Chapter 126: Aspiring to Be a Nationally Protected Slacker
After school, club activities began, but Kamihara Shinji skipped the clubroom, having agreed to dine with Hinata Daiga. Normally, his personality would’ve skipped notifying Chihaya Mashiro, but the Soul-Trapping Pencil at home stirred a thought. After mulling it over, he emailed Mashiro, explaining he had business and wouldn’t attend the Ghost Club, granting her free time.
This wasn’t just courtesy. Kamihara felt isolated, friendless, and feared psychological strain if he remained so. Attending school was his way of soaking in youthful vibrancy, and bonding through club activities was key to friendship. The pencil, though unusable—he’d never wield it, only pass it to others—sparked a desire for connection.
Chihaya Mashiro, receiving the president’s message, felt a spark of joy. The president rarely initiated contact, a sign their bond was growing. “Stay safe, President,” she replied, refraining from prying. Since reading the booklet about this world’s horrors, she understood its despair for ordinary people. As a monitor, the president silently protected humanity, earning her admiration. She’d never take such a role—her dream was to live safely, ideally as a “nationally protected slacker,” perhaps a coin-flipping logistics worker.
Yet, a nagging fear lingered. The president kept urging her to absorb soul beads, boosting her spiritual power. Was he grooming her to investigate anomalies? Terrified of death, she dreaded the prospect. Another thought struck, and she sent a follow-up email: “President, my dad says if you’re submitting your light novel, he can help. He rose from editor and has insights on light novels. You two could discuss.”
After yesterday’s events, Chihaya Masato returned home determined to cling to Kamihara’s coattails. Consulting his wife, Rinako, they strategized. Since Kamihara wrote novels, Masato could offer expertise. He couldn’t fight grudges or anomalies, but light novels were his domain. Even if Kamihara wrote for fun, a failed publication could sting. Masato vowed to ensure success. Rinako suggested inviting Kamihara for dinner, subtly nudging a match between him and Mashiro, though tactfully.
“Cool, I’ll visit sometime,” Kamihara replied, pocketing his phone. He boarded a train to Setagaya Ward, Tokyo’s famed affluent district, the epicenter of Japan’s property bubble. Living in Setagaya signaled wealth and status. Average home prices hovered at 700,000 yen per square meter, peaking once at 2.35 million, staggering figures. As a monitor, Kamihara didn’t fret over money—his Meguro Ward home sufficed, and Exorcism Net offered quick cash by clearing grudge tasks.
At Setagaya Station, a well-dressed elderly man approached, voice deferential. “Are you Lord Ghost?”
“You’re the Hinata patriarch?” Kamihara asked.
“A misunderstanding. I’m the Hinata family butler, Ogo,” the man corrected.
“Got it, Ogo,” Kamihara said, avoiding honorifics to spare Ogo discomfort.
Ogo led with a refined smile, exiting the station. “Lord Ghost,” Hinata Daiga greeted warmly, stepping forward. “Welcome to Setagaya.”
“Didn’t I say I’d come myself?” Kamihara eyed the short, navy-kimono-clad man. His robust voice suggested fifty, but his taut, youthful face hinted forty.
“Can’t let you walk,” Hinata Daiga insisted, personally opening the car door.
Passersby gawked. Hinata’s commanding aura drew eyes, yet he served a uniformed student, sparking curiosity. Some snapped photos. Kamihara, unfazed, entered the car. He disliked riddles but wouldn’t prod Hinata’s motives—they’d surface. Frowning at the camera clicks, he said, “Have those photos deleted.”
After Asada Kazumasa used a photo to trap his soul via the pencil, Kamihara was wary of image leaks. “Rest assured,” Hinata replied. Ogo, in the driver’s seat, issued orders via radio. The car started, and through the rearview mirror, Kamihara saw suited bodyguards scolding photographers.
“Probably reporters,” Hinata chuckled. “Civilians aren’t so bold.”
Kamihara nodded. Their chat, sporadic and light, continued as they reached a lavish standalone villa. A fountain greeted them at the entrance. “This is the Water-Fire Fountain, airlifted from Italy,” Hinata explained. “At night, blue and red lights dazzle.”
“Not bad,” Kamihara said sincerely, never having lived in a villa in either life.
They disembarked, strolling as Hinata detailed the Nordic-style mansion’s layout, like a realtor pitching a sale. Kamihara smiled, nodding occasionally, sensing Hinata’s agenda. “What do you think of the villa, Lord Ghost?” Hinata asked.
“It’s fine,” Kamihara said lightly, smirking. “Hope it’s worthy of my help.”
Hinata froze, surprised by the bluntness. Monitors were often prickly, and he gave a wry smile. “You’ve seen through me. I do have a request—please investigate my second son’s death. Success or not, this villa is yours.”
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 127: Hinata Keigo
Evening, in the dining room, Kamihara Shinji gazed at the night beyond the window, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Hinata Daiga’s meal was exceptional, but Kamihara didn’t linger on the flavors, turning his attention to his host. Butler Ogo approached, placing a file before him.
Kamihara scanned it, noting the name of Hinata’s second son: Hinata Keigo. His expression quirked as he looked at Hinata. “This is your second son’s name?”
Hinata nodded, unembarrassed. Kamihara had learned of Keigo from Hinata Masato, the brother who commissioned Masato’s death. He’d assumed a larger family with multiple siblings, but the coincidence was striking—Keigo was indeed the culprit. Odd, but Kamihara didn’t pry, skimming the file with a tightening focus.
The death details were clear: Keigo collapsed at home, dying instantly, his soul vanishing. Meeting Kamihara’s gaze, Hinata organized his thoughts. “Masato died first, suddenly. We sought Special Division monitors to investigate, but most were aiding Nishi-Honganji. The rest, fresh from missions, avoided the case. It fizzled out.”
Hinata’s face showed helplessness. He’d tried investigating, but Masato’s death—caused by Asada’s pencil—was a traceless remote kill, unsolvable. Many assumed Masato fell to an anomaly’s rule, deterring monitors. This stressed the think tank, as a Hinata family crisis implicating Hinata Daiga would ensnare them. With monitors tied up at Nishi-Honganji, Hinata could only wait, akin to awaiting death.
Masato’s return as a canvas-trapped soul was a relief, proving an ordinary person with a rule-based item, not an anomaly, killed him. But Keigo’s canvas, a mere static sketch, rekindled fear. Keigo died days after Masato, identically—sudden collapse, soul gone—plunging the family into panic. Initially thought to be Asada’s victim, Keigo’s untrapped soul suggested otherwise.
This drove Hinata to enlist Kamihara, not for vengeance but self-preservation. The think tank, aware of Kamihara’s student status, financial struggles, and Ghost Club leadership, suggested wealth as leverage. They knew monitors, even young ones, weren’t fools—money was trivial to them. Hinata slid an ornate box across the table.
Under Kamihara’s puzzled look, he explained, “It contains one hundred soul beads, a deposit. Investigate Keigo’s death, and the villa and beads are yours, regardless of results.”
The villa was secondary; soul beads held value. Unbeknownst to Hinata, they were useless to Kamihara. Still, he didn’t refuse, asking, “Doesn’t the Hinata family have its own monitors?”
Hinata gave a bitter smile. “Think tank members wield influence and wealth, but controlling rule-based items is forbidden.”
Kamihara understood. The Special Division demanded a pure think tank. Political power and money meant little to them, an entity beyond government sway. Pressure was just that—pressure. If think tank members controlled items or trained monitors, ambitions would grow, threatening the division’s autonomy. Likely, multiple think tanks existed.
None of Kamihara’s concern. He pushed the box back, and as Hinata’s heart sank, fearing rejection, he said, “Bag them. The box is bulky.”
Hinata exhaled, standing to bow slightly. “Thank you, Lord Ghost.”
“You’re paying,” Kamihara said with a faint smile. “But let’s be clear: I’ll only determine if Keigo died by a rule-based item or an anomaly. If it’s an anomaly, I’m out.”
“Naturally,” Hinata nodded, smiling. “If it’s an anomaly, inform us, and the Special Division will step in.”
He knew Kamihara, as Ghost Club president, had vanquished the Bad Neighbor anomaly, fulfilling his yearly quota. Accepting now was likely due to the villa and beads’ allure. Unlike seasoned monitors, whose spirits were hardened, Kamihara, a recent recruit with death-substitution powers, thought differently. In years, he’d be untouchable, but now, he was approachable.
Kamihara didn’t linger. Carrying a bag of purified soul beads—useless to him but perfect for Chihaya Mashiro, still in spiritual stage one—he planned to boost her to stage three. Not out of kindness, but utility: at stage three, she’d sense anomalies’ killing rules, becoming a living anomaly detector.
(End of Chapter)
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