Gin Dojima didn't get the chance to speak.
Before he could react, Emiya used telekinesis to cover his mouth, cutting him off completely.
Gin Dojima's eyes widened in horror.
Emiya smiled.
"Since you didn't refuse, I'll take that as consent. How much time is left before the shokugeki starts?"
With that, Emiya released his telekinesis.
Gin Dojima finally regained control of his mouth. He hesitated for a moment before answering.
"About an hour."
He didn't know exactly what had happened, but he was certain Emiya was responsible.
For the first time, Gin Dojima felt a trace of fear toward someone.
Humans fear the unknown.
Even a chef as fearless as him was no exception.
"Good," Emiya said. "In an hour, I'll bring people to participate in the shokugeki. When the time comes, have Erina Nakiri come pick me up. As for where I came from, ask her."
"That's all."
With that, Emiya turned and left, abandoning a stunned Gin Dojima behind him.
After returning to Erina Nakiri's room, Emiya activated his ability again and headed for the Natsume's Book of Friends world.
The next second, he appeared inside Takashi Natsume's room.
But Natsume wasn't there.
Last time, both Erina and Natsume had been present. This time, the room was empty.
Where did he go?
Emiya recalled that school in Japan ended early. Natsume didn't belong to any clubs, so he should have been home by now.
Did he run into a youkai on the way back?
That seemed plausible.
Because of the Book of Friends, youkai frequently sought him out to reclaim their names.
And Natsume never refused.
In fact, he was proactive about it.
But every time he returned a name, the Book of Friends only grew thicker.
After six seasons of the anime, Natsume still hadn't returned them all.
Emiya couldn't help wondering just how many youkai Reiko Natsume had defeated back then.
And how many powerful ones.
If Takashi Natsume ever gathered all the youkai bound by the Book of Friends, he could easily become the master of a Hyakki Yakō.
Even Nurarihyon would be impressed.
Hagoromo Gitsune might even shed tears.
After confirming Natsume wouldn't be back anytime soon, Emiya opened the window, climbed onto the roof, and quietly left the house.
He followed the nearby paths, planning to search the area and bring Natsume to the shokugeki with Shinomiya Kojiro, Soma Yukihira, and Megumi Tadokoro.
If he couldn't find him, that was fine too.
There would always be another chance.
This wasn't a one-time opportunity.
The world of Natsume's Book of Friends was full of youkai.
In the anime, Natsume ran into several almost every episode.
Yet Emiya hadn't seen a single one so far.
He began to wonder if he lacked the ability to see ghosts.
In this world, ordinary people couldn't see youkai.
But no matter how he looked at it, Emiya wasn't ordinary.
He had superpowers.
He also carried Loki's blessing.
By all logic, he should be able to see them.
Just as he was walking along a rural road, starting to doubt himself, something massive burst out of the forest ahead and flew overhead.
Emiya looked up.
He recognized it immediately.
A horse's head. One eye hidden behind long white hair. Bells hanging from its ears. Twin horns.
A powerful youkai.
Its name was-
"Misuzu."
Emiya called out.
The great youkai paused midair, clearly startled by a human calling his name. He looked down.
The one who called him was a human.
Emiya glanced around.
The road was empty.
With no one else in sight, he used telekinesis to lift himself into the air.
"Misuzu," Emiya said calmly. "I want to ask about someone. Do you know where Natsume is?"
"Lord Natsume?" Misuzu narrowed his eye. "Who are you? And why are you asking about his whereabouts?"
"A friend."
"Are you an exorcist?"
From Misuzu's perspective, ordinary humans couldn't fly.
Even exorcists rarely could.
But exceptions existed.
That uncertainty made him cautious, though he didn't attack.
"No," Emiya said, shaking his head.
He had no interest in exorcism.
And in this world, while some youkai attacked humans, most had no malice and preferred to stay within their own domains.
Misuzu himself was a guardian spirit of a pond.
Misuzu studied Emiya carefully.
Seeing no hostility, he nodded.
"Follow me. I'll take you to Lord Natsume."
"Thanks."
Emiya dropped back to the ground.
He wasn't invisible.
Flying openly risked drawing attention from ordinary people.
Walking was safer.
Misuzu turned and flew toward the forest.
Emiya followed.
They traveled through the trees for about twenty minutes before passing a narrow trail. Beyond it, the forest suddenly opened into a clearing.
Several youkai were gathered there.
Ones that appeared often in the Book of Friends.
The Mustache.
Hinoe.
One-Eye.
The Ox Head.
The Kappa.
They were clearly holding a banquet.
At the center sat Takashi Natsume.
Naturally, Nyanko-sensei was beside him.
"Lord Natsume," Misuzu said softly as he landed. "Someone has come to see you."