Seeing the light, I snatched the tablet and made a couple taps on the programme. Information on the locations of the suspected ‘vampire’ happenings became plainly visible. I zoomed into the bottom-right of the map, the area with the most markings - it was indeed the Eastern District.
“Even though we don’t know exactly where those ‘vampires’ reside, the information supplied by Mr. Chong and the locations where they made appearances over the past two weeks all suggest that the Eastern District is their most probable hideout. We could definitely hunt them down there!” Enraptured by a breakthrough in our deductions, I stuffed the tablet into Kou’s hands and vigorously pointed at the dense markings.
There’s no way that the ‘vampires’ would take great pains to travel from the North District, the northernmost part of Hong Kong, all the way to the Eastern District to assault civilians! If they were all Hong Kongers during their lives, I bet they’d prefer taking public transport over getting there on foot!
“So now that we’ve narrowed down the scope to the Eastern District, it’ll be much easier to track them down and attain more intel to unravel their mysteries, right?” Kou caught up with my train of thought in a second.
“Bingo!”
Even if we could not locate the hideout eventually, we did not have to look for traces of ‘vampires’ like headless flies going forward at the very least.
With this new lead in hand, our attempts to search for ‘vampires’ in different districts over the past two weeks instantly seemed like a colossal waste of time, nevermind the two-hour ride from home to the North District for a search in vain.
How come this had never crossed my mind before?
“Oh hey, it only takes twenty minutes to get to the Eastern District from our home. We can try our luck there every night!” Kou cheered in high spirits.
“...by ‘twenty minutes’ you must be estimating the travel distance in marathon fashion huh.”
I’m quite certain that she’s the only one in the world who’d dare to estimate travel distances in running time.
“Then it’d be accurate if you actually ran, right?”
“Hard pass! In that case, I’d be drained to the core before the real battle with the ‘vampires’ even started!” I objected to her unreasonable proposal without a doubt - I would rather consume some of my powers to fly over there than to run every night.
Talking about running at night…do I look like one of those night joggers to you?
“That’s no good, a mageka shouldn’t be drained so easily by trivial stuff like this. And remember that time when we jogged together? Given how I’m performing better than you as a regular human, you really should level up your game, Sakura,” Kou lectured me with a smile.
“That’s only because you’re not like the others.”
I believe it’s not common for one to run in heeled mid-calf boots without getting tired or blisters like her.
“But didn’t you say I’m just a regular human?”
“Yep, but I was speaking by the metric of magical powers.” I let out a light sigh. “That’s not the case for other things - well, at least not in terms of coding.”
As far as I know, there’s no other regular human being who can actually study and comprehend the concept of magic from scratch, then convert it into programming code in three days!
“Speaking of which, did you used to handle everything on your own when you took on requests in the past?” Suddenly, her casual tone took a serious turn.
“Why do you ask?” Her question left me slightly confused.
“While I was studying the Magical Surveillance System, I noticed that it comes with functions for real-time surveillance over the sites of interest. If Sakura was to engage in battles at the war front, then someone must have been in charge of operating this system backend, isn’t that right?” she asked earnestly.
I must admit: she does have a sharp eye, and she did meticulously study the entire structure of the system.
“Ah yes…there used to be someone for that, but she’s not here anymore.”
A small, short figure who kept me company every day until a few years ago flashed through my mind. A feeling of reminiscence emerged, yet went away in a jiffy.
“Why’d you ask?”
Ever since I made the decision to come to this realm, I’d vowed not to reminisce about the past, but to embrace the future by creating a new path.
“It is my wish that you allow me to lend a helping hand in battle by operating the system backend.” Dignified, Kou gazed into my eyes with certainty as she volunteered herself for the job.
Her words took me by surprise, as I’d never expected such a gesture from her.
No - I should have known when she suggested writing up a programme, though it was still beyond my expectations that she would formally volunteer to be my right-hand man.
“This system is designed for those with magical powers. There’s no denying that side effects may follow if you use it. Plus, operating it is equivalent to putting yourself on the battlefield, given how ‘vampires’ could possibly identify your presence and target you. I might not be able to come to your rescue in time if that happens. The risk involved is far more than that of hiding in corners to take photos. To be frank, it’s not a bet I dare to place.” I gave her proposal some thought, and turned her down in the end due to safety concerns.
In fact, I had never fancied her involvement in handling requests in the first place. The magic world was full of dangers unknown to men. If I, as a mageka, could not manage to fully evade them, how could I be sure that an average human being such as Kou could? The reason why I agreed for her to follow along was that she had promised time and again to seclude herself well away from danger in every battle.
And now she’s asking to officially be part of this? Oh dear. I could feel the butterflies fluttering in my stomach.
I’d rather take on all the risks that may arise myself than get her in trouble.
“Sakura, are you trying to carry all the weight on your own shoulders again?” To my surprise, Kou hit the target with a single shot - she spoke my mind directly.
“Let me try using the system for once.” With a rare sense of resistance in her tone, she declared, “If there really are side effects, I’ll know my place and quit. But if refusing my help is merely due to your concern that I’ll get injured, then pardon me, but I’m not backing down from this. Look, how many ‘vampires’ have I encountered in these exorcistical ventures with you? And haven’t I always managed to keep myself in one piece? I’m capable of identifying dangers and when to dodge them, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
“But…” With how Kou saw through my objections like they were made of glass, I was at a loss for words all of a sudden.
“Battles from this point onwards could be far more dangerous - nothing like the ones we have experienced before.” Still, I tried my best to dissuade her.
“All the more reason for me to assist you on the spot.” In face of my words, Kou stood her ground and sounded even more unyielding. “If the situation gets out of hand, won’t it be much more dangerous for you to face it alone? Two heads are definitely better than one. And didn’t we sign up for running this business together? As partners, we should stick together no matter what comes our way, isn’t that right?”
“Kou, listen…”
“Let me try, Sakura.” She finished me with a simple yet strong line and an unwavering gaze as I was about to pull up another wave of dissuasion. Our eyes locked, and that was when I saw the raging inferno in her azure eyes.
She is dead serious. Looks to me like she won’t be complaining if things go south.
“You’ve familiarised yourself with the system’s operation in any case. Well then.” I contemplated her request for quite a while, and gave in in the end.
I just could not power through her stubbornness - or should I say, her resolve of steel. This time was no exception.
“Then you’re gonna show me how to officially operate the system tonight!” Upon my greenlight at last, Kou immediately grasped my hands and returned a grateful smile.
“Okay, okay, there’s no need to grab on to my hands so tightly. I won’t break the promise.” Embarrassed by Kou’s act, I took a glance around our surroundings to see if anyone noticed.
Would someone mistake this as a love confession? I sure hope not.
“Hehe, it’s a deal!” She pulled back her hands. The bright smile lingered.
Heh, she must have anticipated this day for so long.
With time counting down to the end of the lunch break, we paid the bill and got ready to leave. As I stood up, an ache pierced through my head like lightning out of nowhere. It only lasted for a few seconds, but was apparent enough for an observant person like Kou to pick up.
“Sakura, are you okay?” she asked anxiously.
“I’m alright - a little headache is all. Maybe I’ve been working myself a little too hard lately.”
Oh snap, I shouldn’t have come clean to her. That’ll only worry her more!
“It’s getting chillier recently. Could it be that you’ve caught a cold?” Just as expected, she got into her ‘mom’ character and spoke concernedly.
“No, it’s not that. I’ll be just fine after some rest. Don’t worry about it.” I attempted to put her mind at ease with a mild grin.
“Careful now, don’t fall sick!” She looked relieved at the sight of my grin. But as we were about to part ways outside the restaurant, she suddenly halted and uttered, “Oh and by the way, have you heard of this idiom before?”
“Huh, what idiom?” I tilted my head in confusion.
“Only idiots catch colds.” She dropped it as if it was nothing.
…
“I’m not an idiot!” infuriated, I retorted and stormed back to my office.
Isn’t “an idiot never catches a cold” the correct idiom? Why must she always say something to get on my nerves!
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