I have an unlimited number of shikigami

The antique-style mansion is located at the end of a long uphill slope. Long willow branches extend from the stone courtyard wall, and when a gentle breeze blows, the willow leaves sway silently like a group of wandering ghosts.

The gate is old-fashioned and has sharp edges.

The nameplate was brand new, with the words "Furukawa" outlined in jet black ink.

Yukino Riho rang the doorbell, then looked up at the camera and gave her name.

The iron gate slowly opened, and as soon as she stepped inside, it closed behind her. In the camera footage, she crossed the courtyard as usual, walking along the path to an old house. All was quiet, and the cherry blossoms in the courtyard were in full bloom.

Under the willow tree in the courtyard, there were several plastic chairs, where a large man sat reading a newspaper.

He was probably in his thirties, with a shaved head and a neatly trimmed beard, looking like a professional bodyguard.

That was actually his profession; he was the owner of the club and sometimes also worked as a driver.

"Hello, Mr. Kamiya." Yukino Riho greeted him.

The man remained seated in the chair, only glancing up at her briefly.

"Where is Madam?" she asked.

Mr. Kamiya replied, "I'm taking a nap."

"Then I'll go in first."

"Ok."

Yukino Riho walked around the willow trees and headed towards the veranda, where she opened the sliding door of the tatami room.

The room inside was about eight tatami mats in size, and there were about ten people inside, all of them young girls dressed in gorgeous kimonos. They were either sitting on the windowsill looking at the lake outside, or chatting and playing. Various musical instruments were scattered on the floor, including Western guitars and Japanese shamisen and taiko drums, and there was a piano in the corner.

These are all orphans adopted by Mrs. Furukawa, including both humans and yokai. They undergo various training courses in areas such as combat, disguise, languages, and art to ensure they can become elite spies or assassins in the future.

Yukino Riho was hired to teach them art classes.

Because she had lived a long life, she had some knowledge of music, art, flower arrangement, tea ceremony, and other related fields. In addition, she and Mrs. Furukawa were old acquaintances, so when Mrs. Furukawa first mentioned this matter, she hesitated slightly before agreeing.

no way……

The lady gave too much.

If she could, Yukino Riho would just want to quietly run her bakery and live a simple, ordinary life. But living in a big city like Tokyo, every morning when she opens her eyes, she has to spend money on everything except breathing, which is quite stressful.

"Yukino-nee, what will we be teaching in music class today?"

As soon as she entered, a girl greeted her with a smile, her demeanor quite intimate.

She was seventeen or eighteen years old, with a cute oval face, long hair tied in a single ponytail, and a lively and agile demeanor.

“Let’s start with the piano,” Yukino Riho said, taking off her shoes and walking barefoot to the piano to sit down. “Come over here and watch carefully.”

A dozen or so girls gathered around, listening intently to the piece she was playing.

Among the women in the room, Yukino Riho was undoubtedly the most beautiful. Her face was delicate and elegant, her eyebrows were arched like dark ink, and her temperament was serene and charming. The way she sat there quietly playing the zither exuded an air of refined elegance and detachment, giving people a feeling as light as an ink painting.

The afternoon sun shone through the window, casting the shadows of willow trees on the floor.

The swaying lace curtains, her long hair hanging down her back, her focused gaze on the sheet music, her ten slender and beautiful fingers deftly tapping the piano keys, her two feet on the pedals, her fair and smooth skin like glazed pottery.

This scene is worthy of being painted.

After finishing the piece, he gave the girls some pointers and asked them to try playing a section on their own. That concluded today's lesson.

Just as Yukino Riho put on her shoes and prepared to leave the tatami room, the oval-faced girl who had called her earlier quietly followed her out.

"Hey, Yukino-nee, wait a minute."

"Oh, it's Ryoko. What's up?"

"Yukino-nee recently moved to Asakusa, right?"

"um, yes."

Kitagawa Ryoko has a lively personality. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she turned her head to look around and, after confirming that no one was watching, she put away her bright smile and lowered her voice.

"You know that bald spider, right?"

"spider?"

Yukino Riho paused for a moment, then looked at Kitagawa Ryoko with a puzzled expression, not quite understanding why she would ask this.

Furukawa Kaikan is a secret meeting place for yokai (supernatural beings). It has many entertainment facilities and is a place where many yokai living in Tokyo gather and communicate with each other.

As for that bald spider, Yukino Riho had seen it a few times, but they had never spoken; they weren't familiar with each other.

I've only vaguely heard from others of the same kind that the spider and a few other spiders banded together and practiced the Extreme Path.

“That spider died a few days ago!” Kitagawa Ryoko said with a serious expression.

Yukino Riho covered her mouth in surprise: "Dead?"

"correct."

"How did you die?"

"It's said to be a bread factory in Kagurazaka."

Yukino Riho nodded silently.

Her bread was all sourced from a bread factory in Asakusa, so dying in Kagurazaka, so far away, wouldn't matter.

"The cause of his death has not been found out yet, but coincidentally, a spider demon also killed someone in the bread factory that day. The people from Zenkokuji Temple went to the factory to exorcise the spirit at night, and they probably got rid of him as well."

"That's really unlucky."

Yukino Riho let out a soft sigh.

As a fellow demon, she naturally didn't want to hear this kind of news.

But?

What does this have to do with me living in Asakusa?

"The spider's friend went around gathering information and found out some clues," Kitagawa Ryoko whispered in her ear, standing on tiptoe slightly. "Actually, the one who entered the bread factory that night wasn't a monk from Zenkokuji Temple, but a junior priest from Asakusa Shrine named Fujiwara Izaya..."

Upon hearing this, Yukino Riho frowned her beautiful brows.

Asakusa Shrine is only about 500 meters away from her bakery as the crow flies, but it is now a ruin. How could there still be a powerful priest there?

"Anyway, that little priest will definitely be targeted, and Asakusa might not be very safe from now on," Kitagawa Ryoko said, a worried expression on her face. "Yukino-nee, you have to be careful and not get caught up in it."

"I will be careful."

"If all else fails, let Ryoko move in with you. I'm really good at protecting Yukino-nee!"

"Okay, we'll talk about it when you're free again."

Yukino Riho smiled and didn't take those words to heart.

The two walked out, exchanging casual conversation, before parting ways at the fork in the road leading to the gate. Kitagawa Ryoko smiled and waved, watching Yukino Riho's figure disappear around the corner of the courtyard before lowering her hand.

She felt a mix of envy and melancholy, and even she couldn't understand why she felt this way.

Yukino was once a member of the Furukawa Mansion, and even Mrs. Furukawa's personal maid. However, five years ago, she reached an agreement with Mrs. Furukawa to leave the Furukawa Mansion as a free person. Even now, the yokai in the mansion still treat her with great respect.

Aside from occasionally teaching some arts classes to earn a living, she has lost contact with all her former kind and has almost faded out of the monster world, living as an ordinary human in the vast city of Tokyo.

But they're not human, after all.

Yukino-nee is all alone; how long can she hold on...?

Thinking about these things, Kitagawa Ryoko sighed softly and turned to walk back into the Furukawa Hall.

Chapter 21. How could he be so indifferent (voice breaks)!

Before leaving the Furukawa Hall, Yukino Riho found the butler and settled her payment for the day.

One afternoon, 6000 yen.

After counting the money, she put it in her backpack, gave a wry smile, and looked somewhat worried.

With three classes a week, the money earned in a month is only enough to cover the rent of the small building where the bakery is located. Other living expenses can only be covered by the savings left over from before.

My savings are almost gone, and the bakery isn't making any money anytime soon, so my income and expenses are severely unbalanced. It's a real headache...

Carrying her handbag, Yukino Riho walked towards the entrance of the Furukawa Kaikan, where she encountered her bodyguard, Mr. Kamiya, along the way.

She thought for a moment and then greeted him, "Mr. Kamiya, can you ride a motorcycle?"

“As a bodyguard, I am a professional,” Mr. Kamiya replied.

"Ok?"

Yukino Riho tilted her head slightly, not understanding why he was giving an irrelevant answer.

“…Yes!” Mr. Kamiya was exhausted.

Having lived alone for five years, it seems she still hasn't integrated into human society at all.

Asking a professional bodyguard if he can drive a motorcycle is such a stupid question. Seriously, anyone with even a basic understanding of human society wouldn't ask that!

“That’s great.” Yukino Riho smiled happily. “Mr. Kamiya, could you please take my motorcycle to the flea market for me? I want to sell it.”

"……it is good."

Mr. Kamiya felt a lump of hot blood stuck in his throat.

Why don't you just post a listing online and let people come to see it? Who sells motorcycles at a flea market?

Looking at the snow woman's innocent and naive appearance, he didn't know how to refuse, so he could only nod helplessly: "I'll ride there for you. Which market?"

"Hmm, Meiji Park, it's more convenient to get to there."

As she spoke, Yukino Riho took out her keys from her bag and handed them to Mr. Kamiya: "Mr. Kamiya, could you please go to my place and bring the car over? I'll be waiting for you at the park."

"Ok."

"Thank you so much."

After leaving Furukawa Kaikan, Yukino Riho took the Den-en-toshi Line tram from Sangenjaya Station back to Shibuya, and then walked to Meiji Park.

After paying the 200 yuan entrance fee, we arrived at the crowded flea market.

She picked up a piece of cardboard from the roadside, intending to borrow a marker from the stall owner to write her sales information on it. As she looked around for stalls selling secondhand stationery, a familiar figure suddenly caught her eye.

Huh?