The distant sky had just begun to show a faint fish-belly white. The extremely weak dawn rose from the far horizon, bringing a slight warmth to the world.
"Master… Master!"
'My body feels so heavy, is this sleep paralysis?'
"Master! Time to get up!"
Kaito opened his eyes. Sure enough, sitting on top of him was a green-haired ghost girl in a dinosaur onesie. Seeing he was awake, she showed a bright, energetic smile.
"Good morning! Master!"
"Good morning," Being woken up early in the morning by a beautiful girl as pretty as a doll should be a happy thing.
But Kaito was already used to it, instead he sighed, "I told you not to keep sitting on a guy's stomach... Don't you know you're heavy?"
"How mean!"
Kumiko pouted angrily and ground her silver teeth, "A girl's weight is a taboo. Even if it's you saying that, I'll still get mad!"
"You even have the burden of a girl's weight now?"
Kaito sat up and casually picked her up and set her aside, "You're growing way too fast, aren't you?"
"Humph~ Humph~", Kumiko crossed her arms at her waist, very pleased with herself.
From an innocent little girl who didn't understand the world, to the playful little demon she was now, such a huge change had to be traced back to a few days ago.
After returning from Hoori, the holiday was only halfway through.
There were still four days before school started, but Kaito had no intention of going out again. Part of the reason was laziness, and the other part was because the weather wasn't cooperating.
Tokyo in May had already entered the rainy season. On the second day after he got home, intermittent showers began falling nonstop. The air was humid and stuffy. It had already been several days since they last saw bright sunshine.
But this kind of weather was perfect for staying home and playing games.
Previously, there was only Kirara at home. Although she was smart, cat paws ultimately couldn't replace hands, so she couldn't play games with him. Kaito was used to solo queue life.
But three nights ago, just as he restarted a game, Kumiko, who had been playing with the cat, floated over, watching curiously from beside him.
Seeing that she seemed really interested, Kaito gave up his seat, planning to let Kumiko try it herself, and maybe give her a small shock from video games.
And then…
The once innocent little girl who didn't understand the world was thus infected with the incurable disease known as "internet addiction."
Playing games, browsing forums, chasing anime… She had already become a full-blown shut-in (sad).
The only thing that gave Kaito a bit of comfort was that at least he had managed to change the way Kumiko addressed him, from the creepy-sounding "Daddy" to the current "Master."
Although Kumiko looked really unhappy about it at the time… after Kaito threatened to cut the internet, she obediently changed how she called him, afraid that any more delay would mean saying goodbye to her beloved games.
No one knew what kind of stuff this girl had seen online. Her personality was getting more and more outgoing, and she was learning more and more.
'I should better check her browsing history someday.'
After all, it had only been a few days since Kumiko got on the internet. She definitely didn't know about incognito browsing yet, and there was no way she had developed the habit of clearing history regularly.
———
"Time to eat," Once Kaito finished making breakfast, he came to the living room.
Sure enough, Kumiko was hugging the tablet, leaning on Kirara, happily playing.
Kaito swept his divine sense over. The game on the screen was some kind of card-based roguelike. The girl-controlled character was a ragged little robot, just smashed to death by a red demon with horns.
"Died… It's all your fault, Master!", Kumiko kept her cross-legged posture, shaking her head and throwing blame like a pro.
"If you suck, practice more," Kaito calmly walked over to her, gave her a free flick on the forehead, then pulled the tablet out of her arms, "Go wash your hands, time to eat."
"Ow… that hurt!", Kumiko clutched her little head with teary eyes, "You actually hit me that hard… unless you give me the tablet back right now, I won't forgive you, Master."
What to do when a kid gets rebellious? Just smack them.
Kaito curled his finger, making a flicking gesture again. Kumiko was so scared she floated away.
"No no no! I'll go wash my hands right now!"
'Good old classical mechanics. Works like a charm.'
Breakfast was oatmeal porridge, boiled eggs, and waffles with jam.
After the meal, Kumiko quietly took back the tablet, sat on the sofa again, and restarted her tragically failed tower-climbing journey, making Kaito unable to help but comment, "Your addiction's a bit serious, huh?"
Kumiko didn't even look up, "What addiction? I play every day, never seen me get addicted."
Kaito: "?"
'When I put a question mark, it's not that I have a problem, it's that you have a problem.'
But thinking about it carefully… Kumiko wasn't an ordinary child. She was the embodiment of the divine blade. She didn't have to work, didn't have to go to school, no risk of bad grades. If she liked to play, let her play. Being a shut-in wasn't that bad.
As an enlightened guardian, he simply sat beside Kumiko, turned on the big screen, and handed her a controller, "Wanna squad up?"
———
While this father-daughter duo was sweetly playing duo queue—
[Port Area]
In a private villa, a blue-haired twin-tailed girl slightly furrowed her brows, looking anxiously at a tightly shut bedroom door not far away.
A moment later.
The door opened. A young woman wearing a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit came out, but there was no joy on her delicate face.
"Miko Kagano, how is it?"
[T/N: In Japanese, "miko" refers to a shrine maiden, typically a young female priestess, who works at a Shinto shrine.]
Beside Togawa Sakiko, a well-dressed middle-aged woman walked up, her voice trembling slightly.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Mori," Shrine maiden Kagano lowered her head, ashamed, "Miss Wakaba's condition… is already beyond my ability."
Mori Minami was over forty, but due to careful maintenance, she looked only in her thirties.
Hearing this, her noble and elegant face turned pale. She staggered back a few steps, almost collapsing.
Little Sakiko quickly held her up, then looked at the shrine maiden and seriously asked, "Is Mutsumi in danger for now?"
Mori Minami also stared nervously into her eyes, afraid to hear a definite answer.
This time, however, Miko Kagano didn't disappoint them, "I've stabilized Miss Wakaba's condition for now. There should be no issues within three days. But if it exceeds that time…"
She sighed, "Sorry, it's because my power is limited."
"Three days… only three days…", Mori Minami instinctively gripped the shrine maiden's sleeve, like clutching the last straw, "Isn't there any other way to save Mutsumi?"
Miko Kagano shook her head, "Maybe if we find an exorcist strong enough, this problem could be resolved, but…"
'The industry is in decline. The skill levels of active shrine maidens, onmyoji, and priests vary greatly, and most are scammers.'
'The few who are actually capable are still very weak, and even slightly powerful vengeful spirits are hard to deal with.'
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