Chapter 69: The Solution to the Shuraba (Love Battlefield), Futaba Rio's Code Name
Shuraba.
This short word of only three syllables contains endless risks.
From ancient times to the present, how many heroes have fallen at this hurdle?
In lighter cases, a winner emerges after the "waifu wars" (stock trading), and then one watches the "losing dogs" force a smile while their eyes are filled with sorrow, causing the stomach to cramp with pain.
In severe cases...
Head separated from the body, performing a "split-head action" directly on the rooftop. (Note: School Days reference).
So, why does the male protagonist always fall into the awkward situation of a Shuraba regardless of his personality?
Is it because he is gentle to every girl, comparable to a central air conditioner?
No.
As Yoru, who watched many romance anime in his previous life, suffered repeated stomach cramps, and was a senior "White Album Scholar," he had his own unique insights.
There is only one point.
Not decisive enough.
What is decisiveness?
Before feelings sprout, directly choose the favorite girl to confess to, cut off all possible entanglements, and turn the show straight into a lovey-dovey anime. This is decisiveness.
Then the question arises.
From the beginning, firmly choosing everyone and not letting go of a single one—isn't that also a form of decisiveness?
In White Album 2, both Touma Kazusa and Ogiso Setsuna said they hoped the three of them could be together forever.
Coincidentally.
Yui Yuigahama, sitting in front of Yoru, was also a girl who found it difficult to choose between friendship and love.
The answer lies within the riddle itself.
The three of us being together forever isn't a fantasy future.
But the best solution to escape the cycle of Shuraba stomach pain!
At this moment, Yoru was enlightened.
The ending where no one gets hurt is achieved just like this.
As for building a harem in a slice-of-life world?
Heh.
Look at how haunted this world is.
Even things like Rokurokubi, Hannya Ghost, Tamamo-no-Mae, and Soichiro Yagami have appeared.
Soichiro Yagami: What virtues and abilities do I have to be listed alongside the previous ones?
Yoru: You are nothing, but your son is a bit fierce. I declare you the Li Jing of Kyoto. (Note: Li Jing is the father of Nezha in Chinese mythology, referencing Light Yagami).
To avoid the ending of being beheaded by a kitchen knife and acting separately.
And to create a world where no one gets hurt.
Even more for the unity among the members of the Super-Quant Club to protect the crumbling Kyoto under the covetous eyes of evil spirits.
Yoru made his resolve.
This harem must be built.
"Why do I feel like you..."
Rio took a sip of water, looked at the subtle changes on Yoru's face, and frowned.
"Seem to be thinking about something weird?"
At this moment, the Super-Quant Club members were sitting inside a high-end Western restaurant.
Normally, girls from ordinary families like Yui and Miko couldn't afford such a place.
And Rio, who could afford it, had no one to come here with, as she had no friends before joining the Super-Quant Club.
However, this time, Yoru said he wanted to find a quiet place with few people to hold an internal meeting of the Super-Quant Club. The theme was to discuss the intelligence collected during this period and the plans for the future.
So...
This meal would be deducted from the club activity funds.
"Let's not talk about this first."
Rio didn't delve deeper into this topic.
After all, it was Yoru.
Being a little abnormal was quite normal.
"I want to ask a question."
Rio looked at Miko and asked softly.
"Miko, what did it feel like when you awakened the ability of Soul Manifestation? Or rather, what kind of thoughts did you have to awaken the ability?"
Not only Rio, but Yui was also very concerned about this issue.
According to Rio's initial analysis, the prerequisite for awakening Soul Manifestation was to "Cognize" the existence of evil spirits and then view them as "Enemies," generating the thought of resistance.
This theory allowed Miko to successfully awaken her ability.
But when Rio entered the Otherworld herself, she realized it was just a coincidence.
She didn't know what Yui thought, but what was certain was that she herself had already met both conditions at that time.
The result was that she didn't awaken the ability of Soul Manifestation.
Rio wanted to find out the reason.
"Eh?"
Hearing the question, Miko looked a bit blank.
"Asking me to describe it suddenly... I don't know how to describe it either. At that time, I just felt that I must protect Yui and must do my best to eliminate the evil spirit. Then it felt like a layer of glass in front of my eyes shattered, my vision became much clearer, and Hyakume's voice sounded in my head. That's all."
"Miko~"
Hearing Miko say she awakened the ability of Soul Manifestation because she wanted to protect her, Yui looked moved and gave her a big hug.
"Good girl, good girl."
"Is that so..."
Rio frowned, a thoughtful look appearing in her eyes.
Why exactly is that?
Miko's awakening process completely matches the theory I analyzed, right?
Could it be individual differences?
While this thought emerged, Rio's heart sank.
Doesn't this mean I can never awaken the ability of Soul Manifestation?
Deep down, Rio had a subtle thought.
If I can't become a true spirit medium and remain just an ordinary person...
Will I really always be needed by the Super-Quant Club?
Will there be a day when I can't help and get kicked out?
Rio knew Yoru wouldn't do such a thing given his personality.
But a sense of security was something rationality couldn't control.
"Have you considered..."
Just as Rio's thoughts hit a dead end, Yoru's seemingly unintentional words woke her up directly.
"Mustering the courage to resist evil spirits was indeed one of the conditions for Miko to awaken her ability, but it doesn't apply to everyone as you imagined. Perhaps you should ask, what did this thought mean to Miko?"
Hearing this question, Miko murmured to herself.
"What did it mean? This question is so profound."
She thought while answering.
"Actually, from the first day I awakened the Sight, perhaps deep down I always had the thought of wanting to resist evil spirits. I just couldn't do it due to the fear and unease in my heart."
"Understand now?"
Yoru looked at Rio and shrugged.
"To sum it up in one sentence."
"What sentence?"
"Exile to the Otherworld, face the True Self."
"True... Self?"
Rio looked blank, seemingly understanding but not quite. This was the first time in her life she encountered something so difficult to comprehend.
Yoru wasn't surprised by this.
Rio was an out-and-out genius but had a fatal flaw.
Once things involved idealistic aspects—that is, human nature and emotions—she would become bewildered and helpless.
After all, the human heart couldn't be explained by theory.
Even Rio herself probably didn't understand the "Real Futaba Rio" at all.
"What have you guys been talking about since just now?"
Yui rested her chin on her hands, looking naturally dazed.
"What True Self? I am just me, an ordinary high school girl. It shouldn't be that complicated, right?"
Yoru secretly complained in his heart: You are selling yourself short.
The complexity of Yui Yuigahama's personality is no less than Futaba Rio's.
In comparison, Yotsuya Miko was the simplest and easiest to understand.
She just didn't want to live in fear of evil spirits and was willing to act to protect those close to her from harm.
This was the real Yotsuya Miko.
Yoru understood Yui and Rio's personalities quite well.
But the key was whether they could face their true selves.
Even if he reminded them, if they were unwilling to face it, it would be useless and might even cause a backlash.
Saying a little was enough.
"By the way."
Seeing the atmosphere gradually becoming a bit heavy, Miko quickly changed the subject and asked Yoru.
"Why didn't you use the Ghost Hand ability when facing Tamamo-no-Mae and her evil spirits in the Otherworld today?"
Rio froze, examining Yoru and thinking to herself.
Ghost Hand?
What is that?
Is it Yoru's Soul Manifestation?
Rio suddenly felt curious.
What would Yoru's Soul Manifestation look like?
If I could really see it, would it count as observing his inner heart?
After this thought emerged, Rio realized abruptly and quickly shook her head slightly to clear her mind.
Wanting to observe a boy's inner heart—this idea is too weird, almost like a pervert.
No, no, Futaba Rio, you can't continue like this.
"No special reason, just didn't need to."
Hearing Yoru's words, Miko was slightly puzzled.
"Then why did you use it last time in the unfinished building?"
"Where do all these 'whys' come from?"
Yoru rolled his eyes and said nonchalantly.
"Last time was a life-and-death battle, and there were ordinary people present. I had to eliminate all evil spirits as quickly as possible. This time, I saw from the beginning that Tamamo-no-Mae was testing me."
"Of course, if the evil spirits and ghosts under her tried to attack Dumpling and Futaba, I would have gotten serious."
Hearing this, Miko pursed her lips into a smile and teased.
"You say you don't want to help others, but you still care about others' safety very much."
"Don't talk nonsense. Any veteran gamer wants a 'Perfect Clear'."
"Hehe, just an excuse."
"Wait a minute!"
Whether to change the subject or because he really remembered something important, Yoru's face suddenly changed.
Yui and the others rarely saw him looking so solemn, and their hearts sank, thinking did something big happen?
"I suddenly remembered..."
Yoru looked at Rio and spoke seriously.
"Futaba has officially joined the Super-Quant Club and become a member of the squad, but..."
"She hasn't got a code name yet!"
Yui, Rio, Miko: ...
So after all that, it's just this?
Looking at Yoru's posture, they thought the world was about to be destroyed.
"Code name..."
Rio looked noncommittally.
"Just pick whatever. I don't really care about such things."
"How about NAVI?" (Note: Persona 5 reference - Futaba Sakura's codename).
"NAVI? Navigation?"
Rio looked puzzled: "Why choose such a code name?"
Yoru smiled: "Because your surname is Futaba (Double Leaf)."
"What kind of weird reason is that? What are your code names?"
Yui took the initiative to introduce.
"My code name is Dumpling (Dango), Miko's is Psycho (Ling Neng), as for Yoru..."
Yoru spoke loudly and clearly.
"Butter Shooter, and Number One Exorcist of Kyoto!"
"No, no, that code name was rejected long ago, right? Besides, even if you put two code names together, shouldn't 'Exorcist' come first?"
"Doesn't Butter Shooter have more prestige than Number One Exorcist of Kyoto?"
"Sigh, really can't help you."
Yui massaged her forehead and sighed helplessly.
"He calls himself Butter Shooter and Number One Exorcist of Kyoto, but we all call him Captain."
Yui and Miko looked at Rio sitting opposite them together, making her feel a bit overwhelmed by their gazes.
"What code name should we give you? Glasses?"
Before Rio could speak, Miko shook her head and rejected it.
"No, that doesn't sound good."
"Lab Coat?"
"Sounds like a perverted scientist. Rejected."
"Gray Curls?"
"....Good name, but don't name anymore."
Miko thought as expected of Yui, who could name her dog Sabre.
These code names are more outrageous one after another.
"Quantum, the Quantum from Quantum Mechanics. How about it?"
Hearing the code name Yoru proposed, Rio murmured.
"Quantum from Quantum Mechanics... Not bad. I can accept it."
"Then it's decided. Your code name is Quantum from now on. Let's eat, let's eat."
Yoru thought it's just picking a code name; why make it so complicated?
Just mention one casually, and it's a code name.
Surely we won't need to recruit a member specifically for naming code names in the future, right?
Actually, there really is a suitable candidate, and she even comes with her own code name. (Note: Naming sense usually refers to weird/chunibyo characters like Megumin/Rikka etc. or perhaps referencing someone specific from Oregairu like Zaimokuza).
However, that's something to consider later.
"Are you ready to order?"
Waiters in such high-end Western restaurants were very professional. Although urging to order, the tone wasn't uncomfortable at all, very gentle.
"Um..."
Yui and Miko hesitated and spoke in unison.
"Just pasta is fine."
"Two pastas... What would you like to drink?"
"Water is fine."
Before the waiter could nod, Yoru pouted and interrupted.
"What the hell is pasta, and what the hell is drinking water? Can we have some class? Consumption, understand? Consumption!"
After saying this, without waiting for the girls to respond, he said to the waiter.
"King Crab, you have it right?"
"Yes."
"One whole. Australian Lobster, have it?"
"Yes, we do."
"One whole too?"
"Two whole ones."
"Okay sir, and drinks?"
"Non-alcoholic. And four desserts, plus some other things, you decide."
"No problem."
The waiter was shocked too.
She had seen many guests order these dishes in this Western restaurant.
But this was the first time she saw a high school student spending money like water without caring at all.
As for dining and dashing?
The waiter looked at Yoru, then at Yui and the others.
A handsome guy who brought three girls to eat—how could he dine and dash?
Good looks are justice.
...
After the waiter left, Rio stared at Yoru's profile and sighed slightly.
"What you just ordered costs tens of thousands. It might not be enough to pay the bill. How about I pay later, treating everyone for my joining the club?"
"No need."
Yoru waved his hand and smiled.
"Tomorrow is Saturday. Time to go to the Old Geezer to collect money. There's a big sum this time."
Yui asked curiously.
"Big? How big? More than last time?"
"Hehe, your vision is too small."
Yoru smiled and whispered an astonishing number that made all three girls' faces change.
"Fifty million (500,000 yen)."
"Fifty million!?"
Even Rio, who came from a wealthy family, was shocked by this number.
Miko froze for a moment, frowning in confusion.
"We didn't seem to do many exorcism commissions this week, right? The rewards shouldn't be high. Why is it more than last time?"
Yoru waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Fifty million is actually just the reward for the exorcism commission of that unfinished building. I was too lazy to count the other miscellaneous small amounts of twenty or thirty thousand."
"This..."
Miko found it hard to understand.
The danger level of that unfinished building was indeed the highest she had seen since becoming an exorcist, far beyond her limit to handle.
If not for Yoru, that building would have merged with the Otherworld by now, becoming a ghost domain in Kyoto that no one could set foot in.
The problem was:
There wasn't much correlation between the danger level of evil spirits and the reward amount for exorcism commissions.
For example.
If Hachishaku tried to attack the grandson of a chairman of a large corporation versus the child of a commoner family, which side would offer a higher reward?
This didn't even need thinking.
The specific reward for an exorcism commission mainly depended on the client's financial conditions, the severity of the incident, and whether they believed in exorcism.
It had little to do with whether the evil spirit in the event was powerful or not.
Anyway, the figure of 500,000 was simply too astonishing.
After all, ordinary people didn't know about the existence of evil spirits at all. Even if they treated a dead horse as a live one (desperate attempt), they generally wouldn't pay such a high price to issue an exorcism commission.
"Actually, it was only 100,000 at first."
Yoru took a sip of water and said faintly.
"But after we solved it, the Old Geezer sent a message saying the client actively added 400,000 to the reward."