Shopping Trouble Part-01

**In Mei's Shop**

The small shop smelled faintly of herbs and warm oil. Kuro was sitting on a stool near the counter, chatting casually with Mei.

"I'm thinking about joining a guild," Kuro said.

Hearing this, the glass Mei had been wiping slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor. Shocked, she slammed both hands on the counter and leaned forward.

"Reaaally?! But why? How?"

Kuro winced and covered his ears. "At least let me finish first!" he said, lowering his hands again.

"I only plan to join a guild on paper," he added quickly, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Huh? But why suddenly?" Mei asked, curiosity lighting in her eyes.

"Well... it's kind of hard to explain," Kuro admitted. "Could you help me out for now? I'll tell you the reason once everything settles down."

He clapped his hands together as if remembering something. He had told Riyochi he was a D-class Shadow Hunter — but if Riyochi ever looked into it, he'd surely discover Kuro was still unregistered.

Mei studied him with a suspicious frown. "So, what exactly do you want from me?"

"Well," Kuro began cautiously, "do you know any guild that could issue me a Shadow Hunter license ID — with a registration date set for the previous day? And... if the guild isn't too well-known, that would be perfect."

"A small, obscure guild with backdated registration?" Mei mused, a sly smile tugging at her lips. "I might know one. But I have a few conditions."

Kuro sighed. "Of course you do. Let's hear them."

"First," she said, raising a finger, "you must take part in at least some guild activities.

Second, since joining a guild allows you to sell Shadow Crystals directly to the Association, I need assurance you won't cut me off. So, you'll still sell all your crystals to *me*.

Third, I want five Gold Crystals as a referral fee. And lastly..."

Just then, Aurelia emerged from the back room after calming down. Mei pointed at her immediately.

"She'll join the guild with you. And every crystal she collects goes directly to me. Don't worry — I'll give her a small allowance so she doesn't feel taken advantage of."

"Huh?" Aurelia blinked, confused.

Kuro frowned. "You're being way too greedy, Mei. If I accept all that, I'll be so broke I won't even afford dinner."

Mei merely shrugged with a playful smirk. "Business is business. You may be my favorite customer, but that doesn't mean I can lose profit."

"At least give me a discount," Kuro pleaded.

After a long sigh, she said, "Fine. You can pay me the five Gold Crystals whenever you can. That's the best I can do."

"That's it? No other catch?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"None at all. So... deal?" she asked.

Kuro exhaled in defeat. "Alright, I don't have much choice. What's the guild's name, and how many members does it have?"

"The guild's called *Dark Moonlight*," she replied.

"Dark Moonlight? Sounds like something from a chuuni's notebook. Anyway, what about the members?"

"There are only three at the moment," Mei said. "The leader, Kenji Yamikage, is a D-class Shadow Hunter. Then there's Hoshino Rika and Haru Kageyami — both E-class hunters."

Kuro nodded thoughtfully. "A small, low-ranked guild... sounds perfect. Just remember the registration date thing and have the ID ready as soon as possible."

"Got it," Mei said.

"Alright then, I should get going. Akari told me she needed something from the department store." He stood up to leave.

"Wait!" Mei called out. "Take her with you." She nodded toward Aurelia. "I need her to handle some shopping since I'll be busy with *your* request."

"Well, no problem. Come on, Aurelia," Kuro said, as she nearly dropped an antique plate she was dusting.

And with that, the two left the shop. Mei sighed in relief, glancing at the broken glass still on the floor.

**Police Headquarters, Tokyo**

Detective Riyochi hurried down the corridor, his footsteps echoing through the polished marble hall. Sakamoto had called him earlier, insisting he had found crucial information about Kuro. Without delay, Riyochi reached Sakamoto’s office and knocked twice before stepping inside.

“So, Sakamoto-san, what did you find? You said on the call that Kuro is an unregistered Shadow Hunter. Is that true?” Riyochi asked, closing the door behind him.

“I’ll tell you everything, but first, have a seat, Riyochi-san,” Sakamoto said calmly.

He pressed the small bell on his desk, and moments later, a peon appeared. “Two coffees,” Sakamoto ordered. Once they were alone again, he leaned back in his chair.

“Well, while digging into Kuro’s background, we found some very interesting things,” Sakamoto began.

“Like what?” Riyochi asked, his brows furrowing slightly.

“First, as I mentioned — we ran checks through every known guild, but couldn’t find any record of Kuro being registered. Even the Association confirmed that, according to their database, Kuro was never officially recognized as a Shadow Hunter.”

“Then why would he lie about being a D-class Hunter?” Riyochi muttered, half to himself.

“Wait — there’s more,” Sakamoto said as the peon returned, placing two steaming cups of coffee before them. He lifted his cup and took a slow sip before continuing.

“It turns out Kuro’s parents were brutally murdered by rogue Shadow Hunters trying to rob them. When they resisted, they were stabbed to death.”

“I see…” Riyochi said quietly, waiting for him to go on.

“But here’s where things get strange,” Sakamoto continued. “The man who killed them — the main culprit — was later found dead himself, cut into 277 pieces. And the most unbelievable part is that he was inside a high-security prison when it happened.”

Riyochi’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. How could anyone manage that inside a facility under such strict security, without being seen?”

Sakamoto’s expression darkened. “Because that was the very first recorded case of *Shinigami*.”

“What?!” Riyochi leaned back in shock, his mind racing.

“If we connect all these clues,” he said after a long pause, “it seems Kuro is still under heavy suspicion.”

Just then, his phone buzzed, breaking the heavy silence. A new notification flashed on the screen. Riyochi checked it and saw the message.

**‘Red Blood Guild has accepted your proposal for investigation.’**

He glanced at Sakamoto, his expression serious. Something about this case was far from ordinary.