CHAPTER 76: BAD HABITS DIE HARD

Surprisingly, Shihon found herself waking up the next morning without her Master having to personally awaken her.

Staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, it took her several seconds to remember that she was not home, and she drowsily yawned while rubbing her eyes.

What the...it must be pretty late, judging by the severe morning rays.

As she rotated her head while still lying on the king-sized bed, she found a male figure sleeping soundly right next to her, and she gazed at him with shock before tapping on his phone that lay next to him to view the time.

Ten in the morning...and he’s still sleeping, huh? she thought with slight confusion, but realized that this was probably the beginning of her Master actually deciding to slack off and take extra rest.

She sighed and adoringly monitored his slumbering body, admiring his calm, expressionless face, while she continued to fawn over him in silence.

Damn it, he’s so cute when he’s quiet like this...It almost pains me to do what I wanna do.

Oh, that’s a nice moment- wait, what?

Just as I thought that this was going to be another adorable shipping moment, here goes Shihon quietly sneaking out of bed and stripping until she was bare naked.

Then, she took several steps backwards, increasing the gap between her own self and the sleeping prince. Oh god. Aaaand she’s running towards him at the speed of sound.

Springing herself off of the ground, she leaped into the air and launched herself upwards, hanging in the air for a few seconds before she descended.

"I ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THIS!!!"

"....H...uh?"

Hearing a yell, Liohime Kitagami opened his eyes ever so slightly, but by then, it was already way too late.

"WAKE UUUUP, MAAASSTEEEERRR!!!"

Her body collided into him with force, while he got a mouthful of....

You know what? It wasn’t all that bad, actually.

***

"T-The hell was she thinking, trying to injure me like that just a couple of days before my mission?" Liohime muttered, taking a walk through the corridors while wearing a yellow t-shirt and short black pants, looking for a specific room number after successfully recalling Shihon into his mindspace despite her complaints about wanting to spend a bit more time with him in bed.

Sometimes he just couldn’t understand some of Shihon’s motives behind various decisions, and there were other times where he just did not want to know.

Then, noticing two people walking towards him, he squinted, and then his eyes widened.

Leah, the Sex-For-Hire Shinigami Soldier, with some random guy who he’d never seen before...wait.

Is she....? No, there’s no chance

, he convincingly pondered.

"Leah."

"Hey, Lio!" she enthusiastically waved to him while wrapping her own left arm around the handsome man’s arm. Did you get the message this morning from Ophiel?"

"Uh, yeah, I’m heading over to his room right now, actually. Uh....what about you?"

"Fufu...sorry, but I won’t make it. Have fun, though!"

"R-Right. You too."

On hearing ’you too’, she let out a sly smirk as they passed each other, and as Liohime turned slightly to watch the duo, she had ushered the man into her room.

She really likes her job, huh? No, rather, the money that comes with it, he concluded and sighed.

And I kid you not, the very next few seconds later, he spotted Harvey with a group of other young men that he knew nothing about, huddling up and leaning forward, as one of them began to snort a line of-

"Oooookay! Time out here!" Liohime called out, grabbing their attention. "That’s two weird instances so far about you guys willingly volunteering to do your jobs! What the hell is going on here!?"

"Oi, shut the fuck up, will ya?" one of the men next to Harvey shot back, before facing the Drugs-For-Hire Shinigami Soldier and nodding. "Yeah, this is good. We’ll take it. Here’s your money."

"Fair enough."

And in the middle of a quiet hallway with barely any passers-by, a casual transaction of cocaine was made right in front of Liohime’s eyes, rendering him speechless as the men quickly left the scene.

"How long are you gonna keep standing there like a fucking idiot?" Harvey barked, giving off a disgusted look. "Scram."

"Just who were those guys? Also, stop doing this shit out in the open, for fuck sake!"

"You didn’t know? Ah, right, they didn’t have their usual outfits on. They were some of the other Shinigami Soldiers who arrived today, from their respective nearby regions. Granted some of them might have the same jobs as us, but I’m guessing that the ones who met me either don’t have jobs like I do or are unable to contact those who do."

Liohime paused.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"So, Leah’s about to fuck a co-worker from a different district?"

"Eh, she is? Well, good for her."

"You hypocritical ass loser," Liohime snapped. "Why do you hate the relationship that Jolene and I had but praise...that?"

"Well, for one," he replied hastily while walking up to him, "They’re most likely not gonna see each other after this mission. Two, it’s a transactional relationship, between a prostitute and a client. Three, you’re fucking stupid."

And of course, he had to follow that up with a punch to his gut, causing Liohime to tumble onto his knees in pain.

"GUHK!!"

"Anyway, Ophiel called for us to meet him outside, and it seems like Bica and him are in a bit of a rut. Jolene’s already on her way, so let’s get moving."

"I...need...air..."

"Ugh."

Hoisting him up, Harvey clicked his tongue as they both hobbled on.

***

"Ah, you’re finally here," muttered Jolene, who found herself in the midst of a small group that consisted of girls and boys, along with Ophiel and Bica, and as both Harvey and Liohime cocked their heads to the side in confusion, she mentioned what was up:

"Ophiel got bullied into a bet by these guys. I thought that it was about a fight, but, well..."

"Well..?"

"...It’s about a Magical Beast fight between the Hallory Circuit and Polar Town Shinigami Soldiers. Their best against our best."