LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 12
Chapter
I’m trying Sukiyaki for the first time.
But at least I knew it was something like a hot pot.
The thinly sliced beef cooked just right in the homemade broth looked delicious just by looking at it.
Is this my first time eating beef since I came to this world?
The savory smell of meat filled my head. The only reason my hands didn’t shoot forward was the thought that it would be polite to pick up my chopsticks after the people living in this house started their meal first.
After seeing the two people clasp their hands together, I hastily followed their lead. I said, “Itadakimasu” at the same time as everyone else, slightly late.
The gaze of Yuuki’s grandfather, who was squinting at me, made me a bit nervous, but that nagging thought flew away the moment I grabbed the chopsticks.
To not seem too greedy, I gently picked up a small piece of meat sizzling on the little sauce.
In front of me was a raw egg yolk. Looking around, it seemed like you’re supposed to dip the meat in it.
Following Yuuki at the side, I carefully dipped the meat in the yolk and took a bite.
The flavor of soy sauce with a hint of sweetness filled my mouth, and I could feel the juices of the meat with every chew.
It’s so delicious.
And the rice in front of me too.
…Hmm. Watching the exorcist grandpa discreetly glancing over here made me think my neck might soon be on the chopping block, but they do say that a ghost who eats well has good taste. I should fill my stomach for now.
Ah, now that I think about it, Yuuki’s father was here too. He’s a priest… but right now, he’s just in casual clothes. It’s not like he’s in gym clothes or anything, just wearing slacks and a long-sleeve top.
A typical middle-aged man… well, maybe a bit better looking. If I had to say, he has the aura of a father character from a drama. By the way, that was his role in the light novel too.
“It’s been a while since Yuka brought a friend home. Isn’t this the first time since middle school?”
“…But, um, it’s not even been a week since the semester started.”
Besides, Yuuki had changed high schools partway through.
The relationships he had built at the start of the semester got reset, and now he had to insert himself into already established social circles in the new school.
No matter how you think about it, it was an incredibly exhausting situation.
“Is that so…?”
Grandpa seemed a bit awkward.
And seeing that made my heart feel warm for a moment.
Thinking back, the Sasaki siblings weren’t a typical family. Their family environment was somewhat lacking, and the fact that the younger sister referred to her older brother as “Oniichan” was a giveaway.
Wasn’t that a clue that we were in a fantasy world?
While this family had fantasy elements, the relationships felt relatable, like the kind you could see anywhere. A kind grandfather, a father, and a daughter full of teenage angst.
I returned the meat to my mouth. While I was at it, I added a bit of tofu and enoki mushrooms, and took a bite of rice. Thanks to the sticky rice, I could eat just like I did in my previous life without any grains falling apart.
Ah, it’s so delicious.
It felt different from the time I ate tonkatsu with the Sasaki siblings.
“So, your name… was Kurosawa?”
“It’s Kurosawa Kotone.”
I greeted Grandpa since there was a moment when my mouth was empty.
“Do you and Yuka get along?”
Yuka’s father kindly asked.
“…We had lunch together.”
“Ah, I see.”
The smile on his lips was gentle. If this person suspected anything about me, at least he was hiding his emotions better than Yuuki’s grandfather.
For a moment, only the sound of chopsticks moving and the boiling of the hot pot could be heard.
After I had emptied about a third of my bowl, I started worrying about returning. Ah, since I came here from southern Tokyo, it’ll take another 20 minutes to go back. Including walking time, it would take me two hours.
“Let’s stay here tonight.”
Yuuki suddenly said that, surprising me a bit.
Did he read my mind?
“I’ll get you some underwear. You can buy a toothbrush.”
“…”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I’d feel uneasy sending you back home alone late at night. Can I ask where exactly you live?”
“…Saitama.”
“Is that so.”
I think I understood why these people were acting this way.
Whether they were worried about my identity or not, Yuuki must’ve sensed something today in the literature club room, like he felt something akin to a ‘nest.’
In other words, he probably thought there might be something targeting me.
So, they were trying to protect me.
What should I do?
If no yōkai comes out today, that would mean nothing will happen, but would Yuuki try to keep me here and make me stay overnight?
Honestly, I was feeling quite tempted by that idea. If I stayed here, I could at least have a meal.
But still, one must have some decorum when dealing with people.
“Um, ahem.”
Suddenly, Yuuki’s grandfather cleared his throat and spoke up.
“Actually, I have a bit of a knack for sensing spirits.”
It was almost like he was trying to lighten the mood with a joke as he said that.
“Have you… ever heard that you have a strong aura?”
“…”
I had never heard anything like that in my entire life.
Not knowing what to make of my silence, Grandpa nodded and continued.
“Have you ever seen something you shouldn’t have seen?”
“Father.”
Yuuki’s father intervened, but Grandpa’s gaze was still directed toward me.
“…No, I haven’t.”
I answered like that.
“Is that so…”
He didn’t seem to believe me much.
Another brief silence.
“Kid, have you ever considered getting a part-time job?”
Grandpa suddenly asked out of nowhere.
“…A part-time job?”
“Yeah. A girl working as a shrine maiden has transferred to a somewhat distant high school. Hanagawa High School is about a 30-minute walk from here. If you work for us, we could pay around 800 yen an hour.”
800 yen an hour.
I momentarily felt really tempted but forced myself to shake my head left and right.
“…It’s too far from home; it would be an issue.”
That was half sincere.
From the perspective of using an avatar in a foreign country, I felt uneasy about doing shrine maiden work. Plus, I couldn’t really work long hours because my house was too far away.
The subway fees in Tokyo are crippling. Even if I did work, I wouldn’t have much left over.
“Oh, I see.”
Grandpa closed his mouth again.
And then the meal went on uninterrupted after that. There were various exchanges here and there, and they talked to me too, but I mostly answered in one-word replies. Well, at least I didn’t ruin the mood.
I was glad I could finally replenish my protein with tofu and meat after a while.
I also liked the homely atmosphere.
*
Yuuki kept his promise.
He took me to a convenience store to buy necessary supplies, and then we went to a nearby clothing store where he bought me some underwear. The design was plain, and the price was cheap, but it was free for me, so I was grateful.
And—
I entered Yuuki’s room.
It was almost my first time entering a girl’s room. Since I accidentally visited my cousin’s room ages ago, it was the first time in a long while.
Well, there was nothing particularly special. True to Yuuki’s personality, it was a neat room with a desk and a bookshelf, with textbooks lined up in the shelf. There weren’t any special decorations.
But perhaps because of that tidiness, it felt rather unique.
“Here.”
Yuuki handed me some clothes.
It was something taken from his own wardrobe. A large short-sleeve T-shirt and pajama pants that were secured with an elastic band at the waist.
For a moment, I felt guilty accepting it.
Well, I’m a high school girl now, but wearing new clothes feels significantly different than wearing clothes that a high school girl had worn.
I’ve heard there are places that package and sell school uniforms worn by high school girls. It just felt like I might be engaging in something similar.
…Well, there’s no way I can sleep in a sailor uniform.
In the end, I took a bath and put on the clothes at Yuuki’s house.
Yuuki offered to let me use his bed, but I shook my head.
“I sleep on the floor at home. It’s more comfortable.”
That must have left Yuuki with nothing to say.
“…”
“…”
Yuuki lay down on his bed while I laid a blanket on the floor beneath him.
“…I’m sorry for calling you out so suddenly today.”
Yuuki said quietly, almost mumbling.
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
I replied.
“Don’t you wonder why I called you here?”
With that statement, I found myself at a loss for words. I was scared of how far the conversation might go if I responded.
“…Um, I know this might sound unbelievable, but I can sense when someone is going to face great misfortune. Our family has a bit of a special bloodline. I know it might sound unpleasant, but please listen to me for a moment.”
Yuuki spoke slowly.
“I sensed it when I saw you just now. You see, I usually go and tell people whenever I see someone with that kind of aura, but most people don’t believe me. I think that’s only natural, but… usually, that’s when they end up facing misfortune, and afterward, they blame me.”
Yuuki let out a sigh.
That was also a reason why, in the original story, Yuuki and Yuka didn’t have many friends.
He traveled around hunting yōkai, and like I felt from Miura, he seemed to sense warning signs too, but when he warned the person, the typical response was to feel bad about it.
If one knows nothing, it’s an obvious reaction.
“So… um… Is it alright if I follow you for a while? I promise I won’t bother you too much.”
I pondered for a moment.
“…Still, you can’t come all the way to my house…”
When I said that, Yuuki’s voice brightened substantially.
“That’s fine. Does that mean you trust me?”
“…A little.”
“That’s good enough!”
I could see the mattress on the bed move energetically. A brief rustling sound occurred, and then Yuuki’s face popped up from under the bed.
He was lying on his stomach and peering down at me.
His face, illuminated by the moonlight, was smiling.
His long hair, which was let down, brushed gently against my cheek.
“Thanks for believing me.”
“…”
I didn’t respond to that smiling face.
*
“Goodbye.”
“Yeah.”
As Yuuki and I said our farewells, Grandpa waved at us with a smile.
The end of April marks the start of Golden Week, from April 29th to May 5th.
Yesterday, just for reference, was the 28th, a Tuesday.
Honestly, I had no idea about it until yesterday when I was leaving school. Of course, that’s because there’s no concept of this kind of holiday in Korea at the end of April.
So, Yuuki bringing me to his house meant that he was aware it was ‘a day off tomorrow.’
…If that weren’t the case, I would have almost carried the underwear I wore yesterday back to school in my bag. I did get a plastic bag to put it in, but it would still feel awkward.
Speaking of which, it’s Golden Week.
…What should I do at home? Maybe I should walk around the neighborhood and see if anyone has put out electronics for collection?
“Yuka, have a good trip back. Kurosawa-san, please return safely.”
And Yuuki decided to see me off. I guess he didn’t know the area well, and he thought it was proper etiquette.
Yuuki himself was dressed in casual clothes. A fresh sky-blue shirt and slightly short jeans. Even if you see it in 2024, it wouldn’t look out of place. It seems like timeless, plain fashion does exist.
“Thanks for all your help yesterday.”
“Help, you say? It’s just a friend’s daughter.”
Grandpa smiled warmly. He really does seem like a good person.
Yuuki’s father seemed to have to leave early. Do shrines not take time off during holidays, I wonder?
“Well then, let’s go.”
At Yuuki’s word, I nodded.
We walked through the shrine like yesterday, emerging onto the opposite alley and heading toward the subway.
Crossing through the shrine again felt a bit enjoyable.
Perhaps the fact that I had a full stomach with breakfast made me think that way.
*
The train was empty.
That was a relief since we came out a bit late and it was a holiday.
I was glad to find an empty seat.
However, it wasn’t exactly a blessing that Yuuki was sitting next to me.
“Can I also visit your house for a bit?”
He asked, making it impossible for me to refuse.
What could I possibly say to turn him down? I’d had dinner at Yuuki’s house the previous night, and I had eaten breakfast there this morning too.
There’s no way I could say, “I don’t want to come because I’m poor.”
For reference, when we talked about this and that yesterday, I mentioned that I live with my mother. The reason was simple. Teacher Suzuki knew that I had a mother.
Since it’s supposed to be institutionalized, I answered as if I really did have a mother.
Even today, if it had been a school day, I would have come up with some excuse during class to dodge the situation.
As I absentmindedly contemplated how I could part ways in between, my gaze was drawn to a newspaper held by an older man sitting across from me.
Perhaps it was because there was no one sitting beside him; he was unfolding the newspaper wide.
So, the front page of that newspaper came really into focus for me.
The headline on the front page read:
[Is the Tokyo Man-Eating Demon back?]
…Huh.
I blinked.
Did I just see that incorrectly? But no, it was right there in front of me.
“What’s up?”
Yuuki asked.
“…It’s nothing.”
In response to my answer, Yuuki tilted his head. Before I could turn my gaze away, Yuuki also glanced at the newspaper in front of the older man.
Looking at what was written there, Yuuki frowned.
“Are you worried?”
“…”
“They’ll definitely catch it. Or it will die down again.”
I understood what he meant. Yuuki had gone to Hanagawa High School to catch that yōkai.
I’m not sure how they go about hunting yōkai from there, but…
…but I wasn’t worried about whether there was a chance of catching the yōkai or not.
I was thinking about why.
I clearly killed it. It wasn’t just about the disappearance of the corpse or the bloodstains not being there.
I killed it. For sure. I struck it down multiple times until it stopped moving right before my eyes.
I had done that to save Miura.
…Wait, what about Miura?
A cold sweat broke out on my back.
“Kurosawa?”
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”
I took my phone out of my pocket. I opened the screen and went into the message section.
Then I typed out a message.
[Miura]
I wasn’t quite used to the Japanese keyboard. While reading and writing was manageable, this was a different matter.
I waited for a moment, and when I started feeling a bit anxious—
[Kurosawa?]
That was the reply that came back.
It felt like I could hear a voice in that email. I could see round eyes wide in surprise.
I calmed down a little. I typed out a message slowly, my hands trembling less than before.
[Where are you now?]
[Since it’s a holiday, I’m at my grandmother’s house with my family. Sendai.]
Sendai.
That’s far away from Tokyo.
[Why? What’s wrong?]
I received another email.
[No, it’s nothing.]
[If there’s anything wrong, let me know.]
[Got it. Have a good holiday.]
A smiling emoji came with the reply.
“What’s wrong?”
Yuuki asked again, after I let out a small breath.
Yuuki is… probably connecting the dots about me and that yōkai. He might have heard something from Grandpa.
“…I’m sorry, Yuuki.”
“Hmm?”
“Is it possible to postpone going home until next time?”
When I said that, I looked up at Yuuki.
His eyes blinked.
“…Okay, sure. So we’ll go next time.”
“…Yeah.”
“But can I take you out for lunch somewhere near the station? Since it takes an hour and a half to get from our house to yours. By the time we arrive, it’ll be almost lunchtime. I’ll treat you.”
“…That sounds good.”
That seemed like enough time.
*
For lunch, we had ramen. We just ate it near the station, but it was quite delicious. To be honest, it was a bit salty for my taste, but I’d trained my palate recently eating salt with my soft bread, and I was able to finish it all.
“Well then, see you after the holidays.”
Yuuki waved his hand at me.
I waved back to say goodbye. After watching him swipe his transport card to enter, I turned around and headed straight home.
Ah, I also bought a newspaper on the way back. It was the same newspaper that the older man had been reading.
The cover had news about a new corpse being discovered. I skimmed through it as I walked and saw that it was also a half-eaten body, found in Tokyo this time.
However, the details had changed a bit. Unlike the last time, it was marked by signs of being hidden by someone.
When I got home and opened the door, the house was just as I had left it yesterday morning. The blanket wasn’t spread out properly, and there were still trash scattered on the floor. But there was no time to wallow in self-pity.
I carelessly kicked off my shoes and dug into my bag to find a notebook.
Then I took a pen and drew a pentagram, surrounding it with a circle.
And…
How should I call it?
I stared at the pentagram for a moment and then placed my hand on it.
“Respond.”
There was no reaction.
“Please respond?”
Still no response.
“Can you come? Please?”
I started feeling like an idiot little by little.
I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh.
Right, I know.
How to ensure that someone must respond.
I rummaged through my bag.
In these past two weeks, while I hadn’t bought any of the large, expensive furniture yet, I did get small things to help with daily life.
I bought pretty much everything that could fit on the desk.
Pens, markers, erasers, mechanical pencils—all cheap items.
And—also a cutter knife.
Swish. Taking the blade out, I found that it was quite sharp.
…to be honest, I really didn’t want to do this.
They say you can only respond if you want to answer. I never believed that one-hundred percent. Sure, maybe you can respond only when you want to, but there must be a situation where one would ‘have to’ respond as well.
With the blade extended, I walked into the bathroom.
I opened the toilet seat and sat on top of it.
I pulled a hair tie from my left wrist, biting it with my mouth, and placed the blade on my wrist.
I shut my eyes tightly, biting down hard, and then drew the blade across.
The pain was unexpectedly bearable—
“Ugh.”
—It wasn’t that way at all.
I had mistaken the pain from biting down on my hand for something less than it was; but forcing someone to open their wound was a far more intense kind of pain than I expected.
Thank goodness I had something in my mouth.
“Did you call for me? It seems like you were in quite a hurry.”
I could hear a voice, laced with laughter. It was definitely watching me since the time I was drawing the pentagram and muttering to myself.
“…I have a question for you.”
As soon as I opened my mouth, the hair tie fell from my lips.
This time, time didn’t stop. Was it because I was all alone?
“What you would do if you heard my answer makes me curious.”
“What do you want?”
I spoke into thin air. Looking up, I gazed upwards expecting something to be there.
“It would be nice if you could offer me the life of that person you seek.”
“…”
I hesitated for a moment.
“What’s there to consider?”
The voice of the one calling itself a thousand baby lambs laughed.
“It seems that the life of your friend isn’t precious to you, is it?”
“…”
After a brief moment of contemplation, I spoke up.
“Fine.”
“Excellent.”
Sudden pain surged from my wrist again.
Just like before, blood slowly began to rise again. Part of it began to smear onto the blade, while some dripped to the floor.
The blood that splattered onto the tiles pooled together. It became red, long, and sticky.
It wriggled like a worm, sticking to my foot.
And it slowly crawled up, leaving a trail of blood behind.
“Then.”
The laughter echoed in my ears.
“Go, and take it.”