"Guess!"
Shiro suddenly blinked, stuck out his tongue, and after saying "Guess," left Kasumigaoka Utaha completely stunned.
Then, when she came to her senses, countless black lines appeared on her forehead. She was certain that this person definitely had a screw loose.
"Can't you be a little more serious?"
"This is a matter of life and death for me right now, alright?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha spoke through gritted teeth. If she didn't feel that she couldn't beat him, she would definitely have taught this scoundrel a proper lesson.
"That's not my fault. Who told you to bring up those miserable professions that I'm not?"
"I'm neither an Onmyoji nor an exorcist, as you say, because those professions are too lowly."
Kasumigaoka Utaha thought to herself: I really wonder, what kind of noble profession is that?
"Of course, personally, I have no intention of defining myself through any profession."
"After all, I'm just an ordinary high school student enjoying daily life."
"At most, I occasionally do part-time jobs, like this time."
Kasumigaoka Utaha heard the words "part-time job" and spoke without thinking.
"If you can help me solve this problem, I can pay you!"
After saying that, she first sighed in relief, thinking it was a good idea. Then she worried whether her wallet could handle it. Although she had earned some money from the first volume, the second was about to be canceled.
"Come on, with your money, you can't afford that."
"Then what do you want?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha subconsciously said this sentence, and then, seeing someone's unsettling gaze, suddenly seemed to realize something and could only point at herself, speaking in an incredulous tone.
"You want me?"
"And who else? Fair is fair, right? I'm saving your life, and I want you once. Pretty fair trade."
Shiro said this with a playful smile at that moment, but he did not expect the other party to reject him without hesitation.
"No!"
"I won't agree to that."
Kasumigaoka Utaha stated that she could not accept doing such a thing with someone she had just met for the first time.
"Then you don't care about your life anymore?"
Shiro's tone carried curiosity, because he was interested in how she would choose.
"I'd rather you not save me! At worst, it's just death!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was silent for a moment after hearing that, then gritted her teeth and replied with a resolute, self-sacrificing expression.
Shiro found her appearance interesting. He could tell she was sincere; in other words, she was burning all the bridges behind her. How interesting.
Shiro looked at her defiant face and decided to lower his demands. Since he had already met her, he didn't intend to let her go, and certainly did not intend to let her die.
"If you already have such a backbone, how about a kiss instead?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha was also silent after hearing that he had lowered his demands, because it was much better than before.
At that moment, she was having an internal struggle.
What Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't understand was that Shiro was incredibly confident in her decision. After all, everything depended on comparison. His previous demand had been excessive, but compared to this, it no longer seemed extreme. Moreover, normally, who would want to die if they could live? So she would definitely agree to his request.
"Alright!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha decided to take it as if she had been bitten by a dog; otherwise, there really was no other way.
She began to mentally prepare, telling herself: The dog bit me, the dog bit me.
Shiro clearly read her thoughts and wildly thought: Yeah, you really are something, daring to take that as a dog bite, huh? You'll learn.
Shiro first sent a message to Mikan, saying he had something to do tonight and would return home a little later.
"Let's go!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha watched Shiro finish sending the message, then tell her to move. She then began to lead the way and spoke in a curious tone.
"Shiro, my house is pretty far from here. Why don't you tell your parents that you might return a little later?"
"Or maybe you also live in this area?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha subconsciously assumed that Shiro thought her house was closer, so she reminded him to avoid misunderstandings later.
"Don't worry, don't worry. I've already told Mikan; she just needs to save my meal."
Kasumigaoka Utaha, with her sharp mind, sensed that this was a bit strange. She mentioned her parents, and he mentioned another name, which meant there might be a small problem. Of course, they weren't close, so there was no need to discuss it now.
Then the two of them walked side by side. She felt a slight unease, so she thought a little and decided to start a conversation.
"Shiro, do these supernatural occurrences happen often?"
"Emmm… not really, I guess? You could just say you have bad luck. Of course, since your area is relatively small, some people may never encounter it in their entire life, while others, like you, might be unlucky enough to run into such a thing."
"After all, as far as I know, there are still corresponding orders and rules."
"And those who know about these things, or the wealthy, once they encounter a problem like yours, know to call for help. But for ordinary people like you, well, it all comes down to luck. If you're lucky, you run into me. If not, you wait for death."
Kasumigaoka Utaha fell silent after hearing that, then sighed.
"Really, class is a big problem."
"Exactly. Especially here, so-called officials and premiers, to be honest, their words are not nearly as effective as the words of the onions."
"After all, it's precisely those onions that decide who comes to power."
Kasumigaoka Utaha, after hearing that, suddenly thought of something and spoke in a curious tone:
"And how are supernatural beings classified? In your eyes, the supernatural beings, who is nobler compared to those officials and onions?"
Shiro then thought for a moment.
"It depends on strength."
"After all, not every supernatural being is strong. Becoming a supernatural being generally means you have predisposition, but having predisposition doesn't necessarily mean you're very capable. So the strong are definitely above the onions, because if weapons can't defeat them, what means do the onions have to oppose them? However, the weak can be killed with a single knife."
"But usually no one dares to provoke them. How should I put it, they can use curses, summon spirits, or other methods to deal with you. However, those onions definitely collaborate with supernatural beings or worship them."
"If I have to say, for the weak, everyone sticks to their own business. For the strong, you have to flatter them, because they might be needed to save your life."
"After all, spirits, demons, and apparitions are not exactly peaceful beings. People like them also need the strong to protect them."
Kasumigaoka Utaha felt that she had learned a lot after hearing that.
"Shiro, what is your status? Are you someone whom everyone leaves alone, or someone whom people fawn over?"
Shiro, after hearing the question, glanced at her, then shook his head.
"Neither. In their eyes, I'm just an ordinary person."
Kasumigaoka Utaha was a little surprised by that answer, then teased him.
"Oh, then am I pretty lucky to be able to ask for your help?"
"Emmm… you're really quite lucky. If you were ugly, even if someone killed your entire clan, I wouldn't have bothered to look at you."
Kasumigaoka Utaha, hearing such a brutally honest answer from a certain person, really wanted to ask: Has your emotional intelligence gone to hell?
But then she suddenly felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. Did she really have to be grateful for having such a face? At least it could make the other party help her.
"In a way, I really am quite lucky."