Her calm, controlled footsteps echo softly along the empty street. One black, one white, the two katanas rest in silence behind her poised back. Her abyssal-blue hair flows like ink into the solitary night.

It’s late.

Fortunately, Mio spots an oden stall with its light still on. She steps through the noren. Her words flow naturally.

“Hello. Chikuwa, burdenbeast tendon, fowlbeast egg, Daikon, and Kombu, please.”

But what Mio believes to be her normal voice is actually perceived as a cold, calculating whisper. The owner jolts sharply. He quickly turns to look, stiff and panic, the sudden motion subtly jolts her along.

Mio tilts her head a little. Perhaps he doesn’t understand her.

“Chikuwa, burdenbeast tendon, fowlbeast egg, Daikon, Kombu, please.”

That expressionless face. That unblinking stare. Skin, pale as Ursus snow. Everything about Mio chills the owner to his spine, like a yokai tale he'd heard not long before opening his shop here in Misukue.

Unaware of the owner’s fear, Mio casts a sidelong glance at the floor. Her brows lift slightly. She begins to think seriously.

Maybe a smile, paired with careful enunciation, would better reach a foreigner like him.

But Mio can't bring herself to smile in such an awkward situation. So she reaches into her sash, fingers curling around her wakizashi, tracing its familiar form. Those memories might bring a smile to her face.

To ensure swift communication, she conjures an onyx-clad arm through her Arts. At her silent command, it glides forward and gently taps the owner’s shoulder. She speaks slowly, a strained smile stretched across her pale face, one hand idly tracing the edge of her wakizashi.

“Chikuwa.”

“Burdenbeast tendon.”

“Fowlbeast egg.”

“Daikon.”

“Kombu.”

“Please.”

The owner runs for his life, scrambling away as if he just saw death itself. She’s a ghost! A ghost here to make an offering out of him! His panicked cries fade into the lonely night, leaving Mio in quiet confusion.

The unserved oden reflects Mio’s expressionless face. She leaves the money in the tab then puts her palms together.

“......Well. Itadakimasu.”