After Transmigrating to Become Lady Skylark - Chapter 34.2

Chapter 34.2

“……Madam?”

Sensing that something was wrong with her expression, Kina immediately hurried over. She turned off the oil pot first, then asked with concern, “Is Miss Kazumiko’s phone not going through?”

“Mm…”

She responded somewhat absentmindedly, her eyes fixed on the Mall page. She took several deep breaths, looking at the used and expired abilities in the Mall warehouse.

[Tsukuyomi] and [Amaterasu] were as expected.

It was also normal that one [G380-Companion] card had been used.

[A13-Wandering Soul Pillow]… mm…

Wait, why is [S8-The Hole That Disappears] also marked as “Used”?

Jin Chaoyan stared at the screen, her expression a perfect replica of the “Grandpa squinting at phone” meme. After leaning in repeatedly in confusion, she muttered, “D-Did I… give this card to her too?”

When was it?

Before she appeared on Hibari’s private plane? Did she do it while she was drunk?

The effect of this card is that after entering the hole, one is randomly transported to a sparsely populated area within the country. Now, the problem arose: if Jin Kazumiko really used this card, what if she didn’t encounter an accident on the streets of Namimori, but instead got attacked by wild beasts in a deserted forest?

She let out a worried “tsk” and finally looked up from her phone. “Kina, contact the bodyguards who went out with her immediately. See where her last known tracks were.”

“Yes, Madam. Please wait a moment.”

Kina took off the gloves she wore while working at the counter and took out her phone to contact the bodyguards. After waiting a few minutes, her face turned solemn the moment she received the reply.

“…The latest news, Madam. The bodyguards following Miss Kazumiko entered the Take Sushi shop with her at 4:40 PM. They were subjected to a mysterious attack. The accompanying bodyguards were killed in action. Additionally, the owner who was operating the shop today and the customers present have all died.”

Because the news was too shocking and heavy, Kina’s voice faltered halfway through, becoming somewhat raspy.

Even though she had witnessed such things with Jin Chaoyan in the Ginza bar district and knew about the dangerous kidnapping event before, hearing that someone she personally knew had lost their life in this was a completely different feeling.

After the initial shock, Kina immediately looked at Jin Chaoyan with concern, worry visible in her eyes. She feared her mistress might collapse under this heavy blow, especially given her medical history and the two high fevers she’d had in recent months.

To her surprise, Jin Chaoyan did not sway or refuse to accept the terrible reality. Instead, she murmured with a calmness that Kina found chilling:

“Take Sushi? I understand.”

Jin Chaoyan reopened the Mall to check her recently purchased new abilities. From the Bleach world, there were [Bakudo #1: Sai], [Hado #63: Raikoho], and both the Shikai and Bankai versions of [Zanpakuto Sode no Shirayuki]. From the Hunter x Hunter world, there was [Chain Jail]. From the Naruto world, there were [Mangekyo Sharingan: Kamui] and [Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu], along with several random Ninjutsu scrolls.

However, none of these were particularly good for concealing her tracks.

Kamui could make her movements elusive, but using it just to scout a route and investigate what happened at Take Sushi… felt a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Jin Chaoyan fell into deep thought and realized a serious problem.

Even if she had these abilities to protect her, her own attack, defense, and reaction speeds were insufficient. If she were targeted and ambushed by Millefiore soldiers on the road, she might die before she even had time to practice using these powers.

—She was like someone possessing great treasure but no way to utilize it to its full potential.

What should she do?

Her gaze scanned through the contacts on her phone.

A moment later, it settled on one specific contact.

“You there? Urgent. Need intel. Will pay extra.” She typed into the chat box.

The other party replied instantly: “Oh my, has my precious guest Miss Jin run into trouble? Let me guess—it has something to do with the recent events in Namimori?”

Jin Chaoyan couldn’t be bothered to waste time typing and simply started a voice call: “You know quite a bit. Good. Do you know about the attack at Take Sushi this afternoon? What was the specific reason?”

A frivolous Kansai accent came through the phone: “Did you not carefully read the Vongola dossier I sent you? Five days ago, Millefiore raided the Vongola headquarters. Three days ago, the Vongola Tenth was shot and killed. Now, personnel related to this family all over the world are being hunted by Millefiore. The owner of that Take Sushi shop is the biological father of the Vongola Rain Guardian…”

At this point, the person paused. “Oh dear, I seem to have said too much. This extra bit of information will cost extra.”

“Fine,” Jin Chaoyan agreed without blinking. “Since you know so much about international intelligence, you must know the local details like the back of your hand. Send me a patrol deployment map of the Millefiore troops in Namimori. Also, make me a detailed plan that would allow a regular person to approach Take Sushi and investigate the situation without being attacked.”

“…”

Kawahira fell silent for two seconds. “I am not your housekeeper. That last part—”

“I’ll pay more.”

“Understood, my super-VVVIP customer. Please wait a moment.” After Kawahira agreed smoothly, he didn’t forget to advise: “However, the Millefiore personnel will be strengthening patrols and surveillance in key areas like Take Sushi for the next two days. No matter how urgent you are, please endure for two days.”

“Is there no other way?”

Jin Chaoyan’s fingertips tapped unconsciously on the counter, which was still dusted with flour. After hearing a negative answer, she took a deep breath. “As soon as possible. Two days won’t work. I can wait until tomorrow morning at the latest.”

Given Jin Kazumiko’s wilderness survival skills—which were about as non-existent as her own—she was worried that if she didn’t find her tonight, she wouldn’t even be able to find a place to collect the body in the forest later.

“…You really are impatient. I understand. I will find a way for you as quickly as possible.”

10:00 PM.

The pastry project was shelved because she had lost her appetite. Jin Chaoyan’s dinner consisted only of a pan-fried salmon head. Later, as she sat under the corridor, she saw Hibird fly back from outside. As she raised her hand to catch it, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

Since Jin Kazumiko could use [S8-The Hole That Disappears], there was no way she would forget about the other card—unless she ran into something troublesome the very moment she reached the wilderness. Otherwise, she could have used the “Companion” card to return here immediately.

So… what exactly was the situation?

Thinking about what Kawahira said regarding the sushi shop, a new line of thought occurred to Jin Chaoyan:

Could it be that Kazumiko didn’t escape into the cave alone?

Because she saved other diners along the way, she couldn’t use the Companion card alone?

If that were the case, Kazumiko’s survival probability in the wild increased significantly, but any guessing now was just empty speculation. She needed substantial evidence.

“Chaoyan~”

Hibird saw she was preoccupied and nudged her fingertip with its beak. It called her name, then looked around, chirping in confusion: “Aunt~ Aunt~”

“Aunt isn’t here,” Jin Chaoyan let out a small smile at its antics. “Why didn’t you call her when she was here? Who did you learn to be so tsundere from?”

Hibird listened without really understanding.

It had just used a new word on a whim, and its memory for it wasn’t as firm as the words it usually said. Thus, it soon stopped caring about the person who had disappeared from the courtyard and flew into the house instead. It hopped onto Jin Chaoyan’s pillow and chirped a reminder:

“Chaoyan~ Goodnight~”

“It’s time to sleep, not ‘goodnight.’ Alright, I’m coming to keep you company.”

With a cuddly pet around and Kawahira not replying for a long time, Jin Chaoyan knew she couldn’t recklessly go out and deliver her head on a platter. Even though she wasn’t sleepy at all, she still changed her clothes and lay down on the bed with Hibird. She remained wide awake even after the little bird had fallen asleep against her head.

It was only when dawn began to break that physiological fatigue finally washed over her.

Jin Chaoyan set her phone to ring mode to ensure she would hear Kawahira’s message immediately, and then sank into a dream.

An unknown amount of time passed—

BOOM!

A massive sound erupted outside.

“…An earthquake?” Jin Chaoyan, feeling like she hadn’t finished her sleep, opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. She didn’t feel any shaking. Just as she was about to go back to sleep, she heard Kina’s hurried voice: “Madam, this is bad! An explosion occurred at the shrine nearby.”

“Huh?”

Rubbing her eyes, the woman forced herself to sit up. She checked her messages first and saw the plan Kawahira had sent a few minutes ago. It told her that the powerful Black Spell 3rd Squad in the Namimori area had been lured away, and city patrols were insufficient. She could take the opportunity now to investigate Take Sushi.

He also sent her a small program with real-time navigation.

Jin Chaoyan immediately got out of bed and rushed into the bathroom to wash up, asking Kina to bring her a set of clothes convenient for movement. Then, as if remembering something, she asked, “What did you say just now? What happened to the shrine?”

“An explosion occurred.” Kina brought her a designer-collaboration tracksuit and said seriously, “Are you going out now? It’s too dangerous! The explosion was so close; it will definitely attract those men in black.”

Jin Chaoyan walked into the courtyard with a water cup. Sure enough, she saw wisps of grey smoke rising nearby.

On a sudden whim, she took out her phone and opened the Mall Map. There, at her current location, she saw a very close green dot.

Then, the woman looked around the courtyard and indeed did not see Hibird, who had been with her before sleep last night. Her eyes curved into a smile as she replied:

“It’s fine.”

She said, “Going out now is actually the safest time.”

If it weren’t for Kazumiko’s disappearance weighing on her heart, Jin Chaoyan would actually have liked to go out and watch the spectacle.

Kina: “?”

She hadn’t reacted yet, captivated by Jin Chaoyan’s smile in the sunlight. It took a beat before she looked confused.

“To cause such a ridiculous commotion in today’s Namimori… we just need to light a stick of incense for the perpetrator in advance.”

At this point, Jin Chaoyan turned back toward the bathroom, her smile reaching the corners of her eyes:

“I have good news for you, Kina—”

“That man, the King of Namimori… he’s back.”

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