The Prudent Mitsuri and Harvest of the Night!

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--- Chapter 48 ---

"This big-boobed fool!" At this very moment, three girls stare at Mitsuri like she is their greatest enemy. After all, this random girl who only knew Tenma tonight dares to propose to him.

Even they didn't have such indulgence. Um, bravery.

Shinobu knew Mitsuri better than anyone here. She already expected this girl to say some outrageous shit, but damn. This behavior is shocking.

Meanwhile, Tenma was stunned by Mitsuri's blunt and direct proposal to marry him. Honestly, he had never seen such a bold girl before. Even the adult women in Tenma's circle weren't so daring, with Eri's mother being an example of one.

Mitsuri tilted her head and foolishly smiled, "What's the matter? Don't you like me too, Tenma?"

"..." Tenma was speechless. Well, yeah. He indeed likes Mitsuri, but this development was a bit too fast.

They literally just met each other a few hours ago!

Where is the heartfelt romance?

So, Tenma could only cough a few times and changed the topic, "I think that was a bit too soon, Mitsuri. We just met tonight and didn't know anything about each other."

"Who knows that you might dislike me in the future."

"I could be a bad person, you know?"

Mitsuri shook her head stubbornly, "That can't be!"

"Tenma is handsome, strong, really handsome, and can cook delicious food. You can't be a bad person."

"Hey, you said handsome twice." Eri couldn't help but point out.

"Did I stutter?" Mitsuri crossed her arms.

"..." Tenma's face becomes numb. Since when did the criteria of a bad and good person relate to appearance, strength, and cooking skills? This girl is something else.

Shinobu and Kanao were also stunned.

This girl is not playing by the rules.

So annoying!

"How about we become friends first." Tenma decided to put down this matter from another perspective.

As expected, Mitsuri's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing Tenma's words. "You're right, we can be friends!"

'Thank god.' Shinobu and others finally sighed in relief.

Tenma helplessly shook his head and said, "We should look for a village or city to sleep in. I don't mind being cold at night, but you girls should get a proper rest."

"Especially you, Eri. Children who don't sleep properly won't get taller."

"Impossible!" Eri panicked and cried out. "I drank milk every day! You can't scare me like this, Nii-chan!"

"Hahaha~!" Shinobu, Kanao, and Mitsuri giggled at Eri's reply. The mood finally wasn't so awkward.

Tenma also chuckled but then added. "But seriously, though. You girls have been fighting for all night."

"Rest is a must."

After Tenma said, the girls cleaned the surrounding area and extinguished the campfire before moving in the darkness with horses. Mitsuri wanted to ride with Tenma, but Shinobu quickly dragged her away.

That spot is 'already' taken by Eri.

Seeing this, Eri proudly raised her little nose before getting her forehead flicked by Tenma.

They arrived at Higashi Town, not too far away, and asked someone on the street for a place to rest. Since Tenma and others rode horses, the people were respectful of them—well, more like flattering at this point.

"Nii-chan, why did they look at us like that?" Eri asked curiously.

Shinobu rolled her eyes, "You even need to ask Tenma for this kind of question? Living in the Kawami Village all these years warped your perspective in life."

"That's true..." Kanao glanced at Eri and nodded.

"Kawami Village?" Mitsuri looks puzzled. She seemed to know this place but couldn't put her hand on it.

Meanwhile, Eri pouted upon hearing Shinobu's comments.

Tenma also sighed because Eri seemed to lack common sense about the world outside. He could take the blame for this matter as this girl grew with him.

It's not that Eri hasn't left Kawami Village. Her mother is doing business outside, so she would sometimes visit her. The problem lies in herself.

Eri unconsciously didn't put anyone in her eyes besides Tenma and some 'special' others. After the tragic incident years ago, she closed her eyes and perceived the world differently.

She glanced at the villagers, who were still awake at night, mainly at the pub. She saw them chatting and drinking to remove weariness from the day's activity.

Although the villagers wear rough clothing and live in such conditions, they smile genuinely, unaware of the chaotic era surrounding them.

Honestly, Eri was a little jealous of them.

Thankfully, Tenma and others are here.

Eri suddenly found herself leaning against Tenma even more, muttering something and closing her eyes.

Tenma saw this and thought, 'She must be tired. Well, that was an intense fight indeed.'

Eri fought many high-level demons (blood monsters), which proved how far she had come. Even though Shinobu's poison weakened the blood monsters, their strength is still that of high-level demons.

Well, minus the Blood Demon Art.

They reached the inn and rented a few rooms to rest. Mitsuri wanted to help Tenma tidy the room, but Shinobu prevented the brave girl from doing something again.

As for Eri, Tenma handed her to Kanao. "Be careful with her."

"I know." Kanao smiled faintly.

...

...

After cleaning himself, Tenma threw a wet towel to the nearby chair and slumped to the not-so-soft bed. He groaned a little because the general-level demon's explosion was terrifying.

Thankfully, his skin is thick. Although enduring the explosion is painful, it wasn't enough to kill him.

"The simulations and reality are really different." Tenma couldn't help but comment. He rolled on the bed and stared at the ceiling silently.

"Not by much, though." Several light particles appeared, forming a white bunny with a comical red wizard hat.

Tenma glanced at the bunny and knew this was a 'physical manifestation' Iris chose.

"According to our analysis, the difference between simulation and reality is around 0.00000001%. Although it could affect the world in the grand way of the scheme, the deviation won't change much."

"As Tia said, the problem lies within the accumulation of Bad Karma."

"No demon in this world is innocent. Demons are born to accomplish evil and spread bloody curses."

"Then, again..." Iris added. "That general-level demon was a bit tougher than the simulation."

[Why are you guys lamenting about dead things?] Hestia's voice chimed into their conversation.

[Aren't you curious about your harvest, Tenma?]

"Oh, I forgot about that." Tenma blinked in realization. He adjusted his breathing and let all the muscles in his body relax, making himself more comfortable.

"Show me the harvest tonight, Tia."

"Considering the general-level demon's bad karma has exceeded five digits, my harvest shouldn't be too bad."

[Well, you're right]

[Drum Roll*]

[Ding! You have obtained 1,696,696 Good Karma]

"Damn, what a nice string of numbers." Tenma clicked his tongue in amazement.

"It is nice," Iris commented with a nod. "I think you saved enough to buy a portal to another world, no?"

Tenma laughed helplessly, "You're punching me on the bad spot, Iris. You know how expensive that item is..."

The item Iris talked about is the Inter-Dimension Portal. It is a device that allows someone to travel between 3-7 nearby dimensions, and it's not even a permanent item as one could only travel three times with it.

It sold around 25 million Good Karma in the Righteous Karmic Exchange and 15 million Bad Karma in the Evil Store. Yup, it is that expensive.

[Karmic Values: 12,987,500 (Good Karma), 5,000,420 (Bad Karma)]

Tenma couldn't help but feel poor when looking at his Karmic Values.

"Anyway, there are a lot of demons in this world. I can get more Good Karma when entering Final Selection."

"It should be held soon..."