Anime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Pure-hearted God of Wisdom

Asuna blinked, momentarily stunned by the remark. Before she could formulate a proper retort, the imposing iron gates of a sprawling white estate loomed into view. The mansion resembled a European castle, pristine and intimidating against the skyline. Waiting for them at the grand entrance was Iwanaga Kotoko. She had changed out of her previous attire into a delicate, light pink Western-style dress, complete with a matching pink choker that accentuated her petite, doll-like frame.

“Yuuki-san, Asagiri. Please, come in,” Kotoko greeted, her voice carrying an airy, aristocratic lilt.

Asuna felt a sharp, sudden prickle of irritation. Asagiri? The casual, intimate use of his given name grated on her nerves. Even after everything they had survived together, Asuna still maintained a respectful distance, calling him Utsunomiya-san. Aren’t you getting a little too familiar with him? she thought, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Kotoko’s sharp gaze drifted downward. She noticed Asagiri’s right hand resting casually at his side—his fingers subtly curled into the shape of a gun, muscles coiled and ready to unleash lethal force at a moment’s notice. Her eye gleamed with understanding. Turning to the head maid who had escorted them, she offered a polite, dismissive smile.

“Thank you for your hard work. You may leave us now.”

“Yes, My Lady,” the maid bowed deeply before retreating down the manicured path.

Once the servant was out of earshot, Kotoko turned her attention back to Asagiri, her smile shifting into something far sweeter and far more knowing.

“I know I haven’t entirely earned your trust yet,” Kotoko said softly. “But I assure you, I have temporarily dismissed all the staff. There is no one in this house but the three of us. I haven’t laid any traps or ambushes, so please, put your minds at ease.”

Asagiri’s lips curved into a faint, dry smile. His hand didn’t relax. “The human staff might be gone,” he countered smoothly. “But what about your so-called specters and yokai?”

Kotoko blinked, momentarily taken aback, before a delicate laugh escaped her lips. She waved a dismissive hand. “You have completely misunderstood the nature of my subjects. It is true that I am the God of Wisdom to the spirits, and they respectfully address me as their Princess. However, my authority over them is largely administrative. I can ask them to deliver messages, gather intelligence, and keep watch.”

She paused, her tone turning a fraction more serious. “Order them to kill? Over ninety-five percent of these oddities lack the physical capacity to harm a human being. The remaining fraction falls into two categories: mindless beasts of pure malice that cannot comprehend orders and would gladly devour me, or sentient beings that would outright refuse a command to commit murder.”

“The entire reason they revere me as their God of Wisdom is to maintain a delicate balance between the supernatural and human society. That is my sacred duty. If I were to issue an order that shattered that peace, I would instantly forfeit my right to be their Princess.”

“…” Kotoko lifted her elegant walking cane and tapped it lightly against her left leg. A dull, hollow clack echoed in the quiet air—the unmistakable sound of wood and metal striking a prosthetic limb. She smiled up at them, entirely unbothered. “I am a frail girl missing an eye and a leg. At this proximity, either of you could snap my neck before I could even blink. If I truly intended to ambush you, I certainly wouldn’t present myself as bait on the front porch.”

With that flawless logic laid bare, she turned, pushed open the heavy mahogany doors of the mansion, and offered a graceful, sweeping gesture. “Please, come in.”

The interior of the estate was just as opulent as the exterior, boasting high vaulted ceilings and rich, antique furnishings. They settled into the plush velvet sofas of the main living room. On the low coffee table sat an ornate silver tea set alongside a tiered stand of exquisite, bite-sized pastries.

“My apologies,” Kotoko said, gesturing to the spread. “Because I dismissed the staff early to ensure our privacy, the black tea might have gone a bit cold.”

Asuna waved a hand, her posture still slightly stiff and reserved. “It’s perfectly fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Very well. As long as you don’t mind,” Kotoko replied smoothly. “Now, let us move on to business.”

Skipping any further pleasantries, Kotoko retrieved her smartphone. She tapped open the sinister application marked with the bleeding eye icon and slid the device across the table toward Asagiri and Asuna. “This is the clearance evaluation and reward data I received.”

Asuna leaned in to inspect the glowing screen. The layout of the system interface was identical to her own, but the grading was starkly different. While Asuna had secured a phenomenal S+ rating, Kotoko’s screen displayed a mere A-. The reward description beneath it was pitifully brief.

[Congratulations on receiving your clearance reward: Unlocked basic profession ‘Warlock’, obtained skill ‘Curse’s Gaze’, mental strength slightly increased.]

[Warlock: A basic combat support profession that inflicts mental damage upon enemies by consuming mental power to cast skills.]

[Curse’s Gaze: When establishing direct eye contact with a target, this skill can be activated by expending a set amount of mental power. If the Player’s mental strength exceeds the target’s, the enemy will suffer afflictions ranging from severe dizziness and vomiting to a full comatose state, depending on the statistical disparity. If the Player’s mental strength is lower than the target’s, the skill will fail, and the user will suffer a 50% psychic backlash of the intended effect.]

“This… this reward…” Asuna faltered, her voice trailing off. She bit her lip, swallowing the harsh truth. The payout was abysmal—arguably worse than the meager scraps she had received for surviving her very first beginner dungeon. But she didn’t want to be cruel and rub salt in the other girl’s wounds. Forcing a polite, strained smile, she tried to salvage the silence. “Um… well, it seems like a rather fitting skill for your playstyle…”

“This reward is absolute garbage,” Asagiri stated, his deadpan voice slicing right through Asuna’s delicate diplomacy.

Before Asuna could even flinch, he leaned back into the sofa cushions, utterly merciless. “Then again, an A- rank clearance only deserves this level of trash.”

“You are entirely correct,” Kotoko agreed without missing a beat. There wasn’t a trace of offense on her face; she merely smiled and nodded in concession. “I fully expected as much. To be perfectly frank, the two of you would have cleared that dungeon just as efficiently without my presence. I didn’t participate in the frontline combat the way Yuuki-san did. The system calculated that my overall contribution to the survival objective was minimal, so dispensing this level of reward is a perfectly logical judgment.”

Having said her piece, Kotoko lifted her porcelain teacup from its saucer, taking a delicate sip of the lukewarm black tea. Every movement she made was steeped in aristocratic elegance and unshakable composure.

Setting the cup down, she peered at Asagiri through her long lashes, a sly, affectionate smile curving her lips. “I fell in love with you at first sight, you know. If I show you this much sincerity and you still refuse to trust me, my fragile heart as a pure maiden will be deeply wounded.”

Asuna choked on her breath, her polite facade shattering instantly. “You? A pure maiden?” she retorted, her voice pitching up in disbelief. “Please! I’ve never heard of a ‘pure maiden’ actively begging a guy to… to do that to her!”

“Oh?” Kotoko tilted her head, her expression the picture of innocent curiosity. “Are you referring to my request for Asagiri to manually assist in the physical development of certain lacking areas of my chest?”

There wasn’t a single microscopic trace of shame on Kotoko’s fair, doll-like cheeks. Instead, she puffed out her modest chest, radiating absolute confidence.

“I wasn’t asking just any random man off the street to grope me. I specifically requested that Asagiri be the one to do it. If dedicating myself solely to him isn’t the very definition of purity, then what is?”