Chapter 158 158
"You fell in love with him, didn't you?" Kaede suddenly asked.
Setsuka's face didn't change when she heard that like she had expected Kaede would ask about it. Kaede was her best friend, and they had known each other for a long time, so it was natural that she would know how Setsuka felt. After she got a lot of proof about that, she could more confidently ask Setsuka that question.
pàпdá-ňᴏνêι.сóМ "Yes, you're right. I love him." Setsuka admitted it. She had no intention of hiding it from her best friend. Sooner or later, Kaede would find out about that.
"Huh? I didn't expect you to admit it right away. But are you sure about your feelings? From your conversation with him, I know that he is the one who saved Kohana, and it is because of him you survived the Wyvern attack on the mission in lake Shima. Are you sure your feeling is love and not something you want to do to return the favor?" Kaede tries to confirm Setsuka's true feelings. She didn't want her best friend to misunderstand her feelings for Tenku.
"At first, I thought the same as you. Are these feelings of mine love or something I'm doing to repay him for saving Kohana and me? But after I thought about it for a few days, I came up with the answer. I keep thinking about him almost all the time, whether when I eat, shower, or sleep.
I feel the sweetness in my heart every time I imagine his face. When I saw him with another girl, my heart felt bitter. Isn't that what is called jealousy? So do you still think that my feelings are reciprocation?" Setsuka looked at her best friend and smiled like a flower in full bloom.
Kaede was mesmerized when she saw the sight. After hearing her words and seeing the smile of a maiden in love on her face, Kaede was sure that Setsuka had not misunderstood her feelings.
"Yes, it's not reciprocity but love. You have fallen in love with him. Then you have to fight for your feelings, and I will always support you if it makes you happy. After all, he looks like a nice guy. He even gave me a souvenir from Beijing." Kaede smiled and showed Setsuka the package in her right hand.
"Thank You. But do you judge a person's character as good or not only from the souvenirs he gives?" Setsuka sighed and shook her head when she heard Kaede's words.
"Of course not! Then do you think he is a good man or not?" Kaede asked back and grinned.
"If he wasn't a nice guy, do you think I would fall in love with him?" Setsuka blushed, and she quickly looked away from Kaede.
"Ahaha... then, I'm not wrong if he's a good guy, right?" Kaede chuckled when she saw Setsuka's blushing face. She felt that her best friend looked cute when she was shy, which made Kaede addicted to teasing her again.
"Okay. You are right. Now let's go home. There's nothing else we can do here." Setsuka wanted to leave the place after her goal was achieved. But she suddenly stopped after one step and turned to Kaede.
"Please call a substitute Realizer for this mission. Our business here is finished, and they can come here immediately to replace us." Setsuka reminded Kaede.
"I already did before you said it." Kaede smiled and showed Setsuka the message on her smartphone.
"That's good. Then let's go back." Setsuka nodded in satisfaction at her best friend's efficiency. Before she said anything, Kaede already knew what she had to do.
Besides being a gentle girl, Kaede is also smart. Most importantly, Setsuka could easily cooperate with her since she was his childhood friend. Because of that, Kaede was chosen as the student council secretary.
"Let's go!" Kaede nodded, and the two walked hand in hand down the street at night. Setsuka looked at Tenku's apartment for a while before she left the place.
Not long after the two girls left the neighborhood of Tenku's apartment, someone suddenly appeared from behind a tree not far from that place. He is the leader of the black suit people.
"I'm sorry, sir. I have failed to catch that boy." The leader called Shigeru and reported to him.
[What are you saying!? You and your men are unable to catch a high school student!? Useless!]
Shigeru roared angrily from the other side of the call upon hearing his words.
"We can handle that boy, sir. But Setsuka from Fuyushima Temple suddenly appeared and disturbed us." The leader told the reason for the failure.
[What!? How could she appear in that place and interfere with our business!? Explain to me!]
Shigeru was shocked when he heard about it. After that, the leader explained what had happened in front of the apartment.
[Hmm... So she was on a mission from the organization to patrol around the area and happened to overhear your argument with that boy?]
Shigeru asked after hearing his explanation. He had to ensure that Tenku didn't have a close relationship with Setsuka. Otherwise, he would find it difficult to catch the boy and interrogate him about his son's death.
Although he is confident in his financial strength and influence over the higher-ups in Tokyo, Shigeru is nothing in the eyes of one of Japan's most powerful groups of Realizers. Therefore, he did not dare to fight them.
Until now, Shigeru had met eight people suspected of killing his son. He brought them by force before him because none would obediently follow his men even after hearing his name.
After Shigeru interrogated them, none of them were found guilty. Even so, he thought those people might be related to the culprit. Shigeru didn't let them go for fear they would report his actions to the police or the Realizer. Thus, Shigeru killed them all and destroyed their corpses without a trace.
Tenku was the last person on his list of suspects, and the boy argued with Shinji over a girl before they left for a mission on Lake Shima. Shigeru was sure Tenku had something to do with his son's murder. So he had to catch him at all costs.
"After I checked the information about the boy, I found out that he and Setsuka are related, although not close. The boy was her junior at Suisei High School." The leader answered.
[This is troublesome. If that boy is her junior in high school, then we can hardly take him]
Shigeru pondered and thought of a way to bring Tenku to him without clashing with Setsuka.
"So what should I do now, sir?" The leader couldn't rush back to Tenku's apartment for fear that Setsuka and Kaede would return to that place.
[For now, you should go back and leave one person to watch over that boy. Do not let the two girls see the scouts. Even though Setsuka could protect the boy today, she wouldn't be with him forever. Tomorrow you must follow him and catch him as soon as you can. Do you understand?]
Shigeru gave him instructions.
"I understand, sir." The leader answered affirmatively, and the call ended. Then he led his men away from the neighborhood.
***
After Tenku returned to his apartment, he didn't immediately rest like he had told Setsuka and Kaede. He sat cross-legged on his bed and started cultivating. The aura of heaven and earth in that area gathered in the apartment and was absorbed into Tenku's body. But after fifteen minutes, he stopped his practice.
"As expected, training in a conventional way was too slow for my current cultivation base even though I had combined the Heaven Swallowing Monarch Scripture and Devourer Scythe abilities.
Moreover, Japan's heaven and earth aura is extremely thin, and this apartment does not have a Qi Gathering Array. It will be faster if I kill monsters and convert genesis power into Qi." Tenku sighed and lay down on his bed.
He decided to sleep and rest because his cultivation was progressing slowly, and he wasn't in a good mood. Besides, Tenku still has an appointment with Setsuka tomorrow. So he should rest early. But before sleeping, he sent messages to several people. After that, he closed his eyes.
The next day, Tenku meets with Kohana to keep his promise. They made an appointment at Tokyo station and went to Lake Motosu at the foot of Mount Fuji, according to Kohana and Setsuka's wishes. The train ride to Mt. Fuji took a little over two hours, and they still had to walk to their destination.
"Yay! We've arrived at Lake Motosu!" Kohana shouted happily. Her right hand holds Tenku, and her left holds Setsuka.
Today Setsuka looks so beautiful in a blue sleeveless dress with a snowflake pattern and a jacket. Tenku was in a trance for a few seconds when he saw Setsuka at Tokyo station. He was amazed by her charm. Usually, Setsuka gives off a cold and aloof temperament. But now she feels kinder and gentler.
If it weren't for her wearing a mask to cover her face on the way, Setsuka would already be the center of attention of the people around her. But that couldn't cover up her beauty completely because some men kept their eyes on her when they saw Setsuka. Luckily, they didn't run into any students from Suisei High School. If that happened, gossip would spread about Setsuka and Tenku.
On the other hand, Kohana wore the same dress and color as her sister but with a cute floral print. Coincidentally, Tenku was wearing a casual shirt of a similar color to theirs. So the three of them look like a family spending their holidays.
"Look at that, big brother! It's beautiful... I've visited this place many times with my parent but only saw this beautiful flower garden once! But this is the second time I saw it with big brother and sister!" Kohana said excitedly while pulling Tenku's hand.
In front of them was a Shibazakura flower garden with purple and white colors covering almost the entire area. Setsuka asked Tenku to come to the place because they could enjoy the best view of Lake Motosu in mid-April and May.
"Is that so? I've come here several times, but this is the first time I've seen such a beautiful sight." Tenku smiled at Kohana and stroked her head gently. When he saw the little girl's face, it reminded him of Haruna.
"I won over big brother! Ehehe..." Kohana laughed cutely. Tenku wanted to pinch her cheeks, but he refrained from doing so in front of Setsuka.
"Yes... I lost to you." Tenku ended up pinching her cheeks gently because Kohana was too cute.
Setsuka smiled warmly as she watched their exchange. She was happy when she saw her little sister laugh. What's more, Kohana looks very close to the people she loves. When Setsuka thought they looked like a harmonious family, her face blushed, and she smiled beneath her mask.
"Then, I'd like you two to take a photo together here." Kohana suddenly drops a bomb on them.
"Eh?"
"Eh?"