21st Century Necromancer

"Achoo!" In the UDI office, Tokairin Yūko sneezed. The tracking from the night before had given her a cold.

Even though she'd taken cold medicine, she was still sneezing today.

As she wiped her nose with a tissue, Tokairin Yūko couldn't help but feel resentful toward Misumi Mikoto. If it hadn't been for her actions last night, she wouldn't have felt compelled to follow her and ended up catching a cold from worry. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire

With this thought, Tokairin Yūko couldn't help but look at Misumi Mikoto, who was sitting nearby. Today, Misumi was looking radiant, with rosy cheeks and glowing skin. Even without makeup, she still looked stunning.

Seeing Misumi Mikoto's appearance, Tokairin Yūko felt even more annoyed and couldn't resist sliding her chair closer. With an accusatory gaze, she asked in a low voice, "Culprit Misumi Mikoto, what were you doing with Professor Chen Yu last night?"

"Tokairin? What's up? Didn't I tell you yesterday? Last night I simply invited Professor Chen Yu to dinner," Misumi Mikoto, looking at Tokairin Yūko's strange expression and furrowing her brows, explained her whereabouts from the night before.

Of course, Misumi Mikoto hid the part about following Chen Yu to the Necromantic Space afterward. That was not something an ordinary person like Tokairin Yūko needed to know.

"I'm asking where you and Professor Chen Yu went after dinner last night. I saw you guys leave the restaurant and enter a mall, and then you disappeared without a trace!" Tokairin Yūko, seeing that Misumi Mikoto still had that attitude, couldn't help but reveal her stalking from the previous night. Although it was inappropriate, Tokairin Yūko was more concerned about her friend's welfare.

"So it was you who were following us last night!" Misumi Mikoto realized what had happened as soon as Tokairin Yūko mentioned it. She nodded in sudden understanding, no wonder Chen Yu had mentioned someone was following them last night; it turned out to be Tokairin Yūko.

Thinking this, Misumi Mikoto also understood and looked at Tokairin Yūko with a mix of annoyance and slight touch of emotion, asking with a wry smile, "Why on earth did you follow me, Tokairin! Didn't I tell you? There's nothing going on between Professor Chen Yu and me, I was just treating him to a meal. And even if you wanted to know what we were up to, was it necessary to follow us? Couldn't you have just asked me directly?"

"Ask you? Would you have told the truth?" Tokairin Yūko frowned in discontentment, staring back at Misumi Mikoto. Although she felt resentful, Tokairin Yūko was still worried about what might have happened between Misumi Mikoto and Chen Yu the night before, and asked with concern, "Mikoto! Where did you and Professor Chen Yu end up going last night? I waited at the entrance of that mall for over an hour, until it closed, and I didn't see you guys come out. Where did you go? You didn't actually go to a... love hotel, did you?"

"How could that be! Why would I go to a love hotel with Professor Chen Yu! He is my..." Misumi Mikoto stopped abruptly, the nature of their relationship was not something she could disclose, so she quickly shook her head in denial, flustered: "Anyway, don't overthink it, Tokairin. Last night, Professor Chen Yu took me to a place and told me some things, but nothing happened between us! It's not a big deal for you to say such things about me, but you can't ruin Professor Chen Yu's reputation!"

However, observing Misumi Mikoto's demeanor, Tokairin Yuko's conviction in her own judgment only grew stronger. Unable to hold back, she grabbed Misumi Mikoto's arm and complained, "Meiqin! I'm just concerned about you! I don't want you to become the other woman who's sneaking around! Do you realize that the way you look at Professor Chen Yu is really suspicious? It's exactly like a young girl eyeing a handsome Johnny's idol, and your thoughts are almost written all over your face... What is this?"

While Tokairin Yuko was complaining and holding onto Misumi Mikoto's arm, she accidentally touched Misumi Mikoto's wrist and upon looking down, she discovered an exquisite and beautiful bracelet adorning her forearm. Not only did it have intricate patterns, but it was also set with a large purple gemstone that looked very mysterious and pretty.

"You didn't have this yesterday, could it be... Professor Chen Yu gave it to you last night?" Tokairin Yuko's eyes grew wide as she looked at Misumi Mikoto, at a loss for words.

However, at that moment, Kube Rokuro, who was nearby, peered over at Misumi Mikoto's wrist before interjecting to Tokairin Yuko, "Doctor Tokairin... I'm sorry, but I was the one who gave this to Dr. Misumi. I was supposed to give it to her yesterday, but I forgot to bring it. So, I ran into Dr. Misumi on my way here this morning and was able to give it to her."

As Kube Rokuro spoke, his expression turned shy and embarrassed, and he lowered his head in apology to Tokairin Yuko, "I'm really sorry for the misunderstanding."

Tokairin Yuko looked at Kube Rokuro skeptically. Although his gaze flickered, the shyness and remorse on his face seemed genuine. Doubtfully she asked, "You gave it?" After Kube Rokuro reaffirmed his answer, she nodded, finally believing his words.

Even though the matter of the bracelet could be explained away, Tokairin Yuko still harbored suspicions about what had transpired the previous evening between Misumi Mikoto and Chen Yu. But before she could speak again, the Nakado Department came by, dropping a file on Tokairin Yuko's desk, "Here are the autopsy records of the body from this morning. Get the tests done quickly; I need the analysis report urgently."

Having said that, he walked away towards the water cooler with his cup, as if none of this concerned him in the slightest.

With the interruption from Kube Rokuro and the Nakado Department, Tokairin Yuko found it inappropriate to continue the conversation and returned to her desk. She opened the file that had just been thrown over by the Nakado Department and started working on it resignedly.

Behind her, Misumi Mikoto, watching Tokairin Yuko finally stop questioning her, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, feeling a weight lifted off her chest. Glancing at Kube Rokuro, who was busying himself with his work while Tokairin Yuko continued to mutter to herself, she picked up her phone and sent Kube Rokuro a message, "Thank you."

"Don't mention it; I'm still looking forward to learning magic from you, Senior Misumi!" Kube Rokuro replied.