Becoming a god in a low-key way in the supernatural world

Today, Kotegawa obediently went to school for the whole day. Uncle Kenji and Aunt Akiba are here. If they suddenly feel like going to the school to check on him, but find that he's not there, then things will get really funny.

After school in the afternoon, he greeted his uncle Kenji, put snow chains on the car tires, and then drove with Kurumi to Yamanashi Prefecture to pick up the little priest.

She was also quite puzzled by the little priest's sudden return home, because it wasn't yet the time for the Onmyoji Bureau to take a break. She had been trying to subtly inquire about it all day, but the little priest seemed to have withdrawn and was barely responding to her.

At this time of day, the city roads are not congested. Kotegawa easily left Tokyo and headed straight for the location that the little priest had sent him that morning.

On the bus, looking out at the pristine white mountains, Hu Tao said with a touch of reminiscence, "We've been here before!"

Kotegawa hummed in agreement. This was the place where they first collaborated on a bounty mission. It was springtime then, the weather was warm, and the spring breeze was gentle. He was sitting on the back of the motorcycle, bouncing up and down with her...

Winter evenings come early; it's still afternoon, the sunlight is already dim and weak, and yellow clouds are appearing on the horizon.

The road where the little priest was located wasn't particularly easy to travel, and with heavy snow blocking the roads, Kotegawa had no choice but to slow down and turn on his headlights to move forward slowly.

After traversing several difficult, muddy, and snowy roads, the vehicle arrived at a small village. The passengers had been temporarily accommodated here after the railway was blocked in the morning.

They met Shirakawa Nozomi outside a beef brisket restaurant.

The young priest was wearing a rather thin coat and pants, his face was as pale as ever, with no obvious changes, but he had lost a lot of weight, and was still carrying a mountain of luggage on his back.

Kotegawa and Kurumi circled around him a few times.

He smelled of beef rice on him, and just like a few months ago, he was sullen and didn't like to talk.

Shirakawa glanced at Kurumi's fair and flawless face, and his gloomy expression improved somewhat.

He found out about this a few days ago and was very happy for her.

With concern in her eyes, Hu Tao delivered a soul-crushing blow from her older sister: "You got expelled from school?"

After not seeing each other for several months, the first thing the priest asked him was about his studies. The priest was so touched that his face turned dark. He frowned, shook his head, and then nodded.

Seeing his vague answer, Kotegawa suddenly seemed to understand something: "Oh, so he must have been suspended from school and killed someone over there?"

Hu Tao and the little priest both looked at him immediately. Hu Tao said irritably, "Don't say such scary things. If he really killed someone, how could he possibly come back?"

The junior priest calmly replied, "Pretty much. I took most of that bastard's life. I'll be taking a month off from school."

Hu Tao was startled: "Really?"

The young priest nodded silently and handed her the knife he had been holding.

Hu Tao looked down and saw that the knife was stained with blood and showed signs of a fight.

Her small face turned serious: "What exactly happened?"

They're even using real swords, so it's highly likely they're aiming for a duel, which is no small matter.

Kotegawa, seeing the little priest's ears red from the cold, raised his hand and said, "It's getting dark, let's get in the car first, we'll talk on the way."

Hu Tao sheathed her knife and nodded silently.

Kotegawa opened the trunk and had the little priest put his luggage inside, then they all got into their cars.

On the way back, after a long silence, the little priest finally spoke, his voice still calm: "It's nothing serious. Some bastard tried to rob me, and I couldn't stop myself when I resisted."

His combat ability was always insufficient compared to Kotegawa and Kurumi, so he could only serve as a support role.

However, everything is relative. Although he was often discouraged and doubted his life, he had received training from Kotegawa for a period of time. During the exorcism competition, he accumulated practical experience in each venue under the support of the two. In addition, the stimulation of almost dying a few months ago made him both capable and mentally strong.

He said with a serious expression, "I was acting in self-defense this time. At most, I'll take a two-week break from school."

Hu Tao was silent for a moment before speaking, "You're not a child anymore. Whatever you do, as long as you can take responsibility for the consequences... Does your family know?"

"Mom knows, but she doesn't have time to deal with it... Dad is still locked up in the Special Division."

"Huh? He's still locked up?" Kotegawa looked surprised.

Strange, Hattori Tomoko has already been kicked out of the Special Division... so why is Shirakawa Taizan still locked up?

Hu Tao was also surprised: "Why is Dad still locked up?"

The young priest was stunned, looking at her in disbelief.

Are you asking me? Are you serious? You were home and didn't even know?

Hu Tao blushed; so many things had changed in the past few days… She hadn’t even been home yet!

Kotegawa coughed, temporarily changing the subject: "I'll ask around later."

The car fell silent again, and it was completely dark outside. By the time we got back to Tokyo, it was already 7 p.m., which conveniently avoided the rush hour for working people leaving get off work.

Since both adults were home, Kotegawa didn't run around. He first took the little priest home and then hurried home.

Hu Tao also got out of the car, wanting to ask the little priest what was going on.

On his way back, Kotegawa called Ishikawa Yasuhiro to inquire about Shirakawa Taizan.

After a while, Ishikawa Yasuhiro told him that it was probably because too many things had happened at headquarters recently that they hadn't had time to deal with Shirakawa Taizan, but now that they had spoken to him, he had been released.

Kotegawa thought to himself that his cheap father-in-law was quite unlucky.

Shirakawa Taizan has a rather eccentric temper, quite similar to the young priest. He's incredibly handsome, but rather simple-minded. Even though he's in his thirties or forties, he sometimes acts on impulse and is a bit arrogant. After rescuing Kurumi last time, this old Taizan, though he doesn't say it, no longer dislikes him.

When he got home, he parked his car, took his schoolbag and went inside. He said to his Uncle Jian, who was walking over with his hands in his pockets, "I'm back."

Uncle Kenji nodded slightly: "The security here in Tokyo is better than at home, and you can go out at night."

"It's only been alright for a short time," Kotegawa replied.

Just then, Aunt Qiuye's voice came from the kitchen: "Go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready when Qingkong and Youjia come back."

Aunt Qiuye is cooking today.

Kotegawa exclaimed "Oh!" and pulled Kenji into the washroom. While washing up, he asked in a low voice, "Did you tell Auntie about that matter?"

Uncle Jian's lips moved, his eyes filled with complex emotions, and he lowered his voice: "Let's keep it a secret for now and have a good New Year... Don't be fooled by how gentle and easy-going your Aunt Qiuye is usually; if she really gets angry, even your uncle can't stop her..."

Kotegawa paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's no problem. We plan to get married after graduation, but you can tell us before then."

"Your studies are the priority. Focus on your studies first, and we can talk about marriage once you have a stable job and income," Uncle Jian said wearily.

Are kids these days really that mature? Thinking so far ahead?

What was he doing back then? Still trying to avoid Qiu Ye every day, though he never managed to escape her even after a lifetime of trying...

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Cat Lovers

In the living room, Kotegawa, who was eating an apple, received a call from Seisaku.

"The store manager wanted to ask when you're free, as she has something to attend to."

He got up to throw away the apple core and said, "I'm free now."

Soon, a slightly ingratiating, exaggerated voice came from the other end: "Happy birthday, Kotegawa-san! Our shop will be going on holiday soon, but we were just wondering about your opinion on the year-end bonus..."

My birthday was yesterday, and this big white cat just started with a polite greeting, well, what you'd call social niceties.

He said in a casual tone, "You've been taking good care of Qingkong all this time. I'll go pick her up right now."

The big white cat was looking for him simply to buy demon energy pills. He already had so many demon energy pills and yin energy pills that they were almost overflowing under the bed, so it was no big deal to provide her with some purchasing assistance, after all, she really took good care of Qingkong and Youjia.

Hearing his respectful address, Sachiko Amamiya was flattered and replied, "Not at all, I am the one who has always been taken care of by you..."

She had lived in Tokyo for many years and knew quite a few people and yokai. Although she wasn't completely well-informed, she knew a little bit about everything, so she was really afraid of Kotegawa now.

Kotegawa was thinking of visiting Ms. Rin and Piao-chan from school one last time before returning to his hometown. Ever since he arranged for Ms. Rin and the others to work at the coffee shop, he had finally gotten some peace and quiet and hadn't heard Ms. Rin crying anymore.

He said "See you in a bit" and hung up the phone.

Uncle Jian, who was standing nearby, also heard his conversation, stood up, put his hands in his pockets, and said, "Let's go together."

"No, you can stay home with Aunt Akiha. The coffee shop isn't far from here; you'll be back in a few minutes." Kotekawa waved his hand, went back to his bedroom to get a bottle of demonic pills, put on his coat, and went out.

Under the streetlights at the gate, tiny, white snowflakes drifted down silently.

Kotegawa puffed out his belly and blew a breath, which immediately created a gust of wind, causing many snowflakes to swirl in the air.

He took out his phone, snapped a few photos, sent them to Hu Tao, and then walked towards the commercial street.

After a while, Uncle Jian, wearing a coat, opened the door. Just as he was about to step out, he subconsciously looked up and saw the streetlight.

……

The coffee shop in the commercial street was still bustling with activity, with several waitresses dressed as high school girls in coffee shop uniforms moving back and forth between the tables.

The diners were very satisfied. The JK uniforms were pleasing to the eye and provided excellent service. Apart from not being talkative or smiling and being a little cold, they were practically perfect. Moreover, the owner of the restaurant was very wealthy and hired a different JK every month.

The bell hanging at the door rang, and a tall boy walked in. He looked around the room, and some people who looked over felt a sudden weight in their hearts, as if they were being pressed down by some invisible pressure.

The JK waitresses suddenly stopped, looked at the door, and gave a slight bow.

Kotegawa nodded and walked towards the counter.

Qingkong and Youjia are waving at him.

Sachiko Amamiya demurely led him to a small private room inside.

"Welcome, welcome! What would you like to eat?"

“No need for that today…” After sitting down, Kotegawa took out the bottle and casually said, “You’ve seen this kind of bottle before, right?”

This diamond-shaped crystal bottle contains fifty demon energy pills, which is the standard size.

Sachiko Amamiya's eyes lit up immediately.

How come I've never seen it before? Every time I go to buy special demon pills, they pour a few out of this kind of bottle for me. When I first came to Tokyo, I swore that one day I would buy them by the bottle... But after so many years, I've come to understand why dreams are called dreams, because they are out of reach.

She suppressed her urge, carefully holding down her cat paws, her big eyes gleaming with a mixture of anticipation and caution: "Um, will it be on sale?"

"You bought them all?" Kotegawa was a little surprised. Even if he broke his bone, buying fifty pills at once would still cost a lot of money.

"Um, could you tell me what kind of discount I can get?" The big white cat didn't reveal how much money he had, because he had been burned in this area before.

Kotegawa hesitated for a moment, then said, "I happen to be short of money lately, so how about I give you a 50% discount?"

A while ago, Yasuhiro Ishikawa gave him a bill for the cost of five swords... those strings of numbers really made his heart ache.

If it weren't for this, he probably would have sold a small portion and given the rest to her at a lower price.

"50% off?" Sachiko Amamiya lost her composure instantly, her face flushing red.