I looked at Tachibana gently and said, "I will arrange for us to meet soon. In a private place, just the three of us. Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything properly. For now, give me your number."

Tachibana hesitated for a second, her cheeks still faintly pink, but eventually nodded. We exchanged phone numbers in silence. After saving her contact, I looked at the name I just added — "Tachibana" — and smiled softly.

I then looked back at her. "Tachibana... I want you to do something for me."

She tilted her head slightly, still a bit wary. "What is it?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"I want you to find out the location of your sister Hitomi."

Tachibana’s eyes widened in surprise. She stared at me for a long moment before speaking. "Are you... going to heal her? But Master said... she told me that using your ability will hurt you badly."

Her expression suddenly changed as she remembered something. She exclaimed loudly, "Yeah... I remember now! After sending you back this morning, Master came to me and specifically asked me not to let you use your ability again. She looked really serious... even scared."

Tachibana’s brows furrowed with worry. "She kept repeating that I shouldn’t let you push yourself. That it would be dangerous for you. So... you really were lying about the side effects, weren’t you?"

I shook my head calmly and lied without hesitation, keeping my voice steady. "It’s nothing. You see, that ability really doesn’t have any serious effect on me. Your master is just overly worried. She’s afraid that if anyone finds out about my healing power, I would be targeted by dangerous people. That’s why she’s so against it. She’s trying to protect me."

Tachibana looked conflicted. She bit her lip, clearly torn between trusting her master’s words and wanting to believe me. "But... Master seemed really shaken. I’ve never seen her like that before. Are you sure it’s really okay? I don’t want you to suffer because of us again..."

I reached out and gently tapped her nose with my finger, smiling. "Yeah. Didn’t you see it for yourself last night? I healed all your wounds completely. I’m fine, aren’t I?"

Tachibana’s face turned red again at the light touch. She rubbed her nose shyly and looked away. "O-Okay... If you say so. I’ll try to find out Sister Hitomi’s location. She’s been hiding really well, but I might be able to track her through some old contacts."

She paused, then added quietly, "Can you... Really heal her? Her burns are really bad. Even advanced medical treatment hasn’t helped much. If you can actually fix something like that..."

I nodded confidently. "I can. You experienced it yourself."

Tachibana nodded shyly, a small, hesitant smile appearing on her lips. "Okay... I’ll do it."

I lowered my voice and warned her seriously, "But don’t let your master find out. You know how she is. She would be extremely worried if she knew I was planning to use this ability again. So keep it between us for now."

Tachibana crossed her arms and gave me a tsundere glare, though it lacked any real hostility. "Hmph. Are you asking me to hide things from Master now? You really are a bad influence."

She sighed softly, but her eyes showed reluctant acceptance. "Fine. I won’t tell her. But if anything happens to you because of this... I’ll never forgive you. And I’ll kick you even harder than last time."

Despite her sharp words, there was clear concern hidden in her tone. She glanced down at her phone, where she had just saved my number, and muttered under her breath, "I can’t believe I’m doing this... agreeing to hide things from Master for a man I barely know."

After a moment, she looked back up at me, her expression softening just a little. "When I find the location... I’ll message you. But promise me one thing — if it’s really going to hurt you, even a little, you won’t force it. I don’t want Sister Hitomi to recover at the cost of your health."

She poked my chest with her finger lightly. "I’m serious, Jack. Don’t be reckless."

I smiled and nodded. "I promise I’ll be careful."

Tachibana stared at me for a few more seconds, as if trying to read my true intentions. Then she stepped back, adjusting her shirt awkwardly. "I should go now... before your girlfriend starts looking for you. Don’t forget what you said. If Haruna doesn’t agree... I’ll disappear. No matter what you say."

Even as she said that, her eyes betrayed her true feelings — she didn’t want to disappear at all.

She turned around, but stopped after a few steps and looked back over her shoulder. "And... thank you. For still being willing to help Hitomi-neesan even after everything."

With those quiet words, Tachibana walked away, disappearing into the bustling crowd of the mall, leaving behind only the faint scent of her shampoo and the warmth of her hesitant trust.

I stood there for a moment, watching her slender figure vanish among the shoppers. Just as I was about to head back to the others, my phone suddenly rang. The screen showed Haruna’s name.

I smiled, thinking she was probably calling me to help carry more shopping bags. But the moment I answered, Haruna’s panicked, tearful voice came through.

"Jack...! Where are you?! Come here quickly! Jack... Oka-san, she... she...!" Haruna’s voice broke into sobs, making my heart skip a beat.

"I’m coming right now!" I replied urgently.

Without wasting a second, I activated Telekinesis to sense Haruna’s exact location and sprinted through the mall corridors at full speed. Within a minute, I reached a high-end clothing store on the second floor.

The moment I entered, I saw the chaotic scene.

Kasumi stood in the middle of the store, looking pale and shaken. Yuko was standing protectively in front of her, while Haruna was clutching Kasumi’s arm, tears streaming down her face.

In front of them was an elderly woman, probably in her late 70s or early 80s, with a face full of wrinkles twisted in hatred. She was pointing a trembling finger directly at Kasumi.

"You are a jinx! A cursed woman who killed my son!" the old woman screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing through the entire store. "Because of you, my son is dead! You ruined our family!"

Beside the old woman stood a middle-aged man (likely her son) and a woman who appeared to be his wife. The man looked uncomfortable but didn’t stop his mother, while his wife was glaring at Kasumi with clear hostility.

Kasumi’s face had lost all color. Her hands were shaking as she tried to remain composed, but the pain in her eyes was obvious.

Yuko’s voice trembled with anger as she tried to shield her mother. "Please stop this! My mother didn’t do anything wrong! This is a public place!"

Haruna was crying harder. "Oka-san... don’t listen to her... Please..."

A crowd of shoppers had started gathering, whispering among themselves and taking out their phones to record the drama.

I quickly stepped forward, positioning myself between Kasumi and the angry old woman.