Chapter 151 The Second Player

"I just grew bigger, not fatter."

Fushiguro Megumi couldn't help but refute Fushiguro Shige's words and tapped his hands twice to express his protest.

——He is only three or four years old now, and his growth is normal, okay? He is not getting fat!!

"Huh? You've obviously gained weight. Your face has become rounder and it seems to have become darker... Tsk."

Fushiguro let out a disgusted "tsk" and although he didn't say anything else, the rest of his words were evident.

He looked Xi Hai Qing Dou up and down inquiringly, but in the end he didn't say a word. Instead, he turned around and left perfunctorily: "Okay, no one has broken arms or legs, let's go."

"Wait, Yuxi, Yuxi brother!"

Fushiguro Shigeru didn't say a word, he just turned around and left with Fushiguro Megumi in his hand, looking completely indifferent to Saikai Haruto, not even saying hello.

Fushiguro Megumi fluttered twice, and only had time to turn around from under Fushiguro Shige's hand, and waved at Saikai Haruto, pursed her lips and waved her hand, and said the last sentence dryly: "...Goodbye."

It wasn't "deha, mata" or "byebye" but "sayonara" - a very formal farewell. Does Fushiguro Megumi think... that they may never see each other again?

Xi Haiqingdou raised his eyebrows, not caring about Fushiguro's attitude. He smiled at Fushiguro Megumi with a bright and brilliant smile: "Fushiguro-kun, remember to take good care of Xiaohui. Goodbye, Xiaohui!"

——Don’t worry, there will always be another chance and we will meet again next time. It won’t be “goodbye forever”!

Such an optimistic message is revealed in the clear, peridot-green eyes.

As for the attitude revealed by Fushiguro Shigeki...he didn't take it to heart at all.

Anyway, the "friend" of "Igarashi Yuuki" is Fushiguro Megumi, not Fushiguro Shiori. Fushiguro Shiori is indifferent and ignores him, so it is normal for him to be indifferent and ignore Fushiguro Shiori as well, right?

Since he is someone who doesn't care, there is naturally no need to care about his attitude.

Moreover, Saikai Haruto always felt that Fushiguro Shige's indifferent attitude was not out of any "disgust" idea.

Then he doesn't need to "care" even more.

Anyway... there is a long time to come, he is not in a hurry.

Fushiguro Megumi couldn't think so much at the moment, but she looked at him in surprise, and her originally depressed mood improved a lot.

Although I don't know why Saikai Haruto thinks they can meet again, according to Fushiguro Megumi's guess, based on Fushiguro Jun's past practices and his attitude towards Saikai Haruto today - not only was he not polite at all, it could even be said to be vile... Although Yuuki's brother is a good person, no matter how you look at it, his father doesn't like him very much, right?

In addition, when Fushiguro Shiori had given Fushiguro Megumi to other people (mostly women) before, he basically never gave her to the same person a second time. After they took him back, he never saw them again at Fushiguro Shiori's place - Fushiguro Megumi knew that was called "breaking up".

Therefore, Fushiguro Megumi reasonably speculated that he might also never see Saikai Haruto and the others again.

However, even though he had only been with Saikai Haruto for a short week, Fushiguro Megumi felt that he was not the kind of person who would forget or regret what he said the next moment, or was uncertain about anything - this was completely the opposite of his father - and therefore, even though he still felt that Saikai Haruto was just comforting him, he still had some hope for Saikai Haruto.

What if?

In Fushiguro Shigeru's eyes, the emotional changes of little Megumi Fushiguro were no different from those of a transparent child. The man who usually looked completely out of tune seemed to be thinking about something.

"Igarashi Yuuki... seems a bit interesting."

***

Just as Saikai Haruto expected, within a month, he received another express delivery from the "Fushiguro Megumi" brand.

But this location... was beyond Xihai Qingdou's expectations.

After nearly a month, Saikai Haruto met Fushiguro Megumi and Fushiguro Shigeki again at the gate of Tokyo Racecourse.

Saikai Haruto, who suddenly had a "express delivery" stuffed in his arms, was almost startled and stared at Fushiguro Megumi in confusion.

"Ah, Fushiguro-kun, and Xiaohui, long time no see?"

Saikai Haruto tidied up the messy hair and clothes of Fushiguro Megumi who was thrown into his arms, then looked up at Fushiguro Shigeru, his tone uncertain and a little confused - how did he know he was here?

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Huh? You're here to bet on horses, of course. Otherwise, what are you doing here?"

Fushiguro Shige gave him a puzzled look, as if he had asked a very stupid question - what else could one do at the racecourse if not to bet on horses?

Saikai Haruto looked at Fushiguro Megumi, then looked at Fushiguro Sen'er, and asked uncertainly, "Are you going to bring Xiaohui with you?"

Fushiguro Shier picked his ears, not caring why he was here, and did not answer his question. Instead, he yawned calmly and said casually, "I leave it to you. You can take him wherever you want."

Xi Haiqing Dou was speechless for a moment: "...Wait, wait, but I want to go in too?"

He lowered his head and looked at Fushiguro Megumi.

"Do you want to go in together?" Fushiguro Megumi asked calmly.

Xi Hai Qing Dou sighed resignedly: "Of course I still want it."

He walked in with Fushiguro Megumi, trying to ignore the countless strange looks that were cast at him - after all, the people who came to the racecourse were adults, and although minors were not prohibited from entering, they were prohibited from racing horses. Although Saikai Haruto was very tall, at 1.8 meters, much taller than most adult men, he was still wearing a high school uniform, and he had a baby face, so he looked like a minor no matter how you looked at him; that would have been fine, but next to him there was a child who looked only three or four years old, and this combination looked strange no matter how you looked at it in this place.

Fortunately, no matter how thick-skinned Saikai Haruto was, he and Fushiguro Megumi were also able to control their expressions and looked calm, which made people feel embarrassed to stare at them.

Unlike Fushiguro Shigeu who came here specifically for horse racing, Saikai Haruto came here to exorcise the cursed spirit.

Because it involves gambling, the racecourse is also a place where all kinds of negative emotions and curses can easily breed.

Greed, hatred, panic, regret, self-loathing, disgust for others... Once these negative emotions become too much, the curse power in a person will overflow, and it will naturally be easy for curse spirits to breed.

Although in large places like this where cursed spirits are likely to breed, there are usually cursed objects placed there to "fight poison with poison" to suppress and seal the curse.

However, the seal on the cursed object placed at the Tokyo Racecourse seemed to have loosened, causing the effect of the cursed object to weaken and cursed spirits to appear again - cursed objects sometimes attract cursed spirits in return.

There were no other adult sorcerers who were free at the moment, and Xi Haiqing Dou, who had just finished a mission nearby, came over directly. The Directors' Council didn't care about whether it was not good to let minors enter gambling places like horse racing tracks.

Although Saikai Haruto "knew" that Fushiguro Shigeki liked gambling, and there might be a chance for him to run into him at the racecourse, it would seem a bit deliberate for a minor like him to come to such a place to "accidentally run into" Fushiguro Shigeki. In addition, Saikai Haruto knew his own luck, and he had never had a successful "accidental encounter" in such a long time, so he didn't bother to put in any deliberate effort.

So Saikai Haruto really didn't expect that he would actually meet Fushiguro Shinobu by chance today.

But at this moment, even if he met Fushiguro Shiori, he couldn't do anything. Saikai Haruto hesitated for a moment, glanced at Fushiguro Megumi, and decided to exorcise the cursed spirit and retrieve the cursed objects first - anyway, he now has a "hostage" in his hands, so he shouldn't be afraid that Fushiguro Shiori will run away... Well, he shouldn't worry about it, right?

The "hostage nature" didn't understand what was going on, and thought that Sai Hai Haruto was worried about him, and he reached out and patted Sai Hai Haruto to comfort him: "I won't get lost or wander around."

Feeling guilty, Xi Haiqingdou blinked and nodded with a smile: "Well, I know Xiaohui has always been very smart and well-behaved."

The space inside the racecourse is very large, and the horse racing area and the place where the cursed items are stored are not in the same place. Xi Hai Qing Dou simply took the little hostage to retrieve the cursed items first.

Although he brought a Fushiguro Megumi, the cursed spirit itself was not that powerful. He put Fushiguro Megumi in his arms and covered his eyes, and even with a child, Saikai Haruto, he still easily and quickly resolved the battle. He was not even a first-level one, and he did not have any special abilities, so there was no need to bring him back to Kagome Ken.

There was no problem even recovering the cursed items.

Xi Hai Qing Dou opened the box containing the cursed items, and inside was a finger wrapped with many yellowed talismans... It looked like a finger dried by the wind?

The cursed power leaked out, and Xi Haiqing Dou felt it and found that it was actually a special-grade cursed object.

For some reason, this cursed object particularly attracts Saikai Haruto... No, or to be more specific, it particularly attracts the special cursed spirit "Greedy" that has merged with "Igarashi Yuuki"'s body.

Cursed objects are usually remains or objects with cursed powers, which are transformed from the corpse of a sorcerer. Some cursed objects are also attached with the soul of the corpse owner. Some cursed objects can be destroyed, while some special cursed objects will be bound so that they cannot be destroyed. At the same time, their own life activities will stop, and they will become harmless until some external factors make them "reincarnate" and come back to life. [1]

As for the cursed object in Saikai Haruto's hand, even with his physical condition, he was unable to damage it at all even with all his strength. He could also feel that although it was still in a "dormant state", its harmfulness had not decreased at all. [2]

Cursed objects, because they contain a lot of curses, can be said to be "great tonics" for cursed spirits. Although for the sorcerer, there is a high probability that the consciousness of the person who eats the cursed object will be wiped out by the cursed object and the body will be taken over by the cursed object, but for the cursed spirits who are cursed themselves, there is no such harm at all, and swallowing cursed objects can even make them stronger.

For the "Greedy Beast", a special cursed spirit born from human greed, any "cursed object" is food and it wants it all. However, Xi Haiqing Dou is still a "human" after all, with reason, so he has been careful and has never eaten any cursed object.

This was not the first cursed item that Xi Hai Qing Dou had seen. He had seen other second-grade cursed items, first-grade cursed items, and even special-grade cursed items before. However, the desire from the "greedy beast"... was the first time it was so strong.

If the "greedy beast" was not also controlled by Saikai Haruto's consciousness, and if he allowed his subconscious mind to play tricks on him, he might have "fought" with himself, let his body be controlled by the desires of the "greedy beast", and swallowed the finger.

Xihai Qingdou wrapped the talisman around the cursed object a little tighter, held it tightly in his hand, and had a rare look of confusion on his face.

He carefully distinguished the emotions coming from the greedy beast. It seemed that in addition to the strong "appetite", there were also some other emotions that the "special cursed spirit" could not explain... It seemed like, jealousy?

...What on earth is this?