Chapter 68

"If you could transcend yourself just by talking, I certainly wouldn't despise humans. Knowing you're like this and still unable to change—that is what it means to be human."

As luck would have it, right at this moment, the halo atop Sasa's head suddenly started spinning beep-boop-beep-boop, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

No matter how much of a loser she might be, she was, after all, Satanel, the highest-ranking Fallen Angel, the Great Demon King.

There were some things that a human [Silver Coin Messenger], even while holding a silver coin, couldn't possibly achieve, but she could.

For instance, right now, Sasa sensed something.

Someone was privately and secretly investigating [Qi Xing]'s identity.

But because Qi Xing was currently covered by the mysterious veil of the Silver Coin of [Illusion], this investigation was instead sensed by Sasa first.

Who was investigating [Qi Xing]?

Sasa cast her gaze along the thread of causality to take a closer look, and was immediately amused.

What is a tragic anti-hero? What is a demon-man who self-modified to fight evil because his whole family died? You little girls have way too much imagination, don't you?

If that were all, Sasa probably would have just laughed and ignored it; after all, devils don't do anything without profit.

However, upon second thought, she suddenly came up with a wicked idea.

"Qi Xing, someone is secretly investigating you." She said.

"What?" The pressure of surviving in this absurd world for ten years immediately made Qi Xing vigilant. "An enemy?"

"Not sure yet." Sasa wasn't lying. "Do you want me to help you block the investigation?"

But Qi Xing wasn't stupid enough to just accept the devil's courtesy. "Why are you being so kind today? How are you going to help?"

"Just let me help you use the power of [Illusion]."

"Don't even think about it."

"Please—I haven't touched my silver coin in so long—"

The Loli Evil God nudged over, pinched her voice, and used… acting cute!

However, it had no effect on Qi Xing!

"You acting cute just makes me feel like there's a big problem." He frowned even more. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"I promise," Sasa raised her hand and swore solemnly, "it's just to help you block others from investigating. If you were to operate such complex things with your human brain hardware, you definitely wouldn't handle it well."

This guarantee didn't sound credible at all.

But then again, devils have their own pride, and Samael generally preferred to lie using the truth. Qi Xing didn't feel she was [lying]…

"I'll only let you use the Silver Coin of [Illusion], and it can only be used to block others' investigations. You are not allowed to affect my own senses or the senses of the people on my side, and I can revoke the permission at any time—is that okay?"

Qi Xing thought for a moment and tentatively added a few prerequisites.

"Deal."

Sasa's golden eyes, with pupils slit like a dragon's, squinted cutely.

Of course, she wouldn't be stupid enough to pull anything on Qi Xing's side—she knew very well that if she really pissed Qi Xing off and made him her enemy, her life afterwards would definitely become quite miserable—Sasa still had that much sense.

After being beaten by her older brother, she knew what it meant not to mess with the wrong person.

But she could still operate a little and play some tricks elsewhere.

A tragic anti-hero? A demon-man who voluntarily bound himself with the power of a Great Demon and is full of bitterness and hatred? Pfft, hahaha!

What a perfect script for deceiving an ignorant young girl!

Sasa didn't mind playing along with their imagination at all, using the power of [Illusion] to make them see false information.

And then, when that strange half-angel shrine maiden discovered she had been played, her reaction would be even more worth looking forward to for a devil!

069: Might As Well Just Get a Room

The next morning—the third morning since Qi Xing and the others arrived in Aomori, at the Jingo Family.

"Excuse me, Lady Rin." The maid Ayame walked into the shrine maiden's room with a subtle expression. "The man you asked me to investigate yesterday… his past is a bit terrifying."

Rin was using her precious break time to read manga in her room. Hearing her foster sister's call, she could only look up helplessly. "What happened, Ayame?"

"I snuck a look at the local [Exorcism Association] archives and did indeed find the man you sparred with yesterday."

Ayame said with great sorrow, "Miss Rin, his past… is probably even darker than you imagined."

What on earth did she see?

In fact, a small branch of the [Exorcism Association] like the one in Aomori didn't have many files on [Master Leipu] for people to look at. After all, the Roman Curia's influence in Japan wasn't that strong to begin with.

If the Japanese branch of the [Exorcism Association] really needed [Master Leipu] to come and help, they would just do whatever Elaine said; there was no need to [know] how capable Qi Xing was, let alone know about Qi Xing's past.

"From his youth, he was raised by a wicked immortal family as a cauldron."

However, at this very moment, Ayame said things she absolutely could not have normally snuck a look at.

"Only with great difficulty did he escape the shackles of the family, but from then on, he became a stray dog, a lone wolf."

Strange, where exactly did Ayame sneak a look at these files that the local [Exorcism Association] branch absolutely couldn't have?

The answer was actually quite simple.

Although Ayame sounded quite plausible at first, the character image she described soon became increasingly distorted and weird: "According to the archives, no matter where he goes, he leaves behind romantic ties with different women. But those women all end up meeting various misfortunes or even dying in battle."

"For the sake of revenge, to fight against evil, he even voluntarily threw himself into the forbidden artificial demon host modification program privately conducted by the former president of the [Association]—the [Solomon Protocol]—becoming the only successful case!"

"No home, no family, unable to keep a lover, living in seclusion, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, a lonely wanderer at the end of the world; wherever he passes, there are only the evil spirits and heretics he mercilessly killed, leaving behind only a trail of blood."

The more she said, the more nervous Ayame couldn't help but become. "Lady Rin, although I think it's a good thing that you are starting to be interested in men, such a man is untouchable. You'd better stay far away from him!"

Needless to say, one could probably guess that all the increasingly wrong information above was entirely concocted by Samael.

She was just an earthly illusion and couldn't directly modify the [Association]'s files. But since Qi Xing had nodded, she could use the power of [Illusion] to make everyone who snuck a look at Qi Xing's files see hallucinations.

In reality, of course, the [Association] would not have any artificial demon host modification program. The [Exorcism Association] wasn't the Inquisition from 40K. Even if Father Amos were given twice the courage, he wouldn't dare to actually create artificial demon hosts or enchanted warriors himself.

Unfortunately, outsiders didn't know any of this. After all, most people always have a mystical illusion about the Curia.

—Hehehe! These little girls, just obediently let yourselves be played in the palm of my, the great creator's, wisdom!

Sasa had thought everything through—as long as she proved that Qi Xing was a lone wolf, and a lone wolf who was a jinx with a tragic background, had been hurt in love, and had killed many women along the way, these young girls would definitely be scared away, right?

So, you little girl with the angel power who doesn't know the truth, you'd better get lost early! Hah!

However, Sasa never expected what kind of reaction Rin would have after hearing this from Ayame.

"Such… a person… huh."

Ayame's words were like a pebble falling into a lake, causing no ripples, but stirring up undercurrents beneath the water. The shrine maiden didn't respond immediately, just lowered her eyelids, seemingly digesting the subtle emotions brought by these words.

Loneliness.

This wasn't an unfamiliar word; she had long been accustomed to its weight. But this was the first time she heard this word being applied to someone else… to that man.

—So we are so similar…

Thinking about what kind of heavy burden that person was carrying, Rin couldn't help but feel sympathy. This thought might be rude, but she still superimposed the heavy feelings pressing on her own back onto him.

Thinking of this, a nameless emotion, a strange feeling, instantly welled up in her heart.

Rather than pain, it was more like discomfort. This was the first time she felt such a strange, incredible emotion.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, as if she wanted to ask something, but she paused. In the end, she just gently closed her mouth, with a little confusion, and let out a soft breath, as if afraid to disturb this vague, never-before-experienced emotion.

"I see. Thank you, Ayame, I think you're right too."

Her voice was still calm, but it lacked its usual sharpness and had a touch of gentleness she hadn't even noticed herself.

After all, one must know that since the beginning of creation, Samael's [Earth-shattering Wisdom] and [Good Ideas]… seemed to have never gone according to her wishes.

—

Back to the other side.

Qi Xing didn't know what kind of grand drama Sasa had cooked up for him again. Sasa had previously mocked his dating plan, which angered Qi Xing so much that he spent several hours re-mulling it over, thinking about it from many angles, but unfortunately, he still didn't have any good ideas in the end.

The next morning, although Qi Xing and Elaine were staying in the same large suite, Elaine said she needed to prepare first, so she let Qi Xing wait for her in the hotel lobby.

For a while, Qi Xing could only stare blankly in the lobby with the mini Sasa floating above his head… "By the way, why are you still in the medium-cup mini size?"

"This size is more convenient for watching the fun."

The two-head-tall mini Sasa had stolen an apple as big as herself from somewhere—anyway, there were apples everywhere in Aomori City—and was eating it while watching the fun—she was someone who forgot the pain once the scar healed; she had been scared to death by the [Fire of Uriel] yesterday, but today she didn't seem to take it seriously again.

"Don't worry, little fool. I'll be careful to stay far away when you're on your date, and I won't cause you any trouble. Hehehe—"

After speaking, the devil smirked and shrank away, not knowing where she hid again.

Damn brat. Next time there's a chance, Qi Xing would definitely spank her again.

The next moment, he felt Elaine approaching and immediately turned to look.

At first glance, Qi Xing noticed that Elaine was very different today.

For a long time, Qi Xing had almost only seen Elaine wearing a nun's habit, a business suit, or similar utilitarian attire.

However, today, she was wearing a vintage-style dark blue dress. The waist-cinching style fully displayed her body's curves, yet it wasn't overly revealing, possessing a restrained beauty. Over the dress, she wore a thin black cape, made of soft material, which swayed gently with her steps. She chose very ordinary black boots for shoes, not wearing anything with thin heels, clearly still prepared for any sudden situations.

Naturally, Elaine didn't have the habit of wearing jewelry, but there was still a thin gold chain with a cross pendant resting between her collarbones, low-key yet elegant.

As for makeup, Qi Xing couldn't understand it at all. But at least he could tell that Elaine had clearly gone to great lengths to dress up carefully. For a moment, Qi Xing was even dumbstruck.

"Sorry, it took longer than I imagined…"

As Qi Xing stared at her blankly, Elaine herself actually became a bit shy: "Today is… the date-limited version. Th-that… do you have any thoughts?"

Hmph, at this time, what other thoughts were needed?

"You look really beautiful in that dress."

Qi Xing wasn't a man who was too cowardly to say such things directly.

Actually, just as Sasa mocked, Elaine, as a woman whose affection for Qi Xing was already maxed out, just hearing Qi Xing compliment her directly made her face turn red enough to smoke. Really… sigh, too easy to handle.

Considering how much effort Elaine usually put into him, and how little effort Qi Xing had spent on her, this gap had reached a level that even made Qi Xing feel a momentary sense of guilt.

Come on, Qi Xing, you can't go on like this!

"And then?" With shyness and curiosity, Elaine asked, "Where are we going?"

Good question.

"Elaine, is there anywhere you want to go?"

So he asked back.

It sounded like a very considerate question at first, but Elaine wasn't a fool, and she was too familiar with Qi Xing's style, so she immediately understood: "As I thought, you didn't plan it beforehand?"

Gwah!

This sound, which was understanding, sympathetic, and a little regretful, was more painful to Qi Xing than Romanie's flying kick!

But Qi Xing still had his own ideas.

"I thought about it for half the night, and I felt that if I cobbled together a rigid dating plan myself, it definitely wouldn't be as good as yours. So, might as well change the approach."

"Anyway, you usually make plans and follow them step-by-step for everything you do, so let's try reversing it today."

"Let's go out and find something to eat first, and think about where to go while we eat."

Making an unplanned date sound so high-sounding, Qi Xing could be considered to have racked his brains.

Although Elaine was a bit speechless, she couldn't help but smile in the end: "Sigh, alright… then after we eat, there is a place I want to go."

Great. It's best if she has a place she wants to go. Qi Xing immediately breathed a sigh of relief and asked: "Where to?"

"To go shopping."

Huh? Buy what? Helping carry bags?

Qi Xing certainly wouldn't have any objections. But he guessed wrong.

As it turned out, Elaine first went with him to the nearby shopping mall food court to eat a bowl of udon, and then immediately led him into the shopping mall with great interest. It seemed that the content of today's date was set as shopping.

(Sigh, oh well. As long as she's happy.)

Qi Xing didn't think about those miscellaneous things anymore, relaxing his mind to accompany Elaine shopping. Anyway, in his past life, he often accompanied his mom shopping, so he didn't have any resistance to accompanying women out to buy clothes.

As a result, less than five minutes later, he realized something was wrong.