Ignoring the complex look that appeared on Masamichi’s face, Shino drank the water his servant hadn’t touched in one gulp.
“However, I’ll do whatever task is at hand if I feel that it would be to my advantage. I’ve done that in the past and accepted a number of jobs as an outsourcer for Hayakawa. He’s an honest and diligent agent. Of course, he’s also very capable. I don’t have a full picture of the organization he belongs to, but it seems to have accumulated a huge amount of historical data. If I can use that, it would help with my work at this shop. I’d been considering agreeing to a full-fledged collaboration anyway. You’re nothing more than a catalyst.”
“But—”
“It’s true that I’ll have to promptly take care of whatever Hayakawa requests me to do and make his organization indebted to me. That way, we may be able to have them arrange for another…human practitioner, and that may lead us to find a way to undo the spell. But that’s all there is to it. They’ll get their work done efficiently, I’ll be paid, and you’ll return to your own body. It’s a deal that will benefit everyone. It’s ideal.”
“Well…yeah, but it will be a burden on you… Ngh!”
Masamichi widened his eyes as his upper and lower lips were suddenly squeezed together.
Naturally, Shino was the one doing the squeezing.
“Don’t underestimate me, Masamichi,” he warned in a stern tone, his sharp eyes glaring at Masamichi. “I’m not a specter who will back off when someone toys with my servant. I will definitely restore you to your original state. I considered taking the wait-and-see approach and watching Kagiroi quietly if he backed off after the incident in Kyoto, but now that he’s made a move like this, I’m not going to sit back and do nothing.”
Masamichi’s dark, round eyes flickered with anxiety as he stared at Shino from up close.
“Do you mean…you’re going to fight Kagiroi? Are you going to avenge Tokifuyu?”
“I’m not obliged to do that.”
“But, Shino—”
Masamichi was about to say “—you love Tokifuyu,” but he swallowed the words.
If he’d said it, Shino would have probably gotten angry and insisted it wasn’t true.
Masamichi was beginning to feel that every time Shino argued that he had no feelings for Tokifuyu, he seemed to be hurting himself with a sharp blade.
“But what?” Shino asked sharply, and Masamichi shook his head.
“Nothing. So what are you going to do?”
Shino’s thin lips curved into a frown at the direct question, and he was silent for several seconds, then said briefly, “Skirmishes are bound to continue until he regains his strength. I’ll investigate in the meantime. I’ll also use the data I obtain through Hayakawa on Kagiroi; the Izumo father and son, Gensou and Gentetsu…and my master, Tokifuyu Tatsumi.”
“…All right.”
“I’ll review the things I thought didn’t matter. The sparks have already fallen, and everything matters now. Other than that, I’ll do what I can, what I think I ought to do, and what I feel I should do. That’s all.”
“…Okay!”
Masamichi nodded with enthusiasm. Although his feelings were endlessly mixed, he sensed that Shino was starting to confront the events from his past, which he’d had been dragging along for over a thousand years.
“I’ll work hard to help you once I return to my adult form,” he said with gusto.
But Shino raised an eyebrow and asked with a straight face, “Help me with what?”
“What…? Um…”
“Well, once you return to your adult form, you can do your best to supply me with your chi. That’s the best thing that you can do for me.”
“I know, but isn’t there something else I can do?”
“I don’t know. Find your tasks on your own. But for now, don’t you dare do anything. Don’t get into any more trouble. I’ll be leaving the house a lot, but you aren’t to take a single step out. Is that clear?”
“That’s voluntary confinement. At least let me go grocery shopping for our daily means…,” Masamichi was about to say but closed his mouth again.
Because Shino looked so serious.
Shino knew better than anyone else the threat that Kagiroi and his magical powers posed. If he was being this cautious, then as his servant, Masamichi had no choice but to obey.
What’s more, he was in a child’s body.
Maybe he finally had decent clothes and looked presentable enough that no one seeing him would be suspicious. Still, even if he went shopping alone, he could barely carry the things he bought, and people would wonder about his relationship with Shino.
If someone started talking about stuff like child abuse, things wouldn’t just be complicated; they’d go to a new level.
“Okay, I understand. I’ll stay home and do whatever chores I can manage.”
“You don’t have to overdo it. Dust doesn’t kill… Not that I would die, but I suppose it can hurt human health. Do whatever you want, but you should also study. Now, get changed, and we’ll have lunch.”
With that, Shino grabbed the jacket that Masamichi neatly had laid out and went to his room behind the living room.
Left alone in the tea room, Masamichi touched the brooch that Hayakawa had attached to his chest area.
Masamichi wasn’t a medium, so it was hard for him to feel the power that had been put into it.
Still, the cat’s cute face seemed to be telling him to cheer up.
“There are people who are doing things to help me. I…I have to hustle at whatever I can, too,” he mumbled with determination as he gently laid a finger against the cat’s nose…