Anime Crossover: My Cheat Code is Myself

Page 263

The process was incredibly smooth, as if she had been prepared to throw herself into his arms from the very beginning.

"Ah—" Koi Kasa gasped softly, startled instead of startling Natsuhiko, before letting out a giggle.

"How annoying~, did Lord Xia Yan already discover me?"

The affected courtesan's voice, paired with Koi Natsu's gentle tone, didn't sound artificial at all; instead, it highlighted a unique charm that made people's imaginations run wild.

Those visiting courtesans needed to learn and use the courtesan's voice to mask their native accents and dialects and integrate into Jiyuan.

But it's hard to change one's accent; sometimes the accent and intonation inevitably sound a bit strange, like trying too hard.

But Koi Natsu is different.

She grew up in the Yoshiwara red-light district and was trained as a courtesan. Her courtesan accent is her native tongue and mother tongue, so it sounds more natural to her.

Although she is no longer the top courtesan, Xia Yan has no intention of changing her speaking habits.

"You're still a long way from trying to scare me. Why are you up here? Is it over already?"

Xia Yan looked Li Xia up and down.

At this moment, Li Xia had removed her usual courtesan makeup and was wearing more ordinary clothes. Her hair was styled into a woman's updo.

It's clear that they've already made preparations for the trip.

"I brought you some pastries." Li Xia gestured to the tray in her hand, which contained pomelo rice cakes, steamed pumpkin, and a cup of tea.

This is a custom of the island nation on the winter solstice; they believe that eating this food can bring good luck for the whole year.

"The madam originally planned to throw me a farewell party, but I turned it down because I was thinking about how my sisters were waiting for me at home."

Li Xia slightly raised her chin and said in a tone that seemed to say, "Quick, praise me!"

Seeing this, Xia Yan chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Since this is a farewell party specially prepared for you, why don't you stay and attend? I happen to have some work to take care of..."

"Eh...? I understand. I'll go help everyone prepare then. Lord Xia Yan, you absolutely must come see my grand finale performance~"

Hearing Xia Yan's words, Li Xia was somewhat taken aback, but she sensibly didn't ask any further questions. She simply left her blessings, put down her plate, and turned to leave.

After all, she knew very well what kind of work Xia Yan did, and all she could do in this regard was to be obedient and not let him worry about this matter.

"Kikuko, I'd like to trouble you to go home and make this trip..."

"Yes, Lord Natsuhiko. Caw—caw—"

A soft, gentle female voice rang in Xia Yan's ears, and Kikuko flapped her wings and flew out of the window.

Watching the raven disappear into the distance, Xia Yan's eyes were surrounded by veins and bulges, and his gaze became deep. His eyes pierced through layer after layer of buildings, looking at the smiling figure wearing a cloak walking towards Jiyuan from the outskirts.

Chapter 399 Practical Applications of the Uncanny Valley Effect

Even in modern times, no one would clear snow from uninhabited suburbs, let alone in an island nation during the Taisho era.

On the outskirts of Asakusa Ward in Kyoto, a man wearing a red shirt is walking through the snow toward the geisha district.

In contrast, Xia Yan's tall figure emerged from the flower street and walked towards him.

The sky was a leaden gray, and the originally fine snowfall became thicker and seemed to be intensifying, creating a sense of oppressive darkness, as if dark clouds were pressing down on the city and threatening to crush it.

"Huh? They actually came out. Did they come to pick me up? Looks like I'm still quite popular!"

"It's a pity you're not a girl, so I can't let you come with me. Even if I kill you, I can't let you live with me through eternity."

"But what are you doing with that knife in your hand? It looks dangerous. What's that saying again... you're here with ill intentions."

"You are the one here."

Xia Yan tilted his head, looking at the somewhat mentally unstable ghost in front of him with a hint of speechlessness.

It has white oak hair, colorful pupils, and the characters "上弦" (Shangxian) and "弐" (Nian) are engraved on its eyes. It also has a carefree smile on its face.

A red patch on its head, with black edges spreading outwards, made it look like it was covered in dog blood.

It is none other than the Upper Moon Two – Doma.

"Besides, you really talk a lot. The last time I saw a ghost who talked this much was Akaza, wasn't it..."

The same snowy day, the same suburbs, the same Upper Moon demon gave Xia Yan a strong sense of déjà vu.

"Hahaha, is that so? So you think I have a special connection with Lord Akaza, right? I think so too. We're really good friends!"

"You must be Narukami Natsuhiko. Nice to meet you. I am Doma."

"What great weather! It's not even dark yet, but the sun is already out, which makes it easy for me to go out. Otherwise, it would be quite inconvenient."

"After all, you know I'm not very good at being in the sun..."

Tong Mo introduced himself with a smile, his tone casual and familiar.

Unlike Akaza, who is straightforward and praises people upon first meeting, he only talks nonsense that makes people feel annoyed.

Xia Yan, on the other hand, has always been a man of his word.

"Ugh! You talk too much. Akaza can't possibly be your friend. He's much better at talking than you, and you must be really unpopular."

"But I guess you didn't expect this, since you can't feel anything at all..."

"Eh—!? This is so hurtful on our first meeting..."

Upon hearing Xia Yan's evaluation, Douma paused, a slightly troubled expression appearing on his face.

"Oh, right!" Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he said, "To prove my friendship with Lord Akaza, let me kill you to avenge him!"

"Before that, you can tell me anything that made you sad."

"After all, besides being a ghost, I am also the founder of the 'Eternal Bliss Cult.' Although I cannot let you share eternal life with me, I will at least listen carefully to your last wishes."

“Is that so…” Xia Yan frowned slightly.

As someone who enjoys having fun, he actually doesn't like opponents like Doma.

He enjoyed watching the enemy's frustrated state, seeing them rack their brains to find a way to struggle, and hearing their cries of despair before they died.

And Douma, clearly, was also a person who enjoyed himself.

Because he lacks emotions, Doma is purer than Natsuhiko, and has almost no weaknesses. Even if he is at a complete disadvantage, it doesn't matter to him.

In other words, Xia Yan couldn't derive any enjoyment from fighting him; instead, he was easily affected by Xia Yan's thoughtless and nonsensical remarks.

Fortunately, although Doma is almost invincible in terms of mentality, he still has only one weakness that he cares about.

And Xia Yan happens to know this.

"So, before we start, could you please answer one question for me?" Xia Yan held up one finger, his face showing just the right amount of curiosity.

"Of course! Please don't be shy, Lord Narukami Tsuki, ask away. I will listen attentively!"

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony…” Xia Yan’s curiosity turned into a wicked smile. “As a human being, it is only natural to feel emotions such as joy, sorrow, and fear.”

"But from what I've observed, you simply can't understand these things, can you?"

"You seem unable to generate any emotions, nor can you understand what emotions are; what you show is nothing but pretense."

"Why did you come into this world?"

According to the law of conservation of smiles, smiles do not disappear, but are transferred.

At this moment, the smile on Doma's face had shifted to Natsuhiko's.

"That's so mean... That's why I don't like men. They're so mean, why would they say something so hurtful..."

Doma, who had lost his smile, still spoke in a steady voice, unchanged from before, but his face remained expressionless.

Without the pretense of micro-expressions, the numbness and emptiness in his eyes were laid bare.

Despite his defenses being breached, he did not become enraged, nor did he even feel any murderous intent; there was only a deathly calm.

It's like a cold, lifeless machine.

It has an appearance that is no different from that of a human, but its inner self is this feeling of emptiness, which can even cause both psychological and physiological discomfort to those who look into it.

In the 3.5s, a scholar proposed a theory.

When humans see objects that resemble humans, their liking for them increases.

We subconsciously treat them as "people" to establish emotional connections. When the behavior of this "person" does not conform to these expectations, we cannot immediately clarify this cognitive confusion and thus feel fear.

The closer something looks to a human, the more noticeable even the slightest abnormalities become, making the subject appear stiff and terrifying, like facing a walking corpse.

This is the famous "uncanny valley" effect.

Doma, who was no different from a human in appearance and behavior, had his empty and nihilistic nature magnified to the extreme in that instant.

Chapter 400 The Burden of Wadokana

"Hmph, are you angry?"

"I'm not angry."

A voice answered from behind Xia Yan.

Suddenly, Doma's figure disappeared and reappeared behind Natsuhiko, a gleaming golden metal folding fan with extremely sharp edges growing from his right hand.

The fan surface is engraved with pinkish-purple lotus flowers and green lotus leaves, and the design looks quite exquisite.

call--.

A terrifying howling sound rang out.

The folding fan was aimed directly at Xia Yan's neck.

It was just a light fan, but in Douma's hands, it gave people the illusion of wielding a giant axe.

At the same time, visible ice crystals gathered into sharp blades, swirling around the iron fan, expanding its attack range from the fan surface to more than three times its original size.

The already frigid temperature dropped even further as the ice crystals condensed. Even if an ordinary person were fully armed and took precautions to keep warm, they could only endure the cold for two or three hours at most.

This is the Blood Demon Art of Doma, the Ice Demon of the Upper 05th Rank.

They can turn their own blood into ice and control it at will.

It's somewhat similar to an enhanced version of vaporization freezing.

The rest of the moves were all developed based on this fundamental ability.