98. Something Is Off About Her

Xingqiu, Chongyun, and the four ladies somehow had fun talking about the manga. And because there was a portable air con nearby, they preferred to stay in the shop section rather than go out somewhere else. At first, Xingqiu wanted to hide that he liked to read manga. But it was all naught. Yelan could see through him in an instant. In the end, he didn't care anymore and bought all of the manga. He just asked her for a favor to hide this from his family.

Around an hour later, Ryūhei came with Ayaka as well as Rimuru and Pikachu.

Most people, especially those who saw the Tensura cover and bought the manga, noticed a slime on the top of Ryūhei's head.

"Dang, isn't that Rimuru?"

"Hey, what if the slime attacked us?"

"I doubt that. Don't you see that the slime looks so harmless and cute?"

"Heeh. Looks can be deceiving, believe me."

"Why are you so worried? If the owner brought it here, it means he has confirmed that the slime is friendly. Or maybe, it will be used as an ingredient or something."

Just as that person finished saying that, Rimuru turned around as veins also popped up in his body, expressing his annoyance after being regarded as an ingredient.

"Hiiiiieee!"

"Ahhhh!! The slime is angry!!"

The people who just talked about Rimuru immediately ran away while Ryūhei laughed at them. He patted Rimuru to calm him down.

Meanwhile, the people who saw how Rimuru reacted were amazed as Rimuru could understand human speech. Although it wasn't rare that someone brought a slime to the city as it could be used for something and everyone also knew that Xiangling used it as an ingredient, intelligent slime like Rimuru was unheard of.

Perhaps, some people might be interested in capturing Rimuru, but Ryūhei might welcome them to try as long as they court death.

Ryūhei sensed the surroundings and he could feel that Jiu was upstairs. Ryūhei wasn't too worried as Jiu seemed to be able to control her power after watching her for quite a while even though he unsealed half of her power.

Then, seeing Xingqiu and Chongyun with some ladies, Ryūhei pulled Ayaka toward Xingqiu and greeted him.

"Yo, my bro. How are you?"

"I'm good." Then, Xingqiu glanced at Ayaka. "She is?"

Without waiting for Ryūhei to introduce her to Xingqiu, she greeted him first.

"Hello. My name is Kamisato Ayaka. Pleased to meet you."

"Hello, Lady Ayaka. By any chance, are you Ryūhei's fiancée? And did Ryūhei bring you here from Inazuma?"

"Erm… Have you heard of me before?"

"Hehe. It's just my guess." Xingqiu chuckled, and then he wrapped his arm around Ryūhei's shoulder. It was kind of weird to see since Ryūhei was taller than Xingqiu when he did that. "This little brother of mine said that he had a fiancée at that time. And after seeing the two of you together at my clothing store earlier, I presume you are his fiancée, right?"

"Yes." Ayaka confirmed. Then, her gaze turned to Yelan and the other ladies. "Hello."

In turn, Yelan, Hu Tao, Yun Jin, and Yanfei introduced themselves to Ayaka. However, Ayaka's gaze halted at Hu Tao who seemed to be somewhat uncomfortable after knowing who Ayaka was.

Meanwhile, Ryūhei turned to Xingqiu. "Oh my dear little big bro, it's kinda weird when you wrap my shoulder like this. Isn't it better if I call you little bro instead?"

Xingqiu's expression darkened. He tried to hit Ryūhei, although he dodged it instantly.

"Don't even think about it. Just because you're a bit tall doesn't mean you can call me little bro." Xingqiu said.

Ryūhei was around 175 cm when he first met Xingqiu. But now his height has increased to 180 cm. Meanwhile, Xingqiu's height was only 165 cm. Therefore, it was kind of weird when Xingqiu wrapped Ryūhei's shoulder just now.

Ryūhei crossed his arms while nodding.

"Ah, I see, I see. Naruhodo. You're 2 years older than me. It's understandable if you have an inferiority complex about your height. That's why you prefer to be called big bro, right?"

Xingqiu didn't reply, but he turned to Chongyun.

"My pal, can you exorcise him? It looks like he's possessed by an evil spirit right now."

"Just deal with it. It's none of my business." Chongyun replied with a smirk. Even though he is close to Xingqiu as his best friend, Chongyun still wants to see him suffer because Chongyun is always being made fun of by Xingqiu. In summary, it's time to pay back.

"Hey, hey, don't tell me you're siding with him?"

Their conversation sounded like they were bullying Xingqiu. However, it is of course a joke among the boys as they are more open and loud with their jokes. Well, they're not boys who have a shrunken mentality where they will sulk when teased. So jokes like that were normal for them.

After a moment, Ryūhei turned to Yelan. He had never seen her before, but from her energy signature, he knew who she was.

"Lady Yelan, don't you want to stalk me as usual? But, chasing someone from the dark won't get you any results, you know."

With that question, her smile suddenly stiffened. Yelan understood what he meant. She was sure that she had never shown her face to Ryūhei. Although she tried her best to hide her identity by acting like an ordinary woman, she didn't expect that Ryūhei could see through her. Except for Yanfei, the others shouldn't have known that she was sort of an Intelligence Agent.

However, what Ryūhei said earlier somehow hinted to the others that Yelan is a woman who likes Ryūhei, but doesn't dare to show herself. This made Ayaka and Hu Tao sweep their gazes to Yelan.

Still, Yelan raised her cheeks to smile while trying to conceal her emotions.

"Sir Niwa surely can joke around. As a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, my job is to observe Liyue Harbor directly, just as the Milelith guards do their job."

"Heee. Is that so? Well, as long as you're still my customer, I guess it's fine."

Then, Ryūhei's gaze switched to Hu Tao. This was the first time he had faced her after a little "accident" at that time.

"Hello, Director. It's been a while." Ryūhei didn't know what to say. If he said out loud to apologize, the others would question him why. He would feel bad for Hu Tao if he revealed the truth. Therefore, it was better to shut his mouth.

But, what Hu Tao said and did next made Ryūhei want to slap her hard on her thighs.

"It's been a while. By the way, you owe me something. I'll be waiting in the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor."

Hu Tao replied. She knew very well. If she averted her eyes or perhaps didn't respond, the others would be suspicious. Moreover, she was kind of restless after seeing Ayaka with him and she didn't realize it at all. And then, she stood up from her seat before leaving.

'Something is off!'

All of them were quick-witted. They recognized that something was not quite right or something seemed a little strange about the way she had been acting in front of Ryūhei.

They all immediately turned toward Ryūhei, and he responded to their gazes with a word, "What?"

"Hey, Ryūhei. Admit it, you did something to her, didn't you?" It was Xingqiu who asked first. However, Ryūhei denied it.

"Man, don't accuse me! Is it my fault if she acted a little strange? It might be her period, you know!"

"The hell with the period thingy. She was alright a while ago before you came here."

"Erm… That's definitely weird. Did my charm suddenly kick in and poison her? What a deadly charm to have."

"..." Xingqiu.

"..." Ayaka.

"..." Others.

They couldn't believe how narcissistic he was. Somehow, they wanted to slap and beat him at the same time.

Before any of them questioned him again, Nibi passed by while bringing a carrier bag containing manga and novels. He stopped her to ask.

"Wait, who bought all this that required you to deliver it?"

"Ah, master." Nibi bowed. "A regular from Mondstadt came here yesterday to buy manga. But since the newest manga as well as the newest novel and manga volumes just published today, that person made a delivery order to the Knight of Favonius."

"You put a charge for a delivery service, right?"

"Yes."

"That's good. Then, let me deliver them to Mondstadt!" Without waiting for her answer, Ryūhei snatched the carrier bag before turning to the others.

"Sorry guys. Job is calling me." Then, Ryūhei immediately went upstairs and closed the door.

Seeing this, Xingqiu clicked his tongue.

"Tsk, you damn coward!"