LOGINThe current Mr. Sato would probably never imagine that he would be meeting the very same Chiyo-chan from his great-grandfather's talesIt's said that even his great-grandfather didn't know Chiyo-chan's real name, aside from the last name Saikawa. It was a common last name, which made finding her an impossible quest.After finishing her bowl of yudofu and paying for it, she happily left the small stall and continued towards Rokuon-ji, all while looking left and right at the shops down the streets.Vera had lived in Japan for a long time, not leaving until the beginning of the 20th century.During her time in Kyoto, she was known as Chiyo-chan the Kind. At that time, Japan was undergoing the Meiji Restoration, transforming from a feudal to an industrial society. While their military also began to modernize, military tribalism had yet to spread nationwide.However, even Kyoto at that time was poverty-stricken. It was why plenty of food stalls and small business owners in the city
Vera nodded as she took a seat at a corner, scanned through the menu and pointed towards the top, at the most prominent signature dish: Matsutake Yudofu. "I'll have a bowl, please." She smiled."Okay, just a moment!" Mr. Sato bowed and hurried to the kitchen to start cooking.Before long, a full bowl of Yudofu was placed right in front of her.The broth was rich and refreshing—a sublime blend of tea and matsutake mushroom aromas.Vera took off her mask and took a small sip of the hot soup, before grinned in satisfaction. "It's wonderful."Mr. Sato, wiping his hands with a towel, smiled with both enthusiasm and pride, "Thank you! I know there are countless Yudofu stalls here in Kyoto, but there's only one offering Matsutake Yudofu and it's here. It's a recipe improvised from traditional Kyoto Yudofu from 1899." Vera made a blank look just like any other innocent young girl, exclaiming in surprise, "Oh! That's a very long history!" Mr. Sato chuckled and said, "Well, not really
But when relaxed, Vera was just as childish as any adolescent.In just thirty minutes, the airbus was towed out of the hangar, taxied to the end of the runway, before its twin engines roared and took flight. On board, Vera's escorts all stayed in the rear cabin, while Vera was the one in the front—even a close confidante, Emmett, wouldn't impose. The flight from Aurous Hill to Osaka didn't take long—just two and a half hours later, the plane landed at Osaka Airport.Even as things got a little quieter now just before dawn, no one knew that the oldest guest they had just touched down.It was 6.30 am Tokyo time, and the sun was just rising above the eastern horizon.Vera—using an ID with the most generic of Oskian names—passed through customs without issue.She didn't hop on a train to Kyoto right away, instead taking the time to buy a Kuromi backpack attached with a ton of cute little accessories from an airport store. Loosening her ponytail, she tied it into cute pigtails be
The flight Emmett arranged arrived very quickly.He didn't just make arrangements either. He brought along dozens of elite bodyguards, and was personally on board waiting to receive Vera when the private jet touched down.Aurous Hill Airport had express instructions from high-ranking officials to let Logan's Rolls-Royce go straight to the hangar, without passing through any security or customs checks.Vera was clad entirely in black, her long hair tied into a high ponytail, with her face hidden with shades and a mask.The rise of AI and the omnipresence of security systems made such precautions necessary, though even a little disguise like this went a long way to deter detection.The Rolls-Royce arrived beneath an Airbus A350, where the elderly Emmett was already waiting at the boarding stairs.After the car came to a stop, he moved up to open the car door for Vera and greet her respectfully. "Ms. Lavor."Vera asked, "What are you doing here?"Emmett bowed as he replied, "I'm c
Vera's persistence paid off—just before the Oskian New Year, the red blip representing Claire's cell access suddenly lit up at the cell tower near Qi Temple! Vera smiled as she watched, and she officially designated the third black piece on the board as Qi Temple. And now was the time to find out more details revolving around the red piece: Who did Claire meet at Qi Temple? Was it the fake abbess? Stephen? Or someone else entirely? That was when another name occurred to her—when Charlie told her about Jeevika, whom Ito Nanako met by chance at Qi Temple, offering guidance that helped her enlightenment. Considering that black side always appeared near temples, she quickly decided that Jeevika was on black's side. Hence, putting the third red piece below the third black piece, she cracked a small smile. "Guess this one would be Jeevika." She hence googled any information she could get on Master Jeevika. As it turned out, the priest was genuinely an enlightened figure in Budd
Vera remembered then that when she and Charlie first arrived in Eastcliff, Stephen had disappeared after delivering Charlie's parents' old photo album to the Wades' house. It was at that moment when she noticed Stephen was acting strange.Furthermore, when Vera had traveled to the Qi Temple, she met the fake abbess from the Quiant Monastery exactly as she had hoped!That made the Qi Temple all the more suspect!Even as Vera felt she was getting closer to the truth, she quickly reached for her phone to call Emmett Sandsor."Ms. Lavor," he greeted her at once respectfully. "What can I do for you this late at night?"Vera asked, "Do you have any access to all telco operators' encrypted data?""Of course," Emmett promptly replied. "What would you like to access?""Mrs. Wade's access records," Vera said solemnly. "Any access to the operators over the past few months, with specific locations down to the closest cell tower. Then mark her location on a map according to the timeline."
Mountain roads were much more dangerous than any ordinary roads regardless of their country. Falling off the cliff would be the most dangerous accident along the mountain roads. This was because the fall from a one hundred meters high cliff, followed by a roll-over along the steep mountains, woul
Carmen glared at Charlie, and she wanted to say something to keep up her appearances, but she could not say anything at all even when the words had already reached her lips.She realized that Charlie’s character was really too similar to his father, that was none other than her second brother, Curtis
At this time, Yahiko and Shinwa continued exchanging a few words with one another before Yahiko got to the main topic.“Shinwa, there are two reasons why I invited you here today. The first reason is because I want you to have a taste of the bluefin tuna and a bottle of fifty-year-old Yamazaki whiske
The two of them made their way to the deck, and Charlie was welcomed by the cold and calm ocean breeze. He couldn’t help but sigh.Although he had successfully rescued Jasmine and was on his way back home now, this matter was far from over.The next step would be the most important part.Tyler and Reub







