The sky is gloomy.
Considering the timing, the rainy season has already started in Tokyo.
Well, the rainy season where I lived in my previous life usually started around this time too. Just because it’s the rainy season doesn’t mean it rains every day, though.
A breeze came through the open window, but it felt humid and gloomy.
Rainy season isn’t all bad, though. There’s definitely a mystical atmosphere to it.
The thick clouds reflected the sunlight, and shadows became faint and soft. Of course, dark places became darker, so it wouldn’t be strange if something ghost-like were lurking in some corner of the house.
Sharing dark and creepy stories during summer might also be due to this weather.
Still, it would be nice if the weather was a bit clear for the weekend. The sky is truly heartless.
And, Kaga and Koko and I were performing a kind of ritual in the middle of this gloomy house…
The reason I said “kind of” is that the ritual wasn’t the same as I knew it in my previous life.
In Korea, when one talks about a ritual, it generally refers to preparing food on the ritual table, calling upon spirits, and then sending them back. Shamans make loud calls to summon spirits and guide them to say what they want to express.
Whether that’s real or not, well, in this world of Korea, I could believe it was real if someone claimed it.
I didn’t write anything specific on the memorial tablet for those whose names I didn’t even know.
I simply placed various foods in front of it.
There’s a high-end confectionery nearby, so I bought a few boxes of gift snacks from there. And Kaga skillfully prepared some ordinary home-cooked dishes to place before it.
Just that alone didn’t seem enough for the souls lingering here to leave comfortably.
They had lost their lives. If I died unjustly, I certainly wouldn’t be satisfied just with a ritual and then leave.
I didn’t want to ask for anything; I just wished for them not to suffer any longer, and the three of us sat together with our eyes closed.
It felt like something was there or maybe not.
Since Nirlas left this world, my senses have become rather dull. I’m not sure if it’s because of Nirlas’s existence, or if it’s because I’ve been living well and don’t need to worry about such things anymore.
My weight has definitely increased, though.
But, I could imagine.
Some of the spirits that had been in this house had probably come into this room.
They probably couldn’t cause harm. Koko wouldn’t be affected by ‘fear.’
Plus, there was a concealed mirror in front of Kaga. Since my mom was a “real shaman,” just having her beside me provided some reassurance.
That presence circled around us, went to the memorial tablet, and then lingered in front of the food.
Do spirits eat?
I’ve never seen the ritual food actually diminish.
I wondered what it would be like if I were the deceased. Would I be satisfied just by looking at the ritual food?
“……”
I guess I’ll never know until I truly die. I’ve already died twice, but I came back to life at the funeral.
I just stayed silent.
I sincerely wished that the gifts we prepared would bring them some joy.
Not simply because I wanted them to leave, but because, for whatever reason, I had taken on the name Kurosawa.
I hoped it would bring a little comfort to that unjust death.
*
I thought it was just my mood, but I felt a lot lighter when I left the mansion.
Somehow, my shoulders felt a bit lighter too.
“Your expression says it was a good choice to do that.”
Kaga smiled and said that while looking at my face.
“Yeah, I think so too.”
“Wow?”
Since I went to buy the snacks to place on the ritual table, I also got some for us.
Seeing Koko react while having cake crumbs stuck to her mouth made both of us laugh.
We slowly walked towards the train station.
Kaga didn’t bring her car when she came here. It was much better to just take the train to wait for us in front of the school rather than bringing the car to wait.
And because of that, I could think a bit more deeply.
“We should properly renovate the Kurosawa mansion.”
“Huh?”
“Seeing that scene made me think about it.”
I don’t really know what kind of space ghosts prefer.
Some people say they like dim spaces, while others like noisy places.
Perhaps the mansion is home to spirits because of such an atmosphere.
Or maybe it simply groaned while being overlooked as the once-great Kurosawa family now lay in ruins.
… But to think about it again, the souls were still unable to leave that place.
“I don’t want to revive the Kurosawa family.”
I figured they wouldn’t want something like that.
“But somehow… it feels like that.”
All those sacrifices made throughout the ages were for summoning gods.
And with that power, the intention was to break the boundaries between the afterlife and this world, creating a world where everyone could live eternally. That was the wish of the Kurosawa family.
The willingness to die and the ability to kill was all because of that. Someday, we would be able to meet beyond the crumbled borders.
In some sense, I might have brutally shattered that wish.
I still don’t think that wish was correct. The afterlife is certainly not an easy place. After all, the Kurosawa family aimed high, wanting to stay on top by relying on divine power.
But…
“I just don’t want to forget.”
This was a place with all sorts of events—good and bad. If the remaining Kurosawa family forgot, they would be buried in history.
And that feels wrong.
The terrible things that happened there needed to be remembered by someone. Only then could someone warn again in the future.
“Is that so?”
Kaga briefly looked up at the sky.
Kaga was one of those swept up in that madness. I understand why she had almost abandoned the mansion.
So I thought it was inevitable for her to refuse.
“Let’s take some more time and prepare slowly. I don’t think Koto Ne said such things just because she wanted to fix everything with money.”
I nodded.
With the utmost care, I would clean and rebuild it for a long time.
And in between, I would comfort the souls and help them return to where they should belong.
I still can’t even call myself a shaman, and I’m unsure whether I should inherit that position.
“There are things you can’t leave to others.”
“……”
Kaga didn’t feel the need to respond to that.
She just looked at me and gently patted my head.
I didn’t push her hand away.
*
Kaga suggested she would drive me to school all the way to the front during July, perhaps because I seemed quite frail in her eyes.
Though I thought that wasn’t a good idea at all.
Sure, Tokyo’s subway is crowded, but the roads are absolutely packed with… no, cars are crowded.
Unless you’re adept at Tokyo’s geography and can navigate like an internal GPS, you will definitely spend a long, boring time stuck on a jam-packed road.
And Kaga is clearly a beginner driver. A few months have passed, but she still sometimes fails to see signs.
“What will you do if you faint in this heat?”
Kaga seriously seemed to think that way.
“I’ve gained weight.”
That was my rebuttal.
And it’s true.
My weight fluctuated between malnutrition and average. Now I had risen to what might be considered average weight, though still a few kilos away.
The visible parts hadn’t changed much, though my legs had become slightly thicker.
I had seriously worried about what to do once my hair was cut, but seeing how much I eat, there’s likely no need for that concern.
However, I certainly gain weight more slowly than others.
I have three meals a day, snacks after school, and even occasionally eat desserts at cafés while roaming around, yet my weight is still this amount. That proves I don’t have a body that gains weight easily.
For reference, Yuka has always envied me and Koko.
“I’ve always said this, but you’re still not at a normal weight.”
And Kaga was worried about that because of my body type.
I thought it was a bit excessive to worry like that, but still.
I hadn’t fainted much—
———
— quite a lot, actually.
But it wasn’t like I fainted while casually walking. Considering the amount of food I survived on, I fainted less than I should have. Most of my fainting was because of Yōkai attacks, so I confidently thought that I have a pretty sturdy body.
“Be careful with the heat.”
“No, I’m really fine.”
Lately, she seems overly cautious every time we go to school in the morning.
“Be careful and come back safe.”
“Okay.”
I nodded at Kaga’s words, hugged her, and headed off to school.
…….
Hmm, still, walking to the station felt unbearably hot.
Should I ask for a ride to the station?
I thought of such weakened thoughts.
*
“You seem to have a good relationship with your mother.”
As I whined about such things in the nearly official safe haven of the hamburger shop, Tsuneda remarked.
Our atmosphere became awkward in an instant.
Whether she really knows my situation or not, everyone knows that I hadn’t had a good relationship with Kaga just last year.
“D-Did I make some mistake…?”
“No, it just seems strangely out of place to me.”
At my words, Tsuneda became more flustered.
She seemed to not understand why I said being close to my mom was strange.
Is she also from a well-off family?
I simply shrugged.
“Actually, until last year, we didn’t get along very well.”
In fact, if I consider the timeline, Kaga’s mood began to shift slightly around Christmas, but I started calling her “Mom” just this year, so I figured we could just let that slide.
Since then, I’ve started to accept her patting my head or hugging me without any issue.
“Is that so?”
Tsuneda spoke with a slightly apologetic expression.
“Yeah. And Koto Ne from last year and Koto Ne from this year are different.”
Mako said with a smile.
“Really?”
“Ah, it’s true.”
Yuka nodded her head vigorously.
It wasn’t just the two of them. In fact, aside from Tsuneda, everyone was in agreement, even Koko.
“At first, you were super cautious every time I tried to talk to you. There were way more ellipses than words, right?”
Was I really that cautious?
Thinking back, it does seem that way. Instead of responding with “Yeah,” I would respond with “……yeah.”
It wasn’t like I consciously aimed for that, though.
I was indeed cautious. It feels strange to think that the events I experienced in this world were more outlandish than the main plot. I met many people I didn’t know, and frankly, I didn’t have many experiences that would justify being cautious.
So I think it’s not entirely my fault.
“… It’s fine now.”
Yuuki, who still often adds ellipses to his responses, said that.
I feel like I’m better now.
I thought I was okay back then. Living alone in a house with nothing, being hungry, cold, hot—all those things felt like major shortages.
“……”
I guess it really wasn’t okay.
Maybe it was just a defense mechanism.
“Both back then and now are good.”
Koko suddenly made that comment, and I responded by patting her head without thinking.
“Uwu?”
Koko looked bewildered as her hair got disheveled. This time, even Tsuneda, who is usually fond of Koko, had a delighted smile on her face.
“Oh right. How did the conversation get to this point?”
Izumi, who was wearing a content smile, suddenly looked surprised.
Yeah, how did we get to this point?
I thought about it, but I couldn’t really remember. The subjects of our previous conversations had bounced around too much.
“Were we talking about the training camp?”
Harumi asked.
“Ah, right. We were.”
Izumi grimaced lightly as if remembering.
That’s right.
We started from the training camp, then brought up last year’s camp, talked about transportation, and then about me getting in Kaga’s car, eventually leading us here.
“Alright then, continuing the story, we don’t need to worry about transportation. It’s already been decided. Of course, the cost will have to be covered, though.”
I’m pretty sure no one here would be unable to cover the cost. Tsuneda didn’t show any worried expression, so I felt certain about it.
Well, friends from a middle school like that, with unique hair colors and a slightly haphazard gal vibe, didn’t have an underprivileged feel to them.
Unless they were among those with top-tier grades, Hanagawa High School’s tuition can be quite costly. The uniform is expensive too.
Tsuneda was the only one who passed while everyone else failed. I’m sure she wasn’t taking top-tier grades.
“We’re going to an island!”
Kaoru said with a big smile.
An island.
Hmm…
Strange things happen whenever one goes to an island in a light novel.
… But it feels like I already escaped that part, so it should be fine, right?
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.