I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 427 Ririko: You shikigami, all you want is to sleep with your master! The Path from Aragami to True God

Uesugi Tetsuya paused for a moment.

Then he looked down at the unremarkable delivery box he was holding at his waist with his left hand.

The three large characters for "Invitation" on the top are extremely eye-catching.

He paused for a moment, then said, "Nanjo-nee, I already have this thing."

There was a moment of silence.

Nanjo Manami, on the other end, also fell silent.

"Huh? Wait."

Uesugi Tetsu held the package up to his eyes, squinting to make out the small print next to the invitation: "Recipient... [Tokugawa Ririko]?"
"So this was sent to Ririko."

As the words fell, a soft, moderate breathing sound came from the speaker.

"Since it's an invitation for Ririko, Uesugi-kun, you can just give it to her directly."

Nanjo Manami said, "It's normal for her to receive an invitation."

As if afraid that Uesugi Tetsuya would ask further questions, she added,
"After all, Ririko generously demonstrated her sword heart that reaches the other shore in the seed battle, which is one of the best even among the entire middle-aged and young generations."

Nanjo Manami: "However, if the recipient is Uesugi-kun, don't sign for your invitation. There's no need for that."

she says.

"—If I just take a nap tomorrow night, I can go to the same place as the person on the invitation."

The string of words left Uesugi Tetsuya slightly confused.

He stared at the package in his hand, not sensing anything strange—this was something that Ririko could accept, but he couldn't.

And what exactly is this so-called "invitation letter"?
But most importantly...

"Sleep?"

Uesugi Tetsu asked, somewhat puzzled, "You can sleep anywhere?"

Then, Nanjo Manami's next words made him shudder: "You can sleep anywhere, as long as it's in the real world."

A spell or ritual that envelops the entire mortal world...

What level of skill should the caster possess?

After a moment's thought, Uesugi Tetsuya asked a crucial question: "If one can participate simply by sleeping, can ordinary people also participate?"

Nanjo Manami answered directly.

"Ordinary people can participate as long as they are willing."

Upon hearing this answer, Uesugi Tetsu's wariness vanished instantly.

Since it will involve a large number of ordinary people, it is definitely not a topic that cannot be mentioned at all, like the "Eye of Yama".

The danger of knowing the truth is extremely small, almost zero.

Therefore, Uesugi Tetsu decided to get to the bottom of things, which was a rare occurrence: "So, Nanjo-nee, what exactly is going on? Tell me."

"Actually, the Special Affairs Department and the Yin-Yang Bureau will both release announcements tomorrow morning... Never mind, since you're so eager to know, it's fine to tell you in advance."

On the other end of the phone, Nanjo Manami hesitated for a moment before asking a question that Uesugi Tetsu hadn't considered, using the question to answer Uesugi Tetsu's doubts.
"Uesugi-kun, do you know how an Aragami becomes qualified to advance to the rank of True God?"

"do not know."

"Do you know what the most basic duty of a true god is, Uesugi-kun?"

"do not know either."

Uesugi Tetsuya immediately replied—of course he didn't know, and it was impossible for him to know.

He was only a minor deity, let alone a righteous god as distant as a star, he could hardly even see a few wild gods.

Moreover, the second wave has not yet arrived, and Uesugi Tetsu doesn't even know if there is a second definite true god in the world besides the Heavenly Fox whom he barely met once.

As for Mokujin... Mokujin isn't a being in the conventional sense, and he never even considered asking Lord Mokujin these questions.

Nanjo Manami smiled and said, "Alright, alright, then I'll give you a simple explanation, Uesugi-kun."

"—Whether it is a weak Ara-god who can only rival ghosts and gods, or a great Ara-god who can fight and defeat righteous gods, if one wants to obtain the qualification to become a [righteous god], one must choose one of the two."

"Two options? What two options?"

Uesugi Tetsu played the right-hand man at the right time, while also writing down every word Nanjo Manami said.

"What can you do for the world? What can you do for all living beings?"

Nanjo Aimi said calmly,
"The world can be the present world, the ordinary world, or even various unknown small worlds and secret realms, it doesn't matter."

"All living beings" is a general term; it can refer to all living beings, including humans, bull demons, spirits, ghosts, and even the people in a city or on a street—anything is fine...

The range of choices will be very large.

These words filled Uesugi Tetsuya with a million questions, and then he continued listening to Nanjo Manami.
"Generally speaking, finding the answer to this question and then moving towards that answer will qualify you to become a true god."

"—So becoming a true god is as simple as having hands?"

Uesugi Tetsuya was stunned, and then revealed his thoughts.

"Suppose my answer is 'find someone and turn them into a ghost or something weaker,' and then give that person a huge amount of cultivation resources, wouldn't they be able to become a true god with ease?"

Nanjo Manami gave a cold laugh twice.
“Uesugi-kun, I knew you would say that—but unfortunately, it will only make you weaker than before, much, much weaker.”

"In short, don't even think about finding loopholes." Nanjo Aimi's tone carried a hint of schadenfreude. "The loopholes you can think of have already been thought of and practiced by wise predecessors, who then fell to their deaths."

You wouldn't want to... fall to your death on top of a pile of corpses, would you?

That makes sense, indeed.

Uesugi Tetsu scratched his head, his sneaky intentions extinguished.

Nanjo Manami yawned lazily, then spoke slowly.
"Becoming a true god used to be so easy. You could command the elements of the world, manipulate celestial phenomena, control life and death, the rising and setting of the sun and moon, and become the sun and moon themselves..."

That was a barbaric era where anyone with hands could become a god.

What follows naturally becomes increasingly difficult...

For a single "world", what has been achieved before cannot be achieved a second time.

Let me give you a simple example—

Amaterasu became the sun, bringing light and heat to the world; since then, no one has been able to become the sun.

"understood."

Hearing such a secret, Uesugi Tetsuya was secretly pleased, but he quickly asked, "But Nanjo-nee, isn't this getting a bit off-topic?"

"—I'm not going off on a tangent, I'm just going to give you some basic common sense."

Common sense about the true gods—this common sense is so common sense.

Uesugi Tetsu found it hard to imagine how these words were put together.

Nanjo Manami got to the point.
"So what we enter through an invitation, or through a dream, is a questionnaire from an old god who is willing to give up everything to try to find the answer he has been searching for all his life..."

Or, to put it another way, it's like entering a black box experiment with unknown parameters.

Now, Uesugi Tetsuya understood.
"That old Wild God has no hope of breaking through, and wants to borrow everyone's power to see the [answer], and make a desperate attempt to gain the qualification to become a true god before the second wave arrives?"

But Nanjo Manami's answer surprised him: "No, the old god will die after tomorrow night."

she says,

"That is precisely why there is absolutely no chance of survival."

Uesugi Tetsuya was stunned: "Then what's the point?"

"—It lies in the [answer]."

Nanjo Manami calmly stated: "If we succeed, we may obtain an answer regarding the relationship between the world and all living beings."

If, perhaps...

What kind of gambler's jargon?

Uesugi Tetsuya paused for a while before asking again.

What are the chances of getting this answer?

"—It depends on you, on me, on all of us who participated in this experiment."

As she spoke, Nanjo Manami's tone became more relaxed again.
"Don't worry, Uesugi-kun. Just think of it as playing a brand new, realistic VR game. Even if you die in it, it won't affect your real life at all." "Besides..."

Nanjo Manami drew out her words; she knew what Uesugi Tetsu was truly interested in.

"If you perform well in this game, you'll also receive some rare [rewards]!"

She added in turn,

"This one is an ancient being who could have become a true god at any time two or three hundred years ago, but he is too obsessed with this answer to give up."

"So old?!"

Uesugi Tetsuya was shocked.

There are actually ancient humans in the world who can live for three or four hundred years or more.

“Of course.” Nanjo Manami’s tone rose first, then she sighed slightly. “This [Onmyō-suke] has been in the Onmyō-ryō for a full three hundred years.”

With the help of Yin and Yang, three hundred years have passed.

If he remembers correctly, the Yin-Yang Assistant should be the second-highest position in the Yin-Yang Bureau, after the Yin-Yang Head.

In terms of position alone, there is no one in the entire Special Affairs Bureau who can compare to Yin Yang Zhu.

The Five-Person Club won't work either.

Such a being, who could be called a strongman anywhere, had actually endured living for such a long time without making any progress...

All I want is an answer.

Answer.

Is it really that important?

Uesugi Tetsuya fell silent.

Then Nanjo Ai-mi on the other end of the phone laughed and said, "Uesugi-kun, if you come, I'll protect you."

"Then I thank Governor Nanjo and Nanjo Daiyō for their help."

After replying with a smile, Uesugi Tetsuya hung up the phone after confirming that there was nothing else to discuss.

After taking two minutes to compose himself, Uesugi Tetsuya returned to the rooftop with the delivery box containing the invitation.

It was placed beside Ririko, who was meditating with her eyes closed.

Then, amidst the background noise of Xiao Jia instructing Qian Sha on how to wield her sword, Uesugi Tetsu walked over to the side of the two-foot-tall man who was still sitting cross-legged in the same spot.

"Lord Che, there is no need to worry."

Er Chi's voice was calm as still water, but the content shattered that calm: "Don't think that Er Chi has any lewd thoughts."

Two feet said,
"The reason why ordinary people, monks, and common people consider dual cultivation to be a heretical practice is because of the wrong views that arise from lustful thoughts."

If one does not have this intention, then dual cultivation is merely an ordinary method that can increase one's power and eliminate occasional troubles.

Maintaining his childlike appearance, Erchi looked up at Uesugi Che, his eyes crystal clear.

She took Uesugi Tetsu's hand and gently placed it on her chest.

"Lord Che can see through the heartstrings and his inner world as clearly as a mirror, and search for any evil thoughts or distractions as he has in the past."

"Two feet thought he had nothing."

Er Chi's words left Uesugi Tetsu speechless.

Seriously, there's no way to refute that!
—This Buddhist master's debate is just too damn impressive! If I don't admit it now, wouldn't that make me have so-called "sexual misconduct"?!
How can this logic be reversed?!

Uesugi Tetsuya had countless thoughts arising and ceasing, but he, who was never good at verbal sparring, couldn't find any words to refute them.

Until another hand reached in and lifted Uesugi Tetsuya's hand.

"—So, all you want, shikigami, to sleep with your master openly and honestly, isn't it!"

Ririko, who had woken up at some unknown time, was covered in milky white steam, which actually made the summer air distorted with heat.

She looked Erchi up and down, and scoffed unhappily, "I used to think you had reformed and stopped thinking about things you shouldn't have, and I was even happy for you for a long time..."

"Now it's clear that he harbors treacherous ambitions!"

Er Chi was not angered by these words, Hong Wen.

She simply opened her clear, bright eyes and asked, "Is there anything that differs between Miss Ririko's and my thoughts?"

Ririko's face flushed slightly.

But the next moment, she stepped on the two feet in front of her, leaned down and squinted: "So what if it is?"

Ririko's eyes were as firm as a rock.
"—But before I attain the Great Way…at least until I walk side by side with Uesugi-kun, I will not stop, nor will I let such personal feelings trouble me."

Er Chi smiled slightly, his tone light and airy.

"Then how can our dual cultivation with Lord Che be considered 'stopping our pace' rather than 'speeding up our pace to explore the Great Dao'?"

Lili snorted coldly, unwilling to waste any more words on this glib-tongued fellow who spouted all sorts of wicked nonsense.

If it's just the two of them around, then a second battle has definitely begun.

The girl looked directly at Uesugi Tetsuya, took out the invitation letter made of black background and gold paint from the package, and asked, "Uesugi-kun, what is this?"

Uesugi Tetsu recounted the entire story at a measured pace.

"Then I want to participate."

Ririko agreed; she wouldn't let go of such an "opportunity" delivered right to her doorstep.

"Lord Che, we want to participate too."

Erchi continued, looking at Ririko, "Miss Ririko, would you mind letting me take a closer look at the invitation?"

Ririko clicked her tongue in displeasure and tossed the invitation away.
"Take it."

"Thank you very much, Miss Ririko."

Er Chi's smiling words fueled Li Li Zi's anger even more.

"Great! This two-foot length...it's really good..."

Ririko thought to herself, "Since that's the case, then I'll wait until I enter the so-called 'game' related to this invitation before I can properly deal with this nonsensical shikigami, Nisha!"

"I wonder if Ririko the Great Demon King can still be compared to me now..."

Er Chi chuckled softly to himself.

—Tomorrow night, this still proud and arrogant girl will realize the insurmountable gap between herself and ghosts and gods.

"Waaah, Little Jia is scared..."

Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was not far away, shrank back and shielded Chisa, who was still practicing her sword intently, in front of him.

Although Xiao Jia didn't understand what had happened or the core reason for the sudden change in atmosphere.

But she knew that both Ririko and Nichi were terrifying right now...

Xiao Jia is afraid, so Xiao Jia should just hide.

……

As a result, Ririko and Nichiichi's interactions afterward were unusually calm.

There wasn't even a single argument. Ririko even prepared a child's portion of food for Erchi as usual, which Erchi ate completely.

They are exemplary roommates!
This rather bizarre scene made Uesugi Tetsuya somewhat uneasy.

But compared to that, the "Yin-Yang Assistance Questionnaire," which is right at hand, is more important.

Uesugi Tetsu lay down on the large bed.

In the quiet, I instantly fell asleep.

……

[Attention, you who are capable of transforming into demons and spirits in this mortal realm!]

You have entered the special area ahead of schedule!

[Special area unlock missions are in progress...]

(End of this chapter)