affection +5
Takina Affection +5
Rowan just smiled, pleased with the progress. Then he said, "All right. Let me walk you ladies back to the café. Wouldn't feel right letting you go on your own."
Chisato smiled brightly and replied, "Oh? What a gentleman! I thank you for the escort, kind sir~."
Takina glanced at him and said flatly, "You realize we're perfectly capable of protecting ourselves, right?"
"I know," Rowan said with a grin. "But I need to talk to your boss anyway, so let's go."
As they walked, Rowan became keenly aware of someone watching them—more specifically, Chisato. His eyes scanned the crowd until he found them. His gaze settled on someone familiar… Majima the primary antagonist of Lycoris Recoil.
Rowan narrowed his eyes slightly and thought to himself, Oh, so he's already got his little vendetta going. Chisato and Takina should be able to handle him... but I'll still keep an eye out, just in case.
He continued walking with the girls back to LycoReco. As they entered the café, Chisato cheerfully waved. "We're back, Boss!"
"Welcome back," Mika replied from behind the counter. Then, upon seeing Rowan, he added, "Oh... it's you. Here for an update on your job? Sorry to say, I haven't got much."
"It's cool. I can wait," Rowan said, leaning casually on the counter.
Mika gave him a scrutinizing look. "You know, I dug around looking for info on you. Other than the fact that you're a student at Kuoh Academy, I got nothing. No other traces of you exist. I even asked some old contacts—hell, even Kurumi couldn't find anything out. And that's frustrating the hell out of her."
Rowan chuckled. "That doesn't surprise me. The people I work for keep a pretty tight lid on things."
Of course he couldn't find anything, Rowan thought to himself. If you could dig up real evidence of the supernatural on the internet, the Catholic Church would already be beating down your door to silence you. Then again, we're in Japan, so it'd probably be one of the Five Families instead. Damn, I hate politics.
"Well, I'll be coming back around later," Rowan said aloud, pushing off the counter. "I'll see all of you then."
He turned and walked out the door. But before he could get very far, Chisato jogged after him and called out, "Hey! Thanks for today! It was a lot of fun—even if it did start with Takina and i spying on you."
Rowan smiled and said, "It was my pleasure. I had fun too. After all, it's not every day I get to escort two beautiful ladies around."
Chisato blushed and smiled brightly. "Aww, thanks~."
Then Rowan got a system notification:
---
Chisato Affection: +5
Current Affection: 20
Current Relationship: Friend she mooches off of
---
Rowan facepalmed. Well… at least it says "friend."
Before he could continue the thought, another system notification popped up:
---
Takina Affection: +6
Current Affection: 21
Current Relationship: Suspicious Friend
---
Rowan blinked, confused. How the hell did that happen? he thought, turning to look back at the café—only to spot Takina watching him and Chisato through the window, a faint blush on her face.
Oh. She was eavesdropping... he realized. Well, at least she no longer considers me a potential enemy.
He sighed and turned to go again. But just before he left, he spun back around and handed Chisato a sleek business card.
It had his name and phone number on the front, and on the back was a summoning sigil etched in fine silver ink.
"If you're ever in trouble or need anything," Rowan said, "I'm there."
Chisato turned the card over and giggled. "Wow! You're really going all-in on the devil thing, huh?"
"Thanks," she added with a genuine smile. "I'll hold onto it. Promise."
You won't have to call, Rowan thought. I'll know if you're in trouble—thanks to the magic I put on the card.
"See you later," he said aloud, flashing her a casual wave before continuing on his way.
Chisato stood there waving back until he was out of sight.
Then, once he was far enough away… Rowan vanished,Teleporting home.