Chapter 32 – Finding the Invaders

"That was nice and fun!"

Amber exclaimed as she got dressed behind Kai. Her skin was glossy, and she had a satisfied smile on her face.

Kai was also in a similar condition.

Even though he didn't say it, and his complexion didn't change at all, he felt satisfied and happy inside.

Wearing his black pants and shirt and then tying his hair, he looked at his contracted Phoenix with a smile on his face.

"I agree." He nodded. "But I can't say I can do something like that every day, Amber. Maybe we can… tone it down a little bit and not go overboard?"

"W-Well…" She scratched her cheek shyly as she turned to him. "Sorry… I just got too excited."

"It's fine." He shook his head. "I also got… too excited." He continued.

"I can see that." She smirked.

"Hahaha. Well, what are you gonna do today, Kai? Because I need to replenish my missing Spirit Power, I will stay in the inn."

"Hmm?"

'Recover her Spirit Power?'

He looked at Amber strangely. Didn't she say she could replenish her Spirit Power just by walking around? Like… she automatically absorbed Nature power to replenish her missing Spirit Power.

"I know what you're thinking, but replenishing that way takes too long. Have you not noticed yet? You… absorbed some of my Spirit Power when we did that earlier."

"Huh, really?"

As she mentioned, he tried to feel his Spirit Power inside his body. And true, his reserve got bigger, and he felt a bit stronger.

"How?" He asked curiously. He couldn't really understand what had happened.

"That means our bond got stronger." She exclaimed happily. "That's why you also got stronger. Well, only you can do that, as your body is special."

"Descendant of the strongest, huh? Neat." He grinned.

"Indeed." She nodded. "My Spirit Power got depleted because you absorbed it, and I need to recover it fast before the Oni Festival tomorrow."

"Alright." He replied as he stood up, stretching his arms. "Then I will walk around Kyoto. I will surely ask you a lot of questions when I return."

"Un, sure." She waved her hand. "Have fun, Kai."

***

And Kai just did what he just told Amber. He walked around Kyoto after stopping shortly to buy a Taiyaki for brunch near the inn he stayed at.

There was nothing to do except walk around and enjoy the scenery. It felt a bit lonely without Amber's company, maybe because he had already gotten used to her constant teasing and energetic behavior that it felt so empty.

"Still… I guess I overdid it earlier." He blushed a little as he put his hand in front of his mouth to hide his silly smile. He was truly happy that she loved him. "Focus, Kai. You are not here just to walk around; you need to find the people who attacked the temple."

He shook his head to forget the thing earlier. For now, he should focus on finding the people he tried to find.

"Now then, where to find them?" He muttered.

Right, he had no clue at all. Kyoto was a massive city, and there were a lot of hidden places. It wasn't like he had a lot of time to visit all those places, not after he got too heated and did it with Amber until lunch.

"W-Well, let's visit a few suspicious places first."

In the end, he visited a few places he had in mind. Firstly, he walked around the inn district, as he suspected the invaders of being tourists instead of locals.

As he walked around, he tried not to be as conspicuous as possible. So he only sent some subtle glances to the right and left while trying to judge their reaction. As mentioned, Kai was able to discern people's emotions easily, so he could find the invaders if he got a good look at them.

It was the ability he had since he lost his parents. Now that he knew he was the descendant of the person called the strongest, he connected this ability to his lineage.

Maybe his mother could also feel people's emotions easily, as she would always know whenever he felt sad and be there to accompany him.

'Something new every day. Getting involved with Supernatural World was the correct choice. There is no boring day, and I learn something new every day.'

His search around the inn district ended up in vain. He then went to the tourist areas, such as Kinkaku-ji, famous shrines, and famous streets. Of course, he tried to visit the base of Oeyama mountain to find some Supernatural residents.

However, he only found some Onis, and they were so excited to meet him. They gave him some food and Dangos made specially by the Onis as thanks from yesterday.

In the end, he didn't find the invaders, but he got a lot of snacks. His hands were full of it, so he was forced to share them with other people. Coincidentally, a lot of children also visited Oeyama mountain, so he gave them some snacks, making the Onis look at him warmly.

After that, he continued walking around Kyoto but still had no idea where the invaders were. He was tired after walking so much. The sky had almost set, and the street light started to lit.

When he was about to return to his inn, his eyes caught something interesting.

"A bar?"

A sign lit by neon light was put above the door. It had been a few days since he drank alcohol, so it piqued his interest.

"Let's make a stop here." He smiled and entered the bar.

For the money, he still had a lot after Amber won the bet in Oni Village. So he could afford to spend some on expensive alcohol.

The bar's interior was a bit luxurious. Only a few people were inside as the night had yet to arrive. Two people sat at the counter, and Kai recognized them. One of them was a man who conversed with him in front of the inn, and the other was a man's companion, a blonde woman.

As he saw a familiar face, it would only be polite to greet them. So that was what he did.

"Oh? Fancy meeting you here again, Robert." He approached the couple and raised his hand.

Both of them turned to him, and what a surprise, their emotions changed ever so slightly. Robert smiled, and the woman kept silent, turning to her drink again.

"Isn't it Kai? Nice meeting you here." Robert replied as he gestured to the chair beside him. "You can sit here if you want to. This seat is free."

"Thanks." He sat on the chair and ordered a Gin Line from the bartender. It was one of his to-go drinks when he visited the bar.

He turned to Rosyid and smiled softly. "So, drinking with your girlfriend, Robert?"

"Hahahaha! You can say so. We had a rough night yesterday, so we are here to forget about it. How about you?"

"Well, you can say I had a rough afternoon. We are somehow in a similar situation. How strange."

"Life is strange, my friend." Robert shrugged his shoulders.

The bartender finished making Kai's drink and put it on the table in front of him. He thanked the bartender and took a slight sip. It tasted good, better than what he had back in New York.

"By the way, why is your girlfriend so quiet?" He asked Robert as he put his drink down. He played with the straw with his hand, twirling it around the glass.

"She was shy, you know?" The blonde man answered casually as the woman glared at him. She quickly averted her gaze again, though.

"Is that so?" Kai hummed. "Is it not because I instilled trauma in her last night? My bad, I am really bad at holding back."

"So you do notice? As expected from a monster like you."

Robert's demeanor instantly changed. His carefree smile was gone and replaced by a serious expression. "So, what do you want to do with us? Kill us?"

"I am not that barbaric."

What did they think he was? Some kind of martial arts people who would kill anyone in sight?

"Then…"

"I am here to ask something." Kai lowered his tone as he stopped twirling the straw. "Why did you want to kidnap the Spirit Foxes?"