I don't want to be an elf!

Although Ozaki Koyo gave her all, Izumi Kyoka didn't need her efforts at all.

Perhaps... Izumi Kyoka still harbors resentment towards the teacher who trained her to become an assassin.

"We're really not familiar with each other" is probably the most tactful excuse Izumi Kyoka could come up with.

"Jinghua is still as shy as ever."

Hearing Izumi Kyoka's words, Ozaki Kouyou was not discouraged at all; in fact, her smile was even more indulgent: "But it doesn't matter, I understand."

Izumi Kyoka pursed her lips and didn't reply.

Kurumi Tokisaki looked completely bewildered and confused.

Could she possibly think that Izumi Kyoka is a tsundere who keeps her true feelings and emotions to herself and is not good at expressing herself?

Although Izumi Kyoka is truly not good with words, she is not tsundere at all!

When she said we're really not familiar with each other, she really meant we're really not familiar with each other!

However, Ozaki Koyo has clearly spoiled her daughter too much. In her eyes, Izumi Kyoka's every word and action is automatically filtered.

Even if Izumi Kyoka explained to her that she really didn't like her and had no intention of treating her as a mother, Ozaki Koyo would probably still think that the child was just hiding her true feelings.

Kurumi Tokisaki remained silent, not taking the initiative to reveal the relationship between the two of them.

If she really points it out, Ozaki Koyo might take it as an attempt to sow discord.

So why do something so thankless and exhausting?

As long as she's happy.

Author's note: Due to requests from readers in the comments section, I've included the book cover here.

Chapter Fifty-Five: A Needle and a Wheat Ear

After that, Ozaki Koyo inquired about Izumi Kyoka's new boss's attitude towards her.

Izumi Kyōka did not hide anything.

Of course, the main reason is also because there's nothing to hide.

Compared to the days when she worked under Ryunosuke Akutagawa, the treatment Kurumi Tokisaki gave her was worlds apart.

Not only do they not have to kill anyone, but their job is simply doing housework and cooking for two people—simple and ordinary.

If it weren't for her clones taking turns to take her to various parts of Yokohama, she probably would be bored out of her mind.

Later, Ozaki Koyo subtly told Izumi Kyoka that in the organization's rumors, Tokisaki Kurumi was a monster who had lost her humanity, and asked her what her impression of Tokisaki Kurumi was.

But before she could finish asking, Izumi Kyoka, as if she had gotten impatient, denied the rumor in an unquestionable manner.

She even said that if she found out who spread the rumors, she would teach that person a lesson they would never forget.

This made Kurumi Tokisaki feel somewhat embarrassed.

After all, these rumors weren't entirely unfounded. Higuchi Ichiyo, who had gone on a mission with her and was a big fan of Akutagawa Ryunosuke, was terrified after seeing what she did to the people in the factory.

In her eyes, Tokisaki Kurumi was indeed a man-eating demon.

However, in Izumi Kyoka's eyes, Tokisaki Kurumi was not only a kind person who told her the truth about what happened back then, but also the benefactor who rescued her from the Port Mafia, and a good older sister who was willing to take her everywhere to play.

However, Tokisaki Kurumi did not offer any explanation. She simply listened to their conversation with a smile while guiltily sipping her tea.

The conversation between the two did not last long, perhaps because Izumi Kyoka's replies were always very brief, as if she was deliberately shortening the conversation time, and it ended in just ten minutes.

But Ozaki Koyo didn't care about that.

Ozaki Koyo was already very satisfied to be able to meet Izumi Kyoka and learn about her recent situation.

With the private conversation over, it was time to talk about work.

Tokisaki Kurumi used the excuse of going to the supermarket to temporarily send Izumi Kyoka away.

So, only the two of them remained in the house.

"I'm relieved that Kyoka is doing well here with you." Ozaki Koyo took a sip of tea. "It seems that the child truly wants to stay by your side."

“Although we are not related, since she is my subordinate, I will naturally treat her well,” Tokisaki Kurumi said.

"Rumors in the organization say you're a devil in human skin, while Kyouka thinks you're one of the best people in the world," Ozaki Kouyou asked curiously. "Which one is the real you?"

"Who knows? People always believe what they believe, don't they?" Kurumi Tokisaki said with a smile. "Maybe they are all of them, maybe they are none of them. It doesn't matter. What matters is your own opinion."

"What are my thoughts?"

"What kind of person am I in Ms. Ozaki's eyes?"

"Regarding this, I need some more time to judge," Ozaki Koyo replied calmly. "Kyoka seems to like you very much. Although I don't know how you managed to open that child's heart, I hope you won't use her to do anything despicable."

As she spoke, a cold glint flashed in her eyes: "Otherwise, even if Jinghua holds a grudge, I will still draw my sword against you."

"Oh my, Ms. Ozaki really loves her, she's practically like her mother." Tokisaki Kurumi said with a light laugh, "But I won't use Kyoka, because there's nothing I desire in the Port Mafia, and Kyoka has no use in fulfilling my wish."

"Oh?" Ozaki Kouyou raised an eyebrow. "If your reason for joining the organization wasn't purely greed, then what was it for?"

"The Port Mafia is just a foothold for me, there's no need to be so wary." Kurumi Tokisaki said without any regard for the consequences, uttering words that a member of the mafia should never say. "I will leave when the time is right."

Upon hearing this, Ozaki Koyo's expression shifted slightly.

Once you join the Port Mafia, there's no way you can ever leave.

Ozaki Koyo was like that in the past, and she is like that now.

Even after becoming a cadre and climbing to the highest level of the organization, she still did not have the right to leave the organization.

Even Mori Ōgai, as the boss of the Port Mafia, couldn't.

This is a quagmire that you can't get out of once you step in; the more you struggle, the deeper you sink.

"Aren't you afraid that I'll tell Lord Ougai what you said?"

Ozaki Kouyou's eyes flickered, her tone chilling: "Betraying the organization is a capital offense."

"Oh? Could it be that the Port Mafia has the ability to kill me?"

"I can cut off your head right now." Ozaki Koyo's beautiful eyes narrowed, and her dignified temperament instantly turned as chilling as a demon.

Behind her, a demon dressed in a kimono with a black feather robe and a white and gold kimono faintly appeared, exuding a terrifying aura.

The golden demon's razor-sharp staff stopped in front of Tokisaki Kurumi's neck, so close that she could feel the chill emanating from the blade.

However, at this critical moment, Tokisaki Kurumi's expression remained as noble and elegant as before.

"I have no doubt about the sharpness of this sword; it could probably easily cut my neck off."

Kurumi Tokisaki said calmly, placing her teacup on the table: "But, isn't Ms. Ozaki being a little careless?"

Ozaki Koyo's pupils suddenly contracted.

However, before she could react, the cold barrel of the gun was pressed against the back of her head.

Then, another Kurumi Tokisaki voice came from behind her: "How unprofessional, Ms. Ozaki. You're focusing on me and ignoring your surroundings?"

"Impossible, I deliberately chose a spot where there was no shadow," Ozaki Koyo asked in a deep voice. "Where did this clone come from...?"

Before she could finish speaking, she noticed her own shadow at her feet out of the corner of her eye and found the answer to her question.

The information recorded by Mori Ōgai also states that Tokisaki Kurumi has the ability to infiltrate the shadows.

But can she and her clone not only infiltrate their own shadows, but also the shadows of others?

This superpower is simply... impossible to defend against.

The situation reversed instantly.

However, Ozaki Kouyou remained calm and slowly said, "At such close range, my sword is faster than your spear."

At this moment, the Golden Yaksha's sword was already at Tokisaki Kurumi's neck, while the clone's gun was already blocking the back of Ozaki Kouyou's head.

Both of them only need a single thought to kill each other.

However, if Ozaki Koyo is lucky, with her physical attributes and fighting skills, she might be able to unleash the power and speed to subdue the clone behind her in an instant, while also beheading Tokisaki Kurumi.

"I'm sorry to shatter your illusions. Perhaps you think the best outcome is to end my life unscathed, and the worst outcome is that we both perish."

The slight smile on Tokisaki Kurumi's lips gradually curved into a mocking arc.

"But how can you be sure that the person sitting in front of you right now is the real me?"

Chapter Fifty-Six Born in Darkness

Looking at the girl in front of her, who was calmly sipping tea even with a knife to her neck, Ozaki Koyo finally realized just how troublesome she was.

Although this feeling had been lingering in her heart since she saw the information summarized by Mori Ōgai, now that she had personally experienced even a small part of his abilities, the feeling of being powerless spread throughout her body.

Ozaki Koyo is powerful, but the Golden Yaksha is even more powerful. Controlling the Golden Yaksha, Ozaki Koyo is invincible in every assassination mission. Even if the opponent is a well-known superhuman, they can only die with hatred under her sword.

But what can she do when faced with an unreasonable ability user like Tokisaki Kurumi?

She couldn't even figure out who was the clone and who was the original.

Not to mention that distinguishing between the real body and the clone is merely the first challenge on the road to defeating Tokisaki Kurumi.

But she couldn't even overcome the first obstacle, let alone the other, more difficult ones.

She was incapable of killing Tokisaki Kurumi.

At least, one person cannot do it alone.

Ozaki Koyo sighed softly, her fierce aura gradually dissipating, and the giant yaksha behind her also slowly disappeared under her control.

"You're right. Even if all the superhumans in the entire Port Mafia fought you together, they probably wouldn't be able to kill you."

Ozaki Kouyou sat down again, as if the scene had never happened: "Even the organization's strongest Chuuya can only defeat you, not kill you."

"It would be best if you could understand this."

"But there's one thing I still don't understand. Since the organization is just a temporary stop in your life, why did you establish contact with Kyoka?" Ozaki Koyo asked. "Someone like you shouldn't care about anyone or anything other than your goal, right?"

"Indeed."

Kurumi Tokisaki nodded in agreement, but then countered with a question: "Then, as the head of the assassination and intelligence team, why do you care so much about her?"

"Because I feel very close to that child."