Chapter 72. Suzuka's Theory of Spending for Power

"Our shrine's affairs?"

Qiao Qiao was a diligent and well-behaved student. When this message arrived, it was still during afternoon classes, so he didn't see it. Not until after school, when he took his phone from his backpack and switched it on, did he notice the message.

When it came to the Asano shrine maiden’s family shrine, it must refer to Atsuta Shrine. What could possibly require attention at the main shrine of Atsuta in Nagoya?

It was currently the season of final exam revisions in every school. For Asano the shrine maiden to be delayed for half a month at this time wouldn’t be good for her studies. Did the Atsuta Shrine organize some kind of corporate team-building activity every year at this time? That would be too odd.

Of course, all of this was just speculation. Since Asano hadn’t given any further details, Qiao Qiao naturally didn't meddle. Matters of the shrine were managed by the shrine, hardly anything for novices like him to worry about.

Compared to Asano Ariko and the upcoming finals, Qiao Qiao was currently more concerned about Suzuka.

This youkai who lodged at his house hadn’t caused any real trouble. She even went dutifully for her monthly checkups. Still, Qiao Qiao felt that, as a good young man in the new era, he simply couldn't stand by and watch Suzuka sink into a life of degeneration.

Yes, degeneration.

In the beginning, Suzuka kept a fairly normal routine: waking around nine in the morning, microwaving yesterday’s bento for lunch at noon, waiting for Qiao Qiao to return home for dinner together in the evening. She hardly ever ate midnight snacks or junk food. This regular pattern lasted less than a week.

Now, however, Suzuka would rise after noon, microwave her lunch, wait for Qiao Qiao to return for dinner, and around midnight she would go downstairs to cook instant noodles, not sleeping until four or five in the morning.

Qiao Qiao had initially thought Suzuka was staying up late for her livestreams. But after secretly checking her streaming logs, he discovered she usually only broadcasted until a bit past midnight. The rest of the time, it seemed, she was just entertaining herself.

Apart from her irregular hours, Suzuka’s spending habits were also lacking. In the past, Qiao Qiao might receive two or three Amazon parcels a month, which was already a lot. Now, two or three deliveries a day had become the norm.

At first, Qiao Qiao assumed these were all streaming supplies Suzuka had bought. But after stepping in to sign for a few deliveries she couldn’t receive herself, he realized these parcels were a miscellany: figurines of beautiful anime girls, CDs and anime Blu-rays, all sorts of pretty little dresses, and even a ukulele.

A ukulele? Had Suzuka ever played that?

Of course, the many military models and robot kits were actually quite fine. But Suzuka never had time to assemble them; the boxes were piling up into a small mountain.

This pained Qiao Qiao deeply. The shopping spree was one thing, but what worried him more was Suzuka’s spending on in-game purchases.

Qiao Qiao had watched Suzuka’s streams. When a certain mobile game introduced a new character, she ended up spending 700,000 yen on draws before she finally got it.

Seven hundred thousand yen!

For reference, the monthly stipend provided by the Exorcist Association for Suzuka’s upkeep was only 500,000 yen. Such unhealthy spending habits were truly concerning.

Qiao Qiao had read many comics about the human body and the ways of the world. He was familiar with such storylines: a beautiful maiden, once cherished by all, enjoying a life of luxury, suddenly falls into hardship and is forced to rely on the help of older men. The rest, as they say, is better left unsaid.

In short, although Suzuka was currently earning a lot, Qiao Qiao still hoped she could be more frugal.

At dinner that evening, Qiao Qiao put down his chopsticks.

“What’s wrong, Qiao-san?” Suzuka, eating with great appetite, noticed his sudden serious expression.

“Suzuka, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you,” Qiao Qiao said, putting on his ‘serious talk’ face.

“What is it?” Suzuka, having long forgotten she was a youkai and Qiao Qiao an exorcist, now treated him with complete ease—no, with no sense of distance at all.

“Haven’t you been buying a lot of unnecessary things lately?” Qiao Qiao asked, his tone matter-of-fact.

“No, I haven’t,” Suzuka replied, feigning ignorance.

“For example, those instruments, and the pile of Gundam models in the living room...” Qiao Qiao prompted, seeing her confusion.

“Oh, those? I’ll put them together when I have time. As for the instrument—oh, right! Last time I played it casually and received a 500,000 yen tip.”

Qiao Qiao stared in disbelief at the ukulele gathering dust in the corner.

Sorry, it seems I misjudged you.

“And what about the in-game purchases?” Qiao Qiao pressed on.

“Oh, that.” Suzuka pondered for a moment, as if unsure whether she had forgotten or simply couldn’t recall which instance he meant.

“My money hasn’t disappeared, you know. It’s just transformed into adorable girls who now keep me company,” she said. “Besides, Qiao-san, that livestream where I spent 700,000 yen on draws? The tips from viewers that day exceeded a million! I actually made a 300,000 yen profit!”

Suzuka spoke with pride.

“I used some of that money to buy an oven. Today’s roast chicken was made with it,” she added.

Hearing this, Qiao Qiao glanced at the roast chicken on the table—prepared with a touch of Huaxia flair and already more than half-eaten by the two of them.

He had to admit, it tasted quite good.

“Qiao-san, I recently added a reader mail segment to my stream to help people with their real-life problems, and it’s received a lot of praise.”

Suzuka’s words made Qiao Qiao feel a sense of shame.

It turned out that not only had Suzuka not wasted money, she had actually earned more and contributed to the household, even using her stream to help others with their lives. While all the while, Qiao Qiao had wrongly suspected her.

He was truly ashamed.

“Qiao-san, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ve saved up a lot these past two months,” Suzuka said, thinking Qiao Qiao was concerned she might run out of money.

She took out her phone and showed him her savings.

Eight digits.

Looking at the long string of numbers, Qiao Qiao suddenly realized that it wasn’t really him taking care of Suzuka, but rather Suzuka looking after him.

...

Tokyo, Chuo Ward.

Inside a film and television company that housed animation, movie, and drama production teams.

Sixteenth floor.

Smack!

A sharp, crisp thud rang out as a man in a tight suit and helmet crashed to the floor.

“Ow, ow, ow...” he groaned in pain.

“Cut!” The director, sensing something was wrong, hurriedly called out, and a group of people rushed over.

They removed the man’s helmet; his face was twisted in agony.

His left foot appeared to be fractured, a large swelling visible even through the costume.

“Hayata, what are you doing?” the director checked the man’s injury, then stood up to scold the person responsible.

“Wasn’t Nogami supposed to finish you off with a special move? Why did you fight back, and with such force? Are you trying to kill someone?”

The man, Hayata, was still dressed in a dinosaur-like monster suit. He removed the fearsome dinosaur head, revealing a rather gentle face beneath.

“Director, I—I didn’t mean to. My body just stopped listening to me for a moment,” Hayata said, feeling wronged.

Everything had gone according to script—the monster he played was supposed to be taken down in one move. But suddenly, his mind went blank, and his body moved on its own, landing a flying kick that floored his opponent.

“Out of control? Can’t you come up with a better excuse?” the director’s expression darkened further.

“Are you going to say the suit has come to life and started fighting on its own?”

Hayata paused.

Actually... that might not be too far from the truth.