lcionline Chapter 149, Part 7: "A Man's Nightmare" (Part 1)
Chapter 149, Part 7: "A Man's Nightmare" (Part 1)
Let's make a date for July 7th, a day full of romance – Qixi Festival.
In the early morning of Tiangong City, filled with the sweet and sour smell of romance, two men and a woman gathered in front of a not-so-famous dessert shop.
"Ah... I didn't expect to spend Qixi Festival with the two of you. What a hassle... What is this? Is this a group activity of your Ratatosk? The number of people is wrong."
At this moment, Ming, who was sitting in a chair, was holding a cream puff in his hand. He looked at Kannazuki and Reine, who had called him early in the morning to disturb his play of "Ultimate Saga 4" with a look of helplessness in his eyes.
"Don't say that. Ming is from Guanzhong. This is Qixi Festival. It would be nice if we could all get together."
"I love you," said Shinjuku with a grin, placing his hand on Ming's shoulder.
Lingyin shook her head helplessly. After all, they had all agreed yesterday to huddle together for warmth on Qixi Festival. Although she didn't want to, she was dragged along, but... those people...
"Ugh..."
Ming sighed, first looking at Lingyin sitting in front of him, who kept stuffing cream puffs into her mouth, then looking at Shen Wuyue who said the group chat was very lively, but when she actually arrived, she was all alone. In the end, he couldn't help but want to complain.
"No way... why is this happening?! Kawagoe said he got back together with his ex-wife and then went off to celebrate Tanabata, Masaomi is already married, Nakatsugawa suddenly said Miku is releasing a new song and won't be coming! And Hinako and Rinko said they won't be coming because it's all men!"
At this point, Ming couldn't help but look up at Lingyin, then glanced at the divine object beside her, and continued, feigning anger:
"Reine, did you hear that?! They don't treat you like a sister! Why don't we just storm Ratatos tomorrow and wipe out all those girls who stand up their boyfriends after they've already got partners! And Kannazuki, that lolicon, why isn't she following Kotori instead of running off here..."
"I'm sorry, I'm just an analyst. I don't have the power of an elf. Even if you, Kannazuki, and I were all together, we might still be defeated by Hinako's cursed dolls. Besides, I don't care."
Upon hearing Lingyin's calm reply, Ming looked at Shenwuyue, who was still standing beside him.
"And what about you? It can't be Kotori telling you she has something to do today, and if you dare to come, you'll either go to jail today or be sent to Africa to work in the mines tomorrow, right?"
Shen Wuyue's eyes darted around inexplicably, as if avoiding Ming's gaze, and he knew he was right.
Just as Ming was about to get up and leave, he was stopped by Shen Wuyue.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Even though the others stood us up, the three of us can still enjoy Qixi Festival together," Shen Wuyue quickly said.
Ming rolled his eyes at him
"No, buddy, what are you talking about? Three people celebrating Qixi Festival... Have you been looking at too many pictures of your commander? Shouldn't normal people be in pairs? What, when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl met together, you also included the Queen Mother of the West who was watching from the side, right?"
Lingyin swallowed the cream puff in her mouth and said:
"Actually, if you two need to, I can leave first. It would be fine for the two of you to spend Qixi Festival together, you see..."
In the end, Lingyin left Ming and Shen Wuyue behind and went off alone to celebrate Qixi Festival with the little bear plush toy on her chest.
Watching Lingyin's receding figure until it disappeared from sight, the two remained silent, and Ming felt a little lost.
After all, the Qixi Festival, which was originally expected to be a romantic time spent with loved ones, is now just about two grown men having to make do with each other to get through this special day.
Just as Ming was lost in despair, Shen Wuyue suddenly patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't be so discouraged, we can still have a fun Qixi Festival together." With that, Shen Wuyue pulled Ming along and walked towards the bustling street.
The streets were decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, and couples strolled hand in hand.
It was a wonderful day, even though the days before weren't so wonderful. But isn't the joy of life watching Kannazuki go through her boring bouts of illness?
As she walked, Kannazuki's gaze suddenly settled on a middle school girl who was beating up her boyfriend not far away.
"Hey! You've only been dating for a short time and you're already secretly seeing other women! What do you mean by that?!"
"Ah... I'm sorry, Shiyu, I'm so sorry! I was really wrong!"
The man begged for mercy, but his girlfriend's fists continued to strike his back.
The next second, his eyes lit up, he raised his fists, and a lovesick smile appeared on his face. He instantly entered a state of mental illness.
"Wow, what an adorable middle school girl! Ah~ Don't hit this boy, hit me instead! What boy doesn't know how to enjoy himself? But I'm different! I don't mind at all!"
Kannazuki shouted excitedly, about to frantically introduce herself to the girl.
Upon seeing this, Ming's expression changed, and he quickly reached out to grab Shen Wuyue.
"Are you crazy! That's a matter between a young couple, why are you meddling in it!" But Shen Wuyue couldn't listen to anything at this moment and struggled to break free from Ming's hand.
Just as the two were struggling, the boy who was being beaten saw Kannazuki's appearance and felt as if he had seen a savior.
On a sudden impulse, he took advantage of the moment his girlfriend raised her hand, shoved her towards Kannazuki, and then ran away.
The girl stumbled and fell into Kannazuki's arms. She was stunned at first, then reacted, her eyes wide with anger, and she started punching and kicking Kannazuki.
"What are you meddling in for!" Shen Wuyue looked quite pleased with herself, muttering something like, "Although I'm not as good as the Commander, I'm still very happy!"
However, to prevent the guy from going to jail, after the girl finished hitting him, Ming first carried her good-for-nothing boyfriend back and gave them both about 5 yen in compensation for emotional distress, which finally put the matter to rest.
After resolving the farce, Ming pulled the still unsatisfied Shen Wuyue along as they continued walking.
"Was it really necessary for you? You even went up there asking for a beating... How should I put it, you should be thankful that I was standing next to you, so you could keep a straight face and not look embarrassed..."
Ming spoke to Shen Wuyue, who was still recalling the pain, which brought him back to his senses.
Kannazuki chuckled, as if recalling some kind of feeling, and said to Ming:
"Alas! Ming, you really don't understand! The girls in junior high and elementary schools have a unique kind of beauty! You might as well think back to when those little girls who haven't fully developed looked at you with that disdainful gaze. How can I describe that feeling to you?"
"It's like savoring a rich cup of coffee, bittersweet, leaving a lingering aftertaste!" Ming replied subconsciously while Kannazuki was still pondering how to perfectly describe that feeling.
"Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly how it feels! Ming, you really understand me!" Shen Wuyue excitedly patted Ming on the shoulder.
As Ming awkwardly led Kannazuki on the way to write short notes, and observed the attitudes of other pedestrians towards Kannazuki, he came to a conclusion: walking with Kannazuki always meant being looked down upon, at least for now.
But recalling Kannazuki's description, and thinking about it again, it seems that Sawa was only an average-sized student before she died, and her bust size was also flat compared to Kannazuki's... well, she was within the hunting range...
For some reason, Ming felt that although he appeared cheerful in front of the people of Ratatosk, he was actually quite indifferent inside. He unconsciously swallowed.
'Ah, why do I feel a little excited when Sawa looks at me with disdain and calls me trash...? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! It must be Asmodeus's fault!'
Asmodeus, who was quietly observing the changes in Ming's heart rate, muttered:
"No? Can I move around inside you? It's just your true nature, isn't it? Even your expressionless face can't hide your little quirks...~_~"
Just as Ming was about to lose control and drool was dripping from the corner of his mouth, Shen Wuyue suddenly stopped without warning, unexpectedly blocking his path.
Seeing this, Ming couldn't help but feel a sense of doubt. He quickly walked to Shen Wuyue's side and asked softly, "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop?"
However, Kannazuki did not answer Ming's question immediately; his gaze was fixed on the church not far ahead, which was used for taking wedding photos.
Ming followed Kannazuki's gaze and saw a familiar pair of figures standing at the church entrance—Shido and Kurumi, who had just finished taking wedding photos.
"Ming Cong's subordinate, if I'm not mistaken, that one that came out looks like [Nightmare], right? But Shido..."
Suddenly, Kannazuki pointed seriously to the church entrance and said...
"Maybe this kid is self-taught. Let's not worry about him. He's just trying to conquer the spirits without us. Let's go."
Ming forcibly pulled Shen Wuyue away.
"Um, shouldn't we report this to the Commander?"
"No need. From what I know about Kotori, she should have known long ago. We're just on vacation, and it's convenient for her to let us come back."
"Oh, I see! Commander, you're so kind! As expected of you, Commander! Let's go then, let's continue playing around at the signature area!"
And so, Kannazuki continued walking with Akira toward the place where they were to sign their names not far away.