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Because there were people coming and going on the street, it would be troublesome to cause any major commotion by acting recklessly, requiring extensive memory wiping, and even if there weren't as many surveillance cameras in Japan as in Dongda, they were still installed in many places in such shopping districts.
Asakura subtly winked at Gokou Ruri, and the girl nodded knowingly.
His meaning was simple: he signaled the girl to quickly cooperate with him in turning into a less crowded place, which would make it easier to ascertain the situation of the person following them.
However, if they turned too deliberately, the other party would obviously notice, so a little acting was required.
Probably to mislead the stalker, Gokou Ruri intimately hooked Asakura's arm, pressing most of her body against him.
Her movements were fluid and seamless, as if such intimacy was natural between them.
Only Asakura, whom she clung to, could feel the girl's icy, slightly trembling fingers and her body tensing from nervousness.
Although she always spoke of various chuunibyou fantasies, Gokou Ruri was, after all, only a fourteen-year-old middle school student. When faced with such a situation, she was clearly more nervous and worried than excited.
She feigned composure, her lips even carrying the arrogant smile of the Queen of Nightmare she often cosplayed, but Asakura, who was so close he could even detect the cheap but quite pleasant detergent smell on the girl, could clearly see the panic hidden beneath her smile.
The girl's long eyelashes cast faint shadows on her fair face under the streetlights, her eyes shimmered with clear, bright water, her thin, lovely cherry lips were tightly pressed, and even her breathing was noticeably more rapid under the infrared observation of the Curse [Snake].
Although highly inappropriate, Asakura felt as if he had unexpectedly discovered some new charming points about the girl.
So cute.
So Asakura put his arm around the girl's slender waist, looking like 'this junior has fallen for my charm, and next we're going to some unspeakable hotel to have fun,' and very naturally turned into an alley.
Immediately, the girl's pretty face flushed red, and that usually beautiful tear mole looked even more charming against this blush. Under the bewildered gazes of passersby—'Now? Here?' 'That girl's age... that's illegal'—the tips of the girl's ears turned so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
She shyly looked at Asakura, then noticed Asakura giving her a new look, the gist of which was: don't stick so close, it feels a bit inconvenient to move, and also, something is poking my chest a bit, did you wear a badge or something today?
Thus, the hint of girlish romance the girl had just cultivated instantly flew out the window.
She shot Asakura an exasperated glare, then broke free from his embrace, her small face frosty and stern, her wine-red eyes losing some of their mistiness and gaining more of their usual alertness, as if asking, 'Do you want to act here?'
Asakura's steps suddenly paused, and the smug expression he had put on, as if a player had successfully picked up another girl, instantly collapsed.
"They escaped."
He frowned and looked back, "Did your cat see how they escaped?"
Gokou Ruri no longer bothered protesting Asakura's blunt behavior and immediately called the cat that had been following them. She squatted down and 'meowed' back and forth with it for a while, then replied, "It also doesn't know how the other party escaped. It just felt something was wrong as it followed us into this alley, and then its body distorted and flickered before disappearing."
Asakura stroked his chin.
Since Ryunosuke's software hadn't collected it, the specific situation wasn't clear, but in some urban legend videos he used to watch while eating, it was mentioned that the characteristics of the 'Slender Man,' besides liking to abduct children, included a teleportation-like ability.
However, if it truly was the Slender Man following them just now, it would prove that the other party was quite rare, unlike conventional oddities that usually only appear in remote or specific locations with few people. This entity could appear in bustling crowds without being noticed.
Its rarity was probably similar to a ghost that could break through a blanket's protective shield and appear directly inside the blanket, an exception among exceptions.
Asakura turned his head to look at the manhole cover on the side of the road. Gokou Ruri, due to his action, also instinctively looked over, and then she was horrified to see a pitch-black tentacle suddenly emerge from the crack of the manhole cover.
A moment later, she realized from the Snake's occasional flicking tongue that it was actually a small, completely black Snake.
Under Asakura's gaze, the small Snake shook its head in a very human-like manner.
"Anon and Yuigahama weren't followed by that thing, which means the trigger condition for being followed by it isn't 'having Curse' or 'being a witch'?"
He murmured to himself.
Considering his own peculiarity, the possibility of the Slender Man targeting him felt much higher than targeting Gokou Ruri.
"Like a stalker, it's upsetting."
Gokou Ruri said with a stern little face.
Asakura pushed up his glasses. Considering he had already used Truth Vision today, he hesitated repeatedly, finally giving up on the idea of using it again to search for information.
After all, the other party had already left, and nothing was left on the ground—no body tissue, no hair, no footprints. Even if he activated Truth Vision here, at most he could only try to deduce the direction the other party escaped based on some residual fluctuation or energy in the atmosphere (if it existed), which would be too useless and meaningless for a target that could teleport.
Moreover, it couldn't be confirmed that the other party was an enemy: perhaps it was just a witch who had autonomously awakened a Curse and created a familiar through her Curse? If one were to guess in this direction, couldn't the twisting and flickering of that figure also be explained as the other party canceling the familiar's summon?
However, if he were to speculate so divergently, it would be endless. For now, it was better to temporarily adhere to Occam's Razor and consider the other party as an oddity or similar supernatural entity.
"I'll have the Snake guard around you for a while, but if you notice anything unusual, don't hesitate; find a way to notify me directly."
Asakura earnestly instructed the girl. Not only Gokou Ruri, but Asakura would also dispatch the Snake to guard and keep watch around Asagumo Chihaya and the others.
Gokou Ruri nodded understandingly.
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