16 Chapter 10. The Woman (Part 2)

Report on the Exorcism of a Special-Grade Curse.

On the night of April 19th to 20th, 2017, the sorcerers Yami Sukehiro (special grade) and Mei Mei (first grade) exorcised a curse of special grade under the codename Mava.

Mission Rank: Lethal (Curse Mava is a pair of conjoined twins, each possessing special-grade power).

Number of Exorcism Attempts: 1.

Number of Sorcerers Participating in Exorcism: 2.

Number of Casualties: 27 civilians, 0 sorcerers.

Note: 

1. During the exorcism, the curse mastered Territory Expansion. 

2. The mission was accepted by the sorcerer Mei Mei, which threatens excessive spending.

Night fell on Yokohama, not entirely dark. Along the shore, lanterns glowed, glassy skyscrapers, like beacons, illuminated the entire city, and car headlights flashed white. Far out on the water, through patches of fog and urban smog, slowly moving lights of ships could be seen. In the largest port city in Japan, the air was warm and filled with aromas - the sweetness of overripe fruits and the stench of the breath of nine hundred thousand city residents.

However, on this night, on one of the streets of Yokohama, instead of the pleasant, neon-lit glow of night buildings, red and blue ambulance and police car lights were flickering. The sweet scent of commerce mingled with the fetid smell and dust among the ruins.

Amidst the ruins where a large shopping center used to stand, I sat on a pile of rocks, propping my elbow on my knee and resting my palm on my head. With a hand gesture, I lit a small flame at the end of a flickering cigarette. Exhaling tobacco smoke, I surveyed the surroundings, where not far away, Mei was talking to a group of sorcerers in uniform. Even in exorcism, the bureaucracy had its way.

"And so, we're done here," Mei approached me after finishing official "grown-up" business. "Any plans for the rest of the night?"

"Don't you want to grab a bite?" I remembered a good ramen place nearby as my stomach growled.

"Are you inviting me on a date?" Mei's lips widened into a smile.

"I'll pay," instead of falling for her provocations, I used the most effective of all possible ways.

Not surprisingly, Mei instantly agreed, "Well then, let's go, what are we waiting for?"

Ten minutes later, we found ourselves in a small cafe. There weren't many people at this time, so we didn't have to wait in line.

"It's nice here," Mei surveyed the traditional Japanese interior, which wouldn't surprise anyone today except for tourists. "What do you recommend?"

I didn't even have a chance to open my mouth when the serene atmosphere of the ramen shop was disrupted by five thugs bursting in, behaving like ordinary hooligans.

"Why are you the first?!" thug number one shouted dissatisfied.

"Shut up, idiot," thug number two replied, hitting the counter a few times. "Hey! Chef! Three servings of beef ramen."

"Three servings of beef ramen!" thug number three repeated louder.

"And two servings of chicken udon," thug number two finished her order.

"And two servings of chicken teriyaki," added thug number four.

"It seems like it smells of urine here," I said, slightly raising my voice.

After my words, silence fell over the ramen shop.

"What's this comedian?" thug number five, holding onto his belt, approached me.

"Don't get too close, pal," it's been a while since I found myself in such a situation...

Perhaps the last time was in my previous life. "You brush your teeth with cat urine, it seems. Two steps back, quickly, and wait for your turn."

After my words, these five high schoolers stepped aside and didn't know what to do for a couple of seconds.

"What an interesting situation," Mei said with pleasure, which I simply ignored.

"Hey, chill, knight," thug number one, paying attention to my companion standing behind me, approached. "Or I'll kill you."

"You'll only kill your underwear," taking a step forward, I repeated. "Back, two steps."

"Hey, Shinji, come on," suddenly whispered one of the guys who stood behind thug number one.

"Your turn," one of the guys nudged the poor guy in the shoulder, pointing at something.

"Shinji, come on," another guy repeated, nodding shortly.

Gaining courage, Shinji nodded to his friends and pulled a knife out of his jacket's inner pocket.

"Well, come on," I provocatively smiled, watching this clown awkwardly shift his weight from foot to foot.

"What are you?!" approaching me with short steps, Shinji began to get closer. "Huh? Huh?!"

What a circus!

As soon as this guy came close enough, I knocked the knife out of his hand with a simple and sharp movement of my hand. In a second, a metallic sound echoed through the ramen shop.

"Do you want to hit? Hit, Shinji. No need for these dances," I said, moving my shoulders, imitating a dance.

At that moment, the visitors who had been sitting at the tables hastily began to leave the ramen shop. And these five high schoolers formed a semicircle around me.

"And are you guys some kind of boy band? Show-offs? Yakuza?" I provocatively grinned, surveying the gang, who shuffled from foot to foot. "What? Are you pretending to be little ducklings dancing? You have some blue ducklings! Damn, guys, I'm on fire today. Come on, you also throw something. Just make it more ridiculous and funnier."

"Go to hell, bastard!"

With this shout, thug number two lunged at me, holding a knife. With a swift motion, I knocked the knife out of her hand again and, grabbing a plastic bottle of soy sauce, sprayed it into the eyes of the scumbag. Then, I delivered a direct punch to the face of thug number three, who rushed at me, breaking her nose in the process. Without wasting time, I dodged a side blow from thug number four and, with a slight twist of my torso, hit her in the stomach. Without stopping, I knocked the air out of the chest of thug number five with my elbow and finished her off with an "overhand."

"My eyes!" thug number two writhed on the ground, while her moaning friends rolled on the floor around her.

"Guys, this is just ridiculous," I said, putting my hands in my pockets, and addressing the gang. "Guys cut, girls shoot, kids fight, adults measure minds. Here it is, the real battlefield - Gray Substance."

"Why do you look more like a hooligan than all of them combined?" Mei, standing behind me, said seemingly casually.

... If you think about it, the Red Priest's Path Sequences do turn me into a hooligan - Provocator, Pyromancer, just need to add "Soap Maker," open a fight club, and voila, the starter pack for a modern hooligan is ready.

By the way, speaking of the fight club, one of Kindzi's arenas is not far from here. Maybe visit him when there's time?

"I'm surprised you enrolled in a cursed college," Mei said to me as we walked along the street, with numerous shop windows on either side.

"Hmm, why?" I asked, slightly perplexed, not understanding what was so amazing about it.

"You're a professional sorcerer. Is there any point in spending your time on education that won't give you anything?" Mei expressed herself more clearly, throwing a sidelong glance at me.

"The Sorcerer Council issued an arrest warrant for me," it was very convenient to use a lie to justify myself, especially when this lie is the truth for the rest of the world.

"And you..." Mei skeptically looked at me, raising her eyebrows.

"And I agreed with Satoru and enrolled in the cursed college to give myself time to 'strengthen,'" I emphasized the last word.

Hearing this, Mei stopped in place, turned to me, and began to scrutinize me.

"What?"

"I love secrets and conspiracies very much," smiling, Mei answered.

"Why does there necessarily have to be a hidden subtext in this?" I had to sigh tiredly at such behavior. Women... maybe they don't have intuition, but then they can successfully hit the nail on the head.

"But two sorcerers of special grade are involved in this matter at least," folding her hands under her chest, Mei leaned forward slightly. "Who knows, maybe you have your circle of anonymous alcoholics where you share your problems and plan world domination?"

"Do you think Satoru and I are so frivolous?" I frowned unhappily but didn't take my eyes off the woman.

"What a stupid question, of course, yes!"

I couldn't help but smile at Mei's behavior. I doubt many people have seen such a childish side of this woman, and, what can I say, even I have seen her like this very rarely.

"You and your charismatic smile," Mei seductively smiled, hugging my arm and leading me further down the street, clearly towards a bar. "So, a whole night ahead, any plans?"

Feeling the lush firmness on my arm, I initially focused on this woman. What an interesting coincidence, all my classmates went on missions, I stayed in school, and on the same day, this beautiful person visited me. Initially, I didn't attach much importance to it due to the importance and complexity of the mission, but now, looking at how playfully Mei behaves... Next, I remembered our last meeting, or rather how it ended.

"Did you arrange all this just to meet me?" I stared questioningly into her violet eyes.

"Or do you just want to have sex? Because if it's the latter, I suggest we discuss everything before the romantic evening and alcohol cloud our minds."

At such a sharp change in our dear, even slightly romantic, dialogue, Mei froze for a second.

"Are you talking like this to every woman?" Mei did not hide her surprise in her voice.

"Only to those who don't know what they want," I calmly replied.

"And what if I knew I didn't plan to have sex tonight?" With a smile on her face, Mei gradually adapted to this style of conversation.

"Then life is easier."

"And how, is life easier for you after you learned my motives?" At that moment, we stopped at the bar.

"Do I look like someone who wants an easy life?" I asked in return.

"In that case," Mei pressed against me and, standing on tiptoes, whispered in my ear.

"Try to make it so that I don't want it either."

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