chsdbacks Page 46
Page 46
The dart around his neck lowered its head guiltily, its tongue flicking out.
Little Banai stroked its chin, whispered something, and then returned to the starting point to begin again.
"Morishan, Morishan, Mori..."
Ryosuke turned around and saw Akira Moriyama chatting happily with Kanae.
Kanae gave a polite smile, clearly unsure how to respond.
Shinobu Kocho was a little angry; her little face was puffed up with sullenness, and she was itching to do something.
Ryosuke frowned, went over and grabbed his ear, pulling it away.
"Hiss—Ouch! Let go! Let go!"
Akira Moriyama cried out in pain and immediately shook off Ryosuke's hand.
"What are you doing!"
"I just called you."
Ryosuke didn't argue with him much and turned his gaze back to the boy in the distance.
How is Obanai doing lately?
Akira Moriyama rubbed his reddened ears, followed Ryosuke's gaze, and sighed slightly.
"Obané... well, Ryosuke-san, that kid is too hardworking, it's heartbreaking."
He lowered his voice.
"But he was in very poor health. He was physically weak, much shorter than his peers, had a defect in his right eye, and... he didn't seem to like eating much. Every time I saw him in the cafeteria, he would only eat a little bit, and he was also very weak."
Ryosuke nodded silently.
Little Banerjee was hit in the side by a wooden stake once again.
He groaned softly, curled up, and gasped for breath, without crying out.
He simply patted the anxiously peeking-out Kaburamaru, then quickly stood up and got back into position.
Seeing this, Ryosuke felt a little sorry for him.
In the twisted and oppressive environment of Ihei, where he was treated as a sacrifice, it was a miracle that he survived; a balanced diet was simply a pipe dream.
Long-term malnutrition and psychological trauma have resulted in his current frail physique and may even have left him with severe anorexia.
Like Shinobu Kocho, Obanai is similar.
They never relied on strength to kill demons.
Shinobu Kocho relies on poison and thrusting attacks, while Obanai uses a venomous and unpredictable style of attack.
His strengths lie in his extremely flexible physical coordination and his unwavering self-discipline.
Obanai Iguro's strength is a miracle of willpower overcoming congenital physical deficiencies.
Just then, Obanai in the middle of the field finally managed to dodge a series of attacks, passing a round of training.
He was panting, supporting himself on his knees. When he looked up, he happened to see Ryosuke and Akira Moriyama.
He hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked over.
His face, hidden beneath the bandages, seemed even thinner. His heterochromatic eyes looked at Ryosuke and he greeted him quietly.
"Mr. Ryosuke, you've arrived."
Ryosuke responded, and seeing his hesitant expression, he instantly understood what was going on.
He turned to Akira Moriyama and said.
"Moriyama, Obanai and I have some things to do. Could you please take Kanae and Shinobu to their place?"
Akira Moriyama patted his chest and guaranteed it.
Shinobu Kocho, with a stern face, clearly disapproved and quickly looked at Ryosuke.
"Mr. Ryosuke, can you stay with us..."
Before she could finish speaking, Kanae took her hand and gently shook her head.
Shinobu Kocho pouted and reluctantly left.
Ryosuke couldn't help but laugh.
Shinobu Kocho is still characterized by her serious, straightforward, competitive, and easily angered personality.
The gentle smile and composed maturity she displays in the anime are a deliberate imitation of her sister Kanae after her death.
This shows that Shinobu Kocho was constantly thinking about and missing Kanae back then.
This is also one of the most deeply hidden plot twists in the original work.
After finishing his thoughts, Ryosuke looked at Obanai.
"What's wrong? Are you having trouble adapting to the training? Or have you encountered some difficulties?"
"No! It's not!"
Obanai immediately shook her head: "I can keep up with the training, but I want to ask Mr. Ryosuke..."
He mustered his courage and raised his head: "Mr. Ryosuke, please help me find out about my cousin. Is she...is she alright?"
Ryosuke was stunned.
He never expected that after all that hesitation, the woman who had spoken ill of him and blamed him for everything would ask him about it.
This child... is still too kind.
Even after experiencing such betrayal and hurt, that faint connection in his bloodline might be the only remaining illusion of kinship he has left in the world.
Although that woman's views were outrageous and her selfishness was outrageous, she was ultimately his only family member in this world.
Looking into Obanai's eyes, which were filled with unease and hope, Ryosuke couldn't bring himself to refuse.
He sighed and nodded.
“I hadn’t paid special attention to it before. How about this, I’ll ask the Hidden team to help me find out. I’ll let you know if I get any news.”
Obanai nodded and bowed deeply to Ryosuke.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Ryosuke! Thank you so much... really!"
"That doesn't have to be the case."
Ryosuke held his thin shoulders and gave him some instructions.
"Taking good care of yourself is the most important thing. You should train hard, but you should also do what you can. You should also eat well. Health is the foundation."
"Yes! I understand!"
Little Banai nodded vigorously.
Although the bandages covered most of his expression, you could sense that he seemed to have perked up a bit.
He bowed to Ryosuke again before jogging off to resume training.
Ryosuke shook his head as he watched his departing figure.
Whether this concern was a comfort to Obanai or another form of torment remains to be seen.
After dealing with Obanai's matter, Ryosuke turned around and went to find the Butterfly Sisters.
When he arrived at the door, the room had already been almost cleaned up.
The house wasn't big, but it was clean and tidy, filled with sunlight and the scent of plants.
Kanae was carefully wiping the tatami mats, while Shinobu Kocho was trying to push the window higher by standing on tiptoe.
Ryosuke looked around but didn't see Akira Moriyama's conspicuous bag.
"Where's Moriyama? Where did he go?"
Upon hearing the question, Shinobu immediately turned around, raised her little face, and earnestly began to complain.
"He's so annoying! He keeps talking nonstop! My sister said she was thirsty and wanted some hot water, and he volunteered to go to the kitchen to boil some water!"
Kanae stopped what she was doing and nodded somewhat shyly to Ryosuke.
“Mr. Ryosuke, I’m sorry, we…”
Ryosuke waved his hand, interrupting her apology.
"That's just how Moriyama is. He's overly enthusiastic and a bit naive, but he doesn't have any bad intentions. If you really find him noisy, just tell him to shut up or send him away."
Kanae smiled gently: "Mr. Moriyama is rather lively."
Butterfly Shinobu muttered a soft "humph" to herself, clearly having a lot of opinions about this senior brother.
Shinobu, you can't even handle one Akira Moriyama? There's still our invincible social butterfly coming up...
He was just about to give some instructions when a familiar cry suddenly came from the sky.
The hummingbird landed steadily on Ryosuke's shoulder, its sharp beak opening and closing.
"Ryosuke Yasui! Level 1 order!"
"Fifty miles northwest to Yuepu Town! More than twenty people have gone missing in the last ten days! An evil spirit is haunting the area! Set off immediately! Ga!"
Chapter 44 The Fourth Lower Moon!
"Yuepu Town?"
That place wasn't far from the Misty Mountains; he could get there in half a day on foot.
It seems the mission level is too high, and Sabito and the others were on a mission, so it fell to him.
They're going to treat me like a slave...
Helpless, Ryosuke turned to Kanae and Shinobu.
"Sorry, I have a mission and I have to go."
Kanae nodded and said with concern, "Mr. Ryosuke, please be careful."
Ryosuke smiled and gave his usual instructions.