Why can't humans do it too?

Click.

Tetu placed his chess piece on the black and white chessboard, raised his head, propped one hand on his cheek, and tapped the edge of the board lightly with the other, grinning mischievously: "It's your turn to move, huh?"

The wicked god-like creature chuckled as it looked at the forest elf-like creature opposite it.

"Where can a flying insect stuck in a spider web go?... Checkmate." Without a trace of panic, Xin Ke didn't even turn her head to one side. She simply placed her piece in its proper position after careful consideration. Then, her brows finally relaxed slightly, and she declared checkmate to Tetu.

"Sigh~, a spider web~, what a terrible kind of love~," the androgynous boy uttered an ambiguous sigh, then chuckled, "But to say I'm about to die is still too early~, I'll get off here~~~"

Click.

As he removed his hand, Xin Ke's beautiful eyebrows furrowed once again for a long time.

"...Tsk."

"...Next time...I'll definitely win next time."

Chapter Eighteen Resumption of Work

The days suddenly became unexpectedly peaceful. The vampire hunters who attacked the blond vampire seemed to have given up and did not show up for a long time. After all, Araragi Koyomi is now a vampire, and it is obvious whose familiar he is at this time and place.

However, even though Araragi Koyomi had been wandering around the city for so many days without any counter-surveillance skills, he was never attacked, including the small house in Sull that Kiss-Shot was now using as a base.

Even in this peaceful life, neither Sue nor Araragi Koyomi let their guard down. Well, actually, only Araragi Koyomi was truly tense; even Kiss-Shot herself lacked a sense of tension.

The information gleaned from Abbott undoubtedly revealed that those vampire hunters were all extremely stubborn individuals, or rather, they wouldn't have become vampire hunters if they hadn't experienced major calamities in their lives.

Simply put, he's Batman, but not as rich as Batman.

How could Batman possibly give up?

He would only secretly prepare his Plan B, Plan C...Z.

Sull was looking forward to the vampire hunters' plans, and even from his heart, he had no hostility towards these beings who secretly maintained the peace and stability of human society. After all, if it weren't for them, many humans would probably be harmed by those bad aliens hiding in society.

Therefore, even Abisotsul, who had been casually injured by Jibril, did not intend to eliminate him completely. After treating him, she temporarily locked him up and would release him once she had fully accepted the situation.

They couldn't find them. Those vampire hunters didn't seem to be just ordinary oddballs. On the contrary, they hid all their information very well. Sue suddenly remembered the strange expert Nurarihyon had mentioned to her. According to that old monster, only those who were skilled in using gestures and the arrangement of various objects in life to hide their oddities could do such a thing.

They are weak because their bodies are still flesh and blood and they do not possess any extraordinary power. However, they are also very strong. Even a stone thrown casually can become part of a ritual to help them drive away monsters or slay spirits.

The so-called experts in strange phenomena are more like magicians in the common understanding of the world. Their rituals are their spells. In short, they are very mysterious. Because they are so rare, even Nurarihyon has only heard of them but has never seen them in person, which makes Sull curious.

That is to say, there must be a supernatural expert among those vampire hunters. In this way, the fact that Kiss-Shot's heart was stolen without her even knowing it can be explained. After all, according to the vampire's own description, she was quite strong after living for hundreds of years.

It's a bit strange... After all, according to Nurarihyon's information, those very few experts in the field of supernatural phenomena shouldn't be doing something with such an obvious bias.

...I don't understand. I'll just wait until they come knocking on my door and ask them in person.

With this in mind, Suer waited for quite a while in this charade. When he suddenly remembered this matter one day, he found that more than a month had passed. Would those vampire hunters really give up so easily...?

Even Suer couldn't help but feel uncertain.

"Hey, still standing there daydreaming? As the acting store manager, I can't just ignore this!"

The voice was quite smug, and just by listening to the smugness, you could tell it was as if the person wanted to embroider the words "acting store manager" on their chest and back. They even patted Suer on the left shoulder and then appeared on his right side, wanting to tease him.

“…You’re so smug, aren’t you?” Completely unfazed, Su Er just squinted at the guy who seemed to want to attach megaphones to his two kidneys and shout all day that he had become the acting store manager.

Yes, after asking Kagome to deliver the leave note, Sue returned to McDonald's to do her job again after such a long time. The kind store manager even kept her in her position, which was truly touching.

Sue returned to her peaceful modern life once again, and the one who seized the time while he was away worked hard and made progress, even temporarily taking over the store manager's position when the manager was busy, was the simple country youth, Sadao Mao.

He's the one who's feeling pretty smug right now. He basically joined McDonald's at the same time as Sue, but Sue now has to respectfully call him "Manager".

However, this guy was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling, and he didn't even bother to correct the word "agent".

Ambition! It's ambition!

"You rascal, you've been gone for so long because of an emergency back home, do you still have enough money?" With his arm around Su Er's shoulder in a familiar manner, Maou Sadao said with a grin, "Living in the big city is expensive, you know. If you're short, you can come find the agent~ store manager~ and I'll help you~"

"...This is the first time I've heard that a McDonald's store manager also doubles as a bank manager," Sue couldn't help but complain. "But thanks for the kindness, my family isn't so poor that we can't afford to eat."

Sadao Maou isn't the kind of person who gets arrogant after achieving success; he's just too happy right now, and Sue can understand that.

"Is it really not necessary?"

“Really not necessary!”

It's just a bit annoying.

"That, um... Su, Suerge?"

Nervous yet trying hard to strike up a conversation, Suer turned around and saw a little girl who was less than his chest tall. She seemed to be in high school, but she was working part-time to earn some pocket money. However, based on Suer's observation, this little girl seemed to have ulterior motives towards Maou Sadao.

That's why she also tries to befriend those who are close to Sadao Maou—like Sue.

To be honest, her trembling eyebrows at that moment were a bit comical, but Su Er didn't laugh.

"Ah, is there something you need, Sasaki?" Su'er said with a smile. He hadn't heard the nickname "Brother Su'er" in a long time, and now that someone was calling him that, he felt a strange sense of warmth.

Sasaki Chie, the little girl's name.

"Th-th-that, Surgo?!" Stoic, even stuttering, Sasaki Chie's eyes darted back and forth between Maou Sadao and her boyfriend. "Um, you're Maou-nii's good friend, right?"

The little girl seemed to have mustered up a lot of courage.

Chapter Nineteen: The Date

“Ah, yes, that’s right,” Suer nodded affirmatively, “He is one of my good friends in this world…”

"Haha, ahahaha, why do you talk like you're from another world, Su'er-ge?" Sasaki Chie chuckled awkwardly, seemingly speechless. "Anyway, I'm a junior who's received a lot of care from Masao-ge! Since you and Masao-ge haven't seen each other in a long time, how about we grab a late-night snack together after get off work tonight?"

"I know a fantastic late-night eatery! I can show you the way!" The little girl suddenly became excited, raising her right hand high as if answering a question from her teacher in class.

Without a doubt, his real intention was not what it seemed.

Although she suggested having a meal together under the pretext that Sue and Maou Sadao hadn't seen each other in a long time, her true purpose was obvious, judging from how she glanced at Maou Sadao with almost every word she spoke.

If Chie Sasaki's gaze had the effect of a knife, then Sadao Maou would have been riddled with holes by now.

“That’s true. You suddenly disappeared for so long, and even the message to ask the manager for leave was brought by a little girl. I thought you weren’t planning to work at McDonald’s anymore.” Like a clueless male protagonist in an anime, Sadao Maou was completely unaware of the little girl’s thoughts. Instead, he looked at Sue with a serious expression and said, “How about we do it like Chihiro said? It can also be a celebration for my promotion to acting manager!”

He started again, and as he spoke, Sadao Maou's mouth almost stretched to his ears in a wide grin.

This man can keep bragging for at least two more days.

However, Suer had no intention of being a third wheel—even though the pairing of a working man with a high school girl really gave off a vibe of an older man dating a younger woman.

"Sorry, I just got back to the city and I still have some things to take care of, so I can only celebrate with you later," Suer said with a shrug. "You two can go celebrate first, and I'll ask you to have a drink later."

"Huh? Huh? Me, me and Makoto, the two of us?!" Sasaki Chie's eyes were already bulging.

"Huh? Hmm... I know there are a lot of things to take care of if I'm away for a long time. Do you need any help?" It has to be said that the kind-hearted young man, Sadao Masao, is quite generous. His offer of help now is not just a polite formality.

"No need, just go and try the food at that restaurant Sasaki mentioned," Su said with a smile.

"Surge can call me Chihiro just like Shin-O-ge!" The high school girl quickly raised her right hand.

How realistic... Did they become so close at lightning speed just because I said I didn't want to be a third wheel?

"Alright then, just let me know if you need any help. No need to be so polite." Without pressing further, Sadao Maou simply nodded and dropped the subject.

Going to work, doing odd jobs, entertaining customers... I mean, receiving customers. The wounds to his soul could not possibly be fully healed in such a short time, and it was even possible that they would not be healed for decades or hundreds of years. However, for Suer, whose lifespan was almost infinite, these were things that could be waited for.

He has returned to a peaceful modern life, and after he gets tired of being an ordinary teller, he may try other professions and other lifestyles, such as the lifestyle unique to the rich. Life has many facets, each with its own characteristics.

"Then I'll be going now. See you tomorrow."

"OK Bye Bye."

"See you tomorrow, Surgo~~~"

Finally, he waved to the person behind him and walked back to his rented place—he wasn't just making excuses for what he said to Sadao Mao and Chie Sasaki; he did indeed have an appointment with someone else that night.

Even if it could be described as three people finally meeting and going out together, exploring modern entertainment facilities, and tasting modern cuisine, according to Suer's impression, this kind of thing usually has another common name—a date.

It's still a three-way date.

Unlike the simple, rustic country bumpkin like Shin'o Sadao, Sue always had a very clear understanding of these matters.

How to put it? Even with his current experience and mindset, he couldn't help but feel a mix of nervousness and anticipation. He was nervous because he was afraid that Xin Ke and Jibril would end up fighting in the city, and he was anticipating... the date.

It was a date, after all!

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that he and Xin Ke got together naturally in that war-torn era, and there was basically no dating to cultivate feelings... If taking care of Xin Ke who was immersed in the laboratory and washing her body and feeding her doesn't count as cultivating feelings.

But if all these things are considered as cultivating feelings, wouldn't that lack romance?

Not to mention that Jibril is still here now, and they are closer than ever.

To take their relationship to the next level, to let the memories the three of them create together begin!

Suer secretly made up his mind, even clenching his fist to encourage himself—and then the man discovered that his plan had been completely ruined from the very beginning.

A long white dress, even the most conservative clothing, could not completely conceal her proud breasts. Her long golden hair cascaded from the top of her head to her waist, and four beautiful gemstones adorned her forehead. Her pupils, which should have housed six-pointed stars, had now turned into a dazzling sapphire blue. Her long ears had also transformed into ordinary human ears, hidden among her golden hair, with only small and cute earlobes visible.

It's Xin Ke—but how could Xin Ke possibly look like this?

Without a doubt, this is what Xin Ke should look like after being localized and humanized. At first glance, she only reminds people of a tourist who came from abroad. Even her beautiful blonde hair and the sulper blonde hair color complement each other perfectly.

But that's precisely where the problem lies.

Sulbi knew perfectly well what Xinke was going through. Even the life that was connected to his soul was still safely present in his body. He could clearly perceive every single particle and every part of its existence.