Chapter 680: The Shopkeeper is the Swordsman

Itsuka Shido and his group did not stay in the Mysterious Shop for too long; when the sun slanted to the west, they bid Lingyun farewell and left.

"Shido, Shido, can we come here again in the future?" Yatogami Tohka asked, clutching Itsuka Shido's arm.

"Tohka, why do you ask that?" Itsuka Shido asked with some curiosity.

A blush involuntarily rose to Yatogami Tohka's face, and she said happily, "Because the snacks in that shop were just too delicious! If I could enjoy such delicacies again, that would be the best thing ever!"

Watching Yatogami Tohka's excited expression, Itsuka Shido couldn't help but shake his head; this was truly the kind of thought only a foodie would have. However, recalling the snacks he had eaten in the shop earlier, Itsuka Shido also felt a trace of amazement in his heart. Although he had eaten many snacks, he had never tasted any that were this delicious; those snacks simply didn't seem like something that could exist in this world.

Compared to the excited Yatogami Tohka, Tonomachi Hiroto was somewhat dejected. He hadn't expected that his request would actually be rejected by the Mysterious Shop. If this was the case, how long would it take for him to find a girlfriend he liked!

Thinking of this, Tonomachi Hiroto couldn't help but feel a wave of sorrow, and he let out a desolate wail in his heart.

However, Tobiichi Origami, who was on the side, had a serious expression. Her mind was currently filled with Tokisaki Kurumi, whom she had seen in the Mysterious Shop.

She clearly remembered that the owner of the Mysterious Shop called her Tokisaki Kurumi, but when she addressed Tokisaki Kurumi as Nightmare, the other party did not deny it. Most importantly, her intuition kept warning her that this girl was absolutely an extremely dangerous individual.

If she really was the Nightmare mentioned in the latest data, then why did she appear in the Mysterious Shop, and what was her relationship with that mysterious shopkeeper? Or rather, who exactly was that mysterious shopkeeper, to be able to coexist harmoniously with such a dangerous Spirit?

Aboard the Fraxinus.

"Shido, you said you went to that Mysterious Shop; did you gain anything?" Itsuka Kotori asked, a lollipop in her mouth.

"That shopkeeper seems mysterious and strange; I didn't gain much on my end," Itsuka Shido said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I felt a very familiar aura from that shopkeeper," Yatogami Tohka suddenly said from the side.

"An aura that makes you feel very familiar, Tohka?" Itsuka Kotori muttered, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Eh, Kotori, who is this person? Why is she in this place?" Suddenly, Itsuka Shido's gaze fell upon the large screen; what was displayed on the large screen was none other than the image of Tokisaki Kurumi.

"This person? Oh right, I almost forgot to tell you, Shido. The one on the large screen is not a human, but a Spirit, codenamed Nightmare. She is the most dangerous Spirit to have appeared so far! If you ever see this Spirit, the best method is to run as far away as you can!" Itsuka Kotori said with a serious face. "According to the data we have collected, the number of people killed by this Spirit's own hands has already exceeded ten thousand!"

"This, how is this possible? How could Miss Kurumi be such a person?" Hearing Itsuka Kotori say this, Itsuka Shido couldn't help but let out an exclamation.

"Miss Kurumi?" Hearing these words, Itsuka Kotori's pupils constricted slightly, and even Murasame Reine, who was behind her, had an unreadable light flash in her eyes.

"Shido, how do you know to call Nightmare 'Kurumi'? Did you meet her?" Itsuka Kotori asked somewhat urgently.

"About that, didn't I go to that Mysterious Shop with Hiroto today?" Itsuka Shido said. "Miss Kurumi is who I met in that shop."

"Mysterious Shop?" Hearing this name, Itsuka Kotori narrowed her eyes; she discovered that this place seemed to have truly become somewhat mysterious.

"You said you met Nightmare in the Mysterious Shop, so how did you know her name?"

"That, the shopkeeper addressed her as Kurumi. Later, during our conversation, we learned that her full name is Tokisaki Kurumi," Itsuka Shido said.

"This shopkeeper..." Itsuka Kotori bit down on her lollipop, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Right, I felt a very familiar aura from that shopkeeper!" Yatogami Tohka suddenly said from the side.

"An aura that makes Tohka feel very familiar?" Hearing this, Itsuka Kotori narrowed her eyes slightly, not knowing what she had thought of.

"Commander, I have thought of a possibility," Murasame Reine suddenly said from the side.

"I have also thought of a possibility!" Itsuka Kotori nodded as well.

"Shido, can you describe the appearance of that shopkeeper for me?" Itsuka Kotori asked.

"That's no problem." Itsuka Shido nodded.

After listening to Itsuka Shido's description, Itsuka Kotori pulled over a holographic projection, her fingers dancing across it, not knowing what she was doing.

"Shido, take a look at this now!" After a while, Itsuka Kotori flipped the holographic projection in her hand and aimed it at Itsuka Shido. "Who do you think he looks like?"

"This is... the shopkeeper? Kotori, how did you know the shopkeeper's appearance? But why is this shopkeeper wearing a strange mask?" Itsuka Shido frowned as he looked at the image in front of him.

"So it really is him." Seeing Itsuka Shido's reaction, Itsuka Kotori couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"What do you mean 'so it really is him'?" Itsuka Shido asked.

"Shido, if I'm not mistaken, the shopkeeper you met earlier is the Swordsman we saw before!" Itsuka Kotori said.

"The shopkeeper is the Swordsman?" Hearing Itsuka Kotori's words, Itsuka Shido almost jumped up. "This, how is this possible?"

"Although I don't really want to believe this situation either, this is the most likely scenario I have deduced based on the intelligence we have collected so far." There was a trace of helplessness in Itsuka Kotori's tone.

"The most important point now is what purpose the Swordsman has in opening this small shop," Murasame Reine said.

"Hmm, it seems we might need to find an opportunity to go and see this shopkeeper. We were previously racking our brains over how to find the Swordsman, and now this Swordsman has appeared before us himself. Shido, should I say that you really have an unbreakable connection with Spirits?"

"How would I know that!" Looking at Itsuka Kotori's teasing expression, Itsuka Shido couldn't help but let out a wail.