Chapter 3

"Rice is so delicious..."

After parting ways with Nagisa, Mayu had come to a nearby gyudon restaurant.

The steaming hot meat, the fluffy white rice, the rich miso soup steaming in the bowl, and the pickles and red ginger as side dishes.

Mayu eagerly brought the gyudon to her mouth, occasionally sipping the miso soup, savoring the taste of the miso.

She might have never thought that a chain restaurant's gyudon could be this delicious.

As a student living alone, Mayu occasionally ate such meals, but she had never been particularly attached to the taste.

However, the white rice, which she hadn't eaten in four years, was the most delicious thing she had ever tasted, and the miso soup was an indispensable dish for any Japanese person.

The crunchy pickled cabbage was also delicious. Whether it was domestically produced or not didn't matter. It was just that the taste of her homeland, which she couldn't eat in another world, was incredibly nostalgic and delicious.

"Thank you for the meal."

She couldn't help but put her hands together in gratitude. It was truly wonderful to be back in Japan, her original world. Not only the food culture but also the level of civilization was completely different.

While the magic civilization had many unique and impressive things, in terms of convenience, this world was overwhelmingly superior.

"Ah, that was good. It's been a long time since I've had white rice, and it was the best."

After finishing the extra-large serving, Mayu wandered through the night streets. The distance from where the Tsuchigumo was to the town where she lived was considerable, about twenty kilometers.

The time difference was as the god had said, about five minutes after she was summoned, but the distance was vastly different.

How could she have ended up so far away? She wanted to tell the god to do a better job, but it was disrespectful to be impolite to a god, even if it was just a personal thought.

"Well, it's better than being sent to another prefecture or overseas, but that god was pretty careless."

If she had been transferred overseas, she would have seriously worried about how to get back.

If her physical abilities had been enhanced at the location of the Tsuchigumo, she could have returned to this town without taking so much time, which would have been good exercise and helped her gauge her own abilities.

(While my physical abilities had declined, they are definitely better overall than before the summoning. My spiritual power is almost the same as it was in the other world. I can use all the spiritual techniques I've learned. There are no problems with physical enhancement, spiritual vision, barriers, defense, healing, purification, and invisibility. I can also perform exorcisms using talismans on incorporeal spirits and evil spirits, but not on physical attacks.)

She could use basic techniques, but the talismans had little effect on demons that had materialized their bodies with demonic energy. However, she had proven that she could purify incorporeal spirits and evil spirits by purifying a random floating spirit.

(She could handle simple exorcisms. While she would have to be selective about her work as an exorcist, she could handle jobs involving evil spirits and vengeful spirits.)

She could find and purify haunted houses and use them, or even buy them cheaply and sell them at a higher price.

(I knew it, but I still can't form my spiritual power into spheres or bullets, or into the shape of a sword. I also can't convert my spiritual power into attributes. If I could use these, it would broaden my combat options and make things much more convenient.)

Mayu's current spiritual power was not just at the level of a top-tier exorcist but was in a class of its own, even in this world.

However, she couldn't use it to its fullest potential. She had no aptitude for release-type spiritual techniques.

So, even though she had a lot of spiritual power, she couldn't directly attack demons by releasing it.

Still, it was better than before. In the past, her spiritual power was low, and the techniques she could use were weak, and if she let go of a talisman for a long time, it would lose its power.

Therefore, before going to the other world, she had to touch the talisman directly to purify things, and she couldn't create a complete defensive barrier by infusing a talisman with spiritual power and floating it.

(And I can't keep a talisman away from me for a long time unless it's a special one I got in the other world. But all the techniques I can use now are overwhelmingly stronger. I don't need to worry like I used to.)

In the past, she had struggled and lamented her situation, feeling inferior to her excellent older brother.

As a reaction to this, when she became a high school student, she left her family home and started living alone in this town.

But now that she was back from the other world, she didn't care about such past issues.

She had gained power, invaluable experience, and the ability to affirm herself. She had also been recognized by others.

She was no longer the person who was looked down upon as a failure, unable to defeat even low-level evil spirits, let alone demons.

She now had immense power and solid confidence based on her experiences. What was there to worry about?

"Well, I guess I'll go home and sleep."

It would be wonderful to sleep in a futon again. Moreover, today was Friday, and tomorrow was Saturday, so she had no school. She wasn't in any clubs, so she had no particular plans for the morning.

She could sleep in and take it easy.

In the other world, she often slept outdoors, and staying in a high-end inn wasn't a frequent occurrence.

After satisfying her appetite, Mayu headed home to satisfy her sleepiness.

◆◆◆

Nagisa was busy with the aftermath of the Tsuchigumo incident. She had to report the rescue of the missing person and her partner to the police, contact the main family, and deal with the Tsuchigumo's eggs, among other things.

The police had also arrived on the scene and were helping with the post-incident procedures.

In this world, exorcists were widely recognized, and those recognized by the government had considerable influence. In particular, the six major families and other influential clans received secret support to some extent, and the police cooperated with them.

"Here, it's all done. I'll send a formal report later. The damage is within the expected range, and there are no casualties so far."

She reported briefly to the main family over the phone. In this incident, the survivors were thought to be hopeless, but they were still alive because the Tsuchigumo had kept them as food for egg-laying.

Perhaps the first captured humans were being fed to the parent Tsuchigumo, but they were just barely saved in time.

"However, the young man from the branch family was injured. Fortunately, it was a minor injury, so I think he can return to duty soon."

"…Understood. Even though he's from the branch family, I heard he was promising. Still, he's just from the branch family. We'll handle it on our end. The Tsuchigumo case will be taken over by Seiki. You should handle another case."

The person on the phone—Nagisa's father and the current head of the Kyougoku family—spoke in a matter-of-fact tone without any emotion.

"…Seiki-sama, then. How should I hand over the case?"

"Just do it verbally. Send the report later. I'll inform you about the details of the next case."

"…Understood."

After replying, Nagisa slowly put away her phone, which was now beeping with an electronic sound.

"…As usual."

Nagisa, who carried out the tasks given by her father, the head of the family, had never received any praise or encouragement from him. No matter how many tasks she completed successfully, her father treated it as a matter of course.

Moreover, most of her achievements were attributed to her brother, the next head, or others.

(But it turned out to be for the best that I kept it a secret.)

Nagisa had followed Mayu's advice and kept his existence and assistance confidential. If her father had found out, it would have been troublesome. She wanted to thank him properly and publicize his achievements since he had saved her life.

However, the situation and her environment did not allow it.

Still, she wanted to thank Mayu personally. Even if he refused, the sentiment was important.

(She needs to thank him. He saved her life, after all.)

However, she didn't have his contact information. She realized this after he left and cursed herself for being so careless.

(She must have been flustered. Meeting him again, being helped, and talking to him must have made her lose her head.)

The memory felt like it was from a long time ago. The other person might not remember, but Nagisa still did.

That day…

(Ah, I really am useless and pitiful. How could I be so absent-minded?)

She didn't know if he lived in the area, and she had no leads. This made it impossible to thank him.

(But if I try, I can find him.)

She could follow the residual spiritual energy. It was a slightly stalker-like thought, but she convinced herself it was for his thank you.

(I'll do it now.)

Nagisa took out a talisman from her uniform and recited a prayer. The talisman transformed into a white bird.

It was a spirit that exorcists used through the talisman as a medium.

"Follow his trail. Come back when you find him."

Her spirit was advanced. Instead of being controlled by a thread of spiritual energy, it could act independently with the spiritual energy it contained. This allowed her spirit to act even far from her.

It could also share its vision and change its actions.

The bird took flight and headed in the direction Mayu had left.

Nagisa smiled, thinking she could find him.

(What should I get him as a thank you? I can't just show up unannounced, and I need to consider his schedule.)

She thought about various options, looking more like a young girl worrying and enjoying herself, unlike when she was talking to her father.

(I'll finish this case quickly and make an appointment to meet him before the next case starts. That's a good plan.)

Looking forward to that, Nagisa tried to complete the post-incident procedures more perfectly than usual.

However, she would later be deeply disappointed when the spirit she sent out couldn't track Mayu's spiritual energy due to his invisibility technique, but she didn't know that at the time.

◆◆◆

A little earlier, in a certain part of a city.

"Ah, this is boring. It feels like I'm bullying the weak."

In a dimly lit alley, a boy in a school uniform muttered with a bored expression.

He was probably around 180 cm tall, with dark blue hair and red highlights. At his feet, several young men groaned and crouched.

"You guys started the fight, and you can't even win with numbers. Aren't you ashamed, big brothers?"

"Y-You… Don't get too cocky."

The leader, a short-haired man, glared at the boy, but the boy was unfazed.

"We have the Ambiz backing us."

"What's that? A new gang? These days, it's not yakuza but weird biker gangs with funny names. Well, that's fine. So, lead me to them."

The boy grabbed the man with one hand and lifted him effortlessly.

"What!?"

"To be honest, I was looking for people like you. You guys are the scum of society, and I can do all sorts of things without hesitation, sympathy, or hesitation. Our boss wants people."

"Stop it, Hachijo."

A voice called out from the entrance of the alley. There stood a pale, handsome man in his late twenties in a black suit. He was probably over 180 cm tall, with red and blue eyes and white hair.

"Boss, what are you doing in a place like this?"

"I heard you were acting on your own. I came here myself."

The handsome man sniffed and had a cold gaze. The moment he saw it, the young man grabbed by Hachijo started to tremble uncontrollably.

"But, Boss, you said to gather people. A lot of people for you to use as sacrifices."

Instantly, a dense aura of killing intent was released from Hachijo's body, directed at the man called Boss.

"Hmph, do you think I would be afraid of such a weak killing intent? Or were you trying to call someone here? Unfortunately, I have a barrier set up. No one will come."

"Ah, is that so? That's a shame."

He shook his head to dissipate the killing intent and smiled.

"I don't dislike that about you. If you follow my orders, I will definitely fulfill your wish. I am a man of my word."

"…Don't go back on your word."

"I swear. So, follow my instructions. I'll leave the selection of the sacrifices to you. You can use the scum of society. They are suitable as sacrifices. But let me know before you act. I'll provide support."

(What kind of support? It's just surveillance of me.)

Hachijo cursed inwardly. He was irritated but tried not to show it. He didn't know how much this man would understand, but he had to show a willingness to comply on the surface.

"That's very kind of you. I'll do that from now on."

The man didn't fully understand what the two were saying, but he knew his life was in their hands.

"Sorry, but you guys also trap and mistreat innocent people, right? This is just karma coming back to you."

"What… What are you talking about…?"

"Yeah. I can lead you to the people backing you. But if I don't take them, I won't have enough. Then I'll have to kidnap completely innocent people. I don't like that, so I'll let you off."

His grin showed that he didn't feel bad about it at all.

So, their fate was already decided.

"108 sacrifices. It will be a bit difficult to gather them in Japan, but it's necessary."

The white-haired man watched Hachijo's actions and muttered, looking up at the sky from the alley with a sinister smile.

"The curtain of revenge is about to rise. Soon, I will wipe them out."

—Just wait, Kyougoku. I will definitely wipe you out.

His words echoed softly in the alley, but no one heard them.

On that day, the semi-gang group Ambiz, which had been based in the city, suddenly disappeared overnight.

Dozens of people, including the top, executives, and members, vanished without a trace, leading the police to launch an investigation. However, there was no evidence in witness statements or surveillance camera footage.

While the incident was considered a "kami-kakushi" (abduction by gods), the investigation also explored the possibility of a conflict with a rival organization, but it hit a dead end.

However, a month later, the prefectural police's upper management sought assistance from a certain source, and a new chapter in the case began.

If you enjoyed it, please leave a review, bookmark, and rating (☆ mark). It would be a great encouragement for the author.