"Huh? How'd you know?"
The orange-haired girl stared at Morpheus in disbelief. Lately, she had been feeling off—her body heavy, her energy drained. Even after eating, she'd get hungry again quickly.
She was indeed exhausted.
That's why she'd come to the convenience store so late, hoping to grab some snacks to sate her grumbling stomach.
Nanami Aoyama, noticing the girl didn't deny Morpheus's claim, was taken aback.
He'd actually guessed right?
How did he do that?
Morpheus grinned. "I've got a special massage technique that'll leave you refreshed, sweep away your fatigue, and make you feel like yourself again. Wanna give it a try?"
"Really?" The orange-haired girl eyed him skeptically. "You're not just trying to take advantage of me, are you?"
She was well aware of the impact her figure had.
After all, she often caught guys staring at her with lecherous gazes, like they wanted to devour her.
Morpheus chuckled. "You're overthinking it. You really think I'd try something shady in a convenience store with cameras everywhere?"
The girl blinked, realizing she'd forgotten about the cameras. "Oh, right…"
"Alright then, if you really know how to give a massage." After a moment's hesitation, she agreed.
Morpheus had Nanami fetch a chair, and the orange-haired girl sat down. He placed his hands on her shoulders and began the massage.
Truth be told, Morpheus didn't know the first thing about massages. But he could use his light power to ease her discomfort.
As his hands, brimming with radiant energy, touched her shoulders, the evil spirits clinging to her exploded with a series of pops, vanishing into thin air.
The girl, who'd felt weighed down, suddenly sensed a change.
How to describe it? It was like a heavy burden had been lifted, as if she'd shed oppressive shackles. Her entire being relaxed from the core.
The hands massaging her shoulders sent a warm current flowing into her body, coursing through her limbs, leaving her indescribably light and free.
It was as if every cell in her body was singing with joy.
Exhilarating—absolutely exhilarating.
She couldn't get enough of it.
After five minutes, Morpheus stopped and asked with a grin, "So, how's it feel?"
"Amazing!" The girl felt a pang of loss when he stopped. At his question, she didn't hesitate to give him a thumbs-up. "I've never had a massage this good. Totally worth it!"
Morpheus smiled. "That'll be 500 yen. Fair price, right?"
Nanami could hardly believe her ears. Five hundred yen for five minutes?
That was 100 yen a minute—way too expensive!
The orange-haired girl considered it for a moment. "It's a bit pricey, but I think it's worth it."
With that, she pulled 500 yen from her wallet and handed it to Morpheus.
"Oh, by the way, I'm Hana Yurikawa. What's your name? And where can I find you if I want another massage?"
"You can find me at school. I'm Morpheus," He said, noticing her school uniform. "You're at Ousai Private Academy too, right? So am I."
"Eh?!" Hana Yurikawa gasped, stunned that this guy was from her school.
What a coincidence!
Meanwhile, Morpheus felt her name was familiar.
After racking his brain, it clicked.
Hana Yurikawa—wasn't she the best friend of Miko Yotsuya, the unlucky girl with top-tier spiritual sight from Mieruko-chan?
He wondered if this world's Miko was as unfortunate as her manga counterpart.
This world had onmyoji, after all.
With her top-tier spiritual sight, Miko could easily learn onmyojutsu, unlike in the original story where she could only see spirits but had no means to exorcise them, leaving her trembling in their presence.
In this world, Miko should be doing pretty well.
After all, even the most skilled onmyoji rarely possessed spiritual sight as strong as hers.
Miko was a natural prodigy for onmyojutsu.
"Hana Yurikawa, I remember you now. You've got a friend named Miko Yotsuya, right? What does she do?"
"Eh? You know Miko?" Hana was surprised to hear Morpheus mention her best friend. Then, a thought struck her, and she teased, "Hey, mister, you're not crushing on Miko, are you?"
"No way," Morpheus denied firmly, shaking his head. Why did high school girls always jump to romance?
Were their hormones that overactive?
"I'm just curious about what Miko does."
Hana replied, "She's a student, of course. Like me, she's at Ousai Private Academy."
"So, just a student?"
"What, you think Miko's got some secret identity?" Hana asked, curious.
"Does she ever act strange? Like suddenly tensing up or trembling for no reason?"
Hana thought it over, then shook her head. "Nope. You're so curious about Miko, and you still say you're not crushing on her?"
Morpheus rolled his eyes, too exasperated to deal with this hormone-driven high schooler.
But from her response, it seemed this world's Miko hadn't awakened her spiritual sight yet.
That wasn't impossible.
In the original story, Miko awakened her sight one random day in high school.
It wasn't strange that it hadn't happened yet.
After brushing off Hana's further questions, Morpheus grabbed Nanami and left the convenience store.
"So, what do you think? Wanna team up with me? This gig's way more lucrative than working at the store."
"How'd you do that?" Nanami asked, intrigued. If Hana hadn't been a stranger to Morpheus, she might've thought the girl was a plant.
Five minutes of massage for 500 yen? That was insanely fast money.
Morpheus wiggled his hands in front of her. "Wanna try it out?"
Before Nanami could protest, he placed his hands on her shoulders and began massaging.
Strands of light power flowed from his hands into her body.
Nanami felt a rush of bliss, as if soaking in a hot spring, every pore in her body singing with comfort.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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