Why is the Demon King like this?

Asuka Arisugawa was absent again on Friday.

After a fulfilling week, the Demon King finally welcomed his first vacation.

In the afternoon, after politely declining the invitation to go out together that evening, tidying up the love letters in his shoe cabinet, nodding to the junior who had confessed her feelings to him in the hallway, Aokiji set off for a restaurant he had found on a food review site.

—Today we're having French food.

The location is in the Minato Ward, and the shop is called "Passionate." Judging from the reviews, it seems to be a very popular place. Keisuke Ao is looking forward to having a pleasant night.

Sitting on the tram, the sky was foggy, and soon it started to rain again.

Raindrops fell on the car window as it sped by, blurring the distant buildings and blending the neon lights together into strange colors.

Keisuke Ao looked away; the carriage was packed.

Students, office workers, and tourists were all crammed together, making a lot of noise.

All sorts of clothing, smells, and veiled gazes, friendly and malicious, a multitude.

Because he was wearing a mask, I didn't go up to chat with him.

Not far away were three hot girls. One had tanned skin from swimming, another had a gentle temperament and a sweet face, and the last one, the leader, had an arrogant expression and was loudly discussing how to bully a pig boy in the class.

The three of them would occasionally burst into laughter that seemed out of place with their usual demeanor.

But in Aokiji's eyes, they were all shrouded in a gloomy spirituality. How much of what they said and did was truly from their own hearts?

What a terrible joke! He laughed, stepped out of the house, and the world seemed to be getting more and more exciting.

During the rapid journey, Keisuke Ao often sensed fleeting spirituality in his surroundings, which might be his future targets.

—From this perspective, it's a pretty good city, or at least a good hunting ground.

Upon arriving at my destination, I got off the train and followed the flow of people out of the station. The hot girls disappeared from sight, and I could only faintly hear their loud laughter.

Girls who smile a lot are more likely to have a good pregnancy.

Keisuke Ao took a taxi to the restaurant and followed the waiter to his reserved seat.

"Um……?"

"Good evening, Qinggui-kun, what a coincidence!"

Seated on the other side of the table was none other than the chief priestess of the shrine, Yui Kamabatake.

Tonight, she changed out of her shrine maiden robes and palace attire, and put on a stylish and beautiful T-shirt and hot pants. Her glossy black hair was tied into a high ponytail, revealing her fair neck.

On her swollen chest, a small bear's head was painted on her light yellow shirt.

The lower part was tucked into denim shorts, outlining a slender and graceful waist.

As for her long, snow-white legs, they were mostly hidden under the table. Only when Qing Guijie looked at her did her feet, clad in women's sandals, peek out and playfully greet him with her toes.

"If you're willing to call it a coincidence, that's not necessarily wrong."

Aokiji sat down at his reserved table, too lazy to argue with the waiter about why this woman had been brought to his table, but it wasn't a big deal—

Anyway, he's just here to eat.

Shinbata Yui smiled broadly, resting her chin on her hands as she leaned closer: "Seikyu-kun, why are you eating alone in a place like this?"

"Of course, it's for food."

Without looking up, Aokiji took the menu and ordered the restaurant's featured set meal for the season.

"I'm actually quite happy to be ignored by you like this!"

Yui Kamabatake complained, "But in this situation, please show some gentlemanly manners and ask me what I'd like to eat?"

"Miss Kamibata, do you know?"

The human body, with its unique structure, will enter a state of complete weakness if it doesn't eat for three days.

Shinbata Yui: ?

"After exercising, I need close to 2000 kilocalories (referring to myself)."

"A balanced diet is important for human health, and eating habits affect development and growth."

"So, if you're still unable to decide what you want to eat by now, I'd suspect there's something wrong with your brain."

"Hiss—that's a sharp retort." Kamitada Yui shuddered. "Aokei-kun, you... as expected... no, it's nothing, it's fine."

After ordering herself a vegetarian set meal, Yui Kamabata put the menu back in the waiter's hand and waved for him to leave.

"Does Qinggui treat other girls like this too?"

Upon hearing this, Keisuke Ao thought about it seriously for a moment. He realized that he never seemed to consider such a question when he ate with Asuka Arisugawa.

As expected—isn't Arisugawa's talent for dealing with people a little too strong?

Although the class monitor is now acting like an ostrich, that's only because of unforeseen circumstances. It can't possibly be Keisuke Ao's own problem, right?

right?

"No, other girls aren't as troublesome as you."

"That's outrageous!"

French cuisine has a long process, and the food is served much slower than teppanyaki.

Therefore, the two had ample time to chat, discussing topics such as how the Kukai Private High School incident would be resolved, what the mysterious side world of Japan was like, and what kind of existence fictional "idols" like Kamen Rider were.

"It's unbelievable. Qinggui-kun has never shown any talent before, yet he was able to kill a fused evil spirit with a single punch, and he's even researched such a deep subject on his own..."

Keisuke Ao laughed: "Isn't this our 'secret'?"

What was initially an insignificant secret becomes increasingly weighty as he reveals more and more to Yui Kamibata!

This is the biggest problem with Ao Keisuke sharing his secret!

Of course, Shimahana Yui already knew this, and it was only after learning everything that she threw herself into this endless, turbid river, letting Ao Keisuke pollute it.

For her, big is good, and more is beautiful!

Shinbata Yui's face flushed, and she gently bit her fork with her pearly teeth before slowly nodding after a long while.

"So, do those things really exist?"

"Strictly speaking, these anomalies originating from human imagination and literary works have a common name: we call them 'Black Jade Phantoms'."

Their mystique surpasses even Yin-Yang magic; if described using a more fashionable theory, it would probably be called "quantum state."

It may exist, it may not exist; it may exist at this moment, it may have never been effective from ancient times to the present…

Shinbata Yui pointed to her head: "When you feel it, the phantom has already descended."

"Strange and mysterious."

Keisuke Ao shook his head, disagreeing with this statement.

After all, these anomalies all originated from the collective consciousness. In this light, what difference is there between these so-called black jade phantoms and the gods residing in the shrine?

It's just a change of lighting effects. How could it be so eerie that the shapes are impossible to observe?

"But why is it called 'Black Jade'?"

"Ah... well, that brings us to an interesting story from the past."

Shinbata Yui covered her mouth and chuckled: "There was once a young man in the Onmyodo who loved magical girls. Later, when their team was in danger, in order to save his companions, a certain 'phantom' answered his prayers..."

"Oh?"

"At that moment, a dark jade stone suddenly appeared in his hand, and from then on he gained the ability to transform into a magical girl."

Ah this...

"Excuse me, but this person is...?"

Shinbata Yui understood and said, "Male."

The chief priestess's eyes revealed envy—to be able to openly display her cross-dressing fetish and fight monsters with a magic wand like that, how enviable!

"Before this, the black jade phantom was called a 'spiritual monster,' a 'holy spirit,' or a 'spiritual armor.'"