NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
After the curfew was lifted, Genji set off to return to the Endomuki residence.
When he was less than a hundred meters away from the restaurant, he found Endomuki Rin standing under a tree, seemingly waiting for someone.
Was he preparing for a date? What kind of girl would this reserved brother be interested in?
Unexpectedly, as soon as Rin saw Genji, he quickly approached him and urged in a low voice, “Hurry, follow me, and don’t let anyone else see you.”
“What’s going on?” Genji was confused but obediently followed Rin, crouching down as they walked.
“There’s trouble. Sasa has been looking for you everywhere.” Rin’s voice was deep, just loud enough for Genji to hear clearly.
This is bad, I absolutely can’t reveal the secret of that night!
Seeing Genji’s panicked face, Rin quickly offered a solution:
“We need to get our story straight: you had something urgent last night and had to return to the Endomuki residence, so you didn’t stay over at the Kasahara house. Now, we’ll take a shortcut and sneak in through the back door into the guest room, pretending I just woke you up. Can you act convincingly?”
Okay, no time to think, let’s do it!
Genji followed Rin into the residence through the back door. They sneaked inside, and after changing into pajamas and messing up his hair, Genji sluggishly made his way to the front desk.
Genji’s disheveled appearance made Kasahara Sasa both annoyed and amused:
“So you really ran back to the Endomuki residence alone? My parents and I were worried all night, thinking something had happened to you.”
Sasa’s behavior seemed too normal. If not for Genji witnessing the scene, he would never have guessed she was the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
I wonder how she managed to hide her overnight absence from her parents. Maybe the Kasahara couple also condoned their daughter’s actions. Better stay away from there in the future.
“I’m sorry, I really had an urgent matter last night. I caused trouble for everyone!” Genji apologized without making eye contact with Sasa, afraid she would notice his guilt.
“Hey, it’s okay as long as you’re safe.” Sasa relaxed her furrowed brow after confirming the guest’s safety.
The owners exchanged glances and greeted with a smile, “Sasa is too concerned about everyone. You must be tired from coming over, why not sit down and have breakfast with us?”
“No, thank you, Uncle and Auntie, I’ll be leaving now!” As Sasa turned to leave, she suddenly remembered something important and turned back to remind Rin, “Oh, and if Aden comes to ask for a drink, you must stop her. Underage people can’t drink alcohol!”
After she left, everyone finally relaxed. The landlady went back to humming and working.
“That child is too enthusiastic, sometimes it’s quite embarrassing,” the owner laughed and shook his head.
Hearing this, Genji hurriedly apologized, “I’m sorry, I was too reckless!”
“It’s nothing serious. By the way, Susa, you promised to help me with some math problems yesterday, right?” Rin said this but gestured towards the guest room, giving Genji a meaningful look.
Genji quickly understood.
As soon as they entered the room, Rin took out paper and a pen from his pocket and whispered, “Let’s talk using this.”
Huh, Miss Somezaki did the same thing last night. Is this a traditional skill in Cicada Hiding Town?
Seeing Genji’s confusion, Rin didn’t hesitate to start writing: “There used to be many listening devices installed in town. Inside the Endomuki residence, they have all been completely cleared and jammers have been installed, but outside, it’s hard to say.”
What!? Genji’s heart skipped a beat.
Miss Somezaki’s warnings to “be wary of everyone around” and “not wanting to involve unrelated people”, could it be about this?
Noticing Genji’s shocked face, Rin continued writing: “Aden called me last night, telling me that you took Miss Somezaki to the clinic. When she called, Sasa had just arrived at the Endomuki residence, and you had already left the clinic. After Miss Somezaki found out, she immediately instructed us to get our stories straight.”
It seems both the Pak and Endomuki families are trusted by Miss Somezaki. Those who installed the listening devices must be the ones she is wary of. But who could it be?
Genji took the paper and wrote his doubts: “Listening devices? Are you sure it’s safe to make phone calls like this?”
Rin shook his head, his pen scratching on the paper: “We have our own codes, changing every so often. They can’t
understand it.”
“Who are ‘they’? The Kambe family? The Institute? Or both?” Genji threw out his pointed question. He didn’t want to beat around the bush anymore.
Rin spread his hands: “Rumors say it’s the town council’s doing, we don’t know who’s behind the council.”
This is troublesome. I haven’t figured out the Kambe family and the Institute yet, and now suddenly there’s a town council.
“Isn’t the town council a residents’ self-governing body? Shouldn’t the members be household heads of Cicada Hiding Town? How can they not know who’s behind it?”
“The supervisors managing the town council, like the chairman, vice-chairman, accountant, secretary, etc., are all non-locals.”
Genji spotted a blind spot and immediately wrote furiously: “This is different from what I knew before. The Kambe family is a prestigious family on Yeh Island, doesn’t the deity’s descendant qualify for the supervisory board?”
“Not eligible. Members of the town council must be adults, let alone the supervisory board.”
“There can’t be only one minor in such a big family, right?”
Rin took the paper and was silent for a moment. Then, he stood up, went to the sink, took out a lighter, and burned the paper to ashes, flushing them down the drain.
“Sorry, let’s stop here for today, I have to get busy.” His voice showed no irritation, but it still made Genji uneasy.
I’ve asked something I shouldn’t have. Genji swallowed hard.
“Oh, by the way, Miss Somezaki wants to know if you’re free on Saturday,” Rin said as he reached the door, then turned around, “She wants to invite you to a meal in Soshie Town.”
So sudden! Does this guy also perform the face-changing trick?
“Don’t be nervous, she just wants to properly thank you…” Seeing Genji remain silent, Rin sighed and reconfirmed, “Don’t want to go? Then I’ll reply to her like that.”
“Wait! I’m free these days!” Genji hastily called out to the tall figure.
Although Miss Somezaki is not the deity’s descendant herself, she is the closest person to the center of the incident among those Genji knows. Otherwise, Kasahara wouldn’t have accused her of doing dirty work for the deity’s descendant. Perhaps Minakawa-senpai’s disappearance is also related to her.
Since she took the initiative to invite, it’s an opportunity not to be missed.
“Alright, then. Aden and I will also go. Let’s meet at the front gate of the Endomuki residence and someone from Soshie Town will come to pick us up.”
With that, Rin handed over an invitation letter.
The top of the invitation bore the Kambe family’s mantis crest, and the neat small script below seemed to be handwritten by Miss Somezaki herself, with a square seal stamped in the lower left corner.
This seems to be a very solemn invitation. But will the infamous deity’s descendant really not mind?