I blushed and laughed, surprised by this strange gratitude. “I-I couldn’t help you, though… He just made me look like a fool.”

Rickey blurbled, “Hug, given.”

I shot a glare at Rickey. Loli-oni’s smile faded and she glowered at me. “You ignored my orders, though. If you’d hurt Rickey, he wouldn’t have helped us. You could have hindered the investigation.” She gritted her teeth and wagged her finger at me and then turned to Rickey.

“Anyways, everything went just fine. Now, Rickey, we’re investigating a rampaging noh-face. That one who’s taken to hunting along the train lines. Tell me what you know, please!”

“Rui... like sky today... so much beauty... Cannot behold… strewn with... radiant light... Light of circle... so bright,” Rickey gurgled.

“Aw... you’re poetic as usual, Rickey, but save that line for your girlfriend,” Rui murmured. “Stay on the subject, please.”

“Hmmmm... hunts well... but... very sloppy... leaving bodies... all around. Such waste. Must feed... all must,” Rickey bubbled. “Don’t like... way. We… both... live in... shadows... So reluctant... never once... truly one with... the dark. Mmmm... the soft... caress of... nyx... You... new yokai... you embrace... Not... lose… way.”

Those staggered words seemed full of wisdom, and yet they held their own terror. Embrace the darkness. What kind of sick edgelord is this disgusting bastard?

“Tell us where it lives, Rickey,” Rui reminded the gelatin monster.

“Mmmm...... darks of... Yamanote... prefers it. Ah... obsession. Drives it. Pushes to new... horrors. So... chaotic... no organization... Cannot reason. Lost... lost much. Desperate. Steals… reaves. Bereft. Wants... all...... find thing.”

“T-That’s very helpful, Rickey. It was worth losing my beautiful shirt. A small price to pay for intelligence!”

“Seek... the one... who… like... sun. Blinding... Always dream… sun. Never to behold. Nyx... my… partner. My... fate. Has... been… of assistance?”

Rui nodded enthusiastically and rushed to cautiously plant a kiss on his horrible-smelling body.

What a professional! How can she stand to do that?! I couldn't imagine how she avoided vomiting. Rickey was lit up the whole time, but he seemed to shine a bit more brightly after the kiss.

“You’re so courteous, Rickey. Thank you for your beautiful poetry. You have an amazing soul, but you’re hell on clothing.” She wagged her finger with a laugh and led me away from Rickey the bioluminescent glowing blob.

“Always… pleasure… Come… again… give me… kiss… Wonderful.” His gurgle was heartfelt.

“By the way, Rickey’s a yokai who came from the United States. That’s why his speech is so awkward, although his existence is fundamentally different from ours,” Loli-oni murmured.

“Eh? He’s from that far away? Why’s he here?”

Rui smiled at me, and sighed. “He’s here because he works well in the darkness. He takes contracts from the Yakuza.”

“Eh? I know they’re still around, but I don’t think they do very much anymore.” I noh-blinked, wondering how they still had a place in society these days.