For about 30 minutes after that, I was stuck listening to this kid named Misaki.
"Munch, munch. This is so good. Give me another one."
"No. Buy your own."
"But I don't have any money right now."
"Ugh… fine, here. Eat up."
To be precise, I had to listen to her while she shamelessly stole my lunch. If I didn't comply, she'd start bawling. Thanks to her antics, I learned a few things about her: Misaki was a loner with no friends, and I got a glimpse into her family situation.
"So, you're from a famous exorcist family, and you're so talented you can see and talk to ghosts in everyday life?"
"Yup!"
There was definitely something off about her—that much was clear.
'Is this some kind of Jujutsu Kaisen situation?'
Her story sounded like it was ripped straight out of an exorcism anime. The problem was, I couldn't just brush it off as a child's fantasy.
[First Scenario Progress Rate: 5%]
'What's happening in front of me is already unreal enough.'
I'm already weird myself. Who am I to call someone else weird? Besides, from what I remember, there were two games in the Ero Villain series that involved yokai. One was about running away from female yokai in the neighborhood, and the other was the opposite—a tights-wearing exorcist defeating yokai in the neighborhood.
'Wait a minute…'
If I recall correctly, the main character's name in that game was definitely…
"Your name's Misaki, right?"
"Munch, munch. Uh-huh. Why?"
"Then, what's your last name?"
"Oh! Right. It's Tachibana. Tachibana Misaki."
It was Tachibana Misaki (橘氏 美咲).
I couldn't help but be shocked when I heard her full name. For one, the main character in the game wasn't a high school girl—she was more like an elementary schooler. And second…
'This little kid is going to grow up to have that body?!'
It was mind-blowing to think that the character who made people go "wow~" was like this as a child.
As I sat there, stunned, Misaki noticed my expression and asked, "What? Is there something weird about my name?"
"No, it's not that…"
"Hmph! Then why are you making that face? I even told you my last name, which my grandpa said not to share with anyone. Especially since you gave me food."
"Huh? He told you not to tell anyone your last name?"
That caught me off guard. In Japan, it's pretty common to call people by their last names unless you're close. Why would he tell her to keep it a secret?
"Yeah. He said if people—or ghosts—who hold a grudge against us find out our last name, they can attack us. So, we're only supposed to reveal it when we're facing an enemy or after completing a mission."
Seems like there's some kind of tradition in exorcist families.
Wait a minute…
'In the game, Misaki's goal when she first appeared was to defeat the yokai that destroyed her family, right?'
And now that I think about it, the main character's last name was never mentioned during the game. The only time she said her full name was at the end, right before fighting the final boss and after defeating it, when she shouted her name to declare the mission complete.
I didn't think much of it back then, but it turns out there was a story behind it.
'Ero Villain, those crazy bastards.'
What kind of ero game has this kind of hidden lore?
No, actually, if I think about it, Ero Villain has always been like this.
'They always seemed to have their own stories that players didn't know about, right?'
But what does this have to do with this world?
"What are you thinking so hard about? Oh, and by the way, we've been talking about my name, but you haven't told me yours!"
No, that's not what I need to worry about right now. What's important is…
"Ah, right. My name's Takuya. Let's be friends from now on."
"R-really? You don't think it's weird that I'm a yokai or that I don't share my last name?"
"It's fine. I've met way weirder people than that."
The fact that her family is rich.
'I was wondering how to get the initial investment to buy Bitcoin.'
If I play my cards right, I might be able to score a sugar mama.
Even an allowance would be fine. If she's from such a well-off family, the scale is completely different from mine.
I thought to myself, wondering how to get closer to this little kid—no, my future sugar mama.
About an hour passed.
The sun, which had been scorching the earth, was finally starting to cool down.
Takuya said goodbye to Misaki.
"Ah, I should probably head out now."
"Already?! No! Play with me more!"
At Takuya's words, Misaki threw a tantrum, begging him not to leave, but…
"No. I'm done playing. Go home."
Takuya simply held out his palm and said no.
Misaki puffed up her cheeks, trying to show she was sulking, but…
Poke.
Poke.
"Pffft!"
Takuya easily subdued her by poking her cheeks.
Of course, Misaki still threw a fit because he treated her like a kid.
"Eek! Don't treat me like a child!"
"Hehe. Sorry, sorry."
After listening to Misaki's complaints for a while, Takuya said, "If you're sad, come back here at this time the day after tomorrow. I'll come too."
Misaki made a questioning face.
"Why not tomorrow?"
"I have plans with a friend tomorrow. The day after tomorrow works."
"A friend?!"
Misaki seemed genuinely shocked by the mention of another friend, her face even more surprised than before.
Seeing her reaction, Takuya chuckled.
"I'm not a loner with no friends like you."
"Eek! I have friends too!"
"Oh? Who are they?"
"Yoshino, Haruhiko, and… um…"
"They're all yokai or ghosts, right?"
"…Sniff."
At that, Misaki crouched down, lowered her head, and sniffled.
The words "loner with no friends" hit her hard.
Seeing her like that, Takuya thought, 'Did I tease her too much?' and tried to comfort her.
Or rather…
"Hey, it's okay. It's fine not to have friends."
"Sniff! Go away!"
"I said I'm sorry."
"You're the worst! Sniff!"
It seemed like he was teasing her, but then Takuya patted Misaki's head and said,
"Then I'll be your friend. That way, you're not a loner anymore, right?"
"Sniff… sniff…"
"If we're friends, I'll buy you a lunch box the day after tomorrow."
"Sniff. If you buy me one, I'll be your friend."
"Hehe. Okay. Then look forward to the day after tomorrow! I'll get you a good lunch box. Oh, and since I'm older, call me 'Oppa' when we meet."
"No… I'll call you 'Uncle.'"
"…Fine. Whatever."
"Hehe, just kidding!"
Geez.
Takuya ruffled Misaki's hair as if tidying it up, then got on his bike and headed off.
"The day after tomorrow! Don't forget!"
He left those words behind.
Misaki watched Takuya until he was out of sight.
After a while, when Takuya was no longer visible, someone appeared next to her.
Of course, it wasn't a person.
[Miss. Shall we follow him now?]
It was Yasuo, the ghost who followed Misaki—no, Chunshik.
For some reason, the male ghost with a name that sounded like it came straight out of a canyon asked Misaki.
[Sniff. No. Don't go.]
Misaki sniffled in response to Yasuo's question.
At her answer, Yasuo looked at her with a warm gaze, as if watching youth unfold.
Just as a heartwarming atmosphere began to form…
[Do you like that child, Miss Tachibana?]
Another voice echoed in the air.
But it was different from Yasuo's.
It was a voice that seemed to transmit directly into her mind rather than her ears. Misaki turned her head to look at the being calling her.
[It's not like that. Be quiet, Zen Unnie.]
The being was a great yokai who had once plunged Japan into chaos, fought and lost to the Tachibana family, and was now reduced to a shikigami.
[Oh my, it makes me sad when you lie to your Unnie~]
It was the great yokai, Nyotengu (女天狗).
As the name suggests, Nyotengu was a female tengu. Not only was she female, but she also had an overwhelming figure, and her half-closed eyes gave her a "mama" vibe.
[Don't lie. You're always teasing me.]
[I'm not! This Unnie would never do that~]
Nyotengu hugged Misaki tightly.
Misaki grumbled but didn't break free.
After enjoying the hug for a while, Misaki said,
[Let's stop now and go home, Zen Unnie.]
[Heeing. That's too much~]
Misaki ignored Nyotengu and started heading down the mountain from the shrine.
Yasuo quickly followed Misaki, while Nyotengu watched them with a relaxed smile.
A little while later, as Misaki returned home in a car sent by her family, Nyotengu, who remained at the shrine, thought about the boy—no, the man who looked more like an uncle—and muttered.
"Who is he to carry such a heavy karmic burden of killing (殺業)?"
The karmic burden of killing is something one accumulates by taking lives.
Even the greatest samurai of the Warring States period only carried a few hundred karmic burdens.
But that man…
[He had thousands, maybe~]
He carried a karmic burden of death in the thousands.
That was something absolutely impossible for an ordinary human.
But that wasn't the only thing that piqued the great yokai's interest.
Thousands of lives were not unheard of. Emperors and shoguns of the past had carried such burdens.
What intrigued her most was…
[Who is 'that woman' hiding behind his thick karmic burden of killing?♪]
It was the woman hiding behind his karmic burden, staring at her with a murderous gaze.
Thinking back to that moment…
Shiver!
Even she, with powers close to a god, felt a moment of fear.
[Should I investigate separately~?]
Nyotengu was deeply curious about who it was.
***
[Yokai are invisible to ordinary people. You need a special 'eye' to see them.]